"Special" Zombies in your games?

[magokiron]

We're starting a "zombie survival" project in my gaming group, using the EXCELLENT AKULA's rules (free download here: http://akulasrules.blogspot.mx/ )

Now, in his rules Akula gives "normal" zombies (shamblers), an some "special zombies": fast, howlers, tanks and zombie hordes.

What other kind of "special" zombies do you use in your wargames?

An explanation of the zombie type and the general rules he/she/it uses would be more than welcome.

Of course, I ask for a "general" description of rules, because maybe those special zombies are part of a commercially available ruleset, and don't want to harm their bussiness. If that is the case, a reference to the source will be fine.

Have you "invented" rules to match your collection of miniatures?

I have both the DOOM and expansion game from FFG, and there are some interesting models there.

Thanks a lot and best wishes.

[SBRPearce]

I made a deck of Zed Cards that I draw from to stage undead reinforcements onto the table at the end of each turn. Most of the cards read "Shambler" but others carry the label for one of the "Weirdies" I've been playing with:

"Blimps" are swollen with infectious matter - when they go down, they literally explode, creating a huge spatter that can infect Survivors. If you spot a Blimp, you try like heck to 'pop' it from a distance!
"Spitters"
"Quicks" simply move faster than normal zeds.
"Berzerkers" are Quick and absolutely ferocious. The're harder to take down, and roll higher on Grab and HtH attempts.
"Freaks" retain some intelligence - enough in some cases to use weapons. Freaks are more dangerous because they can handle obstacles more easily - they reemmber simple things like doorknobs

The deck starts the game with half to three-quarters of the cards reading "Nothing there", along with a number from 1-6. The referee sets the "threat level" at the beginning of the scenario (and may increase it as play continues) and any "Nothing there" card drawn which has a number that's lower than the current Threat Level gets discarded. This means that, as the deck is run through and reshuffled, the number of reinforcements arriving on-board increases - fast.

[magokiron]

Thank you SBRPearce.

Blimps sounds like a very fun addition, and easy to incorporate to virtually any ruleset, in my case AKULA's rules.

Spitters I guess can attack from a distance?

As I said I have all the DOOM game figs, (here are some painted examples by Barks: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=41261.0;topicseen with better pics in his blog: http://wargamingwithbarks.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/doom-boardgame-figures.html), and can easily adapt any of the odd shaped mostrosities. Maybe the 2 headed creature with the long tongue?

Berzerkers sounds AWESOME. I think for the rules I'm using they can translate as "2 wounds, +1 to melee and grab rolls", so they just fit in without trouble.

Freaks can be the zombies with guns, and in the box there are 12, so no shortage of that.

The deck of ZED CARDS sounds like a great idea. Can you explain it a little more?

I already added a EVENT card to the AKULA's activation deck, and if you deal it, you draw a card from an event deck (there are good and bad things for the survivors there), but also added a NOTHING HAPPENS card, and if it appears before the EVENT card, then no event in the turn.

It worked fine so far, as that keeps the events relatively low, as I dont want an event every turn.

Any more ideas?

Thank you a lot.

[Diakon]

Have you played Dead Space? Some good ideas for specials in there.
http://deadspace.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Necromorphs

[ryoden]

I cant add any more special zombies than have already been mentioned with the exception of a variant on the blimp who is a fatty zombie that when killed explodes and the smell attracts more zombies to that location, but I do use a chance deck since we usually play a 3-4 player game with static rules for the zombies.

Each player has to guide his survivors through the map and achieve an objective, a scientist has to recover some virus data, a thief has to rob the bank etc.  Each player starts with a hero and a sidekick and random search cards can turn up weapons, equipment, zombies or survivors.  They are all waiting for the radio to be found as that allows them to call the rescue chopper which arrives at the high building in the centre of the map, which anyone can race for.

The chance cards can be played on your own team or the opposing survivors, cards can turn zombies into fast zombies or in some cases super zombies, spawn zombies at certain points on the map, random sniper takes a shot at someone, butterfingers - target player drops weapon, mobile phone goes off etc.

[SBRPearce]

The Zed Cards I made were intended to regulate the flow of zombie reinforcements onto the board. I added a Noise factor to Akula's rules - certain activities cause Noise markers to accumulate on the board (firing weapons, "Screamer" zeds, etc). When Noise happens, the markers are stacked at the point of occurrence, and Zeds tend to travel towards the loudest Noises. When the Joker comes up on the Activation cards, all Noise markers are swept off the board, and the referee draws a Zed Card for every 2-4 Noise markers. (Set the ratio before the game). This way, making lots of Noise not only draws the zombies that are in play, it also draws zombies in from surrounding areas onto the board. We had one player decide that the best way to help his pals was to drive a couple streets away and do a "thunder run", gunning his engine, honking the horn, pumping "Metallica" out of the car stereo system and firing his Kalashnikov in the air to try and draw the zeds away from the house where his friends were holed up. It worked, but piled up huge stacks of Noise. When the Joker came up 1 card later, he drew about a dozen Zed Cards and they all yielded reinforcements - which appeared at the board-edge close to where he was sitting.

In the following run of black cards, a swarm of shamblers and berzerkers literally tore the car open to get at him - it was cinematic and wonderfully gruesome, but his pals escaped safely...

[Diakon]

The Zed Cards I made were intended to regulate the flow of zombie reinforcements onto the board. I added a Noise factor to Akula's rules - certain activities cause Noise markers to accumulate on the board (firing weapons, "Screamer" zeds, etc). When Noise happens, the markers are stacked at the point of occurrence, and Zeds tend to travel towards the loudest Noises. When the Joker comes up on the Activation cards, all Noise markers are swept off the board, and the referee draws a Zed Card for every 2-4 Noise markers. (Set the ratio before the game). This way, making lots of Noise not only draws the zombies that are in play, it also draws zombies in from surrounding areas onto the board. We had one player decide that the best way to help his pals was to drive a couple streets away and do a "thunder run", gunning his engine, honking the horn, pumping "Metallica" out of the car stereo system and firing his Kalashnikov in the air to try and draw the zeds away from the house where his friends were holed up. It worked, but piled up huge stacks of Noise. When the Joker came up 1 card later, he drew about a dozen Zed Cards and they all yielded reinforcements - which appeared at the board-edge close to where he was sitting.

In the following run of black cards, a swarm of shamblers and berzerkers literally tore the car open to get at him - it was cinematic and wonderfully gruesome, but his pals escaped safely...

Sounds epic. Gonna have a look at them rules.