There is a certain irony in the Congregation dedicating itself to opposing the necromancy of the Dark Confederacy while occasionally marching into battle accompanied by Zombies of its own. To an outsider there may appear to be little difference between the walking dead serving Lucien Saint Clair and those fighting beside Étienne and Mathieu Baptiste. To the Congregation, however, the distinction could hardly be greater. The Dark Confederacy drags the dead back and binds them to mortal ambition. The Congregation believes that sometimes the Loa simply decide that one of their followers has not finished yet.

When a member of the Congregation falls, therefore, death does not necessarily end their service. Any deceased posse member who was neither supernatural nor a Hired Gun may immediately return as a Zombie, provided there are no more than two Congregation Zombies in the posse at any one time. The fallen fighter rises carrying the marks of both life and death, still recognisably the person who fought beside the Congregation only moments before, but now possessing the unnatural resilience of something that has crossed the boundary and been sent back.

The returned fighter retains everything that made them an individual before death. Their Rank, Rank Skills, Injuries, Arcane Powers, weapons and other Gear remain with them, reflecting the fact that this is not some anonymous corpse raised to fill the ranks. It is the same member of the Congregation continuing the struggle in a very different condition. The newly risen Zombie also gains the Lead Belly and Tough Skills, making an already experienced member considerably more difficult to put down for a second time.

There is a price for returning. A Zombie can no longer earn Experience or Advances. Whatever knowledge, abilities and scars the fighter possessed at the moment of death are effectively frozen. The Loa have returned the individual to complete unfinished business, not granted another mortal lifetime in which to grow and prosper. The Zombie may continue fighting alongside old companions for as long as required, but everyone within the Congregation understands that this second existence is borrowed time.

This also explains why the Congregation sees no contradiction between its own Zombies and its determination to destroy the undead servants of the Dark Confederacy. Lucien Saint Clair raises corpses because he refuses to relinquish control. The Congregation does not command its fallen members back into their bodies. Their return is understood as an act of the Loa, and the returned dead remain members of the Congregation rather than property belonging to whoever performed a ritual.

There is also something wonderfully grim about this on the tabletop. A favourite character might finally succumb after surviving numerous battles, accumulating injuries, equipment and hard won abilities, only to stand up again with Lead Belly and Tough and continue exactly where he or she left off. There can never be more than two such returned members travelling with the posse, which makes each one a recognisable character rather than simply another disposable Zombie.

For Étienne Baptiste, the return of a fallen companion is something to be respected rather than celebrated. Mathieu is rather more inclined to greet an old friend returning from the dead with a smile and a comment that they have looked better.

Either way, the message from the Loa is clear.

You can rest when the work is finished.