For example, a "tiered" Zombie writeup might look something like this:
Zombies
“
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”
Zombies are physical bodies without the benefit of life or human spirit who nonetheless move about and hunger for the brains of the living. They are not respected members of the supernatural community, but are instead treated as servitors and disposable soldiers by those with necromantic powers and a social problem by most everyone else. Zombies are not traditionally considered playable, but are instead most likely to appear as tools or independent menaces in a World of Darkness campaign.
All Zombies, regardless of strength have an Orphic power source. When an extra becomes a Zombie, they become a Shambler or a Soulless depending upon the circumstances of their transformation. When a Luminary becomes a Zombie, they become a Revenant in all cases. Unlike many unplayable types, a Zombie
is made out of a human being and they
are templated onto a normal human statline.
Shamblers
“
When the dead rise, civilization will fall.”
Shamblers are the classic “slow zombies” from zombie movies from the eighties. They hunger for brains, but they are basically walking corpses who shamble around – hence the name. Shamblers are
not individually particularly dangerous. But they
are implacable and they can come in fairly large numbers. Created by Orphic sorcery or by leakage of power from Mictlan, Shamblers will thoughtlessly move toward humans and attempt to eat their brains. The opening up of a major Well to Mictlan is often accompanied by the mass animation of large numbers of corpses as Shamblers, leading to potentially terrifying armies of the things even in the face of the relative incompetence of any solitary Shambler.
A Shambler has no Charisma or Logic score and automatically fails any test it would be called upon to make. Upon creation, a Shambler's Agility is reduced by one (to a minimum of 1), and their Strength is increased by 1. A Shambler loses all of their skills, even combat skills. When not controlled magically, they really will simply walk over and relentlessly and unskillfully claw and bite at potential victims with their substantial but undirected strength. Shamblers are not specifically slower than a normal person, but they
always move at the rate of a Careful Walk even when ordered to do otherwise. Only their literally endless endurance and willingness to travel unceasingly to find brains gives their aggregate daily travels a frightening total of up to 50 kilometers a day.
A Shambler has an Orphic power source but no power schedule or Power attribute.
- Shambler Starting Disciplines
- Basic Disciplines -
- Patience of the Mountain (Basic Fortitude)
-Advanced Disciplines -
- Indomitably (Advanced Fortitude)
Soulless
“
If you look at the whole life of the planet, we... you know, man, has only been around for a few blinks of an eye. So if the infection wipes us all out, that is a return to normality. ”
The Soulless are the lately fashionable “fast zombies” of more modern cinema such as 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake. Clearly distinct from Shamblers by their bright red eyes and relatively speedy disposition, the Soulless are neither plodding nor tireless. Possessed of more humanlike speeds and faculties, the Soulless are individually much more terrifying individually. While they are rarely spawned in the tremendous numbers of Shamblers, the fact that they can and do spread their affliction readily to the living means that their numbers can easily grow out of control if not checked by heroic intervention.
A Soulless loses their Charisma but not their Logic. Their Strength is increased by 1, but their Agility is unaffected. A Soulless is consumed by rage at all times to the point of complete irrationality, but they are not actually incapable of utilizing tools. While a Soulless will
usually opt to empower a Feat of Strength to tear down a door rather than attempting to turn the knob, this is a result of their all consuming hatred rather than actual ineptitude on their part. The bite or even
spit of the Soulless can corrupt and kill mortals, and the venom they are equipped with from their serpent's tongue ability is always a fatal one.
A Soulless has an Orphic power source and a Lunar power schedule.
- Soulless Starting Disciplines
- Basic Disciplines -
- Feat of Strength (Basic Potence)
- Nimble Feet (Basic Celerity)
- Tongue of the Serpent (Basic Lure of Shadows)
Revenants
“
The Living Dead and the dying living are all the same. Cut from the same cloth. But disposing of dead people is a public service, whereas you're in all sorts of trouble if you kill someone while they're still alive.”
The Revenant is the talkative wight from virtually every piece of fiction where a Zombie is a major character. Whether the lovely She from Cemetary Man, the creepy Shelly Winters from Scary Go Round or the villainous Dark Ash and Sheila from Army of Darkness,
every Luminary who becomes a Zombie by
whatever means becomes a Revenant. Revenancy is curable, as can be plainly seen from both Scary Go Round and Army of Darkness, and it is the only form of Zombieness that is. A Revenant appears much as it did in life, save for pale white skin and darkness around the eyes. Basically they look like someone who is wearing heavy goth makeup, save that there is something
obviously unnatural about them that even the most casual observer can plainly see.
Revenants do not necessarily lose their reasoning faculties nor their personal moral compass. However, they
do hunger for the brains of the living, and are doomed to gradually weaken and lose power until they devour such. Eating the brain of a human refreshes their Power batteries, but they
don't have an unobtrusive or masquerade upholding alternative at their disposal. Sooner or later, they
will be compelled to break open a human skull and feast on the morsels inside. It is for this reason that even the usually quite open minded supernatural societies generally want Revenants cured or destroyed – their mere presence endangers the masquerade more than most covenants are willing to condone.
A Revenant has their Strength, Intuition, and Willpower all increased by 1.
A Revenant has an Orphic power source and a Feeding power schedule.
- Revenant Starting Disciplines
- Core Discipline: Fortitude -
- Patience of the Mountain (Basic Fortitude)
- Revive the Flesh (Basic Fortitude)
- Basic Disciplines -
- Compel Spirits (Basic Necromancy)
- Nimble Feet (Basic Celerity)
- Abyss of the Body (Basic Descent of Entropy)
- Second Senses (Basic Auspex)
- Feat of Strength (Basic Potence)
-Advanced Disciplines -
- Indomitably (Advanced Fortitude)
-Username17
