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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6051492" data-attributes="member: 42582">I'm doing imps and vampires (with reference to the MM, whereas [MENTION=87792]Neonchameleon[/MENTION] has referenced the MV).ImpsHere is the flavour text on imps from the <a href="http://www.dotd.com/mm/MM00167.htm" target="_blank">Monstrous Manual</a>:Imps are diminutive creatures of an evil nature who roam the world and act as familiars for lawful evil wizards and priests. . . Imps are beings of a very evil nature who originate on the darkest of evil planes. Their main purpose on the Prime Material plane is to spread evil by assisting lawful evil wizards and priests. When such a person is judged worthy of an imp's service, the imp comes in answer to a find familiar spell. Once they have contacted their new "master", imps begin at once to take control of his actions. Although imps maintain the illusion that the summoner is in charge, the actual relationship is closer to that of a workman (the imp) and his tools (the master). Although an imp's body can be destroyed on the Prime Material plane, it is not so easily slain. When its physical form is lost, its corrupt spirit instantly returns to its home plane where it is reformed and, after a time, returned to our world to resume its work. While they are technically in the service of their master, imps retain a basic independence and ambition to become more powerful someday. . . Imps are the errand boys of the powerful evil beings who command the darkest planes. They often act as emissaries and agents, but their primary task is to enhance the spread of evil in our world.There's a lot of repetition there, but the gist is pretty clear.In the 4e MM, imps are under the "devil" entry, which has a 1000+ word history of, and guide to, the Nine Hells. It talks about the devils' betrayal of their former divine master, their use of bargains to secure mortal souls, etc. Here is the flavour text from the 4e MM that is additional to that background, and particular to imps:Imps act as spies and emissaries for more powerful devils. Mortals often make bargains with imps, thinking that the weak devils are easy to control. Ultimately, most imps prove their loyalties lie with the Lords of the Nine and not any mortal master. Imps are devious and deadly mischief-makers. They take pleasure in tricking mortals into harming one another. . . Imps partner with mortals who seek magical power. By helping their “masters” attain new spells or locate magic items, imps foster a madness for power that leads their masters to perform evil acts. . . Imps possess impressive knowledge about magical subjects. They gain most of their information from other devils, from past experience, or from spying efforts of their own. I think that conveys as much information as, if not more than, the 2nd ed entry. In particular, it explains how it is that imps take control of their "masters", namely, by feeding them information about magical secrets and thereby engendering a lust for power that they can in turn satisfy, by urging to greater and greater evil.What 4e doesn't have is the find familiar spell - the recruitment of imps by mortals (and vice versa) is a matter primarily of free roleplay. Whether that's an improvement or a detriment is, I think, a matter of taste.VampiresFrom <a href="http://www.dotd.com/mm/MM00294.htm" target="_blank">the 2nd ed Monstrous Manual</a>:Of all the chaotic evil undead creatures that stalk the world, none is more dreadful than the vampire. Moving silently through the night, vampires prey upon the living without mercy or compassion. Unless deep underground, they must return to the coffins in which they pass the daylight hours, and even in the former case they must occasionally return to such to rest, for their power is renewed by contact with soil from their graves. One aspect that makes the vampire far more fearful than many of its undead kindred is its appearance. Unlike other undead creatures, the vampire can easily pass among normal men without drawing attention to itself for, although its facial features are sharp and feral, they do not seem inhuman. In many cases, a vampire's true nature is revealed only when it attacks. . . Any human or humanoid creature slain by the life energy drain of a vampire is doomed to become a vampire himself. Thus, those who would hunt these lords of the undead must be very careful lest they find themselves condemned to a fate far worse than death. The transformation takes place one day after the burial of the creature. Those who are not actually buried, however, do not become undead and it is thus traditional that the bodies of a vampire's victims be burned or similarly destroyed. Once they become undead, the new vampire is under the complete control of its killer. If that vampire is destroyed, the controlled undead are freed from its power and become self-willed creatures. . . Vampires live in areas of death and desolation where they will not be reminded of the lives they have left behind. Ruined castles or chapels and large cemeteries are popular lairs for them, as are sites of great tragedies or battles. Vampires often feel a strong attachment to specific areas with some morbid significance, like the grave of a suicide or the site of a murder. When deciding on a course of action or planning a campaign, vampires move very slowly and meticulously. It is not uncommon for a vampire to undertake some scheme which may take decades or even centuries to reach its conclusion. Because of the curse of immortality that has fallen upon them, they feel that time is always on their side and will often defeat foes who might otherwise overcome them; the vampire can simply go into hiding for a few decades until the passing of the years brings down its enemies. Vampires are normally solitary creatures. When they are found in the company of others of their kind, the group will certainly consist of a single vampire lord and a small group of vampires which it has created to do its bidding. In this way, the vampire can exert its power over a greater range without running the risk of exposing itself to attack by would-be heroes. In general, vampires feel only contempt for the world and its inhabitants. Denied the pleasures of a true life, they have become dark and twisted creatures bent on revenge and terror. When a vampire creates another of its kind, it considers the new creature a mere tool. The minion will be sent on missions which the vampire feels may be too dangerous or unimportant for its personal attention. If the need arises, these pawns will gladly be sacrificed to protect or further the ends of their master. . . The vampire has no place in the world of living creatures. It is a thing of darkness that exists only to bring about evil and chaos. Almost without exception, the vampire is feared and hated by those who dwell in the regions in which it chooses to make its home. The vampire's unnatural presence is all-pervasive and will cause dogs and similar animals to raise a cry of alarm at the presence of the creature. Vampires sustain themselves by draining the life force from living creatures. Unless they have a specific need to create additional minions, however, they are careful to avoid killing those they attack. In cases where the death of a victim is desired, the vampire will take care to see that the body is destroyed and thus will not rise as an undead.From the 4e MM:Sustained by a terrible curse and a thirst for mortal blood, vampires dream of a world in which they live in decadence and luxury, ruling over kingdoms of mortals who exist only to sate their darkest appetites. . . Gifted and cursed with undead immortality, vampire lords trade many of the abilities they had in life for dark powers, including the power to create broods of vampire spawn. . . Living humanoids slain by a vampire lord’s blood drain are condemned to rise again as vampire spawn—relatively weak vampires under the dominion of the vampire lord that created them. . . A living humanoid slain by a vampire lord’s blood drain power rises as a vampire spawn of its level at sunset on the following day. This rise can be prevented by burning the body or severing its head. A living humanoid reduced to 0 hit points or fewer—but not killed—by a vampire lord can’t be healed and remains in a deep, deathlike coma. He or she dies at sunset of the next day, rising as a vampire spawn. A Remove Affliction ritual cast before the afflicted creature dies prevents death and makes normal healing possible. . . A vampire lord can make others of its kind by performing a dark ritual (see the Dark Gift of the Undying sidebar). Performing the ritual leaves the caster weakened, so a vampire lord does not perform the ritual often.In this case, the Monstrous Manual has more than the MM - especially the stuff about (i) vampire lurking among the living, (ii) their penchant for ruined castles and chapels (though that is pretty stock standard stuff) and (iii) their meticulous planning. That's the first 2nd ed/4e comparison I've done where I feel the 2nd ed Monstrous Manual actually has more interesting material than the 4e MM (Galeb Duhr's in 2nd ed, as I noted upthread, had one interesting titbit that 4e could usefully borrow, but I still felt 4e was better overall).</blockquote>

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