Vampires getting staked to the heart.

[Lord Ben]

How do you handle rules for staking them to the heart? Called shots, criticals, etc?

 

[Caliban]

How do you handle rules for staking them to the heart? Called shots, criticals, etc?

I think that in general it would have to be a Coup de Grace situation (i.e. you have the vampire helpless). Catch them in their coffin during the day. Otherwise you have to fight them and can't just stake them and end the fight in a single attack.

 

[Geoff Watson]

You need to get them helpless first, otherwise everyone will go for called shot:heart against any opponent, as it would be an instant kill, which goes against the theme of the hit point system.

Geoff.

 

[Staldin*Freefall]

Dunno, the heart would be a diminuitive object (+4 AC), it'd get the bearer's Dex bonus, and it's wearing bone armor (+3 AC?). I'm not sure if it's getting a total cover bonus from the bearer's chest, and of course the bearer's own armor, if any.

 

[Geoff Watson]

Dunno, the heart would be a diminuitive object (+4 AC), it'd get the bearer's Dex bonus, and it's wearing bone armor (+3 AC?). I'm not sure if it's getting a total cover bonus from the bearer's chest, and of course the bearer's own armor, if any.

And one True Strike spell (or lots of attacks, hoping for a 20) later, the super-duper-ultra-high-level-dude is dead, shot through the heart.

Geoff.

 

[Jhamin]

And one True Strike spell (or lots of attacks, hoping for a 20) later, the super-duper-ultra-high-level-dude is dead, shot through the heart.

Geoff.

Yeah, gotta agree with this one.

D&D is abstracted to such a degree that one shot weapon kills are pretty much impossible after somebody has 20-30 Hp or so. (Barring Smackdowns!).

In his movies Conan never gets a his head cut off with a swordor an arrow in his heart. Dracula on the other hand always does. When you put them into the same rules set something has to give.

So IMHO there shouldn't be any called-strike-to-the-cheezecloth-ribcage-instant-stakings in this system.

 

[Jhamin]

Come to think of it when my party ran into their first 3e Vampire I announced that this was D&D not Buffy and they were actually gonna have to deal with him and his loads of HP.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Probably, this is a special ability of the vampire slayer prestige class.
And even Buffy has to fight for some time with vampires.
You can "see" the Vampire Character levels by counting the number of rounds Buffy fights them.
Perhaps it is some kind of Improved Critical Vorpal strike

 

[maddman75]

Actually, I see Buffy as having a hit point system, at least possibly.

She beats the tar out of the vampires until they are staggered. They are then helpless and Buff delivers a CDG with the stake.

 

[Angelsboi]

Yeah but Buffy Vampires dont turn into gas.