Beheading tactics

[Axelmania]

Neck is just as hard to hit as head and easier to destroy so as long as you clean up the heads after and prevent cultists from getting them it will permanently disable the zombie.

Looking for strategies to speed up the chances of rolling 17+ to hurt it.

Page 215 saysunder paired weapons that if you twin strike a single opponent it is a single strike roll so that is no help. Doesn't for splitting attack against two opponents though. So if fighting a group you can get two rolls per action by splitting attacks.

In another game I thought there was something that let you add a bonus but let it count as a natural roll but not sure what it was. Closest I can think is life/shot/hit/kill from N&S.

[filo_clarke]

Unfortunately, you might need to pick and choose your rules in order to increase bonuses to strike.

In The Compendium of Weapons and Armor, and also Heroes Unlimited, superior-crafted weapons can gain combat bonuses
In PFRPG, striking from Behind adds a +2 to Strike
Being Motivated or even Highly Motivated apparently adds +1 to all combat actions (as well as other bonuses), but this wouldn't likely apply to killing a bunch of zombies
Attacking a Prone Opponent gives a +6 to Strike and +4 to Damage

Ultimately, severing a head is probably a difficult move, and shouldn't be easy for low level PCs. As they gain experience and better weapons, then their odds will improve significantly. As a GM, I am rarely concerned when the players find it difficult to do something that is actually difficult; because I know that it is all just a step along their path to becoming better at it.

[Axelmania]

Bonuses will help with targeting other limbs. I need ways to increase natural rolls or to get more rolls though, since only natural rolls count.

[filo_clarke]

Bonuses will help with targeting other limbs. I need ways to increase natural rolls or to get more rolls though, since only natural rolls count.

This is a matter of some contention on these boards. While under the Zombie Attributes section, the Natural Die Roll Only for Head/Neck shots is clear, elsewhere in the book the rules contradict this (especially where firearms come into play). For instance p.182 & 183 describe combat distances like Point Blank and Close Range Combat, wherein these conditions add a +3/+1 to strike the Head/Neck (respectively). So the Natural Die Roll Only rule is not as clear as you might think. If range bonuses apply, then do range penalties? To hit a zombie at 1 mile, in a snowstorm, at midnight with an un-scoped rifle might impose a -20 or more for a main body shot (requiring a result of 35+ to defeat the zombie's AR, after bonuses are factored in; all but impossible for a Dead Reign character). But according to the Natural Die Roll Only rule, you only need to get a 17+ on the die for a head shot under the same circumstances... so the distance+weather+lighting make it... easier... to accomplish a head shot than a body shot?

While I cannot argue the wording in the main book, I think that if you asked around on these boards you would find that Dead Reign GMs largely ignore the "Natural Die Roll Only" rule, and simply make it a 17+, with bonuses factored in. This is already a difficult shot, and given the wealth of penalties it is possible to accrue (range, weather, lighting, illness, fatigue, pain, etc.) versus the few bonuses (close range, weapon customization, etc.) it is not too much of a "gift" to the players to be able to include their bonuses when trying to make a called shot on the head/neck of a zombie.

Around my table, we refer to it as the "Soccermom/Sniper" argument: A highly-trained, experienced sniper, veteran of foreign wars, armed with the latest precision rifle, firing on a nearby zombie from a concealed position has EXACTLY the same chances to perform a head shot as a level 1 soccermom using a rusty, bent POS gun with iron sights, shooting a zombie a mile away? According to the rules; yes.

According to me, as a GM; no.

But that is just my two-cents. If you are looking for ways to raise a "Natural Number" on the die, then I suggest Kime Kata from Ninjas & Superspies (doubles the die-roll, if I recall correctly). Likewise Crane-Style Kung-Fu has a kata that adds bonuses to the critical strike of the PC (not sure if this counts as a "Natural Number" or not), as well as One Life/Shot/Hit/Kill that you already mentioned.

Good luck.

[Jefffar]

The biggest problem with beheading attacks is that you have to get close enough to the zombie for them to have a chance of grabbing you if you fail. Against a pack of zombies even if you succeed in beheading one, the rest all get a chance at you before your next swing.

Your best bet is to stay at range as much as possible and either accept the penalty for headshots or accept the excessive ammunition use in accumulating enough torso hits to put them down.

[Axelmania]

Since technically any attack can deplete neck SDC to behead them couldn't you just shoot at the neck from a distance? Same penalties as a head shot but fewer damage needed to disable them, and if you roll low you shoot the main body which is still good since it slows the zombie down.

[filo_clarke]

Since technically any attack can deplete neck SDC to behead them couldn't you just shoot at the neck from a distance? Same penalties as a head shot but fewer damage needed to disable them, and if you roll low you shoot the main body which is still good since it slows the zombie down.

Again, yes, according to the rules as long as you inflict damage to the neck's SDC that fully depletes it, the zombie is decapitated. However, this implies that you could easily decapitate with a sledgehammer (blunt weapons inflict full damage), but a 7.62mm NATO cartridge would require many, many rounds to decapitate (under .38 caliber inflicts only 10% damage to the neck). So, again as per the rules inflicting 16+ damage to the neck of an average zombie (factoring in damage reduction due to weapon type) decapitates it. Common sense might suggest that a single sledgehammer blow and 10 rifle rounds should have different effects on the neck of a zombie.

The rules of this game are meant to approximate "real life" effects, and as such may have to be tweaked to cover all possible scenarios that a group could encounter.