Does Deathward protect against Vampiric Touch?

[Dwarmaj]

Death Ward
Necromancy
Level: Clr 4, Death 4, Drd 5, Pal 4
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: 1 min./level
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

The subject is immune to all death spells, magical death effects, energy drain, and any negative energy effects.
This spell doesn’t remove negative levels that the subject has already gained, nor does it affect the saving throw necessary 24 hours after gaining a negative level.

Death ward does not protect against other sorts of attacks even if those attacks might be lethal.

Vampiric Touch
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous/1 hour; see text
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

You must succeed on a melee touch attack. Your touch deals 1d6 points of damage per two caster levels (maximum 10d6). You gain temporary hit points equal to the damage you deal. However, you can’t gain more than the subject’s current hit points +10, which is enough to kill the subject. The temporary hit points disappear 1 hour later.

Vampiric Touch is not death spell, negative enerty effect, or energy drain. From what I can see it provides no protection. The spell doesn't even list the type of damage dealt. The name of the spell does lead one to believe that it deals with negative energy though.

Thoughts...

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

I'd say no.

If most necromantic spells actually used negative energy, I may be inclined to let Death Ward block Vampiric Touch, but since it's not the case, I'd rule that it doesn't.

AR