D&D General Vampire native earth question

[MarkB]

It's hard to get a rules solution to what isn't a rules problem. The game doesn't define in rules terms what properties native earth has. About the only way to get around that is with a spell that allows you to make your own definitions, such as Wish.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

The native earth thing comes from vampire lore outside of the game. It was originally referring to dirt from the vampire's original grave. The vampire is supposed to be attached to a physical location, and not able to go wandering the world (or, if they do, they risk losing the native earth they bring along, and not being able to get more.

This lore, of course, comes from a tradition where there is no planar travel or control of planes, or magical transformation of Earth. Traditionally, the vampire is stuck, or at risk. Such is the price of the power of undeath.

Then, to be in the proper spirit of the thing, we should make this extremely difficult for the vampire to pull off. And I'm not sure "drain a bunch of humans" is really a price - I mean the vampire wants to drain people anyway, right?

I suggest that the ritual be more about changing the vampire than the dirt - to have different native earth, what counts as "home" for the vampire should change to the new location.

Dirt part
I know. Its been a part of the myths for a couple hundred years. Fun fact though. Not actually part of the oldest tales. Actually, the oldest roots arent even working with undead beings but rather sorcerors (people with secret magical knowledge) who knew secrets of manipulating and stealing life force. It originates during the migratory period of early indo european tribes and north atlantic sea people. At least as far as the roots of the european core of vampire myth goes, which is diatinctly the primary inspiration for modern western vampires and therefore vampires in d&d.

Lore explanation part
No. A lot of it comes from 18th century britain and isnt old at all. The blood part is. Sort of. The sun part is to a lesser extent. Also sort of. The planar travel and enchanting ir transforming dirt. Hoho...buddy thats old as time. Yes. The ancients believed im planar travel. And were much more complexly structured in their particular beliefs on it than our game systems and fantasy literature are. Holy crap they were complicated about it (if you are looking at the right culture/religion). Being stuck only became a part of the myth after the idea of them being living wizard sorceror things gave way to the idea of them being undead.

The proper spirit
Again. Originally they werent even undead. That got added later when the main core myth was mixed with myths of the dead. Although that did mix in during ancient times. That said, not sure what would work for a ritual, but going with the stuff that mostly is a product of victorian era stories and nit the oldest trackable things will probably say that they either cant move at all, or they would be tied to anywhere their relatives live near as those are the people they have the compulsion to haunt and prey upon primarily. Hmmmmmm actually thats an idea...

A working ritual to change the vampire itself
Hmmmmmm...what you say here does make a lot of sense actually. And i have an idea. It probably should involve something draining related. But the WHO is important. Perhaps draining enough people whove

A. Lived there for generations

And

B. Are at least plane touched (that plane's) persuasion to be able to use new native earth or at most are outright a full outsider of some kind.

Again. In high enough numbers. And sacrificing the ability to use old native earth for new native earth.

This, would makes some level of sense. But it should be restricted to things that hold a mystical sort of authority over the regiom due to vampires weird restrictions concerning law and permission and all that. And not only high numbers of them but probably things with the same number of hit die at least. And maybe some transutation, conjuration, and vile magic thrown in there at stages.

Side note: vampires of either non evil alignment or non evil/stupid alignment would not chomp at the bit to drain people necessarily. Lotta potential reasons for that. So no. Not simply "what they want to do".

Say hello to a ritual in the making to make vampires with rare knowledge planar travel capable?

 

[Son of the Serpent]

It's hard to get a rules solution to what isn't a rules problem. The game doesn't define in rules terms what properties native earth has. About the only way to get around that is with a spell that allows you to make your own definitions, such as Wish.

hmmm arent there actual rules somewhere for making spells in a technically rules approved way? Would a spell that is bases off simulacrum but is transmutation or conjuration instead of illusion and the same level (seeing as it may be a fully actual duplicate instead of just really close but is also not a duplicate of a living being therefore easier and thus around aame level) suffice?

 

[Son of the Serpent]

If you mean RAW, nope. But there are clearly a lot of ritual and lore beyond RAW.

As GM, I would make such be an elaborate ritual over time involving sacrifices to transform a new patch of desecrated ground into dirt that the vampire can use.

I might borrow the "for 30 days in a row" found in some spells and go with cultists, daily sacrifices of folks and doused with the vampire's own blood for a period from one new moon to another - perhaps only during a blue moon period - where two full moons fall on a calendar month.

Gives a decent period for PCs to come in in the middle and then try snd stop it.

this actually looks pretty good. If i go the route of making a spell ill probably use the 30 day thing as well. And maybe making the bodies into a weird enchanted mulch lol. Probably about as close as im gonna get to RAW is ising a spell that qualifies under the guidelines for making new ones.