Fearless Undead: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Being dead sucks. On this most people agree. However, there are perks and this particular perk derives from the fact that there is very little imaginable that can happen to you that has not already happened. In works of fiction, [[The Undead]] are usually depicted as being without fear and immune to supernatural attempts to inflict it.

** The cadavers aren't exactly mindless, their minds have just gotten stuck to the moment of their death, and they can't learn anything new, and are inclined to return to whatever they were doing just before their death, unless somebody constantly keeps an eye on them. They're essentially dementia patients taken up to eleven.

* Reg Shoe and many other undead from ''[[Discworld]]'', along with the Igors.

* The Cauldron-Born in Lloyd Alexander's ''[[Prydain Chronicles]]'' have no emotions at all, including fear.

* The High Seekers in the [[Novels of the Change]] are an odd case. When they are killed, they are possessed by a fearless dark power until such time as the bodies are no longer useful - but then, when they're alive, they're possessed pretty regularly too, to similar results.

* In another White Wolf example, this is steadily averted in both ''[[Vampire]]'' games. Vampires have the Beast, the predatory half of their vampiric nature that has a tendency to hijack their bodies in certain circumstances. One of those is mortal fear (such as when sunlight or fire make an appearance), in which case the Beast might grab hold and make the vampire run screaming into the night.

* In ''[[GURPS]]'', the templates for most undead include Unfazeable and Indomitable, making them disregard all reaction rolls and fear effects.

** The easiest way to give a creature this skill is to cast the black spell "Fear" on them.

** Another great example is the black spell "Terror". It instantly destroys a creature, provided they are not Black or an Artifact.

* In ''[[Warhammer]]'', undead units never have to make leadership tests.

** Played straight with the Plague Marines, who are described as being so rotten they can barely sense what's going on around them and are completely immune to pain. Perfectly represented on the tabletop in that they're far more durable than the standard marines, have the actual Feel No Pain rule, is slower than the average marines, and is completely and utterly fearless. Small wonder why they're one of the best units in the book.

 

== Webcomics ==

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Bizzarely averted in ''[[Gladius]]''. Undead aren't immune to ''any'' stats effects. Skeletons can bizarrely be effected by the "bleeding" condition.

* Most undead in Dominions have a morale of 50, a purely symbolic value meaning that they are completely unbreakable.

 

== Live-Action Television ==

{{quote| Annie (terrified while exploring a creepy hospital wing): "I'm already dead. I'm already dead. I'm already dead…"}}

* On ''Deadliest Warrior'', this was actually listed as an X Factor in the Vampires vs. Zombies episode. {{spoiler|The Zombies recieved the higher number due to being physically incapable of fear(unlike vampires).}}