Vampire
Climate/Terrain:
| Any land
|
|
Frequency:
| Rare
|
Organization:
| Solitary
|
Activity Cycle:
| Night
|
Diet:
| Special
|
Intelligence:
| Exceptional (15-16)
|
Treasure:
| F
|
Alignment:
| Chaotic evil
|
No. Appearing:
| 1-4
|
Armor Class:
| 1
|
Movement:
| 12, Fl 18 (C)
|
Hit Dice:
| 8+3
|
THAC0:
| 11
|
No. of Attacks:
| 1
|
Damage/Attack:
| 5-10
|
Special Attacks:
| Energy drain
|
Special Defenses:
| +1 or better magical weapon to hit
|
Magic Resistance:
| See below
|
Size:
| M (5'-6')
|
Morale:
| Champion (16)
|
XP Value:
|
|
Western
| 8,000
|
Eastern
| 9,000
|
Of all the chaotic evil undead creatures that stalk the world, none is more
dreadful than the vampire. Moving silently through the night, vampires prey upon
the living without mercy or compassion. Unless deep underground, they must
return to the coffins in which they pass the daylight hours, and even in the former
case they must occasionally return to such to rest, for their power is renewed
by contact with soil from their graves.
One aspect that makes the vampire far more fearful than many of its undead
kindred is its appearance. Unlike other undead creatures, the vampire can easily
pass among normal men without drawing attention to itself for, although its
facial features are sharp and feral, they do not seem inhuman. In many cases, a
vampire's true nature is revealed only when it attacks.
There are ways in which a vampire may be detected by the careful observer,
however. Vampires cast no reflection in a glass, cast no shadows, and move in
complete silence.
Combat: When engaging in combat, vampires are savage and fearsome opponents. They are
physically very powerful, with a Strength score of 18/76, receiving a bonus of
+2 to hit and +4 to damage. The crushing blows of a vampire's attack are so
fierce that they inflict 5-10 points of damage.
The gaze of a vampire is one of its most powerful and dangerous weapons. Any
person who allows the vampire to look into his eyes will be affected as if by a
charm person spell. Due to the power of this enchantment, a -2 is applied to the victim's
saving throw vs. spell. In this manner, vampires are often able to pass posted
sentries and surprise their chosen victims.
Like all undead creatures, vampires exist in both the Positive Material and
Negative Material planes at the same time. Their powerful negative essence allows
them to drain two life energy levels from anyone they strike. If the vampire
is making use of some form of weapon in the attack, it cannot employ this power.
Weapons of less than +1 enchantment pass through vampires without harming them
in any way. Even if attacked with and harmed by magical weapons, vampires
regenerate 3 hit points per round. If reduced to zero hit points, a vampire is not
destroyed, but is forced to assume
gaseous form. Once in this state, it will attempt to flee and return to its coffin where,
after eight hours of rest, it regains its corporeal form. If the defeated
vampire is unable to reach its coffin within 12 turns, however, its essence breaks
up and the creature is truly destroyed.
Sleep, charm, and
hold spells do not affect vampires. Similarly, they are unharmed by poisons and
immune to paralysis. Spells that are based on cold or electricity cause only half
damage.
At will, vampires are able to disperse their bodies into clouds of elemental
vapor and assume
gaseous form. In this state, they are all but immune to attack and can escape from almost
any confinement. In addition, vampires can
shape change so as to take on the form of a large bat (hence the flying movement rate
given above).
Vampires can summon lesser creatures for aid. In a subterranean environment,
they will typically call forth a swarm of 10-100 rats or bats. In the case of
the latter, these do not physically attack but serve to confuse and obscure the
vision of the vampire's foes. In the wilderness, a vampire will normally call
upon 3-18 wolves for assistance. In all cases, the summoned animals arrive in
2-12 rounds.
At will, a vampire can use a
spider climb ability and scale sheer surfaces. Often, they will employ this power to gain
access to rooms on upper floors without alerting those on watch downstairs.
This power also permits the vampire to seek refuge in places which are all but
beyond the reach of mortal men.
Despite the great powers which vampires obviously possess, they are not
without weaknesses of their own. The odor of strong garlic repels them and they will
not approach it. Further, they will recoil from the face of a mirror or lawful
good holy symbol if either of these is presented to them with courage and
conviction. It is important to understand, however, that this will not actually harm
the vampire in any way nor drive it off. Garlic will prevent the creature from
attacking or entering the area, while mirrors and holy symbols force the
vampire to find some means of removing the offending object before it can be
bypassed. In most cases, the vampire will seek to overcome these hazards with the aid
of its minions. For example, a
charmed person might be called upon to attack someone who is holding the vampire at
bay with a holy symbol. Another important point to keep in mind is that a lawful
good holy symbol will affect the vampire regardless of the vampire's original
religious background. Vampires which are splashed with a vial of holy water or
struck with lawful good holy symbols are burned by them, suffering 2-7 points
of damage.
Just as vampires can be kept at bay, so too can they be slain by those who
have the knowledge to do so. Any vampire which is exposed to direct sunlight is
instantly rendered powerless and, after one round, utterly annihilated. If the
vampire can be immersed in running water, it loses one-third of its hit points
each round, until destroyed on the third round. Last, a vampire can be killed by
having a wooden stake driven through its heart. In this case, however, the
creature can be restored simply by removing the stake if further measures are not
taken to ensure the fate of the vampire. In order for it to be completely
destroyed, the vampire's head must be cut off and its mouth stuffed with holy wafers
(or their equivalent).
In addition to its aversion to items like garlic and holy symbols, the vampire
acts under many other limitations. One of the most powerful of these is the
creature's inability to enter a home without being first invited to do so by a
resident of the dwelling. This does not apply to public buildings and places of
business which, by their very nature, extend an invitation to all. Once a
vampire has been invited to enter a residence, it may come and go freely afterward.
A common manner for obtaining permission to enter a home is the use of the
vampire's gaze to
charm a servant or other inhabitant.
Any human or humanoid creature slain by the life energy drain of a vampire is
doomed to become a vampire himself. Thus, those who would hunt these lords of
the undead must be very careful lest they find themselves condemned to a fate
far worse than death. The transformation takes place one day after the burial of
the creature. Those who are not actually buried, however, do not become undead
and it is thus traditional that the bodies of a vampire's victims be burned or
similarly destroyed. Once they become undead, the new vampire is under the
complete control of its killer. If that vampire is destroyed, the controlled undead
are freed from its power and become self-willed creatures.
In most cases, vampires do not lose the abilities and knowledge which they had
in life when they become undead. Thus, it is possible for a vampire to have
the powers of, for example, a wizard, thief, or even priest. In all cases, of
course, the new vampire becomes chaotic evil.
Habitat/Society: Vampires live in areas of death and desolation where they will not be reminded
of the lives they have left behind. Ruined castles or chapels and large
cemeteries are popular lairs for them, as are sites of great tragedies or battles.
Vampires often feel a strong attachment to specific areas with some morbid
significance, like the grave of a suicide or the site of a murder.
When deciding on a course of action or planning a campaign, vampires move very
slowly and meticulously. It is not uncommon for a vampire to undertake some
scheme which may take decades or even centuries to reach its conclusion. Because
of the curse of immortality that has fallen upon them, they feel that time is
always on their side and will often defeat foes who might otherwise overcome
them; the vampire can simply go into hiding for a few decades until the passing of
the years brings down its enemies.
Vampires are normally solitary creatures. When they are found in the company
of others of their kind, the group will certainly consist of a single vampire
lord and a small group of vampires which it has created to do its bidding. In
this way, the vampire can exert its power over a greater range without running the
risk of exposing itself to attack by would-be heroes.
In general, vampires feel only contempt for the world and its inhabitants.
Denied the pleasures of a true life, they have become dark and twisted creatures
bent on revenge and terror. When a vampire creates another of its kind, it
considers the new creature a mere tool. The minion will be sent on missions which
the vampire feels may be too dangerous or unimportant for its personal attention.
If the need arises, these pawns will gladly be sacrificed to protect or
further the ends of their master.
Ecology: The vampire has no place in the world of living creatures. It is a thing of
darkness that exists only to bring about evil and chaos. Almost without
exception, the vampire is feared and hated by those who dwell in the regions in which it
chooses to make its home. The vampire's unnatural presence is all-pervasive
and will cause dogs and similar animals to raise a cry of alarm at the presence
of the creature.
Vampires sustain themselves by draining the life force from living creatures.
Unless they have a specific need to create additional minions, however, they
are careful to avoid killing those they attack. In cases where the death of a
victim is desired, the vampire will take care to see that the body is destroyed
and thus will not rise as an undead.
Eastern Vampires:
This breed of vampire is, if anything, even more frightful than its western
cousin. Although they share many of the western vampire's strengths and
weaknesses, they have the ability to fade from sight at will. Once they have become
invisible, they receive all of the normal bonuses which such a state normally bestows,
including being attacked at -4. These monsters are unable to
charm their victims, however, and cannot assume
gaseous form at will as western vampires can.
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