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Str n/a (1) Dex n/a (1) Con n/a
Int 2 Per 7 Wil 4
DPs n/a (30)
EPs n/a
Spd 18
Essence 150 max
Attack: Soul Smite; Ecto Smack; Leech (see
Special Astral Zombie Aspects below).
Weak Spot: Religious Items and Powers (see
Destruction below).
Getting Around: Special. The astral
zombie's movement is very unique. It exists only half way
between this world and the astral world, which gives it special
advantages and disadvantages. When incorporeal, the zombie more
or less flies at will and can pass through any substance.
However, it may not come into contact with any physical object.
When corporeal, it is able to come into contact with physical objects
but only on a limited basis through the use of ectoplasm. Its
effective Strength and Dexterity when manipulating objects are 1.
It may pass through non-dense substances, such as wood or glass, but
it leaves a sticky mess everywhere when it does so. This special
Aspect is worth +5 Power.
Strength: Special (see Getting Around above).
Senses: Like Nothing You've Ever Seen; X-Ray Vision
Sustenance: Special; Soul Sucker. The astral
zombie does not feed on flesh. It feeds on the essences of
human beings. The zombie has a maximum of 150 Essence Points,
and it loses Essence Points at a rate of one per day.
Generally, they must feed at least monthly to survive. Unlike
other zombies, the astral zombie tends not eat everything in sight.
In fact, they often times choose their prey in very complicated and
deliberate manners, establishing a strict pattern for hunting and feeding.
The only time they feed excessively is when they are planning to
spawn (see Spreading the Love below).
Intelligence: Problem Solving; Teamwork; Long-Term
Memory
Spreading the Love: Spawning. When an astral
zombie wishes to create another like itself, it must spawn.
Doing so is rather simple. It must consume and store no less
than 120 Essence Points. The zombie then spends these 120
points to create another zombie by spawning it directly from itself.
The new zombie is a unique creature unto itself and is fully matured
within twenty minutes of being born (or spawned rather . . .).
Generally, astral zombies don't spawn unless their Essence Pools are
full, so as not to fully weaken themselves. Contrary to the
practice of most zombies, astral zombies rarely spawn. This special
Aspect decreases Power by 5.
Power: 89
Optional Rule: Fleshing It
This is an optional rule for those who prefer their
zombies with meat. The astral zombie gains an additional Aspect
to drain the flesh off of human beings and compose a temporary body
for itself. To do this, the zombie simply uses its Soul Sucker
ability, except instead of draining Essence Points, it drains Life Points.
These points are set aside and called Flesh Points. Once the
zombie has acquired its full number of Dead Points in Flesh Points,
its got enough flesh to constitute a full body. Generally, the
body takes the same general shape as the zombie's ghostly visage,
except that it is *really* slimy. Note that in order to have
normal features the zombie must actually consume these features.
So, if it wants eyes and hair, then it must eat the eyes and hair off
of a body (or corpse, though they do prefer the warm bodies).
This special Aspect is worth +10 Power.
This fleshy body does not really change anything as
far as game mechanics go; it just makes the zombies gorier and meatier.
The only real exception is that the zombie may not pass through hard
substances while "fleshed." If it attempts to do so,
all flesh is lost and is left clinging to the wall (or whatever)
along with a bunch of slime. Otherwise, their Flesh Points are
tallied right alongside their Dead Points, and all damage is done as normal.
Once it reaches zero Flesh Points, the body is wasted. |
They disappeared slowly, one by one. It ain't
like in the movies, where all the sudden there's zombies everywhere,
eatin' everything in sight. We didn't even see 'em till it was
too late. Heck, we don't even know how many there are.
Could only be a couple; could be an entire army. You only ever
see one at a time, but they look different. So you can sorta
tell 'em apart.
Me, I seen two at least. It was the most
God-awful sight I've ever seen. Not scary because it was all
covered with gore and screemin' like a dyin' banshee. No, it
was terrifying because a how horribly silent it was. I was just
walkin' down the hall, and there it was, comin' outta Jainie's room.
It just looked at me, real slow, then turned away. By the time
I got in there, it was too late. The monster had sucked the
soul right outta her.
Folks try to say they're just ghosts, but ghosts
don't suck the flesh off of
people's faces before they kill 'em.
And these ones ain't stupid neither, not like them movie zombies.
So, in some ways maybe they are like ghosts. These bastards
don't kill, they hunt. But there is one thing that sets them
apart from any ghost or anything else. A ghost would have to be
the restless spirit of the dead, one of our own, and by God I tell
you these beasts ain't like anything, living or dead, from this world
or the next.
Indeed, the astral zombie is a strange and alien beast
that no one would want to mess with. This creature borrows many
of its features from its fellow undead, the ghost, but carries with
it the appetite and mindlessness of the insatiable zombie. It
possesses the unique ability to exist simultaneously in both the
astral and physical worlds, and it uses this ability to do what
zombies do best -- hunt down human beings for consumption.
In appearance, astral zombies are much like ghosts.
They look like restless spirits, but it's their horribly alien nature
and hungry appetite that set them apart. The astral zombie is
also not trapped fully in the astral world as a ghost might be.
It can step into our world to wreak its havoc in entirely new ways.
Its astral powers and cunning intelligence make it one of the most
deadly form of zombies ever known.
Fortunately, these creatures are quite rare and do not
swarm in mass numbers as other zombies do. They hunt their prey
in small numbers or as solitary killers. Yet, this doesn't make
them any less terrifying. A single astral zombie is capable of
devouring the population of an entire town all by itself before
moving on to hunt further. Of course, along the way it just
might decide to spawn a small legion of buddies to join in on the feast.
Editor's Note: The
Astral Zombie presented here varies from that included in the
Abominations Codex, part of the WitchCraft line. That volume, p. 147,
may be consulted for a different take on this subject.
Special Astral Zombie Aspects
Invulnerability: When
incorporeal, the astral zombies has no Str, Con or Dex, and is immune
to physical attacks. When corporeal it has a Str of 1, a Dex of
1, and 30 Dead Points. During this time, blunt and piercing
weapons do one-third damage, while explosives, fire, and electricity
do half damage. Enchanted weapons and miracles do full damage
at all times (even when incorporeal). Power: +10
Soul Sucker: This Aspect
is essentially the same as the one described at AFMBE, p. 155. The
ability may only be used while in corporeal state. To use it,
the zombie must simply score a successful attack. The attack
must be a grab, but a firm grasp need not be made. The zombie
then latches on with its mouth and begins to suck. It drains
twice its Willpower in Essence Points from the victim, but only draws
half of those into its own Essence Pool. The other half is lost.
The process takes about twenty seconds, and the victim is left
paralyzed during the attack. Any damage done during the process
with enchanted weapons or miracles breaks the zombie's grasp and
stops the attack. Victims are only killed if reduced to zero
Essence Points. Power: +5
Soul Smite: This is a
powerful attack that the zombie uses to paralyze its opponents.
With it, the zombie lashes out with its willpower and literally
smites a por
tion of the victim's soul. The task is resolved
using the zombie's Willpower as the appropriate stat.
Furthermore, the zombie must spend 6 Essence Points to use the ability.
Success means that the victim loses D4 x 2 Essence Points and must
make a Constitution check or fall unconscious for D6 x 2 minutes.
Victims reduced to zero Essence by this ability are merely knocked unconscious.
The attack may be used in any physical state, but is generally used
to subdue victims before feeding. No Essence Points are gained
by the zombie in this attack. Power: +5
Ecto Smack: This is a
simple physical attack with an ectoplasmic limb. It does D4 x 2
regular damage and leaves a sticky mess everywhere. Power: +1
Leech: This is the zombie's only means of
feeding while noncorporeal. With it, the zombie may drain one
Essence Point per hour from an unconscious victim. The task is
resolved using the zombie's Willpower. Because it's so slow, it
is seldom used, and when it is, it's usually done on sleeping or
unconscious victims. Power: +2
Solidity: While the astral zombie is trapped
between the material world and the astral world, it is capable of
varying the degree to which it exists in these two worlds. At
will, the zombie may either solidify itself and exist closer to this
world, or it may de-solidify and exist primarily in the astral world.
This transformation takes about thirty seconds and is revolting to witness.
When incorporeal, the astral zombie looks more or less like the ghost
of a mutilated corpse. When corporeal, it looks similar, except
that it is surrounded by a thin film of ectoplasm. See Optional
Rule: Fleshing It for more on the creature's body. Power: +3
Destruction
Killing an astral zombie is a difficult task.
They only exist partially in this world, and they can only truly be
harmed by enchanted weapons or miracles. There are two ways to
kill an astral zombie. The first is to reduce it to -10 dead points.
This is easier said than done, since the last ten points of damage
can ONLY be done by an enchanted weapon or a miracle (the init
ial
damage, down to zero, may be done normally). The second way to
kill an astral zombie is to reduce it to zero Dead Points while it is
on holy ground (any kind of holy ground will do). This damage
can be done by any normal means. This special Weak Spot Aspect is
worth +10 Power.
An astral zombie that is reduced to zero hit points,
but not killed, is rendered completely incorporeal. While in
this state, the zombie is absolutely incapable of affecting the
material world. It will remain in this state
until it consumes
10 Essence Points (which it can only do through Leech). At this
point, it regains 10 Dead Points. The zombie may regenerate
further Dead Points by spending an equal amount of Essence Points.
However, it must be noted that many astral zombies do
not seek to return immediately to the physical world. Many
choose to remain in a state of slumber, which they may do for quite
some time. Some astral zombies will even enter this state of
slumber willingly. It is unknown when and why they finally
choose to wake up.
Submitted by Jon Thompson |