Zombies questions??????

[Rody]

drat, I forgot about that. it was just that I used to use the 2001 rules and remembered this(I never actually used the ranged mods as it would have been too much trouble for me)

[Gorchek]

I always thought zombies were a threat because they didn't stop, and they always outnumbered humans.

The real problem I have with the "crit only" part, is the fact that it throws out almost the whole combat chapter of the rule. As written, it means a dimmy with a skill of 1d4 will kill twice as many zombies while throwing rocks from the back of a high speed car then a professional biathlon competitor with a 1d8 skill, in a safe location and who's taking the time to actualy aim.

I understand that they should be dangerous in close combat, but unless you want a sword to be a hindrance, maybe you could add a mention that a parried attack means the target can't get infected? After all, a well used riot shield should be able to block a lone zombie.

As far as movement is concern, I understand why you would want to reduce it, but I can think of two reasons not to.
First, if the zombies have no chance of catching up to the humans, any game involving them will turn into a prolonged walk around the block, with the zombies unable to ever harm the human unless they actually walk into a dead end (and i'm speaking from experience here).
Second, the d6 help represent something that is abscent in the rules, but very important to represent a zombie threat: fatigue. The humans get tired and stumble a lot faster when chased by a horde of deadly predator. It's easy to picture a round where zombies move fast as the human being too tired to push on at full speed instead.
That said, I think it would be better to roll movement once for all zombies, or at least once for each group of zombies, if only to cut down on the dice rolling.

[kidko]

If you want to talk about speed, to watch Dawn of the Dead. The Zs in that are more like the undead relatives of those infected with the 28 Days Later virus (Rage, was it?) They're sometimes faster that humans. It would at least stop what you said, Gorchek: the walk around the block.

[IVhorseman]

The real problem I have with the "crit only" part, is the fact that it throws out almost the whole combat chapter of the rule. As written, it means a dimmy with a skill of 1d4 will kill twice as many zombies while throwing rocks from the back of a high speed car then a professional biathlon competitor with a 1d8 skill, in a safe location and who's taking the time to actualy aim.

actually, a 4 on a 1d4 isn't considered a crit, since something with a skill of only 1d4 is considered too stupid to be able to crit.

i designed them to be fought by standard minifigs. my mental picture of this is a couple players who have one, standard minifig EACH, and then one player who has 20-something zombies.

the fatigue thing IS somewhat of an issue, but i figured that it probably wouldn't come up as much of an issue. players are more likely to be dead-ended/surrounded before this happens.

the parry thing is something that i think would be generally assumed. if the bite LANDS on the minifig, you have a problem. if it lands on a shield, you're safe. well, as safe as you can be in the land of the walking dead.

also, i agree that you do NOT want to roll movement for EACH and EVERY zombie (unless you REALLY feel like it). i'd recommend rolling for groups of zombies (for example, all the ones with gray heads, or with blue pants).

[Almighty Benny]

Well, maybe any roll of 6 or higher can count as a crit against a zombie. If you don't think that heroes would be that much more capable of dispatching Gs, just watch the movie "Planet Terror".

I'm not much of a fan of the classic running zombies either, so I think it's up to the battlefield designer to ensure that the uninfected can be easily surrounded.

The "roll once for all zombies" idea is a great one.

Also, as a suggestion, if you're like me and you don't have enough "zed heads" for a really good Undeathmatch, simply use blank minifig heads to represent zombies. (All you have to do is turn their heads backwards when they become infected, or save a few blank ones for the bald ones)

[Rody]

yeah, but that makes hitting zombies with a cannon just as easy as hitting it with a handgun or a shotgun for that matter.

[Almighty Benny]

Yeah, but I don't really have a problem with that. It's much easier to fire a handgun than swing a halberd, but it's much easier to decapitate someone with a halberd than a handgun. It's much harder to fire a cannon, but cannonballs are much larger and do much more damage than bullets.

[pesgores]

Also, as a suggestion, if you're like me and you don't have enough "zed heads" for a really good Undeathmatch, simply use blank minifig heads to represent zombies. (All you have to do is turn their heads backwards when they become infected, or save a few blank ones for the bald ones)

Marion Ravenwood. No blank heads.

What to do?

[Blitzen]

Turn them backwards.

[blue header]

Then you have a face looking backwards over their shoulder... or a cracked neck...

[Blitzen]

So? You'll be able to identify them as zombies, and zeds are ugly anyways.

[Almighty Benny]

Then you have a face looking backwards over their shoulder... or a cracked neck...

fine then, don't. Just buy a bunch of heads on Bricklink.

[Jaye Tea]

I hope this isn't too much of a mecro-post but I thought i'd add my zombie stats(I have used ideas from this thread and the Zombies? thread) so pooling some ideas together i got this:


Zombies
Move: 4” (-1 per lost limb)
Skill: 1d4 (-1 per lost arm)
Armor: 1d10-2 (cannot be less than 1)*
Special: Zombie bite/claw: range: cc UR: 2 damage: 1d6 (if successful roll 1d6: 1-4: infected 5-6: clean)
Infected: infected minifigs should be marked with a pip, when they die they are now undead.
They don't stop: players can move Zombies on their opponents turn and thier own.
*Roll 1d6 after a successful wound,
1-4: Limb is shot/hacked/blown off, remove a leg or arm.
5-6: HEADSHOT! Zombie is eliminated.
Cost: 3cp

[vulcant13]

Gorchek is that an AMPS symbol?

[Bennanteno]

Maybe a tad off topic but has anyone ever played zombie master? Great HL2 mod, and it has all sorts of zombie types.