d30 Challenge Day 15

This is my 15th entry in the d30 Challenge, which is a bastardization of an idea I first saw on Mark "CMG" Clover's feed. Now I'm a sucker for these things and I know some folks aren't so while I'm committed to answering one question about my favorite hobby each day, and putting together a d30 table before the end of the month, I know not everyone is so interested. I'll put the question & answer after the break, posting late in the day, and not promoting this on G+ so those who don't like this kind of thing should be exposed only minimally.

I think this is the best I can do....
Day 15's question is "Favorite Undead".

I think this question, the 1st in a week of similar questions, is one of those that is too easy to over-think. My first thoughts were either a ghoul or a ghast, but I quickly realized I get a bit confused on the difference between the two.

Nope....I'm going to have to go with Zombie. Zombies have been a bit overdone pretty much everywhere, but I have to admit I really like the darned things in gaming. I know this isn't an RPG, but please bear with me....

I used to be a HUGE PS3 fan. I loved the system and thought it was far superior to the Xbox360...until Left4Dead came out. Left4Dead was an Xbox exclusive and my wife surprised me with the game and system for Christmas the year it came out. I literally have never played another Playstation game since.

Now as far as RPG zombies go they tend to be a bit on the boring side. Slow & stupid their real danger comes from being tireless and in great quantity. Sure there are always some variations, but mobs of slow & stupid zombies are usually the norm as far as the monster goes. I really like the way that they are handled in the current edition of HackMaster.

HackMaster zombies are slow, stupid, and encountered in groups. They attack so slowly that you can probably get a few whacks in before they do any damage....after all their first attack is pretty weak as it is nothing but a slow "grab" anyway. The real danger sets in when you get grabbed a second time. When that happens basically everybody within chomping range gets a free bite....that bypasses damage resistance...and occurs every ten seconds! Unless you have a small weapon like a dagger or a knife you can't get enough force behind your blow and suffer a large damage penalty...both of which are likely less than the zombies damage resistance.

A horde of zombies can get ugly really fast and you have to use superior tactics or you are royally screwed. My 1st campaign as a player was a zombie campaign and years later it still has lasting effects. We routinely chop the head off of all dead foes and if we suspect we will be fighting zombies we run to the most defensible location and remove our armor (in HackMaster armor makes it easier to be struck with the trade-off being larger damage resistance...which the zombies bypass....). We've made it a point to pass along these tidbits of info between PCs whenever possible because...dayum....zombies can be brutal.