Non-WoD vampire games?

[Betote]

Having just finished a True Blood marathon, I'm thinking about running a "vampire society" game, you know, the typical one where PC's are transformed into vampires and have to deal with their new situation and the vampiric traditions and problems, blah blah blah.

The thing is, I don't like the WoD system at all, and also feel that the WoD lacks mystery, so I'd like to have a look at another game or system. My initial idea is to use Fudge, but if anyone knows of another option, I'd be more than happy to hear (read) about it

 

[mmu1]

GURPS, naturally, has a setting for everything. However, the latest edition, the 4th, is so customizable right out of the core characters book that you can basically make any kind of vampire you'd want using just the advantages / disadvantages contained in it.

GURPS vampires are extremely powerful compared to mortals, which can be a good or a bad thing, depending on what kind of game you want to run. It's definitely a good system if you want to closely emulate the kind of extreme power even run of the mill vamps have in most fiction, though.

 

[Set]

I would expect that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer game has rules for PC vampires, given the potential to have an 'Angel' or a 'Spike' in the party.

 

[dm4hire]

Well there is the Angel rpg.

However if you want play a unquie system dedicated to playing vampires and such then I would recommend playing NightLife: The RPG of Urban Horror which preceded WoD by a few years, but unfortunately never caught on. It's out of print now but one of the developers has made updated rules available at the Yahoo group for free. I recommend checking it out.

 

[usdmw]

Re: Gurps.

GURPS actually released licensed versions of Vampire: the Masquerade, Mage: the Ascenscion, and Werewolf: the Apocalypse. They're oop, but easy to find. They were written for gurps, 3rd edition. There was also a 2-part vampire adventure in Pyramid magazine "tervel's haven."

At one time I also found fan versions of GURPS: Changeling, and GURPS: Mummy.

I like everything except the Werewolf book. It's very complex, even for gurps.

 

[Mercule]

While I wouldn't recommend GURPS to anyone, I have played a vampire character in Hero. It worked quite well and easily met my (exacting) standards for what vampires should be.

 

[NerfedWizard]

My game Omnifray (Omnifray RPG - Home) includes guidelines for vampire player characters (only in the Expert Manual). You can have them alongside mortal player characters no problem because their points advantages and disadvantages can balance out pretty easily. In fact one group that I am reffing for at the moment is about to greet a new vampire player character. But you are stuck with a fantasy setting (roughly medieval era) and some people find the rules a bit complicated.
The setting IS good for mystery though (as the major cults detailed in the Expert Manual have three different versions each) and vampires are potentially a big deal in at least three of the major nations (Khosath, Izlavia and Starizlavia). All very much unbeknownst to the common folk, usually.

I'm guessing you've already ruled out Old World of Darkness as well as New World of Darkness? At the end of the day, though, you can use any system if you adapt it. I reckon you could probably run a reasonable game of vampires using D&D 3.5. In fact, come to mention it, there is a Bloodsucker: The Angst or something d20 game out. I saw it being marketed at Indiecon. I think it was deliberately tongue-in-cheek.

 

[jdrakeh]

• Angel
• Blood Games
• Nightlife
• Vampire Hunter$

These are the 'play as vampires' games that immediately come to mind. I'm certain that I'm missing some. Certainly, generic games like Fudge, HERO, GURPS, and Rolemaster can accommodate nearly an PC concept that you can imagine.

 

[Merlin's Shadow]

Monte Cook's World of Darkness, while ostensibly a WoD game, is completely different from the "regular" WoD line. It makes use of a heavily modified d20 system and is pretty dang sweet if you ask me. You can play vampires (or werewolves or mages or hunters). Check it out.