Originally posted by dMrI've never been to Ninja School but I'm pretty sure they don't teach you to stroll around with two neutered walkers on chains in the event of a zombie apocalypse. It's not very stealthy.....
It is very stealthy when there are zombies about. Remember in Season 1 when Rick and Glenn covered themselves in zombie gore to disguise their scent? As long as you move like a zombie and smell like a zombie, the zombies don't know they should eat you. So Hooded Ninja's zombie pets give her +2 Smell Protection* and +2 Crowd Protection* and she can hide in plain sight.
Originally posted by samoflangeSo Hooded Ninja's zombie pets give her +2 Smell Protection* and +2 Crowd Protection* and she can hide in plain sight.
*Numbers may not be accurate.
I see your point, but she isn't in the least bit covered in zombie goo so would surely still smell of Not Zombie. And any benefit via Smell and Crowd Protection would surely be offset by a -5 to Agility rating. Hard to make a swift getaway when you're chained to two zombies.
Is there a chance we're over-thinking all of this? No? Excellent.
Actually, speaking of over-thinking things, is there a reason they haven't headed straight for the nearest large military base? Granted there could be zombies kicking around but that could be the case *anywhere* and heading somewhere that's heavily fortified and has oodles of ammo and Big Fucking Guns strikes me as A Plan. A mini-gun or AK47 might not be much for accuracy but they'd still be quite the thing for slowing down masses of advancing zombies. Plus, heading down the shops to pick up food/gas is surely much safer in a tank than in a (now departed) RV made from balsa wood or Ford Focus. Even Lori couldn't flip a tank. AND even the worst military base is probably made from stone and stuff which has to be sturdier than a farm/outhouse/perimeter fence made mostly from wood. Did we learn nothing from the Three Pigs?
Yes, my plan would be:
1. Go to military base. 2. Clear out zombie inhabitants. 3. Set up Big Fucking Guns at perimeter. 4. When supplies run low, head out in big tanks to stock up. 5. Send Lori and Carl out on reconnaissance and change all the locks while they're gone.
Full disclosure - my attendance record at Military Strategising In Event Of Zombie Apocalypse School is just as dismal as my record at Ninja School.
In the spirit of overthinking (I may be recalling some stuff from the comics here):
Spoiler Below: Highlight text to read
The zombies aren't chained to her, they are on chain leashes. She can probably ditch them if she needs. She also incapacitates them as much as possible with them still being able to walk, so if she needs to ditch them she could drop back to pick them up. Or just net new ones. I've been told zombies are plentiful in that world.
Maybe she isn't covered by zombie gore, but it's the smell more than anything that matters. Maybe she rubs her cloak on the zombies every so often to get their scent on her. I'd imagine the stench of a zombie radiates out a certain distance. So, as long as she sticks by her pets she will be within their sphere of protection.
Also (definite plot spoiler):
Spoiler Below: Highlight text to read
The prison setting goes a long way to the scenario you are looking for. It's not as perfect as a military base would be, but it's pretty good. It has decent walls, lots of ammo, and a few nice vehicles for excursions. One thing Robert Kirkman never does in either of his epic stories (Invincible is the other one) is give his protagonists a perfect solution. If they achieve even a small bit of comfort and happiness, that's going to be taken away in extreme fashion in an issue or two. So even if Rick and the gang found a great military base to bunker down in, it would probably be overrun by a herd or two in hours.
The reason they can't just run to the nearest military base is that there are zombies all over the place and highways are mostly blocked by cars. Rather than risking it all to get to the ideal place, they are minimizing day-to-day risk, as any survivor would, and finding whatever strongholds they realistically can.
Boy, I do not like this idea at all. I agree the show needs more diversity, so why not have an equal number of people of those four races without the separating-by-race thing thrown in?