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It used to be that the dead (zombies) would rise because of some ancient evil, the end times of a religion; there was usually some sort of super natural explanation for zombies.
Lately I have seen people preferring to use a virus as the motivating factor for the corpse rather then a super natural one.
. I seem to remember vampires were predatorily creatures of darkness, cursed by the gods…I seem to remember one RPG mythology (I have forgotten which one) has the first vampire be Cain, forever cursed to wander.
I have also noticed something similar with vampires and their bite transmitting a virus. Perhaps it is the “Blade” movies
I seem to remember were wolves were often cursed, the inner beast was unleashed and they would go on killing sprees, often killing those they love most.
Now I have seen were wolves envisioned as shape shifting druids.
Not that a supernatural vs. natural explanations are mutually exclusive,
I am curious
Do people prefer a supernatural or “virus” explainaiton for their vampires/ zombies etc?
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
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Depends wholly on the rest of the setting.
For vampires I typically prefer magic.
For werewolves I really like genetics (born to be a werewolf but I also like magic curses.
For those two I'm no t so into viral explanations but if the rest of the setting is solid then I can be persuaded.
Now with zombies I'm much more open.
The virus works in non magical and modern settings better than it does in medieval traditional fantasy settings and vice-versa.
I also really like Cherie Priest's poison gas explanation from her book Boneshaker.
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Virus = science fiction / modern horror.
Magic / ancient evil = fantasy / classic horror.
I prefer the dark magic, or just plain magic, for my fantasy. I do my best to eliminate science as an explanation for anything in my game.
It depends on what I need from the zombies. If I need there to be no one to blame, then a virus can work (have the contagion harder to spread to keep numbers down if necessary). If I need a BBEG, then dark magic is the way to go.
If they are virus-infected OR if they are fast, they aren't zombies to me.
. I seem to remember vampires were predatorily creatures of darkness, cursed by the gods…I seem to remember one RPG mythology (I have forgotten which one) has the first vampire be Cain, forever cursed to wander.
Well, making Cain a forefather of all vampires (Lilims opinion aside) was staple of aptly named Vampire: The Masquarade.
Not that a supernatural vs. natural explanations are mutually exclusive,
I am curiousDo people prefer a supernatural or “virus” explainaiton for their vampires/ zombies etc?
Really, really depends upon a setting and particular game. If there is magic in the setting then magic is way to go. In more modern-like settings biological pathogen works fine.
And of course there is possibility for magically active biological pathogen (like certain strains of Gotha virus of Inifinte Wolrds setting)
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I think that is the best answer; in a standard magic campaign, dark magics raise zombies; other more intelligent undead can have unholy magics of the land raise them (ghouls can just "create" themselves from particularly violent murderers). Vampires in both worlds are disease-like; drinking enough vamp blood or having all your blood drained by a vamp to become their slave. Werewolves I'm good with natural lycanthropy and the fierce, out-of-control disease existing side by side.
Dark foul necromancy. I've become burnt out on Clark's Third Law and correlarys (Misspelled).
Slither-like slug possession/hive mind infestation.
I prefer dark magic. The virus thing has been beat to death(pun intended), and I've always preferred the old-school skeletal, flesh barely clinging to exposed bones kind of zombies. Hard to do that with a virus.
I find that the ones raised by magicians have a stronger, more well defined flavor, but you can't beat the tenderness of a virus-raised zombie. As long as they are flesh-fed and brain finished, I like 'em.
Do people prefer a supernatural or “virus” explainaiton for their vampires/ zombies etc?
For me:
Medieval/Fantasy: necromancers/supernatural
Modern: virus
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How do you like your zombies raised? by dark foul necromancy or by a virus?
Both. Both can happily exist within the game, and both facilitate different types of motivations, events, and plots.
Somebody has to create the first plague zombie. Whether this was in some arcane laboratory or with a holy symbol, the plague zombie now exists, and can create an apocalypse. Maybe the big bad, being undead himself, or being able to simply control undead left and right due to his class features and equipment (spells like command undead, channel energy command undead, rod of undead control, or just being able to convenient snuff out hordes of zombies with trivial efficiency) makes some plague zombies to wipe out a village, and then next thing you know, you've got tons of zombies everywhere, while the big bad is laughing about it from on high.
Or, you can have your classic zombie mongering necromancer who has giant zombie ogres under his control that serve as meat shields and such, who don't spread disease, and are more controlled. In fact, this is probably the type of zombie that a good necromancer will use against hordes of plague zombies because they're immune to the disease (being undead), and make for a good zombie vs zombie counter.
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On vampires. Vampires aren't made by spells, theoretically. Vampires turn other people into vampires because they are killed by vampires. But it's definitely not a disease like with Blade. For example, when a vampire kills an enemy by draining their levels, they turn into vampires. So it doesn't really matter of the vampire bites you or claws you to death, either way you're its b!@@*-minion soon.
Vampires are undead with a bit of a chicken and egg complex, only without a clear winner (eggs came first obviously), since there's no way to create the first vampire in the core rules (create undead and create greater undead can create ghouls, ghasts, morgues, mummies, shadows, wraiths, spectres, and devourers but not vampires), and you have to have a vampire to get a vampire. Thus vampirism probably comes from some sort of curse or blessing or something from a wish or miracle spell or something, or something that has existed since the dawn of the campaign world.
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On werewolves. Like with zombies, werewolves and other lycanthropes appeal to both camps. Lycanthropy is both a gift and a curse. Those bitten by lycanthropes have to adapt to the changes before they can control themselves, and it usually ends pretty violently for those around them. Meanwhile, natural lycanthropes are in full control of themselves, having been born with it as an innate part of their being. Presumably they are more balanced as it can neither be cured from them, nor do is it a curse upon them.
Thus even in D&D, you have your werebeasts that shapeshift due to their heritage, and you have the cursed bloodthirsty rampaging werewolves, who eventually could overcome their curse. We have the best of both worlds, and I will frequently use both for different purposes.
On an unrelated note, which you reminded me of comparing druids and lycanthropes: In Baldur's Gate II, one of the class subtypes for druids was the shapeshifter. This particular druid archtype gave up the ability to shapeshift into different types of animals (those animals tended to suck anyway), and instead turn themselves into werewolves and greater werewolves, which made you a barrel of awesome (you gained their natural attacks, immunities to weapons, huge stat adjustments, heavy AC adjustments, speed improvements, and great damage. Just a barrel of win really :P). It was a very cool archtype.
Why not use necromancy to change a virus?
I'm good with any method of creating zombies, so long as the end result is the horde feasting on societies collective brain matter.
Sadly you don't get either. :P
Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.
I'm good with any method of creating zombies, so long as the end result is the horde feasting on societies collective brain matter.Sadly you don't get either. :P
Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.
I prefer the "undead diet" rules from 3.5's Libris Mortis. I handwave most of the bookkeeping, but use the dietary needs of undead as a motivator for plot hooks.
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Undead are powered by magic. Which means you could also have a blight/pox infused with negative energy, and zombies raising from the corpses left behind by the spreading disease - but again, they're animated by the magic element, not the viral one - which is just the vessel for the undead curse.
Sort of the ghoul fever, or mummy rot.
Werewolves suffer from a curse that twists genetics with powerful magicks. Deal with it.
Sadly you don't get either. :P
Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.
That is a general rule. Some undead do eat, and sleep. Never seen one breath but I guess some could.
A winter wolf skeltal champion would still have its breath weapon though so that could be breathing.
Zombies that raise because of some magic and terrible, yet addictive, drug.
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I used to hate the virus method for zombies until a friend of mine ran a GURPS zombie game wherein everyone got the virus at the same time and the survivors were the ones who overcame it. RP'ing the flu doesn't necessarily sound fun, but if you know that failing the next roll makes you a brain-eater, it's pretty damn stressful.
In high fantasy, I steer clear of scientific explanations for any sort of plagues, let alone zombies. An alchemist might be able to use an extract to come up with an alchemical cure as a special plot device once in a while, but you won't see any pharmaceutical representatives in Narnia. Not on my watch, anyway.
For the most part, I think the best zombie fiction never gives an explanation for the zombies, ala Walking Dead (for comics/movies) or Dystopia Rising (for rpg's). It's an unknown, and no one wastes time trying to figure it out because they're too busy staying alive.
pure evil
That is a general rule. Some undead do eat, and sleep. Never seen one breath but I guess some could.
Sadly you don't get either. :P
Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.
I was just kidding anyway. A lot of undead pass for normal people with no problem. In game terms, it actually seems more of a do not need to. I see no issues with having your zombies eat brains if that's how you want to flavor them in your campaign. They just don't need to. :P
a virus can not control an entire organism to do relatively complex actions. the amount of coordination would be too much for an "organism" smaller than a bacterium. I prefer supernatural creatures to stay that way, not turn into ridiculous explanations that pretend to be science. I have an ongoing argument w/ one of my friends about this, and we decided that the only parasite that could turn something into a "zombie" would be a fungus. That aside, zombies are UNDEAD, not infected people. ITS IN THE DICTIONARY. Zombies don't have to be created by a necromancer, any source of strange, otherworldly power that can raise the dead is capable of producing, what I call True Zombies. If a work of fiction uses a non-undead "zombie", then it is not a zombie. period.
I like my zombie to born again, my friend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IImqniitiMU
Alien space balls.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
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I like my zombie to born again, my friend.
steely dan Sign in stranger
Something was wonky with the link so I figured I'd fix it for you. It looks like you transposed the URL with what was supposed to appear in the post.
Whichever tastes better BBQ'ed.
a virus can not control an entire organism to do relatively complex actions. the amount of coordination would be too much for an "organism" smaller than a bacterium. I prefer supernatural creatures to stay that way, not turn into ridiculous explanations that pretend to be science. I have an ongoing argument w/ one of my friends about this, and we decided that the only parasite that could turn something into a "zombie" would be a fungus. That aside, zombies are UNDEAD, not infected people. ITS IN THE DICTIONARY. Zombies don't have to be created by a necromancer, any source of strange, otherworldly power that can raise the dead is capable of producing, what I call True Zombies. If a work of fiction uses a non-undead "zombie", then it is not a zombie. period.
Here here! *buys you a round*
I don't mind the Resident Evil-style virus, the kind that may have a side effect of horrific mutation, etc. But the common modern zombie, just being a person infected by something, just doesn't cut it for me. I do not like the "28 Days Later" zombies(never saw the sequel). Sure, they were scary, but not ZOMBIES.
Donuts.
"Uuunnnnnggggnnnn......donuts......" **drools**
I love undead to death regardless of where they come from. Magic? Virus? Radiation? It's all the same to me.
I'm firmly in the magic camp.
To me the whole idea of a zombie is from the practice of necromancy. Yes I left out the whole "dark,foul" stuff because necromancy is in and of itself isn't evil as noted in the scared lands setting and the city of necromancers.
Anyway even in modern fantasy settings like shadowrun or d20 modern zombies to me are necromantic creations not virus infected monsters.
Its hard for me to suspend disbelief in a virus that turns people into actually-dead-but-walking-around zombies. A virus that drives people dangerously and savagely insane I can handle, but not one that animates a corpse and allows it to move around. Or one that makes people immune to bleeding out when they get shot in the (non-head) vitals.
Similarly, the traits of vampires and werewolves can't really be explained scientifically. Attempts to do so fall flat IMO.
OTOH, I don't know how magic works, so a magical "explanation" is easier to take.
