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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Tar Zombie Snatcher

Humanoids consumed by a tar ooze become sticky warriors in the tar ooze's mindless procession. Some carry weapons.

Recall Knowledge - Undead (Religion): DC 24
Unspecific Lore: DC 22
Specific Lore: DC 19

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Changes from being Elite are marked in red below.
NOTE: The +2 damage bonus to non-strike offensive abilities (+4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.

Elite Tar Zombie SnatcherCreature 7

Legacy Content

Uncommon NE Medium Mindless Undead Zombie 
Source Pathfinder #177: Burning Tundra pg. 84
Perception +14; darkvision
Skills Athletics +17, Stealth +12 (+16 in tar pits)
Str +5, Dex +0, Con +4, Int -5, Wis +1, Cha -3
Slow A tar zombie is permanently slowed 1 and can't use reactions.
AC 24; Fort +20, Ref +12, Will +15
HP 150 (negative healing); Immunities death effects, disease, mental, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Weaknesses fire 5, positive 5, slashing 5
Flammable A tar zombie requires a successful DC 22 flat check to recover from persistent fire damage. This DC isn't reduced for assisted recovery.
Speed 25 feet, climb 10 feet
Melee [one-action] fist +19 [+14/+9], Damage 2d8+2+8 bludgeoning plus Improved GrabVomit Tar [two-actions] (evocation, primal) The tar zombie vomits a gout of sticky tar in a 15-foot cone that deals 5d6 bludgeoning damage (DC 26 basic Reflex save). Creatures that fail the save are slowed 1 and gain fire weakness 5. Both conditions end after 3 rounds or when the tar is scrubbed off (which requires 3 Interact actions). The tar zombie can't Vomit Tar again for 1d4 rounds.

All Monsters in "Zombie, Tar"

NameLevel
Tar Zombie Mammoth9
Tar Zombie Predator7
Tar Zombie Snatcher6

Zombie, Tar

Source Pathfinder #177: Burning Tundra pg. 84
The victims of a tar ooze eventually emerge from the ooze's vast, viscous bulk to walk again as mindless zombies. A tar zombie is unmistakably dead: much of its skin, muscles, and internal organs were consumed by the tar ooze and have been replaced with globs of tar. No vestige of the original creature's mind remains, but the zombie walks by slowly pulling one sticky limb from the ground with each halting step. Unless a necromancer or powerful undead creature takes control of the tar zombie and commands it otherwise, it typically follows the ooze that created it. Over many months, a tar ooze can acquire many such attendants that crowd around, watching for prey.

Some evil and intelligent individuals have found tar zombies useful as guardians or minions. A villain eager for necromantic minions but unable to animate their own might create an army of tar zombies by imprisoning a tar ooze and feeding it a steady diet of victims.

Zombie

Related Groups Zombie
A zombie's only desire is to consume the living. Unthinking and ever-shambling harbingers of death, zombies stop only when they're destroyed.

Zombie Abilities

You can modify zombies with the following zombie abilities. Most zombies have one of these abilities; If you give a zombie more, you might want to increase its level and adjust its statistics.
Disgusting Pustules (disease, necromancy) The zombie is covered in pustules that rupture when it takes any piercing damage or any critical hit. In either case, adjacent creatures are hit with vile fluid, causing them to become sickened 1 unless they succeed at a Fortitude save.
Feast [two-actions] (manipulate) If the zombie is adjacent to a helpless or unconscious creature, or a deceased creature that died in the past hour, the zombie can feast upon its flesh to heal itself. This restores an amount of Hit Points equal to the zombie's level. If the creature is alive, the zombie deals damage equal to its jaws, flst, or claw damage.
Plague-Ridden (disease, necromancy) The zombie carries a plague that can create more of its own kind. This functions as the plague zombie's zombie rot, except at stage 5, the victim rises as another of the zombie's type, rather than a plague zombie.
Rotting Aura (aura, disease, necromancy) The zombie emits an aura of rot and disease that causes wounds to fester and turn sour. Any living creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of the zombie and is not at full Hit Points takes 1d6 damage as its wounds fester. This damage increases by 1d6 for every 6 levels the zombie has. Creatures that take a critical hit from the zombie also take this damage immediately.
Unkillable This zombie is nigh unkillable. The zombie loses its weakness to slashing and gains resistance against all damage equal to its level (minimum 3), and it gains weakness equal to twice its level (minimum 6) to critical hits. Increase the zombie's level by 1 if you give it this ability.

Additional Monster Abilities

Source Bestiary 3 pg. 302
You can modify zombies with the following zombie abilities, in addition to those found on page 340 of the Bestiary. Most zombies have one of these abilities; if you give a zombie more, you might want to increase its level and adjust its statistics.

Ankle Biter This zombie fights just as well on the ground as it does standing. While prone, the zombie isn't flat-footed, it ignores the status penalty to its attack rolls, and it gains a +2 circumstance bonus to Athletics checks to Trip. The zombie can also move up to half its Speed when it Crawls.

Persistent Limbs The first time the zombie is critically hit with a melee or ranged Strike, a limb falls off its body and continues to attack. The limb acts on the zombie's initiative; each round it can Stride up to half the zombie's Speed and make a Strike. The limb uses and contributes to the zombie's multiple attack penalty.

Putrid Stench (aura, olfactory) 15 feet. The zombie's rotting flesh is particularly malodorous. A creature that enters the area must attempt a Fortitude save. On a failure, the creature is sickened 1, and on a critical failure, the creature also takes a –5-foot status penalty to its Speeds for 1 round. While within the aura, the creature takes a –2 circumstance penalty to saves to recover from the sickened condition. A creature that succeeds at its save is temporarily immune to all zombies' putrid stenches for 1 minute.

Unholy Speed The zombie gains a +10 status bonus to all its Speeds

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Tar Zombies

You can modify these tar zombie stats—or even just how you describe them to your players—to create other kinds of tar zombies. For example, a tar zombie snatcher with a jaws Strike instead of a fist Strike could represent a tar zombie lizardfolk or xulgath. A tar zombie predator with antlers instead of jaws might have once been a large elk. A tar zombie mammoth with a jaws or tail attack rather than a tusk or trunk attack could be a dinosaur.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Tar Zombie Abilities

Tar zombies typically have the feast, persistent limbs, or unkillable zombie abilities (described in the Zombie creature family; see below). Feast allows the tar zombie to feast on the tar ooze that created it, even if the tar ooze isn't helpless, and a tar zombie's persistent limb is attached to its body by a long strand of tar.