The author of the article seems optimistic IMO. What I get from the article is that effectively they will change zombies in 4th edition to the following or effectively the following (i.e similar changes with the new mechanics):Some info about 4E zombies, this time from the online Dragon #360. Key game-mechanical changes: they're tougher, can do significant damage without weapons, and will be vulnerable to critical hits. Other changes are that they'll attack in swarms, Romero-flick-style, and will be statted up by size rather than species (e.g. "Medium zombie" rather than "orc zombie", etc).
Actually, if you listen to the "monsters" podcast carefully, it sounds like it won't just be zombies that are more dangerous in teams. There seems to be an effort underway to make grunt-troop minions in general more of a threat, so that a BBEG's lackeys can put up a significant fight, rather than just delay the heroes on their way to the villain. They want to resolve a few of the down sides to 3E's CR system, such as how PC parties who are up to fighting fire giants can walk through those giants' hellhounds without breaking a sweat.Ivana_Boritsi wrote:They talk about how zombies can drag you down to the ground and munch on you. So I'm guessing that they will probably have some kind of combined attack ability. Like the more zombies that attack you, the higher their to-hit bonus is. Something like that.
I'm thinking that it's going to be something brand, brand new. From what I've seen, 4th Edition is going to be very different from 3rd Edition. Looking at the new stat blocks, monsters don't have Feats, they have certain "types" such as Brute, etc. I think that there will be some brand new bag of tricks that they will be pulling from.Rotipher of the FoS wrote: I expect that teamwork will pay off significantly for hordes of bad guys, and possibly for PCs who have their own support-troops (hirelings, animal companions), also. How it might do so, I'm not sure; it could be anything from an increase in the flanking bonus if foes are surrounded, to the use of the "mob" template from Cityscape.
* The chillborn zombie is "even tougher than normal.... Life-sapping cold streams from the creature, and the more chillborn zombies in a group, the deeper the freeze.... When a chillborn strikes you, you just might freeze in place, still able to fight back but unable to flee.... Chillborn deal more damage to immobilized victims."
* The corruption zombie is "so tainted that its body constantly exudes putrid flesh" which it tears off and throws at its foes. "If one of [these pieces] of corruption strikes you, [...] not only does [it deal damage], but [it] also weakens you." What's more, "the stink of death is so strong near the creature, so sickening, that it can overwhelm the fortitude of the hardiest warrior, slowing his movement and enfeebling his attacks."
* The gravehound zombie is "usually created from the corpse of a sizeable dog" and is "much faster than normal zombies." Furthermore, "their bite causes continuing decomposition around the wound [that] persist even after the gravehound is destroyed." Finally, "when the gravehound goes down, it lashes out one final time. If it hits you, its jaws lock ntil you can use brute force to open [them]."
I think you're mistaken here Ivana. They are categorized for conveniency along such broad concept lines but they also have feats IMO.Ivana_Boritsi wrote: I'm thinking that it's going to be something brand, brand new. From what I've seen, 4th Edition is going to be very different from 3rd Edition. Looking at the new stat blocks, monsters don't have Feats, they have certain "types" such as Brute, etc. I think that there will be some brand new bag of tricks that they will be pulling from.
Agreed about the monsters/ players common rules. I keep my faith, hopes and expectations high though. I believe that while most of the monsters won't be designed to be PC races they will again follow the same rules as players. No more weird saves for them or 5d8+1 hp. That's a thing of the past and it should remain there.gonzoron wrote:Erg.. I've been keeping a pretty open mind, but the more I hear stuff like that, the less interesting in 4e I become. The fact that monsters and PC's use (mostly) the same streamlined rules was one of the great beauties of 3.x, IMHO.
