A to Z of Vampires: Lilith

Lilith by Isra2007

Let's head to ancient Mesopotamia and talk about Lilith.

Er...wait. Haven't I done this before?

Actually I have, I talked about Lilith last year on the A to Z of Witches and the year before that on the A to Z of Demons.   She is just one of those subjects I never grow tired of talking about.
Obviously since I made her the cover of my Eldritch Witchery book.

Back in my WitchCraft RPG game I actually wanted to do three different Liliths that were also all connected.

Following the Maiden, Mother Crone archetype she would have been a Witch, Vampire and Demon.  In my Buffy/Ghosts of Albion games she was a more central figure. A faction all her own in the constant wars between the forces of good and evil.

While that was a fun idea and it worked well for the WitchCraft RPG, for something like D&D I prefer one Goddess. A complicated Goddess to be sure.

So here she is. In Petty Gods format. Though she is by no means a Petty God. She is actually something more than a demon, witch or goddess.  She is Lilith.

Lilith
Goddess of Witches, Mother of Vampires and Demons
Also known as: Ardat Lili, Lili, Lillitu
Symbol: Image of the Goddess
Alignment: Chaotic Evil*
Movement: 40' (Fly 160)
Armor Class: 4 (15)
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 140 hp (25 HD)
Attacks: Special, see below
Damage: Special, see below
Save: Witch 25
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: XV
XP: 16,660

Lilith is the mother of monsters.  She is the mother of demon, having spawned so many, but she is also the mother of vampires and many say witches.

Lilith was the first human woman. She rebelled against the gods that created her and now controls armies of demons.  The gods won't work against her or strike her down because she knows all their True Names.

Lilith has no true friends because most fear her.  She is known to ally herself with the Goddess Ereshkigal since both have similar portfolios and areas of concern.  Some even claim that Lilith spent some time as Ereshkigal's handmaiden.  Others claim she served Astártē or Ishtar.

Appearance and Emissaries
Lilith always appears as a young very attractive woman.  Most often with long flaming red hair.  It is claimed her true form is that of a ancient hag with long, but sparse wild black hair, talons, fangs and the feet of a predatory bird.  Either or neither could be her true form.

Servants

Naamah - Known as the Daughter of Lilith Naamah is either a demon, a human or something else.  She is honored in her right as either the Patroness of Whores or the Patroness of Those Who Hunt the Night (slayers of the undead).  Her title as The Daughter of Lilith, as opposed to just a daughter of Lilith, is significant.  She may be her first true daughter or she may be her first human daughter.

Abyzou - Another daughter of Lilith. She is a powerful Lilitu Demon. She takes pleasure in possessing others and destroying them from the inside out.

Nox - The Petty Goddess of the Dusk is also believed to be a daughter of Lilith.  Possiblly the offspring of Lilith and a Sun god.

Camazotz - a Son of Lilith and the bloodthirsty god of Vampires.  Some claim that his father may have been Orcus.

Combat
Lilith never openly attacks.   She considers combat beneath Her and will not partake in it.  Her arena is intrigue, guile and deception.  Why fight when a cup laced with poison or a dagger in the night are much quicker.  If forced into combat she can summon pretty much any demon she likes save for the Baalor. If it comes down to it, Lilith can cast spells as 25th level Witch of the Demonic Tradition.

*Lilith's alignment is listed as Chaotic Evil.  The Chaos part should be obvious, she has rebelled against the entire universe.  While many of her actions are evil, she still kills babies, she is also a lot more complicated than that.  Lilith has a high personal morality. She honors and keeps her friends and associates.  You can trust that she will always do what is best for herself., but she also cares for her own "children" so she will protect them.

Other posts about Lilith here:
Every Angel is Terrifying: The Secret and True Origins of the Slayer
- Pseudo Slayers
Going Up to Hell: Cosmology
Sympathy for the Succubus
- Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Let's Talk About Sex(y)
E is for Eodemon
The Dragon and the Phoenix: Episode 7
Season of the Witch: Episode 2

A to Z of Vampires: Kyuuketsuki

Going back to Japan today and visiting the Kyuuketsuki (吸血鬼).

The most amazing thing about this vampire is how un-amazing it is.  Not that it doesn't have powers or anything like that.  But that the Kyuuketsuki is almost exactly like the common European Vampire.

They are often depicted with white or red hair and red glowing eyes.  They have fangs like other vampires, but can also have a mouth full of sharp teeth.  Sometimes instead of turning into bats they grow large bat like wings.

Game-wise they really do not differ all that much from other vampires.

Getting into the Anime or Manga versions they can have all sorts of strange powers. Such as using their hair to fly, or having a demon possessed body part, to even using blood as a tentacle to grab on to things.  

I think to give them variety I would grant them telekinetic powers.   

(that's all I have in me today.  Been sick all weekend long).

A to Z of Vampires: Jigarkhwar

Let's head back to India and deal with another different sort of vampire.  This time it is a vampiric witch known as the Jigarkhwar.  This undead creature had been an evil witch in her previous life.  No she is a monster.

Jigarkhwar
Armor Class: 8 [11]
Hit Dice: 5d8+8** (30 hp)
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage: Special
Special:  Charm, Witch spells.
Movement: 30’
No. Appearing: 1
Saves As: Witch 6
Morale: 10
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil)*
XP: 2,200

The Jigarkhwar appears as an attractive woman whether that was her true form or not.  She attacks her victims by charming them and then extracting their liver out of their bodies in a complex ritual.  The ritual, once begun cannot be interrupted and takes 5 mins.  She extracts the liver and disguises it as a pomegranate seed. She then takes the seed back to her lair where she throws it on her magical heath fire.  There it grows back to normal size and then she eats it.  Once the liver is eaten the victim dies.  If the Jigarkhwar can be captured and the seed fed to the victim his liver will rego inside him.

She can also cast witch spells as if she were a 4th level witch. However she can't use Ritual spells.

To destroy a Jigarkhwar is a complicated process. First both sides of her head must be branded. This removes her powers.  Her eyes then must be plucked out and filled with salt. She is then hung up-sidedown in an underground cavern for 40 days.  On the morning after the 40th day she will turn to dust.

The Jigarkhwar does not make more of her kind, but instead women accused of witchcraft will return as a Jigarkhwar if she was very evil.

Friday Night Videos: More Vampire Songs

Welcome back to Friday Night Videos as we continue the Vampire theme for Vampire Month here at the Other Side.

These songs are ones we used in our games for the few times I used music.  I do sometimes like to set a tone with some music before playing, especially when I am doing horror.

Back in the day I wrote an adventure for my group called "Ravenloft III: The Necropolis".  Yeah, it was not originally named, but some of the things in the adventure later appeared in other adventures and games including what would later become the biggest "vampire game" in my life: Buffy.

The Who's Behind Blue Eyes was the "theme song" for the main anti-hero of the tale. A vampire that you were supposed to feel sorry for and help.



Queen has cemented their legacy as one of the best rock bands ever. But there was a time when this was not the case. Undaunted Freddie and crew still took risks with this song, "Who Wants to Live Forever", from the album A Kind of Magic which also served as the soundtrack to the movie Highlander. Of course a different kind of immortal was featured in the movie, but the song works for either. If you have not listened to this album I suggest you do so.



Yes it is cheese pure and simple, but Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell is one of the very, very few albums I can play D&D too.  In fact my Freshman year in college I ran Ravenloft I6 while playing this album.
Also Meatloaf should get special mention here since the video for Bat Out of Hell premiered on Friday Night Videos before it did on MTV.


Not much else on this album is D&D-ish or even Vampire-ish, but this song still has a special place in my black heart.

A to Z of Vampires: Impundulu

Something a little different today.  A vampiric spirit that takes the form of a bird when summoned by a witch.  This is a creature in the folklore of the tribes of South Africa including the Pondo, the Zulu and the Xhosa.

Impundulu
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 6d8+3** (30 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws, 1 bite
Damage: 1d6+2 / 1d8+1
Special: Blood drain 1-3 points of Constitution per bite, Charm, Demonic abilities
Movement: 30’ Fly 60’
No. Appearing: 1
Saves As: Monster 6
Morale: 12
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil)*
XP: 2,400

The Impundulu, or Lightning Bird, is a type of vampiric servant used by evil witches. The bird is born when lightning strikes the ground.  To all others it appears as a lighting strike, but to the witch it has chosen it appears as a bird.  Once so chosen the bird will manifest to all as an Impundulu.
The bird can also assume the form of an attractive man to lie with the witch each night.
The Impundulu may also attempt to seduce other women, and feeds on them as a vampire, but it is not an undead creature, but rather one of the Calabim, or Demons of destruction.
The Impundulu must charm his victim to gain access to her home and bed, once there he will drain 1-3 (1d6/2) points of Constitution in blood each night. After three nights he will cease his attacks.  The victim could well be close to dead at this point. Any victim lowered to 0 Con dies. Victims killed by the Impundulu will come back as weak ghost (1 hit die).
The Impundulu is immortal and is often passed down from mother to daughter.  The Impundulu is incapable of fathering children.
The feathers of the Impundulu are considered to be a great source of magic for a gris gris or other talisman.

Impundulu have all the same immunities as do other Calabim; Half damage to Cold, Fire, Gas, and Lightning.  They take full damage from magic and silvered weapon. They are fully immune to the effects of sleep spells and toxins.

The bird can be turned by a Good Cleric as if it were a vampire.  To destroy it a hunter must find the feather binding it to this world and burn it.  Usually this is with the witch that controls it.

A to Z of Vampires: Hsi-Hsue-Kue

"Do you know, it just occurs to me. There are vampire legends on almost every inhabited planet."
- The Doctor.  Doctor Who: State of Decay

The same could be said of every culture.  Today let's go to a country so over run with vampires, ghosts and demon it is a wonder that there is any room left for normal humans.
China.

China might not be your first thought when it comes to vampires, but really it should. We are going to spend a lot of time here.

The Hisi-Hsua-Kuei or Hsi-Hsue-Kue is a demonic spirit that inhabits the bodies of the recently deceased. The spirit is completely foreign to the host body and has no memories of the body's life. It is simply an animalistic monster out to drink blood.
Killing the body will stop the problem temporarily but the demonic spirit will move on to another host to start over.  A priest must perform an exorcism on the vampire while the spirit still remains in the body in order to force it completely out and back to the hell it came from.  Alternately a cleric can also "turn" them as if they were a "Special" class undead.  If they are high enough level for a D result then the monster is truly destroyed.

This creature must return to it's grave site by daybreak or be destroyed.  Like other vampires it can also be destroyed by running water.  Holy symbols and incense will ward it off, holy water will damage it.

Also like other vampires the Hsi-Hsue-Kue cannot enter into the private homes of others or enter holy ground.

Hsi-Hsue-Kue
Armor Class: 3 [16]
Hit Dice: 8d8+8** (50 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws, 1 bite
Damage: 1d6+2 / 1d8+1
Special: Blood drain 2 points of Constitution per bite.
Movement: 30’
No. Appearing: 1
Saves As: Fighter 10
Morale: 11
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil)*
XP: 3,575

A to Z of Vampires, Gierach

Let's head back to Eastern Prussia, in what is now Poland today.  Not that far from our last stop, but still far enough away to give us a different sort of vampire.  Let's spend some quality time with the Gierach.

Presented here are the stats are for OSRIC.

Gierach

(turned as type 10)
frequency: Rare
no encountered: 1d4
Size: Man-sized
Move: 120 ft or 180 ft flying (AA: level V)
Armour class: 1
Hit Dice: 8+3
Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite)
Damage: 1d6+1/1d6+1/1d4
Special attacks: See below
Special defences: See below
Magic Resistance: See below
Jair probability: 75%
Intelligence: Low
Alignment: Chaotic evil
level/xp: 8/3,950 + 10/hp

Not known for their intelligence the Gierach can be easily confused.  These are again revenant type vampires. They look like hideous corpses with red eyes, long fangs and long claws. They smell of decay and earth.  The Gierach spends most of it's time in it's coffin but it can venture out attack victims.

If you suspect a grave to have a gierach in it, lay a fishing net over it. The monster will have to untie all of the knots before it can leave to hunt.  You can also spread poppy seeds or salt on it's grave for the same results.

The gierach leaves it's grave and searches for blood to consume.   Like base vampires, it will drain 2 points of Con per attack.  The gierach is not a subtle creature, it attacks with the purpose of feeding as much as possible and then getting back to it's grave.

The gierach is repelled by holy symbols, garlic and salt.  Holy water can damage it and sunlight can kill it.  It can transform into a large wolf or a large bat-like creature.  A gierach reduced to 0 hp will become smoke and will return to its grave.

To destroy it you must find it's grave before noon and burn the body and clothing till nothing but ash remain.  The ash must then be scattered.   Failing to do so could result the gierach's return.

A to Z of Vampires, Farkaskoldus

Today we travel to Hungary and enter a part of the world over run with vampires, vampire legends and stories.  It is my pleasure to introduce the Farkaskoldus ("Far-kiss-ole-dis").

This creature is a revenant type vampire. Which means it was dead and now it rises from it's grave. As opposed to spiritual, psychic or astral vampires.  It is also something of a cross between a werewolf and vampire.  I have read some material that suggests it is what happens to a werewolf when they die and come back as a vampire.

In death they still resemble werewolves. They can shift to a wolf-like form.

They are equipped with deadly claws and a bite, but their preferred prey is a baby.  Human babies typically only have 2-3 points of Constitution and the Farkaskoldus drains 1 per night.   If there are number of unexplained deaths among babies then the hunt for Farkaskoldus must begin.

They can be found in their coffins (which they must return too by daylight) with their abdomens distended and full of blood. They will also show no signs of decay.

Farkaskoldus
Armor Class: 1 [19]
Hit Dice: 8d8+8** (48 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws, 1 bite
Damage: 1d6+2 / 1d8+1
Special: Blood drain, shapeshift
Movement: 45'
No. Appearing: 1-3
Saves As: Fighter 10
Morale: 9
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil)*
XP: 2,075

The Farkaskoldus is a viscous vampiric monster.  It survives solely on the blood of newborns and babies younger than 6 months.  It must drain at least 3 Con points per each full moon or be forever destroyed.
Farkaskoldus are affected by all the same things that affect vampires; holy symbols, garlic, holy water.  Additionally silver coated weapons also do +1 of damage.
To destroy one of these creatures one must find it in it's grave, cut off the head and burn the body to ashes.

Links
http://tashasthinkings.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/atoz2014f.html
https://mariwells.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/farkaskoldus/

A to Z of Vampires, Estrie

For E lets take a look into Jewish folklore.  Today I present you with the Estrie, which is something like a vampire + demon + witch.

Like a vampire the Estrie is a corpse that crawls out of her grave (Estries are always female) to drink the blood of the living.  They are possessed by a demonic spirit, but may have been witches when they were alive.   The name Estrie comes from the French Strix or night owl. A word that also is related to Strega, Stirge and a host of related creatures.

Estrie by Feline Zegers

Estrie
Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 6d8+6** (38 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws, 1 bite (monster form) OR 1 (human form)
Damage: 1d6+2 / 1d8+1 OR by weapon type.
Special: Blood drain, cause fear (as per spell), witch spells, shapeshift
Movement: 30’ (90' fly)
No. Appearing: 1
Saves As: Fighter 7
Morale: 10
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil)*
XP: 1,750

The Estrie is a type of vampire that can pass for a normal human during the daylight hours.  Indeed she can appear to be living, have good alignment (if detected) and even walk onto holy soil and wear holy symbols.  However at dusk she will revert to her vampiric form which appears to be a rotting corpse.  She can shapechange after that, but it takes a full turn for her to do so. The estrie must kill anyone witnessing this transformation or she will loose her powers (fear, spells) over them.
As a vampire the estrie can also shapeshift into large night owl, a large black cat or into smoke if she is reduced to 0 or fewer hp.  Unlike a vampire the estrie can be hit with normal, non magical, items.
The estrie can cause fear but she lacks the charm power of many other vampire types.  She can though cast spells as if she were a 3rd level witch; specifically of the Mara tradition.
Estrie's are strong (18 strength) in their "Vampire" form, but seem to be normal humans in their "human" form.
The estrie attacks with a claw/claw/bite routine.  A successful bite inflicts 1d8+1 damage.  A critical hit bite (a roll of 20) does damage and drains the victim of 1 point of Constitution.
If someone offers her bread in any form she is powerless against that person until after the next sunset.  In her vampire form she cannot enter a dwelling without permission.
In order to fly the estrie must have her hair unbound and allowed to to blow in the wind.  Some scholars believe she needs her hair to fly or at least to navigate.
Her favored prey are young men, ones that would be enchanted by a young woman without the need of arcane inducements.  She will attack these men as they sleep, not wanting to enter into combat. The estrie must feed every night.  In this form of attack she drains either 2 points of Constitution or 2 points of Strength each night. If only attacked once or twice the victim can regain lost points with bed rest at the rate of 1 per week.  If the victim has been attacked three times then the rate is 1 point per 2 weeks.   Any victim drained to 0 in either Constitution or Strength will die.  Male victims, the most common, will return from the dead as a shadow.  The rare female victim will return as an estrie herself.
An estrie must return to her grave before dawn.  She must remain in her grave till "noon". By this it is when the sun has passed it's mid-day point.  After this she may rise and appear human.
To destroy an estrie one must first force her back into her grave.  Then the body must be exhumed.  The mouth of the creature, which is always open, must be filled with dirt from her own grave and then sewn shut.  The head is then removed.

A to Z of Vampires, Dearg-Due

For D let's travel to Ireland for the nasty Dearg-Due.  Also know as the Dearg-dul or "Red Blood Sucker" these are particularly nasty little beasts.

Presenting them here for use with the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG or the Ghosts of Albion RPG.

Dearg-Due

These ghoulish vampire sub-types were found in Ireland and parts of Great Britain before their Christian conversion. During that time, all Dearg-duls were wiped out. Some Church historians claims these are “snakes” that St. Patrick drove from Ireland’s shores. In any case, no one has seen one in nearly 1,000 years. Until today that is (aren’t you the luck one).
Dearg-dues are basically animalistic predators. They are not intelligent, but may be controlled to a slight degree by a sufficiently powerful sorcerer (Magic/Sorcery 4+). They hunt in packs of three or more. The creatures prefer the taste of fresh blood like all vampires, but they are not above raiding a tomb for food. Their eyes glow amber-red and they look like ragged, blue tinged corpses.
For the most part, Dearg-dues have the same powers and vulnerabilities as your garden variety vampires. What sets these little nasties off is that a stake to the heart (sufficient to drop them below zero Life Points) does not kill them. It stops them, but they don’t turn to dust. Their only goal at that point is to reach out feebly and remove the stake. Once that is done, they recover normally (normally for a vampires, that is) and come back for more. The only way to kill them permanently is by piling stones on top of them. Once every part of their body is covered, they are destroyed.
Dearg-dues can’t effectively make more of their own kind, but once in a while (1 on a d10) a victim drained by a Dearg-due will rise as one.

Name: Dearg-due
Motivation: Kill! Blood!
Creature Type: Vampire
Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 4, Constitution 4, Intelligence 1, Perception 3, Willpower 2
Ability Scores: Muscle 16, Combat 14, Brains 9
Life Points: 46
Drama Points: 1
Special Abilities: Destroyed only by stones, Vampire
Maneuvers
Name Score Damage Notes
Bite 14 18 Must Grapple first; no defense action
Dodge 14 — Defense action
Grapple 16 — Resisted by Dodge
Kick 13 15 Bash
Punch 14 13 Bash

Friday Night Videos: Vampire Songs

Welcome once again to Friday Night Videos!

The 90s began with me playing AD&D2nd ed and mostly Ravenloft.  The 90s ended with me, presumably searing off D&D forever in favor of C.J. Carella's WitchCraft RPG.

In between those two times I played Chill 2nd Ed, Mage the Ascension and of course the most 90s of all 90s angst filled games,
Vampire the Masquerade.

If there ever was a "vampire band" it was Bauhaus. No band was Gothier and Bela Lugosi's Dead is almost self-parody.  I am sure there were tons of Vampire the Masquerade that looked just like Peter Murphy.



No else one "got" the whole vampire vibe better than Concrete Blonde.



From the album of the same name Bloodletting was a bloody valentine to Anne Rice.

Another love letter to Anne Rice is Sting's Moon Over Bourbon Street.




Blue Öyster Cult was a huge influence on I think a lot of people's early gaming.
No angsty vampire or Victorian sex symbol.  This is Nosferatu.


And let us not easily forget "Anne Rice's Dracula", I mean Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula from 1992.



Next week some more vampire songs!

A to Z of Vampires, Camazotz

Now let's go to Central America where their vampires are gods and still straight up killing machines.

Please allow me to introduce Camazotz the vampire "death-bat" and god.

Camazotz was first made known to me from the pages of AD&D 1st Ed hardcover Deities  & Demigods.   His write up includes the standard stat-block and two thin paragraphs.  None of which help show how awesome this vampire/demon/god/creature is.  No picture either.

So for my games Camazozt is an ancient vampire. So powerful that over the epochs he has become more and more demon like and is now worshipped as a god. Well humans worship him, other vampires fear him and honor him as their king.  In a way like the Red Court Vampire King from the Dresden Files books.  Here he is in Petty Gods format.

Camazotz

God of Vampires
Also known as: The Death Bat, Bat God, Sudden Bloodletter, Slaughter Lord 
Symbol: a bat in flight
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Movement: 120' (Flight is infinite at night)

Armor Class: -2
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 120 hp (24 HD)
Attacks: Special, see below
Damage: Special, see below
Save: F20
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: XV
XP: 8,600
--
Armor Class: -2
Hit Points (HD): 120 (24 HD)
Save: F20
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Q
XP: 13,600

Camazotz is the demon god of bats and vampires. But he is not truly a god or a demon but rather a vampire that is thousands of years old.  Vampires pay him homage more out of fear than actual piety. Humans on the other hand worship and hope that he will reward them with the gift of immortality (vampirism).  He requires blood sacrifices every new moon.  Camazotz himself goes through periods of extreme torpor and frenzied blood lust.

Camazotz dreams of one day destroying the god of the sun.

Camazotz attacks as a vampire with a claw/claw/bite routine of 1d8/1d18/1d12.  His bite (any natural roll of 18, 19 or 20) will drain 3 points of Constitution per round.  Anyone reduced to 0 becomes a vampire under his control. As a god-like being Camazotz can attack 4 times per round.

He lives in a dark cave like plane know as Xibalba on the Abyss where he serves as a vassal to Orcus. Again this is not out of fidelity but out of fear of the Demon Prince of Undead.  The cave is dark and the floors are stained with blood.  In this cave Camazotz can summon up to 1000 bats to do his will.

He considers the Goddess Nox his "Sister" but whether that is an actual familial relation or merely an affectation is unknown.

Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camazotz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xibalba
http://tashasthinkings.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/atoz2014c.html
http://demonhunterscompendium.blogspot.com/2012/12/camazotz-death-bat.html
http://www.blueroadrunner.com/camazotz.htm
https://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/camazotz-the-death-bat/

A to Z of Vampires, Berbalang

We are sticking with the Philippines today.  Why? Because they have some awesome freaky fantastic vampires there.  I swear they have the Carpathians and Eastern Europe beat.

The Berbalang blur the line between vampire and ghoul. They are described as "bat winged creatures that live underground and eat corpses. They make a loud moaning sound that can be heard for miles when they feed."

The Berbalang appeared in the Fiend Folio for AD&D 1st Edition and it was something like an astral ghoul. It changed a bit over the editions to what we have below.

https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/bestiary/monster-listings/undead/berbalang

Berbalang
CR 6
XP 2,400
CE Medium undead
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 15 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +5 natural)
hp 68 (8d8+32)
Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +9
Defensive Abilities projection DR 10/good or silver; Immune undead traits

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee* bite +10 (1d6+3 plus paralysis), 2 claws +9 (1d6+3 plus paralysis) or incorporeal touch +10 (1d4 Con damage)
Special Attacks paralysis (1d4+1 rounds, DC 18)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th; concentration +13)

At will—bleed, ghost sound (DC 14)
3/day—alter self, charm person (DC 15)

STATISTICS

Str 17, Dex 19, Con —, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 18
Base Atk +6; CMB +9; CMD 26
Feats Defensive Combat Training, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Mobility
Skills Bluff +10, Escape Artist +10, Fly +17, Knowledge (local) +5, Knowledge (religion) +6, Perception +14, Stealth +15
Languages Common

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Projection (Su)

Once per day as a full-round action, a berbalang can enter a trance that separates the creature's spirit from its body. This splits the berbalang's current hit points in half between its body and its spirit. The berbalang's spirit body gains the incorporeal subtype and special ability; otherwise, it retains the same statistics as its physical self with the following changes: AC 19, touch 19, flat-footed 10 (+4 Dex, +4 deflection, +1 dodge), single incorporeal touch attack that deals 1d4 Constitution damage on a hit as its sole attack. This spirit projection can travel no more than 1 mile away from the berbalang's body. Because the creature is only partially in existence when in this state, its body gains displacement as the spell. When separated in this way, the berbalang's body is unconscious and helpless. If the berbalang's body is injured while in this state, the separated projection immediately returns to its body, and the body loses displacement. If the physical body is slain, the spirit body immediately dies as well. If the spirit is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, it returns to the body immediately. A berbalang in spirit form can end the effect at any time as a standard action, at which point the spirit immediately returns to the body. When a berbalang's spirit form returns to the body, add both the spirit body's hit points and the physical body's hit points back together to determine the creature's current hit point total.

ECOLOGY

Environment any land
Organization solitary or pack (2-8)
Treasure standard

Berbalangs prefer to make their homes within a day's travel of humanoid settlements. These lairs are well hidden and sometimes protected by other undead creatures. Some berbalangs set themselves up as secluded shamans or wise old crones, using alter self to appear human. Ultimately cowardly, berbalangs rarely attack a settlement directly, preferring to pluck its meals from those who stray too far from civilization. A berbalang stands as tall as a human and rarely weighs more than 100 pounds.

OGL Section 15: Copyright Notice - Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3, © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Jesse Benner, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, James Jacobs, Michael Kenway, Rob McCreary, Patrick Renie, Chris Sims, F. Wesley Schneider, James L. Sutter, and Russ Taylor, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.

A to Z of Vampires, Aswang

Welcome the the 2015 A to Z blogging challenge.
This year I am going to take on Vampires. Talk some history and present some stats for various games. It should be fun.

So it's April 1st. Lets get started.

Aswang

A creature from the Philippines.  This evil vampire appears to be something like a cadaverous dog with large bat wings when in it’s natural form.  It can assume any shape such as a humanoid, wolf or something inbetween.  This often leads many occult scholars to classify them as werewolves or even a type of witch.  These creatures though are undead.  The creature is known to cause miscarriages and infertility.
The Aswang is a shapeshifter. It can appear as a normal townsperson, an animal like a dog, cat or pig or as a horrible monster like a ghoul or werewolf.  The creature can move about during the day in it’s “human” form but can’t use any of it’s special attacks.

Also the subject of a 1994 horror movie, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswang_(1994_film) and an episode of Grimm.

Aswang 
Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 6d8+2** (34 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws, 1 bite (monster form) OR 1 (human form)
Damage: 1d6+2 / 1d8+1 OR by weapon type.
Special: Blood drain, cause fear (as per spell)
Movement: 30’ 90' fly
No. Appearing: 1 (3-9 in nest)
Saves As: Fighter 6
Morale: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil)
XP: 1,500

The Aswang can cause fear as per the wizard spell up to 3 times per day. It can also shapeshift into dogs, cats or pigs like any other vampire can turn into wolves or bats.  An aswang can not become mist, but can grow large bat like wings and fly away.
The bite of an aswang drains blood.  An successful combat roll of 19 or 20 while biting means the aswang has locked onto the victim.  The aswang will then drain 1 point of Constitutions worth of blood each round. The aswang will typically feed for 1d4 rounds and then try to flee.  Anyone brought to 0 points of Constitution will die and rise an aswang on the next full moon.
A holy symbol will keep an aswang away like a normal vampire. As will garlic and a line of salt.
It is rumored that the only way to capture an aswang is to use a whip made from a stingray's tail. Once captured the aswang can not use their magical abilities.  The only way to defeat the creature is to cut off it's head.
The creature can only be hit by magical weapons, but a weapon coated with oils prepared by a village priest (an albularyos) will also be effective.

Strahd Von Zarovich for Blue Rose / True20

True20 might be dead, but that's doesn't mean I have to like it.  So to celebrate the new version of Blue Rose AND the start of my month of vampires here at the Other Side.   Here is D&D's first "Vampyre", Strahd as he appears in my Black Rose games.

STRAHD VON ZAROVICH
Type: 15th level Undead (Adept 4/Expert 1/Warrior 9)
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 ft
Abilities: Str +8, Dex +7, Con -, Int +3, Wis +1, Cha +3
Skills: Acrobatics 18 (+25), Bluff 7 (+10), Climb 8 (+16), Concentration 6 (+7), Diplomacy 10 (+13), Disable Device 2 (+5), Disguise 2 (+5), Escape Artist 2 (+9), Gather Info. 7 (+10), Handle Animal 2 (+5), Intimidate 13 (+16), Jump 2 (+10), Languages 5 (+5), Medicine 4 (+5), Notice 2 (+3), Ride 6 (+13), Search 4 (+7), Sense Motive 2 (+3), Sleight of Hand 2 (+9), Stealth 5 (+12), Survival 7 (+8), Swim 0 (+8), Knowledge (History) 2 (+5), Knowledge (Arcane) 2 (+5), Knowledge (Religion) 2 (+5)
Feats: Iron Will, Menacing, Leadership, Armor Training (Heavy), Armor Training (Light), Weapon Training, Armor Training (Heavy), Weapon Training (Long Sword), All-out Attack, Canny Dodge, Attack Focus (Long Sword), Defensive Attack, Diplomatic, Improved Strike, Dedicated, Influential, Fascinate, Uncanny Dodge, Power (Imbue Unlife), Smite Opponent, Greater Attack Focus, Power (Suggestion), Power (Summon Beasts), Power (Corrupting Shadow)
Traits: No Constitution, Dark Vision (60ft), Proficiency (Natural Weapons), Immunity (Mind Influencing Effects), Immunity (Sleep,Poison,Paralysis,Stunning), Immunity (Critical Hits,Fatigue), Immunity (Fortitude Saves), Unhealing, Healed by Harm (Harmed by Heal)
Powers: Imbue Unlife 7 (+10) DC 15, Suggestion 7 (+10) DC 15, Corrupting Shadow 7 (+10) DC 15, Summon Beasts 7 (+10) DC 15
Combat: Unarmed +18, Damage +8 (20/+3), Longsword +18, Damage +11 (19/+3), Defence +18/+19, Initiative +7
Saving Throws: Toughness +7, Fortitude +5, Reflex +11, Will +10

Not too bad I think.  Poor Queen Jaellin isn't going to know what hit her.

A to Z Blog challenge 2015 Theme Reveal

It's that time of year again!  Time for the Blogging A to Z challenge.

Today is the big reveal of what your theme will be.
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2015/02/the-great-and-powerful-to-z-theme.html

This year I have the least surprising reveal of everyone I think.

This year I am going to be doing Vampires.  I know I have threatened to do this in the past, only to do witches or demons instead.  But this year I am serious.

And I am out of time. It is the only thing I have written!

So gamers, expect to see stats for various types of vampires.  I am hoping though that there will be something for everyone.

Are you participating? What is your theme?

The 10 Best (and 6 Worst) TSR Games that Weren't D&D

There is an article making the rounds again from Topless Robot.  It was originally posted in September of 2009 but hey, that's how social media works sometimes (and I guess Bob Denver is dead! [yes I knew this already]).

Here are the 10 Best,
http://www.toplessrobot.com/2009/09/the_10_best_and_6_worst_tsr_games_that_werent_dd.php?page=1
And 6 Worst
http://www.toplessrobot.com/2009/09/the_10_best_and_6_worst_tsr_games_that_werent_dd.php?page=2

I want to talk about some of these since a few of my favorites are on the list.

Vampyre
Vampyre was a mini-game in a time when many new D&D players (read fans of TSR) had no idea what a mini-game was.  I certainly didn't, not till later anyway when I discovered Steve Jackson.   This was a great little game.  You played hunters looking for Count Dracula.

It had a cool Hex map of Transylvania. A not as cool, but still cool map of Dracula's castle. Counters for the surviving members of the novel vs. Dracula, his brides, gypsies and other monsters (werewolves and wolves I think).   You had till the game ends, either by time or Dracula killing everyone, to find his coffins and destroy them.  It's an idea that has come up again and again in games before and since.

Obviously I loved this little game.  I loved the idea of going up against Dracula.  This was also when I was in my "Marvel" era so I loved the idea of using Dracula, as he appeared in the Marvel comics, as a bad guy.

The game was full of awesome Erol Otus art, Souvenir fonts and maps that looked like they were right out of Basic.   Long before my players ever heard of Count Strahd they clashed wits and swords with Count Dracula!

I remember the game being fast to play and it was surprisingly deadly.  This was also lost in the great game loss of the 90s when so much of my early stuff went missing.

Boot Hill and Gang Busters
Never played these, but I was always curious about them.  I borrowed a friend's copy of Gang Busters and decided it wasn't for me.  I picked up a copy of Boot Hill at a game auction (just the book) and thought it looked fun, but the Old West isn't my thing.

Star Frontiers
I loved this game. We ended up playing a lot of "D&D in Spaaaaace!" with it, but it was still fun.  Love all the support it gets these days.

Gamma World
Again, a game I always wanted to play and never got around to it.  In my mind a game that combined the best bits of Star Frontiers and Gama World would have been perfect.  One of the reasons I REALLY enjoy Mutant Future and Starships & Spacemen. They allow me to combine both as I like with a game system I know better than some games I wrote.  I really need to do more with both of them.

Marvel Super Heroes
Talk about timing.  I was heavy into D&D and I was getting into Marvel comics pretty deep too having just left DC (I came back, maybe you could tell) and there was Marvel Super Heroes.  I really loved this game and I had a blast playing it.

Dungeon!
I have gone on and on about this game ad nauseam.  But I still love it.

The A to Z Blogging Challenge Theme Reveal

I am participating in this year A to Z Blogging challenge again.

While the challenge for me is not to post every day, I already do that, but to post with the proper subject letter AND to stick to my theme.

The theme reveal this year will be on March 23.   Come back and see what I choose...although I have not been very secretive about it.

You can see what others are doing as well. If you are interested in doing the challenge (and I would suggest you try it at least once) and thinking of a theme the head on over to the sign up list.
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2015/02/the-great-and-powerful-to-z-theme.html

Even if you don't sign up for the Theme Reveal, you can see what others are doing in time to sign up for the A to Z yourself.

Checking in on my Plan

Over the years I have discussed my Plan.  The Plan is what adventures I am going to take my kids through.

For D&D 3.x I was content to take anything as it came, make stuff up and generally going towards a  stopping the cult of Tiamat plot.  It was/has been fun and we are nearing the end of that.

For the new adventures I was looking at 3rd, then 4th, then 1st and now 5th Edition as the primary game system.

http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-have-plan.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/02/lets-play-1st-ed-dad.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-kids-are-awesome.html

At the present here is where I am.

• B1 Into the Unknown, levels 1-3
• B2 Keep on the Borderlands, levels 1-3
• L1 The Secret of Bone Hill, levels 2-4
• X2 Castle Amber, levels 3-6 (where we are now!)
• I6 Ravenloft, levels 5-7
• A0-5 Slave Lords, levels 4-7
• G123, Against the Giants, levels 8-12 (I also have the Stone Giant one from Dragonsfoot, just need to find it)
• D12,3 Against the Drow, levels 8,9-14
• Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits, 10-14
• CM2 Death's Ride, levels 15-20. (Again, unless I use it in my current 3.x game which the boys want me to do)

If I don't do Death's Ride I am seriously considering the classic H series to go after Orcus.

• H1 Bloodstone Pass, levels 15+
• H2 The Mines of Bloodstone, levels 16-18
• H3 The Bloodstone Wars, levels 17-20
• H4 The Throne of Bloodstone, levels 18-100

But I would REALLY edit these since they have a lot of issues.  Truthfully my best plan is to just use H4 and add bits from H1-3 and maybe even some stuff from the 4th Ed E-Series.  But that is if I want to have Orcus as the big bad guy at the end.  It has appeal.

Also I have the mind flayer adventure A Darkness Gathering to work into the mix.

It has taken me a while to get through all this because I am alternating with my 3.x game, some AS&SH and other games.

So far the adventures have seemed random and the characters are wandering about.  But they are about to get some items in the X2/I6 series that will help them later on.  

Right now, with out their knowing about it the Drow, Vampires and Illithids have gathered together to put the final phase of their ultimate plan into motion.  The PCs will discover a little of this plan when they encounter the Slavers.  The slavers are all vampires now and they are not dealing in slaves, but human cattle.    After they have defeated them the last part of the bad guys plan comes into fruition.  

The sun goes completely out.  

There is panic. Everyone gathers in the Freecity of Greyhawk.  The Church of Pelor/Ixion is hardest hit, but also the loudest voice.  All the "big names" are there and they are trying to figure out what to do.

There is a plan to set the moon a flame, but the various clergy of the Moon Goddesses are against that.  Finally they agree to instead use a large asteroid to keep life going till they can re-ignite the sun.

While all the big names are trying to figure this out the PCs have to deal with some raids nearby of giants...

The PCs will then go through the GDQ series to discover the plan and that the drow are working with mind flayers.  After defeating Lolth in Q1 the PCs will have to deal with the vampires who have Pelor captured.  In order to re ignite the sun they will need to set him free from his prison in ..... and that is all I have.

Yeah it is kinda story-gamey.  It's my game, my house and my kids. They will eat this up.

I guess it is hard for me to get away from the idea of vampires as the big bads.

Those of you who have been reading this blog a long time might notice that there was a similar plot in my Buffy Season 7 game, Episode 12 No Other Troy.  Though that one the sun being blocked was a side effect. 

I am inclined to use Orcus as the big bad holding Pelor.  

I have a huge ass mini of him and a crap ton of material for him.

But I have also wanted to use Camazotz as the demon-god of Vampires in his abyssal plane of Xibalba.  Maybe I still can use him in some way.  It is possible he is something like a high priest to Orcus and his job is to sacrifice Pelor on a bloody altar.  Once that is done Orcus will suck up his godly powers and reign as the God of Death and Darkness.

And he would have gotten away with it too had it not been for those meddling PCs.

Review: A Red & Pleasant Land

Notice: I am not taking down this post because I feel it is more important to leave it up, but also update everyone on what is happeing now as February 11, 2019. Please see this newer post first. http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2019/02/i-am-going-to-talk-about-zak-today-and.html

I picked up a copy of +Zak Smith's "A Red & Pleasant Land" on PDF recently.  I like enough to also pick it up in dead tree version as a post-Christmas present for myself (35.75€ or about $45).

I want to say off the bat that when I heard Zak was doing an Alice in Wonderland-ish sort of adventure my expectations were high, but guarded.  I have seen Alice done a number of bad ways; mostly ones that relied on a one to one translation between story to game.  That is all well and good, but ends up robbing the story of what makes it good and ends up short-changing the player's experience in the game.  To be blunt, it's not a D&D adventure.  I had reasonable assurances that this would not happen here, I didn't know what sort of thing we would end up with.

Also, and I have admitted this many times, I am not a fan of Lamentations of the Flame Princess.  But I can say that LotFP and James Raggi do have an amazing art vision and the budget to match and it seems (to me any way) that James leaves people the hell alone and lets them create.  You saw that in Zak's last work Vornheim, you can see it Rafel Chandler's "No Salvation for Witches", and you can see it this book as well.  While the LotFP rules are in mind when this was made, you can either run it with all the free rules that James gives away for free (another credit to him) or use whatever rules you want.  This is important to me and I will talk about it more later on.

So what *is* A Red & Pleasant Land?
Overtly it is an adventure, in the broadest sense.  It can also be a campaign guide to a strange new land (or world).  Breaking it down to it's atomic elements it is Vampiric court intrigue with the cast of Dracula, Elizabeth Bathory and Alice.  But that is like saying that putting salt on your meal is the same as putting Sodium and Chloride on your steak and trying to eat it.

Let me instead start on the outside and work my way in.  This book is gorgeous. It really is.  If you have Vornheim or spent anytime on Zak's blog then you have an idea of what you will be looking at, but that is not quite it either.  The art comes just this side of reality short of being phantasmagorical. Just slightly out of sync with what you should be seeing.  This is intentional since that is also the feeling of the adventure/text itself.  (I am going to keep calling this an adventure since that is the easiest translation).  Honestly, get this bound in red with gold trim and it would be a book better suited for a coffee table rather than a gaming table.  I don't mean that derisively, I mean that in open honesty.
If the art is fantastic then the maps are amazing. I love all sorts of old-school maps and I love a lot of different styles. But these again are very evocative of the setting.

 The other thing is this adventure is big.  While the form factor is small, the book has 197 pages.  There is a lot here.  Zak  suggests that you can use parts of this book or the whole. I will add that if you opt for the parts alternative then there is absolutely something in this book you can use.

Working in, the adventure and background are all woven together in such a way that it is all familiar and yet new at the same time.  It's like returning to a place you have been years and years later. Except when you were at the place back then you were on LSD the entire time. You memories of it have not faded per se but are warped.  This is like that but now your memories are perfect and the reality is warped.

This actually touches on the first issue I have with running this adventure. Now by "I" I mean just that. Me. Not extrapolating it to anywhere else.  I don't think I could run this as a D&D adventure for my group.  To be blunt about it my kids (which is my group) don't yet know enough about Dracula, Alice or any of the other elements in this to make it worthwhile.   This is an adventure for older, wiser and maybe even a little bit jaded players.  This adventure needs to be played by people that have tried to play Dungeonland and found it lacking.

You are going to need the right group for this adventure. The book it totally worth getting just to look at, read or steal ideas from, but if you are going to run it then you need to take stock of your own group and make sure it works for them.  If your group is more of the "kick in the door, kill the monster, get the gold, move to next door" type then this will only have some utility for you.  That is fine there are plenty of fun adventures for those groups.   I suppose that if you have read "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and thought to yourself that it would make a great adventure of intrigue then this one might work for you.   As point of reference, duels are covered as being something that can be deadly. And so are Banquets.  Again some people will scratch their heads on this but I can think of at least three players off the top of my head right now that would totally run with this idea.
It is a prime example of Zak making things he wants to play and if you like it you can come along too.

Back on track.  The Alice.  This is a neat idea, but for me one of the weaker links. I totally get what Zak is doing here and maybe even a little of why. But Alice comes off as an ersatz, but weaker, Slayer, ala Buffy or maybe even the Schmuck quality from Army of Darkness. Though to be 100% this quote from the book is very awesome:

"Alices forever find themselves falling into cursed rabbit holes, accidentally killing witches, having their halfbrothers stolen by goblin kings, being willed magic rings, finding demons inserted in their chests or having armored knights ride through their homes at bedtime. Obscure gods, however, sympathize with them (they are often born to powerful families), and an Alice is a boon to any adventuring party. Some Alices wear striped stockings, some Alistairs wear pointed shoes."  - AR&PL, p. 30.

I love that image. In my games I have called these types of characters Dorothies.  The Exasperation Table really makes this character shine and makes it something unique.

The land itself, Voivodja, is in the truest sense of the word a nightmarescape.  It's not that it is just horrific, there is more. The best nightmares lull you into a false sense of hope or familiarity. You think you know what this is all about, but you don't.  The land is big, densely packed and old. Very old.  The main feature (well, to me anyway) is the intrigue between the Vampire Courts and the potential of what you can do with those.  Think about it really. Ancient, decedent vampire royalty fighting protracted war.  Sure. We did all that in the 90s with Vampire the Masquerade; but this is yet another new take on that.

The monster/NPC section is great. So many ideas.  If you are going to smorgasbord this book then start here.  There are unique vampire nobles and strange animals, so really enough to keep characters of any level busy. That's misleading...I personally think the vampire nobles in this book work better as non-combatants.  Their job is not to be sullied with the likes of mere adventurers.  But engaging them in courtly battles. That's where they shine.  Really, this is one of the first adventures where a battle of wits to the death (!) is not only likely, but likely to happen before breakfast.

We end this book with more random tables that you could (or should maybe) ever use.  30 pages worth.

So there are a lot of reasons to buy this book.  The only one that matters though is do you have the right kind of group for it? If any of these ideas appeal to you then get it. If you are unsure, well I am sure there is something here to make it worth your time and money.

Personally I want to give it a go under Ghosts of Albion.

In any case I think it is a solid hit.