Zombies!

The Red Death plagues Eria, spreading like wildfire across the western parts of the Enlightened Skythian Empire. It is a disease that attacks both the body and soul of its victims; the body will die, but the sick soul will not be able to leave the decaying corpse. The result is a walking corpse, all resemblance of its former self eaten away by the terrible plague. The victims are driven by a mad hunger for human flesh, and each bite carries the infection to another host. Those who succumb to the Red Death are called zombies. No known cure exists.


The Enlightened Alliance has kept an eye on the plague, and has so far managed to stop it from spreading into their lands. Most of the Syndicate's forecasters predict that unless the Red Death can somehow be stopped, it is only a matter of time before it gets out of control. In this case, they believe the Erian civilization will end within a year.


What follows are the two types of zombies identified and recorded by the Enlightened Alliance's doctors.


Shamblers
The majority of the infected become shamblers. These walking dead are devoid of all semblance of intelligence. They behave almost like a swarm of netherfish, converging in great numbers where there is food (i.e. living humans). It is not believed that they are capable of communication in any understandable fashion, rather that their infected souls have some way of sensing when another zombie has found a prey.


Stat-block
Intelligence 0, Wits 1, Resolve 1
Strength 2, Dexterity 1, Stamina 1
Presence 1, Manipulation 0, Composure 1


Brawl 1
Health 6
Size 5
Defence 1
Initiative 2


Prowlers
A few of the diseased turn into prowlers. As with their lesser kin, these undead have lost their personalities, but somehow (it is believed that these were particularly resourceful humans in life) they are more cunning than the lesser zombies. They seem to share the same connection as the shamblers, but they have been known to use more sophisticated techniques to get to their prey, e.g. chasing them into a dead-end or opening doors. One report also describes a particular prowler who seemed to lead a pack of shamblers from farm to farm.


Stat-block
Intelligence 1, Wits 2, Resolve 1
Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 1
Presence 1, Manipulation 0, Composure 2

Brawl 2

Health 6

Size 5
Defence 2

Initiative 4

The Red Death

Infection: Bite

Resistance: Damage - Stamina

If the target fails the resistance-roll, it will lose 1 Willpower point each (hour x Willpower). Once the Willpower is reduced to zero, the target dies, and becomes a zombie.

The following three posts also discuss the topic:

The Red Death
The Redlands

Historical References: Plague

[Picture source: Troll in the Corner]