the hit and proceed.
Expect additional damage to your center of mass or lower extremities, both of which might slow you down. Edged weapons that impale your flesh are likely to stay lodged in your body for extended periods of time. Significant protruding handles and arrows can snag on objects and increase body damage. Shamble with care.
Borrowed from our supernatural siblings the mummies, the Ghoul Reach has been used successfully for thousands of years. By extending your arms in front of your body, you decrease your opponent’s access to your neck or head.
Once your arms are extended, use your hands to claw, scratch, or latch onto your victim. For unknown reasons, the Ghoul Reach tends to increase moaning.
1. Someone just stabbed a knife in my back. I should…
a. Seek medical attention immediately!
b. Get over it, and continue with what I am doing.
c. Fall down to ease the pain.
d. Have a fellow Zed remove it.
2. Someone just set me on fire. What should I do?
a. Retreat back into the zombie mob.
b. Search for water.
c. Continue attacking.
d. Extinguish it with flammable fuel.
3. I’m being shot at, but they can’t hit squat. I should…
a. Use the Zombie Shield technique.
b. Implement the Ghoul Reach.
c. Retreat.
d. Defecate in my pants.
4. He’s holding a
a. Do not engage and look for an exit strategy!
b. Play dead.
c. Execute the Chopping Block on that mofo.
d. Look for your own sword or appendage to duel.
5. Melee weapon include…
a. Pickaxes.
b. Metal pipes.
c. Machetes.
d. All the above.
6. I’ve encountered many humans with multiple weapons. I should…
a. Seek reinforcements.
b. Surrender by waving a white cloth.
c. Not be intimidated, and attack.
d. Run and hide.
7. HUMAN BUFFET
You’ve hunted and subdued a human target, and now comes the main event—it’s feeding time!
As mentioned earlier, your hunger for living flesh is more than an unquenchable craving. It’s a biological necessity. Contrary to popular human belief, the undead body still relies on the food in its digestive tract to function. But instead of using specialized organs to extract energy and nutrients, the tract now acts as a holding cavity. As flesh passes through the tract, the z-virus absorbs the acids of some of the 10 trillion cells found in the living body. This creates the energy the virus needs to stave off decomposition (see “Post-life Expectancy,” page 28).
Because a zed that stops feeding will slowly starve to complete decomposition, and because living food is often difficult to obtain, the z-virus must encourage its host to hunt relentlessly to ensure its own survival. During the reanimation process, your brain underwent mutation. The virus modified the region of the brain that regulates feeding so that it constantly stimulates the body’s hunger signals. The result is that you’re always hungry for … well, you know the rest.
The Preferable Flesh
Zeds are capable of consuming a wide variety of live flesh, no matter what the size, species, or hairball risk. But although you can make do eating other animals during down time, for maximum nutritional value we encourage you to feed on the number one zombie delicacy: fresh human brain tissue, pinkish on the outside and white on the inside.
So, what’s so special about the human brain? It’s filled with billions of highly specialized sensory cells brimming with electrochemical pulses. When consumed, these particular cells create an intense concentration of biological energy, significantly reducing your monthly flesh requirements. A few bites of brain and you’ll suddenly feel what is called a
This zombie food pyramid suggests the number of servings of brain and other human meat you should consume per month for optimal nutrition. The chart is based on the average-sized human; if dining on children, adjust quantities accordingly.
Your life expectancy will greatly increase as your energy intake from human flesh increases. However, gorging can lead to a ruptured stomach, so it is important that you eat responsibly. In addition, rotten meat and aged blood can prove fatal. Bodies that have been dead longer than 12 hours should generally not be consumed. Higher and lower temperatures may decrease or increase this timeframe; use your zombie senses to make a final determination of freshness (see “Rotten Is a No-No,” page 112).
You haven’t really “died” until you’ve tried human brain! Even though it only accounts for 2 percent of your victim’s body weight, it represents the most important group on the Zombie Food Pyramid. Recommended monthly consumption of gray matter is approximately 3 pounds, or half a brain per sitting. Note that the upper spine is also considered part of the Brain Group.
