Zombies

Zombies are a type of Immortal which often has odd definitions. Why doesn't it include some Vampires, Werewolfs, and Faerie, despite their death and return? Why doesn't it include all beings tied to the Coil? The simple answer for this is tradition, convention, and exclusivity. Zombies are reanimated corpses. It doesn't include ALL reanimated corpses, and not all Zombies are strictly walking corpses. Some Zombies, notably the Gollgar and some Gui Ren, are less corpse-like than many vampires. The real criteria for zombies is that their corpse-body is unchanged from when they were alive. Vampires' bodies adapt to be a bunch of blood bags, werecreatures' bodies can shift, and so on. Zombies' bodies are normal bodies, just typically non-functional from a medical perspective.

All said, Zombies are incredibly common. The most common are Risen (Wraiths who possess a corpse) and Husks (Soulless beings awoken by primitive brain function being reactivated). Wan Kuei are almost as common, so-called "Chi Zombies," are chi-infused ghosts who are bound to a body and steal Chi from people and the environment, often directly. Mummies and Gollgar are intensely rare, Mummies being Naturae bound to human Souls and reconstruct their bodies with a variety of energies derived from the binding, and Gollgar being faerie whose body was killed and didn't reincarnate, typically due to a disconnect from the Dreaming.

Zombies often parallel another type of Immortal, as the universe likes to rhyme, but overall there are no shared traits between them, as there are with other Immortals.

## Gollgar

Gollgar are Changelings who died, but chose to stay. It is, to most accounts, a miserable existence, though for many it is preferable to death; Even if that death is temporary, as it is for most Changelings. Perhaps Gollgar only intend to stay for a few weeks to get their affairs in proper order, or perhaps they refuse to die until they've achieved their goals. Perhaps they simply fear death, or what lurks along that darkest of paths. As Zombies, being the dead, their connection with the Dreaming becomes weaker and weaker as the Underworld calls. Gollgar are run by Glamour, the energy of the Dreaming, and must continuously spend it to fuel their bodies, and an increasing amount of Glamour is needed to stave off death, often making Gollgar shadows of their former selves, until finally dying when they're fully tapped, or when they give into the call.

Gollgar are Artful Immortals, and use Glamour and Banality. Their Banality tends to be unnaturally high, and grows yet faster, due to the Gollgar's connection to death. Gollgar belong to the House they did in life, unless specifically removed from it, and as such use the Changeling Houses, and are often involved in Changeling politics.

## Husks

Husks are movie zombies, to a certain degree. They are the dead who were animated to due some force from the beyond. When they first animate, they are mindless "Husks" as one would say, and this is when they're often killed or captured for study. In this state, they are aggressive and will attack anything that moves, and are driven by a need to feed alone. Their brains aren't quite enough to understand that nonliving things are good to eat, and with their bodies being what they are, their brain is right, and they need something very fresh to derive anything from it. Humans often die where humans can find, so they often eat humans, or some small animal that wasn't quick enough to get away. After this meal, their thoughts come to them.

Only, perhaps, 1% of Husks got to this point. They recall the events very vaguely, and their thought process is slow until they get a bit more in their systems. They have ravenous appetites, and don't return to anything resembling their former thought process until they're absolutely sated with raw meat. The newly-thinking Husk has no memories of it's former life, though they recall raw, nonpersonal information (Such as the fact that the cops are definitely going to find their neighbor's body). And... That's their life now. Constantly in need of more raw meat, lest their thoughts leave them again and they do something terrible and/or get themselves killed. Their bodies are unable to process plant stuffs, and will make them very sick if there is an attempt to eat more than an apple (Though, even an apple would make them pukey for a while.) Some Husks are "Vegan," which ironically means they only eat animals, but they tend to be a bit unhinged. Most are serial killers.

Husks are Disciplined Immortals. There are Cells of Husks, but these have no impact on the Husk's personality or specialty. Husks simply have an affinity for the physical; Celerity, Fortitude, and Potence. They fuel them by suffering damage, similar to Mortals. Also like Mortals, a Husk's mind and body are the same as when they were living, and as such if they were Conduits or Psychics in-life, they keep those as an undead.

## Mummies

Mummies are an interesting type of Zombie. Either before life or during, their soul was magically bound to a Naturae, a spirit of the Spirit Wilds, the Middle Umbra. Naturae bound in objects repair that object over time, however when the object is completely destroyed, the spirit goes free, right? Well, the spirit is free, but still bound to the mortal soul. As such, the spirit attempts to repair the body around the soul. Mummies heal from any wounds, and if the body is wholly destroyed, the Naturae simply makes a new one, trapping the mummy's soul in a strange limbo of never being able to die, but never truly living again either. That said, their bodies do function as mortal bodies do, unlike most other zombies.

The nature of the bound Naturae makes the Mummy similar to Fera, a form of werecreature who are half-spirit. Their soul is warped around the spirit and vice-versa until the bond is broken, which is difficult on the best of days, and virtually impossible otherwise. As such, most other powers are disrupted so as to be impossible, and the nature of the bound Spirit can have profound impact on the formerly-mortal's mind and body.

Mummies are Spiritual Immortals with an affinity for naturae of Death, as well as another type of spirit based on their Dynasty and another based on their bound Spirit.

## Risen

Risen are Zombies made from a ghost possessing their own corpse. They are typically ghosts whose body served as a Fetter, which tends to happen after an emotional death, such as being murdered. Some Risen are just narcissists. Some are made by Necromancers. In any case, the body isn't healed, and it remains as a broken puppet until mended through magic.

Risen are still fundamentally ghosts just hijacking a meat puppet, and as such pain, wounds, and the like are essentially meaningless to them. The wraith is often bound or linked to their corpse, however, and can't typically leave when they wish without great effort. As such, most Risen eventually meet the horrific fate of "My body is so destroyed as to be dysfunctional and I'm stuck" for years until they learn to separate from their body again.

Risen are Arcane Immortals, and were specifically Wraiths before possessing their body. As such, their Arcanos specialties and titles are identical to Wraiths'.

## Wan Kuei

Wan Kuei, sometimes Gui Ren, are corpses inhabited by souls which are reinforced with Chi, and were often potent Shih in life. Others were humans chosen by a powerful entity, such as a Yomi King, and granted this reinforcement after death. A small section of Wan Kuei are Kuei Jin, whom were these warriors chosen by the Yomi Kings, and whom live in the shadow of the Wan Xian, who were 10.000 warriors chosen by the August Personage of Jade to fight against the darkness. Together, the Kuei Jin and Wan Xian account for perhaps 10% of Wan Kuei. Most are former Shih, or random people who died near a Dragon Nest, otherwise called a Node.

Wan Kuei are dependent on chi to survive, their bodies animated and responsive only to their chi balance. The weakest of the Wan Kuei are only able to draw chi from concentrated physical sources, such as blood, which is why they're sometimes known as Chi Vampires, but as they grow in power and understanding, Wan Kuei learn to draw from more abstract and less concentrated sources, such as the air itself. The method through which the Wan Kuei grow and learn to take in Chi is known as the Dharma, as Wan Kuei see it as a means of enlightenment.

Wan Kuei are Energetic Immortals; Each Dharma grants one Chi Qiao, one Soul Qiao, and one Shintai specialty to the Wan Kuei. They specifically gather and infuse their bodies with Chi, which they of course use to fuel their Qiao.

## Others

Zombies aren't a particularly exclusive bunch, and many other forms of Zombie exist, with massive variation in traits, properties, and sources.