can vampires drink beer? [Archive] - Wizards Community

can vampires drink beer? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
slayerdrag1
08-24-07, 09:23 AM i was wondering because i was going to have where this vampire npc is sitting at some tavern and is trying to be casual and look normal by drinking beer. I was wondering since the undead do not need a fort save, so can they drink beer and does it affect them or what?
Khadmus
08-24-07, 09:24 AM It could be assumed that vampires are immune to beer. It could also be assumed that a Bluff check to imitate intoxication would not be unreasonable.
theplaidknight
08-24-07, 09:33 AM If you want them to be able to get drunk, they can. If not, they can't. Their dependency on blood for sustenance opens all kinds of thematic doors. Yes, as undead they're technically immune to all its effects, but vampires don't actually have to be undead.
slayerdrag1
08-24-07, 09:40 AM If you want them to be able to get drunk, they can. If not, they can't. Their dependency on blood for sustenance opens all kinds of thematic doors. Yes, as undead they're technically immune to all its effects, but vampires don't actually have to be undead.

what do u mean that they dont actually have to be undead?
Thomar_of_Uointer
08-24-07, 09:50 AM what do u mean that they dont actually have to be undead?

He means it could depend on the individual DM's ruling, as vampires already need to drink to survive.

I rule that alcohol is a poison, and thus creatures immune to it (which vampires are) are not affected by it. Sure, he can drink, but he won't get drunk.
Rogue Shadows
08-24-07, 10:09 AM I usually run that vampires can drink beer, but not derrive any sustanence from it, nor suffer its ill effects. (Remember - beer is liquid bread!) Most vampires find the taste of beer, and indeed anything that isn't humanoid blood, abhorrant. If they were still alive, it would make them physically ill.

A very few vampires can actually still enjoy the taste of fine food and drink, however they still must pass it eventually, and sitting over a latrine is not something most vampires would want to do, nor is puking it up. Imagine Link Meier or Dracula or Strahd sitting over a toilet or hurling into it - not exactly very dignified, is it? Also, remember that most of this food would be mostly undigested.

A vampire who wants to get *drunk* must drink the blood of an intoxicated individual, then they can get drunk, too. Same deal for any sort of illegal herbage.

(You can tell I used to play Vampire: The Masquerade)
imakuni67
08-24-07, 10:11 AM He means it could depend on the individual DM's ruling, as vampires already need to drink to survive.

I rule that alcohol is a poison, and thus creatures immune to it (which vampires are) are not affected by it. Sure, he can drink, but he won't get drunk.

In the same vein, that's why Dwarves can drinking more before getting drunk.
Khatoblepas
08-24-07, 10:38 AM i was wondering because i was going to have where this vampire npc is sitting at some tavern and is trying to be casual and look normal by drinking beer. I was wondering since the undead do not need a fort save, so can they drink beer and does it affect them or what?

He doesn't need to get drunk at all. There are some kinds of drunk that act stone-cold sober and miserable when drunk. He can be one of them.

But it depends on whether he has problems with running water later on. If you know what I mean. :P

Can Vampires even do that? o_O
1 ton ghost
08-24-07, 11:19 AM you were serious?
um, given that they can drink blood, i'm sure it's possible. go w/ Bluff.
it's the processing of said drink that's problematic. Blood and EnrgyDrn power his negative energy/general nastiness and are assimilated into undead anatomy w/ spooky anatomics, etc. where's the beer go?

nice puddle after the gaseous form skips out on the tab...
baby_kamikaize_kobold
08-24-07, 11:26 AM nice puddle after the gaseous form skips out on the tab...

but if the booze is still there then he wouldn't be running out on it
ADHadh
08-24-07, 11:52 AM Hmm, think about converting Black Ribbon from Discworld to D&D. :p
metatheurgist
08-24-07, 01:24 PM A very few vampires can actually still enjoy the taste of fine food and drink, however they still must pass it eventually, and sitting over a latrine is not something most vampires would want to do, nor is puking it up. Imagine Link Meier or Dracula or Strahd sitting over a toilet or hurling into it - not exactly very dignified, is it? Also, remember that most of this food would be mostly undigested.

Blood is mostly water. It's also not a great source of nutrition so you have to take a lot of it. Vampire bats have to bloat themselves to get a meal and then spend a large amount of time relieving themselves after each meal to lose enough weight to fly. You don't read about vampires doing that.

In DnD I prefer to think that they eat lifeforce and the blood-drinking is just the physical act they use to do it. Maybe they don't actually swallow. :D

It really depends on your mythology. Some authors have vampires that eat, sleep and lust like normal people, they just have a craving for blood. Others have vampires that are supernatural creatures that can't process food of any sort and are totally emotionless and sexless. If you need your vampire to drink beer, then he drinks beer. There's no right or wrong answer.
caeruleus
08-24-07, 01:36 PM they still must pass it eventually, and sitting over a latrine is not something most vampires would want to do, nor is puking it up. Imagine Link Meier or Dracula or Strahd sitting over a toilet or hurling into it - not exactly very dignified, is it?

No need for them to do this.

nice puddle after the gaseous form skips out on the tab...

Given that they can turn gaseous at will, I'd say they can "relieve" themselves quite easily. ;)
Rogue Shadows
08-24-07, 05:04 PM No need for them to do this.

True, though it depends on your interpretation of vampires. My version of vampires still have metabolisms, it's just that those metabolisms *can't* process the blood of anything but humanoids.

Drinking blood can also cause a vampire's heart to beat and to warm their cold bodies, which is the main reason why vampires go after it, beyond simply sustanence: when a vampire is drinking and digesting blood, they feel *alive* again.
UnrelentingHoror
08-24-07, 09:42 PM Can't the vampire kind of purposefully waive his poison immunity if he wanted to get drunk?
Kind of like purposefully failing a saveing throw or when you choose to let a beneficial spell through your spell resistance.

Thats how I'd play it. Then again thats only cause thats how I got around poison immunity for a family of old money, deacadent, debauched, drug abuseing half-fiends and tieflings that I set up for an adventure.
:devil:

Of course this is all assumeing your world doesn't interpret vampirism as haveing certain quirks about it houseruled in. (haha I like masquerade too, but I don't necissarily always like haveing vampires be like that in every setting.)
Kurama Youko
08-25-07, 10:28 AM the fact that they don't have a fort save but still have a mouth and internal organs means they don't have to worry about getting poisoned/drunk, unless this beer it made from holy water then i don't see a problem.
1 ton ghost
08-25-07, 12:44 PM No Con as undead means no buzz. no living health physiology to metabolize alcohol. i would just say screw it as DM and let them sublimate it in their bodies somehow, or else it's gotta be expelled somewhere, sometime. could be embarassing for Strahd, Lestat, etc.

when the "human dies" many vital organs shrink back and atrophy as they are useless (liver, pancreas, lungs). Of course, other portions of anatomy become secondary as well; this can lead to "shrinkage" in male vampires post mortemly as they do not reproduce in the traditional manner. this ultimately speeds their transition to Chaotic Evil much faster given that they drew the short straw so to speak and are very bitter about an (un)lifetime of inadequacy. even to destory the offending member will only cause it to regenerate to symbolically laugh in their faces.
drinking alcohol won't help this eternal self-loathing go away, only blood...preferably the blood of virgins no less. i think this is perhaps due to their ignorance of said fiend's junk and love play at large. thus, the cycle repeats itself.
really, the supernatural mystique and poetic horror through the ages can be summed up in a Viagra commercial. sad really.
EvilVegan
08-25-07, 12:45 PM "I vant to suck your Bud!"

Bad jokes aside, the rules don't specify anything about them not being able to drink. They still have stomachs.

If you want to increase the complexity of vampires to match pop-culture or other systems where vampires are a central facet (aka "Vampire") then they can't drink or eat anything but blood without wanting to vomit. They can resist it, and there are traits where they can hold it in without vomitting, but they never metabolize it. They'd eventually have to purge it, orally or the other end (they don't have a working circulatory system so they wouldn't be able to urinate it out). I'd opt for orally, and without stomach acid / mucus that isn't as gross as it sounds.
hazhar
08-25-07, 01:24 PM I like the idea that a few vampires, perhaps ones viewed as kinda weird by their fellow bloodsuckers, might invest a lot of concentration and energy into being able to digest living humanoid food and drink. They wouldn't get any nutrition from it, it's more about "fitting in" with mainstream humanoid society. As for getting drunk... I'd say probably not.
1 ton ghost
08-25-07, 01:49 PM there's a Robert McCammon book called Under the Fang; a series of short stories about vampire domination on earth and the fallout that happens. recommended btw.

-washington monument is torn down (looks like a stake), white house is painted black and rose garden is wild thorns (scent is narcotic for them)
-human "dairy farms", 10% blood at local grocery, sales, etc.
-human resistance in polar regions where daylight is prevalent w/ vampire soldiers using polarized goggles and intensive SPF treatment (they get killed when humans employ thermite below the ice; melts ice, rains on vamps, washes off sunscreen and they bake in sunlight)

anyway...
the 2nd short is a basic night on the town scenario where Maverdies (main chrctr) goes to hook up w/ his boys at the bar. they can't drink/get high/etc., so they tether human junkies and lushes at the bar, you leave your $ w/ bar tender and receive a syringe: all human have shunts or intravenous ports usually between radial/ulnar bones at elbow. they keep the humans "loaded" w/ drugs/alcohol and alot of blood.
-humans get wasted, vamps pay to withdrawl their blood and in turn get wasted as they cannot drink alcohol, use X, blow, etc.
-the entertainment is essentially human pit fighters in a cage above the dance floor w/ razor studs, slashing implements. the drippings fall onto drunken vamps and the loser is typically respawned as a full vamp if he came from a good pedigree, fought well, and so on.
-vampire EMTs on staff to insure no vamps get too-crazy w/ the "stock", sustain fighters, etc.
-converted human buildings have black out curtains/drapes, all have incinerator access for "garbage disposal" etc. very progressive.
though they couldn't drink in the traditional sense, they led a very active nightlife assuming you can afford a human vassal.
Chosen_of_Hathor
08-25-07, 01:52 PM Actually I could tell...that was a very concise answer! :)
Thane26425
08-25-07, 02:43 PM "I vant to suck your Bud!"

Bad jokes aside, the rules don't specify anything about them not being able to drink. They still have stomachs.

If you want to increase the complexity of vampires to match pop-culture or other systems where vampires are a central facet (aka "Vampire") then they can't drink or eat anything but blood without wanting to vomit. They can resist it, and there are traits where they can hold it in without vomitting, but they never metabolize it. They'd eventually have to purge it, orally or the other end (they don't have a working circulatory system so they wouldn't be able to urinate it out). I'd opt for orally, and without stomach acid / mucus that isn't as gross as it sounds.

I use sort of the same rule. Vampires can eat normal food, but it causes discomfort and will eventually make the sick. Alcohol, on the other hand, makes them sick very quickly.

That isn't a problem because they get a "buzz" from feeding on someone whether that person is drunk or not.
CaoSlayer
08-25-07, 03:00 PM No way a vampire can drink beer!

A vampire only can drink: red wine, gaspacho (without garlic of course) , tomato juice or a bloody mary.
UnknownCorrespondent
08-25-07, 04:12 PM Three vampires walk into a bar. The first one says "I vant blood." The second says "Giff me blood." The third says "I'll haff ... plasma." The bartender says "Okay, let me get this straight - you want two bloods and a blood light." :rimshot:

Seriously - like everything else, vampires should drink at the speed of plot (i.e. whatever makes the best story). I tend to side with "can't metabolize beer, but could get a buzz from a drunk's blood" but YMMV.
Count Arioch the 28th
08-26-07, 08:40 AM In the 2E ravenloft supplement about Vampires, it says that vampires can eat human food, but they vomit it up in a few hours undigested.

Whatever you want to rule is fine, this is flavor text. But that's the only D&D source that I know of that talks about vampires eating and drinking normal food. (it just happnes ot be obscure.)
Thane26425
08-26-07, 12:23 PM In the 2E ravenloft supplement about Vampires, it says that vampires can eat human food, but they vomit it up in a few hours undigested.

Whatever you want to rule is fine, this is flavor text. But that's the only D&D source that I know of that talks about vampires eating and drinking normal food. (it just happnes ot be obscure.)

That would make sense. They might still have the anatomy (intestines), but being undead, they don't work anymore. So, it won't pass through meaning it has to come out the way it went in.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
slayerdrag1 08-24-07, 09:23 AM	i was wondering because i was going to have where this vampire npc is sitting at some tavern and is trying to be casual and look normal by drinking beer. I was wondering since the undead do not need a fort save, so can they drink beer and does it affect them or what?
Khadmus 08-24-07, 09:24 AM	It could be assumed that vampires are immune to beer. It could also be assumed that a Bluff check to imitate intoxication would not be unreasonable.
theplaidknight 08-24-07, 09:33 AM	If you want them to be able to get drunk, they can. If not, they can't. Their dependency on blood for sustenance opens all kinds of thematic doors. Yes, as undead they're technically immune to all its effects, but vampires don't actually have to be undead.
slayerdrag1 08-24-07, 09:40 AM	If you want them to be able to get drunk, they can. If not, they can't. Their dependency on blood for sustenance opens all kinds of thematic doors. Yes, as undead they're technically immune to all its effects, but vampires don't actually have to be undead. what do u mean that they dont actually have to be undead?
Thomar_of_Uointer 08-24-07, 09:50 AM	what do u mean that they dont actually have to be undead? He means it could depend on the individual DM's ruling, as vampires already need to drink to survive. I rule that alcohol is a poison, and thus creatures immune to it (which vampires are) are not affected by it. Sure, he can drink, but he won't get drunk.
Rogue Shadows 08-24-07, 10:09 AM	I usually run that vampires can drink beer, but not derrive any sustanence from it, nor suffer its ill effects. (Remember - beer is liquid bread!) Most vampires find the taste of beer, and indeed anything that isn't humanoid blood, abhorrant. If they were still alive, it would make them physically ill. A very few vampires can actually still enjoy the taste of fine food and drink, however they still must pass it eventually, and sitting over a latrine is not something most vampires would want to do, nor is puking it up. Imagine Link Meier or Dracula or Strahd sitting over a toilet or hurling into it - not exactly very dignified, is it? Also, remember that most of this food would be mostly undigested. A vampire who wants to get drunk must drink the blood of an intoxicated individual, then they can get drunk, too. Same deal for any sort of illegal herbage. (You can tell I used to play Vampire: The Masquerade)
imakuni67 08-24-07, 10:11 AM	He means it could depend on the individual DM's ruling, as vampires already need to drink to survive. I rule that alcohol is a poison, and thus creatures immune to it (which vampires are) are not affected by it. Sure, he can drink, but he won't get drunk. In the same vein, that's why Dwarves can drinking more before getting drunk.
Khatoblepas 08-24-07, 10:38 AM	i was wondering because i was going to have where this vampire npc is sitting at some tavern and is trying to be casual and look normal by drinking beer. I was wondering since the undead do not need a fort save, so can they drink beer and does it affect them or what? He doesn't need to get drunk at all. There are some kinds of drunk that act stone-cold sober and miserable when drunk. He can be one of them. But it depends on whether he has problems with running water later on. If you know what I mean. :P Can Vampires even do that? o_O
1 ton ghost 08-24-07, 11:19 AM	you were serious? um, given that they can drink blood, i'm sure it's possible. go w/ Bluff. it's the processing of said drink that's problematic. Blood and EnrgyDrn power his negative energy/general nastiness and are assimilated into undead anatomy w/ spooky anatomics, etc. where's the beer go? nice puddle after the gaseous form skips out on the tab...
baby_kamikaize_kobold 08-24-07, 11:26 AM	nice puddle after the gaseous form skips out on the tab... but if the booze is still there then he wouldn't be running out on it
ADHadh 08-24-07, 11:52 AM	Hmm, think about converting Black Ribbon from Discworld to D&D. :p
metatheurgist 08-24-07, 01:24 PM	A very few vampires can actually still enjoy the taste of fine food and drink, however they still must pass it eventually, and sitting over a latrine is not something most vampires would want to do, nor is puking it up. Imagine Link Meier or Dracula or Strahd sitting over a toilet or hurling into it - not exactly very dignified, is it? Also, remember that most of this food would be mostly undigested. Blood is mostly water. It's also not a great source of nutrition so you have to take a lot of it. Vampire bats have to bloat themselves to get a meal and then spend a large amount of time relieving themselves after each meal to lose enough weight to fly. You don't read about vampires doing that. In DnD I prefer to think that they eat lifeforce and the blood-drinking is just the physical act they use to do it. Maybe they don't actually swallow. :D It really depends on your mythology. Some authors have vampires that eat, sleep and lust like normal people, they just have a craving for blood. Others have vampires that are supernatural creatures that can't process food of any sort and are totally emotionless and sexless. If you need your vampire to drink beer, then he drinks beer. There's no right or wrong answer.
caeruleus 08-24-07, 01:36 PM	they still must pass it eventually, and sitting over a latrine is not something most vampires would want to do, nor is puking it up. Imagine Link Meier or Dracula or Strahd sitting over a toilet or hurling into it - not exactly very dignified, is it? No need for them to do this. nice puddle after the gaseous form skips out on the tab... Given that they can turn gaseous at will, I'd say they can "relieve" themselves quite easily. ;)
Rogue Shadows 08-24-07, 05:04 PM	No need for them to do this. True, though it depends on your interpretation of vampires. My version of vampires still have metabolisms, it's just that those metabolisms can't process the blood of anything but humanoids. Drinking blood can also cause a vampire's heart to beat and to warm their cold bodies, which is the main reason why vampires go after it, beyond simply sustanence: when a vampire is drinking and digesting blood, they feel alive again.
UnrelentingHoror 08-24-07, 09:42 PM	Can't the vampire kind of purposefully waive his poison immunity if he wanted to get drunk? Kind of like purposefully failing a saveing throw or when you choose to let a beneficial spell through your spell resistance. Thats how I'd play it. Then again thats only cause thats how I got around poison immunity for a family of old money, deacadent, debauched, drug abuseing half-fiends and tieflings that I set up for an adventure. :devil: Of course this is all assumeing your world doesn't interpret vampirism as haveing certain quirks about it houseruled in. (haha I like masquerade too, but I don't necissarily always like haveing vampires be like that in every setting.)
Kurama Youko 08-25-07, 10:28 AM	the fact that they don't have a fort save but still have a mouth and internal organs means they don't have to worry about getting poisoned/drunk, unless this beer it made from holy water then i don't see a problem.
1 ton ghost 08-25-07, 12:44 PM	No Con as undead means no buzz. no living health physiology to metabolize alcohol. i would just say screw it as DM and let them sublimate it in their bodies somehow, or else it's gotta be expelled somewhere, sometime. could be embarassing for Strahd, Lestat, etc. when the "human dies" many vital organs shrink back and atrophy as they are useless (liver, pancreas, lungs). Of course, other portions of anatomy become secondary as well; this can lead to "shrinkage" in male vampires post mortemly as they do not reproduce in the traditional manner. this ultimately speeds their transition to Chaotic Evil much faster given that they drew the short straw so to speak and are very bitter about an (un)lifetime of inadequacy. even to destory the offending member will only cause it to regenerate to symbolically laugh in their faces. drinking alcohol won't help this eternal self-loathing go away, only blood...preferably the blood of virgins no less. i think this is perhaps due to their ignorance of said fiend's junk and love play at large. thus, the cycle repeats itself. really, the supernatural mystique and poetic horror through the ages can be summed up in a Viagra commercial. sad really.
EvilVegan 08-25-07, 12:45 PM	"I vant to suck your Bud!" Bad jokes aside, the rules don't specify anything about them not being able to drink. They still have stomachs. If you want to increase the complexity of vampires to match pop-culture or other systems where vampires are a central facet (aka "Vampire") then they can't drink or eat anything but blood without wanting to vomit. They can resist it, and there are traits where they can hold it in without vomitting, but they never metabolize it. They'd eventually have to purge it, orally or the other end (they don't have a working circulatory system so they wouldn't be able to urinate it out). I'd opt for orally, and without stomach acid / mucus that isn't as gross as it sounds.
hazhar 08-25-07, 01:24 PM	I like the idea that a few vampires, perhaps ones viewed as kinda weird by their fellow bloodsuckers, might invest a lot of concentration and energy into being able to digest living humanoid food and drink. They wouldn't get any nutrition from it, it's more about "fitting in" with mainstream humanoid society. As for getting drunk... I'd say probably not.
1 ton ghost 08-25-07, 01:49 PM	there's a Robert McCammon book called Under the Fang; a series of short stories about vampire domination on earth and the fallout that happens. recommended btw. -washington monument is torn down (looks like a stake), white house is painted black and rose garden is wild thorns (scent is narcotic for them) -human "dairy farms", 10% blood at local grocery, sales, etc. -human resistance in polar regions where daylight is prevalent w/ vampire soldiers using polarized goggles and intensive SPF treatment (they get killed when humans employ thermite below the ice; melts ice, rains on vamps, washes off sunscreen and they bake in sunlight) anyway... the 2nd short is a basic night on the town scenario where Maverdies (main chrctr) goes to hook up w/ his boys at the bar. they can't drink/get high/etc., so they tether human junkies and lushes at the bar, you leave your $ w/ bar tender and receive a syringe: all human have shunts or intravenous ports usually between radial/ulnar bones at elbow. they keep the humans "loaded" w/ drugs/alcohol and alot of blood. -humans get wasted, vamps pay to withdrawl their blood and in turn get wasted as they cannot drink alcohol, use X, blow, etc. -the entertainment is essentially human pit fighters in a cage above the dance floor w/ razor studs, slashing implements. the drippings fall onto drunken vamps and the loser is typically respawned as a full vamp if he came from a good pedigree, fought well, and so on. -vampire EMTs on staff to insure no vamps get too-crazy w/ the "stock", sustain fighters, etc. -converted human buildings have black out curtains/drapes, all have incinerator access for "garbage disposal" etc. very progressive. though they couldn't drink in the traditional sense, they led a very active nightlife assuming you can afford a human vassal.
Chosen_of_Hathor 08-25-07, 01:52 PM	Actually I could tell...that was a very concise answer! :)
Thane26425 08-25-07, 02:43 PM	"I vant to suck your Bud!" Bad jokes aside, the rules don't specify anything about them not being able to drink. They still have stomachs. If you want to increase the complexity of vampires to match pop-culture or other systems where vampires are a central facet (aka "Vampire") then they can't drink or eat anything but blood without wanting to vomit. They can resist it, and there are traits where they can hold it in without vomitting, but they never metabolize it. They'd eventually have to purge it, orally or the other end (they don't have a working circulatory system so they wouldn't be able to urinate it out). I'd opt for orally, and without stomach acid / mucus that isn't as gross as it sounds. I use sort of the same rule. Vampires can eat normal food, but it causes discomfort and will eventually make the sick. Alcohol, on the other hand, makes them sick very quickly. That isn't a problem because they get a "buzz" from feeding on someone whether that person is drunk or not.
CaoSlayer 08-25-07, 03:00 PM	No way a vampire can drink beer! A vampire only can drink: red wine, gaspacho (without garlic of course) , tomato juice or a bloody mary.
UnknownCorrespondent 08-25-07, 04:12 PM	Three vampires walk into a bar. The first one says "I vant blood." The second says "Giff me blood." The third says "I'll haff ... plasma." The bartender says "Okay, let me get this straight - you want two bloods and a blood light." :rimshot: Seriously - like everything else, vampires should drink at the speed of plot (i.e. whatever makes the best story). I tend to side with "can't metabolize beer, but could get a buzz from a drunk's blood" but YMMV.
Count Arioch the 28th 08-26-07, 08:40 AM	In the 2E ravenloft supplement about Vampires, it says that vampires can eat human food, but they vomit it up in a few hours undigested. Whatever you want to rule is fine, this is flavor text. But that's the only D&D source that I know of that talks about vampires eating and drinking normal food. (it just happnes ot be obscure.)
Thane26425 08-26-07, 12:23 PM	In the 2E ravenloft supplement about Vampires, it says that vampires can eat human food, but they vomit it up in a few hours undigested. Whatever you want to rule is fine, this is flavor text. But that's the only D&D source that I know of that talks about vampires eating and drinking normal food. (it just happnes ot be obscure.) That would make sense. They might still have the anatomy (intestines), but being undead, they don't work anymore. So, it won't pass through meaning it has to come out the way it went in.