Vampire race alternatives. (D20 brainstorming)

[janusmaxwell]

For most settings, fantasy races have sub-headings based on their individual cultures. Wood elves are different from high elves who're different from dark elves, there are mountain dwarves and hill dwarves, and etc.

Point is I had an idea for a character concept in a 3.5 setting from an old game (kudos to those who can guess it) involving vampire and vikings. The Norse afterlife basically involves dying in glorious battle and then being elevated to be a soldier in Valhallas army for the final war of gods versus demons.

But what if somebody said "F--- that!" And returned to life as an undead and a vampire at that? Rather than just say "my character is a Viking vampire, done." I'd like to come up with something to show a cultural change.

The western Vampire mythos could arguably be tied tightly to Christian mythology. The various aspects like being able to transform and dominate peoples minds, as well as the weaknesses to sunlight, silver, not entering a home unless invited in, can't cross swiftly moving water and needing to sleep in a coffin filled with grave dirt.

What would be some fairly unique aspects to a non-christianity influenced vampire? Instead of denouncing and pissing off Yahweh, you got on Odins bad side, so what would change?

Any ideas people can throw at me will be appreciated and I'll be frank, I'm looking for a slightly higher CR and LA for a Norse based vampire, simply cause thinking of a viking being scared of a cross is like a Spartan who's also a girl-scout. It just doesn't mesh well.

I look forward to seeing what people come up with!

[GorinichSerpant]

Shape-shifting into a wolf, a raven, bear or any other number of beasts, as well as animistic features would be very Norse-like. Maybe something cold and/or sea related might work. I'm not sure really.

[Red Fel]

Yeah, I'd make it cultural. There are undead in many, many different cultures (jiangshi are among my favorites), and the concept of the vampire can be easily adapted, if it hasn't already. Think about it: What are the essential elements of a vampire? Back from the dead Feeds on blood/flesh/fear from the living Really freaking hard to kill
That's remarkably simple to apply to any given cultural background.

So let's look at vampires. Consider Hel (the place), also called Helheim. Unlike Valhalla, where noble souls who have died in battle belong, Hel is the place of the wicked, and those who died ignobly (e.g. sickness or old age). Your vampire can simply be a soul escaped from that miserable place. In fact, you can have two different varieties. Let's call them "Red Vampires" and "Gray Vampires" to distinguish.

Red Vampires: These are the souls of the bloodthirsty and wicked. Not the good ones who died in noble combat, but the cruel and barbaric. These are the souls of those too violent to be restrained in Helheim. They fight their way out, wanting nothing more than to continue the bloodshed they committed in life. These creatures should be more bestial; less focused on feeding and more focused on being violent and destructive. They are scary because they're simply too violent to stay dead.

Gray Vampires: These are the souls of those who died of sickness or old age. They were not wicked, but they were plunged into Hel's wastelands nonetheless. Somehow, they escaped, but the frailty that consumed them has come with them. They are empty inside; weak and hungering. They need to feed upon the living and the strong to survive. These creatures are more manipulative, sad, and mournful; more focused on gathering food sources than slaughtering the living. They are scary because they rarely fight directly - they cripple, weaken, and suck the life from their prey; as a result, those who die at their hands are more likely to die of sickness and weakness than from an honorable death in battle. And that means more like them.

Weaknesses: Red Vampires aren't particularly weak to anything, but the difficulty in killing them is offset by their rarity. They don't reproduce, they don't plan, they just want to fight. The few who recover any semblance of sanity actively seek out powerful heroes, under the mistaken belief that they can achieve an honorable death in battle and earn Valhalla. Gray Vampires, by contrast, are weak. Sunlight burns them, as do the painful reminders of what it means to be full of life - tokens of true love, the smell of fresh bread, the sounds of children laughing. Those things which warm the soul are toxic to these empty creatures.

Is this the sort of thing you were looking for?

[Eldan]

I like the idea of the Grey Vampire. Dead from disease and old age, so I imagine they are withered, twisted, mummified corpses, skeletons covered in dry, black skin, their eyes white and empty, their fingernails long claws, their teeth yellow and splintered. They would hide in the shadows and sneak up on the living at night, to bite them and suck their strength, because they are jealous of the strong and healthy. Give them the usual list of despicable traits: they spread diseases by biting, like wound infection, rabies, parasites, they kill livestock, the strongest poison wells and bring blight to the fields. They can be killed in direct combat, it's not even all that hard, because honest combat and strong warriors is what they fear the most. They'd probably have a weakness to steel, like the fairies, but then, just about any weapon would end them. The problem would be that a warrior who slew them, if he was not noble and virtuous and strong enough, would become like them, withering away, and then returning.

Red Vampires I can't see as much... they get to fight in Valhalla already, why would they come back?

[Nobot]

(...) Red Vampires I can't see as much... they get to fight in Valhalla already, why would they come back?

I think the point was that Red Vampires weren't allowed into Valhalla in the first place on account of being wicked.

I found this article (http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ghosts.shtml), maybe you can use it as source of inspiration.

As for me, I'd go with a theme of a warband that infuriated Odin by feasting on the blood of their slain enemies, by having no regard for the gods, and/or by consuming the flesh of animals that were sacrificed to the gods. Because of their behavior, they are not welcome in any afterlife and forced to roam the world after death in undeath (perhaps bound to their burial mounds). They have lost all contact with the free things of nature and the godlike. As such, they are fearful of animals and wild and untamed areas. They seek out men and women who are easily corrupted and out of touch with nature to satisfy their hunger. They reproduce by forcing others to eat the flesh or drink the blood of the dead or of offerings to the gods.

[janusmaxwell]

These ideas are amazing so far! Thank you all! I actually came up with a few things as well to expound on some of this.

Red Vampire is fairly close to the character concept I was thinking of and I thought of some other abilities to go with it.

Mental domination, I'd argue, is part of the Christian mythos cause then you will "Turn from the true path" and fears about that blahblahblah. Let's drop that from the Red's (maybe the grey's too...) And switch it for something else, Which I know exactly what I'm looking for, but I don't know what the name would be. Basically a "Howl of Terror" where the Red Vampires can let out some kind of warcry of some kind of bestial/inhuman quality that forces their opponents to make saves against fear.

Fluff-wise, I'm thinking of people fleeing in fear. RAW however makes that panicked and I'm hoping a more learned member of the forums can tell me if this is too OP: the Howl of Terror forces 1d10+2 Opponents withing 30 ft to make a (15-18?) Will save against Fear. Those who fail the save are Panicked while those who make the save are Frightened. The Effects of the Howl of Terror do not stack. Opponents who are hit with the Howl of Terror more than once gain +2 on their Will Saves against the effect and for each subsequent howl the effects are lowered (2 howls becomes fail=Frightened, success=shaken) with the minimum effect of somebody who has experienced the Howl of Terror 3 or more times needing to make a save that simply prevents being shaken.

So that's what Red Vampires can switch out for Mental Domination, but I have another weakness, and it's a pretty damn weird one I feel.

Red Vampires are under effect of "The Warriors Curse" wherein they have been condemned by Odin. Red Vampires may carry no weapons and armor into battle, and any weapon that is grasped by the hilt or shaft or any armor that is strapped on will disintegrate/dissolve immediately. Any attempt to pick up or wear any type of weapon or armor results in the immediate effect of a "Rusting Grasp" type of attack (with whatever effects/saves apply) but the effect does no work on any item being held or worn by an opponent of the vampire. If a Red Vampire successfully manages to Disarm an enemy and then manages to reach and grasp the dropped weapon before their opponent however, then the effect will apply and a save must be made to resist destruction. If the save succeeds however, the Red Vampire will consider it a "Worth weapon for worthy warrior" and either throw the weapon to a location that makes it easier to retrieve by the opponent, or if their opponent is dead, they will keep it as a souvenir/trophy of their enemy.

This can make new Red Vampires fairly manageable, as they have not had a chance to retrain themselves for fighting without weapons or armor albeit with Claw and Slam attacks. But older Red-Vampires learn how to manage without weapons and armor and can gain certain class features and abilities as a monk.

Think this sounds good?

[The_Werebear]

I might remove the Howl of Terror from the Red Vampires. Right now, it prevents what they really seek - A fair fight. What I would encourage instead is a howl that causes barbarity, madness, and undirected violence. Perhaps a howl that drives everyone who hears it into a Frenzy (including the part where they can't choose targets or stop fighting once they run out of enemies). People on their trail find villages where men slaughtered their families and ran screaming into the woods to slaughter animals barehanded. Perhaps a drop of blood from a Red Vampire could be a key part of a potion that causes Berserkrs to develop additional powers.

Now, the other issue with Vampires that hasn't been brought up is how hard they are to kill. Staking them doesn't have any particularly Judeo-Christian start points (IIRC, it was literally staking people to the ground.) Holy symbols, as mentioned, are also less than effective. It depends on how close you want to keep to the original vampire vision.

My personal thought would be that they can only feed on blood drunk directly from a wound caused in battle. In a fight, they are not immune to damage, but heal prodigiously, and even more so when they can drink the blood shed. Chopping one into tiny pieces and burning them will slow it down, but even the severed parts will continue to fight and struggle. The only way to permanently kill one is to subdue it long enough to hang it as a sacrifice to Odin. Like staking, it will prevent it from moving and hunting to find more blood to drink, and the noose around its neck will stop it from using its Enraging (or fear causing) Howl until it starves to death. Once it hasn't moved for a full month, and at least nine ravens have pecked it, it is safe to cut down and dispose of.

[Pyromancer999]

The Draugr might be a good source of inspiration for a Norse-Themed Undead.