Vampires vs The Sun: Legitimately overcoming?

[The Shadowdove]

Hey everyone,

I haven't any specific vampires in mind. I'm just curious as to how you might approach this. I imagine you can come up with a few legitimate methods a vampire might use to traverse during daytime unscathed.

Here's the question, just to have it phrased clearly:

"In what way(s) can a Vampire (whether player or npc) traverse in sunlight?"



Feel free to factor in dilemmas, contradictions, and byproducts of their actions.
Also, don't be afraid to post class/class feature related methods as well.


Thank you in advance for posting. I'm always impressed by the sheer amount of creativity and book/universe knowledge that exists amongst the community. I appreciate your superior booksmarts!

-Dove

[tieren]

1. Shipped as freight in their coffin (nosferatu/ bram stoker style)
2. In a carriage with no windows or them blacked out or with super heavy curtains (john carpenter style)
3. Super heavy duty sunblock (Blade/ Bordello of Blood)
4. Sparkles (Twilight)

I suppose if you had a way to keep a darkness spell up continuously as a warlock or something.

[Envyus]

Magic like Strahd uses.

[Yorrin]

I recently had a DM who made a custom magic ring for a player with Sunlight Sensitivity. It made that player unable to see or be effected directly by the sun, basically forcing her into a perpetual state of night, seeing shadows at very different angles from the rest of the party, carrying around a lit torch in broad daylight, etc. It was somewhat entertaining.

[arcane_asp]

If a vamp can go gaseous, they could flow through underground spaces to travel through the land?

Sealed suit of heavy armour might be an option, but they would need to be very confident they can navigate without an opening in the helmet...:smallcool:

[Sception]

How much leeway do we have with how vampires work? I was always a fan of making a vampire's weakness to the sun dependent on how well and recently fed they are - the more mortal blood they have in their system, the less restricted they are by their undead nature.

[Talion]

Historically speaking, while most vampires were more active, and more powerful, at night, the myth of them being destroyed by sunlight only came about in the 1922 movie "Nosferatu". More traditional vampires, from Dracula, Carmilla, Varney the Vampire, and Lord Ruthven and vampire myths going back to before the 20th century do not display this particular weakness. Dracula was shown to move about freely in London during the day in the original novel. Vampires were meant to be legitimately TERRIFYING, though they did still have a fair number of viable weaknesses.

That being said, if you wanted to maintain the modern sunlight deal there's a few options you could devise:

1. A vampire's weakness to the sunlight is reduced based on how powerful it is, eventually turning the weakness into a minor inconvenience. To help balance it, you might consider only counting levels gained after achieving the vampiric state in this regard.

2. A vampire's weakness to sunlight is reduced by paying exp into the reduction. This slows its overall growth but puts emphasis on how difficult it is to overcome.

3. A vampire's weakness to sunlight is reduced by a spell or series thereof. This allows them to be caught off guard but still prepare for excursions into sunlight.

4. A vampire's weakness to sunlight might be influenced by its sub-type. Vampire families, who could be based off of different cultural myths, could have wildly differing strengths and weakness while still maintaining the overall theme.

5. A vampire's weakness to sunlight could be influenced by the inclusion of a Vampire specific class (let's call it "Day Walker") with the resistance to sunlight being a integral feature.

6. A vampire's weakness to sunlight could be altered by a deal with another, appropriately powerful entity.

[Temperjoke]

You know, if you really wanted to go modern, it could be that only direct unfiltered sunlight is dangerous to vampires. A cloudy day could be enough to protect them, or a large umbrella for example. In Adventure Time, the Vampire King had an invisible shielding room that he was sitting in out in broad daylight, that was like a shadow version of the world.

[Sception]

I'm also a fan of the 'as vampires age, their vampyric abilities evolve and specialize, granting unique powers and weaknesses'. Newborn, lesser vamps might be more homogenous in their strengths and weaknesses, but if you're going up against any sort of older creature you'll need to do specific research into their history to get insights into their individual natures and weaknesses.

Humorously enough, the Adventure Time miniseries 'Stakes' that aired this week (and is showing in its entirety tonight at seven) is a good example. Of the vampire elders, one flew, one had mind control and invisibility powers, the shape-shifting one was bound by traditional weaknesses, and the Moon... yikes, the Moon.

Though admittedly in that series they all shared weaknesses to stakes and sunlight.

Well, apart from the Moon. Again. Yikes.

[M Placeholder]

Elven vampires in Ravenloft are not affected by the sunlight. They instead are vulnerable to moonlight, so they do their bidding by day and return to their dying woodlands by night, a result of their curse.

[Temperjoke]

Well, apart from the Moon. Again. Yikes.

I'm a 35 year old, 6'3", heavy-built man, and I was legitimately creeped out by the Moon. *shudders*

[Dimolyth]

If we are supposed to discuss Monster Manual Vampire from 5e - direct sunlight just deals radiant damage. So, anything that gives cover from sunlight (chineese hats?) or granting radiant damage immunity (by magic items) is functionally working.

[JumboWheat01]

You could always take a page out of the Order of the Stick comic on this very site and have them research and create a spell that causes them to resist the effects of sunlight. Make it a high enough level slot to actually make a difference, and they can decide if they shall walk among mortals or prepare for the murderhobos adventurers to visit their layer.

If they're not magically inclined Vampires, well, they're just SOL. Maybe they should consider moving to the Underdark.

[Sception]

I'm a 35 year old, 6'3", heavy-built man, and I was legitimately creeped out by the Moon. *shudders*

"Did you just yell 'pigs' at the lock until it opened!?"

[Temperjoke]

"Did you just yell 'pigs' at the lock until it opened!?"


:smalleek: Oh Glob....