What are some good spells for fighting Vampires and similar bloodsuckers?

[Gavinfoxx]

Hi there, I was wondering what are some of the various 'top tier' spells in 3e, 3.5e, and 3.pf when fighting things that can drain your blood, be they various types of monstrous leeches, bats, weird giant mosquitoes, or even the different writeups of vampires (and their spawn) in this edition? What are some of the best options that each of the casting classes can obtain? Some of the best core options? What's a good battlefield control spell to use against Vampire types and similar sorts of threats which you don't want to bite and drain you? For a second I thought Stinking Cloud would work, and then I realized it said 'living creatures'. Anything useful as an alternative for 3rd level spells? Also, what are some of the best types of low-cost gear of various types (specific magic items, scrolls/potions/wand sorts of things, alchemical items, etc.) that's good at these kinds of threats?

[Buufreak]

Generally, a threat is a threat. Blood drain is the least of your worries, to be honest. The stacks of level drain are the issue here, as well as any of the shapes that a vampire can take in order to avoid their own demise.

But yea, anything that you would normally use to blast the hell out of nearly everything else, you could use here. Besides I think cold and electric resistance that is blanketed across all undead, just pick an energy type and go nuts.

[RNightstalker]

Protection from Evil should be near the top of the list. It prevents charms/dominate and possession. It also stops natural attacks, which a bite would fall under.

[Fizban]

Bloodsucking usually requires a natural weapon, often a grapple. So Babau Slime (SpC), Balor Nimbus (SpC), Fire Shield, Acid Sheath (SpC), and similar spells that cause damage to things that touch you (there's like three different sonic shields, other effects like Hamatula Barbs, etc), are a possible deterrent, if your DM runs monsters that will avoid such effects (otherwise you're likely better off just using Mirror Image, Blink, Displacement, etc like normal). Those take time to cast and have short durations, but the Cloak of the Salamander (MiC) is instead an immediate reaction you can use 3/day, or the Firey Tunic (MiC) is a swift action that lasts 5 rounds, but only 1/day. Taking the feat Shape Soulmeld (Mantle of Flame) or levels of Incarnate can get you a retaliation effect that never ends.

The Ring of Lightning Flashes (MiC) is specifically meant for zapping things that are grappling you, and as an AoE also deals extra to swarms, while any of MiC's many dirt cheap teleportation items can get you out of a grapple.

Light of Lunia, Mercuria, and Venya (SpC) deal significantly more than normal damage to undead when first obtained, and because the spell does not actually mention concentration, the rays may be fireable from within a grapple without any checks.

Stinking Cloud fails against non-living creatures, but Web and Glitterdust remain just as borked as always.

Regarding energy types- there are a surprising amount of undead that are fully vulnerable to cold actually. Unlike demons/devils and color coded enemies, undead are pretty inconsistent, especially when you include the multiple "it functions almost exactly as if alive, but undead" templates, which may or may not include unexplained surprising resistance X. Fire usually works against undead, but Fiendish Stirges seem to pop up more often than they should.

[Saintheart]

No mention of Death Ward against draining attacks and abilities?

[Fizban]

Death Ward won't stop blood drain- you need Sheltered Vitality (also in SpC) for that, or at least Body Ward (Complete Champion). Though for Vampires the energy drain is indeed the more dangerous attack.