BILLWILLIAMS'S PROFILE

I had to call tech support today. A very humbling experience.

Whatever name you choose don't get too attached to it. You'll almost always think of a better or more fitting one later on.

Remember the Taloon Chapter of Dragon Warrior 4? It was lot of fun to be greedy capitalist bastard wasn't it? I wish there were whole games like that.

author=wildwes
Wowsers. Cool! I want to read more undead lore!

We'll see. I was able to do the part on zombies more or less off the top of my head. Skeletons are next on the list and I should be able to do a page or so on them. After that I'll need to stop and think. I never intended the undead to be a focus of my stories but the Grand Cabal of Symon would logically have a quite a few necromancers among the brethren.

Also I should have chosen a better title for this. "Tripod" just makes me think about that one joke in an Austin Powers movie.

Ok, a few nights ago I started writing the bible for my fantasy universe, trying to put years worth of disjointed notes I have together in one cohesive whole. Due to couple a conversations I had this forum and having just finished reading a book on the wild hunt I started with the various undead. The first part to finish was the sections on zombies. Here it is. THREE FRICKING PAGES!!! I hope this gives people ideas or a least a good laugh.

Zombie:
Zombies are reanimated corpses without a soul that can sustain themselves for a short period of time without direct assistance from a necromancer or unholy being. The easiest of the undead to create, any necromancer can raise a zombie provided the corpse is good condition, such as those killed by drowning or poison. Local thieves guilds are usually quite happy to provide such corpses for a reasonable fee. On the other hand, raising a damaged corpse is more difficult, required greater effort and skill yet yielding only a mere zombie. Wounds to the heart or brain are especially difficult to overcome and only a powerful and very stubborn necromancer will bother with such a corpse. In areas where necromancers are known to be present driving a spear through the heart of a dead corpse before burying them is a common precaution, lest one have an unexpected reunion with a deceased friend or loved one.

Raising a zombie is one thing, controlling it is another and more than a few aspiring dark apprentices have been eaten by their own zombie, much to the embarrassment of their masters. Unlike skeletons, zombies do not acknowledge those who raised them as their masters and there certainly is no sense of loyalty among the walking dead. So learning to dominate a zombie is a critical part of a necromancers skill set. Zombiejacking or seizing control of another wizard’s zombie is considered impolite but is still an important combat skill when petty internal disputes must be settled among dark brothers. Zombies can never be controlled with any absolute certainty either. They can be directed and given simple orders such as ‘stay here,’ ‘carry this’ and ‘eat anyone who comes through that door’ but even then they may wander off in search of living flesh.

Any peasant knows to attack a zombie in the head. Why? Because the reanimating enchantment is focused in the brain and destroying a zombie’s brain will break the spell, ‘kill’ the zombie and revert it back to a stinking corpse. This usually works and is the best way to approach a zombie problem when one does not have access to strong magic. If facing one zombie the crossbow is the weapon of choice. It takes nerves of steel to wait for a perfect close in (about 20-30 feet) headshot but it gets results and does not put the zombie hunter in reach of the brain craving zombie. If the shot misses the hunter can sprint away from the zombie and reload for a second shot. If facing than one zombie a halberd or poleaxe is probably your best bet. Close in weapons such as axes, warhammers and maces should only be considered as a last desperate resort.

Zombies crave the flesh of the living, especially the brain. What they are actually after is the life force which is absorbed and used to reinforce the animating spell that keeps the zombie going and prevents the flesh from rotting away. Unlike ghouls zombies cannot use this energy to heal injuries. Life force lingers in dead bodies for a few days and zombies will eat dead bodies unless there is fresher meat nearby. Injured zombies can be restored by necromantic magic but unless the zombie is a special variant it is usually more efficient to simply raise a replacement.

The normal lifespan for a zombie is about a month although with enough food this can be extended to up to four months. While a young or fully restored zombie can move at roughly the same speed as an average human up to a light jog. As a zombie ages and the animating magic begin to weaken they will begin to move slowly and in a jerky and irregular manner. Old zombies will eventually collapse in a pile of rotten flesh that in turn will rapidly age into dust or ash as the cursed flesh of the zombie is slowly restored to a natural state. Zombies that are killed or disenchanted also age rapidly in this fashion although if a necromancer moves quickly the corpse can be reused as a weaker but still useful twiceborn zombie or since the bones are the last to rot, raised as a skeleton.

While the common zombie is no threat to an alert adventurer, more powerful varieties do exist. Zombies are looked down upon as beginner ‘summons’ skeletons and ghost are far more useful to than simple zombies when it comes to accomplishing a wizard’s dark goals. However as a necromancer learns more of his art other zombie related possibilities open up, some of them very powerful.

The most powerful and insidious are the curse carrying “Infected” Zombies. Infected Zombies are so powerfully enchanted with a necromantic curse that spread the curse to any fresh corpses they touch or even those they pass close by, raising then up as new zombies. Some of these zombies will also carry the curse while others only partially affected will be raised as common zombies. Only one thing slows this multiplying process, the zombie hunger for brains means that many of the recently killed will be partially eaten and too damaged for the curse to raise them as zombies. Still do not underestimate the power of Infected zombies as an entire province can be destroyed by a single well placed Infected Zombie that is not identified as such and dealt with quickly. One positive note Infected zombies do carry a strong aura of evil about them that other zombies do not. Individuals who are magically sensitive will detect their auras and are vital to combating Infected zombie attacks.

Disease carrying ‘Plague’ zombies are also a fearsome threat that can cause horrible damage to a region. While normal zombies are made up of partially rotted meat and often carry natural diseases adding a magical disease to a zombie means that (even when killed quickly) it can infect and kill a whole village or town in slow and dreadful manner unless there is immediate intervention by skilled supernatural healers. A combined arms attack consisting of plague zombies to create bodies and Infected Zombies to raise them is far more effective then using either type alone.

Poison Zombies are less powerful but will still make things far more difficult for undead hunters as their blood and innards are not merely unsanitary rotten flesh but outright deadly poison. If a zombie hunter has been forced into melee range this can have a very lethal outcome and leave a nice fresh athletic corpse with an intact brain to make a great zombie from. Poison zombies do have a slight greenish tinge to their skin but only an expert will see it in time and only under good lighting conditions.

Summoning or creating a ghoul is beyond all but the most powerful necromancers but with careful effort and enough talent it is still possible to create a middle ground, the ‘fast zombie’ or Zomghul. A most unwelcome surprise to those used to fighting slow unthinking simple zombies. Called fast zombies as they move quicker in a more coordinated fashion and have an uncanny predatory instinct, Zomghuls are fearsome foes. While still a soulless undead Zomghuls are at least semi-intelligent and can be given more complex orders than a zombie or skeleton, making them useful as guards or in the right conditions assassins.

The ‘Headless’ zombie has the animating enchantment focused not on the brain but the heart, the liver or some other internal organ, making them MUCH harder to kill; Especially when the zombie has a head and looks normal. Many brave warriors trained to fight the undead have fallen to such ‘trick’ zombies, justifying the far greater amount of time and effort it takes to create a headless zombie. The best way to identify a headless zombie to watch it feed. A normal zombie will eat the brain first; a headless zombie will instead go for the organ that the focus of the magic in it’s own body. If you suspect you are facing headless zombies sacrificing a useless party member in order to find out for sure is a ruthless yet practical solution.

Common zombies moan groan and generally make a lot of noise. While unnerving all this racket does warn the victims that zombies are in the area and that they should take precaution. Adding a ‘silence’ spell to a zombie makes for a much more frightening attacker especially at night as the victim will have no warning of danger. Silent Zombies are highly situational however and of less use in daylight or against races with darkvision.

When a dark cabal has both trained necromancers and rune magicians it is possible to create ‘Runic Zombies’ with a wide variety of enhancements by tattooing runes into the corpse before it is animated. Runic zombies are quite dangerous because it is nearly impossible to identify the nature of the enchantments without putting oneself in close proximity to what you know to be a powerful undead. Such complex creations while powerful are rarely worth the strenuous effort and teamwork required and are used mainly to show off the power and artistry of the cabal to other dark wizards. Essentially a form of ‘zombie bling’ if you will.

Flaming Zombies (enchanted with eternal hellfire) and Electric zombies have also been reported. Although such creatures are beyond the scope of normal necromancy and must be the work of Unholy beings, possibly bored devils. If you encounter such super-enchanted zombies it is usually a sign you are over your head and should turn around and go back the direction you came. Screaming in terror is optional yet generally appropriate.

It should also be remembered that while humans are the easiest creatures to zombify other races and a wide variety of animals can also be raised. Zombie ogres have been used in sieges with some success and are effective terror weapons against the unprepared. A pack of zombie hounds can be combined with a soul seeking spell to hunt fleeing enemies. Few necromancers are known for their creativity but those who can think outside the box can usually find a tool for any task. Remember zombies (and other undead) are most deadly when combined with other magic.

Fun Trivia: Because zombies are soulless, it is possible to take a recently deceased individual raise their body as a zombie and then call back their soul as a ghost; Thus creating two undead from a single unfortunate victim. This is a great way for an overlord to express his displeasure to a lackey who has failed him for the last time.