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Vampire

Type: Undead
Environment: Any
Attack: Slam, possibly weapon attacks and spells
Special Qualities: Resistances, Energy Drain
Organization: Solitary, pair, or gang

From the personal journal of Azalai Korias, Elven Wizard:

27 Sypheros, 998:

Our opponent was prepared for us; fighting our way through his minions had alerted him to our presence, giving him time to appropriately protect himself with an array of defensive spells. A pack of wolves ambushed us from the darkness, and in the confusion he dropped a rapid sequence of Cometfall, Flame Strike, and Unholy Blight into our group. The ablative protection of Protection from Fire faded under this assault, but it was the only thing that saved me from a premature end to my adventure; foresight once again paid off.

This morning, Khovis showed some concern about the frequency with which we have been entering ancient tombs and disturbing the fallen. He compared our noble quest for knowledge to grave robbing and desecration. How ludicrous!

Today’s itinerary, of course, included waking the dead, smashing open sarcophagi, and looting ancient treasures. I suppose he would have a point if the dead were actually resting peacefully in their graves and not actively trying to kill us, but we have more important things to worry about than squeamish morality.

Evidence from the last three crypts suggested that the undead we were facing were servants of a dark cleric that resided within this very tomb. The others had their silver magical weapons at the ready and prepared appropriate spells at my recommendation, for I had suspicions that our enemy was no mortal man, but a vampire.

Most of the undead we have faced are minor annoyances at best – zombies, skeletons of various power, wights, ghouls, wraiths and spectres. The mummy we destroyed two weeks ago was more of a challenge, but unlike vampires, rarely are they the masterminds behind grand evil plots. (Their brains, you see, are typically removed and stored in jars beside their sarcophagi.)

Our opponent was prepared for us; fighting our way through his minions had alerted him to our presence, giving him time to appropriately protect himself with an array of defensive spells. A pack of wolves ambushed us from the darkness, and in the confusion he dropped a rapid sequence of Cometfall, Flame Strike, and Unholy Blight into our group. The ablative protection of Protection from Fire faded under this assault, but it was the only thing that saved me from a premature end to my adventure; foresight once again paid off.

Khovis cast True Seeing on himself, and announced that the vampire was under some powerful invisibility effect. I launched a volley of Glitterdusts across the room to reveal his location, and Zarn charged in to knock the caster to the ground. Senna rained blows upon the vile creature with her holy weapon, and Kleija ran about the room firing shot after shot while on the run.

Senna’s attacks halted as she was dominated with a gaze – I’m sure the vampire would have preferred to stop the relentless attacks of the warforged barbarian, but only humanoids are vulnerable to such domination. Khovis’ Searing Lights and Holy Smites finally defeated the creature.

The vampire unfortunately escaped permanent destruction – upon incapacitation, they enter a gaseous form and retreat to their coffin to regenerate. Most vampires keep their coffins in extremely safe locations that may be impossible to reach without entering gaseous form; only the arrogant and stupid keep their sole weakness within easy reach.

Our opponent drifted away through a pipe in the ceiling, granting us time to search its lair for the information I sought, and the riches we require to finance our expeditions...

Never underestimate a vampire. Scheming, relentless, and wicked, the evil vampire is a force to be reckoned with. Unlike so many undead who are mindless minions of darkness, vampires are a different sort. Rather than being complete slaves to dark instinct or pawns of some evil power, vampires themselves are very often the evil power that is in control. If a vampire is enslaved to anything other than his or her coffin, that master is nearly always another vampire.

Vampires are always keen to manipulate others to further their own ends. When open confrontation becomes necessary, vampires will fall back on the power of their will and attempt to mentally dominate their opponents. If this fails, vampires can be extremely capable combatants.

While the vampire ability to drain blood from victims is well known, they also have the ability to drain vital energy from your very soul. In open combat, most vampires show a preference for this outright energy drain. In between physical attacks, many vampires will bring powerful spells to the fight as well. On defense, the vampire is equally formidable. Most vampires have incredible reflexes and unnatural agility, and they use these to great effect avoiding attacks. They are resilient in the face of physical damage, and are resistant to cold and electricity. Once hit, the horrid creatures are capable of rapidly healing themselves and regenerate continually.

Now I realize you have heard stories about garlic and holy symbols and wooden stakes and such like. True, these things do have an effect on vampires, but will generally only hold the creature at bay. If you are facing a vampire in open combat, then he is already powerful enough to avoid or circumvent any effects from these things.

The way to defeat a vampire is through persistence and tenacity. A vampire's physical toughness does not stand up against silver. Attack him head on with silver weapons and holy magic, carefully avoiding his energy drain attacks whenever possible. He may call forth vicious wolves, swarms of bats or other such creatures of the night to aid in his escape or to further his attack. Divide your party to both eliminate these vermin as quickly as possible and keep up the pressure on the vampire himself.

While there are a few different ways to destroy one of these evil beings, vampires are usually smart enough to avoid confrontations in areas where these tactics can be easily employed. (You will never face a vampire near a river because immersion in running water can be lethal to them.) Instead you must press your attack and never give them the time to regenerate. If they disperse into thin air or a cloud of bats and retreat, remain vigilant but consider yourself victorious. Even if you have not destroyed the foul creature, you have won the day.

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