Fearless Undead: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''I don't know who to pity more: those who flee from my presence or the damned who can withstand it.''|[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=190575 Dread Warlock] flavor text, ''[[Magic ~~the~~ Gathering]]''}}

{{quote|''I don't know who to pity more: those who flee from my presence or the damned who can withstand it.''|[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=190575 Dread Warlock] flavor text, ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]''}}

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.

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** 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.

** Although if [[Discworld ~~(Literature)~~/Night Watch|Night Watch]] is any indication, he was pretty fearless while alive, too.

** Although if [[Discworld/Night Watch|Night Watch]] is any indication, he was pretty fearless while alive, too.

* 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.

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* 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.

* Referenced in ''[[Magic ~~the~~ Gathering]]'', where several Black creatures cannot be blocked except by Black and Artifact creatures, defined in the flavour text as fear-based.

* Referenced in ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', where several Black creatures cannot be blocked except by Black and Artifact creatures, defined in the flavour text as fear-based.

** 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.

** Averted, however, in ''[[Warhammer ~~40 K~~]]'', where the Necrons are basically Zombie Robots: The game explains that while they do ignore fear (comes with having your soul eaten by your gods and your entire body transferred into a machine), they can still judge when it would be advantageous to flee if in presence of a stronger enemy, and so must still take morale tests.

** Averted, however, in ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'', where the Necrons are basically Zombie Robots: The game explains that while they do ignore fear (comes with having your soul eaten by your gods and your entire body transferred into a machine), they can still judge when it would be advantageous to flee if in presence of a stronger enemy, and so must still take morale 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 ==

* [[No Name Given|The zombie]] in [[Hanna Is Not a ~~Boys~~ Name]] has a touch of this ability: he's infamously cool headed and very little can scare or shake him.

* [[No Name Given|The zombie]] in [[Hanna Is Not a Boy's Name]] has a touch of this ability: he's infamously cool headed and very little can scare or shake him.

== [[Video Games]] ==

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* 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.

* The Undead monster family in one of two types (machine is the other) that cannot be intimidated in [[~~Dragon Quest VIII (Video Game)|~~Dragon Quest VIII]].

* The Undead monster family in one of two types (machine is the other) that cannot be intimidated in [[Dragon Quest VIII]].

== Live-Action Television ==

* ''[[~~Being Human (TV)|~~Being Human]]'' often has the ghost character, Annie, reminding herself or others that she is a ghost and thus has no reason to be afraid of any physical danger.

* ''[[Being Human]]'' often has the ghost character, Annie, reminding herself or others that she is a ghost and thus has no reason to be afraid of any physical danger.

{{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).}}