Help with a Vampire Campaign

[Blackhawk748]

So i've come up with the mad plan to run an E8 Tristalt campaign where everyone's third class is taken up by the Vampire Savage Progression, so its really more of a Gestalt. Anyway the basis of this campaign is that the players would be Vampires who survived the destruction of their Vampire Kingdom and went into torpor as a defense mechanism. So they wake up and they are all now level 1, their kingdom is gone for all intents and purposes and they set out to rebuild it.

Firstly the players havent decided if they want a Vampire Overlord above them to also survive or if they want to lead this kingdom as a cabal of Vampires, so that could change. Other than that im not sure where to go here. I dont know who wrecked their kingdom and im not sure why (though the ever classic "Cuz they was Undead" is always an option). They will be starting in the shattered remnants of a fort, so they can refurbish that if they want, but it will be just them starting off.

I have a feeling they are gonna go out and adventure for a bit and try to get some personal power before they begin making a kingdom, but i can never really predict these guys.

[Honest Tiefling]

1) For the Vampire Overlord, I suggest that if your players don't come to you with a decision, just make a weak overlord. If they want, they have a quest NPC to rally against. If they don't like it, they can gang up and kill him/her. But they have a ticking clock because the Overlord is trying to recover...

2) They were driven out by a holy crusade, who used this crusade as impetus to unite several countries and reclaimed land taken over by orcs/goblins/drow/demons/whatever with looted magic from the vampires. This empire lead to peace, stability and advancements in whatever fields you want.

The crusaders were dear friends and formed a mighty empire, but like all things, it must come to an end. There's a succession crisis that is imminent, and several people are thinking of rebelling. Outlying areas are corrupt or badly managed.

This gives the new vampires some hunting grounds early on with some degree of urbanization, while later on the various warring factions might united to kill them. If you have some social vamps in your party, they could also try to meddle or even overthrow the empire to suit their own needs and desires. There would be vestiges of the old empire, so there would be a decision to cripple any chances it has to unify, or to destory the vestiges of its crusading days so they can't use anti-undead magic.

3) If we continue with this empire theme, you need some barbarians. Maybe some right by the fortress, so they could either start a cult or just eat them.

4) Mix up the races. If you really want to be original, the barbarians are fey worshiping elves while the empire are civilized and cultured humans. Or the empire is dwarven, and the barbarians are humans. If you really want to hammer home the idea of a great empire, have it be between several different races and the barbarians they encounter first an exotic one.

Personally, I think it'd be pretty funny if a river got rerouted or naturally changed its course to make their fortress into a swamp from the beautiful rolling hills and plains it was before. And then the party has to discuss if they really want to drink lizardperson or frogfolk blood...

[Blackhawk748]

1) For the Vampire Overlord, I suggest that if your players don't come to you with a decision, just make a weak overlord. If they want, they have a quest NPC to rally against. If they don't like it, they can gang up and kill him/her. But they have a ticking clock because the Overlord is trying to recover...

If there is a Lord he will be nothing more than a Quest Giving NPC, and maybe the occasional Badass To Save The Day (he IS a vampire after all). Once they get to the Kingdom scale stuff, he will just rule his capital and then the PCs will all get to run their own little Fiefdoms. So, you know, feudalism.


2) They were driven out by a holy crusade, who used this crusade as impetus to unite several countries and reclaimed land taken over by orcs/goblins/drow/demons/whatever with looted magic from the vampires. This empire lead to peace, stability and advancements in whatever fields you want.

The crusaders were dear friends and formed a mighty empire, but like all things, it must come to an end. There's a succession crisis that is imminent, and several people are thinking of rebelling. Outlying areas are corrupt or badly managed.

This gives the new vampires some hunting grounds early on with some degree of urbanization, while later on the various warring factions might united to kill them. If you have some social vamps in your party, they could also try to meddle or even overthrow the empire to suit their own needs and desires. There would be vestiges of the old empire, so there would be a decision to cripple any chances it has to unify, or to destory the vestiges of its crusading days so they can't use anti-undead magic.

Oooh, nice. I like this.



3) If we continue with this empire theme, you need some barbarians. Maybe some right by the fortress, so they could either start a cult or just eat them.

Angry tribal people are always a good plan



4) Mix up the races. If you really want to be original, the barbarians are fey worshiping elves while the empire are civilized and cultured humans. Or the empire is dwarven, and the barbarians are humans. If you really want to hammer home the idea of a great empire, have it be between several different races and the barbarians they encounter first an exotic one.

Personally, I think it'd be pretty funny if a river got rerouted or naturally changed its course to make their fortress into a swamp from the beautiful rolling hills and plains it was before. And then the party has to discuss if they really want to drink lizardperson or frogfolk blood...

Im liking this idea. The Empire is the standard Elf/Dwarf/Human/Gnome coalition, and then the Barbarians are a bunch of Cannibalistic Lizardfolk that worship the Fort as the home of their Dark God. I think im gonna go with this....

[Honest Tiefling]

Im liking this idea. The Empire is the standard Elf/Dwarf/Human/Gnome coalition, and then the Barbarians are a bunch of Cannibalistic Lizardfolk that worship the Fort as the home of their Dark God. I think im gonna go with this....

Yes, yes! Then the Lizardfolk have to deal with the idea that a non-scaled person walked out of their holy shrine wielding the powers of death.

Er...What race are these vampires?

[Blackhawk748]

Yes, yes! Then the Lizardfolk have to deal with the idea that a non-scaled person walked out of their holy shrine wielding the powers of death.

Er...What race are these vampires?

I have no clue, but i doubt any of them are gonna be a Lizard person of any particular flavor. If the past is anything to go off of Tieflings, Humans, or Aasimar most likely. Maybe a Halfling or a Half Orc.

[Honest Tiefling]

I have no clue, but i doubt any of them are gonna be a Lizard person of any particular flavor. If the past is anything to go off of Tieflings, Humans, or Aasimar most likely. Maybe a Halfling or a Half Orc.

Neither Tieflings nor Aasimar can become vampires without DM houserules or being of the Lesser Variety.

Need any more help with ideas or the like?

[Blackhawk748]

Neither Tieflings nor Aasimar can become vampires without DM houserules or being of the Lesser Variety.

Need any more help with ideas or the like?

Oh right, there are such things as non-Lesser Planetouched :smalltongue:

I am always up for more random ideas. At the moment i am working on how to have them wake up. Currently im going with the temple/fort is being attacked by a rival tribe of CannaLizards, who are led by a Shaman who commands spirits (read Incoporeal undead) and in the fighting one of them, or their Overlord gets bled on and starts waking up the others.

[ExLibrisMortis]

I just want to remind you of the Warchief prestige class (Miniatures Handbook). It's perfect for lizard barbarian leaders, especially those with marshal 2/dragon shaman 1/divine mind 1 as entry (for reference, that's four auras you'll have to track, plus the range of the frenzy), though a better entry is dragon shaman 4 (worship black dragons! gloomy swamps!), cleric 4 (scalykind domain), or just barbarian 4.

If your players are starting at first level, incorporeal undead are probably not a great idea, as they are immune to nonmagical weapons.

[Blackhawk748]

I just want to remind you of the Warchief prestige class (Miniatures Handbook). It's perfect for lizard barbarian leaders, especially those with marshal 2/dragon shaman 1/divine mind 1 as entry (for reference, that's four auras you'll have to track, plus the range of the frenzy), though a better entry is dragon shaman 4 (worship black dragons! gloomy swamps!), cleric 4 (scalykind domain), or just barbarian 4.

If your players are starting at first level, incorporeal undead are probably not a great idea, as they are immune to nonmagical weapons.

The Incorporeal undead wont be there at the opening fight (ill figure out a reason for that later) i was just saying who those Lizardfolk are working for, and i probably should have been more clear on that. I figure they would go after him later, like around level 4 ish.

[Honest Tiefling]

The Incorporeal undead wont be there at the opening fight (ill figure out a reason for that later) i was just saying who those Lizardfolk are working for, and i probably should have been more clear on that. I figure they would go after him later, like around level 4 ish.

Here's a reason: Incorporeal Undead are a gift bestowed upon the great shamans and priests. You can't just summon them willy-nilly, that is both taxing on the recipient, and not honoring such a holy gift.

That or they left the Shaman at home for some reason for that mission.

[Blackhawk748]

Here's a reason: Incorporeal Undead are a gift bestowed upon the great shamans and priests. You can't just summon them willy-nilly, that is both taxing on the recipient, and not honoring such a holy gift.

That or they left the Shaman at home for some reason for that mission.

I think i may make the Shaman a Puppet Master like character, so him being at the fight wouldnt make sense for him. So thats an easy way to make a bunch of Incorporeal undead. Also he would't have sent any of his other Shamans as the tribe they are attacking dont have any casters, so why risk an asset you dont need to? So theres no casters to control the undead.

[frogglesmash]

Just a small suggestion, but if I were you I'd change the vampire feed ability from con drain to con damage, so that they can have a sustainable population of humanoids to live off of without having to resort to hiring a host of mid level clerics to top them up every other day.

[Blackhawk748]

Just a small suggestion, but if I were you I'd change the vampire feed ability from con drain to con damage, so that they can have a sustainable population of humanoids to live off of without having to resort to hiring a host of mid level clerics to top them up every other day.

Oh ya, i always do this cuz it being Drain never made any real sense to me, as most Vampire victims in fiction can recover with normal rest after a few days. I mean its just blood loss, and its not even a ton at that.

[Honest Tiefling]

Oh ya, i always do this cuz it being Drain never made any real sense to me, as most Vampire victims in fiction can recover with normal rest after a few days. I mean its just blood loss, and its not even a ton at that.

Maybe Con Drain for the really BIG vampires. So if they come across a bunch of con damaged people, they know someone else has survived...Someone who wasn't asleep.

[Blackhawk748]

Ok so i've done a bit of fleshing out of the CannaLizard tribe. They are called the Bleakscale Tribe because their long exposure to the necromantic energies from the Fort, what they call the Bleak Stone, their scales are a pale green and they are very lean. It has also changed many other things about them, they are now harmed by Positive Energy and healed by Negative Energy, also many spells that do not affect undead (such as Kelgore's Grave Mist) do not work on them. They are lead by Raqesh, a Hooded Pupil Viletooth Lizardfolk Dread Necromancer and Kor'Lash a Barbarian.

Kor'Lash defends the tribe from the others in the area and Raqesh commands the religious aspects of the tribe.

[Theobod]

If the party is a bunch of vampires by all means throw incorporeal undead at them, I suggest shadows, throw them willy nilly, throw hundreds at them right off the bat!



Because their only weapon is a strength damaging touch which undead are immune to.


That oughta scare the gee willickers outa those scalykind!