Vampires in the MM 3.5!

[Sargon]

since this has been a slight thing of intrest to me, in the last few days ive done some looking into it.

and i have decided on shareing one thing with you all that i think is an intresting find.

here we go

with the monster manual vampire template you will never see a vampire (humanoid or monstrous humanioid) that has fewer then 5 HD.

by the rules in the monster manual it is not possible to be a vampire and have fewer then 5 HD.

i will tell you how.
creat spawn in the vampire tempalte entry says Exactly this..

"a humanoid or monstreous humanoid slain by a vampire's energy drain rises as a vampire spawn 1d4 days after burial."
"if the vampire instead drains the victim's constitution to 0 or lower, the victum returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD and as a vampire if it had 5 of more HD."

this means that your random level 2 sorc get bitten by a vampire and becomes a near mindless pethitic undead vampire spawn, under the controll of its evil and undead master, and when that master dies, it becomes a free near mindless pethitic undead vampire spawn.

so yeah under 5 HD = vampire spawn. 5 and over HD = Vampire

i understand why in game terms they did this, for first of all giveing vampire spawns any use at all. and so vampires would not be running the world by this point, beacuse vampireism is a easyish template to get. the third and i think best reason is so you truly dont get vampires that can be easly taken, by any creature.

a level 5 fighter vampire is still something to stear clear from even if you are a higher level then it.




now say if someone was useing a slightly different version of the vampire, for soemthing like a vampire chapign, this rule could probbly easy be changed by removeing the vampire spawn or those lines from the creat spawn thingy. i just thought it would be something to point out.

[galaga]

darn you and your logic! and d**n the site for its auto editing
well you got 5 HD to play with in total then. and spawn are not as pathetic as everybody thinks. it is also a common mistake to think they look like the Vargouille due to the placing of the picture.
A spawn gets the same stat bonuses as a true Vampire, and they still have Blod Drain, Domination, Energy Drain, Fat Healing, Gaseous Form, Spider Climb, bonuses to the same skills, an equaly damaging slam attack, turn resistance, cold and elec resistance 10 and a DR.
Granted a good bit of these are only half as efective as a full vampires but they are still there and are therby a force to be reconed with. Spawn are also by no means mindless. just like any vampiric creature they are bound to the will of their creator unless the creator releases them or creates too many.

[Sargon]

naturally your right about the vampire spawn, they arnt as pathetic as everyone includeing myself thinks. they do get most of the thing the vampie does, but at a much reduced rate. the fast healing for example is only 2, while vampire fast healing is 5.

but i have a reason to hate vampire spawn, i had a paladin who was turned into one once. his name was talris, he was adventureing with a party and kinda solo adventureing with a cleric of truesilver (dwarven fearun goddess) anyhow he was killed about 4 times, the third time he was turned into a vampire spawn, (like on the spot, rule breaking on the Dms part) but then i will killed by the cleric and raised (even though you cant raise undead), since then i have had a hate of them.

[Lord Kain]

You can't raise undead but you can raise someone who has once been undead after you destory the undead of course.
But yeah its supposed to take days to come back as a spawn or a vampire.
Don't tell me Hillary?

[Sargon]

nah my other older GM jim, it was back in the days where none of us knew anything about dnd.