More than zombies in Dead Reign

[DtMK]

I was thinking that with a setting like DR, zombies are fantastic, and I look forward to running a true to the setting game with friends when I get the book. But one thing I considered was in a world where the Dead Reign, wouldn't the occasional ghost and entity also spice things up a bit?

With so much death and focus on P.P.E., it would be logical that it would attract similar beings that feed upon not only this energy, but the flavors provided with fear, pain and emotions. Poltergeists could make for interesting pranksters at a campsite, what if the players started having weird visions of a loved one that passed, trying to guide them or help them find a safer haven?

And speaking of havens, what about some of the new entities from Madhaven? A Rotting or Contagion Entity could be similar, yet different from the other zombies the players encounter to make them scratch their heads. And imagine the panic in a heavily populated area like Los Angeles, Manhattan, Mexico City, etc. that has a place even the zombies or death cult won't enter, only to let the characters find for the first time a Conglomerate Entity?

A perfect huh???? moment happened in my own game running off of Rifter #40. One of the crew hijacked a shuttle bus at the onset of The Wave, only to have the vehicle damaged and leaking fluids. So in a moment of bravado, he set the bus to crash into a horde of zombies, rolling out in time, then lighting the fuel trickling out of it. It did a lot of damage, also setting several zombies on fire. Fortunately I rolled to see that it was raining later that night, which helped to contain the fire.

The next day, the crew went to find survivors and supplies, only to pass the area where the bus crashed. There was a trail of wreckage and shattered zombie parts, and when the crew finally caught up with the survivors, they found people trapped with a LARGE monster shambling towards them. From the wreckage, the bus took a humanoid form, 12 feet tall of mangled metal and animated zombie parts. The Zombie Bus was born! My players were freaking out, they were terrified that whatever disease caused the zombie plague infected the bus wreckage! In truth, a Tectonic Entity attracted to all the terror and P.P.E. made the most of it, and it terrified the crew, but they took it in stride. Fearful, but in stride. It was one of the craziest moment in the game and it was just getting started. If you have a game crew that stumble onto a cache of weapons and explosives, let them consider the consequences to so much death happening at once attracting other things we associate with the dead and undead.

And what about the demonic sides to it? Possessing Entities could also be scary as hell, not to mention what other minion demonic races might be encountered. I'm looking forward to seeing where Brulyx fits into the rulings of demons and the Demon Lords of Hades. I for one can't wait to see what other nasties might be added to the mix.

[DtMK]

And I am SOOOOOO looking forward to seeing them! I can't wait to see what made the final cut, and I honestly haven't anticipated a book this much since Madhaven and the first Minion Wars book!

[velcRomanceR]

Besides combining other horror elements with Dead Reign, I've thought about a Dead Reign /New West kind of thing. All SDC. Vampires, ghosts, other spirits, and cowboys/natives. NIce.

This book has me looking forward to some crazy ****.

[Nightbreed]

All the more reason that it drove me crazy when they said it would be a week late!

I like how you threw in the tetonic entity DtMK. Nicely played.

[Levi]

I was also thinking it would be really cool to add in entities. I’m not so sure about other paranormal or supernatural things.

It would be interesting to consider what would happen in the DR world if vampires did exist. They would probably try to protect what was left of their food from the zombies. They would just need to learn to restrain from killing humans when they fed. This could make for a very interesting game where players could probably play vampires too.

[DtMK]

All the more reason that it drove me crazy when they said it would be a week late!

I like how you threw in the tetonic entity DtMK. Nicely played.

I know, I HATED that it was delayed, but better to have more time to do it right than rushing a bad product. I'm hoping I made it in on time to have a spot in Rifter #44 as well.

And thank you so much for the kudos! I was proud of the Zombie Bus, and kep threatening to send a small platoon against the players if they get too cocky.

[Nightbreed]

And thank you so much for the kudos! I was proud of the Zombie Bus, and kep threatening to send a small platoon against the players if they get too cocky.

Not a problem. I just imagined their surprise when they checked the bus and had a good laugh about it. On top of that i never imagined ghosts and/or spirits being mixed in this. (though Citizen Lazlo keeps hinting about more goodies for us mere morals to deal with besides the zombies. )

Granted in my game i have my plans as well the trouble that is brewing for them within Ft Hood, now that they have found out about the zombies being there and they finally started thinking about what happened there. (i know i keep hinting at that, but i don't want to risk my friends looking up these boards and seeing my planned surprise. )

[tundro]

I could see mutants pretty easily adapted in...I'm not sure I would add any other supernatural stuff personaly. Just my two cents.

[Nightbreed]

If you have a veteran group, I think it would be a neat angle to come in at them sideways with natural disasters (they wont be expecting it). Not just the freak occurrence, but somehow the earth is undergoing a radical change (a possible cause maybe?) and instances of earthquake, tsunami, volcanos, etc are all over the place just wreaking all sorts of fun havoc!

Also, I think the idea of Zombie Plants is neat as well. I'm tired of the boring old RE style zombie dogs, want to scare the $%^& out of someone proper? Have a tree start eating an NPC as you're walking down the path.

Well, i'm trying not to go TOO extreme with the weather, don't want to make the game into the zombie version of Chaos Earth. As the game i'm running is in Texas in June, i'm just going to make it a tad hotter. If you can call 120-135 degrees a tad hotter than normal.

For some reason the zombie plants reminds me of Day of the Triffids. Still an interesting idea though.

[velcRomanceR]

Who is to say that there is only one virus?

From what I have been reading, the exact cause of the infection is unknown. Maybe it's a biological weapon that was stolen from a government laboratory by a spy, or worse a traitor planning to sell it to a terrorist organization. But there were more than one virus stolen, one affecting plant life, and various strains of the zombie virus explaining the presence of different kinds of undead.


It could work. I just want to see a tree eat somebody, I don't need an excuse.

Plants don't have a mind or need to eat and WHY would a virus change the plants. Let's face facts zombie plants are to much of a stretch, and no Zombie Fan could EVER explain a zombie plant.

Ninjabunny, hate to shatter your zombie-plant-hatred , but it's been proven some plants do exhibit a conscious.
A scientist fastened monitoring strips to these plants' stems and leaves and measure a response, much like ultra-shock in humans' brains, that turned the plant's leaves "off" when a human approached with the intent to cut the leaf from the branch.

Sounds like zombie plants aren't too far off.

[velcRomanceR]

Plants do not have a brain! This is what is need to be infected with out it there IS NO chance of infection. The also HAVE no blood. A zombie plant is to much of a stretch to even accept under any condition.

1) How do you know what is "needed" to be infected??? You are not a zombieologist, you are speculating wildly like the rest of us. Again, I would like to point out the possibility that there is more than just one type of infection. You dont know where the infection came from or how it started, so you cannot know if there are other forms of it, one or more of which may affect plant life.

2) Having no blood is completely irrelevant, as reanimated corpses have no pulmonary or circulatory functions, thus rendering the blood they have totally useless as well.

If a plant or animal becomes infected it takes away the versimaltuide of the game. If one of the major things FOUND around the planet becomes a zombie (plants) you might as well say the planet it's self is a zombie and not even play! You are setting your players up for failure survival becomes impossible.
Image a flock of flying Ravens coming down on you and they are infected you and your group are already boned, they can fly swoop down and get you.You can't out run them or a dog in real life!
Now let's place that idea to planets image you are walking through the forest and a "TREE" something that has no mouth no internal organs just grows one and eats you! Common sense tells me, If one is infected most likely the whole forest is infected. Given that one plant is infected, the infection would spread in to the soil and soon infect Grass, flowers, and other plants. I don't need to be a zombiolgist to KNOW that the brain is what is reactiviated after death! This is THEY KEY factor in the whole zombie genre, if you take that away, you just made the stuiped book "twilight", forget the methos of the zombie and make something up that sounds cool!

Actually, to put this to rest, I took the time to consult a Zombiologist; for reasons of security and privacy, I reserve the right to keep his/her identity unknown to you.

The Zombiologist sided with you NInjabunny in that trees, bushes, grass, and daffodils do NOT have mouths. However, the Zombiologist said that if a plant has an open wound (ie, sap from an infected tree, pollen from an infected plant, etc.), then the chances of a human becoming infected from a Zombie plant are increased exponentially.

These are his/her words, and they approve this message.

He/She also said that Zombie ravens are rare. Zombie bears, zombie bees, and zombie ant-eaters are much more common.

[NMI]

Chill out people!

[Nxla666]

I have an ... Time for a new thread (so's not to derail this one)

[velcRomanceR]

I'll bet a Bigfoot-driving travelling salesman, guarded by two twin marine snipers and a combat nurse, could make a pretty good living. And boredom wouldn't be an issue since they're rolling over zombies and selling drugs (prescription), books, and music.

I have an ... Time for a new thread (so's not to derail this one)

--Should I have put this in a different thread?

[kevarin]

i wouldn't go so far as to say zombie plants but page 134 and 160
of spirit west lesser and greater plant spirits if your going to bring in a
Tectonic Entity or other spirits these guys would fit in nicely
and would cover any plant you wanted to use from trees to vines

think walking in to a town vines along a path snare your legs and here come the zombies
could be fun to throw in ?

[Misfit KotLD]

I was also thinking it would be really cool to add in entities. I’m not so sure about other paranormal or supernatural things.

It would be interesting to consider what would happen in the DR world if vampires did exist. They would probably try to protect what was left of their food from the zombies. They would just need to learn to restrain from killing humans when they fed. This could make for a very interesting game where players could probably play vampires too.

Yeah, though I don't see the zombies holding up to well aside from the Thinkers.

[Misfit KotLD]

No, except Marine is a proper noun

Not if you're using it to refer to any member of a corps of marines (RoK Marines, Royal Marines, US Marines...).

[Tinker Dragoon]

Ninjabunny, hate to shatter your zombie-plant-hatred , but it's been proven some plants do exhibit a conscious.
A scientist fastened monitoring strips to these plants' stems and leaves and measure a response, much like ultra-shock in humans' brains, that turned the plant's leaves "off" when a human approached with the intent to cut the leaf from the branch.

Sounds like zombie plants aren't too far off.

That's an urban legend popularized by Cleve Backster in the early '70s. His claims of plants reacting to movement and murderous intent are based on completely unscientific reasoning, and have been soundly disproved with the introduction of proper controls to his experiments.

In reality, plants have no perceptual capability whatsoever. Seemingly reflexive responses, such as the opening and closing of stomata, or the snapping-shut of the Venus' Flytrap are, in fact, purely chemical and/or mechanical actions caused by the very stimuli to which the plant appears to be responding. A plant does not "know" to close its stomata in dry conditions any more than a lightbulb "knows" to radiate light when you flip on the switch. The one is merely a consequence of the other.

That said, I don't see anything wrong with zombie plants. True, it has nothing to do with the traditional "zombie mythos," but why limit oneself entirely to what has gone before? If you're going to have a virus that transforms people into walking corpses, why can't it make necroflora as well? I can agree with the comment about stacking the deck against players by having too many monsters, but nothing says zombie-plants have to be commonplace (or mobile, for that matter...). Maybe only certain kinds of plants (or animals) would be zombie-legal.

Actually, that gives me a very evil idea, which I'm sure will appeal to the more paranoid and conspiracy-minded: modern, genetically-modified vegetables more often than not contain animal DNA. Throw a monster-producing virus into the mix, and voila! The zombie pig-tomato is born!

[velcRomanceR]

Ninjabunny, hate to shatter your zombie-plant-hatred , but it's been proven some plants do exhibit a conscious.
A scientist fastened monitoring strips to these plants' stems and leaves and measure a response, much like ultra-shock in humans' brains, that turned the plant's leaves "off" when a human approached with the intent to cut the leaf from the branch.

Sounds like zombie plants aren't too far off.

In reality, plants have no perceptual capability whatsoever.

I think plants fundamentally share the same consciousness humans have. We all come from the same primordial ooze.
**Maybe that Cleve dude could speak Dracena Cane.

[Nightbreed]

Actually, that gives me a very evil idea, which I'm sure will appeal to the more paranoid and conspiracy-minded: modern, genetically-modified vegetables more often than not contain animal DNA. Throw a monster-producing virus into the mix, and voila! The zombie pig-tomato is born!

Leave it to someone to come up with another version of "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes".

[DtMK]

I hadn't honestly thought about mixing in plants, but I might have to take a look at Spirit West again. After all, if ghosts and entities are logically more active, who knows?

[kevarin]

you could have so much fun with spirit plants you could never look at
a bush or tree the same way again

like your scouting town and hideing behind a row of bushes watching some zombies
next thing you know the bushes grab you and stick your uper body out the other side
and then here come the zombies can your friends get you out of the bush and fend off
the zombies befor thay can get to you


could be a fun thing to spring on people when thay least expect it

[velcRomanceR]

This whole zombie-plant thing has got me thinking. And I hate to admit this, because I originally felt the whole zombie-plant thing to be a bit of a childish longshot, but I have seriously reconsidered my stance. I have listened to my constituents, you might say.

What if, for reasons that forests are being cut down and species of creatures needed for certain eco-systems to survive are being killed off and because the planet is becoming an oven, Mother Nature releases some kind of virus among humans to kill them? The virus is supposed to kill off most of the human race to give the planet time to rejuvenate itself (which would take under a hundred years - perhaps much less.) However, Mother Nature has been out of the loop for awhile and only manages to alter the human population. This helps though because it may take a long while before anyone recognizes the virus is a naturally occuring phenomena. And before a cure can be manufactored, or found, most of the zombies created by M.N. are destroyed.

That's tight.

[NMI]

This whole zombie/killer plant scenario is reminding me of the movie that came out recently - The Happening.
Interesting movie to say the least.

[MrMom]

I was thinking of "day of the triffads" old b&w movie if i recall correctly.

[Nxla666]

This whole zombie/killer plant scenario is reminding me of the movie that came out recently - The Happening.
Interesting movie to say the least.

I was just thinking that too...

[DtMK]

My initial idea was creating a Natural Genius who was a master at genetic manipulation and eugenics. I will still use him for my game, and any zombiefied or altered animals will be his creation. I'm thinking of calling him Dr. Stern. With his help, he could shake things up in most games if people expected one thing or another. OOO! Maybe I could use him to create Gestalt Animals too!

[Nightbreed]

My initial idea was creating a Natural Genius who was a master at genetic manipulation and eugenics. I will still use him for my game, and any zombiefied or altered animals will be his creation. I'm thinking of calling him Dr. Stern. With his help, he could shake things up in most games if people expected one thing or another. OOO! Maybe I could use him to create Gestalt Animals too!

The mad/evil scientist angle. Nice!

[DtMK]

Thanks! You can never go wrong with a good mad scientist. I thought about having him as a part of the Benford Group, experimenting with his own ideas and seeing what might happen. It's a chance to play god while working for one...or a demon.

Maybe with his help, I can make infected cows, and take a page from the video game Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend, I can make Mad Cow Tourette Zombies!

[Grell]

If the only way to kill a zombie is to incapacitate the brain, how would you kill something that doesn't possess a brain?

Kill it with FIRE!

[Shotgun Jolly]

If the only way to kill a zombie is to incapacitate the brain, how would you kill something that doesn't possess a brain?

Kill it with FIRE!

Just remember, a zombie on fire can and will still attack untill the brain cooks!.. So, yes, its lethal.. But can be painfully slow before it finnally slumps over.