Necromancers still have a chance of bogging down initiative yet. Brings a tear to my eye. :')

Oof what a nerf compared to 2014.

The only change from the 2014 version is that they have one hit die less, resulting in 7 average HP less (15 vs. 22). I have to say, I prefer the Zombies from MCDM's Flee, Mortals. Undead Fortitude can turn combats into a slog if a group doesn't have access to radiant damage.

Any change?

Quote from nikolai_sw >>

The only change from the 2014 version is that they have one hit die less, resulting in 7 average HP less (15 vs. 22). I have to say, I prefer the Zombies from MCDM's Flee, Mortals. Undead Fortitude can turn combats into a slog if a group doesn't have access to radiant damage.

Fortunately, Holy Water is now a DEX save and will typically be a DC of at least 10 against something with a negative DEX mod. So if it procs, just toss a flask or two of Holy Water at the shambler and it should be down for good. The price is a factor, but after level 1 or 2 it's a case of bringing the right gear for the job.

They gained immunity to Exhaustion, but they're missing proficiency in WIS saving throws. Why they had them in the first place I don't know.

Quote from xenozfan2 >>

They gained immunity to Exhaustion, but they're missing proficiency in WIS saving throws. Why they had them in the first place I don't know.

 Good catch, didn't notice that! Notably, immunity to Exhaustion ensures they are still immune against the Sleep spell.

The art looks cooler, at least in my opinion.

fight him

What's with the art showing the zombie casting some kind of spell?

2024 PHB says their Wisdom Saving Throw is 0, not -2.

They also have double proficiency in Initiative now. +2 instead of -2. And their damage die has been increased from a d6 to a d8, increasing their static damage from 4 points to 5.

Oh, and they gained Immunity to Exhaustion.

Quote from Amalica >>

AI art, look at the hands. Good job WoTC

 Here comes the baseless AI accusations, because the hand is turned at an angle for a... zombie. Almost as if a zombie is a reanimated mangled corpse.

Im doing a second encounter in my campaign and i don't know if i should use zombies as the characters are lvl 1 and they have just faced a skeleton should i change the encounter to add variety pls reply soon?

Quote from xenozfan2 >>

They gained immunity to Exhaustion, but they're missing proficiency in WIS saving throws. Why they had them in the first place I don't know.

 They still have proficiency in WIS saving throws. If you look at the stat block you can see even though they have -2 WIS their WIS save is 0.

Poor Necromancers, forced to use zombies.

Quote from Abelhawk >>

What's with the art showing the zombie casting some kind of spell?

 I don't see that

The digital 2024 Monster Manual and PHB Zombie entries say -2 (8) and not +2 (12) for Initiative like it says here. Also, my physical 2024 PHB says 4 (1d6+1) for damage and not 5 (1d8+1), so that's another addition for PHB errata. What's the usual process for letting them know to correct this?

I've always wondered, why aren't zombies resistant or immune to necrotic damage?