How do you create zombies?

Zaramis

Zaramis

Senior Member
I've looked everywhere. There's stats on zombies, there's stuff about how zombies are used, but how do you create the hundreds of zombies that the Deathlords and abyssals have, and make them permanent?


In several places, it's stated that zombies are used as workforce without any ghosts or abyssals to oversee them. How does this work? Where is it specified how Necrosurgeons work? Why can they patch Zombies together? Are they Thaumaturges with the Art of Zombiecrafting?


What gives Zombies their unnatural permanent life? They arent hungry dead, they aren't ghosts, they are animated bodies, but there are no necromancy spells that does that permanently and in such a fashion that the Zombies can be exported and used as workforce.
 
In first edition necromancy spells (requiring the charms, shadow lands circle necromancy, death lands circle necromancy and void circle necromancy instead of the sorcery charms) where described in the abyssal book. I assume that that is where we will find any spells or mortal rituals used to create or control undead.


Edward
 
I already looked through them all, as well as all the necromancy ones in the White and Black Treatise.
 
I remember that one of the Abyssal Caste abilities was to be able to raise zombies, but I don't know if it was permenant.  I know that there are spells to raise zombies, but I don't know from what book I've seen them.
 
Ways I can find (1E) to make Zombies:


Midnight Caste power (Abyssals p. 139-40)


Presence Charm: Skeleton Summoning Gesture (Abyssals p. 179-80)


Shadowlands Circle: Raise the Skeletal Horde (Abyssals p. 225)


                             Walking War Machine (Abyssals p. 226)


Labyrinth Circle: Exquisite Undead Aide (Abyssals p. 226)


Void Circle: Birth of Sanity's Sorrow (Book of Bone and Ebony p. 139-40)


                 Forsaken Life Engine (Book of Bone and Ebony p. 140-41)


                 Risen and Screaming (Book of Bone and Ebony p. 143)


Not sure if the Forsaken Life Engine qualifies entirely, as it makes a pretty nasty machine of sorts out of bones and other such from nothing I think, but figured I'd include it. Depends on whether you consider a machine undead or not, really. There are probably other ways as well, this is mostly what I could find with a quick scan of books, but it's a start.


As for 2E, I haven't looked at the Abyssal section of the Storyteller's Companion, and don't have Black and White Treatise, so can't really say much.
 
None of those create the sort of zombie required for the mass-produced zombies that existed before the Abyssals even came into the world, since I doubt the 13 deathlords create all the zombies on their own.
 
Mortal thaumaturgy, probably. Get the right herbs, maybe the extract of a particular fish's liver, do a little blood sacrifice and, of course, a good cadaver, and hey presto, a decomposing mindless servant of your very own.
 
The new Black Treatise explains that the "Raise Zombie Hordes" spells no longer create permanent zombies, as one must commit willpower to maintain them.


Someone on RPG.net kindly offered a homebrew thaumaturgical preparation to keep them animate, effectively acting in lieu of the Willpower commitment.
 
Someone else then proposed that the large machines used by the deathlord for Zombie production were to create permanent zombies by production-line.


This carried them to a discussion on the logistics of this, and the possibilities for an Abyssal "Office Drama" themed comedy series, where the management of day-to-day evil is explored.


This further carried some genious to a story idea wherein the bean-pusher ghosts of the Deathlords, getting bored, compete to see who can embezzle more zombies instead of money, scaling as time goes by to military hardware and artifacts as they balance and cook the books more and more. Eventually, they realise they have, between them, accumulated the largest effective army in the Underworld, sufficient to carve themselves a place in the world order, and they abscond with their ill-gotten zombie gains.


That concept made me laugh a lot.
 
I agree that reanimating corpses should be well within the reach of mortal magic. The balancing factor is that making hordes of them would probably be expensive and time consuming.
 
Samiel said:
This further carried some genious to a story idea wherein the bean-pusher ghosts of the Deathlords, getting bored, compete to see who can embezzle more zombies instead of money, scaling as time goes by to military hardware and artifacts as they balance and cook the books more and more. Eventually, they realise they have, between them, accumulated the largest effective army in the Underworld, sufficient to carve themselves a place in the world order, and they abscond with their ill-gotten zombie gains.
Click to expand...
:D


Whether it ever gains the attention of my players or not, I've decided that this has definitely happened in my game universe.
 
Beautiful, wasn't it? I love that concept, if I ever run an Abyssal game, it'll probably happen sometime!
 
If there was to a mortal ritual to create zombies it would take hours, thus it would not be possible for a single thaumaturge to produce a significant army.


It seems strange if willpower must be committed to keep a zombie army alive (undead, animate), that would mean if you kill the animator then the zombies all fall down, what happened to the hordes of uncontrolled zombies that are supposed to be left over causing annoyance and giving lesser heroes something to do after a major undead army has been defeated.


Edward
 
The requirement for willpower to be committed is only applied to the instant-summons. That is, you can mass-produce zombies through rituals and artifact construction all you want, and indeed the Deathlords do this to construct their armies, but when the necromancer stands upon a cliff and casts arisen legion while screaming something dramatic into the biting wind, those zombies are impermanent, animated by will and spite alone.


It makes sense, I suppose. As long as there remain ways for the ambitious Abyssal to make her own homebrewed zombies, I'll be content.
 
Zaramis said:
None of those create the sort of zombie required for the mass-produced zombies that existed before the Abyssals even came into the world, since I doubt the 13 deathlords create all the zombies on their own.
Click to expand...
Necromancy existed in the first age, if I recall, and the Deathlords know it (and sorcery) from what I've read, so they could have used them to make zombie hordes before the Abyssals came on the scene...and I suppose I don't understand what you mean by 'mass-produced' in this circumstance then...unless you mean that apparently the mass-zombie raising spells (Raise the Skeletal Horde and such) aren't permanent in 2E, if what I'm reading here is accurate, and I hadn't been aware of until such mention, in which case I can understand it.


But I don't see how Arisen Legioning a few villages for a few days doesn't adequately provide a nice army of Zombies in 1E...or if you want quality over quantity (or adding a little quality to your quantity), taking and using Call the Greater Servitor a few times to get some nice non-extra zombies. Sure, it might take a week or two to get a decently large army...but you'd also possibly have made a few handy-dandy shadowlands from slaughtering entire villages.


Though that doesn't work in 2E anymore, I take it...ah well. In that case, I rather like the idea of some sort of 'Zombie Factory' or such myself in that case...make some sort of artifact contraption that spits a Zombie out when you put a corpse in. *chuckles* Don't think anything like that is canonically printed tho...but it's probably what I'd use as a solution, then...with the better (read, non-extra) Zombies either requiring more time and some essence spent into the machine or casting Exquisite Undead Aide...


Tho, if that one is also only temporary in 2E...that's disappointing.
 
How about a form of the Bulbs of Death and Renewal that grow in the underworld. When implanted in a dead body, they grow the same at first, extending tough tendon-like filaments through the body, but rather than consuming the body and sending the soul onwards, they quicken the hungry ghost in the body and tie it to the bones of the corpse, forming a zombie.


As with the bulbs, they replicate themselves, with one or two new bulbs forming in the decaying torso of the new zombies, ripe for picking. Perhaps instead, severed body parts serve as the new "bulbs", so that the severed hand of one zombie can be rudely injected into a corpse's torso to quicken it.


With such artifacts, which would qualify I think as artifact 3 or 4, one could raise a zombie horde with little difficulty, with the added disturbing-ness of tendon-like vines holding the bones together and even reattaching severed body parts. Maybe they even gain a natural soak and vine weapons out of the bargain?


I just know Jukashi will love the concept. He likes plants, you know.
 
Spells in the Black Treatise that raise permanent zombies without commiting Willpower:


Shadowlands Circle:


Bone Puppet Dance, pg. 25


Labyrinth Circle


Call the Greator Servitor, pg. 37


Exquisite Undead Aide, pg. 40


Void Circle


Risen and Screaming, pg. 57


Using just this small list of spells one is easilly capable of making armies of permanent zombie followers...some of which are even capable of being skilled servitors (Exquisite Undead Aide, for example). This leaves out all the manners in which a Necromancer can enslave Ghosts or Hungry Ghosts, up to an including their own Po, as well as Walking Warmachines of various sorts, and Necromantic Automatons, such as Bone Lions.
 
Samiel, I like the idea you have.  Very on point for what I see in this game.


As far as mass production of zombies is concerned, the Deathlords have had thousands of years to perfect a variety of techniques.  Zombies are just so damn useful to them as cannon fodder troops to grunt labor digging trenches and building simple fortifications that I can't see them not having something to make them quickly.
 
The point is that it is mortals that are creating them and maintaining them, not the 13 deathlords..
 
Well, more likely ghosts. Ghosts bound to the task 'til infinity, to ensure loyalty and tireless work.


Perhaps a story arc where the PCs have to find a way to free their ally, a heroic ghost, from eternal toil in the zombie factories? Maybe the only way to free him/her is to work for the cruel summoner in exchange for his/her freedom?


Will the be betrayed? Will their friend be 'freed' as a new soulsteel toy?
 
As far as canonically creating zombies go, with the mass armies and stuff, that's covered in The Book of Bone and Ebony, the necromancy and legions of the dead handbook for 1st edition. They actually have a whole section that would almost be required reading for an Abyssal war effort game I have in mind, if I ever get around to running it.


And yes, it has the zombie creation pits (artifact 4 or 5) that will spit out zombies with the addition of corpses. They are used to harvest limbs and other things off of bodies (10 HL's worth) to create an amalgam zombie, called meat golems. It also goes into detail on making and enhancing bodies for use by Nemissaries (also based on Artifact ratings), and creating undead war engines of varying sizes. Very interesting read. This was all used before the Abyssals came about by the DL's to stock their armies.


The book also has some details on Stygia, with NPC write-ups and district listings; some new Arcanoi for ghosts to learn, aside from the ones for body-inhabiting for use by afore-mentioned nemissaries; new Artifacts created by the Dead as an example of what can be done by their craftsmen; new Necromancy spells (most of which have been updated in WaBT if I've got my guess, haven't read all of it yet); and also a few new creatures for use in the Underworld, with optional write-ups for what happens with Juggernaut's maggots when they mature.


If you can find a copy, I would reccomend picking it up, especially if you're going to use the DL's and their Abyssal servants extensively in your game. If you can't find a copy, then hopefully most of it will be reprinted in CoCD: The Underworld when it comes out.
 
Also, BoBE 118-119 has a couple of thaumaturgical rituals that animate corpses in various ways. Highly spooky ways.
 
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