Vampires vs. Sunblade - Need help for dynamic encounters

[Decstarr]

Hey guys,

my group of 4, being the local heroes they have become by now (level 12) has been invited to a certain Lord's excessive party. They gladly went there, expecting a "Eyes Wide Shut" scenario and were quite surprised when after the first dance the ballroom suddenly turned into a banquet for vampire spawn. There are 4 actual vampires (Lord/Warrior) in the mansion, spread out, having fun with the party goers.

I am looking for help to make the encounters interesting. The "problem" is that in the last dungeon, our Fighter acquired a Sun Blade which is obviously like kryptonite to Undead creatures. I am totally fine with that. The problem that I am facing now is that since both Vampires and their spawn are intelligent creatures, they will definitely try to get rid of the Sun Blade (most likely using Disarm). It is several rooms with several encounters and I think it would be quite dull if at the start of every encounter they all rush the fighter, try to wrestle the Sun Blade from his grip and then fight normally. So what else can I do to have them get rid of the Sun Blade effect?

1) I DO NOT want to permanently take away the weapon or destroy it.
2) I am not trying to kill the party or make their life any harder, just looking to make the encounters more dynamic and "realistic"
3) Yes, I handed out a powerful weapon and yes, I actively implemented creatures that are hard-countered by this weapon since I wanted the group to have a nice "this item is actually super cool" moment.

I will use some of the party goers being charmed by one of the vampires as cannon fodder and also for some morally hard decision making.
Are there any other creatures that the Vampires could be using which don't have the sunlight hypersensitivity? (And which also could have infiltrated a party without being noticed).

TL;DR:
Vampires + Spawn vs Sun-Blade: Additional ways except Disarm to make encounters dynamic and interesting.

[PeteNutButter]

Basic DM school of thought: Never deny a player his chance to shine when he should be.

Taking away the sun blade specifically when it's made to kill undead just so the fighter doesn't outshine the rest of them is a bad idea, and will just ruin the whole adventure for that player.

What good is the blade specifically designed to kill undead if when you fight undead the DM doesn't let you use it?

Possible "solutions":

Let the fighter shine. Use a lot of enemies and/or make sure they get advantage somehow to counteract disadvantage. Have the vampires cast glitterdust or something.

Use charmed humans to fight as fodder.

Focus the squishier party members and force the fighter to choose who to go help. Since it's a ball, the encounter can start with the PCs on all ends of the ballroom.

Deny all PCs entry into the ball unless they leave all their items in a coat room. Have tough one or two tough fights allowing the PCs to fight towards their gear. The final fight should be next to the coat room so the fighter can run in and grab his sword on round one.

[Eisenheim]

First, kill the lights. Vampires can see in the dark. Put the PCs in an island of light cast by the sunblade, but unable to see further. Spawn can hit and run out of the darkness.

Set impromptu traps, like dropping a table or something else to pin him when he walks into a room. Instead of always going for disarms, try to grab other PCs and drag them away from the sunblade wielder. Make the party keep moving by drawing them on with horrible screams of terror and pain as the vampires attack the party guests.
The fighter is equipped to be a real hero here, so give him a dramatic backdrop and keep him running to avoid disaster.

To note, I don't actually play 5e, so you'll have to figure out the mechanical side for this, but that's how I'd build a fun set of encounters with your story parameters.

[PeteNutButter]

First, kill the lights. Vampires can see in the dark. Put the PCs in an island of light cast by the sunblade, but unable to see further. Spawn can hit and run out of the darkness.

Set impromptu traps, like dropping a table or something else to pin him when he walks into a room. Instead of always going for disarms, try to grab other PCs and drag them away from the sunblade wielder. Make the party keep moving by drawing them on with horrible screams of terror and pain as the vampires attack the party guests.
The fighter is equipped to be a real hero here, so give him a dramatic backdrop and keep him running to avoid disaster.

To note, I don't actually play 5e, so you'll have to figure out the mechanical side for this, but that's how I'd build a fun set of encounters with your story parameters.

These are great ideas suggested. Vampires and spawn have built in grapple mechanics so it could work very nicely. Coat the room in multiple magical darkness spells, so other PCs can't just cast light, its sunblade, daylight spell, or dispel magic. Pull PCs in opposite directions once grappled. Use ranged attacks from outside the sun blade light. Unseen attackers have advantage...

[Arcangel4774]

I could imagine gargoyles, other statues/living armor and the like fitting the same gothic feel as the masquerade filled with vampires.

[Mikal]

'The Lord of *whatever* holds *important NPC/innocent* by the neck, using them as a shield against the glare of *PC*'s Sunblade.

"Hsss.... drop that God spawned trash now... or prepare to be bathed in the blood of this man/woman/child/cat!"'

Alternatively...

Have the vampires split into two or more groups, one larger but weaker vampires, one smaller but stronger individually. The fighter can't necessarily be in two places at once, so where does he focus his efforts and weapon?

[Decstarr]

Basic DM school of thought: Never deny a player his chance to shine when he should be.

Taking away the sun blade specifically when it's made to kill undead just so the fighter doesn't outshine the rest of them is a bad idea, and will just ruin the whole adventure for that player.

What good is the blade specifically designed to kill undead if when you fight undead the DM doesn't let you use it?

Possible "solutions":

Let the fighter shine. Use a lot of enemies and/or make sure they get advantage somehow to counteract disadvantage. Have the vampires cast glitterdust or something.

Use charmed humans to fight as fodder.

Focus the squishier party members and force the fighter to choose who to go help. Since it's a ball, the encounter can start with the PCs on all ends of the ballroom.

Deny all PCs entry into the ball unless they leave all their items in a coat room. Have tough one or two tough fights allowing the PCs to fight towards their gear. The final fight should be next to the coat room so the fighter can run in and grab his sword on round one.

I'm not concerned because of the disadvantage. I am concerned because of the sunlight hypersensitivity, canceling the Vampire's heal per turn AND dealing 20damage each time they start their turn in the light. So basically, all the players have to do is group up around the fighter and watch the vamps burn. I have absolutely no problem having the player shine, that's why I gave him the weapon. I am concerned about the "fun" of the adventure if there is several encounters that all play out like the one before "use sunblade - watch vamps burn". They already entered the mansion and had the first fight, then we had to stop unfortunately. I wanted to take away their gear but they somehow anticipated that and very cleverly made their gear part of their costumes (sunblade hilt was worked into the "unicorn" mask the fighter is wearing :P) and since they were so clever about it, I let them keep it.

@Eisenheim: Thanks, that's some great advice. I am totally falling in love with the idea of having a dark room and people being dragged away from the fighter left and right (ironically, the fighter is the only one without dark vision and the other party members are squishies, so we might well have a scenario in which the fighter is standing by himself in the sun blade's light and his mates cry for help from all directions.


'The Lord of *whatever* holds *important NPC/innocent* by the neck, using them as a shield against the glare of *PC*'s Sunblade.

"Hsss.... drop that God spawned trash now... or prepare to be bathed in the blood of this man/woman/child/cat!"'

Alternatively...

Have the vampires split into two or more groups, one larger but weaker vampires, one smaller but stronger individually. The fighter can't necessarily be in two places at once, so where does he focus his efforts and weapon?

That's a really nice idea. But the Lord isn't the BBEG here. But I'll use that for the actual BBEG for sure!

[Decstarr]

I could imagine gargoyles, other statues/living armor and the like fitting the same gothic feel as the masquerade filled with vampires.

That was my first thought, too. But my ******* Lore Bard cast True Sight once they entered the mansion, so I'd assume he'd have spotted the odd statues not being actual statues :smallsigh:

[PeteNutButter]

I'm not concerned because of the disadvantage. I am concerned because of the sunlight hypersensitivity, canceling the Vampire's heal per turn AND dealing 20damage each time they start their turn in the light. So basically, all the players have to do is group up around the fighter and watch the vamps burn. I have absolutely no problem having the player shine, that's why I gave him the weapon. I am concerned about the "fun" of the adventure if there is several encounters that all play out like the one before "use sunblade - watch vamps burn". They already entered the mansion and had the first fight, then we had to stop unfortunately. I wanted to take away their gear but they somehow anticipated that and very cleverly made their gear part of their costumes (sunblade hilt was worked into the "unicorn" mask the fighter is wearing :P) and since they were so clever about it, I let them keep it.


Yeah, just reread the vampire again. That's tough. They have to start their turn in the sunlight to take the damage, so touch and go seem like the best options. Spreading out so he can't move towards them all.

You could consider an anti-magic field to shut the blade off, presuming the BBEG is ok with no magic. It might gimp the other PCs more, but it'll certainly make it a tough fight.

[Arcangel4774]

That was my first thought, too. But my ******* Lore Bard cast True Sight once they entered the mansion, so I'd assume he'd have spotted the odd statues not being actual statues :smallsigh:

A smart vampire may know better than to leave the statues out in the open where they can be seen. Have the fakes out of range until they are ready to spring the trap. Give them a chance to catch the fakes preparing maybe.

"As you enter the hallway you see scuff marks on the ground that weren't here when you entered" on a lower perception roll. On investigation tell them something heavy has been dragged

[Mikal]

That's a really nice idea. But the Lord isn't the BBEG here. But I'll use that for the actual BBEG for sure!

Even better. He's fronting for the actual BBEG if the BBEG is at the party, so the PCs have to make successful Insight or other actions to realize this.

[Decstarr]

Yeah, just reread the vampire again. That's tough. They have to start their turn in the sunlight to take the damage, so touch and go seem like the best options. Spreading out so he can't move towards them all.

You could consider an anti-magic field to shut the blade off, presuming the BBEG is ok with no magic. It might gimp the other PCs more, but it'll certainly make it a tough fight.

Since 50% of the party are pure casters, that'd be an option that would piss the players off too much I guess :smallbiggrin:


A smart vampire may know better than to leave the statues out in the open where they can be seen. Have the fakes out of range until they are ready to spring the trap. Give them a chance to catch the fakes preparing maybe.

"As you enter the hallway you see scuff marks on the ground that weren't here when you entered" on a lower perception roll. On investigation tell them something heavy has been dragged

That's a pretty cool idea. Also, there is several areas of the mansion that they haven't explored, yet. So I can just have the gargoyles hang around there and with that even give the players the satisfaction that True Seeing actually reveals something crucial to them!

[Arcangel4774]

That's a pretty cool idea. Also, there is several areas of the mansion that they haven't explored, yet. So I can just have the gargoyles hang around there and with that even give the players the satisfaction that True Seeing actually reveals something crucial to them!

Ever played deadspace? First time I went through dismemberring all the dead bodies. I backtracked through an area and a body I had previously dismembered was intact, but still in the same spot. I didn't notice it and stopped playing after being resuscitated from the heart attack it gave me lol

[JackPhoenix]

That was my first thought, too. But my ******* Lore Bard cast True Sight once they entered the mansion, so I'd assume he'd have spotted the odd statues not being actual statues :smallsigh:

I don't think True Sight would help with gargoyles, they aren't hidden by magic, but by looking like ugly statues. With True Sight, the bard should still see ugly statue.

There are other attendees at the party, right? Vampires have ability to charm others. Not the party must deal not only with vampires, but with innocent humans who are magically compelled to protect them, preferably without killing them.

And while it depends a lot on the group, I wouldn't hesitate going for the Sunblade with my players. I try to run "realistic" (for the given value of realistic in D&D) CaW game, players would try to neutralize their opponent's biggest advantage, and intelligent opponents should do the same. Note that the vampires can't easily destroy the Sunblade, or even handle it safely themselves, and the players should know it's their best weapon against their enemies, so the scenario goals would change from just "survive the battle and kill the vampires" to "get the sword back so we can deal with the vampires". Instead of being disarmed in every encounter, let the fighter destroy the first encounter... the vampires were surprised themselves and had no idea the group owns such a weapon, had they? But after that, have minion (either present or charmed) steal the sword and run away... now the players have to decide between chasing after the thief to retrieve the weapon, or continuing to fight at disadvantage to save more party guests. The situation is suddenly much more dynamic than "going through the mansion, fighting one encounter after another". Hell, if they manage to kill the vampire (preferably not the BBEG) who charmed the thief (if that variant is used), the thief will break the charm effect and will return to give the sword back... perhaps just before the final fight.

[ATHATH]

Addition to the Darkness thing: Have a Vampire spellcaster cast Ghost Sound to mimic screams, cries for help, etc., in addition to having other Vampires cause the REAL screams, cries for help, etc. The Fighter might fumble around for a bit in the location that the Ghost Sound went off, looking for a victim that isn't there (make sure to separate him from the party or otherwise sever his communication with the dark-vision-possessing party members).

Ooh, maybe combine this with Silence, so that the other party members can't tell the Fighter where they are when they get dragged off. Then have everyone start to use notes, and have the Vampire spellcaster occasionally mimic the cries/noises of a (actually silenced, but the Fighter doesn't know that) party member.

[Knaight]

As I understand it you're looking for encounter variety while the opposition of smart opponents actually act like smart opponents. This means them taking the sunblade seriously, and attempting to mitigate it - but how they mitigate it can vary. Off the top of my head:

Disarming the sunblade.
Ranged attacks and staying at a distance.
Hit and run tactics.
Chaff shields (e.g. a dangerous vampire mage or archer hiding behind a wall of easily replaced undead a few ranks thick).


All of these could still end with watching them burn in the light of the sunblade, but at least they took some counter measures first.

[Dappershire]

Sunblade Rugby, anyone?