ghost rider zombies
Ghost rider zombies are zombies specially enchanted to allow ghosts to possess and control them. The ghost can use his/her attributes and abilities or the zombie's, whichever is higher, except Appearance which is stuck at zero. A ghost riding a zombie is not a natural fit. All social and physical actions are +1 difficulty, but the zombie is now technically free willed and can do most things a living person can do, including using weapons and employing sophisticated tactics. In most cases the necromancer will bind a ghost beforehand or if they won’t or can’t bind a ghost, the necromancer will often try to negotiate with the ghost beforehand. Most ghosts are thrilled with the idea of controlling a body and are not hard to convince unless the necromancer wants them to attack their former friends or betray their core ideals (assuming they still care about their friends and ideals). A necromancer without a specific plan could just create a bunch of ghost rider zombies in an area with lots of ghosts, just to sow chaos. It is rare for a ghost riding a zombie to attack the necromancer that created the zombie, but it is common for these ghost riders to split off and do their own thing abandoning his "master's" plans.-Magnati, independent necromancerby Eron12 with Heroforge"The whole point of creating an undead minion is to create something that can never disobey you. Only a fool creates a minion that can turn on him, even a relatively weak minion like a zombie. If you want a minion with free will and autonomy, hire a living mercenary. At least you can use a reliable combination of rewards and threats to keep him in line. Unlike the living, the restless dead are notoriously unpredictable in their wants and fears."
Transmission & Vectors
Ghost rider zombies are generally only created when a necromancer specifically wants to create one.
Ghost rider zombies accept the first ghost who enters them and if the necromancer isn't careful, they might attract a riders that they don't want to.
Regular zombies can be made from almost any type of mortal or animal corpse, but ghost rider zombies only work on humanoid corpses.
A rare few ghosts can temporarily possess living animals and control their bodies. It is rumored but not proven that these ghosts can commandeer animal zombies under the right circumstances.
If by dumb luck, a ghost is near his or her own original body and that body is turned into a zombie, the ghost in question can seize control of the zombie even if the necromancer didn’t enchant the zombie to be a “ghost rider". A ghost riding his or her own corpse is going to be able to resist the necromancer easier and longer than a ghost riding a stranger’s corpse.
After having this happen to them once, most necromancers will cast a spell to sweep an area for nearby ghosts before raiding a burial site for zombie fodder, just in case.
Symptoms
Unless the viewer has the ability to sense ghosts via a spell or sixth sense, simply looking at the zombie will not reveal whether or not a zombie has a "rider".
Ghost rider zombies look more or less like any other zombie, but a perceptive viewer who is accostomed to seeing regular zombies, will notice a ghost rider zombie is moivng a bit differently.
It also becomes obvious to all that it's not an ordinary if a zombie starts talking, using weapons and tools and otherwise acting like something other than a typical mindless shambler.
Prognosis
Ghost rider zombies attract a lot of attention, and while they are far more dangerous than a bog standard zombie, they are far from invincible. Most are destroyed in a month or two.
If a ghost and a necromancer actually have a good working relationship, or the necromancer is absolutely certain that his ghost binding spell won't waver, then a necromancer can make several ghost rider zombies, leaving most dormant. The ghost can then occupy a reserve zombie and go back into the fray after it's first zombie body is destroyed.
A necromancer can undo any zombie he created if it's in his/her line of sight. If it's not in line of sight, the necromancer can only cut off the zombie from his magic. A "free" ghost rider zombie cut off it's necromancer is essentially holding the zombie host together with sheer willpower which cast last anywhere between three weeks and three months depending on the ghost's strength of will.
If a ghost is riding the corpse of his own former body, a necromancer cannot simply dispel it, even if is in line of sight.
History
There are isolated records indicating that ghost riders zombies were occasionally employed by elven necromancers during the the Second Age.
They have never been common, but their numbers are increasing. The number of ghosts haunting Scarterra in the Third Age seems to be significantly higher than any previous age and modern necromancers are adapting to exploit this resource.
Cultural Reception
Ghost rider zombies are still rare enough that most Scarterrans are unaware that they exist at all unless they study necromancy themselves or routinely fight necromancers.
If an average Scarterran sees a ghost rider zombie, they probably won't think too hard about this zombie is not acting like the others.
A few ordinary Scarterrans who have become aware of ghost rider zombies have sought out necromancers in a desperate bid to bring their dead loved ones back. It usually ends badly.
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