Review: Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (3.5)

Near the end of of the life cycle of D&D 3.5 people were beginning to suspect that a new edition was on the way. They were not wrong, but before that happened we saw some changes in the adventure format from Wizards of the Coast. Certainly a trend to more tactical maps. These last few adventures were all mostly re-visions of some of the classic adventures of old. Castle Greyhawk, Queen of the Demonweb Pits, Undermountain, and of course, Castle Ravenloft.

Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (3.5)

2006. by Bruce R. Cordell and James Wyatt. Based on Ravenloft by Tracy and Laura Hickman. Cover art Kev Walker. Interior art, Dave Allsop, Kalman Andrasofsky, Ralph Horsley, William O’Connor, Lucio Parrillo, Anne Stokes, and Eva Widermann. Cartography Jason Engle, Kyle Hunter. 224 pages.

For this review I am considering my PDF and Print on Demand copies

It is not a new edition of D&D unless we have new take on the classic Ravenloft. This adventure sees Ravenloft back in it's original home; not just in terms of the adventure published by Wizards of the Coast after Sword & Sorcery Studios license, but Castle Ravenloft, divorced from the Demi-Plane of Dread. This is the 3.5 revision of the original adventure.

Like the original I6 Ravenloft adventure, this adventure plunges players into the cursed land of Barovia, a realm dominated by a bleak atmosphere and ruled by the vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich. Adventurers take on the daunting mission of navigating Castle Ravenloft, confronting Strahd, and ending his sinister reign over Barovia once and for all.

The revamped (heh) Expedition to Castle Ravenloft expands on the original with enhanced encounters, new rules, and a more comprehensive campaign that immerses players in Strahd’s haunting domain. The new encounter system of 3.5 takes up the later half of the book, but makes it easy for DMs to plan out how they want to do their encounters. Given we are on the eve of 4e, this means which minis to grab and which maps to use.

The adventure is expanded into a mini-campaign of sorts. And really, that has always been one of the strengths of this adventure; its ability to do more. The adventure can cover 20 sessions, raising characters from 6th level to 10th or broken up into smaller sessions. It can even be run exactly like the original adventure as a straight forward 1 or 2 sessions of "Find the vampire and kill it."

While that is a great bit of flexibility for the adventure, I already did that back in the 1980s. It would be a shame not to use all the new great material here that Cordell and Wyatt (two excellent designers) have done here. There are new antagonists and new locations to explore. 

Barovia itself is a character in this module: a mist-laden, gloomy land filled with mystery, danger, and spectral beauty. Players are encouraged to explore its towns, ruined abbeys, and dense forests, meeting unique NPCs who add depth and lore to the journey. The encounters are varied and challenging, balancing tense dungeon crawls with narrative-driven encounters that test both the characters' skills and the players' wits. And then finally getting to Castle Ravenloft itself. A locale that has lost none of its "charm" over the years. 

We still have the Fortunes of Ravenloft here, among other classic notes expanded for this new adventure. And like the original, Count Strahd von Zarovich is front and center. Not just in the adventure but in the book as well. 

I have played and run the original Ravenloft many, many times. I honestly think this version is rather fun. It stays true to the original while updating the adventure is good AND providing more adventure as well. It is rare when a "remake" can improve, but this one does.

Even if I were to run Ravenloft again under the 1st or 2nd Ed of AD&D, I would still import ideas from this version to those, especially all the locales around the castle and in Barovia. The original adventure kinda just drops you in (not a big deal, works fine) but this one gives you more land to explore, more people to interact with. 

Strahd is still awful, tragic, powerful and one of the more interesting villains in D&D. Castle Ravenloft is still wonderful to explore filled with dangers both obvious and hidden. 

The art is amazing, and really the views of Castle Ravenloft alone in both art and maps makes this must have for any fan of the adventure. 

The adventure/book is divided into five major sections, four chapters and an Appendix.

Chapter 1 covers Adventures in Ravenloft. An overview of what one should expect to see (or do since this is a Dungeon Masters' book) in the area. While the demi-plane of Ravenloft is not used here, there are area affects due to Strahd and his evil.  This also features our first encounter areas.

Chapter 2 the Village of Barovia covers D&D's own "Hammer Hamlet." 

Chapter 3 details the Lands of Barovia. We have more encounter areas here and our "Fortunes of Ravenloft" options.

Chapter 4 is Castle Ravenloft itself.

The Appendix details some new feats, a new spell, and various magical items.

About the Print on Demand

Of all the Print on Demand products I have bought, this one might be one of the very best. It is the "Hardcover, Standard Color Book" option and it compares very well to the off-set printing ones of the same era. 

The pages are crisp and easy to read. The binding is solid.

I am pretty sure the idea to divorce Ravenloft: The Adventure from Ravenloft: The Demi Plane was a.) to get a new generation into the adventure in it's "original" form, and b.) maybe part of their larger plans for it moving away from 3.x to 4e. But I have nothing to back that up.

This is a great adventure by all accounts for D&D 3.x. It has everything the original AD&D adventure had and more.Maybe it is my "nostalgia goggles" (as my son would say) but I still prefer I6 Ravenloft.

This adventure also marks the end of the 3.x Ravenloft line. Next time we meet in the Land of the Mists it will be under 4th Edition D&D rules.

Review: Children of the Night Vampires

 We are getting to the end of the AD&D 2nd Ed era of Ravenloft. Well...there are still a lot of products to cover but we are getting to the end of my coverage of them.  

AD&D 2nd Ed was really the golden age of campaign settings. Sure, that gold was only a very thin veneer, maybe even just electroplating.  But instead of focusing on that I want to enjoy what was great about that time and that was the depth of products.  TSR must have known the writing was on the wall by 1996 because the Children of the Night books, starting in 1996, were an attempt to build bridges across the campaign worlds.  

Children of the Night Vampires

1996. By Paul Culotta and Steve Miller with Carol L. Johnson and Jonathan Ariadne Caspian. Cover art by Daniel Home. Interior Illustrations by Jason Burrows. 96 pages.

For this review I am considering the PDF and PoD from DriveThruRPG and my memories of my original print copy.

This book is dedicated to the memory of Nigel D. Findley, who created Rudolph Van Richten. Findley had died of a heart attack at age 35.

This first of the Children of the Night series features 13 unique vampires to challenge PCs. "Challenge" doesn't always mean "fight."

I should point out that this is not the first time we have seen a "Children of the Night" for Ravenloft. The first one was "MC15 - Monstrous Compendium - Appendix II Children of the Night." 

The concept is a solid one. Ravenloft breathed new life (heh) into Vampires with the very first adventure, so it makes sense that it would continue to do so and then expand on that. The book starts out by saying that while these are all unique takes on vampires native to Ravenloft's mists, they don't have to stay there, and they can be added to your own campaign world. 

Each entry includes a stat-block, description and history, usually with how they became a vampire. There is also a mini adventure/plot hook you can use with the vampire in question.

Among the famous, or about to become famous, vampires include Ravenloft's Jander Sunstar, the eleven vampire introduced in the novel "Vampire of the Mists." Jander is a Chaotic Neutral (which as close to Good as it gets) vampire from the Forgotten Realms. He is just as likely to help the PCs fight vampires as he is to want to be left alone. 

Also, here are Lyssa von Zarovich, Strahd's great-niece (or something like that) and one of the members of his family line that was not killed when Barovia was pulled into the Mists. Don't mistake her hate for Strahd as "goodness" she is still quite evil. She will later go on to appear in Curse of Strahd.

We get a desert vampire, Moosha, the Ixitxachitl vampire Myxitizajal, and the vorlog Don Pablo among the others. 

The one I liked the most back then, because the concept was novel to me, was Lady Heather Shadowbrooke, the Druid Vampire. She is quite evil and a tragic character, really. 

I certainly think this is a great addition to any AD&D 2nd Ed game, Ravenloft or not. 

Note about the PoD

The Print on Demand copy I have does show some fuzziness, but all in all it is a very good copy. There are two PDFs you get from DriveThruRPG. Once is quasi OCR and the other is image. Neither seems as clear as the PoD which I find weird. 

This PoD is a worthy replacement for my original book from 1996. 

Children of the Night vs. Vampires

Children of the Night Vampires is not the first time a collection of various vampire NPC/Antagonists has been done for an RPG. The first one I ever bought was Vampires for the Chill RPG (1st Ed). The 2nd edition version is available on DriveThruRPG.

Both books do the same thing for their respective games, and both do it well. I give a slight nod to the Chill one since it came first.  The Ravenloft/AD&D one has 13 vampires vs the Chill's 11 (10 entries), so it has that in it's favor. 

October Horror Movie Challenge: Lemora

I was on Tubi, which is hands down the best place to find old and obscure horror films, watching Messiah of Evil last night. When it was done, I was shocked to see that it was none other than Lemora, a movie I have wanted to see for years!  So I had to save it for tonight.

Lemora (1973)

Also known as Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural, The Legendary Curse of Lemora, and Lemora, Lady Dracula.

Lila Lee (Cheryl Smith  in one of her first ever roles) is a girl in trouble. He father is a notorious Prohibition-era criminal and he has just killed his wife and her lover. Lila goes to live with the local minister where she becomes a paragon of Christian goodness and values.  One day, she gets a letter from a mysterious Lemora, who tells her that her father has shown up three years later and is now dying. She is supposed to meet them in the town of Astaroth.

She goes there to find her father and told to watch out for the locals, who are said to have that "Astaroth look." 

Lila meets Lemora (Lesley Taplin) and it is pretty obvious from the start she is a vampire. It is like the writer (Richard Blackburn, who is also the Director and plays the minister) took the beginning of Dracula and merged it with Carmila. 

Lila figures out what Lemora is and tries to run away, only to encounter the rest of the townsfolk who try to kill her. She ends up killing her own, not bestial, father.  During this time the minister is looking for her and has found Astaroth. 

The minister gets to town and falls asleep in a barn. He is awakened by Lila who begins kissing him, he tries to get her to stop only to start kissing her back. Lila reveals her vampire fangs and bites him as Lemora, smiling, looks on.

So...happy ending I guess! 

I have been looking for this movie for ages, so there is no way it is going to measure up. There is far less witchcraft in it than I was led to believe, and the supposed sexual themes were blown completely out of proportion. There was a lot more in The Vampire Lovers (1970). Still though, it is a nice moody flick with some nice horror elements.

Our lead in this, Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith, would have a career into the 1980s, including the rather notorious erotic "Cinderella" playing the titular role.  Sadly, as expected, Smith died young. Liver disease and hepatitis due to being addicted to heroin for two decades. 

Featured Monster: Vampires (again)

There is not much else to say here that I have not already said. BUT I am struck by how similar in tone this movie is to Messiah of Evil.  For starters both deal with remote towns with ancient backgrounds (for America), both feature a central undead figure. Both feature undead monsters that are not quite vampires and not quite zombies, but something in between. Both feature central female leads. Both are also what has been described as a sub-genre of Horror, "American Nightmare" usually films set in American and produced between 1968 and 1976. It's not quite occult-themed horror, but it's related. 

For a game, I might mix the two up a little. Lemora turned Lila in the 1930s. What would they be like now, nearly 100 years later? Maybe the "Blood Moon" prophecy of "Messiah of Evil" is about Lemora's death at the hands of a stronger, more powerful vampire? Lots to choose from, really.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2024
Viewed: 25
First Time Views: 14

Review: Van Richten's Guides

 Today I will cover a lot of ground very quickly as a retrospective review. I have talked about these about books off and on over the years here and they stand as some of the best deep dives for monsters I have ever seen for the AD&D game. Yes, Elmimster's Ecologies are very good and the Monstrous Compendiums sat the stage for detailed monster coverage, but where these sources fall short of the Van Richten Guides is the level of detail; in terms of monster coverage, variations of the monster, and of course hunting the monsters.

Van Richten's Guides

The Van Richten's Guides began in 1992 with the publication of Van Richten's Guide to Vampires, which I already covered in detail. The other guides that came after followed a similar format, each detailing a different monster.

They were all largely agnostic in terms of system, though they were all still AD&D books and the fluff was still very much set in Ravenloft. I personally felt they could have been used in any AD&D campaign setting, and I even felt that a few were useful enough to use in any system.  For example, I used the Liches book for WitchCraft/Unisystem to great effect. 

The original Guides were single volumes of around 96 pages each. The product numbering was a little haphazard, they were all "Ravenloft Reference" but Liches also had the code RS and the last two had no codes at all. 

In 1998, after TSR was purchased by Wizards of the Coast, the books were combined into a compendium of three monster books, each with a third, Guide to Witches, new. It also had a bit of a different feel than the others. Though it's most similar to the Vistani one.  The books were grouped by theme rather than publication dates. Volume 1 featured the "Classic" Universal monsters. Vol. 2 was undead, and Vol. 3 what can best be described as "occult" related.

• RR3 Van Richten's Guide to Vampires (2e)
• RR7 Van Richten's Guide to Werebeasts (2e) 
• RR8 Van Richten's Guide to the Created (2e)
• Compiled in Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium, Vol 1
• RR5 Van Richten's Guide to Ghosts (2e)
• RS1 [RR6] Van Richten's Guide to the Lich (2e)
• RR9 Van Richten's Guide to the Ancient Dead (2e)
• Compiled in Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium, Vol 2
• Van Richten's Guide to Fiends (2e)
• Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani (2e)
• Van Richten's Guide to Witches (not published as a single book)
• Compiled in Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium, Vol 3

I owned all of these back in the 1990s. I recall sitting in my apartment after getting married reading them all. There were subtle differences between the single (TSR-era) books and the compiled (WotC-era) books. Nothing I can recall off the top of my head, mind you, and nothing that was game-changing, save for maybe the notion that Van Richten was dead.

I unloaded all of these after I went over to other games and then later D&D 3. I don't regret it, but I kinda wish I had kept the Compendiums. Unfortunately, the PDFs, while great for reading, are not really good enough for Print on Demand.  Printing them all out for a binder would be fun, but we are talking about a lot of pages (800 or so for the single volumes) and a lot of ink.

Van Richten's Guide to Witches

For obvious reasons, I want to focus on this one. Not only is it germane to this blog and my interests, it is also the odd one out. 

Needless to say, I was really looking forward to this book. Obviously, the Guides to Demons (renamed from Fiends) and Vistani were still top-notch. The Guide to Witches really should have been called the Guide to Hags and Witches because it dealt with both. I'll break it down here.

Guide to Hags

        I really liked this part.  Hags should be part of Ravenloft, and this section did a great job of presenting another monster type in a far more complex light.  It is on par with the Guide to Liches or Vampires.

I would have liked to see more on linking Hags to Night Hags.  I liked the second change idea that other hag types change into Night Hags, but it does not have to be the only way they are linked.  The Monster Manual 2 (1st Ed.) states that the Annis are relative to the Night Hags, and the Greenhag are relative to both the Annis and the Sea Hags.

I liked the Irdra/Ogre link to Hags, but I liked the "Dark Fey" theory much better.  My hag, the Makva (or Wood Hag), is more of a dark faerie type than an ogress.  Plus I don't play Dragonlance, so the Irdra are not part of my worlds.

For Hag reproduction and powers, the Makva are most similar to Greenhags. Except, most Makva only live about 800 years.  Mavka is usually spawned from elves and half-elves rather than humans.  Makva may join Coveys, but there will be only one Makva per covey. In spawning rituals, Makva picks elves or half-elves as victims. They can perform them only on nights of the new moon.

Guide to Witches, Warlocks, and Hedge Magicians

        I was prepared to find witches that were very different than my own, but I did not expect that they would be this different. Witches have had a spotty history with D&D since the beginning, and it seems that every few years, a new rule book comes up that gives us a different vision of the witch.  To begin with, this witch is not a class or a subclass, but a kit.  It is also different from the Complete Wizards Handbook witch kit.  What I did like was the information on the Church of Hala and the acknowledgement that witches could be good or evil, overall I did not like it.

        I am not saying I did not like the new kit, I just do not like them as Witches.  The author, Steve Miller, got the points right about witchcraft being based in faith and I really liked the whole idea of the Weave, I just did not feel that these were the same kinds of witches from fantasy and horror literature. For example where was any mention of the occult? Or how about familiars? These witches lacked a few of the things that made witches special.

The witches and warlocks here are interesting classes, and looking back at them now, a quarter of a century later, I find that I like them a lot more than I did then. Maybe I have seen more witches since then, or maybe my tastes have changed.

All of these books, though, are essential to anyone playing in Ravenloft, a must-have if you are playing a horror game in AD&D, or really any version of D&D, and still pretty useful for other games.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Messiah of Evil (1974)

 I have wanted to see this one for some time, based on the movie poster alone. It was not exactly the movie I thought it was going to be, but glad I finally caught it. The poster claims "From the makers of American Graffiti," and that is true. The Husband-and-wife team Huyck and Katz (writers-producers-directors) did write "American Graffiti" and then would go on to direct and write "Howard the Duck," and write for Indiana "Jones and the Temple of Doom."

Messiah of Evil (1974)

This movie follows some old tropes. Old, even by the time of this movie and certainly one we have seen a lot. A woman, this time Arletty played by Marianna Hill, is searching for her artist father who has ended all communication with her. Told in flashback to her psychiatrist she talks about how she arrives in the coastal town of Point Dume, formerly "New Bethlehem," to find him.  She finds instead an odd man Thom (Michael Greer), and his two young groupies Toni (Joy Bang) and Laura (Anitra Ford). They are also interested in Arletty's father.

We learn, through various means, that the town is cursed and that during the Blood Moon the people will change and begin to eat raw flesh. This is told to us a few times to make sure we remember it. Even dear old dad comes back from the dead to tell us.

Anyway, town's people start dying, Arletty reads some of her father's notes talking about how he is changing, and she notices she is changing the same way.  The groupies get picked off and eaten by the townsfolk and soon they come after Arletty and Thom.

In the end, Arletty is in the mental institution, but you get the idea that she is already dead.

The movie is all mood with some standard 70s-era zombies for blood and gore (and not a lot of that). It is not great, but not terrible either. We have seen the "Woman searches for lost family and only finds dead people" trope many times here. Hell, this isn't even the first one this month. But maybe there is something to that. Instead of a castle in Europe, it is an artist colony in California. 

I think this film had high aspirations and a limited budget for achieving them. 

Featured Monster: Ghouls

The movie is unclear on what sorts of undead the town's folk are. But the connection to "new religion" and Donnor Party made in the tales of the Blood Moon lead me to conclude they are ghouls. Granted not the grave robbing undead, but something a little more intelligent than a zombie and less powerful than a vampire. 

Now. It would be foolish of me to think this movie had any influence on the Monster Manual at all. But that doesn't mean we can look at ghouls a new way because of this movie.

The film's dream-like, or more to the point, nightmare-like quality makes it a good model for a Ravenloft adventure. Especially if you imagine Point Dume as part of Ravenloft.

The whole trope (woman seeks out weird family) really is a model for Ravenloft. Adding in the walking dead just seals the deal.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2024
Viewed: 24
First Time Views: 13

Review: Night of the Vampire (2e, Mystara)

 A side step today, but one that is important to me. I have been talking about how I believe that Barovia, the core domain of Ravenloft, was originally part of the World of Mystara and from Glantri in particular. Today I am providing some more fuel for that fire, but with the runner-up land of Karameikos. 

Night of the Vampire (2e)

1994. Adventure Design: L. Richard Baker III. Editing: Michele Carter. Project Manager: Andria Hayday. Cover Art: Jennell Jaquays. Interior Art: Dan Frazier. 32 pages. 

This review is considering the PDF file from DriveThruRPG only.

A couple of points about our creative team. First, more art from the legendary Jennell Jaquays. Rich Baker would go on to have a very good career at TSR and then Wizards working on D&D 3.x, D&D 4, and Gamma World. Andria Hayday, who does not often get mentioned (she is not even on the DTRPG page for this) would later go on to be one of the main developers of the Ravenloft: Domains of Dread hardcover. 

I never owned this boxed set, but after buying it from DriveThruRPG, I really wish I had. It is, CD-Audio aside for the moment, a fun adventure for low level characters.

The task set before Richard Baker and his designe team was to created a low-level (levels 1-3, or possibly 4-6) adventure where the big bad was a vampire. A daunting task. A well-played vampire can wipe out a party of even mid level, and an exceptionally well-played one is a challenge to higher level characters, especially in what is now a Post-Ravenloft I6 world.

Baker gets by this issue by having some magic items available to the PCs to use. And even provides some rules for grappling and taking down a vampire en masse. 

The adventure starts with a shipwreck trope, in which the PCs end up on an island off the coast of Karameikos. Now, there are a lot of ways to spin this; my choice? The shipwreck is not about the sea but instead the Mists of Ravenloft. 

The adventure is a bit rail-roady and there are a LOT of NPCs to keep track of. The vampire-plot is reminiscent of the Strahd-Sergei-Tatyana tragedy so much that this adventure could be used as stand-in prequel to I6. Granted, there is a LOT more going on here. Namely all the NPCs, but an enterprising DM could re-mold it into this prequel. Great for heroes and players familiar with the tale of Strahd already in a strange time-travel adventure.

About the PDFs

Ah, the 90s. There was a lot of role-playing, and that often meant lots of handouts. The PDF allows you to print out all the handouts you want.

Plus, printing out the PDFs also allows me to edit them as I need. For starters I would make the PCs higher level and get rid of some of the aids given to them. The pages are all filled with color so 

About the Audio Tracks

There are 72 audio tracks on the CD, which is not included with the PDF. BUT you can find them on YouTube. 

The pros include proper pronunciations of the names of the various NPCs and some eerie background music. 

The cons include audio tracks putting words into the PCs mouths and it doesn't always jive with the adventure itself. It's not a perfect fit. For example the PCs are treated as well known heroes in the tracks. At 1st to 3rd level this is not really likely. Also, there are some spoilers in the audio tracks. Personally, I would listen to them all first and be a little more selective. That is if I used any of them at all.

Despite the shortcomings, this is a rather interesting adventure with a lot of potential. It also satisfies my desire to use Ravenloft and Mystara together. 

The layout and trade dress are very good and bright, which is typical of the Mystara products of the time. I rather love them, to be honest. It is a shame everyone was fighting online (at the time) about Forgotten Realms this or Greyhawk that while Mystara fans were off on their own enjoying some really fun products.

I think my FLGS might have a copy of this in the store now that I think about it.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Dracula Night

 Decided that a Dracula night was in order. I wanted to watch "Last Voyage of the Demeter" and "Renfield" and thought I'd throw "Bram Sotker's Dracula" in as well. 

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

This movie takes the log of the ill-fated Demeter and turns it into a full-length movie. Not a bad concept really, and certainly enough here for a movie. There are some good bits here. Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth in Game of Thrones) is the captain of the Demeter with David Dastmalchian as the first mate. New characters include Anna (Aisling Franciosi) as Dracula's "road trip snack," and Corey Hawkins as Cambridge-schooled doctor Clemens. 

We know the story here. Dracula charters The Demeter to London with 50 boxes of earth. He kills everyone on board, and the boat runs ashore.

In this one, Anna and Clemens survive, only for Anna to die when sunlight hits her. Clemens vows to hunt Dracula down, but we know he is not successful. 

Dracula is played by Spanish actor Javier Botet under a lot of make-up. 

A couple of points. The movie takes place in 1897, the same year Dracula was published, but you know my issue with that. 

Also, the main character is named Clemens, and the dog on the boat is named Huck, short for Huckleberry.  This is a neat little nod given what I have said about Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain's relationship with Bram Stoker. 

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Honestly, I have lost track how many times I have seen this movie. A couple of notes on this viewing.

One. It also takes place in 1897. I guess that can't be helped. Two. Honestly, we gave Keanu Reeves too much grief when this came out. He is nowhere near as bad as I thought he was or remembered. The same is true for Winona Ryder. Time has been better for them both. I mean who doesn't love Keanu Reeves and where would "Stranger Things" be without Joyce Byers?

Three. I am still not a fan of the "Immortal Beloved" subplot. Why can't Dracula just be the evil asshole he is in the book? It worked so well for other Draculas. 

Four. Some of the script dialog is a bit cringey. 

Still, this is one of the best Dracula movies. It could also be better.

The scene with Dracula as a bat-creature (after he feeds on Mina) is very much like the bat-creature in "Last Voyage of the Demeter."

I kinda wonder what Mina would have been like had she joined Dracula. I think more interesting that what we saw in "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."

Renfield (2023)

Ok. This one. First off, Nicolas Cage as Dracula? Oh HELL YES. This movie is crafted as sequel to the 1931 Dracula starring Bela Lugosi.  Nicholas Hoult, who is pretty much brilliant in everything he does (see "The Great" where he played Peter III of Russia), and Awkwafina playing...well Awkwafina (but that is fine it works here). 

This movie has Renfield still serving Dracula into the 2000s. It is silly and maybe one of the bloodiest movies I have ever seen, but it is just so much fun.

Dishonorable Mention: Dracula's Guest (2008)

Thought I'd make a night of it and watch this one as well. But wow, is it really bad. I mean terrible. It is late and frankly I just can't sit through this one. So not finishing it, but not counting it either. 

Featured Monster: Vampire

None of these movies contributed to the 1977 Monster Manual, obviously. But Dracula, the novel, and earlier movies did. The truth is that while there are plenty of pulp-era vampires, you can go wrong with Dracula as your model.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2024
Viewed: 20
First Time Views: 10

Review: House of Strahd

 How many times will the makers of D&D re-do I6 Ravenloft? Well, they show no signs of stopping. House of Strahd brings Ravenloft to, well, Ravenloft.

RM4 House of Strahd

by Tracy and Laura Hickman, with additional material by  Bruce Nesmith.  Art by Dana Andrews, Clyde Caldwell, James Crabtree, and David C. Sutherland III.

PDF and Print. 64 pages.

For this I am considering the PDF from DriveThruRPG and my original print copy from the 1990s.

This is the original I6 Ravenloft Adventure from 10 years prior. This time the action has moved to the Demi-plane of Dread.

Bruce Nesmith does the "Demi-plane" conversions here which include AD&D 2nd edition conversions, using the fear and horror rules from the Ravenloft boxed set AND the updated Strahd stat block.

Strahd, in I6, was a 10th-level necromancer vampire. Now, he is a 16th-level one.

The text is largely the same as the original I6 but yet it somehow feels like it is "less." I have run Ravenloft many times, and while I have run it using the AD&D 2nd ed rules, I have never used to book save for the updated stat block and some monsters.  For lack of anything I can put my finger on, the I6 presentation is vastly superior.

Still, though, I am happy to have it. If I were to run AD&D 2nd Ed Ravenloft I would certainly use this adventure. I'd just use the maps from the I6 version and maybe some ideas from the 3e or 5e versions as well.

Review: Van Richten's Guide to Vampires

 The 1990s brought something of an existential crisis to AD&D and TSR. For the first time ever, there was a real competitor for RPG sales, and that was White Wolf's Vampire The Masquerade.  I know a lot of AD&D gamers dismissed WW and Vampire at the time, but we all know that was a mistake. Vampire:TM was a phenomenon that still has an impact today. It was felt in the halls of TSR as well. Granted, doing a book on Vampires for Ravenloft was a no-brainer; their premier inhabitant was a vampire. But there is a little more going on here. 

Van Richten's Guide to Vampires

Nigel D. Findley, 1992
PDF. 96 pages, color cover by Den Beauvais, Black & White interior art by Stephen Fabian.

For this I am considering the PDF and Print on Demand versions.

One of the best Vampire supplements ever for a game was the Chill 1st Edition Vampires book. This book is for the AD&D 2nd Edition game, and it has the same utility to me.

First, a bit about these Van Richten's Guides. Rudolph Van Richten is Ravenloft's resident Vampire hunter and expert on the supernatural. He was Ravenloft's answer to Van Helsing, and he was not really all that different. If you read about him and picture Peter Cushing, you will be excused.  The conceit is that they were all written by Van Righten himself and left for other hunters to find. There were several of these Guides, and all had quite a lot of utility for me. They were a good mix of "crunch" (game mechanics) and "fluff" (narrative material). I would LOVE to say I used them outside of Ravenloft when I was playing AD&D 2nd Ed, but in truth my AD&D 2nd experience was all about Ravenloft. I will point out that a lot of the "innovations" of these books would later find a home in D&D proper post AD&D 2nd Ed. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Chapter 1 is the Introduction and sets the tone for the book. This is all from the point of view of Van Richten himself. Game applications appear in text boxes throughout.

Chapter 2 covers the background of vampirism, including how it is spread and how vampires think. Here we learn that a vampire's blood can cause damage to the living much like holy water does to the undead. 

Chapter 3. Here, I want to point out that none of the chapters use "1, 2, 3," but rather just the titles. The feel is that of a journal or a quasi-academic treatise.  Chapter 3, Vampiric Powers, is a good one. It covers all the powers normally associated with the AD&D 2nd Edition Vampire and adds more.  Most importantly is the idea that vampires get more powerful as they age. This was not a new idea; it was sort of implicit in all the retellings of Dracula and other popular media. It had also made it's way into other games before this, but for AD&D this was new stuff. Less revolutionary and more evolutionary; that is, it was going to happen sooner or later. It is an idea that has been adopted for D&D ever since for all vampires, in one form or another. I certainly used it in all my AD&D games going forward, even applying it to my 1st Ed and Basic-era games. Vampires also gain control over lesser undead.

Chapter 4. Covers the way new vampires can be created. Here, Van Richten moves away from Van Helsing and more into Professor Hieronymus Grost from "Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter." Detailing all the then known ways the vampiric curse can be passed on. Throughout the book, this information is presented as Van Richten's personal experiences and those of trusted colleagues, with the caveat that there may be other means and ways they do not know yet.

Chapter 5. This covers the various weaknesses of the Vampire. This includes all the classic ones and how they are altered by Ravenloft's unique environment.  

Chapter 6. This covers all the means to destroy a vampire, including the classics: Stakes, running water, blessed items, and sunlight.

Chapter 7. Magic and Vampires is the most "D&D" of all the chapters really. It not only covers how vampires are affected by magic but also how they can use magic items. Want to polymorph a vampire? Great, if it gets past their magic resistance, and they fail their saving throw, they will be come what ever it was you wanted. For one round. Then, they can shift to one of their alternate forms. 

Chapter 8. This chapter is called "Life-Blood: Vampiric Feeding Habits" and is the one that takes the vampire further away from the AD&D model of the vampire. In particular the vampires of Ravenloft drain blood, not really levels, though there is an option for that. This was great because frankly I never liked level drain as a mechanic. We have seen blood drain in the Core Rules and Feast of Goblyns introduced us to a vampire that drains spinal fluid. Again the parallels to "Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter" are there. 

Chapter 9. Covers the "Sleep of the Dead" and how vampires sleep. We learn through other sources (and put into game terms here) that Strahd sleeps the sleep of the dead during the daylight hours and can't be woken. Other vampires like Jander Sunstar are very light sleepers. Note: Neither of these vampires are mentioned here as examples. They are detailed in other contemporaneous products. 

Chapter 10. Akin to sleep in Hibernation, something all vampires do after a certain number of years. Hibernation is an extended sleep all vampires go through and as a means to keep 1,000+ year old vampires out of the game. OR at least out of Ravenloft.  The previously mentioned Jander Sunstar is thought to be 700+ years old (as a vampire) and Cazador Szarr is also believed to be very old. Both are elves. I bring these two up in particular because rules laid down in this book continue to effect their 5th Edition versions.

Chapter 11. Relationships between vampires is our next chapter. As (mostly) Chaotic-evil creatures vampires rarely work together, save for a master-thrall relationship. There are also vampire "brides" and "grooms" (see Dracula) and they are little more than elevated thralls, albeit ones with more free-will. One wonders how this book might have been different if a movie like "The Only Lovers Left Alive" had been out then.  

Chapter 12. This covers vampire psychology. How a vampire thinks and how they deal (or not) with immortality.

Chapter 13. Related to the previous chapter is this chapter on "The Facade." As the most human and living looking of all the undead (odd exceptions aside) the vampire has the best chance of blending in. But their immortality and their altered psychology often prevent a full integration into any society. 

Chapter 14. In a largely mechanical chapter, this deals with the vampires of certain classes and the powers and skills they can retain. Honestly, I think this one would have been a better Appendix since this chapter lacks a lot of the Van Richten notes and would have given us a nice 13 chapters. 

At 96 pages this is a wealth of information about vampires. Just as I extended it from Ravenloft to all my AD&D 2nd Edition games, you can also use ideas (and even some mechanics) to extend this form AD&D 2nd edition to other editions of D&D. Indeed, some of that was already getting baked into post AD&D rules. I have also used ideas from this in other games outside of D&D.

The interior art is all by Stephen Fabian and gives us a great visual connection to the core rules. There is some repeated art here from the core and other products, but only someone who has all the books and read them all over and over would notice.

A word about the PDF and PoD

I had this book when it was first published, but I unloaded it from the time I was in grad school to when I bought my first house. I kinda regret that. The PDF, though is easy to read and bookmarked. 

The POD version is also nice, but the interior text is a bit faded, and the red text is more pinkish. It is 100% serviceable for gameplay and reading. It just reminds me I wish I still had all my originals. 

Review: I10 Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill

Can you imagine a world where Christopher Lee only made one Dracula movie? No. Neither can I. Thanks to the movie magic of Hammer Horror, we got to see Lee's Dracula (who I believe played Dracula more time than any other actor) return time and time again from Victorian England to the Swinging Satanic 70s. Each time, he is confronted by his nemeses, the Van Helsing family, often in the guise of Peter Cushing.  So if Ravenloft is Hammer Horror, then it should come as no surprise that we would get a sequel adventure. 

We did. Strahd is back in Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill.

This adventure, while not as well received as the first, ground-breaking, Ravenloft it did have a lot going for it. For starters, it was much more classically Gothic in nature. An old family, an ancient curse, ghosts, a strange and charming young Alchemist by the name of Strahd von Zarovich.

I10 Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill

by Tracy and Laura Hickman*. Cover art by Clyde Caldwell, interior art by Jeff Easley. (1986). Color covers, black-white interior art. Cartography by Dave Sutherland. 48 Pages.

I should point out here that this adventure, while having the Hickmans in the by line, was really just an outline and some notes. Tracy Hickman had left TSR in 1985. The adventure was given over to David Cook, Jeff Grubb, Harold Johnson, and Douglas Niles. Now personally, I can see the sections that were created by Grubb and Niles. I had become very familiar with their works by this point. I honestly believe that if they had started from scratch, this would have been a different sort of adventure. 

Not that I am complaining. I rather enjoy this adventure, significant warts and all. It is more Gothic than Ravenloft I6 was, complete with an epic battle on lightning-streaked moors. 

This adventure introduces many elements that will become central to the Ravenloft campaign setting. The Weathermays, the lich Azalin, the d’Honaires, the Timothys, will all appear again in the Realms of Terror boxed set. 

One thing that won't make that much of a splash though is the big surprise of this adventure; the Alchemist Strahd. Is he the distilled goodness of the Vampire Strahd? Is the Vampire the distilled evil of the Alchemist? Or is there something else?  Like the first adventure, this one has a random plot device. Instead of fortune-telling cards, we get a mesmerist's session. The nature of the two Strahds can be found here.

Or not.

Again, the Alchemist doesn't make a significant impact in the later AD&D 2nd Edition. The Ravenloft campaign setting is all but forgotten in future treatments.  This is not a bad thing, really; the whole Alchemist deal felt like a bit of a retcon in some respects.  Though I can imagine running this adventure now for, say, the 5e players who know who Strahd is would be a lot of fun.

At 48 pages, with more isometric maps, it is larger than the original Ravenloft adventure. There is also a lot more going on. Though fans of "hack n slash" style D&D are going to be disappointed. Oh there are monsters here and they are deadly as hell, but that is not what the adventure is about. Those are just obstacles to the real adventure.

Dreams of Barovia

There is a small section of this adventure titled "The Dreams of Barovia" which is rather fun. The idea is that you play I6: Ravenloft and I10: Ravenloft II concurrently. The character move back and forth between one reality to the other. Playing the same characters but at different times and places. For example, the characters fall asleep in Barovia (I6) and wake up in Mordentshire (I10) wearing different clothing. 

I ran it this way back in college. My old High School DM, Bob Grenda and I ran it together for his normal group. We took turns DMing, with me taking I10 while he ran I6. We did it in a marathon session from a Thursday night to Sunday. It was fun but I forgot to tell my roommates and girlfriend at the time I was doing this and they had no idea where I was. This was the early 90s, so before everyone had cell phones. I found my notes, it was 10/26/1991. 

It worked well, but it was really deadly. HP loss and wounds carried over from reality to reality, which really upped the fear.  I'd love to try it again sometime, but I'd make some tweaks.

If you didn't like Ravenloft I then this one will feel like more of the same. But I enjoyed it and there is still a lot of untapped potential in this adventure for me. 

Rereading it now, so many years later there is a lot I would like to do with it still. A lot I would change, but all in all it was a great time. 

Review: I6 Ravenloft

 For this October, I am going to focus on Dungeons & Dragons' own horror setting, Ravenloft. I am not going to review every Ravenloft product, nor am I planning on a review of every Ravenloft product I own, but I am going to focus on some select items. To that end I am starting with where it all started, the classic Ravenloft module, I6. 

I6 Ravenloft

by Tracy and Laura Hickman. Art by Clyde Caldwell. (1983). Color covers, black-white interior art. Cartography by Dave Sutherland. 32 Pages.

I have talked about this adventure a lot. It is one of my all-time favorite adventures. Maybe less for what it is and more for what it meant to me.

Ravenloft was originally an adventure for First Edition AD&D, released in 1983, and written by Tracy and Laura Hickman's husband-and-wife team. It was part of the "I" or intermediate series of adventures. Most of these were not linked and only shared that they were higher levels than beginning adventures. Ravenloft, given the code I6, was for character levels 5 to 7. 

Ravenloft is not your typical dungeon crawl, and it is very atypical of the time's adventures. There is less of the typical Howard, Moorcock, and Tolkien here, and it is pure Bram Stoker. 

Ravenloft is Gothic Horror—or, more to the point, it is the Hammer Horror flavor of Gothic Horror laid over the top of Dungeons & Dragons. Harker was a milder-mannered English solicitor. The heroes here have fought dragons, goblins, and other real monsters. How can the Lord of Castle Ravenloft measure up to that?

Quite well, really.

I  picked up this adventure when it was first released and essentially threw it at my DM and told him he had to run me through it. It was everything I had hoped it would have been. Remember, my Appendix N is filled with Hammer Horror, Dracula, and Universal monsters. This was perfect for me. 

Ravenloft was a huge change from many of the adventures TSR had published to that date. For starters, the adventure featured an antagonist, Count Strahd von Zarovich, who was no mere monster. Yes, he was an AD&D Vampire, but he was meant to be run as an intelligent Non-player Character.  Before this, the vampires have been the unnamed Vampire Queen of the Palace of the Vampire Queen, Drelnza, the vampire daughter of Iggwilv in The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, and Belgos, the Drow Vampire in Vault of the Drow. By 1983, the amount written on all three of these vampires would not even be as long as this post will be. Strahd was different.

Strahd had a backstory, motivation, and intelligence, and he was ruthless. The goal was to destroy him, and that was not an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination.

The adventure also introduced some new elements. The dungeon crawl was gone, replaced by a huge gothic castle and a nearby village. The adventure could be replayed and unique given the "Fortunes of Ravenloft" mechanic, which allows key items, people, and motives to change based on a fortune card reading.

Finally, there were the isomorphic, 3D-looking maps from Dave Sutherland, which helped give perspective to many levels of Castle Ravenloft. 

The adventure was an immediate and resounding hit. This adventure, along with the Dragonlance Adventures, also by Tracy Hickman (and Margaret Weis), led to something many old-school gamers call "The Hickman Revolution." They claim it marks the time between the Golden Age and Silver Age of AD&D, with the Silver Age coming after 1983. While yes there was change, a lot of it was for the better.

For me, it was a dream come true. Vampires had always been my favorite creatures to fight in D&D, and I was an avid Dracula fan. I bought this adventure and then threw it at my DM, saying, "Run this!" 

I grew up on a steady stream of Universal Monsters, Hammer Horror, and Dark Shadows. That's my Appendix N. So, an adventure set in pretty much the Hammer Hamlet where I get strange locals and have to fight a vampire? Yeah, that is what D&D was to me. You can almost hear Toccata and Fugue in D minor while running it. 

I find that the people who don't like this adventure don't see what makes it great. This is not Lord of the Rings, Conan, or some other Appendix N pulp fantasy. This is Hammer Horror. Strahd has to be played with a combination of charisma, scene-chewing villainy, and absolute brutality. In other words, it is exactly like Christopher Lee playing Dracula.  Even the nearby village is filled with terrified but pitchforks in the ready villagers. 

That is not to say the adventure doesn't have its problems. At times, the Gothic elements are shoved into the Swords & Sorcery fantasy of D&D. And...let's be honest, some of the puns on the headstones in the lowest level are more than cringe-worthy.  If played properly, a vampire like Strahd could wipe out a party, and that is not counting all the other monsters (gargoyles, really strong zombies, werewolves) in the castle. Though Strahd suffers from the same issues that Christopher Lee's Dracula did, completely obsessive that blind him to some obvious blunders. But that is the nature of vampires, really. 

Original, 25th Anniversary Edition, Print on Demand Edition

I have played through this once, and I have run it four or five times. I would love to try it sometime under the Ghosts of Albion or WitchCraftRPG rules. I took my D&D 5e group through it when they completed Castle Amber to make for a "Mists" series. It was fantastic.

I even got my original module from 1983 signed by Tracy Hickman the year I ran my family through it.

Much like Dracula, Count Strahd and Ravenloft keep coming back for more and more. 

All versions of Castle Ravenloft, so far.

I am sure there will be even another version of this adventure out for D&D 5.5/5r. And I am just as likely to buy it.

Review: Vampyre

 I am celebrating 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons this October by reviewing some select Ravenloft products. But before I get into that, I want to review a Pre-Ravenloft product from TSR that fits the same feel. The mini-game Vampyre.

Vampyre (1981)

I covered many of the TSR mini-games a while back. This one is for 2-6 players. Players hunt the minions of Dracula in an attempt to find and destroy his coffins.  There is a "wilderness" map and a map of Castle Dracula. Designed by Philip A. Shreffler. Art by Erol Otus.

I'll avoid calling this a "bite-sized" game, but it is a game you can set up and play in an afternoon. Preferably a dark rainy afternoon in October.

Up to six players can embody most  of the iconic characters from Dracula. This injects some narrative flair right from the start. There are plenty of antagonists like Dracula, his brides, rats, bats and more. There are even demons and werewolves who were not from the books.

Players can even be converted into werewolves or nosferatu.

There is a Basic game, where you go around Castle Dracula trying to destroy all of Dracula's coffins. 

The Enhanced game takes you outside to Transylvania where you hunt down the count in his secret lair. 

So, essentially just like Basic and Expert D&D!

As a B/X Adventure

There is a lot to love about these little games.  The Souvenir font really hits that nostalgia button hard for fans of the Moldvay/Cook Basic and Expert sets. Not to mention some of the best-looking Erol Otus art.   Maybe it is the font, maybe it is the art but when I got these games the first thing I wanted to do was play them as part of my D&D games.  Of course, back then that meant Basic and Expert D&D.  Some of it also came from the desire to get the most out of my purchase with my limited paper route money.

Now, I am a HUGE Dracula and vampire fan, so when I got the Cook/Marsh Expert Set and saw that there were vampires in it, my first thoughts went to vampire hunts.  My first character was a cleric for this very reason.  The game Vampyre is set during the events of the novel Dracula with the same (or rather similar) characters.  So set in the 1890s. Since Ravenloft Masque of the Red Death was still a decade and a half away, I converted this to a simple Expert D&D monster hunt.   If I were to redo it I'd up the threat of Dracula.  In Expert, I made him a Greater Vampire. 

Vampire chic, circa 1981

The dual map, a "wilderness" and a "dungeon" again BEG to be used in the Expert game. The parallels between this game and the Ravenloft adventure. No surprise since both draw from the exact same source materials.  The trick the next time I use this is to make it less like Ravenloft.

Vampires in Space for Thirteen Parsecs

 June is the month I usually dedicate to Basic-era (B/X, BECMI) D&D, but not always. I have D&D-related plans for June, but I am not entirely done with science fiction yet. 

I have been doing a feature most nights, largely without pomp or circumstance, called Dracula, The Hunters' Journals, where I post the entries from the novel Dracula on the day they were recorded.  It has been a odd thing to post all this Dracula and Victorian content in the midst of all the sci-fi material I have been talking about all month.  But it is not unprecedented. 

Vampires in Space

What do Buck Rogers, Doctor Who, Vampirella, and Colin Wilson all have in common? They are all different science fiction media properties that have featured stories of vampires in space.

One of the strong selling points I think of our new Thirteen Parsecs RPG is it's 100% compatibility with NIGHT SHIFT.  Creatures, characters, classes, and more can be lifted whole from NIGHT SHIT and dropped right into Thirteen Parsecs.  You just need to figure out why they are there.

The vampire in NIGHT SHIFT is based on the Gothic vampire of old, which, of course, has roots in mythology, but mostly in Dracula, Ruthven, and Carmilla. It is also flexible enough to allow for various modern re-interpretations against the Gothic archetype. There is no reason why this can't be extended beyond that to space.  And like I said before, I kinda owe it to my 10-year-old self to at least try a Space Vampire. 

So, how have Space Vampires been done already?

Buck Rogers TV Series: "The Space Vampire"

In this episode from the 1979 TV series "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," Buck Rogers faces a creature known as a Vorvon, a space vampire that drains the life energy from its victims. The episode blends science fiction with classic vampire mythology and powers, as the Vorvon can possess and control other beings. Buck must find a way to stop this menace before it can spread its evil influence throughout the space station. As expected, the Vorvon goes after Col. Wilma Dearing (though it does give Erin Gray a bit more to do). The vampire here can only be destroyed by flying it into a sun.

Doctor Who: "State of Decay"

This 1980 serial from "Doctor Who" features the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker. The Doctor and Romana II and unknown to them, Adric, land on a planet where a trio of ancient vampire lords. These human explorers encountered the last of a race known as the Great Vampires, and have enslaved the local population. The story explores the conflict between the advanced Time Lords and the primitive yet powerful vampires, mixing gothic horror with futuristic elements.  Here the Great Vampires are depicted as an ancient race, as old as the Time Lords themselves, and their wars with the Time Lords. Again, like the Buck Rogers episode, many Vampire mythological elements are re-translated here.

Of note, well at least to me, is a line dropped by the Doctor that every inhabited planet has myths about vampires. We will later see other types of vampires in future episodes. The Haemovores in the 7th Doctor's "The Curse of Fenric," the Plasmavore in the 10th Doctor's "Smith and Jones," and the Saturnyn, another type of vampire (sexy fish vampires, according to the 11th Doctor) in "Vampires of Venice."

I discuss both of these episodes here and more about vampires in Doctor Who specifically here. 

Lifeforce (1985)

"Lifeforce" is a fairly notorious sci-fi horror film directed by Tobe Hooper. The plot centers on a space mission that discovers an alien spacecraft hidden in the tail of Halley's Comet. Inside, the crew finds three humanoid creatures in suspended animation. When brought back to Earth, these beings awaken and reveal themselves to be energy vampires, draining life force from humans to survive. 

The film was a minor hit in 1985, maybe not so much for the plot or story, but because it featured then-newcomer Mathilda May, who appeared completely nude throughout most of the film. It also included Steve Railsback, who would later give a strong and memorable performance as the abductee Duane Barry in the "X-Files" and Patrick Stewart who would the following year go on to star in "Star Trek the Next Generation."

This movie is, in theory anyway, based on the 1976 book by Colin Wilson, "The Space Vampires." I read the book after seeing the movie, and they have a few connections, like some vampires and character names. They are so different. I'll talk about the book separately.

Vampirella

Ah, Vampy. Vampirella is a character from the eponymous comic book series created by Forrest J. Ackerman and artist Trina Robbins, first appearing in 1969. She is an alien vampire from the planet Drakulon, where blood flows like water. After her planet is doomed, she travels to Earth. Blending science fiction and horror, Vampirella fights evil supernatural beings while struggling with her vampiric nature. The character has become iconic, appearing in various comic series, novels, and a 1996 film adaptation. of late she is often paired with Red Sonja in a number of reality spanning adventures. The strangest, and oddly the most fun one? "Red Sonja & Vampirella meet Betty & Veronica." On paper it should never work, yet it does.  Part of this, I think, also is due to the amazing art of Maria Sanapo.

Clark Ashton Smith's Works

Clark Ashton Smith, a long-time favorite here at The Other Side, incorporated vampiric themes into his science fiction and fantasy stories. In "The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis" (1932), explorers on Mars encounter a parasitic creature that drains their life force, functioning similarly to a vampire. His works often feature otherworldly landscapes and cosmic horrors, blending the supernatural with speculative elements.

The Space Vampires by Colin Wilson

This 1976 novel is the basis for the movie "Lifeforce." It follows the story of alien vampires who travel to Earth and attempt to drain the life energy of humans. The novel delves into themes of sexuality, existentialism, and the survival instinct, blending sci-fi with classic vampire lore. 

The vampires, the almost Lovecraftian "Ubbo-Sathla," here, are more like Sex-Vampires. So that much tracks with the movie. The novel takes place in the late 21st century, not the 20th, and the discovery of the alien ship is in the Asteroid belt. 

Shambleau by C.L. Moore

"Shambleau" is a science fiction short story written by C.L. Moore, first published in the November 1933 issue of "Weird Tales" magazine. It is the debut story of her character Northwest Smith, a space-faring adventurer often compared to figures like Han Solo or Conan the Barbarian. "Shambleau" is noted for its innovative blend of science fiction and horror, as well as for its exploration of erotic and psychological themes.

The creature, Shambleau, is an exotic alien beauty with snakes for hair like Medusa. She has a hypnotic effect on those around her and, like Wilson's vampires, drains life energy. In many ways, she is a vampire, much in the same way that the Leanan sídhe is. There is also a scene in the Lifeforce movie where the female vampire (Mathilda May) is created out of the blood of two victims and she bears a passing resemblance to the description of Shambleau. 

Vampires in Thirteen Parsecs

How you do vampires will largely be up to your Thirteen Parsecs campaign. For example, I will likely not have them in my "Space Truckers" games except as a gag. But "Darker Stars" is a different story. 

I would have them as an ancient but dying race. Their homeworld orbits a "Black Sun," a Brown Dwarf star. Their planet would be the last dying remains of a great feudal empire where Vampires were all the nobility. They took to the stars to find new planets to drain, but encountering humanity from Earth, they met their first real resistance in their 10,000-year reign. Part of the Darker Stars camping mode would be this first contact.

I once saw a meme that said you can turn a Gothic cathedral on its side to make a gothic-looking spaceship. That's what the ships of the vampires look like. Something that should look ancient and like it was built as an act of worship to their Vampire masters. 

To give you an idea of what I am doing in Darker Stars, I don't even consider the Vampires to be the biggest threat. 

I can't wait to get this all to you.