Thursday, April 30, 2015

A to Z of Vampires: Zburător

Here we are at the end of our blogging challenge for another year.
Today let's return to the "home" of vampire legends and myths, Romania and pay a visit to the Zburător.

Max Ernst's Une Semaine de Bonté 1934 collage.
This creature is somewhat similar to an incubus, a male demon, but it is a vampiric spirit inhabiting a male body.  It preys on young girls (particularly virgins) and widows. They always appear as stunningly handsome young men with dark eyes and black hair. It will find a woman and prey on her nightly till she is dead.  It will typically charm the woman before hand and then gain an invitation to her home.  Once there he will come to the woman's bed and drain her blood while having sex. This results in the loss of 3 Constitution points per night.  Typically no one survives more than three encounters with a zburător.  Women killed become vampires under the zburător's complete control.

Despite being very fast and very strong the zburător is a stereotypical "lover and not a fighter" they will flee if faced with violence or great numbers. If forced to attack the creature will use a weapon or attempt to charm his way out.

The zburător is a shape shifter. It can become dust, mist, or flame to escape capture. It can also fly.
Though different than other vampires, the zburător has large bat-like wings that grow out of his back that he can hide when needed.  These wings are strong and can carry the vampire and his victim. This creature can also teleport (as per the spell) back to his lair once per night. Additional spell like powers include the ability to charm person, hypnotize, cause fear and phantasmagoria.

Like many vampires the zburător is destroyed by sunlight, is repelled by garlic and holy items, casts no reflection or shadow and can only be harmed by silver (or magic) weapons.  Additionally garlic or wolfsbane can be spread on windows or made into garlands or wreaths to hang on windows to keep it out.

Zburător
AKA: Zemu, Zmeu
Frequency: Very Rare
No. Apperring: 1
Size: Man-sized (M)
Armor Class: 3 [17]1
Movement
 Basic: 180' (60') / Fly: 210' (70')
 Advanced: 18" // Fly: 21"
Hit Dice: 9+4 (45 hp)
% in Lair: 50% (coffin by day)
Treasure Type: Weapon + Blood Drain
Damage: Weapon + Blood Drain
Special Attacks: Per Vampire; Blood Drain
Special Defenses: Only killed by silver or magic weapons or sunlight
Save As: Magic-user 92
Magic Resistance: 25%
Morale: 53
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Level/XP: 9/4,250 + 12/hp

STR: 21 INT: 10 WIS: 10 DEX: 21 CON: __(13)4  CHA: 235

1 Descending and [Ascending] Armor classes are given.
2 This is used for Basic games, and S&W. Also for monsters that I think need to save a little differently than others.
3 Morale is "Basic" Morale and based on a 1-12 scale.
4 Have not decided yet if I want to use 3.x style undead Constitutions or not. (15) Reflects what their Con would be if I do use it.  I might just put a number in () like I do for Ghosts of Albion.
5 obviously more reflective of personality and character than looks.

The zburător is the prototype of the "suave, sexy" vampire.
I have seen these type of vampires in other mediums, sometimes called "Dark Angels".  While they are better looking than other vampires and typically do not fight, they do prey on weaknesses; young girls looking for a 'dream lover' and widows longing for a companions touch. They still leave a trail of bodies where ever they go.

They are still popular enough to have a recent film made about one.  "Ultimul Zburător" or "The Last Incubus" focuses more on the "Dark Angel" aspect of this creature.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3031914/



18 comments:

J said...

Sounds like a good story for people who like vampires.

Jennifer Hawes said...

Very cool movie poster. And to think you found a "Z" for your vampire post! I've learned a lot about vampires this month!

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

Sounds like a very pleasant fellow until you invite him in. Virgins beware!
Loved all the vampire posts - great AtoZ :)
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

Arlee Bird said...

I think I've known a few of these in my lifetime.

Thanks Tim, for another great Challenge. You are a hardcore vet of this thing. We appreciate everything you put into A to Z to make it a success.

Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Join us on May 4 with your post of Reflections about this year's A to Z.
Tossing It Out

Sundari Venkatraman said...

Sounds powerful and scary indeed
Congratulations on completing A-Z Challenge :D
My A-Z posts: http://sundarivenkatraman.blogspot.in

Elise Fallson said...

I never realized just how many different variations/types of vampires there were until reading your posts. Very cool.

Timothy S. Brannan said...

@Natasha, THANKS. Your posts last year really got me inspired.

@Arlee, Thanks so much for having me on your team again this year!

David P. King said...

This sounds the type I'm most familiar with, though I never heard of that name before. Still, vampires of any time give me the creeps.

Congrats on surviving the challenge! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm going to have to go back through and catch up on all of these. Fascinating the wide variety of vampire legends. Thanks for sharing! I'll be back.

M.C.V. EGAN said...

Great one to share with my son a huge Cirque Du Freak Darren Shaw FAN!

Chrys Fey said...

I'm surprised you found one for Z. I never heard of Zburătors before. Of course it preys on young girls and widows. Bastard! :P

Congratulations on finishing the Challenge!

iluvfiction said...

This was real detailed information. Great!!

A Tarkabarka Hölgy said...

This was a fun theme! I'll have to come back and read the posts I missed. I also might use some of these in a campaign or two over the summer... :) Cheers!

@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

He can teleport? I so want that ability. Especially during my commute to work.

Anonymous said...

This sounds like the inspiration for most of the swoony vampires in stories.
Congrats on finishing the challenge.

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

Anonymous said...

Now this was one I was not familiar with. I'll have to find more about the Zburator.

Elizabeth Mueller said...

I've never got into RPG, but it sure sounds interesting. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment!

Elizabeth Mueller
AtoZ 2015
My Little Pony

Dr. Theda said...

Have really enjoyed your A to Z Vampire posts ( and like that you included "gaming Stats" for each....)
and got a good Laugh reading your comments about Vampires and reflections....