bbeg vampire help [Archive] - Wizards Community

bbeg vampire help [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
ares5
05-20-04, 11:06 AM In the campaign I am currently running, I am planning on having the party eventually come across a BBEG vampire. I am thinking that he was the first vampire to appear in the world, and I would like to beef up his abilities as such. Currently the vampire template is listed as a 2 CR. I am already planning on giving him classes (probably Blackguard and maybe Lifedrinker from the Book of Vile Darkness), but am looking for ideas on tweaking the vampire template. I am thinking of altering it to "Vampire Lord" or something.
I have thought about greater ability score increases, but want something with a little more flavor. Perhaps adjusting his immunities would be appropriate. Maybe garlic doesn't bother him? Or sunlight doesn't destroy him, just weakens him a bit? Or maybe an increased damage reduction would be better?
Anyways i am having trouble coming up with ideas and figuring out how that will affect the CR. I know this idea has probably been done to death, but I have never used it before and my players have never seen it before so I am looking forward to it.
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
astute1
05-20-04, 11:20 AM There was a vampire lord template posted somewhere on the DnD section of the WotC website a while back (found it: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/mm/mm20021018a ), it's probably 3.0, but should be roughly what you're looking for.
Xychotic
05-20-04, 12:23 PM You might consider trying the Ravenloft book, remade for 3e. It has an interesting progression for exceptionally old vampires.
krichaiushii
05-20-04, 01:37 PM Perhaps he has epic levels in one (or more) classes/PrCs, as well. Cleric and wizard are good options - they in turn allow for the uglier PrCs from the Book of Vile Darkness, and a few splat books.

What better way to remain alive for however many years it has been since the first vampire was created.

Oh, how did he become a vampire? Learning how could become a major plot point, as it may reveal a weakness or two for the PCs to use against him. As well as building history.

What has this ancient vampire been doing for all these years? I presume that he might have influence some significant aspects of your campaign world's history - either directly or indirectly.
Crimson Hellkite
05-20-04, 04:01 PM I once had a campaign where the the BBEG was the first vampire to be born on the planet. Here's some ideas I had:

“In ancient times, there were two great warriors: Zaephon and Valkir. Valkir held a giant golden sword, wreathed in the power of souls. Zaephon had fists, that had platinum-colored flames. One was a dragon lord, king of all good, born from the proto-deities that shaped existence. Zaephon, the dark lord of all evil, was spawned when the proto-deities made the mistake of creating no negative feedback from positive energy, and thus was beyond godhood. The titans clashed, and eventually, the two died when they struck each other's heart. Zaephon was trapped within the fires that were bound to his hands, and Valkir was absorbed into his sword. The fires and the blade combined into one weapon; the Soulfury. This weapon is extremely powerful, for whenever anyone or thing becomes undead, a connection between them and a negative energy plane is created. With Soulfury's presence, the invisible line becomes curved, and the Soulfury becomes a connector. It absorbs a tiny bit of energy when someone or thing turns undead, thus making it an almost godly sword.

When their two weapons combined, their bodies crashed. Blood spurted out of them and mixed... creating 'cursed' blood. A man traveling through the church of their battle, Ras, was suffering from dire thirst. He drank the blood, creating the first vampire.”

So, my idea was that the first vampire was created when he feasted upon the remains of overdeities. He then made four “generals” who where as normal vampire lords, and their spawns were as normal vampires. Ras himself was very strong, he ended up being a quasi-deity vampire lord with 30 levels in barbarian.

I have thought about greater ability score increases, but want something with a little more flavor. Perhaps adjusting his immunities would be appropriate. Maybe garlic doesn't bother him? Or sunlight doesn't destroy him, just weakens him a bit? Or maybe an increased damage reduction would be better?

I have created an “Ancient Bloodwraith” template which enhances the vampire in the following ways:
- Immunity to water, garlic, their reflection, and silver
- Sunlight deals 1d10/hit dice of damage per round.
- Severely reduced armor check penalty and arcane spell failure
- Claws. BIG CLAWS. Gives them a +8 bonus to climbing.
- Can cast Spell Turning by striking spells with their claws; a spell with only the bloodwraith as its target grants the bloodwraith an attack of opportunity. The AC of the spell is equal to its save DC. If the bloodwraith strikes the spell and does damage equal to 3/spell level, the spell is turned. If he does not, it is merely dispelled.
ares5
05-20-04, 04:44 PM Well the idea for this vampire was kind of a culmination of other ideas I had for the campaign. I started with just wanting to create my own world for the players. I am obviously "borrowing" ideas from things i've read, watched, seen, & heard about. I've even borrowed one of the pivotal moments of the history from these boards (thanks everyone!). Basically i am running a custom world using the Greyhawk pantheon. I have a rough idea of the history of the world leading up to an epic battle between good and evil.
A high powered magic user (possibly dark elf) is threatening the world with his army. So an army is formed to caombat this evil. Leading this army is a mid-high level cleric of heironious. He has asked a party of capable adventurers to attempt to go behind enemy lines and thwart the evil wizard's plans. The party (human paladin, dwarven fighter, halfling rogue, elven bard, & elven wizard) accepts the assignment and heads out. They manage to get through and face the evil wizard. They fight a lot and eventually make their way to the roof of the Wizard's citadel. All of the party has now fallen except for the paladin and rogue. They flank the injured wizard and the Rogue sneak attacks him, even as he is struck down by the wizard's magic. At this moment, the paladin (yep you guessed it) rushes in and knocks the wizard over the edge, but he manages to grab hold of a ledge just a few feet below. The wizard promises to surrender (obviously a lie) and the paladin refuses him mercy knocking him from the ledge and letting him fall to his death.
The paladin returns to his temple where the cleric leader of the army informs him that he has violated his code and must atone for his actions. The paladin, who has become somewhat arrogant (his bloodline can be traced back to the mighty Baldur, companion and equal of the mighty Thor), scoffs at the proposition of atonement by menial tasks for a year and leaves the temple.
Soon he begins to listen to a voice in his mind that he has heard for some time. The voice (Vecna) tells him how he has been mistreated and abandoned by Heironious, and how the other members of his temple are jealous of his courage and accomplishments. after a time, he is seduced by the drak voice's promise of power beyond his imagination and he accepts. All he has to do is complete a task that not only proves his fealty to his new god, but also renounces the teachings of his old one.
So he secretly goes back to the temple and slays the guards. He enters and makes his way to the main altar where the cleric is and viciously attacks him. The two battle and the paladin is victorious. This solidifies his belief that Vecna will grant him far more power that Heironious could ever hope to. Taking a chalice from the altar, he fills it with the blood of his slain enemy, the blood of a follower of his former god, and drinks it (roughly borrowed from Mr. Francis Ford Copolla). By doing this, the now ex-paladin (probably 11th level) trades in 10 of his paladin levels for blackguard levels. He is also granted special "abilities" by Vecna, becoming the first vampire to walk the land.
As i said, my world uses the Greyhawk deities, but i am also using some of the Asgardian cosmology (and possibly Greek/Roman), however these will be used not as deities, buts as heroes of a previous age. my hope is to slowly introduce clues of this and hopefully the party (especially the warhammer wielding cleric) will want to seek out the long lost hammer of Thor, Mjolnir.
Anyways, that is my basic idea for the vampire BBEG - right now i am thinking he will be epic level - ex-paladin 1 / blackguard 10/ lifedrinker 10 (plus the vampire lord template i want to make which will hopefully add around 4 to the CR). This should put him right around a 25 CR if i am figuring this correctly (there's a good chance i'm not).
Sorry this post is so long, any help you guys could provide to flesh this out more and/or help with doubling the vampire template CR would be GREAT. Let me know what you think too!
ares5
05-20-04, 04:53 PM OH i forgot to mention - the BBEG has since populated the world with numerous vampires, all of which serve him. Those that don't are hunted by their brethren. He has taken over a large portion of the continent. The rest of the world has pretty much fled to the eastern portion of the continent, on the other side of a large range of mountains. The races have had to rebuild their worlds over the centuries. This all happened a long time ago however, so many people don't even remember Drak'Kul the Nightwalker (BBEG). i am going to eventually introduce this info to my players via the Elven Bard, who coincidentally, was the only member of the Paladin's adventuring party to survive the battle with the wizard. i am thinking this bard would have been paralyzed in the battle, and has since taken on the role of a loremaster or grand librarian or something. I am thinking that as part of the paladin's punishment for neglecting his code, Heironious forbid the resurrection of the deceased party members and also the healing of the bard's grievous wounds (aka spine).
Dungeon Master
05-20-04, 06:47 PM If you have a little cash to spend I suggest purchasing Lords of Night: Vampires by Bottled Imp Games. It has information on several different vampire types as well as detailed rules on vampire abilities and weaknesses. For a more in-depth review, check out the reviews on enworld.org.

(note: I don't work for Bottled Imp Games or anything like that).
ares5
05-21-04, 12:49 AM Originally posted by astute1
There was a vampire lord template posted somewhere on the DnD section of the WotC website a while back (found it: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/mm/mm20021018a ), it's probably 3.0, but should be roughly what you're looking for.

thanks for the link - i think this is pretty much exactly what i was looking for!

i can't wait to unleash my unholy creation on the party (if the campaign makes it that far)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ares5 05-20-04, 11:06 AM	In the campaign I am currently running, I am planning on having the party eventually come across a BBEG vampire. I am thinking that he was the first vampire to appear in the world, and I would like to beef up his abilities as such. Currently the vampire template is listed as a 2 CR. I am already planning on giving him classes (probably Blackguard and maybe Lifedrinker from the Book of Vile Darkness), but am looking for ideas on tweaking the vampire template. I am thinking of altering it to "Vampire Lord" or something. I have thought about greater ability score increases, but want something with a little more flavor. Perhaps adjusting his immunities would be appropriate. Maybe garlic doesn't bother him? Or sunlight doesn't destroy him, just weakens him a bit? Or maybe an increased damage reduction would be better? Anyways i am having trouble coming up with ideas and figuring out how that will affect the CR. I know this idea has probably been done to death, but I have never used it before and my players have never seen it before so I am looking forward to it. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
astute1 05-20-04, 11:20 AM	There was a vampire lord template posted somewhere on the DnD section of the WotC website a while back (found it: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/mm/mm20021018a ), it's probably 3.0, but should be roughly what you're looking for.
Xychotic 05-20-04, 12:23 PM	You might consider trying the Ravenloft book, remade for 3e. It has an interesting progression for exceptionally old vampires.
krichaiushii 05-20-04, 01:37 PM	Perhaps he has epic levels in one (or more) classes/PrCs, as well. Cleric and wizard are good options - they in turn allow for the uglier PrCs from the Book of Vile Darkness, and a few splat books. What better way to remain alive for however many years it has been since the first vampire was created. Oh, how did he become a vampire? Learning how could become a major plot point, as it may reveal a weakness or two for the PCs to use against him. As well as building history. What has this ancient vampire been doing for all these years? I presume that he might have influence some significant aspects of your campaign world's history - either directly or indirectly.
Crimson Hellkite 05-20-04, 04:01 PM	I once had a campaign where the the BBEG was the first vampire to be born on the planet. Here's some ideas I had: “In ancient times, there were two great warriors: Zaephon and Valkir. Valkir held a giant golden sword, wreathed in the power of souls. Zaephon had fists, that had platinum-colored flames. One was a dragon lord, king of all good, born from the proto-deities that shaped existence. Zaephon, the dark lord of all evil, was spawned when the proto-deities made the mistake of creating no negative feedback from positive energy, and thus was beyond godhood. The titans clashed, and eventually, the two died when they struck each other's heart. Zaephon was trapped within the fires that were bound to his hands, and Valkir was absorbed into his sword. The fires and the blade combined into one weapon; the Soulfury. This weapon is extremely powerful, for whenever anyone or thing becomes undead, a connection between them and a negative energy plane is created. With Soulfury's presence, the invisible line becomes curved, and the Soulfury becomes a connector. It absorbs a tiny bit of energy when someone or thing turns undead, thus making it an almost godly sword. When their two weapons combined, their bodies crashed. Blood spurted out of them and mixed... creating 'cursed' blood. A man traveling through the church of their battle, Ras, was suffering from dire thirst. He drank the blood, creating the first vampire.” So, my idea was that the first vampire was created when he feasted upon the remains of overdeities. He then made four “generals” who where as normal vampire lords, and their spawns were as normal vampires. Ras himself was very strong, he ended up being a quasi-deity vampire lord with 30 levels in barbarian. I have thought about greater ability score increases, but want something with a little more flavor. Perhaps adjusting his immunities would be appropriate. Maybe garlic doesn't bother him? Or sunlight doesn't destroy him, just weakens him a bit? Or maybe an increased damage reduction would be better? I have created an “Ancient Bloodwraith” template which enhances the vampire in the following ways: - Immunity to water, garlic, their reflection, and silver - Sunlight deals 1d10/hit dice of damage per round. - Severely reduced armor check penalty and arcane spell failure - Claws. BIG CLAWS. Gives them a +8 bonus to climbing. - Can cast Spell Turning by striking spells with their claws; a spell with only the bloodwraith as its target grants the bloodwraith an attack of opportunity. The AC of the spell is equal to its save DC. If the bloodwraith strikes the spell and does damage equal to 3/spell level, the spell is turned. If he does not, it is merely dispelled.
ares5 05-20-04, 04:44 PM	Well the idea for this vampire was kind of a culmination of other ideas I had for the campaign. I started with just wanting to create my own world for the players. I am obviously "borrowing" ideas from things i've read, watched, seen, & heard about. I've even borrowed one of the pivotal moments of the history from these boards (thanks everyone!). Basically i am running a custom world using the Greyhawk pantheon. I have a rough idea of the history of the world leading up to an epic battle between good and evil. A high powered magic user (possibly dark elf) is threatening the world with his army. So an army is formed to caombat this evil. Leading this army is a mid-high level cleric of heironious. He has asked a party of capable adventurers to attempt to go behind enemy lines and thwart the evil wizard's plans. The party (human paladin, dwarven fighter, halfling rogue, elven bard, & elven wizard) accepts the assignment and heads out. They manage to get through and face the evil wizard. They fight a lot and eventually make their way to the roof of the Wizard's citadel. All of the party has now fallen except for the paladin and rogue. They flank the injured wizard and the Rogue sneak attacks him, even as he is struck down by the wizard's magic. At this moment, the paladin (yep you guessed it) rushes in and knocks the wizard over the edge, but he manages to grab hold of a ledge just a few feet below. The wizard promises to surrender (obviously a lie) and the paladin refuses him mercy knocking him from the ledge and letting him fall to his death. The paladin returns to his temple where the cleric leader of the army informs him that he has violated his code and must atone for his actions. The paladin, who has become somewhat arrogant (his bloodline can be traced back to the mighty Baldur, companion and equal of the mighty Thor), scoffs at the proposition of atonement by menial tasks for a year and leaves the temple. Soon he begins to listen to a voice in his mind that he has heard for some time. The voice (Vecna) tells him how he has been mistreated and abandoned by Heironious, and how the other members of his temple are jealous of his courage and accomplishments. after a time, he is seduced by the drak voice's promise of power beyond his imagination and he accepts. All he has to do is complete a task that not only proves his fealty to his new god, but also renounces the teachings of his old one. So he secretly goes back to the temple and slays the guards. He enters and makes his way to the main altar where the cleric is and viciously attacks him. The two battle and the paladin is victorious. This solidifies his belief that Vecna will grant him far more power that Heironious could ever hope to. Taking a chalice from the altar, he fills it with the blood of his slain enemy, the blood of a follower of his former god, and drinks it (roughly borrowed from Mr. Francis Ford Copolla). By doing this, the now ex-paladin (probably 11th level) trades in 10 of his paladin levels for blackguard levels. He is also granted special "abilities" by Vecna, becoming the first vampire to walk the land. As i said, my world uses the Greyhawk deities, but i am also using some of the Asgardian cosmology (and possibly Greek/Roman), however these will be used not as deities, buts as heroes of a previous age. my hope is to slowly introduce clues of this and hopefully the party (especially the warhammer wielding cleric) will want to seek out the long lost hammer of Thor, Mjolnir. Anyways, that is my basic idea for the vampire BBEG - right now i am thinking he will be epic level - ex-paladin 1 / blackguard 10/ lifedrinker 10 (plus the vampire lord template i want to make which will hopefully add around 4 to the CR). This should put him right around a 25 CR if i am figuring this correctly (there's a good chance i'm not). Sorry this post is so long, any help you guys could provide to flesh this out more and/or help with doubling the vampire template CR would be GREAT. Let me know what you think too!
ares5 05-20-04, 04:53 PM	OH i forgot to mention - the BBEG has since populated the world with numerous vampires, all of which serve him. Those that don't are hunted by their brethren. He has taken over a large portion of the continent. The rest of the world has pretty much fled to the eastern portion of the continent, on the other side of a large range of mountains. The races have had to rebuild their worlds over the centuries. This all happened a long time ago however, so many people don't even remember Drak'Kul the Nightwalker (BBEG). i am going to eventually introduce this info to my players via the Elven Bard, who coincidentally, was the only member of the Paladin's adventuring party to survive the battle with the wizard. i am thinking this bard would have been paralyzed in the battle, and has since taken on the role of a loremaster or grand librarian or something. I am thinking that as part of the paladin's punishment for neglecting his code, Heironious forbid the resurrection of the deceased party members and also the healing of the bard's grievous wounds (aka spine).
Dungeon Master 05-20-04, 06:47 PM	If you have a little cash to spend I suggest purchasing Lords of Night: Vampires by Bottled Imp Games. It has information on several different vampire types as well as detailed rules on vampire abilities and weaknesses. For a more in-depth review, check out the reviews on enworld.org. (note: I don't work for Bottled Imp Games or anything like that).
ares5 05-21-04, 12:49 AM	Originally posted by astute1 There was a vampire lord template posted somewhere on the DnD section of the WotC website a while back (found it: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/mm/mm20021018a ), it's probably 3.0, but should be roughly what you're looking for. thanks for the link - i think this is pretty much exactly what i was looking for! i can't wait to unleash my unholy creation on the party (if the campaign makes it that far)