Vampire Hero

[Dr Divago]

Hi guys

i'm planning to start new group, ad a mate asked for "something with vampire, werekind etc".

I don't like the "official game of blood suckers" (Vampire the Masquerade and co.) plus my group whant a "more fight, less talk" game (exact opposite of V:tM ) so we thought about a Vampire Hero

 

now, i think it'll could be easy: create a "package deal" of "standard vampire powers"; then add some "optional vampire powers". and disadvantages too, ofc

 

but... what are the "standard powers and disadvantages?"

this is what i created:

 

Powers

• 5 points, 1 END cost
  Fangs: 1 HKA (max ½d6 w STR); Penetrating (+½); Requires Successful Grapple (-½)
  
• 22 points
  Drink Blood: ½d6 RKA, NND (defense is not having blood or skin protected or equipment too thick to be bited; +1), Does Body (+1), Continuous (+1), No END (+½); No Range (-½), Fangs must do Hit before (-½)
  
• 15 points
  Undead Resistence: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistent 50%; Body Only (-½), Set Effects (only versus bullet and bullet-like weapons; -½)
  
• 18 points
  Immortal: Healing 2d6 (Regeneration 2 BODY/Day), Resurrection (can be stopped with stake to hearth; killed by complete blood drain, burning to ashes or tossing to direct sunlight), No END (+½), Persistent (+½); Self Only (-½), Extra Time + Increased Time (2 BODY/Day, -2½), Resurrection Only (-½)
  
• 4 points
  Vampiric Regeneration: Healing 1d6 (Regeneration 1 BODY/Day), No END (+½), Persistent (+½); Self Only (-½), Extra Time + Increased Time (1 BODY/Day; -2½), Does not Work Against Fire, Holy and Sunlight Damage (-½)
  
• 16 points
  Undead: Life Support: Self Contained Breathing, Diminished Eating (1/week), Longevity (immortal)
  
• 80 TOTAL POINTS
  

Disadvantages

[*]15

Distinctive Features: no heat body temperature, no hearthbeat, etc (Not Concealable, Extreme Reactions, Only by Unusual Sense)

[*]0

Distinctive Features: Fangs (Easily Concealed, Difficult to Notice)

[*]25

Susceptibility: to direct sunlight (Very Common, Every Turn, 2d6 damage)

[*]20

Vulnerability: x2 STUN from Fire (Common)

[*]20

Vulnerability: x2 BODY from Fire (Common)

[*]80 TOTAL DISADVANTAGES POINTS

But now first problem arise: how much point for characthers?

 

1. Standard (150+100) included above powers/disadvantages (so they got 70+20 points left)
   
2. Normal Hero (75+75 or 75+50) PLUS above powers/diadvantages (for a total of 155+155 or 155+130)
   
3. Something Between what else?
   

i searched similar post in old thread in this forum, and i found something useful, like an old (2003 XD ) campaign ideas (sure i'll use it ) and like

but no much helping me in this step :\

[Doc]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

Pretty cool. I was wondering why do you have two regeneration powers (namely, immortal and regeneration)?

 

And, personally, I'd go with the 70+20 points left, but it depends on how powerfull you want your creatures to be powerfull compared to humans. One thing that bugged me out with VtM is that goth-like attitude of "dark" revenge over society by role-playing immensly powerfull "creatures of the night" freely killing and torturing humans...

[Shadowsoul]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

If you just want your characters to be competent normals thrown into a new world supernatural creatures then they might not need more than 70+20. But if they expect to have some kewl powers other than the base vampire ones and still be able to fight and have some useful skills then you might want to up the points value. You can always limit the number of new powers they can gain e.g. need to find a teacher or can only use certain powers based on bloodline.

 

Or you could just allow them various ways to gain power. In the Legacy of Kain series drinking the lifeblood of another vampire grants you one of their abilities. Similar ideas in the World of Darkness. In effect a player who drains another vampire could gain a lump of XP which can only be used to buy an ability the dead vampire possessed.

 

Alternatively a vampire's 'vampire powers', (or rather those beyond the normal ones like having fangs), could be a multipower. You can only use such abilities one at a time but they are quite cheap. Draining powerful beings, (not just vampires), could allow players to increase the base active points cost of their multi-power. But if they want new powers they will have to find another vampire to teach them. Or of course draining another vampire will allow them to inerit one of his/her power slots.

 

This all assumes that the characters would get away with such anti-social acts. They might be able to gain extra slot powers by draining other supernatural beings apart from vampires. But perhaps even this carries a stigma, -sure you can drain a werewolf, (easier said than done), then gain the ability to grow big slashy claws; but if certain vampires found out then you could be on the hit list for tainting the blood or the 'true race'.

 

And of course if your players are more powerful that just means that there are nastier things waiting in the shadows to challenge them.

[Dr Divago]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

Pretty cool. I was wondering why do you have two regeneration powers (namely' date=' immortal and regeneration)?[/quote']Because the first one regenerate only to restore death (only to resurrect) and the second one is the true vampiric regeneration

i thought about a "+X Recovery, only to heal long term body injuries" (but think this is just a little "tricking" around)

And' date=' personally, I'd go with the 70+20 points left, but it depends on how powerfull you want your creatures to be powerfull compared to humans. [/quote']Well, i agree. 70 is enough for "moderately powerful" player to buy some cool powers avoiding the "superhuman godlike creature" stereotypes.

This, of course, added to the 20 point from disadvantage.

and if i (the master) think something more is better, can use the "drink my blood, take my power" shadowsoul was talking about

(nice idea, i think i'll use it )

 

But to be honest is the "only 20 point left for dissadvantages" who let me a little disappointed; 20 point is not enough for more than a phobia (i avoided holy symbols or garlic's aversion in "standard" package ) or an enemy

 

Edit

I noticed something is not clear

with "70+20" i mean giving "for free" both standard power than disadvantages

for example, if a player build a charachter using all his point he get

70 point + standard power (80) +20 from disadvantage for a total cost of 170.

then he gain standard disadvantages (80) FOR FREE

he does not gain the +80 point from standard disadvantage

 

so on he'll be a "normal heroic" guy

 

Or you think is better giving him the full 80 point gained from standard disad?

so he can build the toon with 70 + 20 (from disad) +80 (from standard disad) + free powers (valuing 80) for a full 250 superheroic powerful guy?

[Doc]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

 

But to be honest is the "only 20 point left for dissadvantages" who let me a little disappointed; 20 point is not enough for more than a phobia (i avoided holy symbols or garlic's aversion in "standard" package ) or an enemy

 

I noticed something is not clear

with "70+20" i mean giving "for free" both standard power than disadvantages

for example, if a player build a charachter using all his point he get

70 point + standard power (80) +20 from disadvantage for a total cost of 170.

then he gain standard disadvantages (80) FOR FREE

he does not gain the +80 point from standard disadvantage

 

so on he'll be a "normal heroic" guy

 

Or you think is better giving him the full 80 point gained from standard disad?

so he can build the toon with 70 + 20 (from disad) +80 (from standard disad) + free powers (valuing 80) for a full 250 superheroic powerful guy?

 

 

Well, maybe a judicious in between? I'd say a 250 points character would be to powerfull, but that's only a question of taste. 250 points is still fair enough.

 

I also thought again about your standart powers. Wouldn't it be more cool to replace the blood drinking KA by a drain BODY, STUN or END? This way, your vampires could drink on someone without necessarly killing him...

[Dr Divago]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

I also thought again about your standart powers. Wouldn't it be more cool to replace the blood drinking KA by a drain BODY' date=' STUN or END? This way, your vampires could drink on someone without necessarly killing him...[/quote']

well... it's the vampire paradigm: can't live without stealing live from someone else

[Maur]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

No disadvantage about their limited dietary requirements?

[Dr Divago]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

No disadvantage about their limited dietary requirements?

well... it's true...

but i'd like to keep costs low; i mean, if i had to count all possible disadvantages maybe i could be at 150ish

...

...

...

ok ok i got no excuse

[CorPse]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

You could always add Disads that they don't get points for. I've seen players do that to their own characters if they felt they needed Disads above and beyond the cap.

[Southern Cross]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

Why not build a "Vampire Powers" EC?

Vampires tend to have a lot of Powers,and most of them have some Mental Powers (notably Mind Control).

[Dr Divago]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

Why not build a "Vampire Powers" EC?

Vampires tend to have a lot of Powers,and most of them have some Mental Powers (notably Mind Control).

mmmmmhhhhhhhhh

niiiiice idea

[Bygoneyrs]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

Wow...a "Dark Shadows" campaign...hmmm!

 

Penn

[Vestnik]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

I wouldn't give him a Vulnerability to Fire, just less defense against it. Vampires can be hurt by fire, but they don't go up like Roman Candles.

[Southern Cross]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

"Tombs of The Blind Dead" excepted.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

Why am I having flashbacks to my Ravenloft campaign? Anyway.

 

Things you might want to toy around with. Vampires are a lot like humans; when a human gets the flu, he won't always react the same way as the human next to him. This is the broad premise that gives you the 13 Clans of Vampire (per 2nd Ed., so please don't update me as I no longer care, I'm going somewhere with this). I'm not advocating developing dozens of power groups and divvying them up, etc. You'd have to be some kind of zealot to do a full scale conversion of that magnitude.

 

Oh, wait.

 

Anyway. I am advocating having the 'core' list of disadvantages, or saving yourself some trouble and going off of the listing for the Vampire template in Fantasy HERO, where the 'official' version lives, and then developing it forward from there. You may not want to do 'age,' although it's the gold standard of Vampire Power. But certainly you may want to introduce 'low level' vampires that are easier, comparatively to kill and generally mind less for gun-bunny sections, mid-level vampire mob bosses, and then of course the high level, long term villain crime lords, who may not even need to drink as much as their younger counterparts. More fine control over their condition.

 

So there's a lot of different ways to handle it.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

yeah, I would totally go with a Vampire Elemental Control or Multipower and a Endurance Reserve to represent Blood (Vampire powers should use up a Vamps blood which makes them hungry faster...a Vampire who uses their powers frequently should have to feed frequently)

 

Some sample powers:

 

Vampiric Might: +10 Str(10) X2 End(-1/2) Does not affect Figured (-1/2) cost:5pts, 2End

 

Creature of the Night: Invisibility-sight group (20) Requires Skill Roll (-1/2) [stealth] Only in Darkness and Shadows (-1/4) cost: 12pts, 2 End

 

Irresistable Presence: +20 PRE (20) Cost End(-1/2) Cost: 14, 2 End. [note: this power enhances a Vampires PRE for PRE Attacks and PRE-based skills like Seduction, Conversation and Persuasion]

 

Vampiric Reflexes: 4D6 AID to DEX and SPD. Same Time (+1/2) 60 Active. Self Only (-1/2) Only at Night (-1/4) cost: 34pts End 6. (adds up to +8 Dex and +2Spd to the Vampire)

[Shadowsoul]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

Of course you'll want to be careful with how you translate blood into end.

 

I assume you will have one 'blood pool' which powers abilities and keeps them undead. So this blood reserve will leak end every night.

 

I would suggest that a vampire should be able to survive quite easily by taking non-fatal amounts of blood from victims every couple of days or so. Even Dracula took his time over his victims after all.

 

A vampire who drains someone completely should be able to survive for some time.

 

Unless they really want to be play utterly vile villains players should be aware of some moral difficulties about killing others to survive, (even if they are 'lower beings'). Also it is much easier to avoid notice if you don't go on a killing spree.

 

Then of course the vampires must decide how much juice they need for their powers and how many will suffer so that they can fly or walk unseen through the shadows.

 

One final point. I like the WoD way of dealing with 'value for liquid' when it comes to drinking blood. Vampires should be drawn towards rarer and more powerful types of blood. An animal should provide little sustenance while another vampire or powerful supernatural being will provide more end than a human would, plus the power bonuses mentioned above.

 

You could even have a powerful vampire who keeps a defeated rival locked away somewhere and sometimes allows those he/she favours to have a taste of elder-blood.

[McManus]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

Also there might be a END/Blood Pool bonus for draining a victim to death.

 

I have always looked to answer the question of why some vamps seem to always kill their prey while others live off of blood bank daquaris. Use the "value for liquid" idea above but say that someone's "lifeblood" (their final drops) have the most vitality. It means greedy vamps will go for the kill while those that are careful or plan ahead can drink without killing.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: Vampire Hero

 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Susano at Surbrook's Stuff

http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationsmovie/moviechar.html#buffy

 

World of Darkness Hero by Susano at Surbrook's Stuff

http://surbrook.devermore.net/whitewolf/WODHERO.html

 

Vampire the Masquerade Hero

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27997&highlight=Vampire

 

 

Cheers

 

 

QM