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So I had a question about how the plague zombies worked. In particular the Death Burst(Ex) ability.
It states, "When a plague zombie dies, it explodes in a burst of decay. All creatures adjacent to the plague zombie are exposed to its plague as if struck by a slam attack and must make a Fortitude save or contract zombie rot."
Alright, the part that trips me up is the "as if struck by a slam attack." Does that mean that they, on top of having to make a Fort save, also take the damage of the slam attack?
I think so, otherwise why specify it like that? Why not say, "exposed to its plague and must make a Fortitude save or contract zombie rot." It also makes sense as it is an explosion of sorts. But what do you all think?
No. The full clause is "exposed to its plague as if struck by a slam attack." It's not "take damage as if struck by a slam attack." Just plague exposure. As to why specify it like that, it sets the Fortitude DC, and rules often have to be overly specific to prevent possible misunderstandings and incorrect readings. It doesn't always work, but most of the time it does.
It's because the entry of his disease is tied to his slam attack, which is its usual trigger.