D&D General Vampire native earth question

[Leatherhead]

Also, the native earth thing is actually in the statblock for vamps.

Can you quote it for me? I can't find it in my book.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Can you quote it for me? I can't find it in my book.

Monster manual 1 page 252 under fast healing. Its the only way they can self stabilize. It states they immediately start doing nothing but travelling toward it, but it seems heavily implied this is because they are currently "helpless" and cant cast a spell or use another available method to restore themselves. Never really states why they cant take other actions. It basically just seems to say they cant. Also if they take any additional damage in this state whatsoever they are utterly destroyed. Although while in this scenario specific variation of its more normal gaseous form its trickier devising a way to cause damage to it. Its nearly invulverable in this state. But it travels slowly enough that things can easily just follow it back to its grave. And it only has two hours. Realistically even if not pursued its never going to make it back.

 

[Leatherhead]

Monster manual 1 page 252 under fast healing.

I must have a different copy than you. Mine only mentions a "coffin home." There is a mention "unholy earth of their graves" on page 250, but that's part of the fluff, with no mechanic attached.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

@Leatherhead Fair. But their grave is not any old place theyve dug up. Its their burial site. Further, that may be written in a fluff sort of style but that entry looks like its still a stat. A condition.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Unless grave can mean something else by raw...

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Looking back at it it is a "fluff"ish section but it states it matter of fact. As a factual statement. And later the forced gaseous state makes it more clarified.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Does anyone else know a spell which can duplicate a specific material sample as opposed to simply creating the same general material?

 

[MarkB]

How about simple dilution? How much non-native earth can you mix in with the native earth before it becomes non-functional?

A vampire could experiment with its spawn to find out.

 

[Umbran]

Never specified.

Besides. A plane whos environment you control...

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.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

This does not give an out of game answer though
This works only assuming there IS an out of game answer. Its a good rp solution for when the rules are well established. But i need a rules solution.