Zombie, Hexcore
- Armor Class
- 3 [16] (m)
- Hit Dice
- 3
- Attacks
- Claw (1d6)
- Special
- magic weapons to hit, undead, soul-energy damage (+1d6; double vs undead), immune to sleep/charm/hold
- Move
- 6
- HDE/XP
- 4/120
Description
Hexcore Zombies are creatures that are usually created from dark magics, where their essence is actually trapped within. Be it a shard of consciousness and life, or a fully-trapped soul, a hexcore zombie is a dangerous foe. Hags are known to create them, as well as liches and vampires. They use these beings as vanguards for their armies, sometimes to even make strategic decisions for them.
Absolutely corrupted, the being trapped within does not hold sway if they have a master. If abandoned, consciousness may develop and the creature might even become intelligent enough for independent thought and personality. Appearance-wise, hexcore zombies may be shrouded in shadows, sometimes illuminated with emerald light, depending on the soul trapped within. Most necromancers agree that the aura comes from the soul energy that emanates from this undead. The skin seems dead but preserved, way more whole and life-like than most other zombies.
All hexcore zombies attack as if their attacks were magical and can only be hurt by magical damage. They can also deal an additional 1d6 points of damage if they roll a 20 on a d20 for an attack, as the overexposure to the soul energy is quite taxing on both the living and the dead. This damage is doubled if it is inflicted on the undead. They take only half-damage from blunt weapons, and only a single point from arrows, bolts, or sling stones (plus any magical bonus). Like all undead, they may be Turned by Clerics and are immune to Sleep, charm, and hold magics. As they are mindless, no form of mind-reading is of any use against them.
Hexcore zombies never fail morale checks, and thus always fight until destroyed. 1 in every 6 hexcore zombies has an entire soul trapped within which grants them 1 [18] AC and 7 HDE/600 XP.
Unlike other zombies, they are sentient and retain a personality and willpower, and may even disobey commands if they succeed on a saving throw against magic.
See Also
Other creatures grouped under Zombie: Zombie, Flesh Eater, Zombie, Leper.
Source note: This creature is converted from The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign – Omnibus Edition, 1st Edition Release 4, © 2010–2025 Chris Gonnerman, R. Kevin Smoot, James Lemon, Matt Sluis, and Contributors. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide textual material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; this page adapts that creature to White Box.