Can a DM expose a vampire character to sunlight with combat actions?

[IanB]

The part that isn't defined is 'the DM can take your cloak away if he feels like it'. Well, sure, the DM can do all sorts of things if he feels like it. He *could* make the wizard's player roll a saving throw every time he takes fire damage to keep from losing his spellbook - after all, how a wizard functions without his spellbook is defined, and it is a weakness that's there and should be exploited right?

The sun thing strikes me as the same sort of 'story' weakness as the spellbook. It is there to *very occasionally* come up for dramatic effect but is not meant to be some sort of sword of Damocles hanging over the character's head.

 

[Ferghis]

Some of you guys are saying that because there is no clear mechanic as to how to implement this part of the game's rules, they must have actually printed a game mechanic to convey flavor.

That seems to be a completely counterintuitive take to me. I can agree that it's weird that they would create a mechanic without a clear way to implement it, but there are many other confusing mechanics that have been published. Nobody ever said "well, we shouldn't use this part if the game at all" just because of that.

Also, some of the more memorable wizards of this game have been caught without spellbooks. If you want players to be comfortable, please play that way. But if you want some conniving, paranoid, sneaky bastards who get in and out of the worst kind of troubles, then come take a seat at this table. I will attack you while you are resting and Without armor. I will use your best NPC friend as a human shield. I will plant a player in the game who is a spy for the duke. You will end up making a deal with the devil to save the princess. And you will jump out the airship without a way to land safely to get that thing you need to get, praying that one of your buddies will figure out a way to save your behind. Games that go to weird places are better than games that draw within the lines. At least for me.

 

[eamon]

The part that isn't defined is 'the DM can take your cloak away if he feels like it'. Well, sure, the DM can do all sorts of things if he feels like it. He *could* make the wizard's player roll a saving throw every time he takes fire damage to keep from losing his spellbook - after all, how a wizard functions without his spellbook is defined, and it is a weakness that's there and should be exploited right?

The sun thing strikes me as the same sort of 'story' weakness as the spellbook. It is there to *very occasionally* come up for dramatic effect but is not meant to be some sort of sword of Damocles hanging over the character's head.

I think you've hit the nail on the head for a straightforward implementation. But the point with all these story weaknesses is that it's heavily party dependant. If you add ad-hoc kind of weaknesses (such as pushing back a cloak), the game will be more swingy and more at risk of a poor judgement that leads to an unwanted outcome. But if the DM is skilled enough at threading these things into play, and the player's trust him enough, then it doesn't necessarily lead to problems.

Taken out of context, it's definitely a bad idea. But if it's part of a campaign with the right set of player expectations and with a DM that's spent some effort to permit similar actions and that's competent enough to avoid issues (and an occasional whoops isn't the end of the world as long as you deal with it), then why not?

 

[Votan]

The sun thing strikes me as the same sort of 'story' weakness as the spellbook. It is there to *very occasionally* come up for dramatic effect but is not meant to be some sort of sword of Damocles hanging over the character's head.

That is a good example. Wizards become much less fun to play if they are constantly being rendered without a spellbook (in 1E to 3.5E, mostly). The class is extremely strong, which helps, but it certainly gets less fun if every enemy or encounter is looking for a way to destroy the book.

 

[Ferghis]

As has been said elsewhere, I don't think the point here is to do this constantly to the vampire (or wizard). It's to make the player be wary that it might happen anytime, and therefore they should take as many creative measures to protect themselves as possible. Wizards have backup spellbooks that they hide in protected places and place many protections on their spellbook. Just for starters, vampire PCs should make some effort to hide their true nature. If they come at me with "I vant your blud" and bat pets I'm gonna lower the DC on the enemies' knowledge check to recognize the vampire as such.

 

[jonesy]

Hmm. Comparing spellbook protection to anti-sunlight protection?


Improved Hooded Cowled Robe
- Has both the larger hood of the cowl, and a smaller extra hood inside of it. The smaller is made of tough leather and can be very tightly secured with sturdy leather straps. These come with small locks which can be locked. The larger hood goes over the smaller, creating a 'normal cowl appearance', and has a choker which can also be secured and locked.
- Built in sandstorm goggles.
- The robe part looks like a regular long adventurers overcoat, and also secures.

Yeah, I could go totally extreme and I still don't see how it's at all hard to protect yourself. I'd have something like that cost maybe 120gp.

 

[P1NBACK]

Save this ace for special antagonists. A Latverian soldier couldnt exploit, but Dr Doom MUST.

I think it totally depends on the group and campaign you're running, but some, definitely.