We could create zombie variants using this Undead Fortitude as the key feature-the feature that makes this monster a zombie. This check is a Constitution saving throw equal to 5 + damage taken. Undead Fortitude gives the zombie a chance to bounce back to 1 HP when reduced to 0 HP. Dungeons and Dragons 5eįor Dungeons and Dragons 5e, we have several usable stat blocks and the Undead Fortitude feature. We also have stat block templates for several variants that we could repaint to something similar-such as using the ogre zombie stat block as a giant zombie. Essentially, any monster can be zombified by adding features that relate to the zombie archetype and subtracting Intelligence scores. In fantasy, zombies can come in any shape and size, whether a zombie dragon, ogre, beholder, giant, or other humanoid. Use a variety of zombie monsters in the horde. However, it’s important to remember where the line is-we want to find the right amount of enemies to encourage a tense battle without wiping the party. Now that I have an idea of what these combat encounters might look like, I can push my players with more and more zombies. Then, the next encounter includes more zombies. This moment would be a good time to include creepy, gory details of the figure as it emerges. The first encounter could be a build-up-someone encounters a zombie during an investigation. This is especially dangerous in a turn-based combat system, where the party could clear the foes on the table only to encounter more. However, these slow-moving meat bags have immense strength in numbers. Zombies are most effective as an overwhelming hordeīecause zombies are dealing with atrophy and rotting ligaments, they aren’t the same kind of enemy as a feral beast or fiend. Related Posts: Guide to Building a Warlock Undead Patron: DnD 5e Some zombies could move at faster speeds, such as the fast zombie from Pathfinder. However, erratic, jerky motions can intensify the threat if they otherwise seem like meat sacks. Now that we have the gory details, we can add strange behavior to bring a sense of eeriness or danger to the zombies. Blood smeared somewhere-face, shirt, arms.
Describe the zombies as shapes or figures with dead eyes and bloody mouths. If we simply refer to a monster as its monster name, our players will more likely think of it as a stat block and not a visceral threat. Raise the fear factor of these monsters with solid detail and uncanny behavior-this is the moment for implementing storytelling skills. Use gore and erratic movement to make zombies scary This way, we can lead them further into the mystery. Place clues and hints around for players to examine. How does one player’s backstory fit with the story overall? We can thread this out over the game, as our players move from one place to another trying to survive. Suspense is the unknown area between the immediate situation and the story as a whole. We can build tension in a moment, when danger is around the corner, and over the whole storyline, seeking answers to this zombie apocalypse. How do we pull this off? We leave out the why and hide the threat-at least at the beginning of the adventure. This occurs when players are uncertain about the path but must move forward anyway. Tension is a tool to build suspense, literally referring to the feeling of excited stress. For a zombie apocalypse storyline, this could be a fantastic way to start the campaign-a slow burn that soon spirals into chaos. I like to catch my players off-guard, sending them through a location and surprising them when I can. Necromancer super villain wants to rule the world.Use a variety of zombie monsters in the hoard.Zombies are most effective as an overwhelming hoard.Use gore and erratic movement to make zombies scary.With these factors in mind, let’s come up with the essential ingredients for a zombie apocalypse one-shot.
The common bond between these forms is a mindless, animalistic aggression-gore and horror relentlessly pursuing a victim.
However, they come in a variety of more powerful forms as well, some even capable of magic ( zombie beholder). These monsters are often used as early-level villains, raised by necromancers as minions or rising from some other magical phenomena. Dnd feats wikidot.Zombies are raised through necromancy in Dungeons and Dragons 5e and Pathfinder 2e, either as mindless minions or a plague-ridden hoard.