ESPECIALLY for Mr. Saturn

The Core RPGC Main Forum
21

I think a zombie infestation is a good time to revert to some archaic types of polearms; a street broom can be good for holding two or three of the buggers (say, in a doorway, at a safe distance, or at least delay them. Poleaxes and billhooks have massive angular momentum, as would a heasman’s axe (with a giant heavy head for ensured decapitation). Failing that, armor up and use a greatsword/two-hander, which if it couldn’t dismember would at least destroy the zombies’ bone structure, and would do so faster than a club.

[EDIT]Here’s a question for you; what about <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar_spear”>boar spears</a> or an <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahlspiess”>ahlspiess</a>? Wouldn’t stop more than one zombie (unless you kebab 'em) but the wings/disc would prevent a zombie from advancing if he were hit in the chest, and hold him ready to be beheaded/dismembered.[/EDIT]

I would think that high-calibre ammo would be at a premium, especially if destroying the brains of zombies is necessary. Black powder would likely be the way to go; powder’s easy to make, clothing from past victims makes okay wadding, and the balls themselves are probably not too bad to make. Sure, accuracy and firing rate are lower, but ancient musketball were .50 caliber and above. That’ll ruin any braineater’s week.

Maybe a blunderbuss; that would allow you to improvise grapeshot, might pack more stopping power and would be more usable indoors due to the short barrel.

I’d want tower riot shields for teamwork purposes. Ideally any group I was in would have drilled in the use of the <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiltron”>Schiltron</a>, <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortoise_formation”>Tetsudo</a>, <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infantry_square”>Infantry Square</a>, and other variations on defensive tactical formations.

And anyone with a knowledge of engineering, siege engines or heavy construction and fortificaiton would be wanted. That would definitely help.

I also have an uncle in the Navy who knows how to make thermite; I should hit him up for the recipie.

22

cough

good movie.
very good movie.

also,
lolzombies

23

I was going to mention that the chances are more likely for a virus-based zombie plague which wouldn’t be effected by blessed weapons. And voodoo zombies aren’t literal zombies since they’re still alive. But they are more dangerous for the same reason, they have more brain function.

First off, you don’t want to cover yourself in armor. Zombies don’t use weapons, and that will only slow you down (canned food). Mobility is key when fighting zombies.

The boar spear looks like it would work good in tandem with someone else. You hold the zombie in place while the other guy/girl decapitates.

The ahlspiess on the other hand doesn’t look too useful. Poking and stabbing a zombie isn’t going to do anything unless you poked it through the eye, into the brain. And if you impale one, you’re going to have a hard time holding onto it. Zombies are only killed by destroying the brain. If your weapon can’t decapitate the head, or crush the skull, its probably not very effective.

24

Then I guess you’re down to training with weights. And then hitting zombies over the head with 'em.

I’m assuming that was the easy part.

25

To hear the movies tell it, most zombie infestations boil down to a siege in the end, as the proliferation of zombies is geometric, in the simplest models (ones that don’t factor in “food” availability). Anyway, defense becomes very important, and that’s where armor comes in. If they can’t cause wounds, they can’t stop you and you’re free to continue fighting them, even if your position is overrun; hell, you might even be able to get free of them.

Not to mention, a fit man in armor still moves faster than most movie zombies, who are usually doing a slightly comical shuffle.

Dude, they both work for the same reason. Note the disc on the ahlspiess; that thing is a lot bigger than wikipedia’s picture makes it look. To account for varying stages in decomposition amongst the shambling dead (let’s not fall into any age discrimination against our necrotic foes) you’d want to go for a chest or upper body hit, where bone structure supports the flesh (so the zombie can’t rip away) and allowing a partner (possibly armored) to advance and decapitate the hapless victim. This two person configurations seems ideal for mopping-up operations. Obviously, I’d prefer the boar spear, but I wouldn’t sneeze and an ahlspiess.

You want to combine hacking/slashing weapons with piercing weapons because the piercing weapons have both range and stopping power that swords and axes cannot match. Although a glaive or billhook would have similar range to an ahlspiess or boar spear, they are not as agile and are better suited to finishing the zombies than fending them off.

Here’s an exercise for the class; if you were the (military) leader of a group of “survivors,” how would you organize them? What kind of place would you want to hole up in? Would you want regular patrols and foraging parties, or would you prefer to quickly stockpile supplies and hide to avoid attracting the living dead?

God, this just <i>begs</i> to be made into an RTS/TBS game.

Now, assuming that my enemies are simply very numerous, unintelligent reanimated corpses, who can’t use weapons or navigate obstacles by any method but brute force, I’d likely opt for establishing strong, fortified positions and then begin stockpiling. Unintelligent zombies would obviously not be able to proctively interrupt my supply routes, so long as they don’t congregate where I need to go.

Foraging would have to be a daylight endeavor only; especially gathering burnable supplies or light sources for warmth and nighttime security (What I wouldn’t give for a crate of those crank operated lights, or those “fap operated” LED flashlights with the copper coil and magnet in the cylinder. Sadly, I doubt I’d have any.). I’d also want to drill a lot in tactics to defeat the undead, and maybe even launch offensive operations to hamper the spread of the undead and to establish corridors and perimeters beyond my physical fortifications.

Hmm, maybe I’d want to strike for Toronto if I was close by. They’ve got walls, so if you concentrate enough living people there it could be a good stronghold.

In a more Romero-ish situation, where the reanimated retain some memory of their former lives, I’d have to be much more careful, especially by not holing up in what was once a public place, like a mall; obviously, there’s the possibility that I won’t always have an arms advantage over the enemy, so stockpiling of firearms and ammunition (or ideally the expertise/infrastructure to manufacture/maintain them) is a priority, while fortifications would probably do little more than show my enemies where to attack.

Training my people not to shoot at shadows and steam pipes would probably be a priroity too.

26

They Hunger, anyone?

27

Old, but still really hilarious.

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<a href=“http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/23/1212252&tid=186”>In other news…</a> <_<

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… oshi–

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Kraken, you need to read The Zombie Survival Guide. It sounds like you’d really like it.

31

Grrruuuuuuhhhhhhh… Uuuaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh…

32

You do, you clean it up.