Homebrew Zombie Species Details

Animated by necromantic energies, zombies are the bodies of creatures doomed to wander as the living dead. Almost all of these walking corpses are mindless, devoid of personality. Rarely, a humanoid risen as a zombie retains a sliver of its soul and has a rudimentary memory of its previous life. These unlucky few can only moan in frustration as they barely recall the tools and behaviours of their past – but these specimens can become adventuring zombies. Guided by other adventurers (perhaps their prior comrades, or the wizard that rose it from the dead) they instinctively pick up the routines of combat and dungeoneering, albeit slowly. Maybe they can stave off the decay of their body as they recover more of their soul?

Zombie Traits

Zombies are not mindless husks. They are the dead who refused to remain so. Whether raised by necromancy, bound by unfinished purpose, claimed by nature, or animated through sheer obstinance, zombies exist in a state of unresolved death. Their bodies rot, break, and reform—but something essential persists. Hunger, instinct, memory, or will keeps them moving when life has already let go. As a zombie, your body no longer obeys the rules of the living. Pain is dulled. Fear is distant. Wounds are obstacles, not endings. You do not heal as others do, nor do you perish as easily. Instead, you endure—sometimes awkwardly, sometimes grotesquely, always unnervingly. Zombies are often mistaken for monsters, and many embrace that reputation. Others cling to fragments of who they once were, struggling to reconcile a thinking mind with a corpse that should not walk. Societies react to zombies with fear, disgust, reverence, or exploitation—rarely indifference.

Undead Fortitude

• You have resistance to poison damage, and you have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned.

• You do not need to eat, drink, or breathe, though you can still do so if you wish.

• When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can make a Constitution saving throw (DC = 5 + the damage taken).

  • On a success, you drop to 1 hit point instead.

  • Once you succeed on this saving throw, you can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Darkvision

 A racial trait allowing creatures to see in darkness as if it were dim light, and dim light as if it were bright light within a specific radius (usually 60 feet)

Ability Score Increase

Two different ability scores of your choice increase by 1 and 2