Vampire in play

[pauljathome]

Somebody brought a Vampire character to yesterdays LFR game, and man is it awful in that context.

I'm not at all talking about the mechanics. I'm talking about the flavour.

First, we had the massive problem of "And why are we adventuring with a vampire and not just killing it on sight?" Its LFR so we just muttered and ignored the problem but it was definitely there.

But the main problem is that the character didn't feel like any vampire out of any fiction that I've ever read (note, I have NOT seen nor read the Eclipse books).

Some of the issues are arguably build issues. But only really a little.

The character was a 5th level character. He was supposed to be centuries old. But had, of course, absolutely nothing in game terms to show that. No knowledge of history (admittedly this is a class skill but that barely helps. If the player had cared to waste the points they could have made the character barely competent at history. Way worse than the Eladrin mage in the party, of course, but at least vaguely competent.

The character had no ability to smell blood (this actually came up on screen). No supernatural senses except for dark vision.

Strength was his dump stat so we have a physically weak vampire.

He has some thematic powers but he desperately needs far more flavourful powers. And unfortunately in D&D where just about EVERYBODY can do weird stuff like push and pull characters around thematic powers like Dark Beckoning become far less interesting

The only thing that made him at all seem like a Vampire was the fact that everybody hated him on sight .

I think that making the Vampire a class was a significant mistake. Heck, I'm not at all sure that making it a PC at all was a good decision. You just cannot create a balanced low level vampire that is going to remotely seem like a vampire.

 

[generalchaos34]

id venture to say that the player is at fault, not the character. If you wanted to play a vampire effectively in my opinion youd have to go the amnesia or reformed route. That meaning that your character recently just awoke as a vampire with no recollection of their previous life, or that they have spent the majority of their existance in a bloodsoaked haze and has only recently managed to conquer their bloodlust. This means that despite any sort of advanced age they may have does not factor into the fact that they are level 1. If they were going the centuries old route it wouldnt hurt for the character to occasionally bring up historical factoids (i remember when this tomb was built!). Ideally any vampire character to be played well must do so with an aura of mystery and if possible not letting on that they are a vampire at all (like you said, everyone can do those powers) until they become bloodied or turn into a bat.

 

[Ryujin]

A party really must fit, thematically, for it to be believable or even functional, on a role playing level. For example I can't imagine a Vampire living for more than the first few rounds, if he tries to join a party with a Cleric and Paladin of Kelemvor in it. Want to play a Vampire? Then it likely belongs in a darkly-themes party of Assassins, Rogues, Warlocks....

 

[generalchaos34]

A party really must fit, thematically, for it to be lelievable or even functional, on a role playing level. For example I can't imagine a Vampire living for more than the first few rounds, if he tries to join a party with a Cleric and Paladin of Kelemvor in it. Want to play a Vampire? Then it likely belongs in a darkly-themes party of Assassins, Rogues, Warlocks....

Which is again the theme of HoS. I would like to propose a VERY interesting idea for a vampire character hanging out with a paladin of kelemvor and a cleric of aumantor. What if the character was once a member of the party and they were forced to leave him to die at the hands of vampires, and he has returned as one, but with the desire to cure himself or use his power for good? If the divine PCs are wracked with guilt over being responsible for the PCs condition such a character could coexist in the party, and even create some interesting tension.

 

[Ryujin]

Which is again the theme of HoS. I would like to propose a VERY interesting idea for a vampire character hanging out with a paladin of kelemvor and a cleric of aumantor. What if the character was once a member of the party and they were forced to leave him to die at the hands of vampires, and he has returned as one, but with the desire to cure himself or use his power for good? If the divine PCs are wracked with guilt over being responsible for the PCs condition such a character could coexist in the party, and even create some interesting tension.

I might have suggested just that if it weren't for the fact that Wizards decided to make Vampire a class, rather than a race. Redemption is a rather good character arc but, if everything that the character is and does is based on that fate, how do you 'fix' it?

The only way that I could see, would be running right into Epic and killing Orcus.

 

[pauljathome]

Which is again the theme of HoS. I would like to propose a VERY interesting idea for a vampire character hanging out with a paladin of kelemvor and a cleric of aumantor. What if the character was once a member of the party and they were forced to leave him to die at the hands of vampires, and he has returned as one, but with the desire to cure himself or use his power for good? If the divine PCs are wracked with guilt over being responsible for the PCs condition such a character could coexist in the party, and even create some interesting tension.

I'd have thought that the most appropriate and merciful thing to do would be just to kill the cursed friend so that his soul could go to whatever reward awaits it.

 

[Dannager]

I'm also gonna go with the "This is a player/group problem" line. There are plenty of odd character options out there already that might require an adventuring group to come up with some quick rationalizations to maintain suspension of disbelief.

But, yeah, it sure would be helpful if WotC put out a guide to playing stereotypically evil character options.

 

[Dice4Hire]

But, yeah, it sure would be helpful if WotC put out a guide to playing stereotypically evil character options.

Not really. That is really a guide to evil parties or games, not eveil characters in a good party, which is what this thread is about.

In the end, this is why I did not buy HoS. It does not fit my play style or my group's playstyle, nor, I would argue, D&D's typical playstyle. Sure, it can be done, but making options ofr that segment of the whole playing group is not a good idea.

I'm afraid there will be poor sales of the upcoming books and that will convince WOTC that book sales are not the way to go, kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

[Dausuul]

Not really. That is really a guide to evil parties or games, not eveil characters in a good party, which is what this thread is about.

In the end, this is why I did not buy HoS. It does not fit my play style or my group's playstyle, nor, I would argue, D&D's typical playstyle. Sure, it can be done, but making options ofr that segment of the whole playing group is not a good idea.

Do you know how many obsessive vampire fans there are out there? "Heroes of Shadow" could have been titled "This Book Lets You Play A Vampire" and it would probably sell better for it.

Even setting that aside, the market for dark-themed PCs is and has always been quite strong. Just because you and your group don't like them doesn't mean there aren't plenty of folks who do.

 

[Dannager]

Not really. That is really a guide to evil parties or games,

No, it's not. You should probably read the article I linked. The article is about playing a member of a stereotypically evil race, and how to convince people you're not one of those stereotypically evil individuals. It has nothing to do with being part of an evil party, and it has nothing to do with an "evil game". In fact, most of the article is spent giving you tips on how to survive playing a heroic character who happens to be from a monstrous race.