A discrepancy that bothers me. . .

[Illendaver]

I don't have the books in front of me so I can't quote pages but I seem to recall that the zombies in Dead Reign will kill anything that is alive because it releases the PPE that sustains them.

I also remember reading about zombies that are crawling with bugs, thus adding to the danger of infection.

Why don't the zombies eat/kill the bugs? Sure it might only be a half a PPE point each, but if your talking about a few hundred bugs dying just because you rolled over and squished half of what is on your body that should be worth doing to the zombies.

[Tirisilex]

Zombies prefer human PPE.. They will turn to animals as a last resort.. I'm not sure if they would bother with bugz.

[Tor]

Even zombies have standards. The PPE of bugs may be so small that zombies can't even discern it visually. Perhaps something needs to have at least 1 point to be visible and a bug probably doesn't have that much. Kind of like how we can't see a lot of microbes without a microscope.

[Tirisilex]

Even zombies have standards. The PPE of bugs may be so small that zombies can't even discern it visually. Perhaps something needs to have at least 1 point to be visible and a bug probably doesn't have that much. Kind of like how we can't see a lot of microbes without a microscope.

seconded

[Tor]

Plus there's that bug-infested zombie in one of the sourcebooks I think... who might end up eating himself (or being eaten by other zombies) if this were an issue.

[Trent]

Unless its zombie survivor with its own TV show . In that case they will be paid to eat bugs . (WHAT ?!? IT COULD HAPPEN !!! HAVE YOU SEEN THE CRAP ON TV THESE DAYS ?)

[Tor]

Something tells me that in this post-apocalyptic world, paying someone to eat bugs from zombies is one of the minor minor things people will get up to with them.

Especially with the introduction of Pretty Zombies in the subsequent sourcebook.

[whassupman03]

Hello...

Unless its zombie survivor with its own TV show . In that case they will be paid to eat bugs . (WHAT ?!? IT COULD HAPPEN !!! HAVE YOU SEEN THE CRAP ON TV THESE DAYS ?)

Seconded! Fear Factor really creeps me out though, and I eventually got so disgusted I stay away from the show nowadays (Personally, I really worry that one day someone's going to pull a stunt that will send someone to the hospital or worse... ). Anyway, I don't have the right sourcebook with me right now, but I will try to give directions to obtain constructive information on the topic at hand. Using my memory from Dead Reign Sourcebook 2: Dark Places, you have to remember that there are at least two zombie types that are known for particular bug infestation - Bug Boys (Which are crawling with roaches and such things) and Worm Meat (Zombies that are infested with lots and lots of worms). Both can spread disease, and the Worm Meat zombies spread a special form of Zombie Rot known as Worm Rot, which is different but just as deadly (Or worse... ). Even so, I tend to think that if these zombies are constantly infested with copious amounts of insects, I would think that they really don't care about what they taste like (Maybe it's because there is so little P.P.E. in the bugs, or because the flavor just doesn't appeal to them). In other words, you may be able to find good information to answer your questions in the second sourcebook for Dead Reign. Conclusively, I have to go, so please take care; thanks a bunch, and have a good day.

whassupman03

[JimmyB]

I don't see a discrepancy.
Reason being.... Zombies have PPE too. So why dont they eat them selves?
It was mentioned that bugs may simply have such a small amount it is undetectable.
So I will put my vote on that idea. As it keeps things simple

[say652]

I was under the impression the more ppe/isp a character had the more zombies they would draw to them.

[JimmyB]

That makes perfect sense to me.

There should be a table, just like the Zombie Moan.
The more PPE, the further away they can detect it.

[say652]

At the citadel I played in a sit in with a demigod, burster with flight. Any who the party ditched me because I was a Zed magnent.

[whassupman03]

Hello...

I don't see a discrepancy.
Reason being.... Zombies have PPE too. So why dont they eat them selves?
It was mentioned that bugs may simply have such a small amount it is undetectable.
So I will put my vote on that idea. As it keeps things simple

I wouldn't know why the zombies don't eat themselves, but I do tend to think that we and zombies have something in common - we don't have a taste for insects. My belief leans towards the theory that zombies prefer certain "flavors" of P.P.E. to others, and copious quantities of it as well. Anyway, please take care; thanks a bunch, and have a good day.

whassupman03

[say652]

Nothing wrong with eating bugs. Ants taste like sugar. Grasshoppers are grainy and ahould be cooked. Um grubs are gross and taste like dirt but if its do or die time. Bugs are perfectly edible. Jussayin.

[whassupman03]

Hello...

Nothing wrong with eating bugs. Ants taste like sugar. Grasshoppers are grainy and ahould be cooked. Um grubs are gross and taste like dirt but if its do or die time. Bugs are perfectly edible. Jussayin.

Well I can understand that. But for many people (Like me... ), eating bugs is not going to be their first choice when reading the menu. Sure there are some people who prefer various insects as "gourmet" delicacies, complete with their own recipes, but many other people don't. As for survival purposes - when picky eaters come across true hunger in the wilderness for the first time, they will often give up their picky eating habits in favor of something edible to eat - even if it's something they don't care for. Therefore, a lot of picky people will learn to do with what they have available - bugs included - because in many instances they will have no alternative. But anyway, YMMV. Please take care; thanks a bunch, and have a good afternoon.

whassupman03

[say652]

Yea. Rightaway Survival training. I totally puked when I tried to eat a grub. "Sabretooth" went pukelear eating skunk cabbage, "Super Johnny" got taken out by a raw rainbow trout, It's just sush........raaaaawwwwwwww.

Leaving a dozen over muscular men in the woods woth limited supervision. Yea its like mentally challenged Kindergarten class keeps you're transmission lines vegetation free. Lol

And we do have zombie protocols. And dragon fighting strategies. Lol

[whassupman03]

Hello...

Yea. Rightaway Survival training. I totally puked when I tried to eat a grub. "Sabretooth" went pukelear eating skunk cabbage, "Super Johnny" got taken out by a raw rainbow trout, It's just sush........raaaaawwwwwwww.

Leaving a dozen over muscular men in the woods woth limited supervision. Yea its like mentally challenged Kindergarten class keeps you're transmission lines vegetation free. Lol

And we do have zombie protocols. And dragon fighting strategies. Lol

LOL! Sounds like fun. Needless to say, it's a rude awakening for everyone who isn't prepared. Anyway, have a good afternoon say652.

whassupman03

[Tor]

I was under the impression the more ppe/isp a character had the more zombies they would draw to them.

PPE yes, other types of energy like ISP or Chi are not indicated as being sensed by them.

At the citadel I played in a sit in with a demigod, burster with flight. Any who the party ditched me because I was a Zed magnent.

Easily solved by wiping out the zombie infestation single-handedly.

[say652]

One hours flight, fire blasts cost isp. Had decent sdc and supernatural strength but not capable of stopping the entire horde.
Did flip cars forming a wall. Used the ole flare taped to a gascan trick. I had an eight shot 870 so the gauge was my weapon of choice.

[glitterboy2098]

i've seen several posts that are basically "why don't zombies do this [intelligent thing]", and my mental response is always "because zombies aren't that smart." you might as well ask why zombies don't grab shotguns and ambush the survivors, or use demolitions to bring down houses.

zombies are basically instinctive eating machines. they don't think, with the exception of a few rare types, they just act according to instinct and simple urges. one of which is "eat people'.. if they could think beyond that they'd not just shamble around in the open when faced with armed survivors.

[say652]

Half deads and intelligent zombies do exist but are rare.
I like the franken Zombies.. runner legs, brute arms.
Since their smarter than most they are very dangerous.
The sexy zombies are always good for a player kill.
And a half dead driving a citybus full of shamblers is a great Trojan horse.

Since you cant fet infected in DR it takes away a lot of the bunker breaker scenerios classic to zonbie movies though.

[Tor]

might as well ask why zombies don't grab shotguns and ambush the survivors, or use demolitions to bring down houses.

I think a Mocker might manage that.

A bit unclear on just how indirect a kill can be for it to count as your attack though. Always been a dilemma, whether we're talking zombies, psi-stalkers, apoks or inquisitors.

[glitterboy2098]

might as well ask why zombies don't grab shotguns and ambush the survivors, or use demolitions to bring down houses.

I think a Mocker might manage that.

A bit unclear on just how indirect a kill can be for it to count as your attack though. Always been a dilemma, whether we're talking zombies, psi-stalkers, apoks or inquisitors.

thus why i put "with the exception of a few rare types"..
the normal zombie types are pretty dumb, and only seem to do smart things because of their instincts and the tendency to gather in big groups.

[JimmyB]

It tells in the descriptions which ones will do more.
For the most part though, as mentioned they are all to stupid.
Short of being one of the various Thinkers, it would never
occur to the average sloucher to grab a gun and use it.

[whassupman03]

Hello...

It tells in the descriptions which ones will do more.
For the most part though, as mentioned they are all to stupid.
Short of being one of the various Thinkers, it would never
occur to the average sloucher to grab a gun and use it.

And even so, it tends to be the case that even Thinkers and other smart zombies have trouble with such complex tasks. In accordance with some descriptions, they may be able to grab a gun and fire it, but their neural capacity is so degraded that they would have the brainpower of a chimpanzee, so aim and the notion of reloading the gun would be problematic at best. Still, they can fire it, and even random blind fire is dangerous enough. Please take care; thanks a bunch, and have a good day.

whassupman03

[Tor]

I got the impression Thinkers could aim, but it does restrict their reload, but then, reloading is why we have Cultists.

*wondering if Cultist could train Thinker to carry or toss back empty weapons so I could put in new clips*

[JimmyB]

I would think training them to toss something is theoretically easy.
But getting them to toss it accurately?....

[Tor]

Hm, throwing IRL is a complicated skill but apart from whether or not people have the Targeting skill there doesn't seem to be a huge difference in how well people can aim, so they've a d20's chance.

[asajosh]

I don't have the books in front of me so I can't quote pages but I seem to recall that the zombies in Dead Reign will kill anything that is alive because it releases the PPE that sustains them.

I also remember reading about zombies that are crawling with bugs, thus adding to the danger of infection.

Why don't the zombies eat/kill the bugs? Sure it might only be a half a PPE point each, but if your talking about a few hundred bugs dying just because you rolled over and squished half of what is on your body that should be worth doing to the zombies.

Perhaps zombies prefer humans over other sources of PPE because:
1 - Relatively easy to catch
2 - One human can release PPE to multiple zombies
3 - Humans rise as zombies and spread.

[AzathothXy]

I always figured since the zombies were magically crated/engineered by the Death Cults or Brulyx himself, that they were 'hardwired' to go after humans only.

[whassupman03]

Hello...

I've been thinking about the concept of bug-infested zombies, and a thought occurred to me: What if there's some sort of symbiotic relationship between the bugs and the zombies? Perhaps the zombies use their integral bug colonies as a way to better disable sources of good P.P.E., like that of humans. Think about it - you as a zombie see a bunch of victims, and you know that you probably can't take them all on at once, but if you can at least infect one with Zombie Rot or; even better; Worm Rot, you can disable the victim to the point that it becomes easier prey. Sure you won't be able to extend flying tendrils of bugs like some sort of bug-based telekinesis, but by simply maintaining physical contact with a victim when you bite a big chunk out of him, you can make it easier to extract the P.P.E. on account of the Rot. Anyway, those are just my thoughts. Even so, please take care; thanks a bunch, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

whassupman03

[Tor]

Perhaps zombies prefer humans over other sources of PPE because:
1 - Relatively easy to catch
2 - One human can release PPE to multiple zombies
3 - Humans rise as zombies and spread.

1) I think a zombie will pursue a running human in favor of a chained-up dog or bridled-horse so I do not think ease is necessarily it. A teenager can run faster than an old man but the zombies will favour the teen for the high PPE if they split up even if they could catch granny quicker.

2) Does this mean animals killed by zombies do not spread PPE... I figured they would. Also, not sure if zombies would want to be altruistic and share PPE like that. I even thought some like Flesh-eaters even put off killing a target until other zombies leave to avoid sharing.

3) That has to be it, perhaps a Brulyx-encoded initiative to spread. Despite the strength-in-numbers thing, more zombies means more people to share PPE with which makes it hard to survive long-term.

A fourth issue would be that we just have a lot of PPE in general to give, the PPE of other species gets halved or thirded or something, if I recall. So even some big animals who have more PPE than us (like I think Tigers or something) would end up giving less in the end.

[whassupman03]

Hello...

1) I think a zombie will pursue a running human in favor of a chained-up dog or bridled-horse so I do not think ease is necessarily it. A teenager can run faster than an old man but the zombies will favour the teen for the high PPE if they split up even if they could catch granny quicker.

2) Does this mean animals killed by zombies do not spread PPE... I figured they would. Also, not sure if zombies would want to be altruistic and share PPE like that. I even thought some like Flesh-eaters even put off killing a target until other zombies leave to avoid sharing.

3) That has to be it, perhaps a Brulyx-encoded initiative to spread. Despite the strength-in-numbers thing, more zombies means more people to share PPE with which makes it hard to survive long-term.

A fourth issue would be that we just have a lot of PPE in general to give, the PPE of other species gets halved or thirded or something, if I recall. So even some big animals who have more PPE than us (like I think Tigers or something) would end up giving less in the end.

And don't forget...

Spoiler:

Humans are good for voluntarily releasing their P.P.E. in massive quantities when participating in a Death Cult. They don't usually know it, but that's what they do, and that's what keeps the zombies from killing them.

...please take care; thanks a bunch, and have a good day.

whassupman03