Like there are different types of people, there are all sorts of vampire. Some look and act like the traditional vampire from legend, some don't. Included here is a brief and condensed extract from the Ultraviolet files concerning the subject.
Vampires are classified as to their Class. This will explain their abilities and strengths and weaknesses.
These are the vampires at the bottom of the food chain. They look like bipedal animals and have no ability to transform into a human. They have animal intelligence and tend to live like scavengers on the fringe of human society, although feeding on blood.
Class 0a vampires are identical, but can be damaged and killed by normal weapons.
Class 0 vampires are sometimes kept as guard pets by other vampires.
When they die they simply burn up. Religious artefacts and garlic affect them.
These vampires have the ability to transform into a human form, and as a Class 0 form. When in human form, they have human intelligence and can pass as a human. When in vampire form (which they must be in to feed), they lose this human intelligence and resort to animal intelligence. They have the ability to change into a bat. Stronger than humans, but with a weaker skin, they can function easily without various parts of their anatomy. They tend to live in gregarious groups.
When they die, they simply burn up. Religious artefacts and garlic affect them.
These vampires have a human form and a vampire form. When in vampire form, their face changes to a more bestial form although the rest of their body remains the same. They have human intelligence in all forms. These vampires hardly ever use modern weapons like guns, and are steeped in tradition and ritual, even if they don't believe any of it. They tend to dress and sometimes act from the time of their turning. The vampires band into gangs and clans, each with their own traditions and rituals, although the odd clan sweeps this away.
When they die, they explode into dust. Religious artefacts and garlic affect them.
These vampires are much like Class 2 vampires, but their vampire form is simply pointy teeth, easily hidden. They live in family nests, with the master vampire holding sway over several others.
When they die, they burn up fiercely. Religious artefacts and garlic do not effect them.
These vampires are much like humans, and generally only have pointy teeth when they need them. Amidst all vampires, these are most able to integrate and seep into human society, technology and the like having no problems for them. They use guns and other devices with no problem. They sleep in a coffin or box filled with the dirt of their home. These vampires not only have no reflection, but do not show up on electronic devices at all, so video camera's do not record them, telephones and tape recorders pick up no sound, etc.
Class 4 vampires also have some other oddities. For a start, they never refer to themselves as vampires, and neither do their enemies who generally calll them leeches. They are also obssessed with their food supply, and will try and stop man killing himself off with pollution and the like. After all, without that, they are nothing. Their bite heals very quickly (minutes), and it brings with it a memory loss, so unless the victim is turning, most don't know that they have been fed on.
When they die, they explode violently into dust. However the dust itself can be revived back into the normal vampire if a large portion of it is mixed with another Class 4 vampires blood. There is no known way to really kill the vampire at all, and Ultraviolet's solution is to collect the ash and store it in cryofreeze. Religious artefacts can effect them depending on the superstitiousness of the vampire in question, and garlic always works.
Very rare, this is the traditional vampire, who lives alone, although not necessarily in a gothic castle. They have various abilities (such as the ability to change into a bat, wolf or mist), immense strength and must sleep in a box of their home dirt.
When they die, they simply reduce to dust. Religious artefacts and dust do effect them, although the stronger the vampire, the greater his resistance to religious artefacts.
What follows are the basic stats of newly turned vampires, read on for further abilities and strengths.
| Vampire | DP | Damage | Basic abilities |
|---|
| Class 0a | 3*a | +2 |
| Class 0 | 3*b | +2 |
| Class 1 | 3*b | +1 | Transform: Bat |
| Class 2 | 3*c | +2 |
| Class 3 | 3*d,x | +1 |
| Class 4 | 3*e,y | +1 |
| Class 5 | 3*e | 1d | Transform: Bat, wolf, Mist form, Hypnotic gaze |
| *a |
Vampire can be killed and damaged by normal weapons. |
| *b |
Once killed by normal weapons, the creature falls unconscious. Will regenerate at 1 hit per day. |
| *c |
For a normal weapon to score damage, it must roll above the vampires current hits. The vampire then takes 1 hit damage from this. If killed by normal weapons, the vampire falls unconscious and recovers at 1 hit per 1/2 hour. Wooden bullets do half damage, but inflict damage normally. |
| *d |
As *c for taking damage, although no damage is actually scored. Instead the bullets merely stun the creature for 1 turn. Wooden bullets inflict damage like a normal bullet on *c damage (thus must roll above the current hits to inflict 1 point of damage). Regenerates at 1 hit per 1/2 hour. |
| *e |
Damage from a normal weapon will not effect the vampire at all, although damage from wooden bullets is scored as normal damage. All damage is restored after a days rest. |
| *x |
When the vampire really dies, it burns up and anything within 1/4" game scale can be affected like a VMG incendiary round. |
| *y |
When the vampire really dies, it explodes and everything within 1/2" of the vampire takes 1d6 burst damage. |
Note that all damage must reach the vampire to effect it, thus a vampire wearing armour takes damage to that armour first, and then future damage must be scored to effect the vampire.
Damage from the sun or holy symbols will regenerate, but the scars and the pain won't ever disapear properly (even on Class 4 vampires if they die and are brought back).
Stun: If a vampire is stunned, then it cannot act next round. Each additional point of stun scored in a several round will push the vampire back 1 1/4" square. Note, an attack will inflict a single point of stun regardless of the actual damage scored.
No vampire falls unconscious unless listed above.
A vampire cannot come closer than 1/4" to a target using a holy symbol or garlic as protection. A vampire hit by a holy symbol takes 1d damage.
Holy water thrown on a vampire does 1d damage. Symbols and water must touch the vampires skin to have an effect.
Vampires have no reflection, although do sometimes show up on electronic devices like cameras.
Sunlight will inflict 1 point of damage per phase that the vampire is in direct sunlight. Armour doesn't protect from this damage, but a vampire will only take damage from direct sunlight - not shadow, nor if they are covered from head to toe in coverings.
Changing into a vampire form is an action for a vampire, but the change is instantaneous. Most vampires can use their abilities without being in vampire form.
A stake through the heart will also instantly kill a vampire - this is a called shot and is at -3 to hit. The damage inflicted must breach any armour and inflict at least one point of damage to have an effect, wooden bullets may use this tactic.
Vampires do not always create others of their kind, they must want to. Then they must bite their victim. Depending on the class of vampire, the victim has to die first, and then be restored. It takes a variable amount of time to change.
| Vampire Class | Victim Death? | Time to change |
|---|
| 0 | N | 2d minutes |
| 1 | N | 2d minutes |
| 2 | Y | 4d hours |
| 3 | N | 1d3 days |
| 4 | N | 1d3 days |
| 5 | N | 1d days |
Victim death refers to whether or not the target actually dies before turning and rising again.
Class 0 and 1 Vampires generally try and kill their victims unless they have suffered a set back to their kind and require victims to build up their losses. This is instinct, not a thoughtful action.
While turning, the person doesn't have the vampire strengths or weakness and indeed is usually vague, feverish and sometimes delirious. Only Class 0 and 1 vampires to-be don't get these symptoms.
Modern science hasn't found any answers to reverse this.
For each 100 years that the vampire has been around, they may gain an additional 1 DP. For each two hundred years, they may gain an ability from the following list. Note that this is an average figure - not all vampires have this amount of abilities, some have less, some have more.
Class 0, 1 and 4 vampires tend not to have any extra abilities.
Whilst not special abilities, remember that vamnpires who have been around for a while will tend to pick up a lot of additional skills. This will be up to the gamesmaster to determine exactly what skills a vampire knows, but chief on the list will combat and stealth type skills. Well, usually.
| Ability | Vampire Class | Effects |
|---|
| +1 DP | all | Gives +1 DP |
| Fly | 2,3,5 |
Each level gives the vampire the ability to fly as a helicopter at 20 mph per level. They may perform D5 manoeuvres without failure, and can accelerate/decelerate at upto 25 mph per turn. |
| Magic | all |
Gives the vampire the ability to use Magic |
| Invisibility | 3,5 |
The vampire may (at will, counts as a firing action) go completely invisible to the naked eye, not always to electronic sensors though). |
| Toughness | *d damage only |
This means that the vampire won't be affected by stun results |
| Strength | all |
Class 0-4 vampires get a damage bonus of +1 per level of strength, while a Class 5 vampire gets a +1D per level. |
| Hypnotic gaze | 2,3,5 |
TH 7, the victim is under the control of the vampire until the vampire gives up concentration of gets distracted. |
Transform: Bat
Transform: Wolf | 2,3,5 |
Transformation takes 15 phases, and then the vampire has the abilities of the creature that it has turned in to. |
| Mist form | 3,5 |
The vampire may transform into a mist (taking 15 phases) when the vampire is immune to all weapons and attacks, but also can't do anything back. The mist may move at 20 mph per turn and is not effected by the weather. |
| Speed | all |
The vampire gets an additional action per turn, which maybe used as either a movement action (thus doubling the speed for that turn), or as a combat action. This ability may only taken as an every other ability, i.e. a vampire who is 200 years may not take it, but a vampire who is 400 may have it as level 1, while an 800 year vampire may have it at level 2. |
Whilst a vampire has access to the full range of skills, some are more common than others, for example - running, acrobatics, jumping/leaping, stealth and the martial arts are typical skills picked up as these help the vampire survive and feed more easily.
Spike:
Class 2 vampire, 5 DP.
Abilities: None
Valek:
Class 3 vampire, 7 DP.
Abilities: Strength (level 2 - +2DB), Toughness, Flight (100 mph)
Count Dracula:
Class 5 vampire, 6 DP.
Abilities: Strength (level 2 - 3d6), Transform (Bat, wolf), Mist form, Hypnotic gaze
ADQ: Full Moon over Midville
Films and television shows:
"From Dusk till Dawn"
"John Carpenters Vampires"
"Dracula"
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
"Ultraviolet"
