Vampires

[orion90000]

The rules are sort of vague on destroying a vampire. What happens to a vampire when an attack drops him below 0 HP?

 

[Aran Thule]

Fast Healing (Ex): A vampire heals 5 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, it automatically assumes gaseous form and attempts to escape. It must reach its coffin home within 2 hours or be utterly destroyed. (It can travel up to nine miles in 2 hours.) Any additional damage dealt to a vampire forced into gaseous form has no effect. Once at rest in its coffin, a vampire is helpless. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless and resumes healing at the rate of 5 hit points per round.

Hope that covers it

 

[Dandu]

He starts sparkling.

Slaying a Vampire

Reducing a vampire’s hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn’t always destroy it (see the note on fast healing). However, certain attacks can slay vampires. Exposing any vampire to direct sunlight disorients it: It can take only a single move action or attack action and is destroyed utterly in the next round if it cannot escape. Similarly, immersing a vampire in running water robs it of one-third of its hit points each round until it is destroyed at the end of the third round of immersion. Driving a wooden stake through a vampire’s heart instantly slays the monster. However, it returns to life if the stake is removed, unless the body is destroyed. A popular tactic is to cut off the creature’s head and fill its mouth with holy wafers (or their equivalent).

 

[Aran Thule]

He starts sparkling.

If that type of vampire turned up i would demand divine retribution, the twilight vampire can definately be called an abomination

 

[orion90000]

Fast Healing (Ex): A vampire heals 5 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, it automatically assumes gaseous form and attempts to escape. It must reach its coffin home within 2 hours or be utterly destroyed. (It can travel up to nine miles in 2 hours.) Any additional damage dealt to a vampire forced into gaseous form has no effect. Once at rest in its coffin, a vampire is helpless. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless and resumes healing at the rate of 5 hit points per round.

Hope that covers it

not really. Fast Healing stops when the subject is reduced to -10 hp. My question is what happens if the vampire is reduced to -1.

Undead Trait: Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.

Reducing a vampire’s hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn’t always destroy it. When does this destroy it? when the DM wants it to? If an attack dropped the vampire to negative hp, does it just assume to drop to 0 and enter its invulnerable gaseous form? What if attack dropped it to -10?

 

[steeldragons]

not really. Fast Healing stops when the subject is reduced to -10 hp. My question is what happens if the vampire is reduced to -1.

According to what it says above, it would seem, at -1 it just goes gaseous and tries to get back to its coffin. I would say, if you keep it from getting back to its coffin it would almost certainly be destroyed after a period of time. Since it would be unable to regain any HP and would essentially "bleed out"...in a gaseous formy kinda way and just dissipate into nothingness.

Reducing a vampire’s hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn’t always destroy it. When does this destroy it? when the DM wants it to?

Well, there's always that. Your DM could make that call if he/she so desired. Just make a flat houserule that knocking a vamp to less than 0 is an auto-kill...but I think having to chase the gas cloud or off them in the coffin is more fun.

If an attack dropped the vampire to negative hp, does it just assume to drop to 0 and enter its invulnerable gaseous form? What if attack dropped it to -10?

If they were dropped to -10 in a single attack, personally, I'd say: "Yargh! Poof. Pile of dust."...Buffy style. Do not pass go. Do not change into gaseous form. Total gonzo.

--Steel Dragons

 

[Aran Thule]

not really. Fast Healing stops when the subject is reduced to -10 hp. My question is what happens if the vampire is reduced to -1.

Undead Trait: Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.

From my reading of it it never gets into the negatives, as soon as it reaches 0 the body goes gaseous.
all the other damage is negated.
i suppose you could look at it like an immediate action or contingency.

 

[CuRoi]

My rule of thumb is things without Con don't go negative (undead, constructs, etc). Could be a house rule, I don't recall right off.

I mean an animated table is just a table...that now moves...and I wouldn't give a table opportunities to hit -10 and stabilize itself : ) Undead are about the same (though I could see a case for intelligent undead "clinging" to their non-life....)

 

[orion90000]

From my reading of it it never gets into the negatives, as soon as it reaches 0 the body goes gaseous.
all the other damage is negated.
i suppose you could look at it like an immediate action or contingency.

"Reducing a vampire’s hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn’t always destroy it." I would assume since it says "0 or lower" that means that a vampire can have negative hp.

the text just says it goes gassy when it hits 0, not 0 or below.