Vampire are most fearsome creatures who feed on the blood of the living, draining their S to sustain their magical abilities. Vampires have the spellcasting abilities of a level four magician, with a free choice of Battle Magic and Necromantic Magic spells. A typical Vampire will have D4+1 of each at each level, plus D10 Petty Magic spells. These can be allocated by the gamesmaster or selected randomly. Some Vampires have access to Daemonic Magic spells. A Vampire has 40 magic points or 9D8, if you wish to generate the score randomly. As well as being able to cast spells, Vampires can use magic points to shapechange into a number of forms, including Great Wolf and Giant Bat. They can also assume an ethereal state.
Vampires cast no reflection in any surface, including mirrors, water, or highly polished armour. A Vampire can never enter a house without first being invited in and they are adept at presenting themselves as travellers and other harmless humans in order to gain entry to a building.
Physique[]
A Vampire's appearance depends on the form it has assumed (humanoid, bat, wolf, or ethereal). The archetype is that of a tall, slim, pale Human. While ethereal, Vampires can appear as a formless mist or as a spectral figure, indistinguishable from a Wraith or Spectre. In all forms, however, they have prominent incisor teeth.
Alignment[]
Evil.
Special Rules[]
A Vampire may control friendly Undead within 24 yards in the same way as a living Necromancer, even if it has no Necromantic spells.
The gaze of a Vampire can have a hypnotic effect; this ability costs 2 magic points to use, but if the victim fails a WP test, he or she will become the Vampire's slave, even clearing away garlic and other protections so that the Vampire can feed. Each time the Vampire feeds, the victim is allowed a further WP test to throw off the compulsion. A Vampire can only control one person in this way at any time and must be within 4 yards of the victim.
A Vampire must rest during the day in a coffin lined with the soil of its native country and is only active at night. At the beginning of each night, the Vampire must expend 10 magic points in order to survive - if it fails to do so, it will remain in a cateleptic state, unable to use any of its powers and indistinguishable from a normal corpse. If discovered in this state, the Vampire may be taken for dead and, subsequently, buried (or worse, cremated!).
Vampires use magic points to change from one form to another as well as for spellcasting. Each change costs 2 points - Vampires may have to roll for success if their remaining points drop to a low enough level (as for normal spellcasting) - and takes a full round to complete.
Vampires may not recover magic points by sleep or meditation; they can only do so by draining the life-force from living humanoid creatures. Each W or S point loss on the victim's part gives the Vampire 1 magic point; a Vampire cannot increase its magic point total beyond its initial level in this way.
A Vampire may be wounded by normal weapons while in a material form, but is immune to non-magical weapons while ethereal and, in this form, it can only use Magic Points to assume solid form, although it can drain S like a Wraith. A Vampire in physical form which is slain by normal weapons is instantly turned ethereal and loses all its remaining magic points.
Destroying Vampires[]
A Vampire dealt a killing blow by a magical weapon is robbed of all its remaining magic points and becomes cateleptic; it can only rise again if it is fed at least 10 pints of fresh blood, each pint restoring one magic point. In this dormant state, a Vampire can be killed by cremation, although if it has enough magic points to become active, it is allowed a test on WP to change to another form and escape before it is destroyed by the fire, taking 3D6 W in the process. If it is transfixed through the heart with a stake of hawthorn wood while in its dormant state, it will be rendered inactive until the stake is removed and will lose all its magic points in the process; it can then be finally destroyed by cremation. Sunlight is harmful to Vampires: each round of exposure to daylight causes D6 W and robs the Vampire of 2D6 magic points. When either reaches zero, the Vampire crumbles to dust and is totally and permanently destroyed. Vampires in the dormant state are not affected by sunlight, but if they can be kept from rising to feed for long enough, they will decompose in the same way as normal corpses.
A Vampire can be held at bay by the religious symbol of any god which is not connected with death or Chaos; if the holder passes a WP test, the Vampire can actually be repelled. If a Vampire touches or is struck by a religious symbol, holy water, or any other religious item, it's flesh will be seared for D3 points of fire damage. Garlic flowers have a similar effect.
Vampires are also unable to pass running water and can be trapped by streams, rivers, and so on. If running water touches them, it will cause damage - D3 points for a splash and more for more serious contact (gamesmaster's discretion). If a Vampire is immersed in running water, it must make a WP test or be destroyed. If the test is successful, the Vampire still takes 3D6 damage.
Vampire Procreation[]
On rare occasions, a Vampire may turn one of its victims into another Vampire, rather than simply killing him or her. These chosen few will almost always be physically attractive and of the opposite sex. To effect the transformation, the Vampire drains the victim of blood over a period of several nights and, when the victim reaches zero W, the Vampire opens up one of its own veins, generally in the chest, and lets the victim drink its blood. The victim will then 'die', becoming cateleptic, and can be restored to unlife by the Vampire bringing its 'child' a new victim, to be totally drained of blood. This gives the new Vampire sufficient magic points to become active and feed. Vampires are generally disdainful of the human 'cattle' upon whom they feed and will only rarely pass on their 'gift'; they are also keenly aware that each additional Vampire in an area increases both the strain on the food supply and the chances of discovery.
Basic Profile[]
The profile of the Vampire is as listed for the form it takes (Human, Wolf, Bat, or Wraith), plus the following bonuses:
|
M |
WS |
BS |
S |
T |
W |
I |
A |
Dex |
Ld |
Int |
Cl |
WP |
Fel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
- |
+30 |
+30 |
+3 |
+3 |
+15 |
+30 |
+3 |
+20 |
+20 |
+20 |
+20 |
+20 |
+20 |