Are there vampires in the Forgotten Realms? And, if so, are they drastically different from, say, other D&D vampires?
Thanks!
-J.
I have a quick question.
Are there vampires in the Forgotten Realms?
Yes there are. Plenty of them, in fact.
And, if so, are they drastically different from, say, other D&D vampires?
Nope, not really. Most FR vampires are your standard "prey on the weak, hunt in the shadows, pull strings to ensure their own survival, desecrate/destroy whatever they find anathema" sort you find in many other places. Some of them are loners wishing to preserve their own un-lives by staying one step ahead of whatever might pose a threat. Others belong to groups or organizations, like cults of evil gods or some such, and advance agendas on behalf of their masters.
-J.
- Snowdown (since the ruler is herself a vampire)
- Skullport
- Ulgar's Isle (Pirate Isle inhabited by the vampire Ulgar the Undying).
- A large, floating Earthmote (like Yaulazna): Sky Pirates
As they're written by Eric L Boyd, you can assume that they are an Ed-approved view of how vampires operate in FR. Frankly, I think they provide a good model of how vampires work in pretty much any D&D setting.
The Vampires of Waterdeep campaign arc was comprised of three linked adventures in Dungeon 126, 127 and 128.
As they're written by Eric L Boyd, you can assume that they are an Ed-approved view of how vampires operate in FR. Frankly, I think they provide a good model of how vampires work in pretty much any D&D setting.
Thanks for the tip! I too will be using a large vampire force in my LFR home game.
Spoilers:
For the Elturel invasion, I'm instead describing the undead and spellplague enemies as vampires and vampire-charmed individuals. This just fit better with the PC groups' choices and events. Any tips would be appreciated though.
If memory serves there was an article in the 2E days of Dragon Magazine dedicated to Vampires in the Realms! Can't remember what that one was called (maybe it was just Vampires in Faerun?) I think there was a 3.5 Adventure in Dungeon as well (Vampires of Waterdeep?) I hope that helps.
The 2E article was Children of the Night by Paul Culotta (a prolific - and talented! - Dungeon contributor in the 2E era) in Dragon 236. Three vampires were given FR-specific write-ups and its own B&W illustration:
Morg - hill giant vampire shaman
Saestra - human vampire thief
Saed - human vampire psion
(snip) I too will be using a large vampire force in my LFR home game.
Spoilers:
For the Elturel invasion, I'm instead describing the undead and spellplague enemies as vampires and vampire-charmed individuals. This just fit better with the PC groups' choices and events. Any tips would be appreciated though.
I have always wanted to run a game where the Companion was not simply turned off but turned into a thing of night. In LFR terms, imagine recovering the shadow weave seed item from the ruins of Zhentil Keep and then using that as the focus of a ritual to turn the Companion into a thing of darkness so Elturel becomes a land of eternal night.
Wouldn't the vampires love that?
I have always wanted to run a game where the Companion was not simply turned off but turned into a thing of night... Wouldn't the vampires love that?
Exactly.
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Indeed, by LFR canon, this basically has happened in ELTU4-4 and ADCP5-1
If memory serves there was an article in the 2E days of Dragon Magazine dedicated to Vampires in the Realms! Can't remember what that one was called (maybe it was just Vampires in Faerun?) I think there was a 3.5 Adventure in Dungeon as well (Vampires of Waterdeep?) I hope that helps.
The 2E article was Children of the Night by Paul Culotta (a prolific - and talented! - Dungeon contributor in the 2E era) in Dragon 236. Three vampires were given FR-specific write-ups and its own B&W illustration:
Morg - hill giant vampire shaman
Saestra - human vampire thief
Saed - human vampire psion
Yeah, that's the one! Thanks!
My plan for a few years was to have it turn green and then an aspect of Bane burst forth from it and take back the Zhentarim from Cyric. That's the elevator pitch - there was a bit more to it but that's the visual I had in mind. (Of course, I had a warring visual in mind where Cyricists would turn it into a giant unholy symbol of Cyric floating in the sky.)
On another note, I was also thinking how an Epic spell of that sort of power would make a wonderful "battery" for the Demon Weave of the drow so I was also considering a Rise of the Underdark-based storyline in the same location.
And, in 3.5E's closing days, I was planning to have a campaign where the gauntlets of Moander were used to transform it into a great big Shadow Weave-thing that would kill off the Weave for miles around (a la some ideas in the Cormyr/Shadowdale/Anauroch trilogy).
Sometimes I think I could simply keep running campaigns set in Elturgard involving the corruption of the companion for the rest of my DMing life.
In LFR terms, imagine recovering the shadow weave seed item from the ruins of Zhentil Keep and then using that as the focus of a ritual to turn the Companion into a thing of darkness
Thanks for the tip! The seed (from SPEC1-1&2) does indeed provide the perfect focus in my campaign!
In LFR terms, imagine recovering the shadow weave seed item from the ruins of Zhentil Keep and then using that as the focus of a ritual to turn the Companion into a thing of darkness
Thanks for the tip! The seed (from SPEC1-1&2) does indeed provide the perfect focus in my campaign!
Cool.
Glad I could help.