Ye Olde Inn

by **torilen** » January 18th, 2018, 12:15 pm

knightkrawler wrote:...and lick or otherwise moisten the smaller part. The water accelerates the bonding process.
Optional: If both parts are thick enough we need to talk about pinning or greenstuffing.

I came into this at the exact wrong place. I don't know what you people are talking about...and I don't want to know
what you people are talking about.

I think I'll just say shame on you now. :lol:

And I'll also say that "greenstuffing" disturbs me... ... ...

For what it's worth - here is a little thing I wrote just recently about running a classic vampire character.
It is written more for full-on rpg, maybe not so much for HQ, but some of you might be able to make it
work.

I posted the full piece here at the inn, but it is also on my company's blog.

Here at the inn: viewtopic.php?f=143&t=4085&p=83286#p83286

Fantasy Game Strategies Blog: https://fantasygamestrategies.com/2018/ ... t-to-life/

by **aaronAGN** » February 7th, 2018, 11:45 pm

I read your post.
Let me start by saying:
I LOVE Dark Shadows. The old show. The old movies. The revival.
But i hated the Tim Burton remake.

Also.
You said:
"
Some of these abilities, however, seem a bit different. It is these differences that fascinate me with the depiction of Barnabas as a vampire, and it is these differences that I think could create a superior vampire GMC within Questing Heroes (or any other role playing game)."

But everything you describe, which is how i remember it, seems to be just the same as every other generic vampire behavior and characteristic.
I don't see how what you described is any different.

by **torilen** » February 8th, 2018, 11:42 am

I've seen several different depictions of a vampire...maybe you've seen different depictions, or
you might notice something different than me. Here are my thoughts.

First - What I've seen/read:
Dracula from several versions. He certainly has the strength and ability to drain blood. Typically, I've seen Dracula hypnotizing people
simply by looking into their eyes and telling them what he wants. It does not usually seem like brainwashing, though. He can make
servants by biting people, but cannot confer any of his powers to those servants. In some versions, he can turn into a wolf or a bat,
but I've never seen him turn others.

Vampire in R A Salvatore's Cleric Quintet, book 5, The Chaos Curse. Totally different from other vampires, but also created in a totally
different manner. Basically, a strong, evil, uncouth undead fellow who drinks blood and spreads chaos everywhere. Vampire in the sense
that he drinks blood, is strong and hard to kill, and has to be invited into the building.

Strahd in Ravenloft. He is very similar to Barnabas, except that he knows magic. You don't see him hypnotizing people, though he does
have means of controlling others, through his voice and through threat of punishment. Strahd also is not quite as genial and hospitable
to visitors as is Barnabas, though you still get the sense he is sophisticated and "upper class".

Blade - don't even get me started on the oddness of those vampires.

I'm sure I've seen others...can't really place them for now. In almost all of them, however, you are typically told outright how old they
are, or that they have everlasting life...something along those lines. The intrigue and mystery is seldom there. And we rarely see any
of those other vampires resorting to base fear to control their victims, as Barnabas forces his victims to lie in coffins to freak them out
and control them.

So...maybe Barnabas might not be quite so different. However, it would be the way his type of vampire is presented to the characters.
As I said a few times in the piece I wrote, it would be a lot more storytelling, more description, more would happen off-scene that the
characters would see the after effects, but not know the full details of what exactly happened.

I think running a vampire in that way would make it a different vampire than what one would normally think of in a rpg...the kind of
undead that seeks to drink blood to stay alive, to create servants to carry out his or her will...a creature that the characters simply
hunt down because he or she is a vampire, slay it, and get the reward. It would add atmosphere to the game, make the characters
think about the vampire, and get more into the game.

And again - not really so much for HQ as it would be more for a full rpg.

by **knightkrawler** » February 8th, 2018, 12:09 pm

The trick to create that sense of mystery is to not use the term vampire. There.
Even when you do re-use a trope at one point, readers will go "Aaah, a vampire", but you can still surprise them with differences and distinguishing features and moments.

by **whitebeard** » February 10th, 2018, 2:35 pm

knightkrawler wrote:The trick to create that sense of mystery is to not use the term vampire. There.
Even when you do re-use a trope at one point, readers will go "Aaah, a vampire", but you can still surprise them with differences and distinguishing features and moments.

Oh, great point. These one of a kind cursed entities need not follow the same rules / have the same powers.

You could also encounter a new tribe of goblins and the warriors all wear masked helms and furs, so you do not know they are goblins until you kill one and remove it's helm. If the survivors carry thier dead off with them, you might not know what you are fighting for quite some time.