Dreams are weird. I seem to have an inordinate number of dreams about zombies, often also including members of The Walking Dead cast. Well, what do you get when a run-of-the-mill Walking Dead dream goes sideways? A new monster to disgust and terrify a game group, of course.
Melting Zombie
Armor Class: 8
Hit Dice: 2**
Move: 90' (30')
Attacks: 1 or 2
Damage: 1d6/1d6
No. Appearing: 1d6 (2d8)
Save as: F1
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Nil
Alignment: Chaotic
This shambling horror looks just like an ordinary zombie at first. Unlike the normal animated corpse, however, it hungers for fresh meat. When it is first damaged in combat, the rotting skin, blood, and organs of a melting zombie liquefy, forming a horrible puddle of necrotic slime. The slime has half the zombie's hit points and moves at a rate of 30' (10'.) It can seep through small cracks and even climb up walls to reach its prey, and its touch dissolves living flesh. This amorphous mess cannot be harmed by weapons, but is vulnerable to fire and holy water.
The other half of the zombie's hit points still reside in the skeletal frame, held together by muscle and tendon, which continues to attack by clawing and biting. Both parts must be killed, or else the zombie will re-form, regenerating 1 hit point per turn.
A character hit by either attack must make a saving throw vs. death ray or contract a rotting disease which will kill the character within 1d4 days unless cured. A character slain by a melting zombie, whether by damage or by disease, will reanimate as a melting zombie 1d4 turns after death. Melting zombies may be turned as wights.
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ReplyDeleteI think it would work best either as a time-pressure device as you said, or as an incentive to avoid combat entirely. A race against time can be exciting; watching helplessly as your character inevitably succumbs to a terrible death, not so much.
Deleteall I can think of while reading this one is, "Now I need summon melting zombie in my priest scrolls. :)
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