http://dnd.starflung.com/vampmyst.html
http://dnd.starflung.com/bldlines.html
http://dnd.starflung.com/vamp_pow.html
I have always liked the idea that the closer a victim is to the origin of a vampiric bloodline the more powerful a vampire he becomes. That would, for one thing, explain why vampires who have been around for centuries are so much more powerful than "new" vampires created more recently. The older they are the more likely they are to have been infected by some of the very first vampires in the Known World.
It also makes for a seperation of vampires into "ordinary vampires" and "master badguy vampires" who can trace their origin back to the Lords of Thaymora or other ancient nosferatu. It can give a vampire villain a lot of colour if he can remember the days of the Nithian empire or the birth of some of the younger realms.
Apart from the stuff at the Vault does anyone have any material from their campaigns about vampire bloodlines and their spread across Mystara?
:-) Jesper
). But I'm curious as to how you folks use the difference between vampires and the nosferatu. What about the different bloodlines? Are they different?Originally posted by Hugin
But I'm curious as to how you folks use the difference between vampires and the nosferatu. What about the different bloodlines? Are they different?
I am not sure about that. I read somewhere that Nyx, a hierarch of Entropy and Immortal of the neutral aspect of death created the nosferatu as rulers of Thaymora or some such while the vampires are a creation of Thanatos. But Alphaks made Morphail of Boldavia into a powerful vampire/nosferatu who has the luxury of chosing whether his victims should be one or the other.
Personally, I'd like all nosferatu to be vampires and then give the old and powerful ones the power to walk in daylight. I never really liked the nosferatu as a race. Seems to me they were invented just to throw vampire-hunting heroes off the track. ("Well, he is pale and evil looking, but he walks outside during the day, so he can't be the vampire we're looking for") :D
:-) Jesper
Originally posted by Spellweaver
Personally, I'd like all nosferatu to be vampires and then give the old and powerful ones the power to walk in daylight. I never really liked the nosferatu as a race. Seems to me they were invented just to throw vampire-hunting heroes off the track. ("Well, he is pale and evil looking, but he walks outside during the day, so he can't be the vampire we're looking for") :D
I actually feel the same way, but in reverse- having nosferatu instead of vampires (I just don't like the energy draining ability, though the 3rd edition version of it is somewhat more palatable than previously.)
I think the same way, in regards to the rationale for their creation. It seems like they were trying to make a vampire more like the Dracula from the Bram Stoker novel- blood drinker, can walk abroad in daylight. Since there already was a vampire in the rules, though, it wasn't divergent enough that there really was a need for it, though.
Keeping the "nosferatu" rules for older/more powerful vamps seems like a good idea, though. Does anyone know what differences there were between nosferatu and vampires in Ravenloft?
Originally posted by Cthulhudrew
I actually feel the same way, but in reverse- having nosferatu instead of vampires
I think the same way, in regards to the rationale for their creation. It seems like they were trying to make a vampire more like the Dracula from the Bram Stoker novel- blood drinker, can walk abroad in daylight.
Keeping the "nosferatu" rules for older/more powerful vamps seems like a good idea, though. Does anyone know what differences there were between nosferatu and vampires in Ravenloft?
As far as I know the nosferatu in D&D is a creation of Mystara and not general D&D but I might be mistaken. I'll have to read up on the old Expert rules and the Karameikos gaz to remeber what the difference (except for the daylight thing) is.
What other examples from classical literature other than Bram Stokers Dracula are there? I always though Dracula was a vampire, not a nosferatu, and that his immunities were simply due to the fact that he is so unbelievably cool? If I remember the movie correctly, the girls he bites in London become vampires?
:-) Jesper
Originally posted by Spellweaver
As far as I know the nosferatu in D&D is a creation of Mystara and not general D&D but I might be mistaken. I'll have to read up on the old Expert rules and the Karameikos gaz to remeber what the difference (except for the daylight thing) is.
Nosferatu, unlike Vampires retain the abilities of the class it had before it became an undead. Also, it could ignore the effects of daylight, but had to drink blood.
There was a Nosferatu in Ravenloft Monsterous Compendium 3. However, it had to drink blood to keep its body fresh, and fell into a coma during the day, so quite different from the OD&D one.
What other examples from classical literature other than Bram Stokers Dracula are there? I always though Dracula was a vampire, not a nosferatu, and that his immunities were simply due to the fact that he is so unbelievably cool? If I remember the movie correctly, the girls he bites in London become vampires?
The name Nosferatu comes from the classical vampire movie of the same name from the 1930s. White Wolf's rpg Vampire is based their Nosferatu Clan on the Vampire of that movie (Bald, pale, demonic-looking).
Bram Stoker makes no such distinction, but it is clear that Dracula has few similarties with the Nosferatu of the movie or Vampire the Masquerade.
I think the Vampire Sisters accompanying Dracula do not hail from london, but are much older, though I might be mistaken about that. The sisters are also featured in Van Helsing and in the Buffy episode "Buffy vs Dracula", the latter being my favourite portrayal of the worlds most famous vampire.
Håvard
Originally posted by havard
I think the Vampire Sisters accompanying Dracula do not hail from london, but are much older, though I might be mistaken about that. The sisters are also featured in Van Helsing and in the Buffy episode "Buffy vs Dracula", the latter being my favourite portrayal of the worlds most famous vampire.
Håvard
Actually I wasn't thinking about the girls at the castle that almost eat poor Jonathan Harker ( I alway figures they were succubi or something) but about Mina's friend Lucy whom Dracula bites in London and Van Helsing later destroys in the crypt (at least in the movie).
Should we make our own Mystara vampire/nosferatu template? One that grants more immunities depending on the age of the vampire and the strenght of his bloodline? Or just go with the seperated undead races?
:-) Jesper
Originally posted by Spellweaver
Actually I wasn't thinking about the girls at the castle that almost eat poor Jonathan Harker ( I alway figures they were succubi or something) but about Mina's friend Lucy whom Dracula bites in London and Van Helsing later destroys in the crypt (at least in the movie).
The Dracula of the novel is quite different from the one in the movie (of which I was not particularly fond). In the novel, Dracula is merely a monster, and there is no "love story" or anything like they tacked on. He is a vampire, as Havard noted, but he isn't quite like D&D vamps. Sunlight doesn't harm him, just makes him unable to use his powers. He has the hypnotic ability, and I think he climbs walls and turns into mist (it's been a while since I read it). He doesn't ever turn into a bat, and it's implied that he can turn into a wolf, but never stated outright. He is a blood drinker, but not an energy drainer (I think they made that ability up for D&D because it seemed more deadly than a blood drainer, with the hp system and all. I don't really know. I never liked the idea of permanently losing levels, though, which is why the 3rd edition version is more palatable to me.) Back to the book- Dracula did turn Lucy into a vampire.
As far as his powers go, Stoker's vampires have abilities based more closely on traditional vampiric myth than some later versions. Thus, the not being destroyed (only powerless) in sunlight, the lack of bat changing (a myth that only was added to vampire stories after the discovery of the blood drinking vampire bats of South America). In traditional European lore, vampires were soulless creatures that returned from the dead to feed off the living, probably based (at least partially) on actual experiences of catatonic people being mistaken for dead and buried, only to wake up later. The wolf link to vampires comes from eastern europe, IIRC, and was a later addition to the myth, as were some of the powers. The Dracula/vampire connection- I don't recall exactly how it came about, but I'm pretty sure that Stoker is the originator of the idea. He wanted to write a story about vampires, and took the historical figure of Vlad Tepes/Dracula for his villain. The movie version of the book "expanded" upon the Stoker version by romanticizing it in the manner so prevalent in the late 80s/early 90s (a movement started predominantly by Anne Rice's vampire novels).
Should we make our own Mystara vampire/nosferatu template? One that grants more immunities depending on the age of the vampire and the strenght of his bloodline? Or just go with the seperated undead races?
This is a good question. I'd thought about making a Mystaran nosferatu/vamp for some time, myself. Since the vampire is now a template (and even since AD&D 2nd edition, with the expansions they did on vampires) the whole "retaining class ability" notion that differentiated the Nosferatu really is no longer an issue. (Now that I think about it, it didn't stop Bruce Heard from having his Glantrian vampires retain their class abilities, either.)
If we stick with the idea that the two are separate races, I think we'd have to differentiate them a little more than "one drinks blood and can stay in the sun". Otherwise, your idea is one that could cover all bases- with them all starting at the same template abilities, and growing stronger over time.
:-) Jesper
Hmm... once I get some time I might work out a more flexible Vampire template which increases in power and immunities over time and allows for some cultural differences (not necessarily changes into the same animal forms etc.)
I'd love to see it!
Originally posted by Spellweaver
Hmm... once I get some time I might work out a more flexible Vampire template which increases in power and immunities over time and allows for some cultural differences (not necessarily changes into the same animal forms etc.)
The best way to solve this would probably be to use one template and a "Race as Class" type of Class for each subrace, gaining powers as it levels up.
I'd like to see a separate Nosferatu Template aswell, but like Cthulhudrew writes, we should probably differentiate it more than what has been done in the past.
Also, don't forget about the Velya in all of this. That Underwater Vampire Variant is Mystara's Third Vampiric Bloodline...
Håvard
Nosferatu
Nosferatu are a type of undead unique to Mystara. In many respects they resemble Vampires and many a would-be vampire hunter has been taken by surprise for they have features that set them apart from their undead brethren. The Nosferatu clings to some remnants of his humanity, his undead nature held barely in check by the willpower of his former, living, self.
The origin of this unusual breed of undead remains unclear. They are found rarely and then only in a few areas. Hunters claim to have encountered them in Karameikos and Glantri. Several Immortals of the sphere of entropy, including Thanatos and Nyx, have been blamed as their creator.
Creating a Nosferatu
“Nosferatu” is a template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature. The creatures type changes to “Undead”. It retains its race or class base abilities and statistics, with the exceptions as noted here.
Hit Dice: increase to d12
Speed: same as base creature
AC: The base creatures natural armour improves by +2
Attacks: The Nosferatu retains all of the base creatures attacks and gains a slam attack if it didn’t already have one.
Damage: Creatures with natural attacks retain those damage ratings. Those without gain slam damage according to size. Tiny 1d3; Small 1d4; Medium 1d6; large 1d8
Special Attacks: As those for base creature plus those listed below. Saves for these attacks are DC 10 +1/2 Nosferatu hit dice plus Charisma modifier.
Domination (Su): The Nosferatu can charm victims with his gaze. This is a standard action and the target gets a Will save. Those effected are as if under a dominate person spell at 12th level. The ability has a range of 30 feet and can only affect one target at a time.
Blood Drain (Ex): By making a successful grapple check the Nosferatu can suck blood from a foe. Once the victim is pinned it drains blood, inflicting 1d4 hit points of damage per round the pin is maintained.
Lesser Children of the Night (Su): Nosferatu command the vermin of the night and once per day may summon 10d10 rats or bats. These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve for up to 1 hour.
Create Spawn (Su): A humanoid or monstrous humanoid slain by blood drain by the Nosferatu may rise again 1d4 days later, if the Nosferatu wishes. If the victim had 4 or less HD they rise as a zombie, those with more rise as Nosferatu. Either rises initially under the command of the Nosferatu as if under the effects of the dominating gaze.
Special Qualities:
Undead: Immune to mind influencing effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns and morale effects), poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease and death effects. They are not subject to critical hits, sub dual damage, ability damage or drain and energy drain. They have no Constitution score and so are immune to any effect requiring a fort save (unless it affects objects). Undead use Charisma modifiers for Concentration checks. Undead are healed by negative energy but harmed by positive energy (e.g. healing spells). Whilst not at risk from massive damage, when reduced to 0 or less hit points it is destroyed immediately. Undead cannot be raised. Undead have dark vision 60ft.
Blood Healing (Ex): Nosferatu do not heal normally. Instead the blood form victims are used to regenerate the body. Any hit points drained from victims beyond the first one will heal an equal number of hit points from the Nosferatu.
Damage Reduction (Su): The undead body is tough giving damage reduction 15/silver.
Turn Resistance (Ex): A Nosferatu has +4 turn resistance.
Resistance (Ex): Cold and electricity resistance 20.
Gaseous Form (Su): As a standard action the Nosferatu may assume gaseous form once per day, and only at night. This is as the spell, cast at 5th level, with a fly speed of 20 and perfect manoeuvrability. The duration is 10 minutes per hit dice or until dawn.
Saves: same as base creature.
Abilities: Increase as follows: Str+4, Cha+2.
Skills: a +4 racial bonus to Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive and Spot.
Feats: No bonus Feats
Special Weaknesses
Nosferatu have a number of weaknesses.
The Nosferatu can be held at bay by the strong odour of garlic or a mirror. They must make a Will (DC 10+ Nosferatu hit dice) save to approach either of these. Unlike Vampires they are unharmed by holy symbols, unless used by a cleric in the act of Turning.
They are utterly unable to enter a home or occupied building unless invited.
Unlike vampires they can tolerate the sun. However daylight disorientates them resulting in –2 penalty to all checks, rolls and saves.
The Nosferatu must drink fresh blood daily. This both sustains the undead body and maintains the link to the world of the living. Should a Nosferatu go a night without feeding he suffers a penalty as if shaken until he feeds. A second night without blood results in an additional loss of all Supernatural abilities and a –4 Charisma penalty. The third night without blood results in a vulnerability to sunlight – exposure will now destroy the Nosferatu. If the Nosferatu survives another night he will either crumble to dust or must become a true vampire (becoming an evil NPC in the process).
Effective Character Level: +3
Originally posted by Angry-Gibbon
Heres a Nosferatu template used IMC. It varies quite a bit from the canon Nosferatu monster but worked well in play (we had a Nosferatu Cleric of Nyx as a major PC for a quite a while).
Nosferatu
Looks good!
Håvard