Zombie (GruntHack)
Z zombie 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 5 |
| Attacks |
Claw 1d8, bite sickness / int drain 2d1 |
| Base level | 4 |
| Base experience | 41 |
| Speed | 6 |
| Base AC | 8 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | -3 (chaotic) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 3 (Rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 1450 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Small |
| Resistances | Cold, sleep, poison |
| Resistances conveyed |
None |
|
A zombie:
| |
Zombies in GruntHack are significantly more dangerous than their vanilla counterparts. They possess a sickness-inducing bite attack which has a 1-in-5 chance of draining intelligence (as the mind flayer), revive (as per trolls and the Riders), and can be generated as any monster race. Racial creatures killed by zombies or by the sickness from a zombie bite will themselves turn into the respective type of zombie.
Generation
Randomly generated zombies are always hostile.
A zombie will leave an aged corpse of whatever racial monster they were when they die.
Strategy
Zombies are extremely dangerous early in the game, due to their bite attack. Consumables such as eucalyptus leaves, potions of holy water, extra healing, or full healing can cure sickness but are rare, and in limited supply. A priority for an early character should be to acquire a unicorn horn; they cure illness and restore lost attributes, and allows the player to eat zombie corpses to get rid of them, by curing the sickness eating an old corpse induces.
Ranged attacks are effective at dealing with zombies without the risk of instadeath; Roles such as Ranger or Wizard start with powerful ranged options. More melee-focused roles may wish to gather a small stack of missile weapons such as daggers or darts to use against zombies.
All non-undead creatures grudge zombies, so leading them to a powerful monster like a shopkeeper or aligned priest can be effective in dealing with them. For this reason, areas such as minetown that have many peaceful monsters are generally safer when fighting zombies.
Encyclopedia entry
The zombi ... is a soulless human corpse, still dead, but taken from the grave and endowed by sorcery with a mechanical semblance of life, -- it is a dead body which is made to walk and act and move as if it were alive.
