The vampire county

[Elder-Basilisk]

Let's take the stereotypical piece of gothic fiction. An unfriendly eastern european town full of superstitious peasants is haunted by vampires. Translating this idea into D&D raises two questions: 1. What would the town look like? 2. Would the villagers' precautions be enough to prevent them from all being slaughtered by the vampires?

1. D&D Vampires 101:
They are destroyed by sunlight
They can charm by meeting your gaze
They cannot cross water
They must return to their crypts
They fear holy symbols of good gods
They fear garlic
They cannot enter a house uninvited.

Basing our hypothetical village off of these facts, we can draw some conclusions:

a. Everyone is indoors by sundown. If a mother has lost her small child in the field, she will probably give up the search in time to be inside before sundown. Nobody walks the streets after dark. Everyone makes sure to be home before dark. This restricts the distance that villagers can travel and the coming of dark is probably accompanied by a palpable aura of fear.

b. The peasants never look anyone in the eyes. This will probably make them seem sullen, but it is really because anyone could be a vampire and could charm you if you look in his eyes. It is also probably considered rude to look someone in the eyes--they may think that you are a vampire if you try to look into their eyes.

c. The graveyard is probably on the other side of the stream from the village. People never go there except during the day and when they need to bury someone. Cremation might be more logical, but since vampires require coffins, the people obviously don't cremate their dead. Perhaps they believe that cremation creates other kinds of restless spirits. And perhaps they are correct.

d. People will probably wear holy symbols as charms against vampires. This may cause them to appear to be more devout than they really are.

e. People will probably eat garlic regularly and hang it in their houses--in their windows, above their doors, etc.

f. People will never invite someone into their house after dark. They will rarely do so during the day. Travelers may find the town unwelcoming--after all, nobody is going to invite them to stay with them and if they arrive after dark, they will not be welcomed for love or money. (Heck, they might even be attacked in the middle of the town at night when they are camping and nobody would do anything to help--that would mean leaving their houses which are a secure defense at night). If there is any inn--and there probably isn't--the inkeeper probably has a separate house nearby that he and his family sleep in and he will never invite anyone into it.

So there we have it. The behaviors that make the people in vampire county seem unfriendly and the D&D mechanics that explain why they behave that way. Now on to the other question--is it enough?

2. Would these precautions enable a village of commoners with no ability to defeat a vampire in battle to survive in a vampire's hunting grounds? That's a question for all of you. And maybe there's another question: are there any aspects of the people of vampire county that I have missed?

 

[Nyeshet]

I think you've covered it remarkably well. The only real option a vampire has at this point is perhaps setting one of the houses on fire or tricking a child into allowing them entrance. A vampire could still rather easily slay the village - just set fire to their crops once they are nearly ready to harvest. Do this a couple years in a row and the old, young, and infirm will start dying rather regularly. After two - three years the populace will be eatting leaves and dying daily. This presumes, however, that the vampire wishes to slay them all. Really, they just need a source of blood every now and then.

The village may have a custom akin to "The Lottery" in which every month or full moon they hold a lottery, and whomever loses is placed in a small public 'building' (little more than four poles and a bit of canvas over it to keep them dry in case it rains) or even tied to a pole in the village square. So long as the village has a few hundred people and enough food every year to get by then this won't be too much of a hassle on their population. And if the vampire only drains (damages) a couple Con a day, then the 'winner' of the lottery might last a while. If the vampire can subsist of non-human blood, they may offer a cow or goat or sheep every week to the vampire - tying it to a pole in the village.

Technically, however, D&D vampires do not need to drink blood, so your scenario should work quite well.

With Dracula and most other classic vampire stories the vampire either was lord in a castle over several nearby towns and villages, or they were buried outside of a large city. They could feed once every few days and no appreciable drain would occur to the population (in numbers).

For a single village, if the vampire needed several Con damaged / drunk a night, it would be difficult to maintain the population.

Strike that. I just re-read the SRD, and the Vampire causes Con drain. So it seems that the vampire, if it needs more than 1 Con drained a day, would require at least one humanoid every ten days (36-37 every year) to feed itself. A small village can't support that. A large village or small town might be able to support that, but I think you would really need a small city / large town to realistically support the vampire, as you will likely have someone vanishing every week - if not twice a week.

 

[Sejs]

Vampires are traditionally associated with bats, rats and wolves. The first two would be killed on sight, on the suspicion of being spies for vampires. Housecats would be very common. The job of ratcatcher would be regarded by the populace, but at the same time very grim - if the rats he kills are actually spies, guess who's going to get it first. The downside to no rats and no bats means there'll be more bugs and other pests around. May lead to spiders and other insectivores flourishing due to lower competition for food. Spiders and bugs and creepy crawlies. And -that- would mean the food they would eat would have to be of the type that doesn't spoil easily. Cured meats, root vegitables (can even grow 'em close to home, natch), mushrooms, etc. All appropriately eastern european ta boot.

Wolves would be feared. Being a herdsman would be a rough, rough job. Most would stay close to town, or as close as reasonably possible. If you lose a few head to predators, just let 'em go man, because they ain't coming back. Dogs and geese would be common guard animals. If they start going nuts, you get inside NOW.

The town church would be at the center of the village. It'd be big enough to shelter most of the town's populace, and of very sturdy construction. It'd likely be the most impressive single building in town. On one hand, it's full of holy symbols (and priests), but at the same time, it's a public building...

 

[Cthulhudrew]

c. The graveyard is probably on the other side of the stream from the village. People never go there except during the day and when they need to bury someone. Cremation might be more logical, but since vampires require coffins, the people obviously don't cremate their dead. Perhaps they believe that cremation creates other kinds of restless spirits. And perhaps they are correct.

d. People will probably wear holy symbols as charms against vampires. This may cause them to appear to be more devout than they really are.

I'd actually tie these two together and note that burial is probably a religious rite that predates any sort of vampiric presence, and that it is their deep seated religious conviction that makes the vampires vulnerable to the presentation of holy symbols.

2. Would these precautions enable a village of commoners with no ability to defeat a vampire in battle to survive in a vampire's hunting grounds? That's a question for all of you. And maybe there's another question: are there any aspects of the people of vampire county that I have missed?

Well, let's posit that it would be utterly foolish for any vampire to completely exterminate life in this village in any case, as they would then have to look elsewhere for their sustenance (and travel is a tricky proposition for vampires, due to their weaknesses).

So I think that the matter of whether the villagers could survive is almost a moot point. Many of them, under such circumstances, could maximize their ability to not be selected as prey, certainly, but the entire town would likely not be in danger of being destroyed. Moreover, their very own isolationist-as-protective-measure nature would make this town a perfect hunting ground for any vampires that might exist. Sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

[Vrecknidj]

Teenagers are rebellious. Some teens, especially boy/girl pairs of the right sort, will look each other in the eye. There's the challenge of it, and there's the tickle in the loins aspect of it. Of course, by the time they're a little older and are trying to keep a baby alive, the fun will have worn off.

But, it's important to consider this sort of thing in an organic community ("organic" in the non-pedestrian sense (oh, and "pedestrian" in the non-pedestrian sense)).

The previous post about guard animals is a good point and has to be considered. If there were a community expert on animal behavior, and especially if this person were good at training dogs, s/he'd be a valuable commodity in the community.

I'd think every coffin would be sealed up with some garlic in it upon burial.

Edit: I like the ironic pun of the use of the word "plot" in the original post's title.

Dave

 

[smootrk]

I like your explainations. They make sense, although having a victim every 10 days is impossible for a small village to sustain for long, unless it is your intension that this vampire is slowly killing the town purposefully. It might be easier to say that the vampire(s) go into a state of lethargy or inactivity after a successful feeding night that can last a number of weeks or even months - leaving only loyal minions to hold court in his stead, like the gypsy followers of the count, or were-wolf (human form), or other ideas. The vampire can wake from this lethargic state at any time, but the hunger will return shortly after major activity, and soon another feeding will be upon the folks.

 

[Nifft]

I like your thinking, sir. Now to add a bit of my own.

The most horrifying building in town is the jail. It's not a frightening building in and of itself, but the fact is:
1/ it's public;
2/ you can't get out easily; and
3/ prisoners spend the night there.

No need for a lottery. Just a sheriff who knows what's best for the town, and who knows that lawbreakers sometimes snuff it on cold nights.

Some of the smarter members of the populace would WELCOME adventurers (or other travelers who wouldn't be missed). After all, if I see you walking around during daylight, you are not a vampire. And if you get eaten instead of me, that's wonderful! (for me)

-- N

 

[Klaus]

Such a town would have no "public" buildings. Prisoners (mainly drunkards and brawlers) are kept in the cellar of the sheriff´s house.

No taverns. Get-togethers (by invitation only) are held at a different residence every day, and will be done before sundown).

Town meetings will be held on the street, and people will look each other in the eye then, because they're all out in daytime.

No bridges or ferries, only fords to be walked over. The town will probably divert a nearby river into a "moat" of sorts that can be easily walked in. Note that vampires take damage from crossing water, but can easily be carried over, or they can fly over it.

OTOH, a smart vampire will not be detected before dominating the ENTIRE village, and travellers will be misdirected into the clutches of the master.

 

[Merkuri]

a. Everyone is indoors by sundown. If a mother has lost her small child in the field, she will probably give up the search in time to be inside before sundown.

I just had a frightening image of said lost child finding his way home after dark and banging on the door, begging to get in, but the mother is so frightened that her son may have been transformed into a vampire in the meantime that she cannot find the courage to let him in. She cries under her blankets in bed, hoping he'll just go away. Abruptly the child falls silent, the knocking gone.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Strike that. I just re-read the SRD, and the Vampire causes Con drain. So it seems that the vampire, if it needs more than 1 Con drained a day, would require at least one humanoid every ten days (36-37 every year) to feed itself.

For that reason, I recommend changing it to CON damage, so that the "herd" can recover its health.

Keep in mind that certain aspects of the village may be non-ideal for warding off the vampire - the graveyard may surround the local church, for example, or there may be no stream nearby to use for defense. I like the idea of public buildings having been abandoned due to their vulnerability - there is a tavern in town, but no one goes there; the town jail sits empty, unless the sheriff needs to get rid of particularly troublesome prisoners (ie: PC's).

This thread is making some great ideas come up - I like the idea of the child finding its way home in the dark, only to be ignored; alternatively, the mother coudl break with tradition and go out looking for her child, and this could clue the PC's into the situation.

I would make a ruling that only an un-charmed adult (age 16+) can invite a vampire into the residence.