Zombie (monster class) - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: potholes

2026-05-28T16:00:07Z

potholes

Umbire the Phantom: /* EvilHack */ detail

2026-04-25T00:51:55Z

‎EvilHack: detail

Umbire the Phantom: touch-ups

2026-04-25T00:45:45Z

touch-ups

Umbire the Phantom: /* Generation */ tweaks

2026-04-13T15:25:47Z

‎Generation: tweaks

Umbire the Phantom: tocright

2026-04-13T15:24:06Z

tocright

Umbire the Phantom: pothole et. al.

2025-05-13T06:23:35Z

pothole et. al.

Umbire the Phantom: /* Common traits */ pothole

2025-04-12T23:13:10Z

‎Common traits: pothole

Umbire the Phantom: /* Common traits */ touch-ups and such

2025-04-12T23:12:27Z

‎Common traits: touch-ups and such

Umbire the Phantom: /* History */ small fixes

2025-04-12T23:01:12Z

‎History: small fixes

Umbire the Phantom: /* SLASH'EM */ punc

2025-02-22T23:20:32Z

‎SLASH'EM: punc

@@ Line 107: / Line 107: @@
 * {{black|Z}} [[occultist]]
 * {{black|Z}} [[hedrow zombie]]
-* {{white|Z}} [[skeletal pirate]]
+* {{white|Z}} [[Skeletal pirate (dNetHack)|skeletal pirate]]
 * {{yellow|Z}} [[hungry dead]]
 * {{black|Z}} [[gnoll ghoul]]
@@ Line 126: / Line 126: @@
 * {{blue|Z}} [[Draugr (SpliceHack)|draugr]]
 * {{black|Z}} [[vomitous ghoul]]
-* {{white|Z}} [[skeletal pirate]]
+* {{white|Z}} [[Skeletal pirate (SpliceHack)|skeletal pirate]]
 * {{monsymlink|ghast}}
 * {{monsymlink|ghoul mage}}
@@ Line 156: / Line 156: @@
 * {{brightgreen|Z}} [[centaur zombie]]
 * {{black|Z}} [[vomitous ghoul]]
-* {{white|Z}} [[skeletal pirate]]
+* {{white|Z}} [[Skeletal pirate (Hack'EM)|skeletal pirate]]
 * {{monsymlink|ghast}}
 * {{monsymlink|ghoul mage}}

@@ Line 144: / Line 144: @@
 The skeleton is given [[Skeleton (monster class)|its own monster class]], which is additionally populated with other skeletal beings.
-The 'standard' zombies of the monster class, i.e. all minus the ghoul and revenant, are reworked to behave similarly to those in GruntHack, though they have their own entries in <tt>monst.c</tt> (with adjusted difficulty and statistics) rather than using racial templates. Several modifications are made to keep them distinct and less overwhelmingly difficult while still being quite challenging: zombies can cause illness more consistently (e.g. zombie corpses always rot away and cause illness when eaten, rather than being a "normal" old corpse that also causes illness), but they revive less often, and there are more methods available to cure illness and/or dispose of the zombie. See the linked article for complete details.
+The 'standard' zombies of the monster class, i.e. all minus the ghoul and revenant, are reworked to behave similarly to those in GruntHack, though they have their own entries in <tt>monst.c</tt> (with adjusted difficulty and statistics) rather than using racial templates. Several modifications are made to keep them distinct and less overwhelmingly difficult while still being quite challenging: zombies can cause illness more consistently (e.g. zombie corpses always rot away and cause illness when eaten, rather than being a "normal" old corpse that also causes illness), but they revive less often, and there are more methods available to cure illness and/or dispose of the zombie. See the linked article at the top of the section for complete details.
-[[Sunsword]] can vaporize zombies it kills permanently, including a chance of instantly destroying them similar to other [[Bane]]-style weapons in EvilHack. The same effect is applied to the [[Hammer of the Gods]], an artifact created by combining Sunsword and [[Mjollnir]] at a [[Forge (dungeon feature)|forge]].
+[[Sunsword]] can vaporize zombies and other undead that it kills permanently, including a chance of instantly destroying them similar to other [[Bane]]-style weapons in EvilHack. The same effect is applied to the [[Hammer of the Gods]], an artifact created by combining Sunsword and [[Mjollnir]] at a [[Forge (dungeon feature)|forge]].
 ===Hack'EM===

@@ Line 124: / Line 124: @@
 [[SpliceHack]] adds a few new monsters to the monster class:
-* {{blue|Z}} [[draugr]]
+* {{blue|Z}} [[Draugr (SpliceHack)|draugr]]
 * {{black|Z}} [[vomitous ghoul]]
 * {{white|Z}} [[skeletal pirate]]
@@ Line 140: / Line 140: @@
 * {{orange|Z}} [[gnoll witherling]]
 * {{brightblue|Z}} [[revenant]]
 The skeleton is given [[Skeleton (monster class)|its own monster class]], which is additionally populated with other skeletal beings.
@@ Line 145: / Line 146: @@
 The 'standard' zombies of the monster class, i.e. all minus the ghoul and revenant, are reworked to behave similarly to those in GruntHack, though they have their own entries in <tt>monst.c</tt> (with adjusted difficulty and statistics) rather than using racial templates. Several modifications are made to keep them distinct and less overwhelmingly difficult while still being quite challenging: zombies can cause illness more consistently (e.g. zombie corpses always rot away and cause illness when eaten, rather than being a "normal" old corpse that also causes illness), but they revive less often, and there are more methods available to cure illness and/or dispose of the zombie. See the linked article for complete details.
-[[Sunsword]] can vaporize zombies it kills permanently, including a chance of instantly destroying them similar to other [[Bane]]-style weapons in EvilHack.
+[[Sunsword]] can vaporize zombies it kills permanently, including a chance of instantly destroying them similar to other [[Bane]]-style weapons in EvilHack. The same effect is applied to the [[Hammer of the Gods]], an artifact created by combining Sunsword and [[Mjollnir]] at a [[Forge (dungeon feature)|forge]].
 ===Hack'EM===
@@ Line 151: / Line 152: @@
 * {{green|Z}} [[hobbit zombie]]
-* {{blue|Z}} [[draugr]]
+* {{blue|Z}} [[Draugr (Hack'EM)|draugr]]
 * {{orange|Z}} [[gnoll witherling]]
 * {{brightgreen|Z}} [[centaur zombie]]

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 Digging up a [[grave]] has a {{frac|5}} chance of generating a non-skeleton zombie monster.{{refsrc|src/dig.c|935|nethack=3.6.7}}
-Though all monsters in this class are designated as [[corpseless]], zombies are special-cased to leave an aged corpse of their living counterparts behind upon "death" if a corpse would be dropped normally (e.g. a gnome zombie leaves an old [[Gnome (monster)|gnome]] corpse when "killed" by HP damage).{{refsrc|src/mon.c|147|nethack=3.6.7|name="undead_to_corpse"|comment=Converting monster index of undead to corpses of their living counterparts}}{{refsrc|src/mon.c|372|nethack=3.6.7|name="make_corpse"|comment=Undead corpses and their ages are handled with other "special" death drops}} This means that listed nutritional values for zombies are only relevant to [[pet]]s or [[polymorph]]ed player characters that [[digest]] zombies&mdash;corpses left behind by zombies use their normal nutritional values, though they are usually too old to be eaten safely without a [[tinning kit]].
+Though all monsters in this class are designated as [[corpseless]], the zombies are special-cased to leave an aged corpse of their living counterparts behind upon "death" if a corpse would be dropped normally (e.g. a gnome zombie leaves an old [[Gnome (monster)|gnome]] corpse when "killed" by HP damage).{{refsrc|src/mon.c|147|nethack=3.6.7|name="undead_to_corpse"|comment=Converting monster index of undead to corpses of their living counterparts}}{{refsrc|src/mon.c|372|nethack=3.6.7|name="make_corpse"|comment=Undead corpses and their ages are handled with other "special" death drops}} This means that listed nutritional values for zombies are only relevant to [[pet]]s or [[polymorph]]ed heroes that [[digest]] zombies&mdash;corpses left behind by zombies use the normal nutritional values for their living counterparts, though they are usually too old to be eaten safely without a [[tinning kit]].
 {{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|[[Lich (monster class)|Liches]] and other zombies can now raise monsters killed by them without a weapon as zombies, unless they are [[cancelled]]&mdash;the corpse will rise 5-20 turns after death if it has a corresponding zombie type, and the hero can also do this if polymorphed into a zombie or lich. Zombies and liches will [[grudge]] living monsters that can be turned into zombies.

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:24, 13 April 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	{{otheruses\|\|the type of monster\|zombie}}	+	{{tocright}}
		+	{{otheruses\|the monster class\|the specific type of monster\|zombie}}
	The '''zombie''' is a [[monster class]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is represented by the uppercase [[Z]] glyph ({{white\|Z}}). Zombies are designated internally by the macro '''S_ZOMBIE'''.{{refsrc\|include/monsym.h\|66\|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}		The '''zombie''' is a [[monster class]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is represented by the uppercase [[Z]] glyph ({{white\|Z}}). Zombies are designated internally by the macro '''S_ZOMBIE'''.{{refsrc\|include/monsym.h\|66\|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 All monsters in the zombie monster class are chaotic, [[mindless]] [[humanoid]] [[undead]] that possess [[unbreathing]] and [[infravision]]. Not all monsters in the monster class are [[zombie]]s (i.e. specifically the [[ghoul]] and [[skeleton]] are not), though all zombies are a part of this monster class. Monsters in the zombie monster class have [[cold resistance]], [[sleep resistance]] and [[poison resistance]].
-All monsters in the monster class are also [[inediate]]&mdash;the ghoul is special cased with the ability to eat old and tainted [[corpse]]s and stale [[egg]]s, but will not starve for lack of [[nutrition]]. A [[hero]] [[engulfing]] and [[digesting]] a monster in the zombie monster class while in an appropriate polyform has a {{frac|4|5}} chance of inflicting 1d8 damage unless they have [[sickness resistance]].{{refsrc|src/uhitm.c|2662|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=no digesting polyform possesses sickness resistance in vanilla NetHack}}
+All monsters in the monster class are also [[inediate]]&mdash;the ghoul is special cased with the ability to eat old and tainted [[corpse]]s and stale [[egg]]s, but will not starve for lack of [[nutrition]]. A [[hero]] that [[digest]]s a monster in the zombie monster class while in an appropriate polyform has a {{frac|4|5}} chance of inflicting 1d8 damage unless they have [[sickness resistance]].{{refsrc|src/uhitm.c|2662|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=no digesting polyform possesses sickness resistance in vanilla NetHack}}
 ===Generation===

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 ==Common traits==
-All monsters in the zombie monster class are chaotic, [[mindless]] [[humanoid]] [[undead]] that possess [[unbreathing]] and [[infravision]] - not all monsters in the monster class are [[zombie]]s (i.e. specifically the [[ghoul]] and [[skeleton]] are not), though all zombies are a part of this monster class. Monsters in the zombie monster class have [[cold resistance]], [[sleep resistance]] and [[poison resistance]].
+All monsters in the zombie monster class are chaotic, [[mindless]] [[humanoid]] [[undead]] that possess [[unbreathing]] and [[infravision]]. Not all monsters in the monster class are [[zombie]]s (i.e. specifically the [[ghoul]] and [[skeleton]] are not), though all zombies are a part of this monster class. Monsters in the zombie monster class have [[cold resistance]], [[sleep resistance]] and [[poison resistance]].
-All monsters in the monster class are also [[inediate]] - the ghoul is special cased with the ability to eat old and tainted [[corpse]]s and stale [[egg]]s, but will not starve for lack of sustenance. [[Engulf]]ing and [[digest]]ing a monster in the zombie monster class while in an appropriate polyform has a {{frac|4|5}} chance of inflicting 1d8 points of damage, unless you have [[sickness resistance]].{{refsrc|src/uhitm.c|2662|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=no digesting polyform possesses sickness resistance in vanilla NetHack}}
+All monsters in the monster class are also [[inediate]]&mdash;the ghoul is special cased with the ability to eat old and tainted [[corpse]]s and stale [[egg]]s, but will not starve for lack of [[nutrition]]. A [[hero]] [[engulfing]] and [[digesting]] a monster in the zombie monster class while in an appropriate polyform has a {{frac|4|5}} chance of inflicting 1d8 damage unless they have [[sickness resistance]].{{refsrc|src/uhitm.c|2662|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=no digesting polyform possesses sickness resistance in vanilla NetHack}}
 ===Generation===
-All randomly-generated monsters from the zombie monster class will always be hostile - they also commonly populate [[graveyard]]s, where they are always generated hostile and asleep. Digging up a [[grave]] has a {{frac|5}} chance of generating a non-skeleton zombie monster.
+All randomly-generated monsters from the zombie monster class will always be hostile.
-The zombie monster class is the first [[quest]] monster class for [[Priest]]s, and makes up {{frac|24|175}} of the monsters that are randomly generated on the [[Priest quest]]. Two random {{white|Z}} are generated on the goal level at level creation - though the remaining levels beyond the home level do not generate random {{white|Z}} at level creation, they will make up a majority of the graveyard inhabitants encountered on those levels.
+Zombie monsters commonly populate [[graveyard]]s, where they are always generated hostile and asleep at level creation, and typically make up more than half of a graveyard's monsters.{{refsrc|src/mkroom.c|480|nethack=3.6.7}}
 Skeletons are the only exception to the above in terms of generation: they are not generated randomly, and are only placed on level creation in [[Orcus Town]], which also contains graveyards with other {{white|Z}}. Monsters may polymorph into skeletons through various means, however.
-Though all monsters in this class are designated as [[corpseless]] in [[monst.c]], [[zombie]]s are special-cased to leave an aged corpse of their living counterparts behind upon "death" if a corpse would be dropped normally (e.g. a gnome zombie leaves an old [[Gnome (monster)|gnome]] corpse when "killed" by HP damage).{{refsrc|src/mon.c|147|nethack=3.6.7|name="undead_to_corpse"|comment=Converting monster index of undead to corpses of their living counterparts}}{{refsrc|src/mon.c|372|nethack=3.6.7|name="make_corpse"|comment=Undead corpses and their ages are handled with other "special" death drops}} This means that listed nutritional values for zombies are only relevant to [[pet]]s or [[polymorph]]ed player characters that [[digest]] zombies - corpses left behind by zombies use their normal nutritional values, though they are usually too old to be eaten safely without a [[tinning kit]].
+Digging up a [[grave]] has a {{frac|5}} chance of generating a non-skeleton zombie monster.{{refsrc|src/dig.c|935|nethack=3.6.7}}
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|[[Lich (monster class)|Liches]] and other zombies can now raise monsters killed by them without a weapon as zombies, unless they are [[cancelled]] - the corpse will rise 5-20 turns after death if it has a corresponding zombie type, and [[you]] can also do this if polymorphed into a zombie or lich. Zombies and liches will [[grudge]] living monsters that can be turned into zombies.
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|[[Lich (monster class)|Liches]] and other zombies can now raise monsters killed by them without a weapon as zombies, unless they are [[cancelled]]&mdash;the corpse will rise 5-20 turns after death if it has a corresponding zombie type, and the hero can also do this if polymorphed into a zombie or lich. Zombies and liches will [[grudge]] living monsters that can be turned into zombies.
 The mausoleum [[themed room]] may have a randomly generated zombie sealed and [[meditating]] within its central subroom.
-As of {{commit|852f8e49961a613fea4238cf23b89449ee5120bf|commit 852f8e4}} and {{commit|98d2b0ecb3145e698ea1f6155a75f8021d13dcfb|commit 98d2b0e}}, buried zombie corpses will revive if items land, are placed or are dropped on their square, with the response dependent on the weight of the item and the type of impact.}}
+Per {{commit|852f8e49961a613fea4238cf23b89449ee5120bf}} and {{commit|98d2b0ecb3145e698ea1f6155a75f8021d13dcfb}}, buried zombie corpses will revive if items land, are placed or are dropped on their square, with the response dependent on the weight of the item and the type of impact.}}
 ==Strategy==

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 ==History==
-The zombie first appears in Hack 1.21, a variant of [[Jay Fenlason's Hack]], where is uses the {{white|z}} glyph; it also appears in Hack for PDP-11, where it first uses the current glyph, {{white|Z}}. The zombie is included in the initial bestiary for [[Hack 1.0]], and appears in the game from that version to [[NetHack 2.3e]], using the same glyph throughout; in these versions, it is the equivalent of the modern [[human zombie]].
+The zombie first appears in Hack 1.21, which is based on [[Jay Fenlason's Hack]], and uses the {{white|z}} glyph; it also appears in Hack for PDP-11, where it first uses the current glyph, {{white|Z}}. The zombie is included in the initial bestiary for [[Hack 1.0]], and appears in the game from that version to [[NetHack 2.3e]], using the same glyph throughout; in these versions, it is the equivalent of the modern [[human zombie]].
 In [[NetHack 3.0.0]], most of the zombie monster class is introduced and differentiated, with the skeleton being added in [[NetHack 3.1.0]] and the ghoul and dwarf zombie being added in [[NetHack 3.3.0]].

@@ Line 67: / Line 67: @@
 * {{monsymlink|gug|variant=SLASH'EM}}
-The ghoul mage, ghoul queen, and gug are not mindless, and thus can be detected via [[telepathy]].
+The ghoul mage, ghoul queen and gug are not mindless, and thus can be detected via [[telepathy]].
 Zombies can be generated by using the [[raise zombies]] [[technique]] near compatible corpses.