Zombies are widely used in books, movies and, of course, RPGs. Some may say they are overused. Anyway, what’s most important is that they are no longer scary.
In RPG they are often seen as boring and slow (easy to defeat) monsters, that are dangerous only in bigger groups and there is nothing interesting about them. As you may expect, this post will show how to make your zombies cool once again. Cool and creepy to be more precise.
The key to making zombies scary is giving them a good, colorful definition. Dead, rotting human bodies are scary enough. They can’t be boring. Or can they?
One of the most creepy and quite disgusting details of a rotting (zombie) body are the eyes. Ever described zombies rotting, pouring out eyes for your players? Well, you should.
Another face detail that really makes zombies more ‘interesting’ is blood coming out of mouth, nose and, most of all, ears. I know such rotting dead bodies shouldn’t be bleeding but who cares, the image seems cool for me… Generally it is really good to use blood from time to time. Blood on the clothes of a zombie works well too.
Secondly, it is good to introduce the arrival in a nice way. I like the idea of dead bodies lying on the ground which, later, turn out to be zombies. PCs see them, check if there is anybody alive, maybe search for some valuable stuff. Than, suddenly, “…the bodies begin to get up…” when they are lying everywhere around the PCs. Or, even better, one of the dead catches player’s hand or embraces him.
Thirdly, one of the scariest characters of all times, in horror movies, books, RPG are… children. Of course, not ordinary ones. Children zombie is definitely a creepy idea. Many children zombies and it gets even scarier. Yes, dead children are cool.
Another thing that definitely makes zombie creepier are maggots. Maggots plus zombies and we have got a real horror. Maggots coming out from eyes, stomach, mouth, ears… I particularly like the image of zombie reaching for maggots out of his own stomach and putting them into his mouth. That is creepy…
Finally, what makes zombies more scary is making them more like normal humans. Giving them personalities. If you can recognize that one was young, another old, a man, a woman… It makes zombies more interesting. Also, it is great if you describe for the players that zombies are struggling to move, it is painful for them. I know undead can hardly feel any pain, but again, who cares if it makes them more remarkable.
Right, that is all for now. Combine few of these ideas together and you have got a brand-new image of zombie. Anything to add?
A few more items you may wish to consider:
1. Swarms - an individual zombie is a challange, but a swarm of them is another matter. When facing a swarm, you must find a defendable area and hope they don’t break in.
2. Infection - How zombies are made can change how players regard them. If zobie-ism/zobie-titis (whatever) is passed with a simple bite, your players won’t want to get too close to them.
3. Hard to kill - In many zombie movies, the only way to kill them is by decapitation or other damage to the head. Additionally, their body parts are still active if chopped off (e.g., hands). If you make your zombies immune to attacks except for those to the head, then see your players get scared the first time or 2 when they meet one. Also, if the players do hit the body, let them chop off an arm. They’ll have a feeling of accomplishment, until you have it star dragging itself after the PC’s.
Good point.
Basically, making any monster more difficult to defeat makes it more scary