Vampires at 0 hp

[TrizzlWizzl]

What exactly happens to vampires or vampire spawn when they are dropped to 0 hp or below? Do they become totally invulnerable gasous forms as they fly back to their coffins? Can they be damaged at all while in this state? Are they visible?

They can't be destroyed while in this state can they? They need a stake driven through them, right? A fly speed of 20 ft. seems awful slow so it seems possible to follow them back to the coffin, wait an hour and handle their buisness... but once they're reduced to 0 hp are they essentianlly invulnerable?

??

 

[Berk]

They can still be hurt while in gaseous form. Read the spell.

As for being killed, well just follow it back to the coffin if you can. If you can't then next time ya face it make sure you stake it or something then. My favorite is to follow it back to it's coffin and then putting the coffin outside in daylight if possible.

 

[TrizzlWizzl]

Or

 

[AuraSeer]

The vampire template description explains the three standard methods of destroying it: sunlight, running water, or a wooden stake. In addition to those, you can use magic. Spells like Disintegrate are not restricted to living creatures, so they'll work fine on a vampire.

When reduced to 0 hp or below, the vampire automatically assumes Gaseous Form. It can survive for up to 2 hours in that state, but if it does not reach its coffin by the end of that time, it is destroyed.

It's neither invisible nor invulnerable in gaseous form (as you can read in the ability description, here), but attacking it more is fairly pointless. Normal physical attacks can never destroy a vampire, no matter what form it's in; once it's in negative hp, it can't get any more incapacitated.

The point of beating the vamp below 0 hp is to force it back to the coffin, where it lies helpless for one hour. You can then stake it without having your face bitten off.

 

[TrizzlWizzl]

Or

 

[IceBear]

Or

What's up with these responses?

IceBear

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

If you're hunting the vampire (instead of vice versa), you can find and smash its coffin before engaging the vampire yourselves. Knock it to 0 hit points-- and two hours later, with nowhere to go, it's dead.

 

[coyote6]

At least at lower levels (e.g., before disintegrate & the like), fighting vampires is kind of dissatisfying -- every fight is an anti-climax. You go on and on in mighty battle -- and then are victorious, and then have to track the damned mist back to the coffin so you can destroy it. About the third vampire (or vampire spawn), it just gets old.

One of these days, I'm going to rework the D&D vampire (or find a different version, perhaps something more like SKR's variant, but not quite that vulnerable) so you can kill 'em in a fight without 6th+ level spells.