Project Nemesis is a fan driven website for games that use the One-Roll Engine (like Nemesis, Wild Talents, Reign and Monsters) or Chaosium's Basic Roleplay System (BRP) (like Call of Cthulhu) and the Delta Green setting.
The legends from the gloomy and miserable Sunless Plains to
contrary and magical Pahar are full of stories of the dead coming back
to life and, after being hissed and shunned by his former villagers,
wanders the lands of the pale Shimmer, the second-hand sunlight
reflecting off the ocean to light the way of second-hand lives. Not all
stories feature the waked dead struggling unendingly against prejudice
but of the waked dead, warped and broken by their journey to the Death
Lands, come back full of spite and murder.
Sometimes cast adrift by arrogant and callous sorcerers, the dead
stagger around until someone comes along and inevitably puts them back
in the grave.
The Wakened Dead have a sour place in the Sunless Plains, often
equated with feral dogs, they have felt the touch of the walking
corpses more than any other and sometimes treat them with whimsy or
pity, but no real affection as one does the deformed and pathetic.
Since the Undead do not have the same reliance on flesh as the
living do, they can withstand a great deal more punishment and abuse
than living folk.
The Hideous Things
All Undead are, plain and simple, just disgusting and creepy to be
around. Their Charm Stat is considered 0 although it can attempt to
roll their Charm skills as is.
The Icy Cold of the Grave
While there are numerous stories why the dead come back, it only
occurs because of ambient magic. The Icy Cold of the Grave or the
Stinking Winds from the Mouth of Hell, which sets your hair on end, is
the character’s Eerie sense working, that’s all.
The detectable Intensity of the Wakened Dead, as per page 129, is Just Dead 2, Week Dead 3, and Month Dead 4.
Ward against Undead
If a Wakened Dead is a victim of a successful Counterspell, it reduces the Width of one of the Wakened Dead’s actions by -1.
The Grateful Dead
All undead have an AR1 against all Shock damage attacks in all
locations and they are immune to poisons and diseases. They need no
breath, sleep, food, and water. They see out where their eyes are but
do not require their eyes; they see in dark and light just fine. They
can distinguish life from base matter.
Advantages
The dead are not all equal. Some find a way to survive in the world of the living. Here’s how.
Deathly Flesh (1 to 5 point Advantage) – Undead Only
Deathly Flesh simulates the hardiness and resistant flesh of the
dead. Every level functions not unlike AR except it just steps-down
damage not eliminate it.
For each level in Deathly Flesh convert one point of Killing Damage into Shock Damage.
The remaining unconverted Killing Damage remains as physical damage. All Shock damage disappears at the end of a fight.
Deathly Flesh doesn’t make the dead immune from special damage effects like knock downs, etc, etc.
Grave Fortitude (1 to 5 point Advantage) – Undead Only
Many strolling corpses possess a level of physical strength and
prowess the living are lacking. The Undead can reroll up to a number
dice from any rolled Body-based dice pool equal to the Grave Fortitude
Advantage. The reroll is considered part of the same roll and no
special dice can be used with the reroll – they’re all rolled.
Pallid Mortality (5-point Advantage – Just Dead Only)
Sometimes the dead can simulate being alive to the point their
hearts can pump, their eyes can tear, and their cuts drip blood. They
may be cooler to the touch than normal people and even a bit socially
awkward but there are no outward signs of death and decay. With this
advantage the Walking Corpse can buy back his Charm Stat, his first dot
only for five experience points.
Extra Problems
Undead come in three flavours: Just Dead, a Week Dead, and a Month
Dead. Just Dead do not appear dead unless examined and have no Problem
unless chosen. A Week Dead takes the Unwholesome or Gruesome Problem. A
Month Dead takes both the Gruesome and Unwholesome Problems. Neither of
these problems count towards the three limit and nor do the supply
experience points rather they subtract experience if the player doesn’t
ham up the horror of the undead.
Murder Madness (Undead Flaw)
Not all the Wakened Dead suffer the madness of murder. In REIGN the
Corpse has his Passions; Craving, Mission, and Duty; reassigned to hunt
and kill as many people as it can, often one at a time with animal
cunning and human knowledge. Many are led to believe that by
ritualistically eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the dying or
nearly dead, they gain some sort of power.
While they mostly wander alone, some have been known to form
terrible hunting packs and drag off entire generations of families to
terrible, merciless fates.
Hey! My Shadow Binder Zombies do not have any special rules!
Never fear. All basic animated corpses have Deathly Flesh 1 and
Grave Fortitude 1. Unless the Wakened Dead can think for itself and
improve its condition, it is unlikely they’ll get any better.
If your GM wants to he can raise the Intensity of those specific shadow-binder spells by 1 or 2 to factor in the new advantages.