Post/Author/DateTime	Post
criticalstriker 06-21-07, 10:18 AM	I never liked the way Vampires or Werewolves were handled in D&D, so I decided to make my own template for them. I've never actually made a template, so there might be some errors. Feel free to point any out. Vampire: Moving through the night, they strike down the unwary, sucking the blood of mortals, turning them into fellow creatures of the night, or into mindless pawns, these are the hunters of man. These are the Nosferatu, the Vampires. LA: 2 +1 at every sixth level. Alignment: A vampires alignment doesn't change after he was bitten. Weakness to the sun: When exposed to the sun, a vampires skin quickly begins to burn away. He takes 5D8 damage every round that he is exposed to raw sunlight. This damage is taken away on days that the sun is hidden behind clouds. This is fire damage. This is considered fire damage. This damage bypasses all immunities and resistances to fire. Blood sucking: A vampires most well known ability, or curse rather, is that it must feed on the blood of humanoids in order to maintain its prowess. To do this(to an unwilling victim), the vampire must make a grapple check, then pin the target. After this, the target takes 1D8 damage per round, and the vampire heals 1D8 damage per round, as he sucks the blood out of the victim. If he completely drains a victim (reduce his hitpoints to -10, as a result of sucking), the victim will become a mindless zombie in 2D4 hours. A vampire can control double his hitdice in zombies at any one time. Weakness to garlic: A vampires body is allergic to all forms of garlic. If any garlic is rubbed on him, he develops a rash(-1 to all skill checks, -2 to concentration checks). If it is ingested he takes 1D6 damage, and his regeneration abilities are cut in half. If a vampire is submerged in garlic, they go into a comatose state, and won't wake up until 1 week after they were submerged. Weakness to fire: Vampires take double damage from non-magical fire. This damage does not stack with sun damage. Weakness to silver: A vampire takes 1.5 damage from anything made of silver, it burns them. Turning/rebuking and holy symbols: A vampire, due to it walking the line between undead and living, is not vulnerable to turning/rebuking. They still take damage as an undead for the purposes of holy water and holy effects. While in the presence of a holy symbol of a god of the opposite alignment, a vampire becomes annoyed and irritable. If a symbol of the opposite alignment touches them, they take 1D6 holy(or unholy) damage per round. Blood dependency: A vampire can only survive by taking the blood of its victim. Refer to the chart below to determine what happens as he goes time with or without blood. The vampire can choose to make this process painless, as when he transforms, he develops glands that produce a numbing agent. A vampire can, however, suppress this ability to make it painful. Full, Example: Has just drank 4 HP worth of blood. At this stage, the vampire retains all his normal abilities. Moderate, Example: A day since he has fed The Vampire gains -1 to all stats. And he loses his ability to turn into a bat. Hungry, Example: Has gone 3 days without feeding. He loses all transformation abilities, gains -3 to all stats, and his sun damage is increased by 2D8. Starving, Example: Has gone 6 days without feeding. He loses all super natural abilities, and gains -6 to all stats, and his sun damage increases by 4D8. The vampire takes no more penalties after this stage. Claws: The vampire now grows claws that deal the same damage as a short sword of his size category would. These are treated as natural weapons. Stealth: A vampire, by nature, has an ability to move undetected through the night. He now gains a +10 to move silently and hide when in darkness. Stat bonus: At first level, and every three levels after the the character was turned into a vampire, he gains +2 to dex and str. Speed bonus: Starting from the time the character is first bit, he gains +10 movement speed. This increases by +10 at every 4th level after the bite. Animal form: At fourth level the vampire can assume the shape of a wolf, or bat, as if by the polymorph spell at will. Using this ability does not heal the character. Immortality: Starting at the 6th level after a vampire was bitten, other than being put into raw daylight, or having a stake driven into their heart, a vampire simply will not die. They will regrow all lost body parts, regenerate entire heads, even grow an entirely new body. They no longer suffer the negative effects of aging. Fast healing: Starting at the third level with after the vampire was bitten with +1, and progression by +1 for every 4 levels after that, the vampire's body regenerates remarkably fast, they gain the fast healing ability. Embrace of the vampire: At the 10th level after the vampire was bitten they gain the following ability: This ability is what allows vampires to spread, and populate. A vampire cannot breed without taking the blood of a mortal, then injecting a poison into them by their fangs. A vampire can do this by(if the victim is unwilling), making a grapple, then pin, check. After the victim is pinned, the vampire bites the neck of the victim and they must make a fortitude save (DC 10+ the amount of levels the vampire got after being turned into a vampire), or contract the vampires disease. It takes three days for the vampires disease to kick into full effect after the initial bite, after which there is no going back. If a remove curse is cast on the victim while he is still within the three day limit, they are cured of the disease. If a vampire embraces a pregnant humanoid, the child of this humanoid will become a vampire. Horrors of the night, beings of ancient untold powers, these ancient vampires are truly the things of nightmares. Requirements: To qualify as an ancient vampire, a regular vampire needs to meet the following requirements: Has been a vampire for at least 100 years, and has gained at least 10 levels since it was bitten. Stat bonuses: An ancient vampire gains stat increases at the same rate as a regular vampire. Speed bonuses: An ancient vampire gains speed bonuses at the same rate as a regular vampire. Weaknesses: An ancient vampire is much more resistant to the things that traditionally hurt vampires. They no longer are effected by garlic, holy symbol's, or silver. They now reduce the amount of damage the sun deals to 1D4. They can ignore sun damage all together if they wear clothing that hides their skin, or go out on days that the sun is hidden. Shape changing: After 4 levels as an ancient vampire, the ancient can, as an immediate action, turn into mist. Or as a standard action, take the shape of other people of his race. While in mist form, the ancient vampire cannot be damaged by any weapons, area of effect spells deal half damage to him, and he can fly at a speed of 20 feet per round. His ability to turn into other people works as Alter Self. Blood dependency: An ancient vampire does not need to feed near as much as their lesser kin. Full, Example: Has just drank 4 HP worth of blood. At this stage, the ancient vampire retains all his normal abilities. Moderate, Example: A week since he has fed The ancient vampire gains -1 to all stats. And he loses his ability to turn into a bat. Hungry, Example: Has gone 3 weeks without feeding. He loses all transformation abilities, gains -3 to all stats, and his sun damage is increased by 1D4. Starving, Example: Has gone 6 weeks without feeding. He loses all super natural abilities, and gains -6 to all stats, and his sun damage increases by 4D4. An ancient vampire can control 4 times his HD in zombies. Domination: An ancient vampire can control of minds of lesser beings. He can use dominate(as per the spell) a number of times equal to 1 + his cha modifier. The save DC for this is 10 + the vampires level + his cha modifier. Memory Probe: An ancient vampire can simply rip the answers he wishes from the minds of his targets. 2 levels after become an ancient vampire, he can use the Mind Probe power a number of times per day equal to 1 + his cha modifier. The save DC for this is 10 + his level + his cha modifier His effective manifester level for the number of rounds he can use this is equal to his level. Steal Soul: An ancient vampire can rip the soul from weaker beings when he sucks blood from them, these souls each give him an increased amount of power. Starting 5 levels after becoming an ancient vampire, he can attempt to suck the soul out of the target. To do this, he must first successfully disable the target, and drain at least 4 points of HP from him. After he does this, he and the target must make opposed will checks. If the vampire succeeds, he sucks the soul from the body of the target, and the target instantly dies. If the target succeeds, his soul remains and the vampire cannot attempt to remove it again for 6 months. If the vampire successfully draws out the soul, he gains a stat bonus equal to 1/4th(to a minimum of one) the level of the one he drained. He also gains all receives all memories of the target, everything from the targets favorite childhood area, to where his home is. The target of this cannot be raised as long as his soul is within the vampire. The only way to remove the soul, is to kill the vampire. Werewolf: Moving through moon lit forests or towns, unspeakable abominations of nature lurk. Moving faster than a horse, striking with more strength than a bear, and shredding all those that would dare stand in its way. These are the Lycan, these are Werewolves. LA: 2 +1 at every sixth level Alignment: A vampires alignment doesn't change after he was bitten. Bite of the werewolf: Starting at the 10th level after the character was bit, if a werewolf bites a humanoid creature, then the character must make a DC (10+ the amount of levels after the character was bitten) or catch the disease. They will not turn, or gain any of the benefits, until after the full moon. If they see their first moon, they are turned permanently into werewolves, and may never go back. If a remove curse is cast before the full moon, the disease is cured. Weakness to silver: A werewolf takes double damage from silver. Rage of the beast: Within every werewolf, lays a primal beast, one that is constantly struggling to break free. If the werewolf ever feels insulted, or threatened, they must make a DC (10 +moon cycle) will save, or fly into a rage. During a rage a werewolf attacks what ever made it angry, head on, with no use of common sense or logic. Damage Reduction: Werewolves are the ultimate killing machines, they gain 1 DR/silver for every 3 levels after they were bitten. Claws: A werewolf in hybrid form has a set of brutal claws. They deal damage as a longsword of the creatures size would, and are treated as natural weapons. Forms and cycles: The amount of strength, speed, and self control a werewolf has depends on the form he is in (Humanoid, Hybrid, or Animal), and the cycle of the moon(full, half, quarter). Forms: Humanoid form: While in their humanoid form, a werewolf gain +2 strength, dexterity, and +5 movement per two levels after they were bitten. In this form, other than their increase strength and speed, they are not recognizable from a normal creature of their species. Hybrid form: While in their Hybrid form, their strongest form, they gains +4 strength, dexterity, and +10 to their movement speed per four levels after they were bitten. A werewolf in this form looks 2ft taller than normal, is completely covered in dog-like fur, has glistening red eyes, and, of course, claws. Animal form: While in their wolf form, a werewolf gains +2 strength, dexterity, and +5 movement per two levels after they were bitten. A werewolf does not appear different from any other wolf, aside from a spark of intelligence in their eye. A werewolf in this form is treated as a creature polymorphed into a wolf. Cycles: During a full moon, a character gains +4 to strength, -4 wisdom, in all forms, and a +20 to movement speed in all forms. The DC to resist rage is +10 during a full moon. Half moon: During a half moon a character gains +2 strength, -2 wisdom, in all forms, and a +10 movement speed in all forms. The DC to resist rage is +5 during a half moon. Quarter moon: During a quarter moon a character has no bonuses to strength and speed, and no negatives to wisdom. Half-blood: Formed from a vampire embracing a pregnant werewolf, these creatures have the powers of their parents, and lack many of the weaknesses. They are strong as oxen, stealthy as a cat, and have claws more lethal than a bear. LA: 5 +1 at every sixth level. A Half Blood has all the abilities appropriate for a vampire, and werewolf of their level, with the exceptions noted below. A Half-Blood only takes 1D4 damage per round from being in the sun, this damage is negated should the Half-Blood wear thick clothing, or the sun be covered by clouds. A half-blood uses the werewolves stat progression. A Half-Blood uses a vampires claw attack, instead of a werewolves.
vegetalss4 06-21-07, 10:30 AM	these are overpowered
suparman999 06-21-07, 10:32 AM	That's why they're templates. A template can be overpowered. And besides, it's not even really overpowered.
RobbyPants 06-21-07, 10:43 AM	At this point, I'll review the vampire template. If I have time, I'll look at the next two later. :) To give you a bit of background, I've worked on my own modified vampire template (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=708607), so this gives you an idea of how I've always viewed vampires. Feel free to use it for whatever ideas you may or may not like. Now, onto your creation! :D Vampire: Moving through the night, they strike down the unwary, sucking the blood of mortals, turning them into fellow creatures of the night, or into mindless pawns, these are the hunters of man. These are the Nosferatu, the Vampires. LA: 2 Weakness to the sun: When exposed to the sun, a vampires skin quickly begins to burn away. He takes 5D8 damage every round that he is exposed to raw sunlight. This damage is taken away on days that the sun is hidden behind clouds. This is similar to what I do. I've always liked the idea of doing damage rather than instant death. One thing you might want to clarify: what type of damage is it? Is it fire? Is it holy? Is it typeless? Fire damage makes a lot of sense, but you run the risk of vampires with fire immunity just walking around all willy-nilly in the sun. What I do is make half of it fire (which can be resisted), and the other half holy (which can't). Blood sucking: A vampires most well known ability, or curse rather, is that it must feed on the blood of humanoids in order to maintain its prowess. To do this(to an unwilling victim), the vampire must make a grapple check, then pin the target. After this, the target takes 1D8 damage per round, and the vampire heals 1D8 damage per round, as he sucks the blood out of the victim. If he completely drains a victim (reduce his hitpoints to -10, as a result of sucking), the victim will become a mindless zombie in 2D4 hours. A vampire can control double his hitdice in zombies at any one time. I guess using HP can work, but I've always prefred the mechanic of causing Con damage. I'm not sure I'm a big fan of the zombie creation, but I guess it will go a ways to lowering the LA of the vampire. Out of curiosity, how are new vampires made? Blood dependency: A vampire can only survive by taking the blood of its victim. Refer to the chart below to determine what happens as he goes time with or without blood. The vampire can choose to make this process painless, as when he transforms, he develops glands that produce a numbing agent. A vampire can, however, suppress this ability to make it painful. Full, Example: Has just drank 2 gallons of blood. At this stage, the vampire retains all his normal abilities. Moderate, Example: A day since he has fed The Vampire gains -1 to all stats. And he loses his ability to turn into a bat. Hungry, Example: Has gone 3 days without feeding. He loses all transformation abilities, gains -3 to all stats, and his sun damage is increased by 2D8. Starving, Example: Has gone 6 days without feeding. He loses all super natural abilities, and gains -6 to all stats, and his sun damage increases by 4D8. The vampire takes no more penalties after this stage. I like that you've taken time to spell this all out. It's one of the problems I have with the MM version. I also like that they can opt to make it painless. It's one of those things I've always assumed, but never wrote down (*runs off to modify own template! :P *). One issue you may run into with volume and feeding is size. How much do large vampires need to survive? You might reach a good approximation by perhaps doubling per size category (or halving for smaller sizes). Claws: The vampire now grows claws that deal the same damage as a short sword of his size category would. These are treated as natural weapons. This isn't a bad idea. It certainly adds a more feral look to them (which holds true to many sources). I've stuck with the slam, but this adds a different flavor. Stealth: A vampire, by nature, is ability to move undetected through the night. He now gains a +10 to move silently and hide when in darkness. One other option you could do is to allow them to take 10 on Hide and Move Silently, even when distracted, and let them move at full speed. It might be more poweful than a flat +10 bonus. Either way, this will serve to make them very stealthy! Stat bonus: At first level, and every three levels after the the character was turned into a vampire, he gains +2 to dex and str. I've always liked the idea of vampires being stronger and faster. I also like how you progress this gradually. My only concern is that a vampire like this will quickly outrun the LA +2 level adjustment rating you gave them. Speed bonus: Starting from the time the character is first bit, he gains +10 movement speed. This increases by +10 at every 4th level after the bite. This is cool too. In mine, I give them a flat 10-foot bonus once, after they've gained so many hit dice. Personally, I don't think they need more than a single 10-foot boost. Animal form: At fourth level the vampire can assume the shape of a wolf, or bat, as if by the polymorph spell at will. Using this ability does not heal the character. This ability always adds nice flavor, and even some utility. Immortality: Starting at the 6th level after a vampire was bitten, other than being put into raw daylight, or having a stake driven into their heart, simply will not die. They will regrow all lost body parts, regenerate entire heads, even grow an entirely new body. They no longer suffer the negative effects of aging. Are your vampires not undead? The aging aspect would be covered alread if they're undead. Fast healing: Starting at the third level with after the vampire was bitten with +1, and progression by +1 for every 4 levels after that, the vampire's body regenerates remarkably fast, they gain the fast healing ability. Again, I like the progression here. Although, as mentioned before, you might run into problems keeping it at LA +2. Embrace of the vampire: At the 10th level after the vampire was bitten they gain the following ability: This ability is what allows vampires to spread, and populate. A vampire cannot breed without taking the blood of a mortal, then injecting a poison into them by their fangs. A vampire can do this by(if the victim is unwilling), making a grapple, then pin, check. After the victim is pinned, the vampire bites the neck of the victim and they must make a fortitude save (DC 10+ the amount of levels the vampire got after being turned into a vampire), or contract the vampires disease. It takes three days for the vampires disease to kick into full effect after the initial bite, after which there is no going back. If a remove curse is cast on the victim while he is still within the three day limit, they are cured of the disease. Well, I guess this answers my questions about vampires reproducing from earlier! :) This isn't something I've worked into my own games, but I do like the flavor. I've seen this done in several movies. A few notes of my own: Do vampires get a natural armor boost to their AC? I didn't see one, but keeping it off keeps them at a lower LA. Do they require coffins? If so, what happens if they don't get proper rest one day? I'm assuming you wanted to remove such abilities as Dominate and Gaseous Form? This isn't a bad idea, espescially if you want them weaker. Alternatly, you could create two seperate templates: one for younger vampires (perhaps under 100 years old?) and one for older ones, with more powers. This could keep vampires "playable", while allowing you the ability to make high level NPCs. The scaling nature of your template runs into the same LA problems as mine: a single flat LA rating is insufficient. You might need a base LA at 1st level, that increases every 3 or 6 levels. Just eyeballing the template, perhaps a good starting point is LA +2 at 1st - 5th level, with an additional +1 every 6 levels. Anyway, nice work! :D I always like reading peoples interpretations of vampires, and often get ideas for how I want to run my own. As I've already noted, I've found one thing here that I want to include in my own. If I have time, I'll take a close look at the other two.
criticalstriker 06-21-07, 11:18 AM	these are overpowered ... Uh.. Could you be a little more specific? This is similar to what I do. I've always liked the idea of doing damage rather than instant death. One thing you might want to clarify: what type of damage is it? Is it fire? Is it holy? Is it typeless? Fire damage makes a lot of sense, but you run the risk of vampires with fire immunity just walking around all willy-nilly in the sun. What I do is make half of it fire (which can be resisted), and the other half holy (which can't). Thank you for pointing this out, I'll modify it to state that its fire damage. This is cool too. In mine, I give them a flat 10-foot bonus once, after they've gained so many hit dice. Personally, I don't think they need more than a single 10-foot boost. I've just always liked the idea of extremely fast vampires :P Are your vampires not undead? The aging aspect would be covered alread if they're undead. They are somewhere between undead and living. Their bodies still function enough to create natural venoms and numbing agents, but they are still dead enough to render them immune to CON damage and such. # Do vampires get a natural armor boost to their AC? I didn't see one, but keeping it off keeps them at a lower LA. No, they don't. Do they require coffins? If so, what happens if they don't get proper rest one day? No, a vampire does not need any sort of coffin, they sleep the same way a human would. I'm assuming you wanted to remove such abilities as Dominate and Gaseous Form? This isn't a bad idea, espescially if you want them weaker. Alternatly, you could create two seperate templates: one for younger vampires (perhaps under 100 years old?) and one for older ones, with more powers. This could keep vampires "playable", while allowing you the ability to make high level NPCs. I kind of like this idea, one template for ancient vampires. The scaling nature of your template runs into the same LA problems as mine: a single flat LA rating is insufficient. You might need a base LA at 1st level, that increases every 3 or 6 levels. Just eyeballing the template, perhaps a good starting point is LA +2 at 1st - 5th level, with an additional +1 every 6 levels. Once again, I like this idea, I'll implement this.
criticalstriker 06-21-07, 11:50 AM	I just realized this should probably be in Monsters Lair... A mod should probably move it o_O Sorry.
RobbyPants 06-21-07, 12:19 PM	Werewolf: Moving through moon lit forests or towns, unspeakable abominations of nature lurk. Moving faster than a horse, striking with more strength than a bear, and shredding all those that would dare stand in its way. These are the Lycan, these are Werewolves. LA: 2 +1 at every sixth level Bite of the werewolf: Starting at the 10th level after the character was bit, if a werewolf bites a humanoid creature, then the character must make a DC (10+ the amount of levels after the character was bitten) or catch the disease. They will not turn, or gain any of the benefits, until after the full moon. If they see their first moon, they are turned permanently into werewolves, and may never go back. If a remove curse is cast before the full moon, the disease is cured. The only thing I would change here is the save DC. I'd make it 10 + 1/2 the biter's HD + the biter's Con mod. This is closer to how WotC sets the DCs for monster's abilities. Rage of the beast: Within every werewolf, lays a primal beast, one that is constantly struggling to break free. If the werewolf ever feels insulted, or threatened, they must make a DC (10 +moon cycle) will save, or fly into a rage. Not bad. The only thing is to decide is, what exactly happens during a rage? Damage Reduction: Werewolves are the ultimate killing machines, they gain 1 DR/silver for every 3 levels after they were bitten. Nice. Again (from the vampire comments), I like the scaling. Claws: A werewolf in hybrid form has a set of brutal claws. They deal damage as a longsword of the creatures size would, and are treated as natural weapons. I guess I would have scaled the damage back a big, but it's not the end of the world. Forms and cycles: The amount of strength, speed, and self control a werewolf has depends on the form he is in (Humanoid, Hybrid, or Animal), and the cycle of the moon(full, half, quarter). Forms: Humanoid form: While in their humanoid form, a werewolf gain +1 strength, dexterity, and +5 movement per two levels after they were bitten. In this form, other than their increase strength and speed, they are not recognizable from a normal creature of their species. A bit nitpicky, but I'm not a fan of odd-numbered ability bonuses. I'd reccomend chaning the Str and Dex to +2 for every four levels. This works out the same in the end, without the 50-50% increase at those odd-bonus levels. Although, I don't know that I'd change their humanoid stats at all, but that's just me. Hybrid form: While in their Hybrid form, their strongest form, they gains +3 strength, + 2 dexterity, and +10 to their movement speed per two levels after they were bitten. A werewolf in this form looks 2ft taller than normal, is completely covered in dog-like fur, has glistening red eyes, and, of course, claws. See above comment on odd-numbered abilities. Animal form: While in their wolf form, a werewolf gains +1 strength, dexterity, and +5 movement per two levels after they were bitten. A werewolf does not appear different from any other wolf, aside from a spark of intelligence in their eye. A werewolf in this form is treated as a creature polymorphed into a wolf. See above comment on odd-numbered abilities. Cycles: During a full moon, a character gains +4 to strength, -4 wisdom, in all forms, and a +20 to movement speed in all forms. The DC to resist rage is +10 during a full moon. Half moon: During a half moon a character gains +2 strength, -2 wisdom, in all forms, and a +10 movement speed in all forms. The DC to resist rage is +5 during a half moon. Quarter moon: During a quarter moon a character has no bonuses to strength and speed, and no negatives to wisdom. I like the moon cycle affecting their stats. I don't know that I'd have it affect their humanoid stats, but rather, just their hybrid (and possibley animal) form. All in all, nice work. :)
criticalstriker 06-21-07, 12:49 PM	The only thing I would change here is the save DC. I'd make it 10 + 1/2 the biter's HD + the biter's Con mod. This is closer to how WotC sets the DCs for monster's abilities. I might do that. Not bad. The only thing is to decide is, what exactly happens during a rage? They will attack whatever sent them into that rage, head on, they wont use common sense or logic. Its sort of similar to a barbarians rage. It lasts a minute. I guess I would have scaled the damage back a big, but it's not the end of the world. The reason the damage from the claws is so high is because of my vision of a werewolf. Basically an unstoppable killing machine. A bit nitpicky, but I'm not a fan of odd-numbered ability bonuses. I'd reccomend chaning the Str and Dex to +2 for every four levels. This works out the same in the end, without the 50-50% increase at those odd-bonus levels. Although, I don't know that I'd change their humanoid stats at all, but that's just me. I was actually thinking about that as I wrote that down. the only thing is, +2 seems too high to give in human form, and I would have to boost +3 to +4 in hybrid, which would again make it a little to strong. I like the moon cycle affecting their stats. I don't know that I'd have it affect their humanoid stats, but rather, just their hybrid (and possibley animal) form. Werewolves(once again in my vision of them), are effected by the moon equally in all their forms. They draw their raw power from it. All in all, nice work. Thanks :D
RobbyPants 06-21-07, 01:05 PM	I was actually thinking about that as I wrote that down. the only thing is, +2 seems too high to give in human form, and I would have to boost +3 to +4 in hybrid, which would again make it a little to strong. The trick is to give them double the bonus half as often. It evens out in the end, but it doesn't grant odd numbered bonuses. The idea is it would look something like this: Old Progression New Progression Level Bonus Level Bonus __________________________________ 1-2 +1 1-4 +2 3-4 +2 5-8 +4 5-6 +3 9-12 +6 7-8 +4 13-16 +8 9-10 +5 17-20 +10 11-12 +6 13-14 +7 15-16 +8 17-18 +9 19-20 +10 So, it ends up the same at every forth level, but it progresses half as often, at double the rate.
criticalstriker 06-21-07, 10:12 PM	Okay, I updated the templates with some new things.
Ganuth 06-22-07, 09:42 PM	The Templates are pretty good, though maybe a little powerful considering they get + 12 to both str and dex at 18th lvl. with a total of a 5 LA. i suggest making + 2 LA every 6th level. also maybe adding a + 2 bonus to cha with the str and dex to show that they are getting more socially apt at getting into sittuations where they can get their victims blood without alerting a lot of people. One question i have is how will the player know he has gained 2 gallons of blodd in the last day?
criticalstriker 06-22-07, 11:36 PM	Hmm... I guess when he has inflicted 4 points of damage.
RobbyPants 06-23-07, 10:16 PM	Hmm... I guess when he has inflicted 4 points of damage. The way I did it was to have the vampires inflict 1d4 Con damage. All they needed was to get 4 points per day to be satisfied. This worked with with the traditional image I had with them killing someone in three days. If you figure an average person having a Con of 10, then the progression goes like this: Day 1: Take 4 Con damage (10 to 6) Day 2: Heal one point (6 to 7) Day 2: Take 4 Con damage (7 to 3) Day 3: Heal one point (3 to 4) Day 3: Take 4 Con damage (4 to 0)
Mai_ariti 06-24-07, 11:32 AM	I really like these vampire stats. criticalstriker: you play Vampire the Masqurade and the other World of Darkness things don't you? You haven't, I don't think, covered alignment, are you going to require evil Vampires and CE Were-wolves or are you allowing variation? I'd have to agree with RobbyPants on the Level progression things: they are fairly close to how things like Animal Companions progress and no one argues those are overpowered. The only thing I would advise is a cap on most of the things like DR and movement speed with "Racial Feats" to increase it beyond that, to make the LA a bit more fair. Personally, I think that there whould come a point where the penalties for not feeding are bad enough to incapicitate you...say if you don't feed for a month, a year, a century? Why aren't you worse off than a guy who hasn't fed in 6 days, or can't they do that. Finally, can a Vampire draw blood from another Vampire or is that not going to work (basically, is pseudo-undead blood not going to work)?
criticalstriker 06-24-07, 05:06 PM	I really like these vampire stats. criticalstriker: you play Vampire the Masqurade and the other World of Darkness things don't you? I've played a minimal amount of it, yeah :D You haven't, I don't think, covered alignment, are you going to require evil Vampires and CE Were-wolves or are you allowing variation? I'll type this into the thing later, but no, neither has to be evil. That was one of the things that bugged me about vampires/werewolves(and dragons, for that matter). They shouldn't be forced to be evil. I'd have to agree with RobbyPants on the Level progression things: they are fairly close to how things like Animal Companions progress and no one argues those are overpowered. The only thing I would advise is a cap on most of the things like DR and movement speed with "Racial Feats" to increase it beyond that, to make the LA a bit more fair. I didn't put a cap on that because... well I like the idea of a werewolf, for instance, taking six arrows to the chest and not even flinching(at higher levels). I suppose I should probably cap it at level 20, though. Personally, I think that there whould come a point where the penalties for not feeding are bad enough to incapicitate you...say if you don't feed for a month, a year, a century? Why aren't you worse off than a guy who hasn't fed in 6 days, or can't they do that. Finally, can a Vampire draw blood from another Vampire or is that not going to work (basically, is pseudo-undead blood not going to work)? First, a vampire, while it does need to feed, will not become incapacitated if it doesn't feed at all(unless the stat penalties would put him into that state). It doesn't get continually worse because I like the idea of a vampire being able not to feed, but still living. And no, feeding off another vampire will not suffice.
Mai_ariti 06-24-07, 07:29 PM	Allowing for Resistance to the sun damage through fire resistance seems almost like eliminating a threat that is the main drawback of vampires (how often do you have a foe with a vat of garlic?). I would think the sunlight would be flat damage that could be reduced with DR so stronge vampires could take it longer but not completely overcome it. Thoughts?
criticalstriker 06-24-07, 11:35 PM	Allowing for Resistance to the sun damage through fire resistance seems almost like eliminating a threat that is the main drawback of vampires (how often do you have a foe with a vat of garlic?). I would think the sunlight would be flat damage that could be reduced with DR so stronge vampires could take it longer but not completely overcome it. Thoughts? Hmm... I never even thought of fire resistance. I'll add that that doesn't apply to this damage. Also, I don't know how I feel about stronger vampires being able to resist the sun. On one hand, it would be awesome to see a like level 18(if he hasn't figured out some way to walk in the sun at this point anyway...) vampire just casually walk into the sun, perusing its pray. But then again, I like the idea of them being nightmares during the night, and being almost unstoppable. But during the day, even the strongest of vampires fear death.
Phalo 06-24-07, 11:36 PM	I have a problem with the vampire feeding. 2 gallons is close to 2 peoples worth of blood. So thats 2 people a every six days. 121 every year. So over a course of a generation that would be 3630 (121*30years Appx time it takes for a generation to cycle) The range a vampire would have to cover would be immense. and there could not be more that a few hundred in a world at a time.
Mai_ariti 06-25-07, 09:12 AM	I also just realized that you have vampires taking 1.5x damage from non-magical fire. That means that in the sun the vampire is taking 1.5 x 5d6 damage or 8d6 (rounded up). . .ouch. . . There is a feat from Libris Mortis that allows a vampire or other sunvulnerable creature to stay out in the sun for a number of rounds equal to 1+its Cha modifier. . .perhaps this would make a good bonus feat?
criticalstriker 06-25-07, 09:30 AM	There is a feat from Libris Mortis that allows a vampire or other sunvulnerable creature to stay out in the sun for a number of rounds equal to 1+its Cha modifier. . .perhaps this would make a good bonus feat? Possibly for the ancient vampire template I plan to make. I have a problem with the vampire feeding. 2 gallons is close to 2 peoples worth of blood. So thats 2 people a every six days. 121 every year. So over a course of a generation that would be 3630 (121*30years Appx time it takes for a generation to cycle) The range a vampire would have to cover would be immense. and there could not be more that a few hundred in a world at a time. Yeah, I'll change that. It will be easier just to say they have to drink 4 HP worth of blood.
criticalstriker 06-26-07, 11:04 AM	Okay, I've added the new vampire ancient template.
Mai_ariti 06-28-07, 03:00 PM	*cough* Well, that shot the LA to somplace else. . .once you eliminate the weaknesses, I assume you no longer want the vampire to be a play-able character because by then, your powers are so far above what a normal person has it's just sad. It is a nice progression for a NPC vampire and the players won't see it comming. THIS (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/NOSFERAT.TXT) may give you some more ideas, it is the Mystaran Nosferatu Vampire stats from an old edition, they are interesting.
criticalstriker 06-28-07, 03:52 PM	*cough* Well, that shot the LA to somplace else. . .once you eliminate the weaknesses, I assume you no longer want the vampire to be a play-able character because by then, your powers are so far above what a normal person has it's just sad. It is a nice progression for a NPC vampire and the players won't see it comming. THIS may give you some more ideas, it is the Mystaran Nosferatu Vampire stats from an old edition, they are interesting. Yes, the ancient vampire template is mainly for NPC's. I don't see many games lasting long enough for the players to age 100 years as a vampire o.O Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.