staking vamps

[0-hr]

A vampire can be killed by a stake to the heart. How does one handle this in game terms (lacking called shots, and them being immunes to crits etc.)?

Does DR apply to staking attempts?

If you put silversheen on a magic stake (to bypass DR), would it still count as a wooden stake, or does the silver override, and mask, the wood?

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

I'd just use the CdG mechanics, making the same exception for vampires and stakes that the vorpal enhancement does for vampires and beheading.

 

[FEADIN]

I would rule that to succeed the vampire must be held or sleeping, a kind of helpless situation maybe so you can do a "coup de grace" with DR and all resistances applicable, you should be able to strike very hard to kill him.
New weapon: The holy, undead bane, disrupting, silvered, +5 wooden knife

 

[frankthedm]

The RAW really is unhelpfull on this. Patryn's suggestion is one of the better ways of going about it.

Apply stake to vampire only when it is rendered helpless. Only deal normal damage for the hammer's[or 1d4 for the stake's] CDG, but apply DR just once to represent each blow pounding in the stake.