Zombie Template

(Version 1.00 - Last Modified: 07/01/2005)

• Template Instructions
• Description
• Racial Statistics
• Sample Durus Zombie
• Sample Velox Zombie

Template Instructions

To apply a template, such as the Zombie template, you must first create the creature that the template will be applied to, in this case it is a perfectly normal Human, and then apply each modification listed below to that base creation.

Description

In the highly guarded research labs of the largest bio-technology companies, scientists toil over new drugs, super viruses, genetically engineered diseases, and radically altered bacteria. One such drug started out as a cure for death itself. The researchers wanted to find a way to not only regenerate dead cells, but to restore life to a recently dead person. Early tests of the drug, code named Lazaror, proved promising, but the drug was still years away from being tested on mice, let alone Humans. Unfortunately, one of the researchers on the project had a very sick daughter who suddenly passed away one night. Not willing to accept the natural passing of his little girl, the researcher secretly brought her into the lab and injected her corpse with the experimental drug. Within minutes, her cells began to activate and her brain activity returned, she even began to move slightly on the table where he had placed her. The researcher was so excited he failed to notice that her heart had not started beating and that her lungs remained still. As the researcher bent over to hug his child, he became the first victim of a new type of creature, a Zombie created by science.

Although the first outbreak was stopped quickly, ten researchers and six guards were killed in the process. When the company finally realized what had caused the disaster, they began more experiments with the drug, starting with mice and eventually moving to Human corpses stolen from the city morgue. Each time the results were the same: the drug had no effect on a living creature, but when used on a creature that had been dead for less then 24 hours, the creature would regain some semblance of life and would rise as a Zombie. Even worse, the Zombies could spread whatever caused them to live to the creatures that they bite. From the father of the first Zombie, to the unwary guards in that first outbreak, each person bitten by a Zombie will contract a deadly disease that will cause them to rise as a new Zombie. These first Zombies were slow, but incredibly strong and were dubbed Durus Zombies, using the Latin word for durable and strong.

Finally disturbed by what they had created, the company shut down the Lazaror drug project once the final tests were completed. The company was satisfied that it had learned all it safely could about a drug that seemed to create the undead, so the project was shut down, the records sealed, and the remaining stock of the drug was placed in storage. Lazaror was quickly forgotten. Unfortunately, that is not the end of the story. Industrial espionage is rampant among bio-technology firms, and within a few years of closing the Lazaror project, its results and even some drug samples became available on the black market for those that could pay the price. From there, the drug was modified to create a new type of Zombie, dubbed Velox after the Latin word for quick and agile. These new Velox Zombies proved much more difficult to contain then the original Durus Zombies. Outbreaks began to occur within the test labs and soon, some Zombies had escaped.

For the moment, there are only a few Zombies spread across the world, but they are quickly multiplying in the densely populated cities where they were created. While it is by no means an epidemic yet, the threat that an unchecked population of Zombies could pose could be catastrophic.

Racial Statistics

• Racial Type: Racial Type changes to Undead - Minor
• Alignment: Becomes effectively Anarcist, a zombie cares for nothing but eating and getting to things it can eat. A zombie functions effectively as an animal, eating and killing without regard.
• Attributes (Durus):
  
  • I.Q.: Reduced to 1D4+1
  • M.E.: -5 (-2D4), minimum of 3.
  • M.A.: -7 (-2D6), minimum of 3.
  • P.S.: +11 (+2D6+4) *
  • P.P.: -5 (-2D4), minimum of 6.
  • P.E.: +5 (+1D6+1)
  • P.B.: -5 (-2D4), minimum of 1.
  • Spd: -7 (-2D6), minimum of 2.
  • * PS is considered superhuman
• Attributes (Velox):
  
  • I.Q.: Reduced to 1D4+1
  • M.E.: -5 (-2D4), minimum of 3.
  • M.A.: -7 (-2D6), minimum of 3.
  • P.S.: +5 (+1D6+2)
  • P.P.: +5 (+2D4)
  • P.E.: +5 (+1D6+1)
  • P.B.: -5 (-2D4), minimum of 1.
  • Spd: +7 (+2D6)
• Hit Points: Reduced to 0, only S.D.C. is important.
• S.D.C. (Durus): Increase S.D.C. by +130 (+2D6x10+60)
• S.D.C. (Velox): Increase S.D.C. by +60 (+1D6x10+20)
• Natural Armor Rating: 10
• Average Life Span: Immortal
• Horror Factor: 12
• P.P.E.: Reduced to 3 (1D6)
• Magic Powers: Loses all magical powers
• I.S.P.: Reduced to 0
• Psionic Powers: Loses all psionic powers
• Natural Abilities:
  
  1. Zombie Traits:
     
     A zombie regenerates at a rate of 1D6 S.D.C. per minute, does not need to sleep, does not need to breathe, drink, or eat. All Zombies are cannibals and while they do not need to eat, they will always eat living members of their own race whenever the opportunity arises. Except for living members of its own race, a Zombie will ignore everything else and will wander almost aimlessly and tirelessly for members of its own race to feed on. A Zombie is immune to all mind altering magic spells and psionic powers, to horror factor, and to pain.
  2. Undead Traits:
     
     An undead creature is immune to all toxins, poisons, and diseases, both magical and non-magical. The creature is impervious to normal cold and suffers only half damage from cold based attacks.
  3. Zombie Disease:
     
     The bite of a zombie carries a terrible disease that can transform the person bitten into a Zombie. After being bitten, the victim of the bite must immediately make a save vs. disease to avoid the initial stages of the infection. During this initial stage, the victim receives -1 to all combat rolls and -5% to all skills. After being infected for two days, the victim must make a second save vs. disease. If that save is failed, the host enteres the second stage of the disease, losing all combat bonuses, all but 2 attacks per melee, receiving -40% to all skills, and all physical attributes are reduced to 6. After a week in the second stage, the victim must make a third save vs. disease. If that save is failed, the victim dies and rising within 1D4 melee rounds as a new Zombie. If the victim of the bite succeeds at any of the saves vs. disease, they overcome the Zombie Disease and they lose all penalties after 24 of making the save. A person can only be infected by one Zombie Disease at a time, no matter how often the victim is bitten. The bite of a Durus Zombie will create another Durus Zombie and the bite of a Velox Zombie will create another Velox Zombie.

     A person that is killed at any time while infected with the Zombie Disease will rise as a Zombie after 1D4 melee rounds if their head remains attached to their body and their brain remains intact, even if all of their internal organs and all of their limbs have been destroyed or removed.

  4. Burst of Strength: (Durus Zombie only)
     
     A Durus Zombie can gain a burst of strength that changes its PS attribute to supernatural strength for one melee round. The zombie can use this ability once per hour.
  5. Demonic Abilities: (Velox Zombie only)
     
     A Velox Zombie can gain a burst of speed that increases its PP attribute by +6, Spd attribute by +15, and provides +1 attack per melee for one minute. The zombie can use this ability once per hour.


• Experience Level: Irrelevant to the unintelligent Zombie.
• Combat Skills: Loses all existing combat bonuses, has 3 attacks per melee and any bonuses provided by attributes.
• Damage (Durus):
  • Claw Strike: Superhuman punch damage +1D4
  • Bite: superhuman punch damage +1D6 +Zombie Disease
• Damage (Velox):
  • Claw Strike: 1D6
  • Bite: 2D4 +Zombie Disease
• Weapons and Armor: Zombies do not know how to use any type of weapon, but they will wear body armor if they were wearing it at the time they became Zombies.
• O.C.C. Skills: All skills are reduced to 10% proficiency, but the Zombies will still try to perform the skills they had when they were alive.
• Allies: Technically none, as Zombies do not think in terms of friends and enemies.
• Enemies: Zombies treat all living members of their own race as food to be eaten.

Sample Durus Zombie

The sample Durus Zombie below is based off of a normal Human with average attributes.

• Racial Type: Undead - Minor
• Alignment: Anarcist
• Attributes:
  
  • I.Q.: 4
  • M.E.: 5
  • M.A.: 3
  • P.S.: 22 (+7)
  • P.P.: 6
  • P.E.: 16 (+5% and +1)
  • P.B.: 5
  • Spd: 4
  • * PS is considered superhuman, all attribute bonuses are included below.
• Size: 5’10” (1.78 m)
• Weight: 170 lbs (77.1 kg)
• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: Brown
• Gender: Male
• Age: 29
• S.D.C.: 130
• Natural Armor Rating: 10
• Horror Factor: 12
• P.P.E.: 3
• Skills of Note: Based on level of education.
• Combat Training: None
• Attacks per Melee: 3 (3 from Zombie)
• Combat Bonuses: None
• Combat Abilities: Critical Strike (20)
• Other Bonuses: +1 to save vs. extreme temperatures, +1 to save vs. all types of magic, and +5% to save vs. coma / death.
• Damage: Claw Strike: 3D4, Bite: 2D4+1D6 +Zombie Disease
• Special Abilities: Bio-regenerate 1D6 points of damage per melee round, does not need to sleep, and does not need to breathe, drink, or eat. As a Durus Zombie, this creature can gain a burst of strength that changes its PS attribute to supernatural strength for one melee round (claw strike: 3D6+1D4, bite damage: 4D6 +Zombie Disease). This ability is usable once per hour.
• Special Defenses: Cold Resistant (half damage from cold attacks), immune to all toxins, poisons, and diseases, both magical and non-magical, immune to all mind altering magic spells and psionic powers, to horror factor, and to pain.

Sample Velox Zombie

The sample Velox Zombie below is based off of a normal Human with average attributes.

• Racial Type: Undead - Minor
• Alignment: Anarcist
• Attributes:
  
  • I.Q.: 4
  • M.E.: 5
  • M.A.: 3
  • P.S.: 16 (+1)
  • P.P.: 16 (+1)
  • P.E.: 16 (+5% and +1)
  • P.B.: 5
  • Spd: 18
• Size: 5’10” (1.78 m)
• Weight: 170 lbs (77.1 kg)
• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: Brown
• Gender: Male
• Age: 29
• S.D.C.: 60
• Natural Armor Rating: 10
• Horror Factor: 12
• P.P.E.: 3
• Skills of Note: Based on level of education.
• Combat Training: None
• Attacks per Melee: 3 (3 from Zombie)
• Combat Bonuses: +1 to strike, +1 to parry, and +1 to dodge.
• Combat Abilities: Critical Strike (20)
• Other Bonuses: +1 to save vs. extreme temperatures, +1 to save vs. all types of magic, and +5% to save vs. coma / death.
• Damage: Claw Strike: 1D6+1, Bite: 2D4+1 +Zombie Disease
• Special Abilities: Bio-regenerate 1D6 points of damage per melee round, does not need to sleep, and does not need to breathe, drink, or eat. As a Velox Zombie, this creature can gain a burst of speed that increases its PP attribute by +6 (increases bonuses to strike, parry, and dodge to +4 each), Spd attribute by +15 (to 33), and provides +1 attack per melee for one minute.. This ability is usable once per hour.
• Special Defenses: Cold Resistant (half damage from cold attacks), immune to all toxins, poisons, and diseases, both magical and non-magical, immune to all mind altering magic spells and psionic powers, to horror factor, and to pain.