Vampire Characteristics

Vampires are among the most dangerous and feared of undead, being both intelligent and powerful. In addition to being immortal, they benefit from a host of supernatural powers that help them to hunt and draw in unsuspecting mortal prey. Perhaps their most notorious and feared ability is the power to drain the blood from living victims, healing their own wounds and potentially turning their victim into a Vampire Spawn under their control. Vampires are extraordinarily hard to kill, being resistant to most forms of damage and weaponry, and even when their bodies are destroyed, they turn to supernatural smoke, returning to their place of rest so that they may recover and return to feed the following night. Vampires are wholly creatures of darkness, depraved and evil beyond redemption. Because of this, they are vulnerable to sunlight, and are destroyed instantly when exposed to it.

Vampires are typically humanoid, keeping the physical forms they had in life, although the curse of Vampirism can be brought upon any creature that was once living creature. A Vampire's undead nature is not immediately obvious to common folk, appearing to be charismatic and often times wealthy humanoids existing in a variety of cultures. This is exactly how these monsters reproduce. Once a creature is slain by a Vampire’s bite, it will arise as a vampire themselves, enslaved to the one who killed them.

Aging Vampires

A Vampire's abilities and statistics change can change with age. See the Elder Vampire Talent.

Killing Vampires

Vampires are notoriously difficult to kill. When they are lethally injured, their bodies dissolve into a gaseous mist wherein they retreat to their coffins. Once there the Vampire enters a state of torpor until the next sunset, allowing their body to heal and regenerate. It is during this time that the Vampire is most vulnerable and can be permanently destroyed.

There are a number of different methods for killing a vampire, the success of which will depend on the specific creature. The most common method is stabbing them through the heart with a wooden stake, but for older vampires this will simply stall the healing process until the stake is removed (or rots away). Cutting off the head of the Vampire is usually effective, especially if the mouth is stuffed with holy wafers. Alternatively, the Vampire's coffin can be left out and open in direct sunlight, to burn the body and prevent it from completing its healing (of course, if the sunlight becomes blocked, or the coffin moved, before the Vampire is destroyed, the healing process may begin anew). Exposing a vampire in Torpor or in Mist form to sunlight will instantly destroy it and turn it to ash.

Eaters of Blood

Vampires Feed upon the Blood of the Living (usually using the Blood Feeding ability to restore Blood Loss). If they do not feed regularly, they build up Unnatural Hunger until they turn ravenous and are Frenzied. While they can feed on any kind of creature with Blood, they gain the most sustenance from creatures of their Original Race. A Vampire's Hunger level cannot be reduced below 2 unless it is from feeding on a Creature of their Original Race. A vampire may drink blood that has been drained from a living creature. The blood must be fresh (i.e. not dried or coagulated) for it to have any effect. It takes roughly 2 pints of blood to reduce a Vampire's Hunger by 1 point.

Frenzied:A Frenzied creature spends all of its time in pursuit of prey. It cannot think rationally, and attacks any creature that gets in its way. It is primal and beast-like in nature, desperate to feed by any means possible.

Blood Loss

Unlike most undead, Vampires are affected by Blood Loss. However they react differently to its effects. Do not track a Vampire's Blood Loss, instead every point of Blood Loss suffered by the vampire increases its Unnatural Hunger by 1. Whenever a Vampire restores a point of Blood Loss by feeding, it reduces its Unnatural Hunger by 1.

Resting

A vampire cannot take a standard Extended Rest. Instead, they can take either a Lesser Extended Rest, or, if they are within their Resting Place, they may take a Rejuvenating Rest. Both rest types count as an Extended Rest, but have different benefits. If the vampire has one or more Maladies and meets the conditions to take a Rejuvinating Rest, they must take a Rejuvinating Rest.

Lesser Extended Rest

When you successfully complete a Lesser Extended Rest do the following:

• Recover all Spent Stamina points. You do not recover Stamina Burn, Drain, or Loss.
• Recover all Spent Resolve points. You do not recover Resolve Burn, Drain, or Loss.
• Recover all lost Hitpoints.
• Restore your Morale to its maximum value.
• If you have one or more Diseases you are not immune to, make a progression (Resilience) check to determine the progression of each disease, then apply the effects of the disease's progression.
• Make a DC 15 resilience check or increase your Hunger by 1.

Rejuvenating Rest

When you successfully complete a Rejuvenating Rest do the following:

• Increase your Hunger Level by 1d3 points.
• Recover all Spent, Burnt, and Drained Stamina points. You Recover Allocated Stamina if you no longer need or want to Allocate it. You do not recover Stamina Loss.
• Recover all Spent, Burnt, and Drained Resolve points. You recover Allocated Resolve if you no longer need or want to Allocate it. You do not recover Resolve Loss.
• Recover all lost Hitpoints.
• Restore your Morale to its maximum value.
• Automatically Heal all Injuries and Other Maladies (and optionally remove any permanent Traits resulting from Maladies).
• If you've earned enough Experience to advance to the next level, you may do so at this time.

History

At first, Vampires were more myth than legend, stories told to children to frighten them before bed time, or to explain the savaging of livestock left outside during the night. Over time, however, it was revealed that there was a kernel of truth to every such rumor, but by the time the truth of their existence was discovered, it was too late, and their curse had spread across many civilized lands, blending in to the cities and towns they inhabit, sometimes even becoming pillars of their community. Vampires that have existed for a very long time tend to accumulate a great deal of knowledge and wealth, and when they tire of an existence of solitude, they use these resources to supplant themselves into an environment that will suit their insatiable need for humanoid blood.

Culture

Vampires don’t have a cultural heritage unique to their type, as they are generally created from members of other races. The most ancient and powerful of these creatures sometimes congregate with others of equal standing, in secret societies far below the towns and cities they inhabit, when there is a matter of great importance to their kind: such as a group of adventurers arriving to uncover their existence or a mighty Lich taking up residence nearby, threatening their hold over the land they use for nourishment. Problems of this nature may cause Vampires to work together, but otherwise they prefer to keep to themselves as the ages pass by, growing in strength and knowledge, outliving most of their potential rivals if they are unable to defeat them through conventional means.

Vampire Types