Horde Zombie

Horde Zombie Horde (Swarm; CR 12)

Chaotic Evil - Medium - Undead


Lore:	Know (Religion)
22		40
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

15


Perception:
29	+19
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

Movement Types:

Walk 30 ft.

Defense

AC

32

Man Def

31

Monster Health
578	289	22
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+14
Refl:	+8
Will:	+9

Strong Against:

(Swarm Role) Hardened (½ damage): slashing (physical, common), piercing (physical, common)
(Swarm Role) Immune (no effect): Critical Hits and Flanking
(Swarm Role) Immune (no effect): Any attack that targets Maneuver Defense
(Swarm Role) Immune (no effect): Any spell that targets a specific number of creatures, except mind-affecting spells (if this creature has an Int score).
(Mindless) Immune (no effect): all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, fear, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms)
(Undead 1) Immune (no effect): diseases (infected, diseased, blighted), poisons (tainted, poisoned, blighted), ability damage (dilution, damage, drain), and essence damage (suppression, omission, destruction)
(Undead 2) Immune (no effect): bleeds (bruised, bleed, ruptured), fatigued, exhausted
(Undead 3) Immune (no effect): magical sleep (drowsy, sluggish, asleep), paralyzed, stunned
(Undead 4) Immune (no effect): any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless)

Weak Against:

(Swarm Role) Vulnerable (1.5x damage): area of effect spells (including Channel Divinity)

Offense


Size:	Medium
20 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+19

Man Off

+19

Action

0

Points

(Component Creatures: 5 ft. / 5 ft.)

Standard Attack (Melee):

1x Infectious Mauling (Swarm -- Auto-Hit) (3d8+9/19-20 x2)
as ripping (physical, uncommon)
plus: Zombie Rot

Full Attack (Melee):

3x Infectious Mauling (Swarm -- Auto-Hit) (3d8+9/19-20 x2)
as ripping (physical, uncommon)
plus: Zombie Rot

Standard Attack (Ranged):

1x Infectious Spew (Swarm -- Auto-Hit) (3d8+9/19-20 x2)
as acid (energy, common)
(Increment: 20 ft.; Max Range: 100 ft.)
Zombie Rot

Full Attack (Ranged):

3x Infectious Spew (Swarm -- Auto-Hit) (3d8+9/19-20 x2)
as acid (energy, common)
(Increment: 20 ft.; Max Range: 100 ft.)
Zombie Rot

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

17

STR

14

DEX

—

CON

—

INT

10

WIS

10

CHA

Skills:

Perception: 19
All other skills: 14 (no ranks)

Languages:

Feats:

Mobility (EFFECT: +4 AC against attacks of opportunity from movement)

Special Abilities

Zombie Rot (Su) Automatic after succesful attack

Up to once per round, when a creature is damaged by a horde zombie, it must make a Fort save, DC 22, or contract the Zombie Rot disease.

Zombie Rot (Injury vector; Diseased intensity)

Save: Fort DC 22; Frequency: 1/day for 3 days

Effect: 1d4 STR damage per interval

Fruition: death, and victim becomes a zombie of the same type which caused the disease.

Fruition Duration: permanent

There are no visible warning signs of the disease's fruition, other than the ongoing sickness, until the zombie begins trying to eat all his nearby friends.

Similarly, anyone killed by a zombie through damage will also rise as a zombie in 2d6 hours. If resurrection is cast on a zombie, it returns to life and is no longer a zombie.

Virulent Spew (Su; Swarm Role) Standard Action

As a standard action, a swarm of Horde Zombies can vomit out a horrifying shower of Virulent Spew, hitting a 20-foot diameter area (4x4 squares) within 50 feet of the Zombie Horde.

Creatures in the affected area must make a reflex save versus a DC of 22. Those who fail the Reflex save take 3d8+9 points of Acid (energy, common) damage, and must also make a Fort save (also DC 22) against Zombie Rot (see below). Those who succeed on the Reflex save take only half damage and do not need to make a Fort save against Zombie Rot.

Sum of the Parts (Ex; Swarm Role) Always On

Swarms, troops, and hordes follow the squeezing rules based on their component creature size, NOT the size of the swarm, troop, or horde as a whole. This means these groups of creatures can easily move through doorways that are sized appropriately to their component creature sizes. They can even stop in such spaces without suffering squeezing penalties. In such cases, the swarm's shape is unaffected, except that its space excludes any blocked spaces. That is, its space doesn't deform into a non-square shape, it's just treated as not occupying any blocked spaces within its space. This means it cannot threaten through blocked spaces, since it isn't technically occupying them.

Multiple swarms, troops, and hordes can share the same squares without squeezing or movement penalties. They can move through, and even stop on top of (or within) the spaces of other swarms, troops, or hordes.

Swarms, troops, and hordes can also move over, through, and into spaces occupied by enemy creatures without provoking attacks of opportunity, even if they pass through or leave a threatened square. Furthermore, creatures inside the space of a swarm, troop, or horde are treated as flanked while they remain in that space (though this doesn't usually matter much, since swarms, troops, and hordes automatically hit with their attacks).

Finally, a maximum of two swarms, troops, or hordes can attack a single given creature in a round, even if more than two swarms, troops, or hordes are threatening that creature. There simply isn't enough surface area of the enemy creature for more attacks to be inflicted.

Horde Zombie Horde

This creature possesses the Swarm role, and therefore counts as 2 monsters for purposes of encounter size, XP award, and treasure.

This monster frequently has the Swarm role, but may be set to different roles if desired.

Horde Zombies are tremendously awful things, even if they are encountered by themselves. But of course, with a name like 'Horde Zombie', it is rare to ever see only a single one of these shambling horrors. No one knows why Horde Zombies like to mob together in huge packs like they do, but their existence, and the way they drift along through the wilderness, makes them a deadly hazard to be avoided, managed, or destroyed, depending upon the strength of the heroes that are confronting them.

Horde Zombies usually come in large swarms of staggering nightmares, although it is certainly possible to find them in a myriad of varieties. They can even become separated from their parent horde and be found alone, lonely little monsters, seeking life to devour. But most horde zombies are encountered as part of a zombie horde.

A zombie horde is a thing of nightmares. It is a cluster of zombies working as a pack, wandering the countryside in a never-ending, never-sleeping quest to extinguish all life. A zombie horde consists of at least 16 to 20 zombies acting as a single fighting force, and can number much, much more.

It is not uncommon for several hordes to come together to travel in packs, and such a congregation is apocalyptic for nearby towns and cities. While an individual horde zombie is a decent challenge for a town's normal defenses, several zombie hordes converging on a town can overwhelm it in an hour or so, usually creating dozens or hundreds of new zombies in the process.

Combat Tactics

Because they are mindless, horde zombies, especially in swarms, will advance and attack, relying on their Mobility feat to move into groups of enemies in order to engulf and get adjacent to as many opponents as possible. If they can't reach any enemies with a single move, but enemies are in range of their Infectious or Virulent Spew after a single move, they will use that instead of charging. Horde zombies alone, or with other roles beyond 'swarm', will behave in this simple manner.

In their most common swarm form, horde zombies form zombie hordes, and they have some special requirements.

While quite large, zombie hordes can stack with themselves without impairment and can move through narrow gaps as needed, though only two hordes can attack a single opponent in a given round. However, this lets hordes easily navigate narrow alleyways, or other closely confined spaces, and still bring their full might to bear against their enemies, as long as they end their move in a space large enough for their size (4x4, Gargantuan).

Zombie Hordes can move through enemy squares without restriction, though it does provoke attacks of opportunity to do so. However, this lets the horde close with more foes, so they will do so whenever appropriate. While a Zombie Horde will frequently provoke attacks of opportunity from its movement, note that it has the Mobility feat, and can only provoke once per enemy from any part of the horde's movement -- it is a single creature making a single move action, thus it can only provoke once.

Remember that the horde attacks and automatically hits everyone it is sharing a square with AND everyone it is adjacent to. In addition, Zombie Hordes threaten all of their adjacent and internal squares, and they can make attacks of opportunity like traditional creatures. Lastly, every time they inflict damage, it forces a saving throw versus their Zombie Rot.

Bleagh.

Out of Combat

Immortal (Su)

Zombies cannot be killed through normal means. However, zombies may lie shattered and dormant after being defeated for months or even years before their bodies recompose and they once again rise to seek and consume the flesh of the living. Sanctify Corpse (Cleric Spell), Consecrate (Spell) or Gentle Repose (Cleric Spell) will add a year and a day to the time it takes for a zombie to re-compose. Resurrection (Cleric Spell) will bring the person associated with the zombie's corpse back to life, destroying the necromantic bond on its corpse.

In the case of Zombie Hordes, one such spell will affect all the components of the horde.

Rewards

XP: 38,400 (Swarm role included.)

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 25,750 gp.

Weight: 240 lbs. Volume: 9.6 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)