xxxxx Zombie Castes xxxxx

Gora

    [prologue]    This Infected’s right forearm has is nothing but a long sharp bone. It stabs it’s victims with it. Whether it’s arm was snapped by someone or whether it did this to himself is yet to be decided.

  The idea behind this one is to give the Infected a better push against leather armor. I'm leaning towards standard Infected as Vulpine already have metal weapons. The 'gore' attack will basically be a horn from vanilla, but perhaps with an edge attack, it won't do to much damage.

Raker
    [prologue]    This Infected has been cut straight down the chest. His ribs are exposed from months of  wear and tear. Of course, it sees this as a form of efficiency and will attempt to cram you into its chest.

I have two ideas for this one. First, have it be a 'holding' caste, whose job it is to grapple with the foe and slow down their escape. Or two, have it be a wild animal that ambushes civilians. This assumes that AMBUSH_PREDATOR is working like it used to, but even if it doesn't, I think a wild animal would be a better option.

Hazard

   [prologue]    This person tried to help people who were in infected cities. While this suit was durable enough to deal with scratches and scrapes, it was nowhere near enough to deal with the incoming horde of Infected. Now, starved, trapped, and unable to bite, this zombie sprints at foes in desperation to eat.

This zombie will probably be vulpine. It can't bite, in exchange, gets better protection from weapons and higher speed from hunger. It fits with vulpine because they already have metal weapons, so it remains deadly. Instead of a bite it will have a 'bash' with 'helmet' attack on people just so it looks like he's trying.
 

Insane zombie in straight jacket

This zombie's still in the concept phase. It won't be able to use it's arms, so it will have to serve some sort of support roll. Ranged area attack akin to the howler is a possibility. But I'd like to see something new.

Unnamed Idea

This zombie's still in the concept phase. A zombie that has the maximum grass trampling power. So it will trample every blade of grass and tree sapling it steps on. Doing small to moderate ecological damage.

***** HUMAN CASTES *****

Former Prisoner

A strong prisoner who was convicted and found guilty long ago. When the armies fell to the hordes, prisoners were drafted in droves to fight these things. Most died or turned, but some managed to outlive their wardens just long enough to escape. They learn mining, pump operating, siege operating, faster. However they refuse to learn any medical labors. Believing that a bullet to the head cures all.

 Firefighter

 This strong hardy person was one of the many people that tried to help out in the final days. They are excellent at axes, wood cutting, and can safely navigate fires. However, they are clumsy, and mediocre at ranged weapons.

I realized I didn't have any hard labor  castes that learn things like woodcutting/mining/masonry easier. So I've added these two for that purpose.

Coward
This person has survived by running. They are very fit, and can run extremely fast, however, their will is weak. If they cannot run they will curl up and have a nervous breakdown, becoming easy prey for the hordes.

I was hesitant to add an agile class as they would easily overpower the slow zombies. Regular humans can already get in two or three attacks by the time the zombie snatcher swings his +cotton bag+ So I made an agile class that was completely inept in combat. Just in case someone finds a way around it, they cannot learn military skills at all.

Police Officer
This determined person was one of many people that tried to help out in the final days. They excel in pistols and maces. However, they are usually not able to put up with leadership or 'noble' duties.

 Since I weakened the soldier caste, I thought I needed a caste that was moderate at both to make up for it. The 'noble duties' disadvantage seldom gets in the way, but the extra learning is no reason to push aside a well trained soldier caste for. So they serve as a jack of all trades caste.

Teacher
This teacher is very skilled at both learning, and teaching information.  Now that Statistics 101 is no longer in demand, they teach people how to fight instead. However, they learn all other labors slower.

 A great military class, instead of being better at learning, they have better potential. A pair of teachers can easily train new soldiers into fighting machines in a matter of seasons. They are so effective I had to tone it down because my militia commander trained two named elite riflemen who had never fired a gun before in less then half a year.

##### COMMENTARY ON OTHER CHANGES #####

• Shotguns are now great at de-limbing, but bad at piercing metal armor and hurting organs.
  This is to make shotguns and rifles more of a thought. Shotguns are still the go to weapon for Infected fighting. But rifles are arguably better at fights against humans.
• Gunparts are now made in Metalsmith's Forge. Gunpart Workshop removed.
  Now with the metal furniture back in, I no longer need another workshop to add clutter.
• Guns now require 'Gun Barrels' instead of metal bars, Gun Barrels are made in the Metalsmith's Forge.This change was to make it possible to micromanage what a gun was made out of. While a Platinum Shotgun is impressive, having a crucible steel one is kind of frustrating when you wanted it for a machete.
• Make slings and stone pellets in hunter's camp. Sling uses pistol skill.
  Slings are great for early fortress defense, embark with a boulder of hard rock and a unit of cloth. And bam! You can have a hunter while saving many embark points. Naturally, pellets are less effective against Zeds and barely capable of bruising the skin in melee range, as they don't feel pain from broken bones so switching out is a must. I tried to make it poor against armor, but with the way blunt weapons work it's either deadly against everything or 'is it raining out?'
• Gangs added, a new civ. They siege in the summer, weak, slow, and stupid. Relatively easy to beatI haven't tested these guys yet, they're getting a unique mount called [CLASSIFIED] that will [CLASSIFIED] and allow them to [CLASSIFIED] all while [CLASSIFIED] and [CLASSIFIED]. This is their only edge in combat though, as they have much worse stats than your humans. It will be comparatively safe to kill them.