Vampires that don't suck--hopefully

[TRose]

Here my problem with Vampires s I seen in almost all Movies and games . They act like low grade morons.
For example take the vampires choice of victims . If I was a Vampire I would avoid having High class beautiful Noble women for dinner , as people tend to care about them. Instead I would prey on the homeless, runaways, immigrants , criminals and others society not going to pay much attention to if they go missing. If you start preying on criminals the local authorities might even turn a blind eye on your activities after they find out you are in town.
And as far as Vampire power. The fearsome thing about a Vampire should not just be its strength but the fact it has had a long time to practice survival skills. 200 years of studying magic, fencing , and other combat skills and you will get pretty good.
And of course recruiting followers. Since I have the ability to make people immortals, with a little luck and work I can recruit some first class muscle to help me with my needs. Just make sure they are the type to keep a low profile too.

[Dredj]

Originally Posted by TRose

Here my problem with Vampires s I seen in almost all Movies and games . They act like low grade morons.
For example take the vampires choice of victims . If I was a Vampire I would avoid having High class beautiful Noble women for dinner , as people tend to care about them. Instead I would prey on the homeless, runaways, immigrants , criminals and others society not going to pay much attention to if they go missing. If you start preying on criminals the local authorities might even turn a blind eye on your activities after they find out you are in town.
And as far as Vampire power. The fearsome thing about a Vampire should not just be its strength but the fact it has had a long time to practice survival skills. 200 years of studying magic, fencing , and other combat skills and you will get pretty good.
And of course recruiting followers. Since I have the ability to make people immortals, with a little luck and work I can recruit some first class muscle to help me with my needs. Just make sure they are the type to keep a low profile too.

Vampire dojos. I like that idea you've inspired.

I thought the reason that vampires went for high class people is that it was a test of their skills. And higher class people tend to be prettier to look at and have around, eternally, than some bum the vampire accidentally turned. Plus, it might be an act of suicide on their part--since vampires seem to not be able to kill themselves. Therefore, by turning someone people care about, those people will be hunting the vampire down.

[Tywyll]

Originally Posted by Dredj

Vampire dojos. I like that idea you've inspired.

I thought the reason that vampires went for high class people is that it was a test of their skills. And higher class people tend to be prettier to look at and have around, eternally, than some bum the vampire accidentally turned. Plus, it might be an act of suicide on their part--since vampires seem to not be able to kill themselves. Therefore, by turning someone people care about, those people will be hunting the vampire down.

How often do you choose to eat garbage when you have the option to eat stake?

Seriously, who's eat a Krystal burger (an old, wet, cold one at that) when they have the option of eating a filet mignon, cooked just the way you like?

There is nothing suicidal or stupid about it, its about fulfilling desires. Sure, there will be vampires who will intentionally avoid flagging the authorities, but again it depends on the mythos: does a vampire have to kill to eat? This is the stupidest element of modern vampire myths and exists almost exclusively in the movies... even Dracula could keep coming back to the same target over and over.

[TRose]

Well if you want something nice to look at you can go for a runaway or an immigrant. not hard to find some that are pretty there.
Or better yet a high class call girl. They tend to be pretty. often highly intelligent , and many already have the perfect personality to be a Vampire. and they can even keep their old hours.
Or be patient and wait for some thing nice to fall into your hand. For example there been a change in the power struggle and a certain Noble family is in disgrace. you grab the families pretty daughter befor executioner gets to take off her head and train her to be patient about her vengeance.

[soltakss]

You are going to be a vampire for a long time so you want someone to be a good and interesting companion forn that time. If you come from a noble background then you want to have an attractive, intelligent cultured companion, not some uncultured yobbo or some tramp. Similarly, if you're a thug you'll want similar types around you.

[jean]

Originally Posted by soltakss

You are going to be a vampire for a long time so you want someone to be a good and interesting companion forn that time. If you come from a noble background then you want to have an attractive, intelligent cultured companion, not some uncultured yobbo or some tramp. Similarly, if you're a thug you'll want similar types around you.

Let us say that a vampire has two urges : feeding and creating new vampires.

It can feed on tramps, their blood and their soul are edible. if slavery is legal, well feeding is even easier ...
But it is true that in order to while away undeath, it needs interesting companions.

These companions might not like being transformed into vampires. They might not like their creator. They might even like to be the supreme leader of the region.

And if too many vampires are creared, there may be a shortage of food...

Cheers
Jean

[Hedgehobbit]

There are a couple of vampire related powers that seem to have been forgotten in recent movies. They might be usable to change the feel of a vampire-centric campaign.

1-Vampires are utterly powerless during the day. And they need to sleep on dirt from where they were buried. Those old vampire movies have vampires lying helpless in their coffins during the day; Van Helsing even uses holy water to ruin Dracula's resting place, forcing him to return to his castle before dawn (no idea on what would happen to him if he didn't make it).

This would help reduce the super-man effect since any shmoe can just walk up and stake a vamp during the day. Plus it will require a Vamp to have plenty of human servants (familiars) to protect them during the day. Each one a potential turn-coat.

2-Vampires are slaves of the vampire that turned them. This essentially gives the GM a way to prevent the PC vampires from getting too far away from his campaign intentions. Maybe by using a VAM vs VAM resistance roll.

3-Killing a Vamp also destroys all vamp he turned. This was always the reason Van Helsing was so into killing Drac as he was the projenitor (sp) of all other vamps. This is another way to force PC vamps to help their NPC creator. It also prevents them from wandering off too much as they need to keep an eye out for their boss. Also, different "nests" of vampires will have its own boss vampire who will, in turn, be loyal to some other vampire whose identity will be a secret to most of the hive to keep enemies from moving up the food chain. Of course, you might want to change the rules a bit to keep all the PCs from just dieing at once. I like the idea that if a Vamp kills his master (pretty tough considering rule #2) then that vamp takes the place of his old master. This is a good way to explain why a Vamp doesn't turn hundreds of people since each one is a potential threat.


One way I can see to run a vamp game would be as if it were a gangster game. Each gang is a group of vampires whose boss is loyal to some other more powerful but unknown vampire. The gangs are fighting other gang who are loyal to yet another vampires. But, all of the gangs are eventually loyal to Dracula who trying to keep all these cold-blooded killers under control and working on some evil master plan. Meanwhile the PCs are working for their gang while secretly plotting to kill their way up the Vampire food chain, eventually killing Dracula himself and taking over the whole show.


Aaron

PS-I'm going to have to step up my plans to watch Dark Shadows.

[Tywyll]

Originally Posted by Hedgehobbit

There are a couple of vampire related powers that seem to have been forgotten in recent movies. They might be usable to change the feel of a vampire-centric campaign.

These could work for some vampires mythos, but definitely not all and in general, I wouldn't be real thrilled about some of them (and I don't agree with the last one).

1-Vampires are utterly powerless during the day. And they need to sleep on dirt from where they were buried. Those old vampire movies have vampires lying helpless in their coffins during the day; Van Helsing even uses holy water to ruin Dracula's resting place, forcing him to return to his castle before dawn (no idea on what would happen to him if he didn't make it).

If you are going strictly Dracula, this isn't true. Dracula moved about during the day and in sunlight. Van Helsing states that:
"He can do all these things, yet he is not free. Nay, he is even more prisoner than the slave of the galley, than the madman in his cell. He cannot go where he lists, he who is not of nature has yet to obey some of nature's laws, why we know not. He may not enter anywhere at the first, unless there be some one of the household who bid him to come, though afterwards he can come as he please. His power ceases, as does that of all evil things, at the coming of the day.

"Only at certain times can he have limited freedom. If he be not at the place whither he is bound, he can only change himself at noon or at exact sunrise or sunset. These things we are told, and in this record of ours we have proof by inference. Thus, whereas he can do as he will within his limit, when he have his earth-home,his coffin-home, his hellhome, the place unhallowed, as we saw when he went to the grave of the suicide at Whitby, still at other time he can only change when the time come."

So, coffins and unhallowed places work for him, otherwise he's locked in whatever form he's taken when he last slept (and it might be inferred that he grows weaker without those places, though its not specifically stated).

2-Vampires are slaves of the vampire that turned them. This essentially gives the GM a way to prevent the PC vampires from getting too far away from his campaign intentions. Maybe by using a VAM vs VAM resistance roll.

This is inferred, perhaps, but not necessarily set in stone. I think as a rping game, the more free-will PCs have, the better. However, I do like the idea of the Vam vs Vam resistance roll, so a vampire can shrug off commands from their maker.

3-Killing a Vamp also destroys all vamp he turned. This was always the reason Van Helsing was so into killing Drac as he was the projenitor (sp) of all other vamps. This is another way to force PC vamps to help their NPC creator. It also prevents them from wandering off too much as they need to keep an eye out for their boss. Also, different "nests" of vampires will have its own boss vampire who will, in turn, be loyal to some other vampire whose identity will be a secret to most of the hive to keep enemies from moving up the food chain. Of course, you might want to change the rules a bit to keep all the PCs from just dieing at once. I like the idea that if a Vamp kills his master (pretty tough considering rule #2) then that vamp takes the place of his old master. This is a good way to explain why a Vamp doesn't turn hundreds of people since each one is a potential threat.

I've never seen this anywhere. Dracula is not the progenitor of all vampires, merely one of the greatest. Also, Mina doesn't die when dracula does, and in fact she is only cured because she hasn't fully turned yet.

The other problem with this is the idea of spontaneous combustion of vampires because some unknown ancient gets accidentially unearthed somewhere, which I don't think is necessarily good. The only myth where I have seen this is in Anne Rice, and the only vampires it worked for was the very first vampire, as the 'spirit' of all vampires was connected to her... but they even got around that problem with some work.

One way I can see to run a vamp game would be as if it were a gangster game. Each gang is a group of vampires whose boss is loyal to some other more powerful but unknown vampire. The gangs are fighting other gang who are loyal to yet another vampires. But, all of the gangs are eventually loyal to Dracula who trying to keep all these cold-blooded killers under control and working on some evil master plan. Meanwhile the PCs are working for their gang while secretly plotting to kill their way up the Vampire food chain, eventually killing Dracula himself and taking over the whole show.[/quote]

[Hedgehobbit]

There is a book called "Vampires: Burial and Death" which explores vampires legends and relates them to how a real human body decomposes. While its interesting (especially where it relates how "staking" started), its disappointing to learn how silly early vampire legends were and little the real vampire stories relate to modern vampire. The author talks a bit about Bram Stoker and speculates on why he changed various things.

Because of that book, all my vampire knowledge is pretty jumbled up and its hard to remember where I first heard of various bits of vampire lore.


Aaron

[Tywyll]

Originally Posted by Hedgehobbit

There is a book called "Vampires: Burial and Death" which explores vampires legends and relates them to how a real human body decomposes. While its interesting (especially where it relates how "staking" started), its disappointing to learn how silly early vampire legends were and little the real vampire stories relate to modern vampire. The author talks a bit about Bram Stoker and speculates on why he changed various things.

Because of that book, all my vampire knowledge is pretty jumbled up and its hard to remember where I first heard of various bits of vampire lore.


Aaron

You are totally right, the original vampire is /nothing/ like the modern one. They are more like ghosts or zombies, haunting their former loved ones and all that, which from a roleplaying perspective, is kind of lame.

However, I like your vampire gangster idea, it definitely has some merit.