Zombie Codex [Monster Thursday]

This week, we are looking at fresh, new zombies to add to your games! ... well, maybe fresh and new are the wrong terms. These zombies are based on those found in pop culture like Resident Evil, Left 4 Dead, Skyrim, and more! All providing new ways for your party to hate the undead even more than they did before...

Desiccated Zombie (CR 1) These corpses form after being dried out by the sun, or some other source like salt, and appear as if their skin was leather. They hunt through the desert sands, burrowing beneath the ground until they sense victims walking about them.

Draugr (CR 4) The main difference between a draugr and a zombie is that zombies are mindless undead. Draugr, on the other hand, are animated by a possessing spirit, often thought of as a ghost. The ghost was once the soul that occupied the body, but in death it has been corrupted and now seeks to only protect what it once had in life.

Lurker Zombie (CR 2) Hunting from the rooftops, these zombies are surprisingly nimble. They stick to the outskirts of any combat until they sense someone is vulnerable and then leap from their hiding spot, knocking them to the ground where they can be tearing and ripping with their sharp claws. 

Plague Zombie (CR 1/8) The classical zombie who spreads disease and plague. They are quite miserable by themselves, but once they gather into a horde, it's all over for wouldbe survivors.

Sprinting Zombie (CR 3) Faster than undeath should be, these zombies throw themselves into a combat, smashing against defenses and seeking flesh. They are fast, brutal, and singularly focused, stopping at nothing to reach their victim.

Zombie Lord (CR 5) Not all who fall to death become mindless. Zombie lords were once powerful individuals who found death to not be all dead. They often keep the same personality and abilities they had in life, but now they no longer suffer the frailties of life.