Anyone ever notice that if there is some kind of zombie/vampire/other undead monster, they only come out at night? I was just watching an episode of Sliders, (kind of like Multiverser) and in this episode, they have zombies which only come out at night, which crave human fat. Craving brains or flesh I had heard of, but not fat sucking zombies. Anyway, to get to the point, this got me started wondering why these creatures only come out at night. Why are there no zombies which only come out in the daytime, and at night it is safe to walk around? Perhaps their bodies are partially powered by solar radiation, and without it, they shut down. It would make engaging them in combat that much easier, and make them easier to trap. The disadvantages though would be first, that you could only look for supplies in the dark when you couldn't see very well, and secondly, daytime is usually twice as long as nighttime. Just a weird idea that I had.
Daywalkers
(166 posts) (9 voices)-
JohnA1nut
MemberIn case of zombie invasion, which is the best weapon to have?
1) Handgun
2) Baseball bat
3) Machete
4) CrowbarAnswers, in order, Crowbar, Machete, Baseball bat, Handgun. The first two have uses beyond just being weapons. However, the crowbar won't break, but the machete will. The bat has no use beyond just being a weapon, and the handgun is useless if you run out of ammo.
Which gun would be best to have?
1) Barrett 50 caliber rifle
2) 12 gauge shotgun
3) 30-06 rifle
4) 9mm carbine rifleAgain, in order, 9mm rifle, 30-06, shotgun, 50 caliber. Reasons, 9mm ammo is lightweight and fairly common. It's easy to find and you can carry a lot of it for the weight. 30-06 is heavier, shotguns are useless after about 50 yards, and you could carry almost a full box of 9mm ammo for the weight of a single 50 caliber round.
Fri Oct 3 2008 4:18 am # -
Jhiaxus
MemberYou are thinking about this on a single situation scale. I can think of three different situations under the best gun to have, on which gun would be best.
1) Short Range, Many Zombies in front, Shotgun wins hands down
2) Short to Medium Range, single target, 9mm carbine rifle, since ammo will be at a premium, might as well use what's most likely to be around.
3) Long range, 30-06 rifle, a 50 caliber is useless, might as well fire a bazooka, with how much ammo your likely to find.Fri Oct 3 2008 12:44 pm # -
JohnA1nut
MemberActually, if I was holed up in a defensive position, which is where I would want to be in a situation like that, I'd want all of them. It was on a "Zombie Invasion Survival Guide" that I saw online. They recommended keeping on the move. That makes no sense to me. If the zombies are where you are, I'd say it's a safe bet they're everywhere. Unless you can get somewhere across a large body of water that has absolutely no cemeteries or other sources of zombies, I would stick to an area that I knew well enough to defend. Personally, I would try to hole up inside a Wal-Mart. They have enough food, clothes, and ammunition to make a sustained siege very possible. Some of the Wal-Marts even sell guns.
Fri Oct 3 2008 6:33 pm # -
JohnA1nut
Memberhttp://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/view/44549/
Zombie defense station.
Fri Oct 3 2008 6:53 pm # -
johnosevens
MemberA1Nut - Read "World War Z" and the "Zombie Survival Handbook." You'd love em.
Incidentally, I think it WOULD be safer to keep moving. Why? Yeah, the zombies are everywhere, but other people aren't. They were, and now they aren't. Once you've used up the resources of where you are - food, ammo, hiding places that aren't surrounded by a legion of the shambling dead - you go somewhere else.
When I read "World War Z" one of the things he recommended was staying off the highways because people who zombified behind the wheel could be very dangerous land-mine-like traps, grabbing or biting as you went by. On the other hand, I could easily imagine making my way along the sound-walls on the sides of a major highway, sniping zombies with a rifle and looting cars for supplies (just snipe into the driver's seat - whether there's a zombie in there or not, it's just safer).
As for why they only come out at night, there's two reasons for this:
1: Mythological convention. Vampires and werewolves were both creatures associated with night-time. Frankenstein's Monster was most often seen at night, simply because the darkness made it easier for him to move around stealthily, which he valued because people were afraid of him. So there's a tradition of iconic monsters being associated with darkness and the night.
2: Artistic convention. Things are scarier at night. "Night of the Living Dead," "Nosferatu," all the various "Dracula" movies, even slasher flicks with no actual monsters in them, all establish that things are scarier at night. When it's supposed to be a psychologically frightening story, it just doesn't do to have it be a bright, cheerfully sunny day.Fri Oct 3 2008 8:17 pm # -
For what it's worth, NagaWorld (the first Multiverser world, and the first for players who do not begin at convention games or online or demos) has two signiificant monsters which only move in the daylight. One is solar powered. The other simply was made (by its mysterious in-world designer) to battle in the daytime and be dormant at night.
Harry is right about the undead having a mythological connection to darkness. They are supposed to be creatures of the night. It is part of the vampire mythology that the evil creature cannot stand in the light of God, and the sun is given rule of the day to shine the light of God on everything. Modern revisions often look for some reason why sunlight would be harmful to such creatures. Top of the list, ultraviolet radiation is said to destroy certain categories of vampires. For what it's worth, sunlight accelerates decay, so zombies and ghouls would deteriorate much more quickly in the daylight and heat.
On the other hand, I can easily see a pseudo-undead creature that, being cold blooded, did not function well in the cold (like many lizards which seek warm places and tend to go dormant at night).
However, a fundamental reason for relegating undead to the darkness is the matter of tropes. Interestingly, if you take the idea (Resident Evil?) of some chemical or genetic communicable disease changing the bodies of living people such that they look and smell of decay and want to feed on human flesh, and you also make them sensitive to daylight, people accept that you can call them "zombies". If you made the same changes but allowed them to walk about in the daylight, this one detail of the trope would undermine the connection, and many people would say that they are zombie-like monsters but that they aren't really undead. Note that the other "zombies" are not undead either; but the trope connecting the undead to the darkness seems definitive of them. You could create a genuinely undead (magically animated) zombie which was not affected by daylight, but in that case you are maintaining the other trope, that these creatures are animated dead things, and therefore genuinely undead. In that case your players will conclude that they are undead with the unusual feature that they can walk in the daylight.
I do that with the lesser undead of my Vampire world, that the vampires cannot face the daylight but the lesser ghouls and zombies can.
--M. J. Young
Fri Oct 3 2008 8:57 pm # -
JohnA1nut
MemberHere's one for you. I've heard arguments about which type of zombie is better. I like the traditional, slow moving zombie. My friend Phil said that he likes the fast ones. They were more dangerous. Also, dead people don't get tired, why couldn't they run forever? He said the slow moving zombies were good for enclosed spaces, but out in the open, the fast ones were better. I agree to a point, I still prefer the slow moving zombies, but I was thinking "Could there be a compromise?"
What if you had zombies that were slow in the daytime, and fast at night? We've seen the zombies that only come out at night, what about fast at night? It would be discovered that they spend the daylight hours storing up solar energy, that would give them extremely fast speed, the moment the power was cut. In this instance, although the zombies would tend to avoid dark places (Their primitive zombie mind thinking "Sunlight feels so good" and not entirely understanding why) If one happened to stumble into a darkened place, it would have a limited supply of the super speed. If denied sunlight for an extended amount of time, it would become dead for real. Thoughts?
In the daytime, they would be fairly easy to avoid, but at nighttime, when you can't see as well, they become far more dangerous, and you're at a handicap already. That would be cool.
Thu Oct 9 2008 8:20 am # -
JohnA1nut
MemberIf you hit them with sufficient ultraviolet light, or maybe just normal light, they would go back into power conservation mode and slow back down. With the side-effect that you are helping to recharge their super speed when the batteries in your flashlight die. I could imagine some very cool times being had with this.
I mean think about it for a second. If you were trapped in a confined space with these things, you would be Ska-Rew-Ed if the lights went out!!!!!! Your only hope would be to ride it out until their batteries died.
Thu Oct 9 2008 8:33 am # -
JohnA1nut
MemberTo capture one, lure it into a confined, darkened space, and let it wear itself out. If a slow zombie shuffles aimlessly, a fast zombie would run aimlessly. This is especially good for a show, as the zombies run around into walls and furniture. More dangerous, yes, more intelligent, no. Just don't let them know you are there. Zombies do tend to home in on food. If you can stay under its attention radar, you can still move around rather freely in a confined space with a running zombie. Also, the zombie can't see as well as you can either. It's just as hampered by the darkness as you are.
Methods of moving freely would include slowly crawling with a cardboard box on top of you. As long as you move slowly enough so that the zombie doesn't notice you moving, it won't home in on you at all. If it does home in on you, it's going to be charging full speed, and have super-human strength when it gets to you. In other words, you either have to be EXTREMELY careful, or have a box made out of something that The Six Million Dollar Man couldn't rip apart. Although, if it happens to run into the box you're hiding in, the zombie almost always wins. This happens infrequently enough that it is usually worth the risk.
Thu Oct 9 2008 9:02 am # -
JohnA1nut
MemberTheir running speed would be a quick run, depending on how much sunlight it had had that day, physical condition of the person who owned it, time of death, etc. They would wear out. The ones you are afraid of are the ones in the Track and Field uniforms. Also, imagine if Arnold Schwarzenegger turned into one of these? So, avoid zombies who look like they're in good shape. Old lady zombies don't tend to run as fast or as long as any other. They wear out quickly. Although, an in shape old lady is about as healthy as a teenager, and still a formidable opponent.
Their physical strength is augmented, as well as their speed. They are, in general, a fast running speed zombie, with bionic strength. Very few humans can defeat a Track and Field zombie in hand to hand combat, (Martial artists and weight lifters, usually) Even a little old lady zombie (in the dark, this is all in the dark) would be about as fast as a quick walking speed, and sometimes very strong. Can usually be defeated in hand to hand combat, but this is inadvisable. (imagine a "Friday the 13th" style "Chase through the woods", running from your grandmother.)
They have the same weak spots, (sever the brain, etc) It would also answer the question of why zombies don't die as quickly as they should. They are recharging and wearing out.
Thu Oct 9 2008 9:29 am # -
JohnA1nut
MemberThe running, nighttime zombies still tend to congregate around places they find familiar. However, they do get lost easily, and seeing zombies who are "Completely out of their zone" is not uncommon. The Track and Field zombies can be observed running laps around the track at night. These are the worst kind, because you know that they get lots of sunlight and are in really good physical shape. Zombies sometimes commit suicide by intentionally running/wandering into places that will not get the sunlight in the morning. It still looks like darkness to them. They don't always run either. They do walk quickly, and engage the super speed when homing onto a target. It's a power conservation method. Another form of entertainment is to make noise and intentionally make them run headfirst into a wall. It's a past time that has claimed quite a few lives.
Thu Oct 9 2008 9:47 am # -
JohnA1nut
MemberHow fast they wear out is open for discussion. I keep getting this idea that if you ran around in circles at night, your muscles would decay faster. However, they are being recharged by the sun in the daytime. How long do they "Live"? What's the average lifespan of a zombie? I think these would wear out faster than traditional zombies.
Also, how long does the solar charge last? I would think that it wouldn't last very long, and that by morning, the zombies would be observed laying down from fatigue, only to be awakened by the sun when it rose in the morning. I'd say about an 8 hour battery life would be good. They might stay awake constantly, but can sometimes be observed "sleeping" for several minutes, right before sunrise. It wears them out, running at high speed. Hence, the daytime shuffling power conservation mode. The time that they can last without light is unclear, although it undoubtedly depends greatly on the physical condition of the zombie.
Thu Oct 9 2008 10:17 am # -
JohnA1nut
MemberPhysical strength is not super-human, but weight-lifer human. Some as strong as professional bodybuilders. (Imagine Lou Ferrigno and Arnold in their prime) And a person who was a bodybuilder BEFORE he became a zombie...... Don't get me started.
The speed is augmented to track and field running levels. Usually cannot be outrun on foot, although some people can. Zombies who wear Track And Field uniforms, can get up to 50 MPH in short bursts, although it wears them out, and they need to recharge pretty quickly. Can sometimes be observed running after (and catching) cars. However, they (30 GE roll bad) don't have enough sense to grab on, and are very easy to shake off. Unless it gets physically caught somehow, it can't do much harm to the car. Fast walking speed is the top speed of a little old lady, although some can be observed running at up to jogging speeds. They are as strong as an average teenager. (That would be super human strength for a lot of little old ladies)
Thu Oct 9 2008 10:42 am # -
JohnA1nut
MemberIn other words, at night, the zombies are a helluva lot faster and stronger, but just as stupid. They still crave human flesh, and will take it, day or night.
The zombies in the new Dawn of the Dead seemed a lot smarter than the traditional zombie. They congregated around buildings. The original Dawn of the Dead, they just walked in circles. Why do they have to get smarter too? Why couldn't they now just walk really slow in the daytime, but walk (and run) really fast at night? However, they're just as stupid. If it repeatedly walked face first into walls as a slow zombie, it will now repeatedly walk very quickly face first into walls. If it is tracking a target, fast or slow, it will attack, if the target gets its attention. They have a short attention span, however, and usually stop chasing you if they lose visual contact for not more than 5 seconds. Five seconds would be an Autistic's attention span. Then it forgets you're there, and walks away. The zombies aren't (usually) able to learn the pattern from repeated chase-ins, and even if they can, don't usually remember them very long. It would have to chase you into it 3 hours a day 7 days a week for a month to even have a hope of remembering the way.
Because of this short attention span, the openings of fortified places often have a maze like structure, with a very complicated (but short and blatantly obvious) way to get through. The zombie wouldn't figure out the pattern. This in in the hopes that if the zombie chases you into it, it will lose attention and walk back out. Their vision is motion sensitive. You could paint "Go This Way" and "Don't go this way" on the walls, and the zombies would never notice. Also, the zombies can sometimes be made to lose interest by standing still for a few moments. Since most people can't outrun a zombie, and the attention span is so vague, this is a last-ditch tactic. Not something you could get away with very often. Advisable to avoid open spaces at night, and be able to camouflage yourself relatively quickly. You could, in theory, walk several feet behind one, and not be noticed by it. This is, in fact, a common way of moving around. The other hope is that the other zombies might think you were just another zombie. Data on this is inconclusive.
The preferred method of outrunning a zombie is to run towards it and try to get behind it. Once you lose its field of vision for a second or two, it loses interest in you, and walks away. Also, running in a straight line is bad. You want to run in a serpentine fashion. Lots of twists and turns (hence, the mazes) Trying to outrun one in a straight line is tantamount to suicide, although some people can. However, the simple act of slamming a door in their face will cause them to lose interest and walk away after a second or two.
The correct path through the maze has doors that automatically close, open from either side, and are painted in black "Go this way" The incorrect path has an unobstructed and well lit path outside. Where would the zombie go? The way with the unobstructed path, and the chance to recharge for a few seconds. If zombies congregate in here, they will be the slow moving and relatively harmless variety. However, it should be remembered that they will be faster when they walk out, so try not to leave the lights on very long. The most common way to do this is to have laser sensors that automatically activate the outside-path lights, and another set that shut them off when the zombie walks in. It would still see an unobstructed path to what little light was outside, and go that way. Any zombies that saw this would lose interest and walk away after the lights went out for a few seconds. They would not remember where it was, either.
What about their other senses?
Thu Oct 9 2008 11:01 am # -
JohnA1nut
MemberThe way to kill them is the same as with all traditional zombies, however, they have the added weakness of dying if denied light of any kind for an extended period of time. In order to kill the zombie, the room must be absolutely pitch black. Any light whatsoever is enough to keep the zombie alive (in a power conservation mode) and it will become reanimated if the light rises to levels high enough to recharge it enough to stand up and move. How long this takes is still inconclusive.
Thu Oct 9 2008 1:01 pm # -
JohnA1nut
MemberBelieve it or not, most people DON'T lock their doors at night. They want to be able to provide assistance to other humans, who are smart enough to open the door, as opposed to the zombie who will just ignore it completely. Basically, the attitude is "If you were smart enough to open the front door, I don't have to shoot you." However, it is not advisable to run into another's dwelling unless you announce your presence, or it is an emergency situation. Most people leave their doors unlocked, but still shoot first and ask questions later.
A common defensive tactic is to put child proof knobs on the doors, with a clear and concise list of instructions for how to open the door. The zombie won't even notice the instructions are there.
Thu Oct 9 2008 1:15 pm # -
JTM
MemberWell, for one thing, it'd be a good idea to give them some way of threatening people with houses. move around during the day and make sure to get back by night, and they're really not much of a threat. also, with some dedicated work people could quite possibly manage to remain indoors or in vehicles all the time and restart essential services, namely food and the fuel to move it around. or, if they don't have access to helipads in inaccessabile locations and offshore oil platforms they can staff with trained personnel by helicopter, they can find somewhere which has hydrophonic equipment and survive that way.
Thu Oct 9 2008 8:40 pm # -
JohnA1nut
MemberWell, for one thing, it'd be a good idea to give them some way of threatening people with houses. move around during the day and make sure to get back by night, and they're really not much of a threat.
Because they're recharging in the daytime, they're a lot harder to kill, and can usually only be engaged and killed at night. If you shoot one in the head in the daytime, and it's laying out in the sun, it will repair injuries and come after you again after a matter of minutes or hours. The only way to kill them is to sever their brain at night, and hope the sun doesn't come up in time to recharge their body.
Preferred time to go "Zombie Hunting" is in the half hour or so before sunset. They've got a full charge, so they're exceptionally hard to drop, but you can rest assured that the sun won't come up in time to bring them back to life. They're still slow moving and easy targets, but hard to put down. Every night, at about a half hour before sunset, you hear gunfire erupting from open windows while the humans take their best opportunity to kill a few dozen for good.
In other words, in order to kill one, you have to engage it at night when it is most formidable, and preferably inside a room which will not see a lot of sun in the morning.
Thu Oct 9 2008 10:15 pm # -
JohnA1nut
MemberMy divergent character would find an abandoned apartment building and knock holes in the walls and floors so that he could move freely from apartment to apartment. This would give it a maze like structure, and make it very hard for the zombies to chase you through it. However, if a zombie wandered in, it would also have a hard time wandering out.
Thu Oct 9 2008 10:29 pm # -
JTM
MemberThere is an alternate solution, albit one that doesn't work terribly well on a large scale: Kill them with fire. However, when you're trying to stop them in any sort of open field battle, trying that leads to you getting in hand-to-hand with a zombie that is on fire. As one would imagine, that leads to all sorts of problems. it's also risky in an urban center, but i suppose you could burn the zombie in place after shooting it.
Thu Oct 9 2008 11:04 pm # -
Does anyone else think John needs to verse into the Vorgo world?
--M. J. Young
Thu Oct 9 2008 11:59 pm # -
JohnA1nut
MemberThere is an alternate solution, albit one that doesn't work terribly well on a large scale: Kill them with fire. However, when you're trying to stop them in any sort of open field battle, trying that leads to you getting in hand-to-hand with a zombie that is on fire. As one would imagine, that leads to all sorts of problems. it's also risky in an urban center, but i suppose you could burn the zombie in place after shooting it.
Another tactic that works for engaging zombies in the daytime is to shoot them and then throw a heavy blanket over it so that it can't get any sun and recharge itself. Dropping a blanket on top of a daytime zombie will cause it to turn into a faster, stronger nighttime zombie, but it will be disoriented and unable to attack. If it gets the blanket off, and the sun is still out, it will turn back into a slow zombie, and spend a few seconds trying to figure out what happened, before giving up and resuming activity. Dropping a blanket on top of one and then shooting it is also effective.
Fri Oct 10 2008 1:41 am # -
JohnA1nut
MemberNo matter how long it has charged itself for, the nighttime zombies cannot reanimate without sunlight after being killed. However, if it gets sunlight for up to an hour or two after being killed, it will repair injuries and reanimate.
I wish Eric was here, I'd love to hear what he has to say.
Fri Oct 10 2008 1:56 am # -
JohnA1nut
MemberAnd of course, the Mormon church has risen to a semblance of power as a governmental body. However, most non-Mormons don't pay them much attention. If you're human and need supplies, the local Mormon tabernacle is a good place to start asking for help though. They require you to pray with them and become members of the church, which most people will gladly do (cough cough) for a few day's food and a box of ammunition.
Utah, the Mormon capital, is about the only place where the Mormon church has any real power. It is also relatively safe and free of zombies. Although they can be seen occasionally, especially in more rural areas.
Fri Oct 10 2008 2:40 am #
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