Thursday, April 9, 2015

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

7 comments:

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

That does not look like a pretty critter! :) Glad to see it's vulnerable so many asian nasties seem to be very hard to kill.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

Cathy Kennedy said...

Okay, I definitely don't want that thang chowing down on my neck! Can I order some holy water?

Dani said...

Eesh! That thing looks super unappealing!!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting vampire.

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

Elise Fallson said...

It looks like it has q-tips up its nose....

Jeremy [Retro] said...

I want him on my side...yikes!

Sophie Duncan said...

I love State of Decay - great E-space ep for Doctor Who!

The Hisi-Hsua-Kuei does not sound like the nastiest nasty you've mentioned so far, but I don't think I'd like to meet one on a dark night!
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
FB3X
Wittegen Press