Idea based on The Whisperers (The Walking Dead)

[Wojtek94]

I am aware that we can craft zombie pheromones but it is very difficult to use this when the zombie spawn is set to a high level (30-50). What about ‘a zombie disguise’? Character uses his survival and tailoring skills in order to craft a mask and a coat which provide the possibility of blending with zombies. Character should perform a full butchery on a given zombie because he needs zombie’s skin. This disguise should work when the character keeps a specific distance from zombies, lets say 4-5 or even 6-7 tiles, otherwise zombies will become hostile

[AskaHope]

I don’t think a “zombie armor” would work. I believe the blob may have a way of knowing if you’re infected or not just like the fungus.

[Wojtek94]

So why a zombie pheromone always works? The blob should be aware that our character is not infected. For me it is strange that we can use a zombie pheromone which is crafted from zombie’s flesh but we cannot rub this into our clothes in order to blend with zombies

[AskaHope]

The zombie flesh is infected with the blob, so the zombie pheromone make you smell like an infected.

Not just the filth and the rot, but the actual pheromone that the blob use to avoid attacking other zombies.

That’s why “zombie armor” or filthy zombie clothes won’t turn you invisible from the other infected.

At least I believe it works like this.

[AskaHope]

It’s something only the blob can know, just like insects. They use pheromones to differ friends from foes.

And you somehow learned how to craft it.

[Wojtek94]

I see your point but on the other hand, the zombie pheromone that makes us smell like an infected can be crafted from zombie’s meat. Then, a given character has to squeeze it in order to release a cloud of pheromones. IRL pheromones of various animals last quite long, for example the pheromone of ants. They use it in order to ‘mark’ a way which leads other ants to the source of food. So, if a given character rubs a lot of tainted meat into his clothes, they should smell like a zombie for a long time. Of course, zombies should be aware that our character is not infected if he does not keep a safe distance (4-5 or 6-7 tiles).

[Trigon]

Is it really necessary since zombie pheromones already exist? It’s a lot of work for something that works similarly but is objectively worse in almost every way.

[AskaHope]

So, if a given character rubs a lot of tainted meat into his clothes, they should smell like a zombie for a long time.

Who wouldn’t?

SPOILER

Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter as the blob is an extradimensional creature so the laws of its home may be very different from ours.

[Wojtek94]

I don’t know if it is necessary but I know that my character is forced to use 50+ zombie pheromones just to scavenge the city which isn’t huge at all. Its range is quite limited, it works only for a short period of time. Imagine that you are trapped in a big room, which consists of 40+ zombies, and then you use the zombie pheromone. The zombie pheromone changes 10+ zombies into ‘friendly’ but the rest of them is still hostile because of a small range of the zombie pheromone. So you are forced to be equipped with 50+ zombie pheromones and to use them constantly in order to survive. It’s an active way of blending with zombies. I think that a passive way of blending with zombies, which is provided by ‘a zombie disguise’, may be much more comfortable than littering our inventory with 50+ zombies pheromones

[Erk]

You’re turning zombie spawn rates up enormously, then complaining about the side effects of turning zombie spawn rates up enormously.

If you don’t want to deal with insane hordes of zombies, don’t turn spawn rates up so high. In normal gameplay, the pheromone is brokenly powerful. We don’t need more items like it.

[Mantar]

The blob should be aware that our character is not infected.

The individual survivor is waaay below the level of the blob’s awareness. That’s like being aware which cells in your body are infected.
That said, if you wanted a nasty nerf to pheromone, making it so either zombie masters or maybe necromancers could alert other zombies to your trickery and render the pheromone useless would work.

[Mussorgsky]

I think this idea is interesting and does make sense: a player craftable armor that could nullify scent and provide a proximity limited protection from being sighted by zombies. The items could decay like the current storage items that rot.

None of that mitigates the cheesy possibilities of assassinating hordes with silent weapons from much closer than would otherwise be possible…

[Wojtek94]

Exactly. Although my idea is connected with an ENORMOUS change of gameplay, the possibility of assassinating hordes with silent weapons has nothing to do with it:) For me ‘the zombie pheromone’ isn’t brokenly powerful at all, even in ‘normal gameplay’. It works on zombies which are next to our character (one-three tiles) and its effect lasts for eleven turns only. Consequently, a given player has to constantly use zombie pheromones in order to walk through the city infested with 15, 20 or 30 zombies because zombies are scattered over the whole city. That’s why I think that a passive way of blending with zombies may be better. It won’t be overpowered because a players will be detected if they will be too close to zombies