Bram Stoker's Vampires

[D+1]

Van Helsing explains that Dracula is apparently unsure of his own limitations. He believes that when Dracula unloads crates of his grave soil and then transports them himself, it is a first, a trial and test of his ability to do so. The reason that Dracula travels in his box of earth may have something to do with crossing water as he travels, or the lack of opportunity to feed, or aversion to sunlight. Or it may simply be a matter of timing, if Dracula were 'sleeping' between noon and sunset, or of discretion, if rising from his earthen bed would have spooked his teamsters unnecessarily.

Clearly been too long since I've read it since I don't at all remember Lucy, et. al., having turned to mist at any point. My memory may also be unclear on the matter of Dracula remaining cooped up while being transported back to his castle, but I recall him as effectively just attempting to recover from the effects of the attacks upon him. Basically it was one of the biggest reasons to pursue him so doggedly when they had him on the run - he was in a weakened state which would enable them to finally do him in once and for all.

 

[Dagredhel]

Clearly been too long since I've read it since I don't at all remember Lucy, et. al., having turned to mist at any point .

When Van Helsing, Harker, Godalming & Morris hide in the cemetary outside of her crypt, they catch Lucy returning at dawn. She 'turns to mist' in order to pass through the crack beneath the door in order to reenter her tomb, in full view of the men, who then find her in her coffin--- which was sealed with lead. So one must assume that she also used the ability in order to leave and return to it as well.

My memory may also be unclear on the matter of Dracula remaining cooped up while being transported back to his castle, but I recall him as effectively just attempting to recover from the effects of the attacks upon him. Basically it was one of the biggest reasons to pursue him so doggedly when they had him on the run - he was in a weakened state which would enable them to finally do him in once and for all.

But why was Dracula weakened? If I recall correctly, it was not because he had been done any physical harm, but because his resting places had been violated. He was vulnerable in the sense that his places of rest were no longer secure, his presence was known, and he was being actively pursued by men with greater resources and the strength of numbers.

 

[Relic]

When Van Helsing, Harker, Godalming & Morris hide in the cemetary outside of her crypt, they catch Lucy returning at dawn. She 'turns to mist' in order to pass through the crack beneath the door in order to reenter her tomb, in full view of the men, who then find her in her coffin--- which was sealed with lead. So one must assume that she also used the ability in order to leave and return to it as well.



But why was Dracula weakened? If I recall correctly, it was not because he had been done any physical harm, but because his resting places had been violated. He was vulnerable in the sense that his places of rest were no longer secure, his presence was known, and he was being actively pursued by men with greater resources and the strength of numbers.

He was weakened because the sacred soil that he had transported had been sanctified by Helsing. Without an abundant source of his soil Dracula could not maintain his powers during the day and was significantly weakened.

I would use some of the old 2E Ravenloft material on vampires... the older a vampire gets the more powerful a vampire gets. Older vampires can travel across running water, can control more beasts (wolves, bats, crows, etc), become immune to holy relics (as when Dracula stood up to Helsing in the looney ward when he was with Lucy), and other abilities.

Van Richten's Complete Guide to Vampires also gives ideas take away from the "cookie-cutter" image of vampires. Things like vampires walking around in day but vulnerable to moonlight, immune to wooden stakes but vulnerable to obsidian blades, etc.

 

[Dagredhel]

He was weakened because the sacred soil that he had transported had been sanctified by Helsing. Without an abundant source of his soil Dracula could not maintain his powers during the day and was significantly weakened.

I agree that the source of Dracula's discomfiture and the reason for his 'strategic withdrawal' was a result of the protagonists finding his soil caches and rendering them unuseable. But I don't believe (though I'm open to correction) that it ever states in the novel that the soil allowed him to maintain his powers during the day, or that the quantity available to him effected his level of power. My recollection is that Dracula had a single bolthole and supply of soil left, after Van Helsing & company found and ruined the others, leaving him with a solitary place of rest, and therefore vulnerable to discovery and extirpation. And in terms of his powers, I believe he was only able to use some of them (shapeshifting) when in a place that held special power for him, a lair prepared with the grave soil of his ancestors & descendants, i.e., his "blood", an unhallowed place like the burial plot of the suicide, or the abodes of his victim's, to whom he is linked by the blood he has stolen--- or given?

 

[Dagredhel]

Do vampires move silently, or do they go *BUMP* in the night? (I know, pretty shameless...)

 

[Guilt Puppy]

Re: The strengthening of powers over time. Perhaps the Vampire could be remodelled as a prestige class (I'm already reworking the Lich in the same manner for a home game)... I mean, it doesn't have the ideal properties for a prestige class, but maybe a template / prestige class combo could sort it out a little better?