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Old 04-14-2018, 08:00 PM
swaghauler swaghauler is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: PA
Posts: 1,481
Default On Infected Subjects

One of the big issues I have with "Zombie Infestations" is the apparently DEADLY nature of zombies in HTH. They can bite a 6" deep wound in a guy's shoulder and rip out a person's "guts" with their bare hands. I'm sorry, but people are much harder to disembowel than most zombie movies make them. Skin is tough enough that ballistic gel (calibrated to replicate human muscle) is said to represent 1/3rd of its penetration when considering skin (ie 3" of penetration in ballistic gel is equal to the penetration of just a man's SKIN).
To replicate this, I'd give a zombie a killing bite of from 0 (no penetration) to 2 points of wound damage (roll 1D3-1). Most HTH attacks would be "grappling attacks" designed to immobilize their "prey" so that they can "eat" (bite) that prey. This will result in a number of people getting bitten but then escaping from the grasp of their attackers.

Zombie/Infected Intelligence:

I can see "classes" of Infected with varying "cognitive function" based on their rate of disease progression. The newly infected may be functioning like a normal human "on a bad acid trip." They will be "attacking" because of the hallucinations they are experiencing and they may be very high functioning. Those at the end of the disease's "progression" may be barely functional, unable to climb stairs, blocked by closed doors and falling off of roofs or cliffs as though they were unable to perceive those obstacles. Here is an idea I have to mirror this cognitive decline:

Shufflers:

These Infected are at the END of the disease progression. They can only perceive normal objects up to INT X 5 meters away (explosions or gunfire will be perceived MUCH further away). They cannot open closed doors unless they push open (like fire doors), climb stairs WITHOUT a roll (INT+AGL or less on 1D20) and cannot "understand" glass (they will "claw" at it unable to understand why they cannot move towards the "food" they are seeing). Shufflers will be primarily nocturnal as bright light will hurt their eyes (like migraine sufferers) due to swelling of their brains. They will also move like drunks and have a reduced movement.

Shamblers:

These Infected are more "high functioning" than the aforementioned "Shufflers." They can climb stairs without a task roll. They are STILL blocked by glass (due to the same perception issues as "shufflers") but can climb ladders, fences, and open doors with latches (handles and knobs) if they roll against (INT+AGL). They can perceive objects at INT X 10 meters and HEAR loud noises MUCH further. "Shamblers" may or may not be nocturnal and several of them may group together just following each other in search of food. Some "Shamblers" may conduct fairly complex activities in a repetitive manner, playing an instrument for instance or loading items into bins or shelves. This is attributed to "learned instinct" or "muscle memory"

Runners:

The highest functioning and most dangerous Infected. Most of these will be Phase II infected but there are Phase III "Runners." They can open doors, climb fences, and ladders. They may even use melee weapons if they roll INT or less on 1D10. They can perceive window glass and will try to break it. They are as fast as any other human. They will also "scream" or "roar" when they see "food" which can attract other Infected.

An Infected is "classified" by the chart below:

Phase II
Infected is a Shuffler if they roll 5 or more over INT on 1D10.
Infected is a Shambler if they roll over INT on 1D10.
Infected is a Screamer if they roll INT or Less on 1D10.

Phase III
Infected is a Shuffler if they roll OVER INT on 1D10.
Infected is a Shambler if they roll INT to 4 UNDER INT on 1D10.
Infected is a Screamer if they roll 5 UNDER INT on 1D10.

Each week the Infected is in Phase III REQUIRES a new classification check with a reduction of 1 to INT. This represents the debilitation of long-term infection.
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