SHAMBLERS
By far the most common and numerous of the hordes of unlucky infected, these mindless creatures get their name from their shambolic gait; they travel at a top speed one could expect from someone with a broken ankle and haemorrhoids. Individually they are not very threatening, but nonetheless they sometimes are able to present a threat due to their simple massed numbers and unrelenting persistence. With enough time and in a large enough group, Shamblers can wreck safehouse defenses and injure or kill the unwary.

>>5516928
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: -2
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Dumb As Dead Wood
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1
Power: 5 +8 +1 +2 +2 +2 = 20 (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found.
Frequency: Almost all zombies are Shamblers.

SPOILERS
The lifespan of a Shambler is by necessity short. The flesh the zombie pathogen controls is not fully preserved by its presence, and eventually decay sets in. The flesh putrefies and rots, softening to the point that eventually the muscles begin losing their ability to move effectively and the zombie approaches the end of its "useful" lifespan. Before that time comes, however, the Shambler has become a Spoiler - a weaker, less-powerful version of the common zombie. The primary reason they are hated, however, is because they live up to their name. Almost any contact with a Spoiler leaves a slimy film of ichor and infectious decay on whatever it has touched. Physical impact against them will produce a spray of clotted blood and rotten flesh all around, coating melee weapons and exposing nearby survivors to the risk of infection.

Worst of all, they otherwise behave exactly like Shamblers - throwing their useless limbs against barricaded doors, clawing against windows, swiping at the living... All the while spreading their infectious filth everywhere near them. Should a Spoiler make it into a survivor's safehouse, it almost invariably must be abandoned. The sheer mass of tainted, viral contamination it can spread through its confines renders the area essentially inhospitable to the living.

>>5516967
STR: 1
DEX: 1
CON: 0
INT: -2
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 7
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 (Average 2) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Ninety Pound Weakling
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Dumb As Dead Wood
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Diseased Corpse (Can Infect Indirectly, via Melee used on it or other exposure to gore), Weak Constitution, Blight x2 (10ft. Area Contaminated After Death)
Power: 5 +8 -3 +2 +2 +3 -2 +2 = 17 (-2 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found, but more common in "older" infection zones.
Frequency: About one in five of a group of Shambler zombies is a Spoiler. If the area has been infected with zombie pathogen for awhile, this can change. Some areas which have had zombie infestations for a very long time could very well have more Spoilers than Shamblers.

CREEPERS
There are many ways a Shambler can lose a limb. It could fall off, or be shot off, or a body could even have lost its appendages before it ever rose from the dead. The truth is, it doesn't matter all that much - the limbless zombie doesn't have the senses or intelligence to notice or care about its absence. As a result, undead amputees are quite a common sight.

Creepers are Shamblers which have lost their legs for some reason, yet have not suffered enough damage to be actually incapacitated. They creep along the ground, pulling themselves forward with their forearms as they continue their search for prey. This method of locomotion is slow even when compared to a normal Shambler, and when combined with a Creeper's limited reach this makes them highly unlikely to land a blow in combat. Regardless, it is still foolish for a survivor to underestimate them. The continuous friction of hard stone on their remaining limbs has sharpened their fingertips to razor points, and anyone who accidentally allows one within range will risk grievous injury from their swiping talons.

>>5516988
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: -2
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 1
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
CLAWS
1d6 x 2 (Average 6) Armor Piercing, Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Claws
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Dumb As Dead Wood
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1, Special: No Legs (Speed Limited to 1, -4 on Bite Attacks, -2 on Claw Attacks)
Power: 5 +8 +8 +2 +2 +2 -4 = 23 (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found.
Frequency: Creepers aren't terribly common, but they are not terribly uncommon either. One or two are often following behind any large group of Shamblers, and there are sometimes a handful of them found amongst the bodies as "leftovers" wherever battles have previously taken place.

SPLATS
More a typical result of the zombie mindset than a specific "subspecies" of zombiedom, Splats are Shamblers, Spoilers, or other unintelligent undead who have managed to rise within or otherwise make their way onto the higher floors of multi-structured buildings. When they see a survivor on the street below through a broken window or beyond a balcony, feeding instinct takes over and... well, Splat.

Physical damage is not the principal concern when dealing with the sudden appearance of the plummeting undead - though stories have been bandied about of survivors meeting truly untimely ends from the impact of a falling corpse. Rather, infection is the thing to worry about. A semi-rotten sack of flesh and congealed blood hitting the pavement at high velocity will scatter gore for yards, and anyone in the "blast radius" of a Splat is at high risk for contracting the zombie plague. This is purely in addition to the simple shock of witnessing a dead body hitting asphalt at speed. Disgusting and dangerous, to be sure.

>>5517005
Treat not as a specific monster, but instead as a "trap" or hazard to be avoided. Characters must succeed at a Perception/Notice Task to notice the falling Splat - this Task can be modified up or down depending upon the characters' awareness of the risk and whether or not they were actively anticipating it.

Characters who succeed are allowed a Dexterity/Dodge Task check to avoid being in the "splash zone" of the impact, with a +1 modifier for every additional success they achieved upon the roll to notice the incoming zombie. Failure means the characters did not manage to dodge the splatters of gore and suffer appropriately - including possible rolls for Fear and infection.

Characters who fail outright at the Perception/Notice Task are automatically caught unprepared in the spray of blood and guts, not even having the chance to turn away from ground zero or brace themselves for the inevitable. They must make rolls for infection and generally must also make rolls for Fear, both with negative modifiers determined by the Zombie Master. The Zombie Master should also roll 2d10 for the Splat itself; on a double-10 result, the zombie actually landed ON someone (determine randomly from the ranks of the unprepared). The impact deals 1d6 x 3d10 (averaging 45) damage to the "landing pad," and should that character survive it obviously suffers extreme penalties to the following infection and Fear rolls.

Range: Only encountered in exposed, open areas under high cliffs or multi-story structures.
Frequency: Semi-rare, due to typical zombie ignorance regarding the existence and purpose of stairs. Somewhat more likely when Groaners or Shepherds are around, however, as they can attract potential Splats which would not otherwise be aware of the living below.

BULKS
The average American is 5'10" tall and weighs 191 pounds. The average Bulk, also known as a "Biggie," beats that by a significant amount. Whether they are simply massive in size or have the muscles of a champion bodybuilder doesn’t matter - their size and added mass makes them a tougher opponent than other, "common" zombies. They take more hits to incapacitate unless one aims for the head, due to extra layers of muscle and fat, and the added weight they can put behind their swings makes them potentially deadly in close range. One Bulk towering above a swarm of Shamblers is not a rare sight, yet it is enough to turn an annoyance into a threat.

>>5517023
STR: 4
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: -2
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 4 (Average 8) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Strong Like Bull, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Dumb As Dead Wood
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1, Special: Bulky (Can suffer 1.5 times the non-brain damage a normal zombie could take before being destroyed)
Power: 5 +8 +5 +1 +2 +2 +2 +3 = 28 (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found.
Frequency: About one in twenty Shamblers are large enough to be considered a Bulk.

SLEEPERS
Cold weather seems to affect the ability of the zombie disease to interact with a body's muscle systems, producing something akin to a "hibernation state" as the corpse no longer possesses the capacity for animation. While this has slowed the spread of zombies into northern climate ranges, it has also led to the threat of Sleepers - apparent corpses infected with zombie contagion, partially shut down due to the difficulties of movement until prey moves within range.

Sleepers are infamous for lying motionless (sometimes even under a blanket of snow) until the ambient heat of a living body coming near triggers their senses to prey. At that point they swing a limb towards the nearby survivors, attempting to grab an ankle or pant leg from which to pull them down and feed. This "surprise attack," while unsophisticated, is successful often enough that some more paranoid survivor groups have taken to shooting every corpse they find in the head before attempting disposal - to their minds, the waste of ammo is better than possible infection from accidentally coming in range of a Sleeper.

>>5517043
Treat as a "trap monster" to be avoided or eliminated before it awakes. Characters must succeed at a Intelligence/Notice Task to notice that a corpse is a Sleeper instead of just another dead body - this Task can be modified up or down depending upon the characters' awareness of the risk and whether or not they were actively anticipating it. Those who succeed recognize that the carcass on the ground is actually a zombie, and may respond as they wish.

Those who come within "striking distance" of the Sleeper are attacked with a swiping grab. Contest a Shambler's Dexterity (1)/Brawling (2) with the victim's Dexterity/Dodge. If the zombie wins, it grabs ahold of a limb. Characters with a zombie attached to their body are effectively "crippled" in the affected limb, suffering temporary penalties equivalent to the associated Drawback. Removing the zombie requires severing the zombie's hand (or the victim's limb) or overcoming a Shambler's Iron Grip (effective Strength of 10).

Characters surprised by the attack of a Sleeper should make Fear rolls, modified negatively if they are unaware of the existence of this class of zombie and *very* negatively if they were actually grappled by it. Initiate a combat with the Sleeper, now functioning as a Shambler, acting first.

Range: Only found in cold temperatures. Winter seasons and cold nights breed sleepers, as do walk-in refrigerators in restaurants.
Frequency: Not every corpse on the ground is a Sleeper (and at room temperatures none of them will be), but the colder it gets the more they will be found. A chilly night may create a few of them, while winter in Canada will breed thousands.

Woot, I archived that thread and yes, I would love to have stat blocks for all those zombies. Bring it on.

ROTTERS
Shamblers decay slower than uninfected corpses, as the zombie pathogen prevents other microorganisms from moving in and decomposing the body. This is not a 100% guaranteed event, however. The outbreak of zombies has carried a secondary problem, less potent but no less lethal, in its wake - a strange, parasitic fungus. No one knows exactly what it is, but it appears to have arisen at the same time as the zombie pathogen itself and definitely feeds upon animal flesh - living or dead. The end result is a slow, creeping degenerative condition in which the body's muscles and organs are broken down and digested. Zombies and humans alike find themselves slowly weakening as pale, fleshy ropes of mold crawl across their skin and their bodies wither everywhere it spreads.

While detached observers might consider the fungus to be a blessing, as its existence quickens the decomposition and destruction of the undead, survivors know it only as a killer. Zombie hordes seen sporting the ivory vines of fungus may well have been weakened by it, but they still hunt as common Shamblers do - and even incidental contact with the skin of the diseased can transmit it to others. "Ripe" Rotters, noticeable by the wispy fuzz which erupts from their flesh, are even worse; any damage to their bodies can release clouds of fungal spores, infecting anything nearby. Without meaningful medical treatment, a luxury almost impossible to find in the apocalypse, infection with the "white death" is almost inevitably fatal.

>>5517069
STR: 1
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: -2
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 (Average 2) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Ninety Pound Weakling
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Dumb As Dead Wood
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Diseased Corpse (White Death)
Power: 5 +8 -3 +2 +2 +3 = 17 (-2 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

VARIANT - "Ripe" Rotter
Use base Rotter stats, add additional characteristic:
Special - Spore Cloud (Damage causes fungal spore cloud, automatically forcing infection rolls against "White Death" disease for anyone within 5' radius) (+5 Power)
Power: 23 (-2 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found, yet more common in areas where zombies have existed for some time.
Frequency: Uncommon, but almost always encountered in groups - Rotters invariably infect nearby zombies, turning them into more Rotters. As a result, they are likewise almost never encountered with other classes of zombie. Approximately one in every five Rotters is "ripe."

>>5517069
>>5517074
WHITE DEATH FUNGUS - Disease
Transmission Vector: By touch or inhalation of spores from ripe fungus.
Contagion Strength: 3 for touch, 4 for inhalation
Severity: Terminal
Effects: Each day after infection, the infected character suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to all actions due to increasing pain and weakness. After three days, white ropes of fungus erupt from the point of infection (where touched if by contact, on the chest if inhaled) - it will spread outwards at the rate of a foot a day (three inches daily for zombified flesh). If caught early, strong antifungal treatments can stop the White Death - after the fungal threads have erupted, however, only prompt amputation of the affected area can halt the infection. The limbs of living infected which have been enshrouded in fungus are considered crippled, acquiring the appropriate Drawback penalties. Contact with this exposed fungus by others will force a roll to resist infection. Every three hours, beginning once the disease completely covers the head, the infected character must make Survival Rolls with increasing negative penalties or die. If the character has ALSO been infected with zombie contagion, and it kills them before the fungus does, they reanimate. Otherwise the fungus has contaminated the brain and they stay dead. After a week of death, the fungus "ripens" and produces spores - the corpse acquires the "Spore Cloud" attribute.

MUDMEN
Not every infected individual dies on land. Some unfortunates wind up submerged, either in a river or ocean or swamp, and reanimate there - becoming what are known as the Mudmen. They will continue to lurk in the water, still and unmoving, until the scent or sounds of prey disturbs them.

Mudmen are, in a word, hideous. Their skin is bloated and distorted by their time underwater, hanging loosely off their bodies in grotesque parodies of the human form. This, partially, gives them their name - the other reason for their moniker, unfortunately for whoever they begin to hunt, is their ability to flow through almost any gap or void in a barricade or defense. The softening of their flesh allows them to dislocate joints and deform their body in almost unimaginable ways to force themselves closer to their prey. Often death, either for the hunter or the hunted, is the only possible escape from their onslaught.

>>5517124
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: -2
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2 (3 when underwater)
Skills: Brawling 2
Swimming 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady, Aquatic
Strength: Dead Joe Average
Senses: Like the Dead, Special: Shark Senses (Can detect the scent of fresh blood or movement within 100' of their location while underwater)
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Dumb As Dead Wood
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1, Boneless, Horrific Appearance x1
Power: 5 +8 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +3 +2 = 28 (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Only found near significant quantities of water - pools, ponds, rivers, etc.
Frequency: Uncommon. Few zombies actually wind up remaining submerged long enough to become Mudmen. Characters who spend lots of time on or near the water will have a significant number of encounters with them, however.

TANKS
Before civilization truly collapsed under the zombie threat, civilian and military units were deployed in an attempt to keep order and drive back what were thought to be "rioters." The attempt failed miserably, and the repercussions are still seen on the streets today as the Tanks.

Tanks aren't a different breed of zombie from any others. The problem is that they are zombified riot cops and military soldiers who "died with their boots on," and are thus in full kit. A zombie is hard enough to take down without adding in a bulletproof vest, helmet, and possibly riot shield still strapped to the body; many have died due to sheer overconfidence in the face of a "simple" Shambler horde, only to find a small squad of Tanks in their midst. Between natural zombie damage resistance and artificial armor, it's almost wasteful to use firearms on a Tank. Then again, some see them as worth the effort in order to strip their deanimated corpses of their gear.

>>5517197
Not a specific creature. Instead take a different subspecies of zombie and add the Tank "template" to them. All Tanks are wearing Class III Body Armor ([1d8 x 3] + 18 damage stopped, averaging 30). Increase the Power rating of the new creature by 3 if this protection only guards the torso and/or limbs. The increase jumps to 5 if the zombie is also wearing Class III headgear.

Tanks also possess one or more items of military or police equipment in addition to their armor. The decision on what, exactly, they are carrying is up to the Zombie Master. If they are semi-intelligent undead, they may be capable of utilizing some of these items. Some possible equipment is even capable of accidental activation. Modify the Power rating for the Tank appropriately.

These items may be scavenged from a Tank's de-animated body, though it is up to the Zombie Master to determine their functional quality or ease of use. A Rotter's body armor, for instance, cannot be worn without risking death.

Range: Anywhere the appropriate zombie subtype can be found. Slightly more common in/near military bases or police departments.
Frequency: Rare. Where they are found, however, they tend not to be found alone.

UPGRADED
Survivor enclaves aren't always well-meaning or productive groups of people. Some view the collapse of civilization as a good thing, as the fall of law and order means they are allowed to do whatever they wish to whomever they desire. These marauders travel from place to place, stripping the ruins bare of whatever they need and looting the strongholds of any left alive who refuse to kneel before them.

The most despicable of these gangs use a simple weapon to enforce their will - the zombies. Some simply lure great masses of the infected to a survivor refuge and force a siege... but others are more fiendishly clever in their acts. They capture Shamblers or other undead "alive," binding their limbs and modifying them in hideous ways. These "Upgraded" zombies are then released upon survivor holdouts, demolishing their barricades and letting death come in. The Upgraded take countless different forms, depending on what sorts of destructive elements the marauding survivors can get their hands upon, but there are certain common themes; most of these modified undead are either armed, armored, explosive, or some combination of the three.

Generally, the Upgraded are only seen when used as the tools of rogue survivor groups. Not every enclave which resorts to such tactics survives in the long run, however, so rarely one or two examples of their unliving weaponry are witnessed "in the wild." Of course, they are no less deadly out on their own...

>>5517282
Not a specific creature. Instead take a different subspecies of zombie, typically a Shambler, and add one or more Upgraded "templates" to them.

ARMED (BASHING) - The zombie has had two heavy metal bludgeons (often sledgehammers) crudely grafted or strapped to its arms. When it attempts to swipe at or pound upon something with its hands, the Upgraded will instead hit it with its massive hammer-arms. This deals (1d10 x STR) bashing damage, and adds 10 to the creature's base Power rating - at the cost of any other hand-based attacks. Those should be removed, and the associated Power costs subtracted from the final creature's total.

ARMED (SLASHING) - The zombie's hands have been amputated, replaced with a bristling array of kitchen knives, garden tools, and other sharpened metal objects. While this utterly negates its abilities in attacking a survivor's barricades, it makes the Upgraded undead a lethal foe once inside. These are often paired with their Bashing cousins to great effect. The bladed arms of this modified zombie deal (1d6 x STR) slashing damage and add 6 to the creature's base Power rating. Again, hand-based attacks are lost and their cost should be subtracted from the final Power rating of the Upgraded undead.

ARMORED - The zombie's head has been roughly covered in a "helmet" of thick metal, leaving only its eyes and mouth exposed. This crude-yet-effective armor is either secured to the neck of the creature or actually hammered into the skull itself with bolts and spikes. The end result is that the head of the Upgraded gains an armor value equal to a Class IIIa helmet, absorbing [(D8 x 2) + 17] damage. This increases the Power rating of the base creature by 2.

>>5517282
>>5517325
EXPLOSIVE (FLAMMABLE) - The zombie has had its torso cut open and its entrails removed; these are then replaced with a container of gasoline or other flammable liquid, which is sewn securely into the corpse's body. An ignition source is then attached to the Upgraded in some way - these have reportedly been as sophisticated as time-delay spark plugs jury-rigged to a battery and as simplistic as a rope wrapped around the zombie's neck and set on fire. If the Upgraded is shot in the torso, the flammable liquid pours out to be set alight by the ignition device; the end result is that everything in the area goes up in flames.

When encountered with a still-active ignition device, these creatures can turn a ten-foot area into a hellish inferno. Anyone in the radius of the fires suffers 1d4 damage a round, and anyone within melee range of the zombie (including the zombie itself) is completely engulfed and suffers 1d6 every round. This raises the Power rating of the base creature by 4. If the ignition device has burnt out, typical for the "free roaming" Upgraded, damage to the torso instead causes a spill of highly-flammable liquids in a 10' area. Any spark can set them off, engulfing the area in flames, and living characters in the spill must succeed at a simple Constitution Test every round or suffer a -2 penalty to all actions from the fumes. This raises the Power rating of the base creature by 2.

>>5517282
>>5517325
>>5517362
EXPLOSIVE (CONCUSSIVE) - The zombie has had its torso cut open and its entrails removed; these are then replaced with a canister of propane gas or other volatile chemical, which is sewn securely into the corpse's body. If the Upgraded creature is shot in the torso, it triggers the implanted explosives. These detonate with the equivalent force and range of a Defensive Grenade, obliterating the zombie and anything around it. In addition, any survivors within that explosive radius must make saves against infection due to the aerosolized body of the undead. This modification raises the Power rating of the Upgraded being by 10.

Range: If "captive," only found in the company of marauding survivor groups. Otherwise, found anywhere the appropriate zombie subtype can be found.
Frequency: Extremely rare. Generally, this class of undead will only be seen when brought to bear against the PCs by a group of raiders.

HUNTSMEN
Not every zombie is affected by the contagion in the same way. Your "typical" undead is mostly just a mass of human muscle tissue supported by bones - almost all the organ systems and higher brain functions are inactive. This results in a slow, clumsy, stupid beast of a creature mostly dangerous due to simple endurance and force of numbers. Huntsmen are not your typical undead.

Also known as "runners," due to their ability to do just that, Huntsmen are zombies whose body systems have not fully shut down after death. Whether by a quirk of biology or some strange mutation in the undead pathogen, their sensory, circulatory, and endocrine systems remain in perfect working order. The end result is a quick-moving, eagle-eyed, relentless hunter of prey. Even when survivors know to expect their otherwise-surprising agility, the Huntsmen can easily prove lethal.

From a distance, these zombies can be differentiated from their slower cousins by their constant movement and small numbers. They fidget and shift, scratching at their bodies, all the while constantly snarling quietly to themselves. Unfortunately, if you can see them they almost certainly are about to notice you; once they do, they will never pause in their pursuit. Those who aren't taken by surprise are simply run to exhaustion, then slaughtered. Thankfully, the rarity of Huntsmen means they are never found in the large hordes that Shamblers are - they indeed avoid their brethren, for some unknown reason. If they cluster together at all, it is merely in a "pack" which numbers typically less than five. Then again, that is typically more than enough.

>>5517417
STR: 2
DEX: 3
CON: 2
INT: -2
PER: 3
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 18
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: The Quick Dead, Leaping (6' Vertical Jump, 12' Horizontal Jump)
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like a Hawk, No Pain
Sustenance: Daily (1 Day); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Dumb As Dead Wood
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1
Power: 5 +8 +10 +3 +1 +2 +1 +2 +2 = 34 (-2 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found. Typically found alone, or only grouped with other Huntsmen.
Frequency: Rare. Perhaps one in a thousand infected will return as a Huntsman.

BLEEDERS
Much like Huntsmen, the creatures known simply as "Bleeders" are amongst the rare zombies to keep some activity in their bodily systems - in this case, their circulatory system. Unlike their cousins, however, these undead don't maintain that activity at "normal" levels. Their infected bodies instead pump out plasma at an unimaginable rate, giving Bleeders their legendarily horrific appearance. Their eyes are completely red, with trails of fresh blood constantly seeping from every orifice: tearducts, nose, mouth, ears, cuts... Anything contacting their gore-soaked bodies, even momentarily, risks taking infected fluids - and thus the infection - away with it.

Worse still for survivors encountering one of these abominations, that same infectious blood floods their now-useless lungs. Whenever they would make a sound, such as the low feeding moans of a typical Shambler, their actions instead spew forth a near-torrent of clotted, pathogenic ichor - a potential death sentence for anyone caught within.

>>5517477
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: -2
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Dumb As Dead Wood
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Diseased Corpse (Can Infect Indirectly, via Melee used on it or other exposure to gore), Sticks Around x1, Horrific Appearance x1, Special: Blood Vomit (5' ranged attack to force rolls against infection, 3+ successes will result in blood in mouth [requires difficult Constitution Test to avoid temporary incapacitation by vomiting/nausea for 1d4 rounds] and/or eyes [partial blindness for 1d4 rounds unless flushed, -3 to melee rolls and -6 to ranged] - possible once per day)
Power: 5 +8 +1 +2 +2 +3 +2 +2 +8 = 33 (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Typically found near hospitals and other medical centers.
Frequency: Exceedingly rare outside their typical range, and uncommon even within it.

SHEPHERDS
Sometimes found at the head of a moving horde of zombies, or in the center of a dormant one, the Shepherd is a rare form of the undead whose infection has run rampant through its endocrine system. Similar to Huntsmen and Bleeders, this results in out of control overdevelopment of that part of the body; undead of this sort are studded with pus-filled boils, as if infected with the bubonic plague. Less apparent, but more important, is the odor those growths exude - an acrid, sweaty scent.

The scent somehow acts as a pheromone, attracting other zombies and changing their behavior patterns. They become more alert and active, truly hunting for food instead of passively wandering in search for it. It is suspected that the chemical the Shepherds exude might "wake up" the dormant body systems of other zombies, if only temporarily. Regardless of the reason, they thus often become the center of large, dangerous hordes - hence the source of their nickname, as they can gather large herds of undead simply by existing (and indeed, Shepherds seem to be no more intelligent than an average Shambler is).

Some survivors try to take down Shepherds whenever they are found, as destruction of that "core" of a large mob of the unliving generally leads to its dispersal. Such a tactic carries extreme risk, however, as damage to the Shepherd's body bursts many of the swollen glands on its skin and releases a vast quantity of the "zombie stimulant" which gathered the horde around it in the first place. The destruction of a Shepherd can send zombies within a hundred yards of its location into a day-long feeding rage, converging on the point of its demise with vastly heightened speed and awareness. Foolish shooting at a Shepherd pounding on the doors of a safehouse has led to the annihilation of more than one survivor enclave.

>>5517496
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: -2
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Dumb As Dead Wood
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1, Special: Zombie Stimulant (Zombies within 150' of a live Shepherd gain 1 DEX, 2 INT, 1 PER, and a desire to remain within 150' of the Shepherd - effects last 1 hour), Special: Crisis Call (Zombies within 300' of an injured Shepherd gain 2 DEX, 2 INT, 2 PER, and a desire to come to the Shepherd's location - effects last 1 cumulative hour for each injury dealt to the Shepherd)
Power: 5 +8 +1 +2 +2 +2 +15 +25 = 60 (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found.
Frequency: Very rare. Tend to be the nucleus of large hordes of other zombie types, however.

GLUTTON
Another representative of the class of zombies with active body systems, the Gluttons are almost pitiable creatures. Unlike others, they retain a functioning digestive tract... which, when hyperdriven by the undead pathogen, results in a truly unending hunger within their bodies. Indeed, Gluttons are almost defined by hunger - they will eat anything organic which they can chew through in an attempt to satisfy their need to consume, up to and including other zombies.

Of course, combining unceasing consumption of everything around with an inability to feel pain never ends well. Though the infection will mean their bodies will continue producing gastric juices regardless of circumstance, a stomach tortured with bones and branches and anything else within reach will not remain intact for long. A burst digestive tract will not in the least faze them, however, and by the time most Gluttons are found by survivors their entire abdominal cavity has been packed nearly to the point of failure with digestive fluids and everything edible in the area.

This is a mixed blessing. With one easy shot, most Gluttons can be burst... flooding the area with acidic goo, taking out any other nearby undead, and often digesting the volatile creature outright in its own corrosive bodily fluids. The problem is, this simple act also completely destroys the entire area - and since Gluttons are almost invariably found after having successfully searched out a cache of food, killing one in this manner could accidentally spell death for the "victorious" survivors.

F5

>>5517510
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 0
INT: -2
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 7
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot), Special: Weak Torso (Torso hits deal damage to DP, any damage to torso has 80% chance of destroying Glutton - if zombie survives, treat it as if it has "died" anyways and replace the Glutton stats with a Shambler's)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Dead, Scent Tracking (PER equivalent to 4 when tracking food w/scent - equivalent to 6 when tracking while starving)
Sustenance: Constantly (5 Minutes); All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Locust (STR cannot fall below 1, +2 PER to find food when starving)
Intelligence: Dumb As Dead Wood
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Acid Blood (Digestive Fluids - 1d6 corrosive dmg a round within Blight radius), Weak Constitution, Blight x5 (25ft. Area Contaminated After Death/Bursting)
Power: 5 +8 -10 +1 +1 -4 +3 +2 -2 +5 = 11 (+4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found, but mostly only found near large organic "food" stocks.
Frequency: Rare. Few zombies ever become Gluttons. Nonetheless, large collections of food that aren't sealed air-tight (such as survivor encampment "pantries") will almost inevitably attract one.

SCREAMERS
The simplest of the "smarter" undead, Screamers can't be in any way called intelligent. Much like normal Shamblers, these zombies blunder blindly on towards any prey their limited senses can discern. They are fully capable of being led into traps or tricked away from the living with almost transparent misdirection. Indeed, the only thing they have to set them apart from their cousins is their voice.

This isn't to say that the Screamers *talk* - they live up to their name. All they seem capable of doing is screaming when they see prey, immediately before they pursue it. That is, however, enough to make them dangerous. The howl of a Screamer will inevitably attract other undead, and it seems that this is indeed the point of it. Somewhere in the dead, dormant mind of the zombie is a tiny spark of intelligence that tells it to get help. Unfortunately for survivors spotted by a Screamer... that help does not come to aid the living.

>>5517532
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: -2
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Dumb As Dead Wood
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1, Special: Summon Help (Screamers can attract the attention of any zombie within earshot with their cries, though undead who can't immediately see prey in the direction of the howl will only travel a few dozen feet in that direction before resuming their mindless meandering)
Power: 5 +8 +1 +2 +2 +2 +4 = 24 (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found.
Frequency: Perhaps one in twenty members of a Shambler mob is a Screamer. They tend to stay near other zombies, on the outer fringes of a group, in order to attract their attention when they discover prey.

INSTEIN
Einsteins aren't actually geniuses - though compared to their zombie brethren, they certainly *seem* that way. These undead are capable of very limited "flashes" of intelligence, mostly based around muscle memory. They'll recall how to open a doorknob, for instance, or that squeezing a finger down on the metal thing in their hand makes it go "boom" and kill things at a distance. These brief lightbulb moments of contact with their normally-dormant brains also gives them miniscule powers of reasoning, making them slightly harder to misdirect or lead into traps.

It doesn't seem like much on its own, but Einsteins typically are never on their own. Like their Screamer cousins, they know the power of the mob - and a doorknob turned at the exact wrong time, allowing entry to the horde, has doomed more than one survivor settlement.

>>5517555
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: 1
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Tool Use x1, Animal Cunning x1
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1
Power: 5 +8 +1 +2 +3 +2 +2 +2 = 25 (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found.
Frequency: Approximately one of every fifty Shamblers is an Einstein.

AUTOMATONS
Your average zombie loses all memories of its prior life when it "awakens" into the undeath of zombiedom. Not so with the Automatons - the pathogen never fully shut down their brains, and so they retain some glimpses of what they used to be before their transformation. No meaningful intelligence comes with it, however, and the result is a twisted parody of normality. Some half-remembered past leaves Automatons attempting to work factory equipment, mashing their rotting fingers against keyboards, or sitting watching the wall where their television used to be.

In general, this class of undead is no more threatening than your average Shambler - indeed, they are potentially less dangerous because an Automaton is occupied doing other things instead of purely hunting and thus can potentially be bypassed by anyone with any stealth ability whatsoever. The only real risks associated with them are their uncanny knack for infiltration when it allows them to pursue their memories and the simple psychological trauma associated with these crude caricatures of normality. This is especially true when the remembered experiences of the zombie's past life includes fleeing in terror from the horde, screaming for someone to help them.

>>5517581
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: 1
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Tool Use x1, Obsessive-Compulsive (Cost Varies from -1 to -10)
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1, Special: Disturbing Parody (Those watching an Automaton in its Obsessive-Compulsive tasks lose 1 Essence a round)
Power: 5 +8 +1 +2 +3 -X +2 +2 +2 = 25-X (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found. More likely to be found in former places of human habitation or business.
Frequency: Uncommon and solitary.

FLAGELLANTS
Not all zombies lose self-awareness. Most, luckily for them, cease all higher brain functions when they join the ranks of the risen dead. Some, however, retain some flickers of self-identity and consciousness and realize what has happened to them. These poor souls become the Flagellants.

Flagellants want nothing more than to simply be destroyed, insane with the knowledge of who they were and what they have transformed into. Their own undead hardiness betrays them in this goal, however, and whatever self-tortures they put themselves through rarely seem to be enough to kill them. They peel their own flesh off their bodies, repeatedly bash their skulls against walls, but all their efforts only mutilate and twist them. Rarely do they achieve death on their own.

The primary threat of a Flagellant is simply to the mental well-being of survivors and the condition of their equipment as bloodied mangled corpses stumble towards them issuing pleading moans for destruction or hurl themselves in front of moving cars or into active machinery in attempts to end their own existence. Of course, coming into contact with the blood and gore of a Flagellant still carries the risk of spreading the infection...

>>5517602
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 0
INT: 1
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 7
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Who Needs Food? (Never); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Tool Use x1, Animal Cunning x1
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Emotional Instability (Reflection), Horrific Appearance x2, Weak Constitution, Suicidal Tendencies
Power: 5 +8 +1 +2 +8 +2 +2 -1 +4 -2 -5 = 24 (-8 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found.
Frequency: Approximately one of every hundred and fifty Shamblers is a Flagellant.

FANATIC
A peculiar thing happens to those who succumb to infection while in the midst of an adrenaline rush. Most, of course, become simple Shamblers... but those few who would otherwise become Automatons instead retain a few clear, lucid memories seared into their limited consciousness by the high-intensity circumstances surrounding their deaths. This typically comprises whatever goals or objectives the fallen person had at the time of death - and nothing else.

Fanatics will continue to pursue that last, dying goal to the exclusion of all other things. As they have no other memories or consciousness, if they manage to accomplish that task they will simply repeat it over again... and over again... and over again... endlessly. Fanatics have been reported stockpiling entire hospitals' worth of medicine in a long-destroyed safehouse, starting massive infernos as they wander about making infinite campfires, or even flailing about killing everything - human and zombie alike - they see.

Fanatics are rare, and often pose no direct threat to survivors; their tunnel vision for their task almost completely overwhelms any feeding instinct unless one accidentally winds up in the way of their goal. The primary problem comes with the simple fact that they were once survivors focused on a typically-survival-oriented goal. Many survivor enclaves have fallen after a lost member of the group returns to complete its final task, bypassing all safeguards and barricades between it and its goal through remembrance of the "secret" ways past... and bringing the horde behind it.

>>5517635
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: 2
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Problem Solving, Obsessive-Compulsive x10
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1
Power: 5 +8 +1 +2 +15 -10 +2 +2 = 25 (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found. More likely to be found near significant survivor habitations.
Frequency: Very rare.

F5 like the fist of the motherfucking north star

SKULKERS
A variant of Fanatics, Skulkers are the remnants of people who succumbed to zombie infection while attempting to flee for their lives. Their consciousness gone yet their instincts still intact, these zombies will inevitably continue their flight after death. Skulkers seek out-of-the-way hidden places - closets, attics, etc. - and cower there in seclusion, away from the rest of their kind. They respond to any massed group with panicked retreat, be it zombies or survivors which have discovered them.

The problem is, they are *really* good at hiding. Their autonomic functions have ceased, so they don't breathe... don't fidget... hell, they don't even have a heartbeat. And eventually, when the zombie hunger grows strong enough to overcome their inherent fear, they'll go out from their hiding places and search for lone stragglers to feed from. When temporarily satiated, it will return to its bolt-hole... dragging the remains of its meal for later hunger pangs, and leaving nothing but a blood stain. A single Skulker in a good hiding place can take down several survivors in their own "safehouse" if they don't take pains to make sure it truly *is* safe...

>>5517663
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: 1
PER: 2
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Living, Night Vision
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Animal Cunning x2
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1, Stealthy, Special: Agoraphobia (Difficult Will Save or Flee Crowds)
Power: 5 +8 +1 +1 +2 +2 +4 +2 +2 +2 -2 = 27 (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Quiet, dark, secluded, enclosed spaces.
Frequency: Rare and solitary.

My keyboard doesn't like this thread.

I do.

Here's hoping my Jellies make it on the list.

BABBLERS
Among the first to fall to the zombie epidemic were the homeless - exposed and often incapacitated by mental illness, they were easy prey for the walking dead. Still more people succumbed to madness in the living insanity of the apocalypse, followed soon by a fall to the zombie hordes as their lack of mental stability prevented them from securing themselves from the undead mob. Human minds are already twisted and broken by the transformations wrought by the zombie pandemic. Those who are insane BEFORE falling to the disease become strange beyond description.

The Babblers are the mad undead, so called because of the constant streams of unintelligible, incomprehensible gibberish they mutter to themselves as they stumble slowly, randomly through the streets. Their behavior is best described as "chaotic," though in effect it serves them well - for some reason, probably due to their preexisting insanity, their feeding instincts are not quite as strong as in other zombie classifications. Instead, the Babblers will perform other strange behaviors when not actively seeking prey. Sometimes they will gather scavenged items and arrange them, either in a "nest" or as costuming. Sometimes they will turn on their own zombie brethren in screaming fury. Sometimes they will even *sing,* in wordless melody - a sound no sane survivor should ever hear.

The end result is often a high risk of misidentification at a distance. Survivors will see a man in scavenged garb sitting in a neatly-arranged hideaway, or screaming bloody murder while fending off a mob of Shamblers, and come to investigate or assist. By the time they hear the maddening nonsense of the Babblers, it is often too late - as the creature turns its attention upon them. Curious or altruistic survivors far too often meet their ends at the hands or teeth of a Babbler.

>>5517699
STR: 2
DEX: 1
CON: 2
INT: 1
PER: 1
WILL: 2
Dead Points: 15
Speed: 2
Skills: Brawling 2
Attacks: BITE
1d4 x 2 (Average 4) Slashing Damage
Weak Spot: Brain (-5 to Target Weak Spot)
Getting Around: Slow & Steady
Strength: Dead Joe Average, Iron Grip (STR equivalent to 10 when grappling)
Senses: Like the Dead
Sustenance: Occasionally (3 Days); All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Language, Tool Use x1
Spreading the Love: One Bite And You're Hooked (Infectious Bite & Bodily Fluids)
Others: Sticks Around x1, Emotional Instability (Differs for Each), Obsessive-Compulsive x4 (Collecting - What is Collected Differs for Each, Typically Shiny/Cute Things), Rage, Special: Disturbing Parody (Those hearing a Babbler sing or speak lose 1 Essence a round), Special: Humanlike (Characters must succeed at an Intelligence or Perception/Notice Task to realize that Babblers aren't human)
Power: 5 +8 +1 +2 +1 +3 +2 +2 -1 -4 -2 +2 +4 = 23 (-4 if just counting combat/infectious capacity)

Range: Anywhere zombies can be found, but more common in urban centers.
Frequency: Rare.

>>5517699
Zombie malkavians?

Do want.

And... done. I hope someone else besides myself finds all that stat-grinding useful.

>>5517697
>Here's hoping my Jellies make it on the list.
I folded them in with the "Divers" to make the Mudmen. They're aquatic undead with bodies softened by days/weeks spent submerged. Seemed like a good pairing to explain that particular ability and simultaneously avoid having a zombie class exactly like the others save for the ability to swim.

ARCHIVE FOR THE ARCHIVE GOD!

>>5517735
Hey, it's not just stat-grinding. Those are some well thought-out zombie archetypes.

>>5517735
I'll probably use a good nubmer of these.

>>5517770
did that, next zombie.

>>5517789
A link would be nice.

>>5517817
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/5516917/

By the way, as I stated at the start of the thread - I'm doing my first AFMBE game this weekend. Does anyone have any suggestions/concepts/ideas to suggest? I plan to run a one-shot with an open-ended conclusion to start with, in order to gauge my players' interest, and potentially move into a more extended campaign if they want to keep it going.

I'd welcome set dressing, plot concepts, more zombies... anything really. If it's just rough fluff and I feel compelled to stat it out and include it in my game, I'll definitely post a follow-up with the numbers at some point in the future.

>>5517830
You have to have at least one Jelly climb out of a toilet. Drives your players mad.

I remember this thread, I saved it and everything. Although I dont particularly like some of the zombies, they are all very nice. Saving this.

>>5517830
What's your baseline plot? Are you starting in a city, small town? Is it the beginning of the outbreak? A year in? Are your players coordinating character concepts?

>>5517830

This thread is the best thread.

I need to a do a Z-day rpg now. So bad.

>>5517830
Steal the idea that's been used a couple of times. Post-apocalyptic DJ.

Get a friend with a good sounding voice, some audio-recording equipment and plan out a few DJ segments giving advice on dealing with the problem.

Litter through your campaign a few times post-zombie uprising when the players come across radios, and if they listen around they can only find one station with this one DJ. He starts off writing off the riots as crap, usual stuff being beaten up by the media. About third broadcast in he describes seeing the riot below the window of his office, talking in sobs as he sees people being eaten alive. Fourth broadcast he's going through a breakdown, but in time for the fifth he pulls himself together and starts distributing advice to the survivors, naming some of the zombie types and talking about the potential hazards with some of them.

P.S. Tell your friends to make three characters each. The first lot ones that could potentially know each other, the second and third ones being other survivors who could stumble upon the group. After all, it's not a zombie apocalypse unless people get torn down and eaten in front of their friends eyes.

>>5517955
>Although I dont particularly like some of the zombies, they are all very nice.

How so? I'm honestly quite open to constructive criticism here - if you think something is too deadly, or not deadly enough, or just completely retarded, or even if you just have a better alternative then I would be very glad to hear it. I'm about to run a game for players who are making their first major foray into horror RPGs, and I really do want to continue using the system after I've put all this work in, so any changes you might suggest I'm open to.

I tried to stay mostly to "Romero-style" zombies, generally, and avoid falling into the Resident Evil style as much as possible while still providing enough variety to avoid boring my players if this goes into a lengthy campaign. Hence why everything is basically a variation on the Shambler - a smarter Shambler, a fat Shambler, a rotting Shambler, and so on and so forth. That's the thought I was working from.

Any ideas?

>>5518056
Oh, my comment is mostly just flavor wise.

If I ran a campaign I might disclude some of them, such as fanatic, if I wanted to stay more true to classic zombies. Its just preference really. I dont hate them, just not my type. They are all well made, I assure you.

As for balance, play test it. If some are not as effective as needed make changes, etc.

>>5517991
>What's your baseline plot?
PCs are college students camping out in the nearby state park for a week to celebrate the last days of summer before courses start. Hike out of the wilderness to discover that in the intervening time, shit has gone down.

>Are you starting in a city, small town?
Home city. Mid-size metropolis with large suburbs, trailing off into farmland/forest.

>Is it the beginning of the outbreak? A year in?
A little under a week in. City authorities are done for, military is straining under the load. Whether the players want to continue after the one-shot determines whether or not the military achieves containment.

>Are your players coordinating character concepts?
PCs start as friends attending local colleges. No autobiographical characters (too creepy), and I did intend before even posting this thread to include >>5518042 's idea of multiple characters per player to be folded in later as deaths occur.

Oh - yes, I *am* basing this in my own hometown. I know the layout, and so do all my players, so it saves a lot of headache coming up with maps and such. I also know all the surrounding area, so if they start heading outward bound I'll be able to continue providing interesting hooks until they hit two states away.

Also, take a lesson from Romero when running your campaigns. The zombies are mostly just scenery, the real threat is humanity. People tend to spend all day preparing against zombie assaults, but never prepare for hostile humans coming for their supplies, or government placing bombs with the intention of cleaning house. Also the bomb setup gives your players a reason to do something other than building and maintaining their stronghold.

>>5518042
Following the PS, if you do make the players have backup characters for when their main characters get munched, feel free to have these original characters return.

Also, feel free to apply psychological problems to the characters after they've watched their mother eat their little brother.

>>5518311
>Also, feel free to apply psychological problems to the characters after they've watched their mother eat their little brother.

Oh, absolutely. Since I am *never* allowing the Inspired character type into my game, I've retooled Essence to be the PC stress/sanity meter. It's actually both more and less forgiving now. Here, I'll post my Essence rules:

>>5517830
Sorry forgot to link.
>>5518290
Also one of my favorite things to add is a cure.


Don't forget the sanity system in AFMBE, it's one of the best parts of the system.

If your group is like most within 5 minutes they are going to be bloodthirsty gun toting sociopaths. Introduce a group who has a cure that can fix even fully converted zombies as long as they don't have large scale tissue damage. Then force the particularly bloodthirsty people to either role-play their characters reaction, or lose sanity points. Make them role-play a bit, have them go through moral dilemmas rather than just run and gun through everything. It will make the game a lot more dynamic and immersion, rather than just being a video game simulation on paper.

>>5516917
Same, OP.
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>>5518113
also, I remember one I liked from the previous thread that would make great horror material.

REGENERATOR/HORROR
I'm no good at flavor so here is the basic layout

-zombie with fast heal factor
-wounds seal up very fast/cells rapidly duplicate
-semi intelligent
-when feasting upon its prey it may even attempt to attach random parts to itself, letting its cells rapid duplication patch it together.

This results in terrible horrors, with multiple limbs, extra pieces, and never attached correctly. Some may even have multiple heads. This can cause troubles for the zombie, or it might prove advantageous.

Imagine a zombie whose torso is torn open, but this semi-intelligent being has replaced its missing organs with the heads of its prey. A gaping hole full of gnashing teeth and staring bloodshot eyes. Or perhaps a barely recognizeable body with dozens of arms and legs growing out of it, all clawing for its victim.

You can be creative with this.

>>5517830

If I may humbly suggest an idea, it would be to keep the location as familiar as possible, especially if its a oneshot.

The Left 4 Dead SDK (level design tool) has come out recently (for those of you who are not in the know, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_4_Dead ) and the first thing I did with it is make a campaign based around the town that I and a number of my friends who also play the game lived while growing up. It made the game 1000x times more immersing and tense; not because my level design was anywhere near up to par with the professionals, but because of just how much more personal the experience was.

Instead of running down a random city road towards a safe house , you are now making a mad dash down King street to the high school because you remember the auto classroom having the some of the sturdiest doors you can remember, and there might even be some provisions down in the cafeteria. What once was “Heads up, there’s a zombie coming out from that house on the left” turns into “Oh God, Not Jess... She was only a month from being due...” With the player’s knowledge of the area, they can make a more detailed and elaborate plan than studying a map of a random city block could ever hope to produce.

For anyone who has given any thought as to what to do if a zombie apocalypse ever rolled around, it’s like playing something out of your wildest dreams or nightmares, or both. But then Im not a DM or ZM, as it were, so Im not sure if it would lend itself well to your campaign. Just a thought.

Essence points are lost through Fear (see p.98) and stress. High stress situations deal (1d4 x 2) points of Essence damage for every hour they continue.

LOW ESSENCE PENALTIES
Characters at half Essence or below are emotionally drained and demoralized, suffering a -1 penalty to all mental actions due to their constant worry and nervousness.

Characters at an Essence level of one or below feel an overwhelming sense of depression and futility, suffering a -3 penalty to all checks and actions.

Characters whose Essence level falls below zero must succeed at a Difficult WILL Test modified negatively for every 5 points, rounded up, the character's Essence has fallen below zero (ex. -1 for -1 through -5, -2 for -6 through -10, etc.). It is repeated whenever the character loses any further Essence points. Failure means the character is slowly cracking under the pressures of constant stress, suffering bouts of temporary emotional breakdown or madness. For every ten points (rounded up) a character is below zero Essence, they either gain one point worth of a mental Drawback or lose one point from a mental Attribute. These allocations are determined by and may be altered by the Storyteller. At -50 Essence and below, characters often "break" under the pressure. They automatically gain the "Suicidal Tendencies" mental Drawback (see p.19 of "One of the Living" book), which persists until they rise above -50.

>>5518418
Characters reduced below -100 Essence are under unbearable levels of mental and physical stress. Unless they succeed at a special Survival Test, using (WILL + CON + 1d10), they will die. These Tests are modified negatively for every ten points below -100 the character has fallen to (ex. -1 for -100 through -110, -2 for -110 through -120, etc.), and are repeated whenever the character loses any further Essence points. Characters who die from Essence damage suffer aneurysms, or heart attacks, or other forms of simple physical collapse.

REGAINING ESSENCE
Characters may regain one Essence per WILL per hour spent in calm, peaceful rest or sleep. Meditation or other Skills can improve Essence recovery.

>>5518393
Yeah, I've ran a few and I occasionally allow the inspired as NPC's for my campaigns with a religious twist. Say what you will, it's a nice twist on a game where all the players are scorning religion with their characters after hearing a radio transmission declaring for them to repent, only to see a winged man calmly walking down the streets with his eyes on the sky with zombies collapsing whenever they get within 10 feet of him.

It paints a great picture, though I'd recommend not doing this style often,just once or twice to mix things up. Also this works better with good role-players who are willing to have their character go through a faith conversion.

archive this, I have to get to bed, got work to do tommorow, and this zombie thread is the only thing keeping me up.

>>5518219
>>5518411

Woop, took longer to reply than I should have,

>>5518530
Oh, back to my cure idea, another nasty trick to to give the players a cinematic of a working cure, even a cure that will work on a full zombie restoring them to life.

Have them encounter a person that one of the players has an attachment to as a zombie (girlfriend, wife, child, etc...) and give them a reason to believe they can secure the cure in the near future.

Everyone knows it's a horrible idea to chain a zombie and keep it with you, it's always a horrible plan in every movie we've ever seen.

Now however they are in a position where they want to do exactly that, and with every reason to do so. If they don't they could suffer severe sanity issues, killing their girlfriend while they could still save her. Then again everyone in the party that does not have said attachment will see the zombie as a hell of a liability. This paints the scene the way a zombie movie should be, and forces one of them to play the role that they are screaming at in the movie for being an idiot.

>>5518482
>Say what you will, it's a nice twist on a game where all the players are scorning religion with their characters after hearing a radio transmission declaring for them to repent, only to see a winged man calmly walking down the streets with his eyes on the sky with zombies collapsing whenever they get within 10 feet of him.

Eh, I'm honestly hoping to base my flavor for this game off "Dead Rising" more than anything else. Improvising weapons and tactics are the name of the game, and the baseline enemies are the zombies while the "bosses" are your own fellow man.

I want to avoid religious flavorings, if only because I have two pagans in my gaming group and will instantly have to deal with them wanting to make post-apoc druids when the rest of the group seems to want to play out a more low-powered setting in general. I got a lot of positive responses off suggesting AFMBE because it's more "down to earth" than the setting from our last campaign (different storyteller, played superheroes in BESM).

If it suddenly becomes "post-apocalyptic superheroes," I think I'm going to lose peoples' interest. Though admittedly, "post-apocalyptic superheroes" sounds like an awesome setting for some later point in time.

Having a cure developed is one of those things I'd really want to wait significant periods of time to potentially introduce. It's a campaign MacGuffin sure to instantly make everything else take a back seat, and I can't indefinitely push it back or else it'll get tedious to pursue.

It'd be a good idea to introduce once the players start getting themselves into a rut, but almost by necessity it'd have to be the final plot in the campaign arc. Consider it in consideration for the conclusion to the campaign.

>>5518687

Also a fun trick I played on my group. Go with a 28 days later theme of waking up a while after the infestation has taken it's course.

My group has a theme, right away they want to run to fleet farm (department store with large sporting good section i.e. GUNS).

Upon arrival they find all the guns other than the mussel-loaders are gone... Turns out you weren't the first ones who thought to come here and get guns and ammo...

Turns out you have to play a little different with a musket rather than an ak47. It'll make your players think a little more rather than just run and gun.

>>5518411

This also reminds me; maybe include some sort of Zombie Children?

The 'dead baby' thing is always frowned upon because its usually used by armature story tellers to try and up the emotional or value or creepiness factor of a scene, but a zombie apocalypse is one of the few places where it could work.

Maybe have it just as a variation of the shambeler. A mini shambeler, or a crawler. Lower strength and speed, but the players need to make a light CON check to see if they can go through with attacking it. And because of their size, they can fit through and into places normal shablers could not, sort of a weaker skulker mudman mix. And they wouldn’t be much seen very often, since most the young and small are often torn apart beyond reanimation during the initial attack/infection.

>>5518756


Yeah the point of the cure in mine was that the players were getting a little to nonchalant with their ways of dealing with the zombies. They were getting cavalier to the point where they were getting pissy that I wanted them to roll for chances of sanity damage. I wanted them to role-play a bit, rather than just treating it like a group of numbers.

Though you are correct, introduce a cure and that is what they'll be chasing after.

>>5518811
>armature
>since most the

And with that brilliant post, its off to bed with me.

>>5518811


Also a pet peeve of mine, resist the temptation of have ninja zombies, unless you are having smart undead on purpose. Mix it up a little, but your players are going to get frustrated if every zombie is hiding in dark corners, dangling from the rafters, or hiding in vents like solid snake waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It's a darn tempting option when you want to get a little blood out of your players, but do it very often and they get pissy, understandably so.

Also provide situations where fighting might not be the best solution, feel free to provide swarms they can't fight through and make them run, or find another solution. If busting out the weapons is a one size fits all solution it get monotonous quick.

>>5518890

Hmm. Are you opposed to the (overused) zombie animale creatures? As far as swarms go, maybe a large flock of (again, overused) infected carrion crows or something similiar?

>>5518811
>This also reminds me; maybe include some sort of Zombie Children?

I contemplated statting up the Criers and Imps from the original list, but my two married players have a seven-month-old at home (the wife specifically saying that she gets physically nauseated at the thought of injured/dead babies) and another just had a miscarriage.

I figured tact dictated I not include them in my game, and so I didn't bother making a stat-block for them.

>>5519010

Good call.

>>5518977
Hmmm I'd say it depends on your group. The only problem I have with those is explaining why other things such as gnats and mosquitoes aren't carrying the infection.

I have a very brain heavy group, to the point where I actually have to work out the exact ways my zombies operate. One of them usually captures a few zombies to experiment with. He'll poke their eyes out and see if they are less responsive, he'll sneak ear mufflers on it, he'll try cutting certain parts out to see what disables them the most effectively etc... I can go on all day.

If you have a group like this that's going to create a lot of questions on your part.If your group just rolls with the punches, I don't see any problems with it.

>>5518890
>Also a pet peeve of mine, resist the temptation of have ninja zombies, unless you are having smart undead on purpose. Mix it up a little, but your players are going to get frustrated if every zombie is hiding in dark corners, dangling from the rafters, or hiding in vents like solid snake waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

I included the rarity considerations for a reason - the Fanatics and the like are *rare,* and never make up a major part of the zombie hordes. I tried to include just enough "common" and "uncommon" types that I can have variety while also having the special zombies around.

I also tried to keep the idea of "special" zombies not just being monstrously powerful. Shepherds are, but everything else tends to keep at least a relatively "killable" level of ability. The rare guys aren't just there to be badasses, they're there because they're disconcerting and force roleplaying. If the Skulker cowers and runs away from your group, whimpering in the fetal position as you close in upon it... well, that'll force some sort of response from players used to unresponsive walls of dead flesh.

>Also provide situations where fighting might not be the best solution, feel free to provide swarms they can't fight through and make them run, or find another solution. If busting out the weapons is a one size fits all solution it get monotonous quick.

I plan for bullets to be in significantly limited supply. As I said, I honestly take my inspiration from the free-form weapon improvisation of "Dead Rising." My players should be using flower pots and pool cues as weapons more often than pistols, and the infinite hordes of swarming zombies that can only be pushed back instead of completely annihilated likewise WILL be the norm in my game. I want them to run-and-gun whenever they're in the open, not stand and fight.

>>5518977
>Are you opposed to the (overused) zombie animale creatures?

I'm trying to limit my creatures to a realistic pathogenic spread. That means that things too far from human taxonomy/genetics won't be infected.

If my players hit the zoo, or the game lasts long enough to justify it, you better believe they're encountering zombie apes. I'm also trying to figure out another alternative animal vector to zombify, but I don't have a good one yet.

Beyond that, I'm figuring that animals can be deadly enough without necessarily zombifying them. Feral dogs can certainly kill a person if they're hungry enough, no disease necessary. I can start filtering them in as the time passes in-game and the pets start going wild.

BUMPAN

take a note from max brooks, and have the players encounter humans with last man on earth syndrome.

>>5519339
When it comes to the zoo, there are much much scarier creatures than an ape.
Like grizzlies, for example. I mean, DAMN. Grizzlies in real life are an absolute nightmare. as a zombie, fucking hell.

Still, try zombie giraffes for shits and giggles, to add a comedic element.

Or prairie dogs. that'd be kinda funny.

I had a dream once that had something close to Runners. Instead of chasing humans in particular, they would chase the fastest thing around, organic or inorganic. Most of them were chasing a train.

There was also another zombie that, as it ate more brains, would become smarter. As it consumed the brains, it also gained memories. It would then peel the face off of the victim and place it over his own. He would then act like the last person he consumed, like some mockery.

My girlfriend also had a dream about a zombie dire lion. That was pretty sweet.