"I suffered most grievously when I first fought them. They were slow enough in reacting that I saw an opening to cut the first one almost in half with my sword. I was expecting him to drop to the ground, and that's how he got his own sword into my shoulder. I fought on, but by the time we beat them, those of us who lived were all bleeding, most of us from several wounds. It wasn't enough to out-fight them -- we had to try to out-last them, too."
Zombies are shambling Undead horrors that are usually the mindless, necromantically-animated corpses of Humans, though the dead of the other mortal races can be raised as well.[1a]
Perhaps it is because Men die sooner than Elves or Dwarfs, Human graveyards are plentiful for the robbing, and there are plenty of folks in the Empire that can easily go missing without attracting attention. The convenience of Humans as prime Zombie stock is undeniable. However, when a necromancer can't be choosy, he has to work with the materials he has on hand.[4]
Zombies are used extensively by the Vampire Counts and other intelligent Undead powers as simple cannon fodder, staggering towards the enemy battle line in a slow yet noisome horde.[1a]
Role[]
"Driven not by skill, but by a desire to feast on flesh, Zombies are good, terrifying fodder in melee."
- —Descritption of the rotting hordes of the Vampire Counts[3]
Grotesquely reanimated corpses, Zombies are compelled to rise into Undeath by the Dark Magic of a Vampire or necromancer, and driven by the will of their master to commit acts of extreme violence. They are a truly foul thing to behold, living corpses that are wroth with decay and unclean flesh. A Zombie's skin hangs in strips from their tattered frame, revealing withered muscle and bloodless veins. With the use of necromancy, these Zombies stagger towards their master's enemies with grasping arms and teeth.[1a]
Yet Zombies are often made from more than corpses, for when the Vampire Counts are on the warpath, their necromancers are sometimes forced to improvise in order to amass a truly unstoppable Undead horde. Spiked and rusting railings from graveyard fences are substituted for missing limbs; broken backs are buttressed by mouldering planks or hammered into a semblance of solidity with rusted coffin nails. Fingers hacked off by wild sword thrusts are replaced with jagged spikes and Elven arrowheads. Any debilitating wound they suffer is compensated for with stomach-churning expediency, for all that a Zombie's masters require of it is to stumble into battle.[1a]
For all their horrific appearance, Zombies are slow and clumsy, making it easy for local militia and adventuring warbands to destroy individuals or even to bring down small groups without any casualties. Unfortunately, the Old World boasts a rich supply of corpses, and thus Zombies can be raised and set loose upon the living in overwhelming numbers.[1a]
These sickening Undead have no skill to speak of, but are instead driven only by the insatiable urge to rend, kill and consume the flesh of the living. Any warrior unfortunate enough to be pulled down by a Zombie horde will find themselves torn slowly apart by a mass of desperate, clawing fingers, their flesh gouged from their body in grisly, glistening chunks. The fortunate die quickly, but those unlucky souls who are trampled beneath the decaying horde spend their death throes in miserable agony as their innards become a crimson feast.[1a]
Mortal soldiers who have met in battle with the Undead before, or who hear the terrifying tales whispered at campfires, know the best methods with which to slay the restless dead. A blow to the skull with a warhammer or axe will usually slay a Zombie outright, and severing the head is an even surer method of destruction. But precise strikes such as these take focus and skill, and Zombies are seldom found in ones or twos.[1a]
Instead, these death-walkers are raised in large numbers, gathering upon the battlefield in their hundreds. Against hordes such as these, even the strongest sword arms tire, the stoutest hearts can falter, and the most skilled blades can become lodged in putrid flesh. Even those of surpassing martial skill will eventually feel the clammy touch of dead hands upon their skin.[1a]
Zombies are easily sustained by the powers of necromancy, jerking back to their feet like jangling puppets as invisible force swirls around them. Their numbers can seem almost infinite as they press relentlessly forwards, those that fall in battle compelled by necromantic power to stagger or crawl towards the foe moments after being cut down. Such shuffling hordes are often used by Vampires to exhaust the regiments of their enemies, slowly overwhelming the foe in a ceaseless tide of blood-slicked, maggot-ridden Undead flesh.[1a]
Raising Zombies[]
"A single-word boon, spoken during the ritual, will harden the skin of corpses as they jerk back to life."
- —The blasphemous "Raise Newly Dead" spell.[3]
Arguably, only the simplest Dark Magic rituals are required to raise the newly dead as Zombies. Yet, even then, a necromancer must have been steeped in the Dark Arts for years. Yet, hidden in the annotations of the Book of Arkhan is a single word invocation that toughens up Zombies' skin -- a useful boon if the reader knows where in the tome to look...[3]
Notable Zombies[]
- Wilhelm the Rotten - Wilhelm the Rotten was a uniquely potent Zombie who was once a simple Talabecland peasant.
Notable Regiments[]
- The Tithe - The Tithe is an especially durable and large horde of Zombies.[3]
- Dominated Dead - This horde of Zombies, numbering many thousands, answered only to the Nameless' will during the End Times.
- Grolbech Green Men - This unit of Zombies gained their regimental name after emerging out of the Marshes of Madness -- for the foul algae there had dyed their Undead flesh a truly sickly, if remarkable colour.
- Hanged Men - The Hanged Men was the name given to the units of Zombies raised by the necromancer Krell as he marched through Stirland.
- Shambling Dead - The Shambling Dead were the Undead citizens of Altdorf who defended their homes against the Glottkin's invasion during the End Times.
- Rackspire Dead - The Rackspire Dead was the former garrison of the Rackspire fortress who continued their fight for Mannfred von Carstein during the End Times.