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I'm still making my way through the Dead Reign book - I picked it up on the weekend and I'm still reading.

When I was reading about the zombie moan, I got to thinking. Could you record that moan, then use it to draw the zombies away? It would keep them busy for a few minutes. The only thing I thought was that the genuine zombie moan is very loud, considering the distance it can be heard from. It would have to be a loud speaker broadcast to get zombie attention.

If it worked, I could see a Reaper squad rigging the loudspeakers at a car lot or mall to moan and get attention, while they go through the new hole in the zombie dispersment. Or, even better, get the moan going, put some livestock at the center of it in something hard to get to, and when a big enough group of zombies converge - the dynamite explodes.

Thoughts? On if it works (I'm thinking no, but not sure if it's been canonically answered or not), and then the plan if it did work?

A recording might be missing tonal qualities, and sub vocal sounds therefore, the zombies are not attracted to the recording of a moan.

arthurfallz wrote:I'm still making my way through the Dead Reign book - I picked it up on the weekend and I'm still reading.

When I was reading about the zombie moan, I got to thinking. Could you record that moan, then use it to draw the zombies away? It would keep them busy for a few minutes. The only thing I thought was that the genuine zombie moan is very loud, considering the distance it can be heard from. It would have to be a loud speaker broadcast to get zombie attention.

If it worked, I could see a Reaper squad rigging the loudspeakers at a car lot or mall to moan and get attention, while they go through the new hole in the zombie dispersment. Or, even better, get the moan going, put some livestock at the center of it in something hard to get to, and when a big enough group of zombies converge - the dynamite explodes.

Thoughts? On if it works (I'm thinking no, but not sure if it's been canonically answered or not), and then the plan if it did work?

The Zombie Moan is strongly implied to be supernatural in nature -even Zombies who are completely missing their vocal cords can do the Moan.

Until such time as the Authors give stronger evidence to the contrary, I would personally rule (were I the GM) that The Zombie Moan, if recorded, will only be as effective (or ineffective as the case may be) as any other non-supernatural sound of similar pitch and timbre and amplitude, no matter how good the sound quality of said recording.

I think the GM should rule however benefits the game the most. Perhaps make a recording useful enough to be worth experimenting with, but not as effective as a true moan.

Personally, I think all zombie hunters should have a "living" zombie head in a cooler (well, head plus however much of the torso the GM rules needs to be present in order for it to be able to moan) so that they can lure zombies into their traps with an authentic moan whenever they want to.

--flatline

flatline wrote:I think the GM should rule however benefits the game the most. Perhaps make a recording useful enough to be worth experimenting with, but not as effective as a true moan.

Personally, I think all zombie hunters should have a "living" zombie head in a cooler (well, head plus however much of the torso the GM rules needs to be present in order for it to be able to moan) so that they can lure zombies into their traps with an authentic moan whenever they want to.

--flatline

That would be awesome.

Have ONE Zombie Head (and whatever else of the body except the arms and legs) permanently chained down in a sturdy, soundproof container that can be opened and closed at will, mount it on an armored truck, and have that ONE Zombie's moan attract all the rest in a chain reaction.

You could slowly, eventually, clear out whole towns/cities in this manner by having the "Bait Truck" (or "Bait Trucks") lead them out of the city by the hundreds/thousands/millions!

Man I wish I could "like" posts. For example the Bait trucks. That's brilliant. Then again, I'm the type to turn a cow loose in an area, and have the zombies follow it like the pied piper as it heads out in another direction. They follow it, the immediate area is clear of Zack.

I would allow moans recorded (and played back) with high quality gear to work. With cheap gear, it would just make the moan sound less like the real thing and more like someone trying to fake one (which still might draw a few zombies but not hordes of them) with their own voice.

I would rule that, while a recorded moan is different to the supernatual wail of the undead and would fail to lure them, it would still cause roaming zeds to walk over and investiate like any other noise out of the ordinary - in this respect its no different to the noise made by people shouting, so could still be useful in a more limited way.

The zed-in-a-box idea though is genius!

cornholioprime wrote:Zombies who are completely missing their vocal cords can do the Moan.

flatline wrote:I think all zombie hunters should have a "living" zombie head in a cooler (well, head plus however much of the torso the GM rules needs to be present in order for it to be able to moan)

I imagine that if you can do it without vocal cords then you may not need lungs either. Do zombies even inhale? Do they have to catch their breath and pause every now and then to continue the moan, or is it just some supernaturally continuous siren?

Also wouldn't you still need something to trigger the moan, like a nearby human?

Doesn't the zombie stop moaning once the human gets out of range?

Would an animal sacrifice left behind trigger a continuous moan?

Could I just leave a hamster in a really strong cage that the zombies aren't able to open up as bait and then snipe the accumulating crowd from the distance?

Could I tie an arrow to a really long string so that after I sniped a zombie in the eye socket I could retract my arrow and keep using it?

You know how Batman has a projectile and stuff that once he shoots it is like this retractible climbing device... couldn't you shoot zombies and then wind back in your thing over and over? I figure there must be something like this (grappling hook alternative) somewhere. Maybe have to check HU and N&SS.

Tor wrote:

cornholioprime wrote:Zombies who are completely missing their vocal cords can do the Moan.

flatline wrote:I think all zombie hunters should have a "living" zombie head in a cooler (well, head plus however much of the torso the GM rules needs to be present in order for it to be able to moan)

I imagine that if you can do it without vocal cords then you may not need lungs either. Do zombies even inhale? Do they have to catch their breath and pause every now and then to continue the moan, or is it just some supernaturally continuous siren?

Also wouldn't you still need something to trigger the moan, like a nearby human?

Doesn't the zombie stop moaning once the human gets out of range?

Would an animal sacrifice left behind trigger a continuous moan?

Could I just leave a hamster in a really strong cage that the zombies aren't able to open up as bait and then snipe the accumulating crowd from the distance?

Could I tie an arrow to a really long string so that after I sniped a zombie in the eye socket I could retract my arrow and keep using it?

You know how Batman has a projectile and stuff that once he shoots it is like this retractible climbing device... couldn't you shoot zombies and then wind back in your thing over and over? I figure there must be something like this (grappling hook alternative) somewhere. Maybe have to check HU and N&SS.

The Books seem to imply that only Humans get them to moan.

I believe recorded moans would work in attracting the creepers. If not for the supernatural capacity then the sound itself surely would. It even says in the book they hate sound and will tirelessly work to destroy the source of the offending notes. If the sound spewer was sufficiently loud enough in an appropriately fortified position it could in theory attract them from miles around.
If unable to destroy the source of the sound would they eventually leave the area?
Would they continue to try and destroy the sound source no matter how futile? As J.L Duncan so eloquently put it ruin the shelf life of the horde?
Would they eventually get used to the sound?

Hello...

Tearstone wrote:Man I wish I could "like" posts. For example the Bait trucks. That's brilliant. Then again, I'm the type to turn a cow loose in an area, and have the zombies follow it like the pied piper as it heads out in another direction. They follow it, the immediate area is clear of Zack.

The "Bait Truck" technique would be really special if you had an ice cream truck to play the recorded moan - having a bunch of zombies chasing after it like a crowd of suburban kids going after some cheap ice cream would be hilarious. Heck - you'd even see some zombified pattern zombie kids forking over some dough! Yeah that would be the day, when Sweet Tooth drives around in an ice cream truck/killing machine wiping out zombies on sight! Or maybe if one hogtied a cow and hoisted it by helicopter, you could use it like you're on a fishing expedition, to lure the Zs into a kill-box. Better yet, grab an old Coast Guard helicopter, use the recovery harness to hoist a restrained limbless zombie, and carry it wherever you need its buddies to go! Well anyway, please take care; thanks a bunch, and have a good night.


P.S.: No animals were harmed in the making of this picture.

sHaka wrote:I would rule that, while a recorded moan is different to the supernatual wail of the undead and would fail to lure them, it would still cause roaming zeds to walk over and investiate like any other noise out of the ordinary - in this respect its no different to the noise made by people shouting, so could still be useful in a more limited way.

The zed-in-a-box idea though is genius!

But not all orgins suggest supernatural

Tor wrote:

cornholioprime wrote:Zombies who are completely missing their vocal cords can do the Moan.

flatline wrote:I think all zombie hunters should have a "living" zombie head in a cooler (well, head plus however much of the torso the GM rules needs to be present in order for it to be able to moan)

I imagine that if you can do it without vocal cords then you may not need lungs either. Do zombies even inhale? Do they have to catch their breath and pause every now and then to continue the moan, or is it just some supernaturally continuous siren?

Also wouldn't you still need something to trigger the moan, like a nearby human?

Doesn't the zombie stop moaning once the human gets out of range?

Would an animal sacrifice left behind trigger a continuous moan?

Could I just leave a hamster in a really strong cage that the zombies aren't able to open up as bait and then snipe the accumulating crowd from the distance?

Could I tie an arrow to a really long string so that after I sniped a zombie in the eye socket I could retract my arrow and keep using it?

You know how Batman has a projectile and stuff that once he shoots it is like this retractible climbing device... couldn't you shoot zombies and then wind back in your thing over and over? I figure there must be something like this (grappling hook alternative) somewhere. Maybe have to check HU and N&SS.

Your may need more than a head to make to moan . Armless and legless torso ?

cornholioprime wrote:

flatline wrote:I think the GM should rule however benefits the game the most. Perhaps make a recording useful enough to be worth experimenting with, but not as effective as a true moan.

Personally, I think all zombie hunters should have a "living" zombie head in a cooler (well, head plus however much of the torso the GM rules needs to be present in order for it to be able to moan) so that they can lure zombies into their traps with an authentic moan whenever they want to.

--flatline

That would be awesome.

Have ONE Zombie Head (and whatever else of the body except the arms and legs) permanently chained down in a sturdy, soundproof container that can be opened and closed at will, mount it on an armored truck, and have that ONE Zombie's moan attract all the rest in a chain reaction.

You could slowly, eventually, clear out whole towns/cities in this manner by having the "Bait Truck" (or "Bait Trucks") lead them out of the city by the hundreds/thousands/millions!

Step 1: cut a hole in the box
Step 2: put your zed in a box...

Hello...

Trent wrote:Your may need more than a head to make to moan . Armless and legless torso ?

You're right on the money Trent. If memory serves correctly, a zombie needs only 12% of its body to survive, so that's not much, but know that beheading a zombie is a great way to kill them, not to "neuter" them when it comes to making them relatively useless as unnatural killing machines. Zombie heads can't survive on their own, which is why beheading is a common tactic to keep people from turning, and to keep zombies from coming back and biting your jugular off if the bullet you put into its head missed the sweet spot. When considering how much zombie you need to make a bait zombie, think the Borg Queen from Star Trek: First Contact; specifically her quasi-natural state when she's detached from the rest of her body. That I would believe to be enough zombie to make moaning bait.

Smlawrence8 wrote:Step 1: cut a hole in the box
Step 2: put your zed in a box...

And once you have your moaning bait, be sure to contain it somehow, like putting it into a "Moan-Box" like Smlawrence8 says. Of course I would add something really nifty to the outside of the box; perhaps a way to make it into a booby trap. Claymore mines, even if improvised, might be useful if they are capable enough to re-kill the dead. Even so, an enterprising engineer could create their own take on claymore mines, which may use flechettes rather than ball bearings as a theoretical example, to improve the Claymore's ability to exterminate the undead. But anyway, please take care; thanks a bunch, and have a good day.