Gotha Zombie

On no less than 19 timelines, the dangerous Gotha virus has turned ordinary humans into bloodthirsty berserkers. While bloodthirsty and dangerous, they have a weakness against bright light that most TL7+ forces should be able to utilize.
== Stats ==
== The Disease ==
The Gotha virus is a super-virulent pathogen (2d minutes delay, HT-6, 1d toxic damage, 24-hour interval, 28 cycles) spread, like the pneumonic plague from which it somehow mutated, as a respiratory agent. It is very contagious, with an additional -2 to any of the contagion modifiers from p. B443. 
Once a sufferer has lost 2/3 of their HP to the disease, they become infected, and begin regaining HP at the rate of 1 per day.
== Anti-Gothan Tactics ==
In bright light, it takes about one and a half hours (1:30:00) to completely incapacitate a Gotha Zombie, give or take half an hour for particularly fit or unfit specimens.
=== Bright Light Kiting ===
Gotha zombies are fatigued by bright lights, and see poorly in daylight. As such, any force attempting to destroy them should be equipped for maximum illumination. Trucks equipped with bright lights can be used to "kite" a flock of zombies along a road, letting the group tire themselves out. Once the flock is spread out, the vehicle can turn around, and a crew can fight the smaller patches of zombies without being overwhelmed by numbers — all while the zombies fight at severe (-5 DX) penalties for being in bright light.
=== Domino Poisoning ===
Gotha zombies are still quite alive and affected by ordinary biological hazards. It may be possible to simply leave some poisoned foods around a Gothan stomping ground. It's unknown how quickly they'd identify a poison after noticing their companions dying from it, but as they're cannibalistic, they're likely to consume a poison, die, then be consumed by their compatriots, who will also die.
=== Ordinary Traps ===
As Gotha zombies are terribly ham-fisted, they tend to set off traps even if they've managed to spot them first. These traps are best placed in chokepoints that can be regularly monitored and cleared, such as castle walkways or river bridges. Peppering the countryside with traps is generally unhelpful, and may result in some innocent townsfolk hurting themselves.
== Preventative Measures ==
=== Old Habits Live On ===
"We've reports of a large convent in the mountains of northern France that managed to accidentally cure itself after the whole abbey was infected. It seems the abbey was built on a ley-line, and the regular purification rituals of the nuns, which continued after they went berserk, managed to rip the virus right out of the poor ladies. Investigations as to the culture, spells and rituals used are ongoing, as the nuns are rather traumatized by the whole ordeal." — Dr. TailorAs all Gothans seem to retain "flashes" of their original culture, it may be possible to create a "sleeper method" of self-curing. By teaching a population to ritualistically cast a curing spell on themselves regularly, they may retain this habit after being infected. If the society falls to the Virus, they may retain their habits and return to the ritual—casting it on themselves and curing the virus simply out of habit! The survivors will likely still need some therapy, but it will save a whole society.
== See Also ==
* For the undead-causing virus with similar effects, see Gotha-Z.
== References ==
* Infinite Worlds, p.128