Thanks guys. We are killing vamps now and i need to know, does Sunbeam or Sunburst outright destroy vampires? its an argument we are having as to yes or no.
Thank you guys.
Jon
The book says that they are destroyed if they fail their save.
An undead creature caught within the beam takes 1d6 points of damage per caster level (maximum 20d6), or half damage if a Reflex save is successful. In addition, the beam results in the destruction of any undead creature specifically harmed by bright light if it fails its save.
The book says that they are destroyed if they fail their save.
An undead creature caught within the beam takes 1d6 points of damage per caster level (maximum 20d6), or half damage if a Reflex save is successful. In addition, the beam results in the destruction of any undead creature specifically harmed by bright light if it fails its save.
Argument to be made. Bright light Staggers them, then destroys them the next round if it can not escape. Its really doesn't "harm them" they can jump in and out of sunlight all day no problem?
Can vampires be harmed by sunlight? Yes, I'd say that destruction after two rounds counts as "harm".
Keep in mind that it's sunlight that destroys them, not just any old bright light. Vampires can still operate within an area where the light is in the 'bright light' band without immediate fear of going poof. Also, it is the second -consecutive- round that kills them so, yes, a vampire can move into sunlight and back out before the second round (if he can get out while staggered) without taking any actual damage. He can do this as much as he pleases, skirting the edges of it or darting from cover to cover. It is dangerous but possible.
Vampires would definately fall into the 'can be harmed by sunlight' category for insta-gibbing from Sunbeam or Sunburst. The vampire is one of -the- iconic undead creatures harmed by sunlight. One of the critters the development of these spells probably had in mind.
Huh wonder how I missed that second sentence.
Same as me, probably: You had that "vampires don't die from the daylight spell, you need the genuine article" rule stuck in your head, which is an important rule because a lot of players want to get away with murder (well, vampire murder by using the daylight spell - which means that vampires become a laughingstock since every cleric with a few levels under his belt can eradicate them given a bit of forewarning about bloodsuckers)
Huh wonder how I missed that second sentence.Same as me, probably: You had that "vampires don't die from the daylight spell, you need the genuine article" rule stuck in your head, which is an important rule because a lot of players want to get away with murder (well, vampire murder by using the daylight spell - which means that vampires become a laughingstock since every cleric with a few levels under his belt can eradicate them given a bit of forewarning about bloodsuckers)
This would make vampires and vampirism an interesting thing in-game though. They go from a serious one-on-party problem to a serious do-NOT-engaged-if-outnumbered problem.
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Huh wonder how I missed that second sentence.Same as me, probably: You had that "vampires don't die from the daylight spell, you need the genuine article" rule stuck in your head, which is an important rule because a lot of players want to get away with murder (well, vampire murder by using the daylight spell - which means that vampires become a laughingstock since every cleric with a few levels under his belt can eradicate them given a bit of forewarning about bloodsuckers)
Yeah likely, not really in favor of those types spells killing vamps. Makes them less scary IMHO.
Vampires: The terror of every village that doesn't have a cleric 5, wizard 5, sorcerer 6, bard 7, paladin 10 or anyone else who gets the daylight spell.
In such villages, they're known as mild annoyances that sadly require the local spellcasters to keep some expensive scrolls of instantly totally slaying them around, or prepare/learn the spell.
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Vampire Weakness on page 270 of Bestiary:
"Exposing any vampire to direct sunlight staggers it on the first round of exposure and destroys it utterly on the second consectuive round of exposure if it does not exscape."
bold emphasis added.
I take this to mean:
natural sunlight
sunbeam spell
sunburst spell
Not the daylight spell.
...Despite its name, this spell is not the equivalent of daylight for the purposes of creatures that are damaged or destroyed by bright light...
Vampires: The terror of every village that doesn't have a cleric 5, wizard 5, sorcerer 6, bard 7, paladin 10 or anyone else who gets the daylight spell.
In such villages, they're known as mild annoyances that sadly require the local spellcasters to keep some expensive scrolls of instantly totally slaying them around, or prepare/learn the spell.
This still makes them more interesting to me. Possibly because of the unrealistically hard time we had dealing with them a few years(and editions) ago in a campaign I was in with friends.
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Keep in mind that it's sunlight that destroys them, not just any old bright light. Vampires can still operate within an area where the light is in the 'bright light' band without immediate fear of going poof. Also, it is the second -consecutive- round that kills them so, yes, a vampire can move into sunlight and back out before the second round (if he can get out while staggered) without taking any actual damage. He can do this as much as he pleases, skirting the edges of it or darting from cover to cover. It is dangerous but possible.
Vampires would definately fall into the 'can be harmed by sunlight' category for insta-gibbing from Sunbeam or Sunburst. The vampire is one of -the- iconic undead creatures harmed by sunlight. One of the critters the development of these spells probably had in mind.
** spoiler omitted **
in 2nd edition they lost 1/3 of their HP max total per round, so would die after 3 rounds... this avoided the 2nd consecutive round crap where a vamp can come in and out of the sun... back in 2nd, they couldn't jump back in and out more than 3 times without healing! lol!