Vampires, Pop Culture, and Your Game

[Derren]

I guess Cold War Vampires comes the closest.

I like my vampires as alien undead with all the quirks history has attributed to them. They have to count, they can't cross running water, they have to open knots and they can't enter buildings unless invited.

I don't like this new "aristocratic human with amazing powerz who sucks blood" vampire.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

My preference would be a mix with hordes of hopping corpse vampires from Chinese myth a la Dragon Fist (I guess this comes closest to Cold War-type) led by an Aristocrat-type.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

COLD WAR Vampire.

I HATE, HATE, HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE the romanticization of the vampire (with one or two exceptions, Ironically enough ANGEL is my favorite Whedon Series and I did like Interview with a Vampire when I first read it years ago).

I like my vampires to be EVIL. To view Humanity as FOOD not lovers, friends or sex partners. If they're befriending you it's because they have ulterior motives that are eventually going to SCREW YOU.

Of all of the monsters in monster movies I hate the idea of the romantic "humanized" vampire the most.

Give me 30 DAYS OF NIGHT vampires any day over that other stuff.

 

[the Jester]

This poll should really be multiple choice.

That said, if I had to choose one, I'd prolly go with the aristocrat vampire, though all of them have their place.

One of my favorite vampires was Cassidy in the comic book Preacher.

 

[Serendipity]

Please just give me something ..... *different*

Pop culture. Bah. I went with the historical because that's as close to what I use (and have in the recent past) as the poll gets. I suppose I'm still recovering from Vampire burnout in the late nineties.
(Having said that, trenchcoat wearing katana wielding guys with ponytails send me into a homicidal fury.......)
Honestly, I probably pull from all of the above named sources (er, save for the last one....knights? wtf?) but by definition they're essentially creatures of atrocity.

 

[CleverNickName]

This poll should really be multiple choice.

I thought about it. But I didn't want this thread to be about what is and is not the "perfect vampire." I just wanted people to vote for their favorite style of vampire.

I like all of them, to be honest. But my FAVORITE one, the one that I use the most in my games, and the one that I like to watch and read about the most, is the Cold War Vampire. I like my bad guys to be wicked, direct, and terrifying....I don't like to blur the line between good and evil in my games.

 

[Aus_Snow]

For my games, as this is what you are asking about, any of the first three I suppose.

Or something entirely different, but well, out of those. . .

 

[Minigiant]

Well I have the add this. In my campaign, newly turned vampires are more or less humaniod wolves, barking and biting any living thing 'til their bellies are full. After their first meal or so, they get a bit of thought and reach Cold War status. They still just go around killing for little reason but act more human. This is where most of them get killed by the enemies of vampiries (priests, paladins, werewolves, other legendary creatures). The survivors usually go Goth, Today's or Aristocrat to hide themselves from the vamp killers.

That's how I like them. New vamps are sick evil murderous monsters but as they get older they realize that sick evil monsters get killed a lot. So they either cry and hide, repent and turn face, or to the sneaky "The CEO of the company is a bloodsucker" route.

 

[aurance]

Today's Vampire (2008): The vampires of today are wolves in sheeps clothing, who disguise their true nature with sex appeal and vulnerability. Today's vampires illustrate the fact that people are sometimes more than what they appear to be. They tend to be more heroic than monstrous, and often work alongside "the good guys" to defeat a greater evil.

As for the poll at hand, I like them all, with a side of "don't really care that much." But can you give some examples of these heroic vampires? Last I heard most vampire depictions in fiction are still bad guys, with a few that go against the grain.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

But can you give some examples of these heroic vampires?

Alucard from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is one such example.