Opinions on slow zombies versus fast zombies?

[Grumpy Gnome]

I am a big fan of slow zombies both in my gaming as well as in the various mediums of fiction. Not that fast zombies (ghouls/feral vampires/whatever) do not have a place… I like them too just for different reasons, for a different atmosphere in a game or movie.

What do you think?

Which do you prefer?

Which game or rules best typifies relentless plodding doom rather than manic frenzy?

You can read more of my thoughts on this topic on my blog…

https://thegrumpygnome.home.blog/2022/01/07/walking-dead-world-beyond-really-irked-me-warning-rant-with-spoilers/

… but really here I am curious about your ideas on the gaming specifics of zombie post-apoc and how I might best get the gaming experience I want.

[swiftnick]

I think slow zombies are popular because we all think we could take one.

[has.been]

Slow, but very difficult to stop & fatal if it gets to hand to hand.

[Kikuchiyo]

slow but loads of them

[Hobgoblin]

I also prefer slow zombies.

For gaming them, I think the Song of Blades/Ganesha rulesets offer the most potential (e.g. Mutants and Death Ray Guns, the excellent post-apoc/sci-fi set). One of the great innovations of the Ganesha rule is the use of short, medium and long movement sticks; two short moves is longer than one medium one.

The risk/reward system in the rules gives you up to three activations, each of which could be a move. Your chance of activating depends on your Quality score, which would be good for heroes (perhaps 3, so 3+ on a D6) and poor for zombies (4 or, more likely, 5). Each move can only be in a straight line (so turning a corner requires two activations), and the risk is that if you fail two or more activations for a single character, your turn ends. So if the "heroes" player rolls 1, 2 and 5 when attempting to activate a character, that character can only take one action (move, shoot, whatever) and it's then the zombies' turn.

This means that there's lots of potential for characters to end up trapped when they roll badly. On average, Quality 3 heroes are going to run rings round the slow-moving, hard-to-activate zombies, but every so often, one character is going to fail an activation roll (stumbling, tripping, whatever), and every so often, the zombie player is going to gamble on three activations, all of which come off. So, while the zombies will usually play it safe with single activation rolls (no risk of ending the turn) and will either each make one move or none, clever play and appropriate risk-taking can lead to situations where heroes find themselves trapped or surrounded. But of course, the heroes can play it safe by rolling only one or two dice for their activations too. All of that makes for a tense, asymmetrical game.

[swiftnick]

Slow, but very difficult to stop & fatal if it gets to hand to hand.

Not really we have all had years of indoctrination and training on how to handle them. Simple things like closing doors and windows. Not having sex in your car up at paradise point.

[Cubs]

Yeah, I like the idea that the zombie isn't much to worry about in combat, except that you literally have to destroy them (or the brain) to stop them attacking you because they will just keep trying to eat you (or the brain) with no regard for anything else.

[Matakakea]

It's long been a maxim of Horror Films. The Dead Shall WALK!!!

[frank xerox]

Slow zombies any day - its the inevitability, you can outrun them, but sooner or later they'll catch up.
Fast zombies are basically just really angry people...

[fred]

@hobgoblin - I like your thinking around SoBH - we need to play more SoBH, the problem is too many games too many periods!

We prefer fantasy mass battle, and Zombies are the ultimate tar pit unit. Big, slow moving, very durable, low damage out put. Attackers get stuck in, but just can’t kill enough, the necromancer keeps raising more and more.

[Cat]

I prefer slow, but am not averse to some fast ones in the mix from time to time.

[dadlamassu]

Like Cat, I prefer (lots of) slow zombies and have also used a few fast and slightly mutated zombies in our Dedburgh games to give variety and add unexpected challenges to the players.

Alan

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Fast Zombies have their place - 28 Days Later (strictly speaking they are not zombies) and Black Summer (not sure what they are) work because of the sheer frantic speed.

[Melnibonean]

I use my homebrew solo rules which include slow and fast zombies. The slow z's are by far the majority with the fast z's posing a special threat if they appear. They are not super powerful but they attack with double the dice of a regular zombie, which isn't much considering a regular slow zed attacks with one dice. Their strength comes from their ability to swarm a survivor. Having said that, the fast zombies can catch a survivor more easily and potential halt their movement giving the slow ones time to catch up.

Another aspect of my rules is that even if a zombie isn't killed it will be knocked down with a successful, non-lethal, hit. Thus allowing escape. But the fast zed's are immune to this which further enables them to prevent escape.

[beefcake]

Slow in fantasy settings
fast in post apoc (like this board) or futuristic.