Vampires

C'mon, admit it, everybody loves Vampires, and you Marshals out there have (or will) certainly run a few Vampiric villains (or NPC's) in your adventures. So I have took it upon myself to get down a few optional rules on how to run Vampires as PC's or NPC's in your campaigns. Earl. S of the PA Posse also did a good job of attaching rules to the Western Vampires, but my rules apply to the older, more powerful Vampires back East, who quite possibly could be on tour in the West, what with all these new Boomtowns in need of "culling"...

A Brief History of Vampirism

In medical terms Vampirism is said to be a disease of the blood, cases of this "disease" date back to before medical records began. You and I know better than this, Vampirism is not a disease as such but a condition which turns the suffer into an unliving being which never grows old and never dies, but must drink the blood of living creatures in order to survive. Most of us think of count Dracula when we think of vampires, some say he was the first, others claim Cain, son of Adam and Eve, was the first true Vampire - either way, the first Vampire came about when the individual rejected God and indulged themselves in a bit of blood sucking. Western Vampires, or the New Breed, are all "youngsters" who have always lived in the Weird West, and were created as abominations by the Reckoning itself, they are weaker than their Eastern counterparts but tend to hang around in groups and are not quite so aloof and arrogant. Eastern Vampires, or the "True Breed" vary greatly in appearance and behaviour, some are slavering monsters with twisted visages and mutations covering their bodies, others are polite, well dressed and highly attractive. Not all Vampires are evil, but must commit socially unacceptable acts in order to survive, this means that they are constant guard against Vampire Hunters and religious organisations which would have them destroyed.

Rules

Below are some basic rules which apply to all Eastern Vampires...

• Vampires are supernatural creatures of the night and are unliving. They are not Harrowed, but share some of the characteristics of Harrowed characters;
  • Vampires take no wind damage from normal attacks in combat, but stil take wind from magical attacks and mental stress
  • A "killing" blow from a normal attack will put a Vampire out of action until he can heal his wounds
  • A Vampire makes a natural healing test once per day, but once per week for magical attacks, fire/acid attacks and damage taken from supernatural creatures
  • Removing a Vampires head will destroy it
  • The Protection Miracle affects Vampires, as do other similar Miracles
• Vampires are required to drink the blood of living creatures in order to survive;
  • The amount of blood required by a Vampire varies, Vampires under a year "old" need at least 2 pints of human blood every other day (or 4 pints of animal blood) - older Vampires can survive on 1 pint per month.
  • Vampires need fress blood, not dead blood and drinking the blood of Harrowed, Abominations, or corpses over 15 minutes old is very bad indeed, if this happens the Vampire will lapse into a temporary coma, taking d6 wind damage per turn until he is reduced to 0 wind and paralyzed, he recovers this wind at a rate of 1 per hour.
  • Drinking the blood of a diseased or drunk individual will impose the same condition on the Vampire until he next feeds, although fatal diseases will not kill a Vampire of course
  • If a Vampire drains a victim of more than half their total blood (if the victims wind falls to zero then carries on to it's negative limit) then the victim dies within 5 minutes, the Vampire may then feed the victim 2 pints (6 wind) of his own blood, thus creating a new Vampire, or "Progeny". E.g Victim has a wind total of 12, if a Vampire drains 24 wind and then feeds the victim 2 pints of his own vampiric blood then the victim becomes a Vampire
  • If a Vampire is denied blood then he will lose d4 wind per day over the limit, this can only be regained by drinking more blood. The vampire must also make a fair(5)Spirit roll every day, with a cumulative +2TN modifier every day, if this is failed then the Vampire must have blood then and there or he will die, this usually results in the Vampire rushing out onto the street and draining somebody in full public view, if he cannot get the blood he looses a further d4 wind on the spot. A Vampire reduced to zero wind in such way will die.
• Certain things will hurt a Vampire;
  • Vampires cannot tolerate sunlight, exposure to bright sunlight causes 1d6 wind damage per round and 1d12 damage to every exposed location. Normal daylight (i.e an overcast day) will sap a Vampire's wind at a rate of d4 per turn and it will take d6 damage to every exposed loacation every turn. Any Vampires reduced to their negative wind value in this way are destroyed
  • Water blessed by a holy man can harm a Vampire. If a litre of Holy Water is splashed over a Vampire it causes 3d10 damage, with wounds being applied to random locations (but do roll extra dice for hits to Noggin' and Vitals), much like acid burns humans. However, if the water is heated to above human body temperature before use then it is "distilled" and will not harm the Vampire
  • Fire will hurt a Vampire as much as it would hurt a normal creature, Vampires should avoid it at all costs. All Vampires have a Minor Phobia of Fire
  • Attacks by supernatural creatures such as Night Haunts will cause damage to Vampires, as will Magical Spells and attacks by Werewolves
  • All the above attacks also cause wind damage and heal much more slowly, a natural healing test is made every 5 days, not every day
• If a wooden stake is driven through the heart of a Vampire then he is paralysed and takes a maimed wound to the guts, this cannot be healed until the offending object is removed. Wooden arrows also have the same effect.
• Vampires can choose to rapidly regenerate "normal" wounds at a cost of 1 wind and one action per wound level per location, i.e a Vampire could regenerate a serious wound to his guts in 3 actions costing 3 wind, if he wished. Wind lost in this way returns at a rate of one per 5 minutes, maybe this seems quite a powerful ability but then again Eastern Vampires are not to be toyed with lightly.
• A Vampire cannot regenerate a lost limb
• Vampires can extend or contract their fangs at will, average fangs are about 1/2 inch long.
• Domestic animals do not like Vampires. Horses, cats, and dogs become agitated and upset at the presence of a Vampire, therefore Vampires suffer a -4 penalty to all Horse Riding, Teamster and Animal Handlin' tests.
• Vampires look pale and sligtly ill if they have not fed within the last 24 hours.
• Anybody who is fed on by a Vampire and then drinks of the Vampires blood will be bound to his new master. A Vampire may create a servant, or Ghoul, by feeding them one pint of their own blood per week. The "Ghoul" becomes the Vampires slave and will carry out their bidding (i.e, protect the Vampire during daylight hours
  • A Ghoul is loyal to his master to the point of death, commands can only be disobeyed on a Spirit(11) test
  • A person who becomes a Ghoul has their Strength and Vigor rise a step, their Smarts and Spirit drop a step however
  • If a Ghoul is denied the required pint of blood at the end of a week then he reverts back to normal after falling into a 24 hour long coma
  • Vampire's Ghouls are not affected by Protection, daylight e.t.c, they are still human
• Vampires must sleep at least 8 hours in every 32, they must sleep on their native soil, hence their tendancy to sleep in coffins full of dirt when they are abroad.
• Many Vampires are slightly mad. Some have paranoid delusions or behavioral quirks. Roll a d10 for a Vampiric PC or NPC and check the result;
  1. The Vampire has no quirk
  2. The Vampire has a Major Phobia of Crucifixes
  3. The Vampire refuses to cross running water, believing it will destroy him, he may cross a bridge over running water however
  4. The Vampire has a Major Phobia of fire
  5. The Vampire must take the Paranoia delusion, believing God is punishing him (which He is!)
  6. The Vampire has a Major Phobia of garlic
  7. The Vampire will only drink the blood of women, preferably young blonde virgins
  8. The Vampire will not walk on Holy ground, and will not enter churches
  9. The Vampire believes he will die if he doesn't sleep in a coffin
  10. Roll again twice!
• All Vampires can see in darkness as though it were twilight.
• Vampires do not physically age.
• One last rule, Vampires often posess Vampiric Powers which allow them to change into bats or move with superhuman quickness, these powers are detailed on the Vampiric Powers page

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So there you have it, use these rules for both PC Vampires and NPC's or Villains, they are by no means exhaustive or perfect so change or ignore them at your pleasure.

Thanks very much to Vampire the Masquerade RPG, Cyberpunk RPG, and various Websites I visited to gather information and graphics from!

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