History Main / SlidingScaleOfUndeadRegeneration

It's worth noting that "No Rotting" includes preserving muscles, bones, and ligaments ''despite'' everyday wear and tear. This is often implied of many perpetual motion zombies said to never die. Another variant is just how ''much'' and how "neatly" the healing is. Some undead just have enough healing to patch themselves up over a long period, leaving [[ScarsAreForever massive and ugly cancerous scars]]. Others have a full on HealingFactor that leaves no scarring, effectively locking their appearance forever.

* In "The Island of the Immortals" by Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin, the bite of a certain fly will grant you immortality. After a few centuries' worth of accumulated injuries, you're basically a limbless, faceless torso. Quite a bit longer, and your carbon is compressed into a diamond (which may still be aware).

* In a short story by Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin, the bite of a certain fly will grant you immortality. After a few centuries' worth of accumulated injuries, you're basically a limbless, faceless torso. Quite a bit longer, and your carbon is compressed into a diamond (which may still be aware).

* In a short story by UrsulaKLeGuin, the bite of a certain fly will grant you immortality. After a few centuries' worth of accumulated injuries, you're basically a limbless, faceless torso. Quite a bit longer, and your carbon is compressed into a diamond (which may still be aware).

In any case, their healing is never strong enough to bring them back to life, just back to "fresh corpse". Also note that no matter how powerful an undead's healing ability, it is ''always'' of the "[[ScaleOfScientificSins blasphemy against nature]]" variety, so ReviveKillsZombie.

* TYPE III: '''Healing, but progressive rotting'''. Rare, this set up means the undead decays but can repair injury. This is usually the case of the TechnicallyLivingZombie, who is a human that will eventually die, but until then can heal some wounds. As well as [[OurLichesAreDifferent Liches]], who is a sentient undead mage, the further they rot, the more powerful they are however.

However, this is never strong enough to bring them back to life, just back to "fresh corpse". Also note that no matter how powerful an undead's healing ability, it is ''always'' of the "[[ScaleOfScientificSins blasphemy against nature]]" variety, so ReviveKillsZombie.

* TYPE IV: '''Healing, and no rotting'''. The (un){{Holy Grail}} of undead healing. This is usually reserved for the "freshest" and more powerful undead, like [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]]. Provided enough blood, they can [[HealingFactor heal any injury]], except perhaps those made by {{Weaksauce Weakness}}es like [[HolyBurnsEvil holy artifacts]] or [[WeakenedByTheLight sunlight.]]

* In ''PlanescapeTorment'' the undead that reside in Sigil are Type I. The contracted zombies in the Mortuary are kept going with sutures and embalming fluid for as long as they last, but left alone they just decompose until they're skeletal. One memorable quest involves helping a rapidly decaying zombie with identity crisis - all her identifying features are literally melting off and she can no longer remember her name.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Mortasheen}}'s'' [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/oovule.htm Oovule]], a TechnicallyLivingZombie, is arguably a Type ''V'', since it can not only heal without rotting, but it heals everything around it to the point of restoring zombies back to their pre-death state.

* Zombies produced by the Zombie Master in the ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' books are capable of regeneration; they tend to become more human, un-rotting as they spend more time around people and being treated ''as'' people.

* Horrors created by the Necromancer class in ''GuildWars'' are strong Type Is. Rather than having a timed expiration date like the Ritualist's summoned spirits, undead Horrors suffer constant health degeneration that mounts over time. This even extends to the mighty Flesh Golem, a minion created by an Elite skill that a player can control only one of at a time. The Necromancer can heal his minions, either through [[CastFromHitPoints Necromancer skills]] or healing abilities from his secondary profession (ReviveKillsZombie is averted), but eventually the degeneration will become so severe that it's impossible to keep up with even outside of combat.

* Zombina, from ''Manga/DailyLifeWithMonsterGirl'', is a type II, which is kind of a problem when you're the suicide unit of a SWAT brigade that deals with extraspecies criminals. Not that she seems to mind, as she'll often riddle ''herself'' with bullets just to hit someone behind her. She "heals" wounds by placing skin grafts over them or simply outright replacing body parts, giving her a patchwork appearance.

* ''PushingDaisies'' has a rather strange take, somewhere between Types II and IV. People brought back to life by Ned regain full cognizance and physical capability (or rather, as much physical capability as how intact they are would allow), but their actual bodies are not repaired. A person who has had their head impaled would be brought back with no neurological problems, even while the wound itself remained. A person who has little physical damage or decay would still register as physically dead. And yet all people brought back thus seem to be capable of as much biological process as their bodies allow (capable of things like eating, but unclear whether it is necessary). There's also no further decay, or any change at all (a dog that was knocked down and brought back in the prime of life remains perfectly healthy some twenty years later).

* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'' has several variants of undead, mummies and vampires, which fall into Type IV, and zombies which are a variant Type I, they rot unless they can get enough of a certain substance (which varies but is generally brains, blood or similar), and they can be repaired magically although this is normally considered a waste of [[{{Mana}} Essence]]. Incidentally, ReviveKillsZombie is averted in both cases, due to the fact that the Corporeal Song of Healing will repair non-living (even inanimate) objects as well as living things.

* Webcomic/{{Erma}}'s dog Siris is revealed to be a Type IV after surviving being shot three times in the face and being run over to the point it left a very noticeable divot horizontally through his middle. And it was only these wounds that revealed his undead status in the first place, even to his StringyHairedGhostGirl owner and mother (who is also a StringyHairedGhostGirl).

** After being killed and surviving through HeroicWillpower, [[spoiler:Bucciarati]] becomes a Type II - no rotting, but can't heal wounds naturally. Fortunately, Giorno can use his powers to mimic a HealingTouch.

* As could be expected, ''AllFleshMustBeEaten'' allows for pretty much every permutation of the trope imaginable.

* In ''Anime/KoreWaZombieDesuKa'', Ayumu a zombie is a Type II with [[spoiler:Yuu]] doing the healing and as a bonus direct sunlight as his WeaksauceWeakness.
* After being killed and surviving through HeroicWillpower, [[spoiler:Bucciarati]] from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' becomes a Type II - no rotting, but can't heal wounds naturally. Fortunately, Giorno can use his powers to mimic a HealingTouch.

* TYPE IV: '''Healing, and no rotting'''. The (un)[[PublicDomainArtifact Holy Grail]] of undead healing. This is usually reserved for the "freshest" and more powerful undead, like [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]]. Provided enough blood, they can [[HealingFactor heal any injury]], except perhaps those made by {{Weaksauce Weakness}}es like [[HolyBurnsEvil holy artifacts]] or [[WeakenedByTheLight sunlight.]]

* Undead in ''LordsOfMagic'' are Type II, and consequently have no natural ability to heal. They can still be healed by magic though, ironically making Life spells very useful for a Death army. Vampires also drain life from their enemies, and against weak enemies can drain it faster than the enemy can hurt them.

* The undead race in ''[[Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures DMFA]]'' get the "no rot, no healing" version. They tend to gradually lose flesh to injuries, but since they're magically animated this is mostly a cosmetic issue. They can also stick severed limbs back in place, and get prosthetic limbs if they lose the originals.

* ''Series/BeingHuman'''s had Type I zombies (that they happened to call Type IV supernaturals). The victim rotted progressively, without any healing, but maintained sensation, so she could ''feel'' herself rotting, and eventually, feel her joints collapsing and dislocating, her bones breaking, and her [[spoiler:boyfriend's rugby trophy stabbing her in the gut and CORING her]]. Worse [[spoiler:the other three cases before her were dissected 'alive'. Painkillers and anaesthetics were ineffective. *shudder*]]

* TYPE III: '''Healing, but progressive rotting'''. Rare, this set up means the undead decays but can repair injury. This is usually the case of the TechnicallyLivingZombie, who is a human that will eventually die, but until then can heal some wounds.

** ''Disworld/LastHero contains a really old zombie: a skeleton.