Your Zombie Rules

**SRP76** · 15-Nov-2007

Every zombie flick has different rules. Every one of us has a different idea of what zombies "should" do and "should" be like.

So, let's do that here. Lay out your own personal "rules" for your own zombie universe.

**Legion2213** · 15-Nov-2007

Slow (able speed up a bit when they spot a meatbag and go into "feeding mode"), but slow at any other time.

Stupid, and I mean stupid...a lower IQ than a cheeseburger, the sort of goons who can barely open a door.

Whatever "voodoo" brought them to life would also slow down their rotting rate, so that they could last for decades.

The same voodoo would somehow give them a sixth sense that allowed them to be aware of humans in their area.

Pretty much GAR zombs, but without Land of the Dead types - No Big Daddies allowed in my "universe"

**SRP76** · 15-Nov-2007

My rules keep some Romero aspects, but not all:

#1. ABSOLUTELY NO FREAKIN' RUNNING!!!. That means NO running zombies, period. They shamble. They are uncoordinated. Slow. Sllllloooooowwwww. Stiff-jointed, with atrophied muscle. That leads us to:

#2. They are WEAK. No strength at all. Their deteriorating muscle tissue leads to not being able to grab people and yank them about. They sure as hell won't be bullrushing Fran out of the doorway. They are only "strong" in numbers. The weight of their bodies is all they have for pushing and pulling.

#3. Stupid, stupid, football-bat dumb. Only the motor centers of their brains have been reactivated. They are on cruise control, plain and simple. They can't think, or learn. They're dead.

#4. ORIGIN: NO VIRUS!!! I hate the virus theories, as I've said before. I don't care what is causing it, as long as it isn't a virus. But, for the sake of completeness, I'll go with the magnetic pole reversal phenomenon causing electrical disruption (as I think it was Hellsing that mentioned that, in another thread).

#5. Method of destruction: Burning, or destruction of the brain. Basically, burning them desttroys the brain (as well as everything else), so there's no way a reanimate could survive getting lit up. Other than that, "shoot it in the head". Once the brain is separated from any part of the body, that bodypart stays down. Simply snapping the thing's neck will immobilize it (but don't get your hands near it's mouth; the skull isn't crippled).

#6. RELENTLESS!! These things go away for nobody. If they spot prey, they will continue to slap themselves up against the barricaded door until they rot into a pile of mush. They will NEVER give up. As long as there is nothing else to catch their attention (other prey), they will continue their current actions, to infinity.

#7. One-month lifespan. They are dead, and will rot at a normal rate. That doesn't save you from having to face generation after generation of them for years on end, though.

#8. NO SPIDEY SENSE!! I'm sick of zombies that are psychic. They have to rely on their human senses to spot prey. If they don't see you or hear you, they won't know jack. If anything, being dead will dull their senses, not enhance them.

#9. FEARLESS. They cannot be repelled. They will suicidally march directly into fire; they do not care. You must kill them to stop them, period.

#10. ALL DEAD RISE. End of story. No bites required.

#11. All meat will be eaten. They will chomp Mr. Chips in a heartbeat. Humans are the prime rib of the dead diet, but they will settle for some Ramen rat.

#12. Since there is no virus, these things don't "infect" anybody. The bites are just bites. Problem is, the human mouth is a sewer, and a dead human mouth would carry an arsenal of conventional disease, which would likely kill the bitten very quickly.

#13. NO SOUNDS!! No more damned GROANING! I hate that. These things don't breathe. They will not grunt, whinny, bark, growl, shriek, or any of that mess. They are silent. You'll know they're behind you only when you feel teeth on your neck.

.....that's all for now. I'm sure I'll think of some others, later.

**7734** · 15-Nov-2007

1) Slow. No running, sprinting or bursts of energy of any kind. Well, maybe a little excitement when food is around.

2) Unintelligent, but still possessing some sort of cognisant power. IE, they will actively hunt for food in places where they *think* there may be food.

3) Humans only. NO animal zombies.

4) Humans only. NO feeding on anything but humans.

5) All kinds of sounds. They may not breath, but there is all kinds of stuff rotting away inside them. Gases escape through the mouth, making sounds, especially when moving or feeding.

6) Bites kill. Virus or no virus, it's sort of a staple.

7) All dead rise. No end in sight.

8) Constant active search for food. No wasted time among these folks.

9) Strength of zombie directly comparable to strength of its once living counterpart; the zombie of a fisherman will have a powerful grip, the zombie of an athlete would be able to move a little faster, etc.

10) Strength and cognisant power fade in time, but a body may remain reanimated for at least a decade.

11) Did I mention no running zombies?

someone should make The Living Dead vs. The Rage Infected. I might shell out nine of my hard earned dollars for it.

**Mike70** · 15-Nov-2007

1-slow- no running. at best a short of shamble when they are after something.

2-dumb as a box of hand-rubbed rocks. no higher (or even mid-level brain functions. no use of tools except for using rocks, etc to smash windows.

3-no intellectual evolution-these are rotting, walking corpses. there will be no remembering skills from life.

4-the process of decay would slow so they would last for maybe 1-2 years.

5-you get bit, you die, you become one.

6-people who die without being bitten simply die. no reanimation.

7- no spider sense. they will be attracted to prey by sound and motion.

8-anything that destroys the basic functioning of the brain-bullets, baseball bats, fire, etc. would stop them permanently.

9-since they are dead and not generating body heat, they would function like cold blooded animals. cold weather would slow them down and freezing temps would immobilize them completely. they would function optimally between 15 and 35 deg celsius.

10- temps above 37 deg celsius (normal human body temp) would accelerate the process of decay.

11-they would attack everything warm blooded. so no mr. chips making the run for the border.

12-individually they are very weak.

13-they cannot be stopped except by violence. nor will they turn away from prey once it is spotted for any reason.

**acealive1** · 15-Nov-2007

one rule. THEY ALL drop over and die in a month from decay

**clanglee** · 15-Nov-2007

Originally Posted by scipio70

2-dumb as a box of hand-rubbed rocks. .

1. Slow with slight bursts of speed when chasing prey

2. Basic tool use (rocks, sticks, can turn a doorknob, etc.)

3. Condition spread through bite and just plain dying.

4. Zeds eat anything, but prefer humans. And condition only affects humans.

Basically old George's Zombies. Just no super smart ones

**SRP76** · 16-Nov-2007

Oh, you guys reminded me:

#14. Only people reanimate. It would get WAAAAAAY too complicated if everything on the planet revived. How would a dead mosquito be coordinated enough to fly? How would a dead fish be able to swim? Best not to even allow it.

**acealive1** · 16-Nov-2007

Originally Posted by SRP76

Oh, you guys reminded me:

#14. Only people reanimate. It would get WAAAAAAY too complicated if everything on the planet revived. How would a dead mosquito be coordinated enough to fly? How would a dead fish be able to swim? Best not to even allow it.

easy,a bunch of crows did it in resident evil 3

**GutTrix** · 16-Nov-2007

1.)They can run as fast as they could before they changed. (I'm a bigger dude so the "running" dead is a hell of alot scarrier to me)

2.)Learning possible in select zombies (alpha), but most have some form of drawing off of old memories.

3.)They only hunt living humans. They do not however "sense" the living.

4.)No fear

5.)They work in numbers, when not hunting they stay together moving as one mass

6.)A bite always kills

7.)Natural death does not mean reanimation

8.)No one knows why the bitten turn

9.)Decay is variable depending on enviroment but usually takes years

10.)Strength depends on the person, however a pair of zombies cannot simply pull a man apart

11.)They are not dead. At least not what I consider "dead". Dead'ish maybe but not dead. I prefer to think of them as changed

12.)Destroy the brain, kill the zombie

13.)I get to say what and when get's watched on my TV (that rule is for my girlfriend.)

**marginbuu** · 16-Nov-2007

family should not come back
Animals should not come back.
shooting employers is a must.
living in a the local mall is a need.
yep I am female but I need the SPACE a mall can provide

I should be only female survivor amongst Male survivors.

**panic** · 17-Nov-2007

1. The outbreak is caused by an infectious agent.
2. You need to be infected to rise; die of other causes and you stay dead.
3. Zombie rate of speed is based on level of decay; freshly risen zeds can run, a few days later they're staggering, after that they shamble.
4. Zombies also lose strength over time.
5. Zombies only use the most basic of implements such as bludgeons.
6. Zombies are attracted to movement, noise, and smell.
7. Zombies are deterred by fire.
8. Zombies can only be destroyed by destroying the brain.
9. Any bite or deep exposure to infectious fluids can potentially result in infection; ALL bites result in infection, death, and reanimation.
10. Zombies keep going forever until destroyed, albeit more and more slowly.
11. Only humans are affected.
12. Zombies only attack humans.
13. There is no cure.
14. Zombies may have the most basic of memories about their former lives, but they are purely REACTIVE creatures; they have no capacity for planning or anticipation.
15. Zombies do NOT evolve.

/p

**AcesandEights** · 17-Nov-2007

This is a great, non-combative format for discussing one's preferences! Good post! I also need time to think and list my rules out before I reply in earnest.