It really should be dependant on the vampire itself. Lots of different things should be taken into account: Is he a minion of another vampire? Does he have something that haunts him from his past? Is he a mournful soul who despises his vampirism or has he embraced the call of the night? Has he had intruders before? What is the area surrounding his "lair" like? Is he in an area full of superstitious peasants, or a metropoiltan city's graveyard? After taking these things and more into account you should place what you feel best suits that specific vampire. Decide on what kind of personality you want him to have, and extend that personality out into his "lair", make it an extension of himself. With a little time and work you can make the vampire's "lair" extremely memorable to any who would dare to enter it. Anyway, that's my 2 cents, or maybe less.
What is in a Vampire's lair?
- Thread starter aliberator
- Start date
333 Dave
First Post
A large dining hall.
Guest room.
Wine cellar. "I don't drink.... wine"
Absolutly no mirrors.
No windows or only opaque windows (so sunlight can't get in but he can open it and fly out if need be).
Doors. Mist holes and stuff aren't guest friendly. And you must be friendly to guests.
Guest room.
Wine cellar. "I don't drink.... wine"
Absolutly no mirrors.
No windows or only opaque windows (so sunlight can't get in but he can open it and fly out if need be).
Doors. Mist holes and stuff aren't guest friendly. And you must be friendly to guests.
jdavis
First Post
LGodamus said:ummmm how about a vampire?
Drats once again I arrive to late for the obvious pun
I'd have to go with the it' depends crowd. Last time I did a vampire lair it was distinguished more by the vampire's guards and servants than by it's layout. I'd go with lots of fun undead, some wargs, and I was always fond of vargoilles and creeping claws just for the creepy effect, they are not much of a challenge but flying heads and hands crawling around (I had hundreds of them crawling around everywhere like spiders) add to the atmosphere. He had a Death Tyrant Beholder guarding his coffin and a 12 step magic trap guarding his treasure and he had several vampire spawns as servants and guards and a vampire with levels of fighter as a personal bodyguard (the main Vampire was a Cleric of Nerull). Some of the room features were rooms covered with cobwebs because they had not been used in hundreds of years (such as the kitchen) abd several cells for storing the living until he was ready to either eat them or turn them into vampire spawn. He also had several escape routes built in so he could move straight to his coffin room or out of the lair from any room (in mist form).
Zaruthustran
The tingling means it’s working!
Make it tragic, make it real.
Vampires have lots of time. Time to take up very intricate, tedious projects. When faced with eternity, and with the inability to easily travel, they need something to keep from going crazy with cabin fever.
So..
Miniatures room
Maybe a large room that contains a miniature replica of the entire country--or world. The vampire, with his high Dexterity and ability to float around, can create incredibly detailed miniatures. Think of the most intricate model railroad set you've ever seen and multiply it by 11.
Art room
I really liked the idea of paintings of sunny scenes. Maybe the vampire, what with his super senses and all, has taken up art. Thousands and thousands of incredibly well-painted canvases, either carefully filed or discarded in heaps. Fantasticly realistic sculptures. Maddeningly clever poems. Impossibly intricate orchestras.
Sun room
A room filled with artificial light, done up to look like a beach, or a field of flowers, or something else the vampire will never see again. Maybe it has a magical sunrise or sunset, complete with heat and a moving sun crawling across a domed sky. Everything in this room is mechanical or Conjuration, since Illusions don't work on vampires.
Record room
The vampire, being removed from life, has collected records of the lives of others: stories and histories, of course, but also stolen love letters, deeds, wills, doctor's notes, prescriptions, party invitations, obituaries, birth certificates, tax records, grocery receipts--anything that proves that a person exists and is connected to the web of life. The vampire collects them, admires them, despairs over them.
Portrait room
Similar to the above. The vampire tends to kill whoever he gets close to, so he admires from afar--often, for centuries. This room is covered in portraits of a family through the ages. Either his own, or his children's, or a stranger's. Think of the crazy Robin Williams character in 1 Hour Photo.
Trophy room
This room contains trophies of would-be vampire hunters. Instead of being boastful, the room contains honorable tributes to the lives of these deceased heroes. The vampire admires their courage, and despairs over having to end their lives. Among the trophies are tributes to the loved ones the vampire hunters left behind (and perhaps records of financial recompass that the vampire had delivered anonymously). Of course, the (locked) room next to this one contains the mad, undead shells of these heroes.
Mirror room
This room contains hundreds of mirrors each mirror has a garment next to it, and on the mirror's surface is a painting of the vampire wearing that garment. In this way, the vampire can pretend that she is trying on clothes and admiring herself.
Room of Sensation
Vampires have super senses. This room is filled with music, breezes, scents, herbs, textures, exotic art, and light. Magical devices control the sensations, and they are real--Conjuration-based, since Illusions would be useless.
Room of Solitude
See above. This room is for sensory-deprivation. Perhaps a (clean) water-filled room with permanent Darkness and Silence spells.
Game room
Billiards, darts, cards, and the like, but also vampire-only games of skill, such as speed or balance games beyond human ability. Also: "role-playing games", which let the vampire do good, become a hero, love, see the sun--all in his imagination.
Map room
The vampire cannot easily travel, so he travels through maps. Lots of maps. Maybe he sends out expeditions so he can explore vicariously. Perhaps he has a crystal ball, or a magical spyglass that casts clairvoyance on attuned baubles (which he distributes around the world).
---
Those are a just a few. Have fun!
-z
Vampires have lots of time. Time to take up very intricate, tedious projects. When faced with eternity, and with the inability to easily travel, they need something to keep from going crazy with cabin fever.
So..
Miniatures room
Maybe a large room that contains a miniature replica of the entire country--or world. The vampire, with his high Dexterity and ability to float around, can create incredibly detailed miniatures. Think of the most intricate model railroad set you've ever seen and multiply it by 11.
Art room
I really liked the idea of paintings of sunny scenes. Maybe the vampire, what with his super senses and all, has taken up art. Thousands and thousands of incredibly well-painted canvases, either carefully filed or discarded in heaps. Fantasticly realistic sculptures. Maddeningly clever poems. Impossibly intricate orchestras.
Sun room
A room filled with artificial light, done up to look like a beach, or a field of flowers, or something else the vampire will never see again. Maybe it has a magical sunrise or sunset, complete with heat and a moving sun crawling across a domed sky. Everything in this room is mechanical or Conjuration, since Illusions don't work on vampires.
Record room
The vampire, being removed from life, has collected records of the lives of others: stories and histories, of course, but also stolen love letters, deeds, wills, doctor's notes, prescriptions, party invitations, obituaries, birth certificates, tax records, grocery receipts--anything that proves that a person exists and is connected to the web of life. The vampire collects them, admires them, despairs over them.
Portrait room
Similar to the above. The vampire tends to kill whoever he gets close to, so he admires from afar--often, for centuries. This room is covered in portraits of a family through the ages. Either his own, or his children's, or a stranger's. Think of the crazy Robin Williams character in 1 Hour Photo.
Trophy room
This room contains trophies of would-be vampire hunters. Instead of being boastful, the room contains honorable tributes to the lives of these deceased heroes. The vampire admires their courage, and despairs over having to end their lives. Among the trophies are tributes to the loved ones the vampire hunters left behind (and perhaps records of financial recompass that the vampire had delivered anonymously). Of course, the (locked) room next to this one contains the mad, undead shells of these heroes.
Mirror room
This room contains hundreds of mirrors each mirror has a garment next to it, and on the mirror's surface is a painting of the vampire wearing that garment. In this way, the vampire can pretend that she is trying on clothes and admiring herself.
Room of Sensation
Vampires have super senses. This room is filled with music, breezes, scents, herbs, textures, exotic art, and light. Magical devices control the sensations, and they are real--Conjuration-based, since Illusions would be useless.
Room of Solitude
See above. This room is for sensory-deprivation. Perhaps a (clean) water-filled room with permanent Darkness and Silence spells.
Game room
Billiards, darts, cards, and the like, but also vampire-only games of skill, such as speed or balance games beyond human ability. Also: "role-playing games", which let the vampire do good, become a hero, love, see the sun--all in his imagination.
Map room
The vampire cannot easily travel, so he travels through maps. Lots of maps. Maybe he sends out expeditions so he can explore vicariously. Perhaps he has a crystal ball, or a magical spyglass that casts clairvoyance on attuned baubles (which he distributes around the world).
---
Those are a just a few. Have fun!
-z
Moe Ronalds
First Post
Sunblock factory.
Larry Fitz
First Post
A room full of cursed mirrors... after all the vampire can't activate them...
LOTS of illusions, again the vampire is not affected,
a desecrated abbey...
lots of bedrooms
no working bathrooms or outhouses
a huge library and musical conservatory with antique instruments.
Large grounds with dire wolves roaming the property...
and every good Vampire lair needs an insabe "Renfield" like character....
LOTS of illusions, again the vampire is not affected,
a desecrated abbey...
lots of bedrooms
no working bathrooms or outhouses
a huge library and musical conservatory with antique instruments.
Large grounds with dire wolves roaming the property...
and every good Vampire lair needs an insabe "Renfield" like character....
The_Gneech
Explorer
* Insane, soulless servants
* Vampire spawn
* Hee-yuge spiderwebs that the vampire seems to pass through without leaving a trace but that snarl up living mortals
* Hee-yuge spider who spun same
* A carriage house with a nightmare
* Twisty catacombs filled with creepy things
* An enormous portrait of who the vampire was
* Recently-deceased PCs who will rise in time to attack their former party members
-The Gneech
* Vampire spawn
* Hee-yuge spiderwebs that the vampire seems to pass through without leaving a trace but that snarl up living mortals
* Hee-yuge spider who spun same
* A carriage house with a nightmare
* Twisty catacombs filled with creepy things
* An enormous portrait of who the vampire was
* Recently-deceased PCs who will rise in time to attack their former party members
-The Gneech
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
- Books. Lots of books. They have all the time in the world, after all.
-No stairs. All movement from floor to floor is done through gaseous form.
-A "tasting room", where the vampire keeps samples of his previous victim's blood.
-Coffins laid all throughout the house. One in each room, maybe. Some are trapped, some are empty, some have portals to the Negative Plane.
-Fountains of water dyed red with cantrips. Just to put the PCs on edge...
Demiurge out.
-No stairs. All movement from floor to floor is done through gaseous form.
-A "tasting room", where the vampire keeps samples of his previous victim's blood.
-Coffins laid all throughout the house. One in each room, maybe. Some are trapped, some are empty, some have portals to the Negative Plane.
-Fountains of water dyed red with cantrips. Just to put the PCs on edge...
Demiurge out.
MGibster
Legend
aliberator said:
Picture this. Every evening when the Vampire rises from his unholy slumber he is greeted by a sumptuous banquet prepared by his servants at his orders. No, he doesn't eat anything but it is his own pathetic way of denying what he is by surrounding himself with the trappings of mortality.
There are all sorts of other rooms one might find in a wealthy household.
- Music Room: Piano or organ, sheet music, some other instruments
- Nursery: Perhaps our Vampire kidnaps children once in a while to raise as his own.
- Billiard/Game Room: A room where men get together, smoke cigars, drink, and play games.
- Tea Room: A room where ladies get together, drink tea, play cards, and gossip.
- Garden: Some manors might have rooms in the center of the household with glass ceilings and a garden year round.
- Pool Room: A room with a pool for recreation not bathing.
- Utility Rooms: Stuff like laundry, closets with supplies, and that kind of thing.
- Special Bedrooms: Give bedrooms a personal feel. For example make a bedroom appear as though it belonged to a young man or a young woman.
Make an effort to ensure that the house seems like a somewhat natural place for a human being to live. Even if the current occupant isn't human the house should still reflect that it was built for human occupation.
Marc
Similar Threads
