Runners or Shamblers

[Fire Steel0]

HOLY SH-T THAT'S FREAKY!

I think more like a school during dismissal...

AS for shamblers, they may be everywhere, but since they're so damn SLOW, you can step outside with a steel bat and kill a few. Retreat, come at a different angle, rinse, wash, repeat.

[Gregoriev]

Sure you can run from runners, but you're only going to run towards more runners.

Fixed it for ya!

[Fire Steel0]

AS for shamblers, Unless by some witless mistake your surrounded without a long stick, simply run into the thinnest portion like a madman and hope you cause a domino effect. Of course if your already in that situation, you've miscalculated how long the canned food will last you...

[zomtastic]

I'd rather take on 20 shamblers then 5 runners.

[Leonidas]

Sure you can run from runners, but you're only going to run towards more runners.

Fixed it for ya! Razz

See, but that's the point. The speed doesn't matter; running, shambling, whatever, you're not gonna get away from zombies, no matter where you go, you're just heading towards more zombies. Zombies don't need to run. I don't care if they all crawl on their bellies while dressed as Flamenco dancers (which, incidentally, would make a great movie), the reason they're scary is:

1. They want to eat you. What the fuck.
2. They're 99% of the population. And growing.

Making zombies run is like giving Jaws a jet pack. Whoo! Rocket Jaws!

He still eats Quint, but now he does it really fast.

Dan

[Gregoriev]

The only reason you run into more shamblers is that, for the most part, zombie movies take place in cities, and we all know what those will be like.

However, just look at 28 weeks later, with the man running across that field. He had like six after him, and he STILL COULDN"T GET AWAY.

If those were shambling zombies, he could have hit open field and run like the wind leaving the zombies to wonder where he went off to.

Running zombies have a much greater effective killing radius due to their speed, faster takedowns due to their strength and speed, and require much fewer numbers to bite the same number of people as shambling zombies.

Shambling zombies would take over a month to take out the cities and begin roaming the contryside seeking human flesh. Runners could do the same in less than 48 hours, especially if everyone who dies becomes a zombie.

[Leonidas]

Yes, I know this is a truly pointless argument, but I'm kind of having fun with it, so I'm going to keep going.

If those were shambling zombies, he could have hit open field and run like the wind leaving the zombies to wonder where he went off to.

WHERE'S HE GOING TO RUN TO???? JESUS LAND???

Yay, I got away from that particular group of zombies, which would be great if there weren't 300 million other zombies trying to eat my face.

Dan

[DryGrain]

first of all, lol @ "jesus land"

hopefully said survivor would run away from any present group of zombies and then his next task would be to secure and defend a stronghold and supplies for it.

common sense really

[Gregoriev]

Yay, I got away from that particular group of zombies, which would be great if there weren't 300 million other zombies trying to eat my face.

In the overall scheme of things, your right, but at least he didn't become the 300 million +1 zombie that day, which is exactly what would have happened if they were runners.

I will also say this:

You will not have rednecks in the countryside teamed up with national guard and local police taking pot shots at zombies with their rifles while laying in an open field whilst enjoying hot coffee, eating sandwitches, and boasting about their marksmenship if the zombies run.

To see a visual representation of this, I suggest you watch Dawn of the Dead, the original version.

[DestroyTheStairs]

one thing about fast zombies is that if they are as stupid/fearless as we are to believe they are, then wouldnt they be at high risk for tripping and falling? think about 28 Days/Weeks Later... those zeds ran with reckless abandon no matter WHAT was in their path. so what happens then if its raining and they are running on cobblestone streets? or mud? etc.. in that situation you would have zeds running at full speed slipping and landing face first on the hard ground or tripping over curbs and cracking their heads open.. u get the picture.
i believe that you could take advantage of their crazy running instinct by leading them to places with uneven footing or trip wires etc.. imagine a fast zed trying to sprint up a creek after you with slick rocks and deep pools everywhere. i seriously doubt it would be looking down and nimbly rock hopping to the best footing. instead i see the zed runner crashing face first into a rock and probably doing itself in, if not at least distracting/injuring it while u quickly and carefully get away.

[hometown slugger]

2 words
banana peel
* insert old school cartoon*

[Nostromo]

As dead things rising and roaming the streets is far too much for me to believe, then I would imagine the worst case would be infected 28 Days Later "zombie type" people.

It would be very nice and very convenient to think that when the apoc came, that every non infected person was your friend, every infected was a slow moving shambler that couldnt think. Well, Im sorry to have to say this, but no matter how well protected you think your home would be, no matter how many guns you have, if you were visible you would probably not be safe in the long run. The protected home with guns sticking out of windows would be a prime target for people wanting to get the goodies obviously available inside.

With luck, order would return before looters, infected, thugs, etc got around to your home...

[BIGIRISH1000]

If I was being chased by runners, I d fire buckshot at knee level, its gonna knock em down.

[Gregoriev]

If I was being chased by runners, I d fire buckshot at knee level, its gonna knock em down.

If I was on the run and had to aim at something other than the head I would go for the hip. A zombie can't really run with a shattered him, right?

[CommonHighrise]

Id have to side with Romero on the feasability of shamblers over runners. Granted theres no way to prove it. But the idea of a bloodborne virus hijacking the central nervous system of the human brain, just enough to cause it to have basic motor functions, sounds almost sensible. My only question arises in the zombies habit of attacking and biting. This is seen as an attempt to spread and propagate the virus. However, we find ourselves questioning just how intelligent is the virus controlling the mind?

[Gregoriev]

The virus isn't "controlling" anything. Biting is a weapons humans know how to use on a basic level. Same goes for the usage of clubs, etc. Also, they crave human flesh, so why wouldn't they want to bite down into it?

[Citizen Simon]

Obviously runners are always going to be a greater threat than shamblers if they are of equal numbers. I think a question that would work better when comparing one rather than the other might be something more like.

If you, and one friend, had a 5 minute warning, in your BOL (which happened to be too close to a city, for this question) that is decked out with enough food, water, and ammo to last a month, would you rather face the following:

Nonstop shamblers for 10 Days

or

Nonstop runners for 10 minutes.

[Ricky Romero]

...Nonstop runners for 10 minutes.

I think I just peed my pants.