Sword versus a Mace...Who cares???

[WOLFGIR]

What Skeletons should withstand?

Stabbing weapons are not that good, however, a skeleton without sinews to hold the parts together would still suffer pressure of any kind. A slashing weapon would slice through (read magic, keen etc, its a world of magic afterall) the ribcage with ease, as well as cutting off arms, legs spine head etc. A crushing weapon would do the same, but here you have a slightly smaller buisness end so you will make a crippling blow, but the same effect can be had by cutting that part off so to say. So I guess that it is up to the "people" to decide wether it should be realistic, that the skeletons bones are it, or that you fight the magic created it and holds the walking jigsaw puzzle together.

[SpiritWarrior]

Deejax wrote:

Oke, we definitely have a different idea about zombies. To me zombies are quite fresh dead bodies, still rotting and ridden with maggots (yuck). Yours sound more like dessicated corpses, a result of long time drying in a place like the mummy tombs or crypts. Come to think of it, you might have a point there. Maybe there are two kind of zombies: The fresh and squishy ones and the old and dried (more mummy like).

The undead summoning spells all point toward the animation of an existing corpse in close vicinity to the caster. That is, a dead body nearby, be it simply a skeleton of a person or a rotting corpse a few years old buried beneath the earth. While the 'fresh and squishy' ones would not be unheard of it is more likely that an older corpse would be animated, thus meeting all the requirements for maximum flammability. I would say that they have flesh intact but this flesh would be severely dry, think 'Night of the Living Dead'.

[ 08-14-2003, 04:47 AM: Message edited by: SpiritWarrior ]

[Deejax]

Originally posted by SpiritWarrior: The undead summoning spells all point toward the animation of an existing corpse in close vicinity to the caster. That is, a dead body nearby, be it simply a skeleton of a person or a rotting corpse a few years old buried beneath the earth. While the 'fresh and squishy' ones would not be unheard of it is more likely that an older corpse would be animated, thus meeting all the requirements for maximum flammability. I would say that they have flesh intact but this flesh would be severely dry, think 'Night of the Living Dead'.

The summoning spells works with "random" corpses nearby, but how about the "pre-fab" undead. I think most undead you encounter in the RPGs aren't summoned on the spot but are already around. Are they made of fresh or old corpses?
That raises (no pun intended) a different question: do zombies dry out? Starting out squishy slowly turning into a walking stack of tinder?

Where do al those undead com from btw? Are all the zombies and skeletons products of necromancy? Bit of a mass production then.

Wolfgir, I think these undead should receive normal damage from magic weapons to account for the destruction of the magic holding them together. I think normal weapons attack the physical part of the undead. ie its bones/flesh. The normal weapons should be subject to the stabbing/slashing/crushing rules.

[Luvian]

And a better question, do very old zombies eventually turn into Skeletons?

[Granamere]

First I have to say. Larry did you ever think you would get this much discussion on this topic?

Next. I think old zombies would become zombie lords. Which mean zombies get stronger as they get older?

Granamere

[SpiritWarrior]

Deejax Wrote:

The summoning spells works with "random" corpses nearby, but how about the "pre-fab" undead. I think most undead you encounter in the RPGs aren't summoned on the spot but are already around. Are they made of fresh or old corpses? That raises (no pun intended) a different question: do zombies dry out? Starting out squishy slowly turning into a walking stack of tinder? Where do al those undead com from btw? Are all the zombies and skeletons products of necromancy? Bit of a mass production then.

"Random' being the active word here since many of the spells decide on a die roll and then select the type of undead (skeleton, zombie etc.)

Yep, all undead are the result of necromantic magic. This is why they are usually connected with mages or a mage's dwelling. Occassionally such powers will activate through their own means (the sense of evil ripping a vortex into the negative plane, an ancient artificat tapping into the necromantic energies). You will find some wandering undead btw, these are considered uncommon though and have usually travelled a long ways from their original spawn-in point.

This is why many advetures start off with teems of undead appearing out of nowhere, their numbers growing and the locals wondering where they are all coming from. Adventure hook starts there.

[shadowolf03]

I think its a shame that no matter what weapon you have you still end up using the same visual attack swings in the game...ie, you still stab with a mace and warhammer etc...