Buffy the Vampire Slayer™ & © 2005, ANGEL™ & © 2005. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. The Unisystem™ Game System © 2005 CJ Carella. The Unisystem™ is used under exclusive license.
© 2005 Eden Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Visit www.edenstudios.net
$15.00 (U.S.) EDN5501 ISBN 1-891153-66-8 EDEN STUDIOS PRESENTS VOLUME 2 EDEN STUDIOS EDN5501Welcome to the second volume of
Eden Studios Presents
(ESP). This issue focuses on the dead and loving them.
Vampires, vampyres, zombies, and apes forgotten by time can
be found between these covers! If you love the dead, this issue
is all for you.
Volume 2 of the ESP supplement series features:
• Dead Ops, James Wilber's much anticipated AFMBE scenario.
• The Apes that Time Forget, a Terra Primate Apeworld by Gerry Saracco.
• Crossover rules from Jason Vey combining vampires from the cinematic
and classic Unisystem game lines.
• Rules for expanding your vampires tales from Alessandro Gandini and
Peter Trueman.
• New zombies to spread the love from Andrew Ferguson.
• A Tommy Brownell article on vamps gone good for the Buffy the Vampire
Slayer and Angel roleplaying games.
• Background on the cover-image Scepter of Penance by Charlie Von
Eschen.
After devouring this volume, stay tuned for the next, featuring brand new magical mojo for your Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel roleplaying games, as well as the first in a series of articles detailing a brand new setting.
ESP is an ideal showcase for both new and known authors, giving everyone the potential to be a part of the Eden team! Eden realizes there are a great many quality “unknowns” out there and wants to give them the opportunity to shine. Veteran writers are also wel-come, providing solid groundwork for gamers to use, spindle, and mutilate. Whether you are a up-and-comer, an oldtimer, or just a fan, you'll find new and interesting Unisystem material in each book.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer™ & © 2005, ANGEL™ & © 2005. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. The Unisystem™ Game System © 2005 CJ Carella. The Unisystem™ is used under exclusive license.
© 2005 Eden Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Visit www.edenstudios.net
$15.00 (U.S.) EDN5501 ISBN 1-891153-66-8 EDEN STUDIOS PRESENTS VOLUME 2 EDEN STUDIOS EDN5501Welcome to the second volume of
Eden Studios Presents
(ESP). This issue focuses on the dead and loving them.
Vampires, vampyres, zombies, and apes forgotten by time can
be found between these covers! If you love the dead, this issue
is all for you.
Volume 2 of the ESP supplement series features:
• Dead Ops, James Wilber's much anticipated AFMBE scenario.
• The Apes that Time Forget, a Terra Primate Apeworld by Gerry Saracco.
• Crossover rules from Jason Vey combining vampires from the cinematic
and classic Unisystem game lines.
• Rules for expanding your vampires tales from Alessandro Gandini and
Peter Trueman.
• New zombies to spread the love from Andrew Ferguson.
• A Tommy Brownell article on vamps gone good for the Buffy the Vampire
Slayer and Angel roleplaying games.
• Background on the cover-image Scepter of Penance by Charlie Von
Eschen.
After devouring this volume, stay tuned for the next, featuring brand new magical mojo for your Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel roleplaying games, as well as the first in a series of articles detailing a brand new setting.
ESP is an ideal showcase for both new and known authors, giving everyone the potential to be a part of the Eden team! Eden realizes there are a great many quality “unknowns” out there and wants to give them the opportunity to shine. Veteran writers are also wel-come, providing solid groundwork for gamers to use, spindle, and mutilate. Whether you are a up-and-comer, an oldtimer, or just a fan, you'll find new and interesting Unisystem material in each book.
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Eden Studios
Presents
Volume 2
From the Editor 2
by Derek Stoelting
Cover Shot: The Sceptor of Penance 3
by Charlie Von Eschen
Cinematic Vampyres 4
by Jason Vey
Light Sleepers 9
by Alessandro Gandini
Of Fear, Pain, and Ecstasy 12
by Peter Trueman
When Bad Vampires Go Good 23
by Tommy Brownell
The Apes that Time Forgot 40
by Gerry Saracco
Fresh Flesh 47
by Andrew Ferguson
Dead Ops 50
by James Wilber
Editing and Proofing
by Shari Hill, Daniel Holmes, M. Alexander Jurkat, Derek Stoelting, Jason Vey
Cover Art Interior Art
by Carlos Samuel Araya by Travis Ingram, Cary Polkavitz, James Powers, Gregory Price
Graphic Design and Art Direction
by George Vasilakos
Special Thanks
To Evin and Ray, for the last minute brain-fest. To Shari, for making sure I’m right, when I try my hardest to be wrong!
Produced and Published by Eden Studios 6 Dogwood Lane, Loudonville, NY 12211
Buffy the Vampire Slayer™ & © 2005, ANGEL™ & © 2005. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. The Unisystem™ Game System © 2005 CJ Carella. The Unisystem™ is used under exclusive license.
© 2005 Eden Studios. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except for review purposes. Any similarity to characters, situations, institutions, corporations, etc. (without satirical intent) is strictly fictional or coincidental. This book uses settings, characters and themes of a supernatural nature. All elements, mystical and
supernatural, are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only.
Comments and questions can be directed via the Internet at www.edenstudios.net. via e-mail to eden@edenstudios.net or via letter with a self-addressed stamped envelope.
First Printing, January 2005
A Brief Note from Derek Stoelting,
Editor of Eden Studios Presents
Living.
Dead.
Undeath.
Most of us only get to experience the first two. Unlucky others get to have fun with the third. This second volume of ESP introduces you to those who haunt the night, searching for love, blood, or brains.
This volume starts out with a Cover Shot by Charlie Von Eschen. He went to the depths of a soul (lucki-ly not his) to bring you this item of power. Jason Vey picks up the brain and takes it through a piece cover-ing the use of WitchCraft Vampyres with those found in more cinematic settcover-ings. Alessandro Gandini and Peter Trueman keep the blood flowing with their furthering of vampiric powers, including a few life suck-ers you don’t want to meet in a dark alley! Tommy Brownell follows them up with some vampires you may want to delay dusting—after all, even old vampires can learn a new trick or two. We sneak in an Apeworld from Gerry Saracco to put a stake in the vampire articles. Next, “Ferg” supplies all you zombie (masters) with some Fresh Flesh, because Fresh Flesh is the Best Flesh™. Finally, James Wilber shoots us in the brain with his long awaited AFMBE scenario, Dead Ops. We had to trim Dead Ops down to fit in here! So, expect to see web expansion material at Unisystemfans.com to further your zombie survival.
For those not familiar with the Unisystemfans.com, let me introduce you. Soon after I got my damned, dirty paws on the first printing of AFMBE I started up a fan site for the game. Some of you may remember it. I called it Spreading the Love. Some of my material appeared, but most of it belonged to other fans of survival horror with zombies. Why not much from me? Honestly, I love working with authors. I love help-ing them develop their work.
A few years later, Alex Jurkat and George Vasilakos got in touch with me. They knew of Spreading the Love. They also knew me from my helping them at major conventions. I would run demo games for Eden and help at the booth when they needed breaks of sanity. Well, it turned out they were sitting on a load of fan material that they didn’t have time to handle. They wondered if I could take it off their hands and host it online. I said, “Sure, send me some loving” and thus was born the Garden of Eden.
More recently, Ed Spade has taken over the official fan site for Eden games. Check out his work, and oth-ers, at Unisystemfans.com. All hail Ed!
Following up on the initial success of the Garden of Eden, Eden Studios decided to produce a journal of fan supplied material. Once again, George Vasilakos and Alex Jurkat got in touch with me. They had previ-ously asked me to head up the Book of Archetypes project for the AFMBE game line and were curious to see if I could undertake a new project. That new project now rests in your hands at this very moment—Eden Studios Presents.
Now, back to the subject matter.
Most companies wait until Halloween to publish a book on the undead. Not Eden Studios. (Ministry song: Every Day Is Halloween?) Why wait to get to the good stuff? If you don’t have a vampire, zombie, or ape in your game, you must be doing something wrong!
Aren’t you?
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The Scepter of Penance is all that remains of Henri Solon. Henri was a Vampyre with both the Magus and Wither abilities (Mystery Codex, pp. 104-107). He had been a Rosicrucian seeking ever-greater power and delved into the forbidden paths of Sadicas. After his covenant hunted him down and took his life to stop the evil he had become, he experienced the Unbirth of the Undead. His magical talent was stripped away in the Threshold while escaping the Grim Reapers, but his taste for misery and his tainted ways of gathering power were amplified. Revenge against those who had spurned him consumed him and his plans were rapidly set in motion. Few sorcerers can stand up to the unexpected assault of a Vampyre who knows its victim’s every habit.
Whitmore Thomas was Henri’s last target, the leader of the covenant. Away on business the week after Henri was brought to justice, the Vampyre satiated its desires with the Thomas family, Maria and the three children. He drained them of life so completely, they appeared to be aged dolls of themselves. Staging an elaborate scene to welcome Whitmore home, Henri waited for his final revenge. Unfortunately for Henri, Whitmore Thomas was rather more than the Rosicrucian he appeared to be, he was a researcher of both Magic and the Sight and had achieved enlightenment. In his grief and rage, he discovered darker abilities that would enable him to quench his thirst for vengeance on Henri. He used these horrid abilities to strip away every last shred of Henri Solon, leaving only one tibia, filled with feelings of terror and a re-stitched ver-sion of Henri’s abilities. Regaining his sens-es, Whitmore banished himself to the Sephiroth of Chesed, to hunt fiends until his rage was slaked. It is said that he still pursues that goal. Those that know the story almost feel pity for the fiends that cross Whitmore Thomas’ path.
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The Scepter of Penance
Classic: The scepter is a repository for the Magus and
Wither Vampyric powers from the Mystery Codex. They may be initiated through a Simple Willpower Test. Failure on the Test causes the holder of the scepter to feel a moment of Henri’s dying terror and pain, losing D10 x 2(10) Essence and Endurance points in addition to D10(5) Life Points. Success means the wielder may use the active forms of those powers, draining either the target’s Essence Channeling in Essence points or the wielder’s Willpower score in Essence points, whichever is greater. If the wield-er is attacked by an Invocation, a Difficult Willpowwield-er Test allows him to absorb the Essence expended in the Invocation without harm. If used as a weapon, the scepter does damage as a Vampyre’s claws according the to Manipulations of the Flesh chart in Mystery Codex. Use the wielder’s Willpower score.
Cinematic: The scepter provides protection from others’
sorcery and power. By winning a resisted Willpower (dou-bled) roll, the wielder absorbs the potential spell casting from the target. The wielder gains additional Sorcery cast-ings without penalties for that day for each spell absorbed. The attacker’s Sorcery is affected as if she had just quick cast a spell (next spell cast is at –2 per number of times drained by the scepter). Used as a weapon, the scepter does Willpower plus Sorcery level in damage. Using the Scepter to power one’s sorcery is likely to cause magic addiction over time.
Introduction
A very interesting possibility for exploring non-canon ideas in a cinematic Unisystem game is the combination of elements from Eden’s other super-natural games, WitchCraft, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, and Armageddon. Inserting the creature types, var-ied organizations, and mythologies from these two games can make for a fascinating, if unorthodox campaign. Imagine a super-powered demon fighter trapped in one of the Deadworlds from All Flesh Must be Eaten. Better yet, how would the organiza-tions in your cinematic world deal with the appear-ance of the Rosicrucians on the scene? Or the Twilight Order? Or even better. . . the Iscariots?
Of course, this brings up unique logistical prob-lems. Of particular interest are the integration of the WitchCraft versions of certain supernatural crea-tures: demons, Vampyres, and ferals among them. Zombies are described in existing cinematic
Unisystem sourcebooks and are really just another
kind of custom flesh-eater, easily compatible with any All Flesh Must be Eaten or WitchCraft zombies that might be used. Demons are not overly difficult: these are far more powerful than your “typical” cin-ematic Unisystem demon. Ferals, too, are not much different from those presented in the cinematic
Unisystem books, just more detailed and “fleshed
out.” Not much of an integration problem there. Vampyres however, present a singular challenge. Vampyres in WitchCraft are extremely different from those in cinematic Unisystem products, and are entirely reliant upon Essence for their special abilities and very survival. Since Essence does not exist in some Cinematic Unisystem games, how do we convert these creatures to make them work? Further, how do we justify their existence opposite whatever vampires may already be in that particular setting? Read on.
The Strigoi and Moroi
While it is extremely rare, it is possible for a stan-dard vampire to regain their human soul—their iden-tity, conscience, and sense of self from their days as a mortal. Gypsy curses and demonic quests are two possibilities, but there are plenty more means to accomplish this. However, what if there is another, slightly more common means of vampires possess-ing souls? What if there are those who possess the significant strength of will to hold on to their humanity, or at least some spark of it, when they are sired? These creatures could then go on to make more like them, undead leeches who feed on the life force of mortals just as standard demonic vampires, but who still possess a sense of right and wrong, and the free will to pursue one or the other? If these crea-tures exist, there are then two breeds of vampire walking the earth: demonic (or “dead”) vampires, the Strigoi; and living Vampyres, or Moroi.
The Moroi are quite rare compared to Strigoi, as they are far less likely to sire (they refer to the process as “embracing” or “bringing across”) others out of vengeance, spite, or for mere cannon fodder. Moroi tend to sire out of very strong emotions, be they the desire to hold someone very dear to them close for all eternity or the drive to punish those they hate with the curse of immortality. Strigoi sire for these reasons as well, but also tend to sire at a whim or out of sheer fascination with a subject. Thus, Strigoi are a plague compared to Moroi, who tend to stay low-key and pursue their ends privately.
The Moroi view the Strigoi as base and disgusting creatures, little more than animals exhausting a food supply with no thought to the eventual conse-quences. As such, Moroi sometimes use their unique ability to enter the Death Realms to thwart the siring process of a Strigoi, by dragging the departed soul of a victim back, and forcing it to coexist with the demon inside, or even driving out the demon. This results in the creation of a new Moroi rather than a demonic vampire. More often however, a Moroi who is present at a demonic siring simply attempts
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The Moroi
WitchCraft-Style Vampyres in a Cinematic World
to kill the new vampire and its sire rather than risk failure or the creation of a flawed Vampyre.
Strigoi view the Moroi as pompous pretenders who refuse to simply accept what they are, and there have been times where small armies of Strigoi were sired to wipe out a few Moroi. The war between the two species of vampire has lasted for millennia, with each species claiming to be the first, original, and true vampire. Unfortunately, the Moroi are on the losing end of this eternal war. Their human souls refuse to allow them to create the army of cannon fodder that the remorseless Strigoi are willing to expend, and the Moroi know this. As such, most Moroi in the modern era are content to keep their numbers low, their existence secret. Indeed, it has been so long since a battle broke out between the Strigoi and Moroi that most elder Strigoi have for-gotten the existence of their soul-bound cousins.
Moroi Existence
Moroi are more communal in nature than Strigoi, and where groups exist, they function smoothly. This differs from Strigoi, who have a “pack” men-tality whereby the strongest tends to lead, solely by virtue of his ability to overpower his underlings. Unfortunately, the comparative rarity of Moroi gen-erally holds such groups to minimal numbers. The most notable societies to include Moroi are the Twilight Order, the House of Thanatos, and the Iscariots (detailed in WitchCraft, Mystery Codex, and Abomination Codex respectively). Moroi have been members of many secret societies through the ages, though most of the time these creatures keep their true nature hidden for fear of being murdered due to a lack of understanding by their human com-panions.
The life of a Moroi is a lonely and sad one. The vast majority of Moroi spend years, decades, even centuries of existence searching for the meaning of what they are, the reason why they still walk the Earth and haven’t passed on to some sort of Afterlife. Even those Moroi who exist out of a vol-untary decision to become what they are often regret the decision as years turn into decades, and decades into centuries, without any comfort or companion-ship to see them through.
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Moroi relationships are often shallow and short-lived, as these immortal creatures find it increasing-ly difficult to watch mortals they come to care for grow old and die while they never change. Those who do learn to cope with their endless, unchanging existence often become harsh and unfeeling. Still, there are those Moroi who manage to maintain both their humanity and passions, and cope with immor-tality at the same time. These are some of the most powerful and potent champions of light in the world. It cannot be stressed enough that Moroi are extraordinarily rare among the vampire population. Sheer numbers and brutality keep the Strigoi hold-ing the upper hand in their eternal struggle, and the Moroi prefer to live in peace with humankind gen-erally. Moroi villains are cold, calculating, and incredibly ruthless, often dominating packs of Strigoi from behind the scenes, like a criminal mas-termind dispersing his pawns, to the eternal detri-ment of the heroes. Such a monster would make an extremely formidable Big Bad for a series, particu-larly if one of the players happens to be running a Moroi Cast Member.
Moroi and Feeding
Lest you begin thinking that Moroi are the fluffy puppy dogs of vampirism, be assured that they feed off of the life essence of human beings just like Strigoi do. In some ways, Moroi are worse, as they cannot simply exist on the blood of animals. However, while Moroi must feed on human beings to survive, they need not kill their victims to do so. Moroi must purchase a Power or Vulnerability that represents their means of feeding (Blood Addiction is the most common) and can only regain Life Points through this feeding process. In many ways, this makes the existence of a Moroi even more trag-ic, for they have a soul and thus, the means to feel remorse over their parasitic nature. Yet they are bound to it.
Vampyres regain one Life Point for every Life Point they drains through methods that inflict physi-cal harm, such as blood drinking or Withering. Damage inflicted in Life Points is equal to the listed Essence point damage in the book. These attacks heal as any other normal damage heals (generally, Constitution per day unless the victim has some sort of regeneration ability).
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Use of other means of feeding, such as Muse or sexual stimulation gives the Vampyre one Life Point back for every two Life Points she inflicts upon her victim. However, human vessels recover from attacks that do not inflict physical harm at the rate of one Life Point per Constitution Level per hour, unless the attack kills the victim (reduces them to –10 Life Points or less). While less efficient, these methods of feeding are far less lethal and some Moroi prefer them as a result. In fact, the standard method of feeding listed in the Mystery Codex (see p. 99) that allows Vampyres to feed on strong emo-tions becomes a 12-point Quality in the cinematic
Unisystem (see p. 8).
Playing a Moroi
Playing a Moroi is not much different from play-ing a Strigoi, or standard cinematic Unisystem game vampire. Moroi is a Quality that gives players access to a set of special abilities and powers beyond those of normal humans. The details of this Quality are as presented in Mystery Codex (see pp. 32, 97). This article explores the differences and modifica-tions that must occur to transport such creatures into a setting where Essence does not exist.
In cinematic Unisystem, rather than keeping track of Essence and Life Points, Moroi gain a particular vulnerability to certain types of attacks, and a par-ticular resistance to others. They also lose their stan-dard regeneration against attacks to which they are vulnerable. All attacks that harm supernatural crea-tures can kill a Moroi; if an attack deals Essence damage in the classic Unisystem, it deals full Life Point damage to Moroi in the cinematic. Life Points lost to attacks that exploit the weaknesses of a Moroi are only regained through feeding, described below. Thus, magical attacks such as Soulfire (see WitchCraft, p. 222) are particularly potent weapons against Moroi. In addition, all standard weaknesses of Vampyres as listed in the Mystery Codex deal Life Point rather than Essence damage to Moroi in the cinematic Unisystem. Slash/stab attacks deal only half of their normal base damage (and do not dou-ble) against Moroi; further, the Moroi regenerates damage from such attacks at the rate of one point per Constitution level per turn.
Example the First: Drake, a Moroi with a
Constitution 6, is shot by a 9mm handgun. The handgun normally deals 12 points of damage; against a normal human, this damage would be modified by Success Levels and then doubled, for a minimum of 26 (12 + 1 for Success Levels, doubled for damage Type). However, against Drake the weapon deals only half the base (round down; Success Levels still count). Therefore, he would suf-fer a minimum of seven points of damage (half of 12 is six, plus one for Success Levels). Worse, at the end of the round he heals his Constitution level in Life Points back from that damage. With his Constitution 6, that handgun shot is barely going to scratch him.
Example the Second: After Drake sucks up the
shot from the handgun, a witch nails him with a Soulfire blast that deals 15 points of damage. Drake takes the full 15 points of damage, and can only regenerate if he feeds. A few more blasts like that, and Drake is only a threat to a vacuum cleaner.
This requires a bit of bookkeeping on the part of the player and Director, but is the easiest solution to the problem of Essence. Likewise, rather than spending Essence to maintain their bodies, Moroi must spend Life Points, which also do not replenish without feeding. The cost to maintain one’s exis-tence costs the same in Life Points as the Essence point costs in Mystery Codex (see p. 102). However, on the up side, it does not cost Life Points for a Vampire to use their Manipulations of the Flesh abilities, or any special powers which they purchase using Quality or Metaphysics points. Rather, these powers function off the Moroi’s Willpower and Vampyric Focus roll.
Vampyre Powers
Moroi gain access to a number of special powers that Strigoi do not have. These are the Powers and Qualities, Drawbacks and Vulnerabilities listed in the Mystery Codex (see p. 103). Many of these pow-ers refer to the means of feeding by the Moroi. In cinematic Unisystem games, every Moroi is required to purchase a mode of feeding; no Moroi can simply feed from any old strong emotion. Others are special abilities that Moroi gain access to because of their supernatural natures. Activating a
power requires rolling Willpower (doubled) against the power level of the ability in Question. Optionally, the Moroi may purchase a four point per level Quality, Vampyric Focus. This Quality works similarly to Sorcery or the Necromancy skill and adds to the Willpower roll to activate Vampyric pow-ers. Each ability is also a separate Quality, with the costs as listed in Mystery Codex. The power level of an ability is equal to the Essence cost required to activate the ability.
New Qualities
Emotion Feeder 12-point Quality
Prerequisite: Moroi (Vampyre)
This Quality is the standard method of feeding for Vampyres in the Mystery Codex. It allows a Moroi to feed simply by eliciting strong emotions in a victim (any will do, from fear to excitement to bliss) and making a Willpower and Vampyric Focus roll; each success level drains one Life Point from the victim and restores one Life Point to the Vampyre. Victims heal this damage the same as any other non-damag-ing Vampyre attack (one Life Point per Constitution Level per hour).
Vampyric Focus
4-point per level Quality Prerequisite: Moroi (Vampyre)
This Quality is available only to Moroi, or WitchCraft-style Vampyres, and is required to acti-vate any metaphysical power a Moroi has, from Manipulations of the Flesh (see Mystery Codex, p. 102) to special Vampyric powers such as Greater Shifting. It is not required for Invocations or Chi Abilities, which function on their own systems not detailed in this article. Vampyric Focus always works with Willpower to determine success. Using Manipulations of the Flesh requires only a basic suc-cess (nine or better) for the Vampyre to manifest claws, fangs, or funky facial features. Moroi using this ability can mimic a Strigoi’s game face if they so desire, but do not automatically manifest a game face when they use their powers, as Strigoi do. Moroi do not naturally (un-naturally?) possess a game face as Strigoi do. Such an alteration of
fea-tures is a conscious act of will on the Moroi’s part, and most Moroi find the appearance of a game face rather distasteful. They only manifest the features when attempting to “blend in” among Strigoi (usual-ly for survival purposes). Other Vampyric powers need a base number of Success Levels equal to the listed Essence cost to use the power.
Afterword
So, there you have it! Complete guidelines for adding a new supernatural baddie to your existing cinematic Unisystem game. The aspects of play that the addition of these powers introduce can enhance any game, and can include a great many surprises that enterprising (and underhanded) Directors can throw at their Cast, and what director doesn’t love it when their players go, “What the hell!?” “Who—!?” “You’ve got to be joking!” and my personal favorite, “Oh, you just suck.”
Enjoy!
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Moroi and Metaphysics
In addition to normal Vampyre powers, Moroi may purchase any Metaphysics except for Divine Inspiration. Either they may be built using the basic Hero Character Type, or the Undead Character Type as presented in the Mystery Codex. However, if using the Undead Character Type, the pool of Metaphysics points should be reduced by five, and starting Drama Points must be pur-chased using Metaphysics, Quality, or Drawback Points at a cost of two points per Drama Point.
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Light Sleepers
Additional Vampyre Rules
by Alessandro Gandini This article presents additional material for
Vampyres. This new material provides Chroniclers with various vampire-related source elements for Vampyre characters.
Mind Control Bonuses
When supernatural powers affect free will, crea-tures forced to act against their nature resist strong-ly. For instance, attacking someone without reason would grant a +3 bonus, suicidal orders a +6, and complex orders involving abominable actions up to a +7. Charisma modifiers usually apply to mind con-trol rolls, unless otherwise stated, and Attractiveness may apply as well. Finally, ancient creatures get to add their Age levels to their rolls.
New Qualities
Resistance (Daily Essence)
1-point/level Supernatural Quality
This Quality allows Vampyres that stay in the shadows to be active during the day, losing only one Essence Point every several minutes of activity, as per the following:
Level Time (minutes)
1 2
2 5
3 10
4 30
5 60
Willpower rolls to wake up during the day gain a bonus equal to the levels in this Quality.
Resistance (Sunlight)
2-point/level Supernatural Quality
Prerequisite: as many levels of Resistance (Daily
Essence)
Each level in this Quality reduces Essence loss by direct sunlight, adding a “grace period” of one minute per level: a Vampyre with Resistance (Sunlight) 5 loses two Essence points every six min-utes. Sunlight penalties still stand, and normal dam-age applies to incapacitated or otherwise uncon-scious Vampyres.
New Powers
Animal Affinity 5-point Power
Prerequisite: Greater Shifting
Using this Power, a Vampyre can force an animal to obey his will. At a cost of two Essence per animal, or five animals in a group of small ones, the Vampyre can issue orders as complex as a smart dog could follow, using a Resisted Simple Willpower Test (applying Mind Control Bonuses above). When the order is carried out, the Power’s effect ends. For long-lasting orders, maximum duration is one minute per Success Level. To use this Power, the tar-get must be of the same family of one of the forms the Vampyre can assume: for instance, wolf shape-shifters can control dogs, coyotes, and other canines.
Blood Link 5-point Power Prerequisite: Sire
Like Sire, but works on humans or semi-humans (e.g. Ferals, Immortals, Inheritors, etc.). The cost is five Essence points, and most humans have no way of absorbing it save by drinking the Vampyre’s blood. A mundane human, by herself, has no chance of resisting the Vampyre’s commands or of breaking the bond. Gifted and others resist using their powers,
or as children Vampyres. A Seer who establishes a telepathic contact with a blood-linked Mundane can resist on her behalf.
Domination 3-point Power
Prerequisite: Manipulate Emotions
Using this Power, a Vampyre can force a (mostly) human (including Ferals, True Immortals, and other Vampyres) to obey his will. Brief orders (one sen-tence) are issued with the same rules as per Manipulate Emotions, applying Mind Control Bonuses. When the victim carries out the order, the control ends. Long-duration orders (such as “don’t move until I tell you to”) have maximum duration as per Manipulate Emotions.
Manipulate Senses 4-point Power
Prerequsite: Manipulate Emotions
Vampyres with this power may swap the victim’s perceptions. The ability to exchange pain with pleas-ure gave birth to legends about a vampire’s bite as a unique source of ecstasy. This Power follows the same activation rules as Manipulate Emotions
(applying Mind Control Bonuses, plus
Attractiveness). It lasts one Turn per Success Level. A Resisted Difficult Willpower Test is then applied (although the Vampyre can use a Seduction Task where applicable), with the victim having a penalty equal to the number of Success Levels of the activa-tion roll. If the victim wins the Power will still be active, but only half the amount of Essence is released.
Using pain/ecstasy (inflicting one point of damage per Turn or more), D10(5) Essence can be drained every other Turn—making the classic bite quite effective. This Power can also be used to mask the effects of Wither, until a victim is drained to zero Essence or less, for one Essence point every other Turn. Note that people killed by Essence loss cannot come back as Vampyres, although those who die of exsanguination during the “kiss” can.
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Mist Shape 10-point PowerPrerequisite: Greater Shifting
This Power allows the Vampyre to shape-shift into a thin mist, allowing him to enter non-airtight places and avoid damage from normal weapons. She becomes extremely difficult to see: in a misty area she cannot be detected visually; at night, Perception rolls have a –7 penalty, reduced to –4 with decent lighting and –1 in full daylight or equivalent. The transformation costs five Essence points, and one per Turn afterwards, happening instantaneously if activated and deactivated in the same Turn (allowing one “dodge” per Turn, or to “flow” around an obsta-cle). Otherwise one Turn is required to regain nor-mal form. The Vampyre can carry objects up to his normal capacity, with normal encumbrance penal-ties, and up to Willpower/2 willing (or unconscious) creatures. Objects up to 30 pounds have no cost, each 60 additional pounds require one Essence per Turn. Creatures cost one point per Constitution level per Turn. Powers requiring physical form are unavailable while in Mist Shape.
Air currents may influence movement; use Speed and Strength minus wind speed. If the Vampyre’s total is below zero, he will be blown away (unless he returns solid), and if the difference is lower than the Vampyre’s Speed Attribute it will be the maximum speed he can reach against the wind. It gives the wind a bonus equal to its speed. The Vampyre will also be able to move vertically at half his Speed upwards, twice that value downwards (modifiers for vertical air currents apply), and to avoid falling dam-age entirely, by transforming before landing (at least at the beginning of the same Turn). Regaining phys-ical shape after a fall requires one full Turn.
Sire
4-point Power
Prerequisite: Manipulate Emotions
This power creates a bond with a willing child, who must drain two permanent Essence points from the sire. Blood drinking is the “canonical” method, but any applicable way (including free donation) will do, allowing the sire to sense her emotions and
surface thoughts, as long as both are on the same Sephiroth. Two-way telepathy and deep mind-read-ing (which uses the Mindsight Art table) require two Essence points per Turn, and the latter can be resis-ted with a Willpower Test (Simple for the sire, Difficult for the child); apply the Mind Control Bonuses above. If the child manages to block the probe, he becomes immune for one day per Success Level. The sire can also sense the general location of linked offspring; tracking them more precisely requires the expenditure of one Essence Point per Turn. The bond can be broken, willingly by the sire or forcibly (with a Resisted Willpower Test as above). Breaking the bond forcibly permanently costs the child twice the Essence invested by the sire, and a failed attempt costs half the total.
After successfully severing the link to her sire, a child cannot be remade into a “child.” However, a child can be sired by another Vampyre.
Soul Union 6-point Power
Prerequisite: Blood-Bond
Soul Union functions as per Sire, except with any kind of (willing) creature. Vampyres cost five points of permanent Essence, other beings cost 15. Inhumans and non-offspring Vampyres use Simple (and not Difficult) Tests.
Author’s Note: I wish to thank Peter Trueman for
his invaluable help in the development and stream-lining of this text, as well as Jason Vey, whose com-ments gave me the initial idea.
This article outlines three subspecies or breeds of Vampyres, designed for use in the WitchCraft and Armageddon games. They are also quite suitable for any other Unisystem game setting. Chroniclers wishing to use these rules in a WitchCraft campaign can either add one or more of these subspecies as variations to the normal Vampyre presented in the Mystery Codex, or they can replace the normal Vampyre altogether with these breeds, ruling that Vampyres in their game world have to be one of these three variants.
Background
These Vampyres each feed exclusively upon one of the three emotions that nourish standard Vampyres: fear for Lamias, pain for Draculs, and ecstasy for Succubi. Fledglings of each subspecies begin as blood-drinkers but with time may learn to bypass the need for blood and feed directly upon their victims’ Essence Pools.
Any person made into a Vampyre by a Succubus, Lamia, or Dracul will be of the same type as their creator. The process of creating a Vampyre is essen-tially the same as that described in the Mystery Codex, but with one important exception. The cre-ator Vampyre must personally kill the person she intends to transform before following her spirit into the Threshold.
Succubi commonly do this by draining the vic-tim’s blood, bringing the victim to the point of death. Lamia and Draculs can do likewise, but they will just as likely do it by simply ripping their victim apart. Any form of death dealing will also work against all three—guns, knives, even ramming the victim with a car.
In the world of WitchCraft, it is up to each Chronicler to determine how these different sub-species interact with each other. They may clannish-ly stick together, engaging in power struggles or even outright battles between the breeds, or they may intermingle freely and without antipathy.
Succubi
Succubi are generally the most benign of the breeds. Beautiful, charming, and civilised in their appearance, Succubi obviously appreciate the finer things in life. Art, performance, magic, and sex have special value to succubi. They seldom kill in the process of feeding and their victims generally have pleasant experiences. Some victims even choose to voluntarily submit to Succubi, risking the danger that the Vampyre might one day go too far, in exchange for an ecstasy seldom experienced by mor-tals. An old, experienced Succubus may possess a harem of such willing concubines.
Lamia
Lamias are the stuff of nightmares. They derive their sustenance from scaring their victims to near death. Most Lamias who survive for any length of time come to enjoy the experience of inflicting sheer terror on people. Lamias care less for their victims and, as such, are more likely to kill them. Survivors of Lamia encounters are traumatised for life. They are inflicted with recurring nightmares and the appearance of phobias pertaining to the dark, bats, or other memories that remind them of their brush with death.
Dracul
Draculs are the most depraved of the breeds. Inflicting pain to exist, they end up existing to inflict pain. Draculs seldom recruit people into their ranks who are not cruel and callous. Compassionate peo-ple do not survive very long. Draculs’ victims sel-dom survive capture, with their deaths rarely quick. Draculs take a cat-like joy in tormenting their cap-tives, often playing with them, letting them think they have escaped only to easily recapture them.
The differences in personality among these Vampyre types may cause Chroniclers to restrict Cast Members to playing Succubi. Creating the dra-matic situation of a decent person struggling with the monster she has become could be a good reason to allow Lamia or Dracul Cast Members.
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Of Fear, Pain and Ecstasy
Three New Vampyre Styles
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Powers and Vulnerabilities
Common to Succubi,
Lamias, and Draculs
From Mystery Codex
Metaphysics, Creatures of Flesh and Essence,* Enter the Threshold, Essence Depletion, Evolution, Invulnerability, Semblance of Life,
and Holy Burial.
*Note that Succubi, Lamias, and Draculs can channel up to their Willpower in Essence every Turn, but do not regain Essence normally. In addi-tion, they cannot absorb ambient Essence the way that standard Vampyres do.
Other Powers and
Vulnerabilities
Bloodlust: When confronted with a large quantity
of blood or a bleeding person, these Vampyres must make a Simple Willpower Test to avoid automatical-ly trying to feed on that blood or person.
Debt to the Master: These Vampyres must make
a Difficult Willpower Test to resist obeying any command given by their creator. The creator Vampyre makes a Simple Willpower Test to suc-ceed. The creator Vampyre can use Manipulate Emotions to increase her chances of success.
Vulnerable Heart: A wooden stake driven
through the heart of one of these Vampyres will immobilise and paralyse her until removed. While thus immobilised, the Vampyre may not speak nor use any of her supernatural abilities. She remains conscious and aware of her surroundings, however.
Special Powers
Accessible to Succubi,
Lamias, and Draculs
From Mystery Codex
Greater Shifting, Manipulate Emotions, Mirage
From Light Sleepers
Blood Link, Domination, Mind Link (per Sire
Power), Mist Shape, and Soul Fusion (per Soul Union Power). See pp. 9-11.
New Special Powers and
Vulnerabilities
Command the Beasts
3-point Power for one species; 2 points per additional species
Prerequisite: Manipulate Emotions
With this power, the Vampyre can control animals of one species (selected by the player or the Chronicler) and give them simple commands. The power costs two Essence points per large animal, per group of up to 10 small animals (like birds or rats), or per group of up to 100 tiny animals (such as insects or spiders) affected. The animals follow sim-ple orders for up to one minute per level of the Vampyre’s Willpower, or until the instructions are carried out, whichever comes first. Dangerous com-mands—attacking people, for instance—require a Simple Willpower Test with a –3 penalty to success-fully impose her will upon the beasts. Suicidal com-mands require such a Test with a –6 penalty.
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Flight 5-point PowerWith this power, the Vampyre can fly, bearing up to her carrying capacity in additional weight, at her base Speed. She can also levitate and hover. All of these activities require the expenditure of two Essence Points per minute.
Heartless 1-point Power
With this power, wooden stakes have no special effect upon the Vampyre outside of normal physical damage.
Invisibility 10-point Power
With this power, the Vampyre is able to become invisible at will. This transformation takes a Turn of concentration to effect. While invisible, the Vampyre still produces noise, even if electronics and the human eye cannot detect her. Normal rules apply for attempting to attack an invisible opponent. The Vampyre must spend two Essence points per minute while invisible.
Reduced Damage (Fire) 1-, 5-, or 10-point Power
With this power, the physical damage that a Vampyre takes from fire is reduced to either one half (one point), one fifth (three points) or one tenth (five points) of normal—unless the flames are somehow charged with Essence (e.g., holy or magi-cal fire). Vampyres still take Essence damage equal to the reduced physical damage.
Reduced Damage (Weapons) 3-, 10- or 20-point Power
With this power, the physical damage that a Vampyre takes from weaponry (bullets, blades, shrapnel, piercing, or bludgeoning weapons) or nat-ural attacks (i.e. fists, claws, fangs, falling or sudden impacts) is reduced to either one half (five points), one fifth (10 points) or one tenth (20 points) of
nor-mal, unless the attack is somehow charged with Essence (e.g., holy or magical weapons).
Reduced Damage (Sunlight) 5-points/level Power
Prerequisite: Must possess at least as many levels
of Wake by Day
With every level of this power, the amount of Essence loss due to exposure to sunlight is decreased.
Time Period
Level (Succubi, Draculs) (Lamias)
0 1 minute 1 Turn 1 2 minutes 1 minute 2 5 minutes 2 minutes 3 10 minutes 5 minutes 4 30 minutes 10 minutes 5 60 minutes 20 minutes 6 2 hours 30 minutes 7 6 hours 1 hours 8 12 hours 2 hours 9 24 hours 3 hours 10 Immune 4 hours
At level 10, Succubi and Draculs are effectively immune to daylight; sunlight does not feel painful or even uncomfortable to them. Lamias cannot gain such complete immunity.
Wake by Day 2-point/level Power
With this power, the Vampyre takes reduced Essence loss for activity during the day and the roll needed for the Vampyre to wake up during daylight hours gains a bonus equal to the level of this power. The level also determines how frequently a Vampyre loses an Essence Point for activity during the daytime.
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Level Time Period
0 1 minute 1 2 minutes 2 5 minutes 3 10 minutes 4 30 minutes 5 60 minutes 6 2 hours 7 6 hours 8 12 hours 9 24 hours 10 Immune
Once the Vampyre has reached level 10, staying awake during the daytime is no more difficult than at any other time and the Vampyre need not make a roll to awake from sleeping. In fact, given that Vampyres do not suffer from fatigue, those with 10 levels of this power need never sleep at all, although it can take a while to overcome the psychological habit of doing so.
Wall Crawler 5-point Power
With this power, the Vampyre can cling to solid surfaces, even vertical or upside-down ones, like a spider. To dislodge the clinging Vampyre requires a blow of equal strength as would knock her over if she were standing upright.
New Vampyre
Racial Qualities
Succubi
Use the Undead or the various Supernatural Character Types for beginning costs. They then must purchase the Succubi Quality. Cost: 3 points (15 for being Undead – 4 for Bloodthirst – 3 for reduced Attribute bonuses – 1 for Vulnerable Heart – 1 for Bloodlust – 1 for Debt to the Master – 2 for reduced Manipulations of the Flesh).
Attributes: +2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con
Attribute Minimum: 3, Attribute Maximum: none Secondary Attributes: +20 Essence, No
Endurance Points
Common Succubus Powers
and Vulnerabilities
Essence Vampirism: Without the special ability
Essence Mastery (Ecstasy), Succubi are only able to absorb the Essence of humans by drinking their blood (see Bloodthirst Vulnerability, Mystery Codex, p. 103). It is not necessary to kill the victim to gain Essence, but neither does feeding preclude death. Victims fed upon by Succubi experience a state of ecstasy as their blood drains. This experience is so powerful that they seldom struggle once feeding has begun (a Difficult Willpower Test is required, with a penalty of –1 per positive level of Attractiveness and/or Charisma possessed by the feeding Vampyre). The Vampyre or others must halt the feeding before death occurs.
Manipulations of the Flesh: As per Mystery
Codex (p. 100), except Succubi may only use this ability to make their appearance more attractive and life-like. Succubi do not possess the ability to sprout claws or drastically reshape their faces or bodies. Fangs about twice the length of human eyeteeth can be grown, but these do a mere Strength damage points. They can be very useful, however, for open-ing a major blood vessel in a potential victim, pro-vided he is not struggling at the time.
Vulnerability to Daylight: As per Mystery Codex
Special Succubus Powers
and Vulnerabilities
From Mystery Codex
Bard (Prerequisite: Essence Mastery (Ecstasy)), Magus, and Muse.
New Succubus Powers and
Vulnerabilities
Essence Mastery (Ecstasy) 4-point Power
Succubi with this power no longer need to feed on blood, although they retain the ability to do so. Instead, they can feed directly on the Essence released by the experience of ecstasy. However, they must be the cause of the ecstasy experience. Typically, this requires them to become intimate with those from which they wish to feed. A human brought to ecstasy through any combination of sen-sations loses D10(5) Essence points.
Death is rarely a risk with this manner of feeding. Most humans cease to be capable of feeling strong pleasure once their Essence Pool lowers to zero. Still, the need to become so intimate with their vic-tims can be distasteful to some Succubi, who instead strive to master one of the higher forms of feeding.
Lamias
Use the Undead or the various Supernatural Character Types for beginning costs. They then must purchase the Lamia Quality. Cost: 4 points (15 – 4 for Bloodthirst – 1 for Vulnerable Heart – 1 for Bloodlust – 1 for Debt to the Master – 1 for reduced Manipulations of the Flesh – 3 for increased Vulnerability to Sunlight).
Attributes: +3 Str, +3 Dex, +3 Con
Attribute Minimum: 4, Attribute Maximum:
none
Secondary Attributes: +20 Essence, No
Endurance Points
Common Lamia Powers and
Vulnerabilities
Essence Vampirism: Without the special ability,
Essence Mastery (Terror), Lamias are only able to
absorb the Essence of humans by drinking their blood (see Bloodthirst Vulnerability, Mystery Codex, p. 103). It is not necessary to kill the victim to gain Essence, but neither does feeding preclude death. Victims fed upon by Lamias experience a state of sheer terror as their blood drains. They seldom strug-gle once feeding has begun (a Difficult Willpower Test is required, with a penalty of –1 per negative level of Attractiveness and/or Charisma possessed by the feeding Vampyre). The Vampyre or others must bring the feeding to a halt, as the victim cannot fight back.
Manipulations of the Flesh: As per Mystery
Codex (p. 100), except Lamias may only use the manipulations to make their appearance more horrif-ic and deadly. Lamias do not possess the ability to enhance their beauty or attractiveness. Fangs and claws are available per Mystery Codex.
Vulnerability to Daylight: As per Mystery Codex
(p. 102) except Lamias are particularly vulnerable to sunlight and lose one Essence Point per Turn (instead of one per minute) while exposed to it. Their flesh can be seen to blister and smoke under such circumstances and they suffer considerable pain, incurring a –3 penalty to all tasks.
Special Lamia Powers
and Vulnerabilities
From Mystery Codex
Nightmare
New Lamia Powers and
Vulnerabilites
Essence Mastery (Terror) 4-point Power
Lamias with this power no longer need to feed on blood, although they retain the ability to do so. Instead, they can feed directly on the Essence released by the experience of terror. However, they must be the cause of the fear. Typically, this requires them to terrify those from which they wish to feed. Manipulations of the Flesh is the easiest way to do this, but Manipulate Emotions works quite well too and the two powers together can cause even the stoutest of individuals to become a quivering wreck.
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Anyone who fails a Fear Test in the presence of a Lamia unconsciously releases D6(3) Essence points every Turn (ignore Essence losses detailed in the Fear Table, if used). The Lamia absorbs these losses automatically and all at once as long as she is with-in a yard. This process can be repeated until the human is reduced to –30 Essence points, at which point the human has the usual risk of dying. The ter-ror experienced under such circumstances is such that the victim does not pass out or cease to feel fear once their Essence Pool drops to zero or lower.
Draculs
Use the Undead or the various Supernatural Character Types for beginning costs. They must pur-chase the Dracul Quality. Cost: 4 points (15 – 4 for Bloodthirst + 3 for increased Attribute bonuses – 1 for Vulnerable Heart – 1 for Bloodlust – 1 for Debt to the Master – 1 for reduced Manipulations of the Flesh – 6 for Vulnerability to Fire).
Attributes: +4 Str, +4 Dex, +4 Con
Attribute Minimum: 5, Attribute Maximum:
none
Secondary Attributes: +20 Essence, No Endurance Points
Common Dracul Powers
and Vulnerabilities
From Mystery Codex
Vulnerability to Daylight
New Common Dracul Powers
and Vulnerabilities
Essence Vampirism: Without Essence Mastery
(Pain), Draculs are only able to absorb the Essence of humans by drinking their blood (see Bloodthirst Vulnerability, Mystery Codex, p. 103). It is not nec-essary to kill the victim to gain Essence, but neither does feeding preclude death. Victims fed upon by Draculs experience a state of agonizing pain as their blood drains. Victims will struggle violently to free themselves from the Vampyre’s grip. Unfortunately for them, Draculs are very strong.
Manipulations of the Flesh: As per Mystery
Codex (p. 100), except Draculs can only use this power to make their appearance more horrific and deadly. Draculs do not possess the ability to enhance their beauty or attractiveness. Fangs and claws are available, which are both functional and terrifying
Vulnerability to Fire: Draculs are incredibly
vulnerable to fire. Burning damage also inflicts an Essence loss equal to the amount of physical dam-age received. Furthermore, any Dracul confronted with a flame of torch size or larger must make a Difficult Willpower Test to avoid at least recoiling in terror (lose all actions that Turn) and a Simple Willpower Test to avoid fleeing altogether.
Special Dracul Powers
and Vulnerabilities
From Mystery Codex
Wither
New Special Dracul Powers
and Vulnerabilities
Essence Mastery (Pain) 4-point Power
Draculs with this power no longer need to feed on blood if they do not wish to, although they retain the ability to do so. Instead, they can feed directly on the Essence released by the experience of pain. However, they must be the cause of the pain being experienced by their victim, so typically this requires them to injure or torture those from which they wish to feed.
If a Dracul injures a person by slashing them with claws, fangs, or some sort of blade, the injured human releases Essence equal to one quarter of the physical damage taken. Torture is a slightly more effective means of gaining Essence. Each Turn a Dracul tortures someone, the victim loses D8(4) Essence points, which the Dracul fully absorbs.
This process can be repeated until the human is reduced to –30 Essence Points, at which point she runs the usual risk of dying. The agony experienced under such circumstances is such that the victim does not pass out or cease to feel pain once their Essence Pool drops to zero or lower.
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Development with
Age
Not all of the special powers listed above are read-ily available to all Vampyres. Many take centuries to master and newly created Vampyres have a much smaller range of powers to choose from.
Six different age categories serve to group Vampyres according to the number of years spent active. Time spent in suspended animation (see Mystery Codex, p. 102) does not count towards this age.
Fledgling: less than 10 years Young: 10 to less than 50 years Mature: 50 to less than 100 years Master: 100 to less than 500 years Elder: 500 to less than 1000 years Ancient: 1000 years or more
As a Vampyre moves through these age cate-gories, more special powers become available to her. The following list is a guideline only. A Chronicler should feel free to alter or adjust it, if he has some strong reason to do so.
Each age category naturally has access to those powers listed in the categories before it.
Fledgling: Command the Beasts, Greater Shifting, Manipulate Emotions, Wake by Day (max. level 1), Wall Crawler
Young: Domination, Flight, Mirage, Reduced Damage (Fire) (one half), Reduced Damage (Sunlight) (max. level 1), Wake by Day (max. level 3)
Mature: Essence Mastery (any), Invisibility, Mind Link, Muse, Reduced Damage (Fire) (one fifth), Reduced Damage (Sunlight) (max. level 3), Reduced Damage (Weapons) (one half), Wake by Day (max. level 5)
Master: Bard, Blood Link, Heartless, Mist Shape, Nightmare, Reduced Damage (Fire) (one tenth), Reduced Damage (Sunlight) (max. level 5), Reduced Damage (Weapons) (one fifth), Wake by Day (max. level 7), Wither (touch version)
Elder: Magus, Reduced Damage (Sunlight) (max. level 7), Reduced Damage (Weapons) (one tenth), Soul Fusion, Wake by Day (max. level 9), Wither (ranged version)
Ancient: Reduced Damage (Sunlight) (max. level 10), Wake by Day (max. level 10)
When creating a Vampyre character, the Chronicler (or the player in conjunction with the Chronicler, in the case of Cast Members) should determine roughly how many years the Vampyre has been actively undead. This may necessitate the pur-chase of one or more levels of the Age Quality. A character that becomes a Vampyre during game play starts as a Fledgling.
Weapons for the
Vampyre Hunter
Destroying a Vampyre requires reducing their Essence Pool to below zero. There are a number of ways to accomplish this.
Sunlight: This is a good weapon to use against
younger Vampyres, particularly Lamias. Many older ones, however, have acquired some resistance to this.
Fire: This is very effective in destroying Draculs,
even those who have hardened themselves against its effects somewhat. If Essence fuels the fire (such as the magical fire produced by the Elemental Fire Invocation, or the Holy Fire of the divinely Inspired, or even the Mindfire ability of Seers), the Vampyre cannot block the attack.
Mindkill: This Seer ability directly attacks a
Vampyre’s Essence Pool.
Soulfire: No Vampyre-hunting magic-user should
be without this Invocation, which can quickly dis-pose of the undead.
Necromantic Bolts: Vampyres have reason to
fear a powerful necromancer. These bolts directly attack the undead’s Essence Pool, per Soulfire.
Orikalk Weapons: Melee weapons or projectiles
made from this mythical metal will inflict up to half their damage directly to a Vampyre’s Essence Pool.
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Rituals: If none of the above are available, hunters may need to knock the Vampyres uncon-scious physically, stake them, or bind them to keep them from escaping, and perform the ritual of Holy Burial over them. Older Vampyres may need to have this ritual performed more than once before being completely destroyed.
If a hunter is up against a Vampyre who has acquired some resistance to weaponry, special implements are in order.
Wooden Stakes: Assuming the Vampyre has not
outgrown this vulnerability, a successful strike upon the critical organs of the torso usually immo-bilises him and allows the hunter to finish the Vampyre at her leisure.
Magic Weapons: Melee weapons or projectiles
imbued with any sort of magical power, even those simply consecrated as vessels in which to store Essence, bypass any resistance the Vampyre has acquired to weaponry.
Silver Holy Weapons: A blessed silver weapon
can be charged with Essence through prayer. If the weapon is newly blessed (e.g. a bullet, a new knife, etc.), then it holds at the most one Essence point. If the weapon is a genuine holy artifact, it may hold many more. When a Vampyre is struck by a weapon charged with Essence in this manner, not only is his resistance to weaponry negated, but the undead takes further physical damage equal to D8(4) x Essence released from the weapon.
Holy Water: If a priest, minister, rabbi, or mulla
of faith properly blesses water, it assumes the abili-ty to absorb Essence in a manner similar to silver. No more than one Essence Point can be absorbed per pint of water. Splashing such water over a Vampyre causes physical damage equal to D8(4) x Essence released.
Author’s note: I wish to thank Alessandro
Gandini for his invaluable help and collaboration in the development of this article, as well as Jason Vey, for his comments and feedback on the Eden Studios WitchCraft Discussion Board.
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Str
5
Int
2
Dex 4
Per
3
Con 6
Wil
4
LPS
63
Speed
20
EPS
n/a
Essence
74
Qualities/Drawbacks
Lamia (4) Adversary (Sentinels) (–3) Charisma +1 (1) Contacts (Underworld) (2) Fear of Rejection (–1) Good Luck 3 (3) Hard to Kill 3 (3) Increased Essence Pool +25 (5) Nerves of Steel (3) Resources (Poor) (–6) Situational Awareness (2)Skills
Brawling 2 Computers 1 Dodge 3 Driving (Cars) 1 Escapism 2Hand Weapon (Club) 2 Hand Weapon (Knife) 1 Intimidation 3 Notice 2 Pick Pocket 2 Smooth Talking 1 Stealth 2 Streetwise 2 Swimming 1
Powers/Vulnerablilites
Manipulate Emotions (2)Greater Shifting (wolf, snake, giant spider) (9) Command the Beasts (rats) (3)
Wall Crawler (5) Flight (5)
Personality
So there I was, living on the streets—my career, my family, and my self-respect all gone. I kept com-pany with beggars and winos, doing a little petty theft to survive. I thought my life had hit rock bot-tom. How little I knew.
We found Johnno first. He was lying on his back in an alleyway. And his face! To say that he looked like he’d seen a ghost would be like calling Mt. Everest
a little hill.
Old Martha was next. And then little Freddy. We knew then that something was preying on us. I organized those of us able to fight and we went out looking for it.
We found it—a creature more horrible than I imagined. After it killed everyone else, it stood over me and its features became more human. It said, “Kid, I like your style and your guts.” And then it made me into one of its kind.
I’m sleeping in sewers by day and drinking blood by night. There are religious maniacs with crosses and water that burns that keep looking for me. I’ve learned a lot since that fateful night. However, I know there’s a lot more I still have to learn.
Quote
“Want to see something really scary?”
