What are the vampires actually doing?

[dtilque]

As far as I can tell, none of the vampires have actually made an attack. They're mainly just running in the general direction of Durkula, although the two closest to the HP of Balder seem to be running past Durkevil but not towards that High Priest. The new HPoH doesn't actually tell them to attack, just "you know what to do".

Three have come close to Roy. He's destroyed two and attacked another. You'd think that at least one of them would have won initiative and attacked Roy first.

So there's something fishy going on here, but I'm not sure what.

[Emperordaniel]

As far as I can tell, none of the vampires have actually made an attack. They're mainly just running in the general direction of Durkula, although the two closest to the HP of Balder seem to be running past Durkevil but not towards that High Priest. The new HPoH doesn't actually tell them to attack, just "you know what to do".

Three have come close to Roy. He's destroyed two and attacked another. You'd think that at least one of them would have won initiative and attacked Roy first.

So there's something fishy going on here, but I'm not sure what.

I think they're trying to make their way past Roy to join Phyrnglsnyx and company inside the anti-life shell. Remember, the orb was initially intended to be used to teleport the entire Order of the Stick and Pet Brigade, so Phyrnglsnyx presumably wants to bring as many vampires with him as possible.

[Adun]

I think you are right. In the last panel we see a spawn inside the anti-life shell.

[dtilque]

OK, vampire spawn is probably the answer to why Roy is winning initiaitve. I was thinking these were all standard vampires. A vampire should win initiative against Roy at least 90% of the time; spawn not so much. Perhaps Roy gets a Dex bonus from the sword when he fights undead. That might put him at the head of the initiative order, or at least ahead of all the spawn.

[littlebum2002]

OK, vampire spawn is probably the answer to why Roy is winning initiaitve. I was thinking these were all standard vampires. A vampire should win initiative against Roy at least 90% of the time; spawn not so much. Perhaps Roy gets a Dex bonus from the sword when he fights undead. That might put him at the head of the initiative order, or at least ahead of all the spawn.

Even if they win initiative, they're just trying to run, not fight. That's going to provoke AoO's.

[dtilque]

Even if they win initiative, they're just trying to run, not fight. That's going to provoke AoO's.

It's possible that the ones running toward Roy are actually attempting to attack him. But he wins Initiative and one-shots them before they can.

[Deliverance]

It's possible that the ones running toward Roy are actually attempting to attack him. But he wins Initiative and one-shots them before they can.
Nice theory, but look a moment at the bearded vampire running towards Roy in panel #2. By panel #5 it has bypassed him, and he destroys it by stabbing it in the back.

[ORione]

In the last panel, they don't seem to be running towards the anti-life shell.

[factotum]

Yeah, seems likely they're all trying to get to Durkula. The implication of the conversation so far is that he intends to teleport out and Dominate the dwarven elders into voting to destroy the world, and presumably there are too many of them for him and Gontor to handle on their own.

[Trixie]

It still begs the question, though, why not a single one of them summoned a few swarms or wolves using racial abilities to make Roy busy giving more vampires chance to reach Durkula. Or why they didn't turned gaseous. Only two managed to pass through, it was a spectacular waste of resources for Durkula to gain so little in the end...

[Deliverance]

It still begs the question, though, why not a single one of them summoned a few swarms or wolves using racial abilities to make Roy busy giving more vampires chance to reach Durkula. Or why they didn't turned gaseous. Only two managed to pass through, it was a spectacular waste of resources for Durkula to gain so little in the end...
Presumably there weren't any swarms of bats or packs of wolves living in the cathedral or nearby environs close enough to arrive in 2d6 rounds for them to call with their children of the night ability. :smalltongue:

As for not turning gaseous.... Okay, that one is harder, but I'll take a stab at it: A vampire in gaseous form moves much slower than a running vampire (1/3rd or 1/4th the speed or something like that), so that would have given everybody else more time to react to their appearance and to nuke the vampire spawn with spells if they caught on, and the plan relied on speed and surprise to succeed.

[Emperordaniel]

It still begs the question, though, why not a single one of them summoned a few swarms or wolves using racial abilities to make Roy busy giving more vampires chance to reach Durkula. Or why they didn't turned gaseous. Only two managed to pass through, it was a spectacular waste of resources for Durkula to gain so little in the end...

Roy refers to them as "spawn" in the first panel of the current strip - if he's to be taken literally there, then (at least the majority of) the Creed of the Stone was turned into vampire spawn (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/vampire.htm#vampireSpawn), which are a lot weaker than ordinary vampires - most notably in this case, they can't summon stuff.

Plus, y'know, with the sword Roy has, they'd actually be more vulnerable to him in gaseous form than in solid form.