Quote:
Originally Posted by Dredj
My idea of "weak" vampires is so that they don't become CGI-style supermen, like you mentioned. When I mentioned them in my brainstorming session, I was thinking of vampires before Dracula was written. They could have beyond normal human strength; some could even walk around in the daylight with their vampiric powers coming out at nighttime. But, above all else, they had to keep their true natures hidden from the mortals around them. That could lead to some real role-playing, possibly. The vampire would still be formidable, but someone that's quite skilled in martial arts could still put a serious whupping on the vampire (unless, of course, the vampire is also a martial artist). And you've mentioned the fact that most vampire stories are resolved when people gang up and exploit the vampire's weakness.
Dracula had some formiddable powers, but he was quite sloppy in keeping his vampiric nature hidden. In fact, It seemed to me he over-relied on his powers. Probably due to the fact that the people living around his castle in Transylvania were so cowed by him, they never gave him a real threat. Thus, he never had to use much in the way of subterfuge. At least that's what I got from reading Dracula, years ago. But I would also give rules so that vampires could also have major advantages over mortals. Some of my brainstorming revolved around the idea that some groups of players would just like to kick ass (having crappy jobs, etc., in their real lives) even if only for a one-shot game, here and there. Basically, it could be used as a release for some groups. Of course, the super powered vampires could also run up against very formidable monster foes for campaign play.
If this supplement/game should ever come to fruition, I would allow the GM to decide on what weaknesses a vampire has in the game.
Mostly,however, I was thinking of something more cerebral and took real planning from the players--almost like a spy game where the PCs would have to determine the weaknesses of their intended victims while pretending to be one of the crowd--with not much amiss--in order to get away with feasting on mortal blood.
I get the impression that what I'm thinking would make a better card/strategy game than rpg. But I would like to read more of other peoples' take on this.
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Depending on your mythos, there is no reason why each vampire couldn't have different weaknesses (Night's Edge, for cyberpunk 2020 took a similar approach). Each vampire's weakness might be unique to them, or perhaps to their line, depending on where vampires came from. So somebody might get all obsessive about counting grain, while another dies from a stake in the heart.
Also, depending on the time frame (is it modern day?) then the 'power' of the vampire can be very relative. Vampires might be more than a match for any human... in melee. However, guns can be a great equalizer. Perhaps while a bullet won't kill them, collecting too many will slow them down enough to be dealt with. So you lose the superhuman effect, and force the characters to be more methodical and thoughtful about it. Perhaps really ancient ones get to the point where this is not an issue, but younger ones can be stopped by a machine pistol on full auto... or a shotgun.
That forces players to be much more thoughtful, and not just rampage around.