D&D 5E Seeking Zombie Ideas!

[Dausuul]

I am gearing up for a 5E campaign set in a world with an ongoing zombie apocalypse. A thousand years ago, somebody slammed the door to the afterlife*; ever since then, when people die, their mad, broken souls come back to reanimate their corpses as zombies. (If the corpse has been destroyed, the soul goes after a living host instead and turns it into a ghoul.) The world is a scattering of fortified settlements surrounded by undead-haunted wilderness.

Naturally, this means the PCs are going to encounter zombies. Lots and lots of zombies. Also skeletons, for the older corpses, and a scattering of ghouls, but mostly zombies. And I want more variety than just "Look, another horde of CR 1/4 zombies with a slam attack." So I am making up a whole bunch of homebrewed zombie monsters, and I'm looking for suggestions on abilities and traits to give them.

One thing to emphasize: These monsters need to feel like zombies. Facing them should be like a horrible dream where there's something coming after you, and it's not moving fast, but somehow you can't get away and it just won't die. I'm not looking for fast zombies, or smart zombies. I want ways to make slow, stupid zombies scary and unpredictable. Ideas I've had so far include zombies that burrow through the ground, grab your ankles, and drag you under the earth; drowned zombies that entangle you with tendrils of seaweed; swamp zombies shrouded in fog, that hypnotize you with foxfire; zombies that host swarms of disease-ridden flies.

Halloween's coming up, so this seems like the perfect time to ask. What would you give a zombie?

[SIZE=-2]*So runs the popular theory, anyway. There might be a little more going on than that. Just sayin'. [/SIZE]

 

[JediGamemaster]

the problem is zombies aren't scary in D&D

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I did a zombie game once, it got old real quick... but I have been working on a game world with deadlier scarier undead... so here is what I've got for zombies...


Armor Class 8 Hit Points 22 (3d8 + 9) · Speed 20 ft.
STR 13 (+1) DEX 6 (-2) CON 16 (+3)
INT 3 (-4) WIS 6 (- 2) CHA 5 (- 3)

Saving Throws Wis +0

Damage Immunities poison Condition Immunities poisoned

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 8

Languages understands the languages it knew in life but can't speak Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the zombie to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 +the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the zombie drops to 1 hit point instead.

ACTIONS
Grab. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) bludgeoning damage and target restrained.

Bite Melee weapon attack (advantage if target is restrained) +3 to hit reach 5ft one target Hit: 5(1d8+1)pericing damage and Con Save DC 10 or gain poison condition you may repeate your save after ever short or long rest, but each failed save lowers your perm hp by 1d10, if you fall to 0 you die and raise as a zombie.

 

[TwoSix]

Nothing tends to make players more annoyed than monsters with regeneration and high defenses. Even when you do hit them, an unlucky round will undo all their work in chipping it down. So some kind of necrotically-powered tank zombie would be fun.

Elf zombies are particularly nasty; they maintain their connection to the Feywild and can Misty Step at will.

Guillotining proved popular in the first few decades after the closing of the Gates, as a headless corpse would not immediately rise. It took a while before it was realized that the souls eventually returned to their bodiless heads, and began to fly in search of victims.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

No, they are not, though their staying power when you take them down to 0 HP can be a doozy.

You know what does scare PCs? Ghouls. For my part, I'd be more inclined to use those for the more Romero-esque zombie apocalypses. Or maybe switch over to ghouls entirely, after they've gotten used to the zombies.

I like the idea of the different flavors of zombies, though.

One question I do have, is with their souls coming back to inhabit their rotting corpses, what about the incorporeal dead? Would they still be a thing even?

the problem is zombies aren't scary in D&D

 

[Jaelommiss]

I've always found that making enemies scary is dependent more on making the players feel weak than making the enemy strong.

A rogue with a thousand arrows will happily fight zombies all day. The same rogue with four arrows that cost half his (limited) food supply and took a week to carve from one of the few remaining twisted and gnarled trees is going to seriously consider using them. If weapons and armour could break on any swing, the martials are less likely to risk combat. If cantrips are limited (I've used spellcasting modifier + level per day in the past) then the wizard won't simply backpedal while flinging firebolts.

After that has been done, and it will require player buy-in, I'd probably give the zombies more HP (+50% or so should be good), boost their Con by a couple points, and give them the ability to use other equipment if it was on hand at the time of death. If the world went screwy a millennium ago then the zombies around now should be largely people who were trying to fight them (like adventurers and soldiers) and the occasional unfortunate civilian who wandered outside the walls. Heavily armoured zombies are nice. If the zombies bear a trait or two that the now-deceased had then they will be even more variable.

A barbarian might resist nonmagical weapon damage and deal an extra couple points of damage (rage).
A bard could wheeze a low death rattle that can distract living creatures (cutting words).
A cleric could cause an extra 1d8 necrotic damage on a hit (divine strike).
A druid could have a number of undead animals following it.
A fighter might be more heavily equiped, including weapons, and may have an improved crit range.
A monk could pass between shadows (shadow step) or be able to make several, powerful unarmed attacks (martial arts).
A paladin turned undead might be able to bolster the zombies (see Knight, MM 347).
A ranger would be able to follow living prey for days without losing the trail. It sounds simple, but being pursued for three weeks without rest will wreck the PCs.
A rogue might have higher Dex and be able to sneak attack for an extra 2d6.
A sorcerer could resist an element (draconic ancestry), have a hardened hide (draconic resilience), and deal an extra 1d4 elemental damage.
A wizard would be a Lich. Or a weakened lich using the Mummy Lord as a template with changed spells.

Adding one or two of those for every couple dozen zombies would break up the monotony. Most animals could be transformed into zombies using the zombie template on DMG 282. A lot of regular humanoicould also have the template applied. It would probably also work with NPCs at the back of the MM.

 

[iserith]

I think in this type of campaign, the zombies need to be presented more as a force of nature than as a thing that can be defeated, even if the PCs are capable of taking down a whole slew of zombies. They Just Keep Coming. Fighting them isn't the answer.

 

[Dausuul]

You know what does scare PCs? Ghouls. For my part, I'd be more inclined to use those for the more Romero-esque zombie apocalypses. Or maybe switch over to ghouls entirely, after they've gotten used to the zombies.

Oh, there will be ghouls too. Ghouls are the "smart, fast" option; because they went straight from life into undeath, they retain some memory and intellect, which will be reflected in some ghouls having class levels. (Pro tip: Watch out for the ghoul barbarian. Frenzy for three attacks a round, and the paralysis save is based on the ghoul's Con mod...)

But I don't want to rely on ghouls as the main threat. I want zombies to remain frightening, and players are smart. They'll develop standard tactics for fighting zombie hordes, or escaping when there are too many to fight. So I want zombies that can throw a wrench in the works. Your trick that you always rely on to get away from the zombies doesn't work on these zombies. You better think of something else. Fast. They're coming.

One question I do have, is with their souls coming back to inhabit their rotting corpses, what about the incorporeal dead? Would they still be a thing even?

In some cases, you get a soul that for whatever reason never possesses a body, living or dead. In that case it might become a specter.

 

[Greg Benage]

They Just Keep Coming. Fighting them isn't the answer.

In a zombie apocalypse, there is no answer. But fighting them is a big part of the fun.

 

[abirdcall]

Check out Van Richten's Guide to the Walking Dead the 3.x supplement.

It has a lot of ideas including a big list of powers you can give to zombies.