How do you play your zombies?

[Colt47]

I've seen a lot of people mention they use the Rifter 40 rules for zombies, but has anyone built their own rules for zombies that they run in their games and willing to share what they are?

One idea I've had for a bit is do something similar to the old Resident Evil Games: Make it so that zombies can be shot and beaten to the point of falling over, but they get back up again with reduced SDC unless their head is destroyed. No AR beyond anything from armor or clothing the zombie might be wearing.

[dargo83]

i use a rule simaler to the one above head shots are the only way to put them down permantaly. my zeds have a natural ar based on the type of dead head like a normal sloucher has an ar of 12 where as a jugs will have an ar of 14 to 18 depending on what kind and what abilities they have like aps:bone or bone armor.

[MaxxSterling]

I play it as written in the rules.

[Pepsi Jedi]

I remove their ability to see "The glow" and the "PPE Healing" thing.

Other than that I play them mostly as written. Our games we try and cut out the 'Mystical' nature of the zombies. Haven't played since I've gotten the third sourcebook, but if we introduce the 'combo zombies' (( I call um Smoosh zombies)) It won't be due to PPE healing. It'll just be the 'normal' zombies having been pressed together and rotted together that way or be burned together and melted together that way.

We actually DO have Death cults, but it's more a matter of people being CRAZY than having any sort of mystical powers, and if the Zombies seem to follow their orders or what ever that's all well and good but seldom do groups have the opportunity to sit around and study such things.

[Colt47]

I remove their ability to see "The glow" and the "PPE Healing" thing.

Other than that I play them mostly as written. Our games we try and cut out the 'Mystical' nature of the zombies. Haven't played since I've gotten the third sourcebook, but if we introduce the 'combo zombies' (( I call um Smoosh zombies)) It won't be due to PPE healing. It'll just be the 'normal' zombies having been pressed together and rotted together that way or be burned together and melted together that way.

We actually DO have Death cults, but it's more a matter of people being CRAZY than having any sort of mystical powers, and if the Zombies seem to follow their orders or what ever that's all well and good but seldom do groups have the opportunity to sit around and study such things.

From the way things sound a lot of people don't play with the glow and the PPE healing bit. Even with magic it just doesn't make a lot of sense considering zombies are supposed to be the transient undead. They tend to have a shelf life of about as long as they can be preserved (and are stored in the canned foods section).

[MaxxSterling]

Pepsi and Colt make sense. You guys should have written the books. Add up how strong zombies are, how hard it is to shoot using the rules, and then add in the ppe vision thing and you basically have an unplayable game. IMO. I run the game as is, with no alteration and I can tell you, that no one has fun because it is too tense.

[Colt47]

Pepsi and Colt make sense. You guys should have written the books. Add up how strong zombies are, how hard it is to shoot using the rules, and then add in the ppe vision thing and you basically have an unplayable game. IMO. I run the game as is, with no alteration and I can tell you, that no one has fun because it is too tense.

I didn't even have to try running it to know it was going to make people pull hair out. The firearms damage in N&SS makes more sense than what is listed in the book here, and the zombie shooting rules are assuming that nothing else matters except the head, which really isn't the case with zombies. They aren't super humanly strong, they are just walking corpses with a built in desire to consume the living and turn them into more of themselves.

The way I've got this written out so far with zombies (assuming I ever get to run one of these games) is that the AR depends on the state the zombie is in and what he is wearing. The more beat up the zombie, the less SDC they have and the higher the AR they have, as a zombie that has rotted longer has a slightly more difficult to hit frame than a fresh one and likely has more debris clinging to it.

The base I've got for all zombies is that they start with the same stats presented in the Dead Reign Mainbook, except the AR is 6, and they have 10 more SDC on the main body. Zombies have four different states they can be in regardless of type:

1. Fresh
2. Beaten up
3. Severely damaged
4. Barely mobile

Each time a zombie is shot up to the point where it's main body SDC is depleted, it falls or gets knocked prone and needs a moment to recover (1d4 melee rounds). If the zombie gets back up, it drops down one state on the list, has it's max SDC reduced by 1/4 and it's AR increased by 2. This process repeats until either the head is destroyed or the zombie has been knocked down a fourth time, at which point it is considered no longer capable of moving. Also, any fast attack zombie reduced to state 3 or 4 loses it's enhanced mobility and will only be able to move as fast as a sloucher.

The AR of the zombie itself isn't it's resistance to bullets in this case. Rather, it represents the chance that the bullet will just harmlessly pass through the zombie due to wounds sustained previously.

[Icefalcon]

I have found that the damages of the guns to be unrealistic and have modified them. I went back and used the Compendium of Contemporary Weapons as a guide and found that I had to add quite a few more calibers of guns to make it believable. I also do not agree with the edged weapons getting stuck in the body or arrows doing half damage. I have ruled that arrows, as long as they have broadheads, do full damage but target points do half. Edged weapons that are meant for cutting attacks are meant to cleave through bodies. That is how they are designed. There is only a small chance of them binding in the body, but if used on the arms or neck or even slicing off the top of the head, they work like a dream.

[Colt47]

I have found that the damages of the guns to be unrealistic and have modified them. I went back and used the Compendium of Contemporary Weapons as a guide and found that I had to add quite a few more calibers of guns to make it believable. I also do not agree with the edged weapons getting stuck in the body or arrows doing half damage. I have ruled that arrows, as long as they have broadheads, do full damage but target points do half. Edged weapons that are meant for cutting attacks are meant to cleave through bodies. That is how they are designed. There is only a small chance of them binding in the body, but if used on the arms or neck or even slicing off the top of the head, they work like a dream.

I agree on edged weapons, especially middle eastern Scimitar and heavy blades like the Falchion. Piercing weapons are the least useful against zombies unless they are used to pin them to something. Even then they'd still do decent damage if they can pierce the skull.

[Icefalcon]

One fact that a martial artist explained to me many years ago sticks in my head. It takes only nine pounds of pressure to break a bone. I takes two pounds of pressure with an edged weapon to cut skin or muscle. At the end of a fulcrum such as a sword there is more like 100-200 pounds of pressure. Imagine what that means for all those body parts that get into the way.

[Pepsi Jedi]

One fact that a martial artist explained to me many years ago sticks in my head. It takes only nine pounds of pressure to break a bone. I takes two pounds of pressure with an edged weapon to cut skin or muscle. At the end of a fulcrum such as a sword there is more like 100-200 pounds of pressure. Imagine what that means for all those body parts that get into the way.

Yeah, the numbers sound good and all but there's different types of bones and different density and what not. You might break the almost paper thin bones round the eye or something easily but it's alot harder to break a skull. A forearm might break easier than the upper arm, or the thigh, ect. And yeah skin cuts under realtivly light presure, but having the skill to apply blade to skin is very different. Most people have no cclue what so ever, how to swing a sword. It's alot different from a bat, and watch a pick up game of baseball sometime and see how few can even do that.

Cutting someone through clothes is alot harder than just cutting skin and even then, really HACKING at someone is alot different than that. The casual swing and someone's body part is flipping through the air like you see on HBO isn't what you'd call realistic.

Depending on how you want to play your games though you can make it be how you play.

Do what ever you like to have fun.

[Icefalcon]

I agree that it takes skill to swing a sword with any real intent. I have training in the sword myself. It is not as easy as most people believe. For one thing, you have to have strong wrists and arms to swing it for any longer than a couple of minutes at a time. You add armor to the mix and by the end of five minutes of battle you are exhausted.

In Dead Reign, it is stated that if you have the proficiency with a weapon you know how to use it properly. That means you know how to keep the wepon from binding on bone and getting stuck in the body. That was the only point I was trying to make there.

[say652]

I agree that it takes skill to swing a sword with any real intent. I have training in the sword myself. It is not as easy as most people believe. For one thing, you have to have strong wrists and arms to swing it for any longer than a couple of minutes at a time. You add armor to the mix and by the end of five minutes of battle you are exhausted.

In Dead Reign, it is stated that if you have the proficiency with a weapon you know how to use it properly. That means you know how to keep the wepon from binding on bone and getting stuck in the body. That was the only point I was trying to make there.

agreed. any person with weapon training knows its not as easy as one might think to fight for hours on end.

[say652]

since i play in rifts my zombies have supernatural strength an iq of 2d4 hp+sdc times two mdc and fight to zero mdc. sorry no headshots no one hit kills and yes the will eventually figure out how to turn the doorknob.

[Pepsi Jedi]

since i play in rifts my zombies have supernatural strength an iq of 2d4 hp+sdc times two mdc and fight to zero mdc. sorry no headshots no one hit kills and yes the will eventually figure out how to turn the doorknob.

Hurm... considering the Dead Reign is an SDC setting, if they have HP+SDCX2 MDC... doesn't that mean that none of them ever take damage from anything and with possible IQ up to forrest gump, that they are just going to kill everything with out worry?

I mean even with out the IQ bump, having MDC in a SD setting makes them unkillable. Giving them supernatural str, MDC and high monkey, low human Int..... wow.

[say652]

since i play in rifts my zombies have supernatural strength an iq of 2d4 hp+sdc times two mdc and fight to zero mdc. sorry no headshots no one hit kills and yes the will eventually figure out how to turn the doorknob.

Hurm... considering the Dead Reign is an SDC setting, if they have HP+SDCX2 MDC... doesn't that mean that none of them ever take damage from anything and with possible IQ up to forrest gump, that they are just going to kill everything with out worry?

I mean even with out the IQ bump, having MDC in a SD setting makes them unkillable. Giving them supernatural str, MDC and high monkey, low human Int..... wow.

i play in an mdc enviroment. on rifts earth it was important to make zombies just as deadly as they are in an sdc world. at the cost of ar they can now in numbers tear apart mdc armor borgs and supernatural creatures. high magic of the realm changes stuff. i had to add in vulneribilities to fire double damage and silver weapons normal damage. in groups of fifty or more i also add in murder wraith juicers as minibosses.zombie survival games are great fun even more so when they can swarm and kill a glitterboy.

[Pepsi Jedi]

since i play in rifts my zombies have supernatural strength an iq of 2d4 hp+sdc times two mdc and fight to zero mdc. sorry no headshots no one hit kills and yes the will eventually figure out how to turn the doorknob.

Hurm... considering the Dead Reign is an SDC setting, if they have HP+SDCX2 MDC... doesn't that mean that none of them ever take damage from anything and with possible IQ up to forrest gump, that they are just going to kill everything with out worry?

I mean even with out the IQ bump, having MDC in a SD setting makes them unkillable. Giving them supernatural str, MDC and high monkey, low human Int..... wow.

i play in an mdc enviroment. on rifts earth it was important to make zombies just as deadly as they are in an sdc world. at the cost of ar they can now in numbers tear apart mdc armor borgs and supernatural creatures. high magic of the realm changes stuff. i had to add in vulneribilities to fire double damage and silver weapons normal damage. in groups of fifty or more i also add in murder wraith juicers as minibosses.zombie survival games are great fun even more so when they can swarm and kill a glitterboy.

You know they have conversions for Rifts earth in the book, right?

[Icefalcon]

I am thinking of adding little toddler zombies into the mix for that added emotional punch. Considering my wife plays as well as another woman who is expecting her first child, I don't know whether or not I should.

[GenThunderfist]

I am thinking of adding little toddler zombies into the mix for that added emotional punch. Considering my wife plays as well as another woman who is expecting her first child, I don't know whether or not I should.

Just to thrown in my two cents, considering it's your wife, I'd go with 'no'. I mean, the other woman could end up being unpleasant for a bit, but you get to send her home.

[Pepsi Jedi]

I am thinking of adding little toddler zombies into the mix for that added emotional punch. Considering my wife plays as well as another woman who is expecting her first child, I don't know whether or not I should.

Yeah, she might read all kinds of wrong things in there. I'd advise against that. You might think it's funny. Chances are she will not. (( besides It's already been done in DotD '04))

[Icefalcon]

I am thinking of adding little toddler zombies into the mix for that added emotional punch. Considering my wife plays as well as another woman who is expecting her first child, I don't know whether or not I should.

Yeah, she might read all kinds of wrong things in there. I'd advise against that. You might think it's funny. Chances are she will not. (( besides It's already been done in DotD '04))

I realize it has been done before, which is why I had the idea. I was only debating it because I have two "mothers" in the gaming group. They have come to realize that I sometimes do these little scenarios that are designed to pull the heart strings. I was just wondering if this was too mean to do to them.

[Pepsi Jedi]

I am thinking of adding little toddler zombies into the mix for that added emotional punch. Considering my wife plays as well as another woman who is expecting her first child, I don't know whether or not I should.

Yeah, she might read all kinds of wrong things in there. I'd advise against that. You might think it's funny. Chances are she will not. (( besides It's already been done in DotD '04))

I realize it has been done before, which is why I had the idea. I was only debating it because I have two "mothers" in the gaming group. They have come to realize that I sometimes do these little scenarios that are designed to pull the heart strings. I was just wondering if this was too mean to do to them.

I don't know that 'mean' is the right word.

I think, being a husband and father of kids.. that the word or words you might be looking for is 'Unwise" or 'down right stupid'

She might just laugh it off.... or you might not get any sex for a month as she remembers that session any time you try and get frisky.

Again, being a husband.. I do absolutely nothing to put such things in risk. lol. (( Not knowingly))

And really, if you have to ASK "Hey, think this is a bad idea?" You already know it is. lol

[Icefalcon]

I guess that is true Pepsi. If I have to ask, it is already a bad thing. Just trying to find ways to make the game a little more dramatic and still keep it fun for all the players involved.