Asterian Bestiary - Zombies

History:
Known in legends and tales across the land, stories of the ravenous dead are often used to scare children into behaving but the truth is often just as terrifying as the tales. Risen corpses are indeed real across the land of Asteria.

Originally thought to be result of divine punishment, Zombies have existed since the earliest texts which tell of undead beings that have been reanimated often through the use of ancient spells or powerful curses. These spells are said to be some of the oldest in known history and date back further than even elemental spells.

This has caused its stir of controversy as this would suggest that all magic originates from this darker type of spell, therefore this would contradict with the belief that the goddess Asteria bestowed the "light" magic upon the world as a blessing.

While portrayed as a creature that hunts down prey, this behaviour is very rare. Instead zombies tend to avoid large settlements unless comanded by their master/being that resurrected them.
While not often a threat on their own, zombies are infamous for their odd behaviour which displays some form of advanced mental ability. When struck they may pretend to be dead when infact they are waiting for their victim to drop their guard. This can be observed even when left to their own devices, the zombie is known to sit against a wall or lay down in wait for it's prey.
Contrary to tales and stories, the bite of a zombie is not infectious and those affected will not turn into one. However, zombies are known to carry diseases that may cause violent and uncontrolled behaviour if left untreated such as "Brain Fog" and "Gritlash".

They are often found roaming around and guarding the site they rose from, but occasionally stray away in pursuit of new victims to fill the empty halls.

Biology:
Zombies are rotten and decayed corpses reanimated through the use of dark magic, natural anomalies or curses. Their race and appearance can vary heavily with all living races being capable of being reanimated but some are more resistant to it or require a deep knowledge of dark magic.

Human, elven and other humanoid zombies are the most common and are often found at burial sites, crypts or risen by powerful mages and demons. Depending on their age and treatment of their corpse their physical condition can vary, with fresh corpses being agile and capable of climbing over or under obstacles as well as enduring more blows. However, older and more rotten bodies are much more fragile though there are some exceptions. These older corpses are often limited in manuverability and ability.

On the other hand, bodies of larger beings like minotaurs and centaurs are far more deadly and capable, seeming to possess the same strength or agility they had in life with undead minotaurs being able to lift large objects with ease and undead centaurs capable of high speeds. But for the sake of this entry I will focus on humanoid zombies.

Traits:
Undead - As a zombie is an risen corpse they are counted as an undead being, this cursed and corrupted reanimation has led to them being weak to holy magic which can remove the corrupt energy from them and lay them to rest. This may not be true for some variants that will be discussed in another entry.

Toxin Immunity - Zombies are immune to poisons and toxins due to being undead, the substances will have absolutely no effect.

Corruption Resistance - Zombies are not immune to corruption or dark magic but are resistant to it, corruption has led to zombies becoming stronger due to its influence but also if enough is present at one time it can lead to an overload. This often turns the zombie into a sludge like substance similar to the magic remnants and scraps that create IDs.

Unstoppable - Zombies have been observed to continue to act and function despite wounds that would be fatal to most other beings, this is not a measure of their strength but rather demonstrates a lack of pain reception or that the wounds have no effect.

Disease Ridden - Zombies are known to carry diseases that can be spread through contact, especially if the target has open wounds. This is often though to be due to the parasites the corpse has on it as well as remnants from potentially diseased prey still being on their skin.