Changes

=Encountering VampiresFrom The Living Side Of Life=

==When the PCs are AliveA Staple Villain==

No Not player wants to join the ranks of the undead, and that’s perfectly acceptable. When you have too much of something, it loses its luster, not that the undead claim to be lustrous, not most of them anyway. So what is a player party full of perfectly alive creatures to do when they encounter a vampire? Well, a lot of that depends on what the party wants and what the vampire wants. Assuming the party even recognizes the vampire for what it is, most players will probably have what can be boiled down to two responses: Hunt down and slay the vampire or avoid it at all costs. Maybe their response will not be as simple as that, but the ultimate end will be one of the two, except when it isn’t, but we’ll get to that later.

Once the PCs have the proof they need, things get a little easier, but only by comparison. A vampire’s lair is likely to be well defended, not just with traps and other hazards, but with beasts and minions, whether they are loyal servants, hired hands, or dominated into cooperation. On that note, dominated foes pose a moral problem; in . In all likelihood, dominated foes are otherwise good peoplewho have simply be forced by a malevolent undead to commit evil against their will. It’s not their fault that some bloodsucker took over their mind. Killing these poor souls will put a stop to their interference, but then the PCs have to deal with the moral and ethical consequences of killing an innocent bystander in cold blood. Not that evil PCs will care about this. The best outcome is when the PCs can restrain or knock out dominated foes, but sometimes the PCs might find that they have no choice but to run them throughthrew. If a dominated foe does end up dead, good aligned PCs, ''especially'' Clerics and Paladins, should pay for the funeral(s). It might seem perfectly reasonable for the vampire to flee while the PCs have their hands full getting through the lair, well before the vampire is in immediate danger, but most vampires are too proud and arrogant to do this. Don’t forget, these dirt encrusted adventurers not only exposed the vampire’s most closely guarded secret, but now they dared to trespass on its territory (vampires are fundamentally predators after all, and predators do ''not'' like it when their territory is threatened). Fighting the PCs now, while they are weakened from spending all that time and energy getting to the vampire, is the vampire’s best opportunity to finish them off. Don’t think for a minute that the vampire won’t be saving their strongest minions for the final fight, where the PCs are on the vampire’s home turf. If it starts to look like the vampire is going to lose, it will likely flee (vampires are also fundamentally cowardly), and the vampire ''will'' have a contingency plan, or three or ten, for when it must escape (vampires that have a Death-State Rejuvenation will not rely solely on that, Death-States Rejuvenations are a last resort tip-of-the-wire escape that won’t get the vampire very far). The PCs may end up having to track the vampire down to another lair, possibly very far away in some other kingdom or continent (depending on what kind of magic and resources are at the vampire’s disposal), but they can be confident in the knowledge that they have the vampire on the run. PCs should be careful not to get overconfident however, as that can prove to be a fatal mistake.

Not all vampires will be able to dominate others or get the kind of influence in the above example. Some vampires simply have minimal influence (whether it be from lack of talent, lack of trying, or lack of time), while some vampires are little more than wild animals, and while fighting this kind of vampire isn’t as complicated, they can be even more dangers dangerous (certainly more vicious). They can also be a more enjoyable encounter if used with the right atmosphere. A party marching through a dark and misty cave in search of a nest Brood of wild and crazed vampires , littered with the remains of their victims and adventurers that failed, can make for a creepy and frightening encounter. Another big influence on how the PCs will have to go about fighting the vampire is what the vampire’s Bloodline is. A Yekef vampire won’t be passing itself off as a nobleman (or as a human for that matter), while a Raelu vampire will likely ''not'' be found with the peasantry, not to mention a cave. The theatre, art exhibit, or social hot spots are as good as any place to begin searching for a Haarvenu vampire, while the eccentric wizard locked up in his tower all the time might just be an Aundae vampire. Making the first vampire the PCs encounter of a high Generation can make things easier on the party, but if the party is sufficiently skilled, a low Generation can prove a satisfying challenge. Be careful with Category B Vampires. Depending on the history of vampirism in your campaign, this kind of vampire might be very rare. Category B Vampires are much more dangerous than regular vampires, and will prematurely end your campaign if the PCs are not prepared; although the DM can save the party from anything. Having a violent encounter with a Pureblood will totally derail a campaign (I’m sorry (not really), but I like Purebloods exactly the way they are).

==A Deal Making the first vampire the PCs encounter of a high Generation can make things easier on the party, but if the party is sufficiently skilled, a low Generation can prove a satisfying challenge. Be careful with Category B Vampires. Depending on the history of vampirism in your campaign, this kind of vampire might be very rare. Category B Vampires are much more dangerous than regular vampires, and will prematurely end your campaign if the PCs are not prepared; although the DM can save the party from anything. Having a violent encounter with a Pureblood will totally derail a campaign (I’m sorry (not really), but I like Purebloods exactly the way they are). You simply don’t pit the party against what is essentially an Elder Evil without the Devil==party being of sufficiently high epic level to slay a freaking Elder Evil.

==A Deal With The Devil== Not all encounters with vampires have to be violent. Maybe the PCs don’t want to fight the big bad vampire. Maybe they want to come to an agreement with it. A vampire is a powerful ally after all, if a dangerous one. Vampires retain their personalities, ambitions, desires, even their souls; they are more or less the same person they were when they were alive (though time can erode humanity like nothing else can). Good aligned PCs might find it difficult to deal with such untrustworthy creatures, especially given the violent less than favorable reputation of said creaturesthe undead. Vampires are wary of Clerics. Clerics that channel positive energy can turn them, and Clerics that channel negative energy can control them. A Cleric has many spells useful for protecting against the powers of the undead, but their presence may also upset the vampire, not to mention that it makes it obvious the PCs do not trust the vampire (although they have good reason not to). If the PCs decide to have the Cleric somewhere else why they are having dealings with the vampire, the encounter may produce more favorable results. It is up to the party to decide whether or not to have a Cleric present during these encounters. There are pros and cons to both situations. Having a Paladin in the party will probably derail any and all “friendly” friendly dealings with a vampire. It would take a very open minded Paladin to judge a vampire for its character and not its status as an undead.

Keeping a watchful eye for supernatural vampiric abilities to manipulate the thoughts of others is very important. Domination is a power that all vampires can learn, regardless of their age or bloodline. While Domination is a quick and powerful means of robbing PCs of their free will, it is neither subtle nor friendly. Dominating a PC isn’t going to make the vampire friends with the party, so it is more likely to use its Charm Gaze ability. Charm Person is more difficult to deal with when it is a PC that is being charmed. The only real way of making use of this ability is to explain to the charmed player that they HAVE been charmed and should act accordingly. This can be difficult for inexperienced role-players to deal with, not to mention that metagaming and player knowledge must be swiftly dealt with on the DM’s part, so you if you are going to charm a PC, it would be best to pick a more experienced role-player. ==The Reluctant Monster: When Evil Does Not Rule==

==NestsComplete Monster: Irredeemable Evil==   ==Broods: A Whole New Kind of Danger== A single vampire is a cunning enemy that must be carefully and cautiously dealt with. A whole Brood of vampires is another matter entirely. Cross just one of them and the PCs are likely to find the rest of the Brood expressing their disapproval all over them. A Brood of vampires can be a lot like fighting a band of mercenaries who have decided to secretly gain control of a city. If one vampire has the potential to build influence over the local community, the influence a whole Brood can gain is surely a dangerous thing. Of course, this influence isn’t always in proper social circles. Slave dealers, thieves guilds, mercenary bands, and other such organizations are a great place for a Brood of vampires to find potential allies, though these allies don’t necessarily know the true nature of those they are dealing with. Because Broods are relatively small, they are almost universally tight knit and well-coordinated in combat. When running an encounter with multiple vampires from the same Brood, pay attention to the movements of each vampire relative to the others. Depending on how many vampires there are, the Brood can herd the PCs in a certain direction (forcing the party into a corner or unfavorable location), prevent bystanders from getting too close and interfering with the fight, and they can definitely flank multiple PCs. When on the hunt, a Brood of vampires becomes a perfect engine of destruction. Unless they are extraordinarily disciplined, their collective bloodlust becomes impossible to contain. The cautious and calculated decisions made by singular vampires fall away in the wake of malicious brutality. The pack quickly tracks down and isolates victims, typically in a matter of minutes. Often, the weakest of the Brood will be sent to use their Charm Person ability to spirit away people right from the midst of a crowd, feeding no more than a few dozen feet from where the victim’s friends stand wondering where their friend went. A Brood of Invernus or Quarra vampires always falls under this category; there are the rare Brood of Invernus or Quarra vampires that break the mold, but they are the exception, not the rule. On the off chance a Brood uses tactics remotely resembling stealth and tact, luring or beating tactics are employed. A lure equates to a single vampire showing itself to a victim and enticing it to follow them to a place deemed safe to feed. Beating equates to several vampires inciting a panic, driving a whole mob of mortals into a “killing field”. Most Broods do not actually want to start a beat, it is a result of a sudden surge of frenzied bloodlust in the Brood. Sometimes, the leader of a Brood is exceptionally proficient at keeping his childer/grandchilder/etc under control. Such Broods don’t employ the same pack mentality as more unruly Broods. They hunt cautiously and carefully, making it extremely difficult to discover that they even exist. Older Broods fall under this category. They have not survived this long by being reckless. They have well established relations with some or all of the criminal organizations in the city, contingencies in place for dealing with vampire hunters and persistent adventurers, and intelligently organized hunting patterns. A Brood this old may not even have to go hunting for food. It is more likely that they have a steady supply of blood from the victims of their criminal associates and slaves they feed upon (keeping them just alive enough to prevent them from dying). The PCs must also deal with the mortal servants of an established Brood. Influence isn’t everything, and not all vampires want or have the ability to gain notable influence on even a local scale. If you as the DM want some justification beyond “they don’t care”, then making the Brood relatively new to the area, or having an older rival Brood hampering their operations, could be the reason. There is one advantage the PCs have over a Brood of vampires that they don’t have over individual vampires. Broods are more prolific, making them easier to detect and track down. The more vampires in the area, especially if many of those vampires are relatively young, the more blood will be required to sustain them. If many of those vampires get their blood by going out in search of prey, even if only once a week, then finding their trail becomes much easier. ==Clans: A Monumental Enemy Or A Powerful Ally== If a Brood of vampires is like fighting a band of mercenaries, a Clan of vampires is like fighting a well-organized conspiracy. Clans are old and powerful, with considerable wealth, resources, and influence at its disposal. Taking out a Brood is as simple as slaying at most a few dozen vampires, but a Clan can have hundreds of members (although not all of them are vampires). It is simply not possible for most PC parties to take out an entire Clan without great and long term effort, but it is possible for them to cripple one.  There are a few things to keep in mind when the PCs are dealing with a hostile Clan. A Clan has dealt with adventurers, clergy, and vampire hunters in the past, so they will have plans and contingencies in place for dealing with the PCs.  Another danger of crossing a Clan is that the Clan has at least a few alliances with other organizations and any number of favors they can call upon. When you go against a Clan, you are not just going against an entire organization; you are going against that organization’s allies as well. Of course, this works both ways. Though a Clan has made allies over the centuries, it has also made enemies. The rivalries between the Clans are old and deep, having a history riddled with subterfuge, scheming, and violence. ==Purebloods: Power Beyond Compare== Thus far, I have gone out of my way to discourage using Purebloods as anything more than background characters in a campaign, but what is the point of making statistics for Purebloods if I’m not going to give any way to actually use them? It is entirely possible to make Purebloods visible NPCs in your campaign. If you inject a Pureblood into your campaign, you are going to have to go about it differently than lesser vampires. The key to Purebloods is role-play, not combat. Before we even get into the personal power a Pureblood boasts, we must first deal with the influence a Pureblood can have. To put it simply, a Pureblood has the potential to rule an entire world. Now, I’m not suggesting that your campaign world MUST be ruled by a Pureblood if they exist (although taking down the immortal overlord of the world can be a time-tested classical end goal of a fantasy adventure game), but I AM establishing that, if a Pureblood wanted to, it could easily and quickly become the ruler of any given kingdom or region. If your Pureblood has decided to gain influence, the easiest way to go about it is to make the Pureblood the leader of an exceptionally large Clan. A Clan with a Pureblood for a leader is a special case, in that the Pureblood does NOT answer to the interests of the Clan, although this does not mean it does not look out for the Clan (afterall, if the Pureblood does not ensure the welfare of its Clan, of what use is the Clan to the Pureblood?). PCs that meet a Pureblood in person will soon learn that the legends that surround the Purebloods are only pale shadows of the real thing. They are far more beautiful and terrible than any story can convey. The atmosphere is the determining factor here. Now, it is entirely possible that the Pureblood does not reveal its true nature, even to the point that it uses its Change Shape, or similar abilities, to disguise itself. If this is the case, then the encounter should seem somehow “wrong” (perhaps a cold stillness in the air coupled with an anxiety with an indiscernible source), but otherwise a normal encounter, assuming it is a non-violent encounter. A Pureblood might do this in order to pass on information, to gauge the party’s strength (to learn if they can defeat the dragon or evil cleric), or to learn something about the party (perhaps out of curiosity). If a Pureblood DOES reveal its true nature, than the encounter should be both otherworldly and overwhelming. A Pureblood’s mere presence can cause even the mightiest vampires to tremble. The PCs may experience a tightening of their skin and weakening of their body from the necromancy that exudes from the Pureblood. The Pureblood’s appearance is impossibly beautiful and hides a terrible power. The PCs might be the greatest heroes in the region, but the Pureblood will speak with great confidence and without an ounce of fear. If the PCs attempt to harm the Pureblood, it will thwart their attacks easily. This all amounts to the PCs feeling overwhelmed, but not necessarily insignificant, before the Pureblood. Regardless of how the Pureblood chooses to interact with the PCs, ultimately you must decide what the Pureblood wants. Younger Purebloods are typically sheltered individuals, so curiosity is easily justifiable. In fact, Mature or younger Purebloods are probably the easiest Purebloods for the DM to use. They are closer to their humanity than the older Purebloods, enabling them to sympathize with the PCs struggle to protect a community. There is some good, if cliché, role-play value in this case. A young Pureblood playing the Reluctant Monster is in a position to change vampire society. The good that the PCs could indirectly accomplish by slowly but surely teaching a naïve Pureblood that his kind are daily preying upon innocents and desperately need to change their ways cannot be measured.  Older Purebloods are virtually impossible to reasonably play off as being naïve, and they have had so much time to make allies that there is rarely anything for them to gain from the PCs; nonetheless, there are a few things they might want from the PCs. One such thing is to make childer for themselves. It might be time for the Revitalization or perhaps they are just bored, whatever the case, the PCs have been selected by the Pureblood to become some of the most potentially powerful vampires in the world. The Pureblood may decide to force this upon the PCs, but typically they do not do this. If the PCs are too timid to willingly become one of the undead, than they are unworthy to be the Pureblood’s Childer. Besides, most players will simply not react well to being forced to become undead. With that said, the potential for role-play in the light of having vampirism forced upon you (as is the case for many many vampires) is monumental. If you do want to force this on the PCs, it would be best to discuss this with the players before hand to make sure they’re ok with it (you don’t have to establish that they will become vampires, just that you want to force “something” on them that will tangibly alter the game). Maybe the Pureblood isn’t interesting in Embracing the PCs, maybe the Pureblood has been watching them, and thinks they will make excellent servants. Since Purebloods typically have many dozens, if not hundreds, of vampires and many more mortal servants at their disposal, they wouldn’t approach the PCs to recruit them for something as trivial as soldiers or couriers. The PCs have proven that they would make good diplomats, advisor, personal retainer, or some other position that puts them in close contact with the Pureblood. Yet another reason a Pureblood might make personal contact with the PCs is to convince or manipulate them into pursuing some dangerous goal. Since Purebloods can grant Sorcerous or Warlock powers, they could be the reason why the party’s Sorcerer or Warlock has their power at all, or maybe one of the PC’s is actually a descendant of the Pureblood (granting the PC access to certain Heritage Feats and even explaining why the PC has Sorcerer or Warlock levels (if at all)) and the Pureblood has taken an interest in that PC’s progress. You must decide where the Pureblood came from. Is it the original vampire in your campaign world? Did some very powerful lesser vampire develop a version of the Pact of Unreachable Blood that does not require a Pureblood to perform? If it is not the only Pureblood, than are these Pureblood related, such as when a Pureblood is born to its Pureblood parents? Is the Pureblood the offspring of some evil god and a fiend (this could be the original vampire)? Was the Pureblood created by the foul machinations of an evil god (as in the case of this sourcebook)? Purebloods themselves are not just terrifying from the perspective of mortals, they are terrifying from the perspective of other undead, especially vampires, as well. PCs who have dealings with other vampires may sometimes hear of beings called “Purebloods” spoken only in hushed whispers as though they were some ghost story or a curse not meant to be discussed. There is a less obvious advantage to having had dealings with a Pureblood. Just knowing the Pureblood’s name can be used as a bargaining tool. Consider the following scenario: The PCs have unknowingly spoiled a decades old scheme of a Clan of vampires to gain a foothold in the region. Alberoth, the Clan leader, quite upset about this disruption, arranges the kidnapping of the PCs so they can be taken to his court for “trial”. The PCs, not knowing the subtle nuances of high vampire society but knowing just enough to know that the Purebloods are not to be trifled with, mention to Alberoth that they are servants of Jezebel, one of the Purebloods in this world. Whether or not this is a lie (and if the PCs are lying, they had best make sure they are protecting themselves with a Glibness spell or similar forms of anti-lie detection), Alberoth has now be thrown into a corner. On the one hand, these are mere mortals that have clearly wronged this Clan, on the other hand, Jezebel is unlikely to react favorably when she learns that some of her servants were slain without her consent. Alberoth can take revenge and risk incurring the wrath of a Pureblood, or he can imprison the PCs until he can learn the truth. He can always kill them later. The risk clearly outweighs the reward, so Alberoth chooses to imprison the PCs, giving them a chance to escape or strike a deal with Alberoth. =Encountering Vampires From The Unliving Side Of Life=   ==The Reluctant Monster: When Evil Does Not Rule==   ==Broods: Strength In Numbers== 

==Clans: The Backing Of A single vampire is a cunning enemy that must be carefully and cautiously dealt with. A whole nest of vampires is another matter entirely. Cross just one of them and the PCs are likely to find the whole nest expressing their disapproval all over them. A nest of vampires can be a lot like fighting a well-organized conspiracy. If one vampire has the potential to build great influence, the influence a whole nest can gain is surely substantial. Of course, this influence isn’t always in proper social circles. Slave dealers, thieves guilds, mercenary bands, and other such organizations are a great place for a nest of vampires to find potential allies, though these allies don’t necessarily know the true nature of those they are dealing with.Conspiracy==