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Zombie: Difference between revisions

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{{Flavour|A corpse raised to undeath by necromancy.
{{Flavour|A corpse raised to undeath by necromancy.


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-William Seabrook, _The Magic Island_. 1929.}}
-William Seabrook, _The Magic Island_. 1929.}}


'''Zombies''' are the reanimated corpses of once-living creatures and are a type of [[derived undead]]. They are considerably slower, stupider, and clumsier than whatever they were when they were alive and are unable to heal, but on the flip side, they do come with undead resistances to [[cold]] and [[negative energy]].
'''Zombies''' are the reanimated corpses of once-living creatures. As a type of [[derived undead]], their stats are based on what the monster had in life.


Zombies may appear in [[the Dungeon]] as random monsters, or be created by players (or other monsters) through [[Necromancy]] or the [[Invocations]] of certain gods. Note that hostile zombies can serve as a "preview" of upcoming monsters: since they're weaker than the original, the zombie version of monsters will often show up a level or two before the live version.
==Useful Info==
Zombies are slower, stupider, and clumsier than their alive counterparts. However, they have good durability for a derived undead. Zombies of certain monsters may be more durable than their non-undead selves.


As servants, zombies are extremely useful for characters who need meat shields, and make up the main component of a [[necromancer]]'s or [[Death Knight (background)|death knight]]'s strategy. Often simply hiding behind your zombies and waiting is a good strategy in battle against strong foes; what works even better is reaching past your minions with [[polearms]]. Note that a newly-animated zombie can pick up weapons and armor from the square it was animated on (usually their old equipment), but that's your last chance to equip them, as they can't pick anything up or wield/wear new items. You also won't be able to recover equipment from your zombies until they are destroyed, so if you want, say, [[Psyche]]'s dagger, make sure to take it off her corpse before raising it. Despite having significant disadvantages, zombies can still be very strong, particularly in the case of strong physical monsters or well-equipped [[unique]]s.
*'''HP:''' (HD)d5 + 6*HD
*'''AC:''' Original - 2
*'''EV:''' Original - 5
*'''Speed:''' Original - 2 (at least 3)
*'''Melee attack damage:''' 80% of original
*'''Attack flavour:''' None
*'''Resists:''' rC++, rPois+++, rN+++, rTorm, rHoly-. Loses all other resistances or vulnerabilities the monster had in life.
*'''Special:''' Does not regenerate, cannot traverse stairs. Loses all spells and abilities (except for [[kraken]]s).


Zombies created through players' Necromancy spells are temporary and will eventually crumble to dust, but using [[Yredelemnul]]'s Animate Dead ability creates zombies that persist until they are destroyed. Additionally, zombies are unable to use stairs, but you can lure monsters up or down stairs into the arms of your zombie horde.
Friendly zombies may be created by [[Animate Dead]] spell or [[Yredelemnul]]'s passive reaping. Hostile zombies may be found [[the Crypt]] and in various [[vault]]s.
 
==Strategy==
As servants, zombies are great meatshields. Despite being weaker than the base monster, a mass of zombies can be quite effective. Most monsters are glass cannons (relative to the player), so 80% damage is still significant.
 
Even the weakest zombies can be used as retreat fodder. Keep these zombies behind you, and when things go poorly, go behind the zombies. The fodder will block shots and allow you to escape from [[attacks of opportunity]]. You can also attack behind zombies with [[Polearms]] or [[smite-targeted]] attacks.
 
Your zombies will crumble when you leave the current floor.


==Identifying Zombies==
==Identifying Zombies==
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[[Image:Bat zombie.png]] [[Bat]]s
[[Image:Bat zombie.png]] [[Bat]]s


[[Image:Beetle zombie.png]] [[List of arthropods#Beetles|Beetles]]
[[Image:Beetle zombie.png]] [[List of arthropods|Beetles]]


[[Image:Zombie hound.png]] [[List of canines|Canines]]
[[Image:Zombie hound.png]] [[List of canines|Canines]]
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[[Image:Zombie elf.png]] [[List of deep elves|Elves]]
[[Image:Zombie elf.png]] [[List of deep elves|Elves]]
[[Image:Zombie eye.png]] [[List of eyeballs|Eyeballs]]


[[Image:Zombie faun.png]] [[List of centaurs#Satyrs|Fauns]]
[[Image:Zombie faun.png]] [[List of centaurs#Satyrs|Fauns]]
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[[Image:Zombie hornet.png]] [[Hornet]]s/[[Spark wasp|Wasps]]
[[Image:Zombie hornet.png]] [[Hornet]]s/[[Spark wasp|Wasps]]
[[Image:Zombie horror.png]] Horrors


[[Image:Zombie howler monkey.png]] [[Howler monkey]]s
[[Image:Zombie howler monkey.png]] [[Howler monkey]]s
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[[Image:Zombie jackal.png]] [[Jackal]]s
[[Image:Zombie jackal.png]] [[Jackal]]s
[[Image:Zombie jelly.png]] [[List of jellies|Jellies]]


[[Image:Zombie juggernaut.png]] [[Juggernaut]]s
[[Image:Zombie juggernaut.png]] [[Juggernaut]]s


[[Image:Zombie kobld.png]] [[Kobold (monster)|Kobolds]]
[[Image:Zombie kobld.png]] [[List of kobolds|Kobolds]]


[[Image:Zombie kraken head.png]] [[Kraken]]s
[[Image:Zombie kraken head.png]] [[Kraken]]s
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[[Image:Zombie octopode.png]] [[Octopode (monster)|Octopodes]]
[[Image:Zombie octopode.png]] [[Octopode (monster)|Octopodes]]


[[Image:Zombie ogre.png]] [[Ogre (monster)|Ogres]]
[[Image:Zombie ogre.png]] [[List of ogres|Ogres]]


[[Image:Zombie orc.png]] [[List of orcs|Orcs]]
[[Image:Zombie orc.png]] [[List of orcs|Orcs]]
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[[Image:Zombie snake.png]] [[List of snakes|Snakes]]
[[Image:Zombie snake.png]] [[List of snakes|Snakes]]


[[Image:Zombie spider small.png]] [[List of spiders|Spiders]]
[[Image:Zombie spider small.png]] [[List of arachnids|Spiders]] (small)


[[Image:Zombie spider.png]] Spiders (large)
[[Image:Zombie spider.png]] Spiders (large)
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[[Image:Zombie wyvern.png]] [[Wyvern]]s
[[Image:Zombie wyvern.png]] [[Wyvern]]s


[[Image:Zombie yak.png]] [[List of yaks|Yaks]]
[[Image:Zombie yak.png]] [[Yak]]s


[[Image:Zombie yaktaur.png]] [[List of centaurs#Yaktaurs|Yaktaurs]]
[[Image:Zombie yaktaur.png]] [[List of centaurs#Yaktaurs|Yaktaurs]]
==History==
*Prior to [[0.29]], zombies required a [[corpse]] item to be raised by [[Animate Dead]], which implicitly forbid monsters like [[List of jellies|Slimes]] from being zombies. Reanimated zombies kept their weapons and armour. Zombies could also spawn randomly in the main [[Dungeon]].
*Prior to [[0.26]], raising a zombie meant losing out on the [[chunk]]s the corpse provided.


[[Category:Monsters]]
[[Category:Monsters]]
[[Category:Undead holiness]]
[[Category:Undead holiness]]

Latest revision as of 22:56, 25 January 2026

Version 0.33: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
A corpse raised to undeath by necromancy.

"It seemed that while the zombie came from the grave, it was neither a ghost, nor yet a person who had been raised like Lazarus from the dead. The zombie, they say, is a soulless human corpse, still dead, but taken from the grave and endowed by sorcery with a mechanical semblance of life-it is a dead body with is made to walk and act and move as if it was alive. People who have the power to do this go to a fresh grave, dig up the body before it has had time to rot, galvanize it into movement, and then make of it a servant or slave, occasionally for the commission of some crime, more often simply as a drudge around the habitation or the farm, setting it dull heavy tasks, and beating it like a dumb beast if it slackens."
-William Seabrook, _The Magic Island_. 1929.

Zombies are the reanimated corpses of once-living creatures. As a type of derived undead, their stats are based on what the monster had in life.

Useful Info

Zombies are slower, stupider, and clumsier than their alive counterparts. However, they have good durability for a derived undead. Zombies of certain monsters may be more durable than their non-undead selves.

  • HP: (HD)d5 + 6*HD
  • AC: Original - 2
  • EV: Original - 5
  • Speed: Original - 2 (at least 3)
  • Melee attack damage: 80% of original
  • Attack flavour: None
  • Resists: rC++, rPois+++, rN+++, rTorm, rHoly-. Loses all other resistances or vulnerabilities the monster had in life.
  • Special: Does not regenerate, cannot traverse stairs. Loses all spells and abilities (except for krakens).

Friendly zombies may be created by Animate Dead spell or Yredelemnul's passive reaping. Hostile zombies may be found the Crypt and in various vaults.

Strategy

As servants, zombies are great meatshields. Despite being weaker than the base monster, a mass of zombies can be quite effective. Most monsters are glass cannons (relative to the player), so 80% damage is still significant.

Even the weakest zombies can be used as retreat fodder. Keep these zombies behind you, and when things go poorly, go behind the zombies. The fodder will block shots and allow you to escape from attacks of opportunity. You can also attack behind zombies with Polearms or smite-targeted attacks.

Your zombies will crumble when you leave the current floor.

Identifying Zombies

Although zombie versions of each monster will have different stats, Crawl tends to lump them together, making identification at a glance difficult. In console mode, zombies will be separated into zs and Zs, representing large or small zombies. Tiles mode is more specific, providing unique tiles for several categories of monster, but there is still a lot of possible variation within those categories. In either mode, you can always press x and highlight the zombie in question to determine exactly what type of monster you are dealing with.

Below are all the categories of zombies in tiles mode:

Adders

Bears

Bees

Birds

Bats

Beetles

Canines

Centaurs

Crabs

Draconians

Drakes

Dragons

Quicksilver dragons

Iron dragons

Gold dragons

Elephants

Elves

Eyeballs

Fauns

Frogs

Giant cockroaches

Gnolls

Goblins

Guardian serpents

Harpies

Hobgoblins

Hornets/Wasps

Horrors

Howler monkeys

Humans

Humanoids (small)

Humanoids (large)

Hydras

Insects

Jackals

Jellies

Juggernauts

Kobolds

Krakens

The Lernaean hydra

Lindwurms

Lizards

Meliai

Merfolk

Minotaurs

Nagas

Octopodes

Ogres

Orcs

Quadrupeds (small)

Quadrupeds (large)

Quadrupeds (winged)

Quokkas

Rats

Salamanders

Scorpions

Snakes

Spiders (small)

Spiders (large)

Spriggans

Trolls

Turtles

Ugly things

Worms

Wyverns

Yaks

Yaktaurs

History

  • Prior to 0.29, zombies required a corpse item to be raised by Animate Dead, which implicitly forbid monsters like Slimes from being zombies. Reanimated zombies kept their weapons and armour. Zombies could also spawn randomly in the main Dungeon.
  • Prior to 0.26, raising a zombie meant losing out on the chunks the corpse provided.