|
Might want to consult the Bestiary for the full write-up on vampires. It says, in part:
A vampire also gains fast healing 5. If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, a vampire assumes gaseous form…and attempts to escape… Additional damage dealt to a vampire forced into gaseous form has no effect.
It goes on to describe methods used to actually destroy the vampire, including sunlight and such. Hope that helps!
Additional damage when the vampire has already been reduced to 0 has no effect, it says as much in the Bestiary entry. Once it has been reduced to 0 hit points it turns gaseous and must return to its coffin within two hours. If for some reason it cannot reach the coffin in time it is destroyed. Once inside the coffin it materializes again and is helpless for an hour after which it is raised to 1 hit point and is no longer helpless, and then its fast healing kicks in again. During the time the vampire is helpless, it can be destroyed by the traditional means, like, driving a wooden stake through its heart and severing the head and anointing it with holy water.
Oh poo no more beheading with a vorpal sword to kill them in one shot :(
|
Oh poo no more beheading with a vorpal sword to kill them in one shot :(
As long as it didn't reduce the vampire to 0 hit points, that would probably .. er .. at least make its body blind and deaf and prevent its bite attack except against creatures in the head's square, then it would probably claw itself down to 0 hit points .. you're right, it would delay its escape for a round or two at best.
Oh poo no more beheading with a vorpal sword to kill them in one shot :(As long as it didn't reduce the vampire to 0 hit points, that would probably .. er .. at least make its body blind and deaf and prevent its bite attack except against creatures in the head's square, then it would probably claw itself down to 0 hit points .. you're right, it would delay its escape for a round or two at best.
vampires are one of the only undead that cannot function/live without their head. Beheading a vampire does kill it.
The bestiary description tends to disagree with your statement... if you dont want a vamp to come back to life, you have to stake it, behead it, AND anoint it with holy water, if you do not do one of those steps, it WILL come back to life.
Actually:
PRD:However, it returns to life if the stake is removed, unless the head is also severed and anointed with holy water.
Im confused by your last post... are you suggesting that you can skip anointing the severed head with holy water, which it specifically says you have to do to kill it permanently, or are you suggesting you can skip staking it? Both would be incorrect by raw
Vampires cannot enter a private home or dwelling
unless invited in by someone with the authority to do so.
Reducing a vampire’s hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates
it but doesn’t always destroy it (see fast healing). However,
certain attacks can slay vampires. Exposing any vampire to
direct sunlight staggers it on the first round of exposure
and destroys it utterly on the second consecutive round of
exposure if it does not escape. Each round of immersion in
running water inflicts damage on a vampire equal to one third
of its maximum hit points—a vampire reduced to 0 hit points in this manner is destroyed. Driving a wooden
stake through a helpless vampire’s heart instantly slays it
(this is a full-round action). However, it returns to life if
the stake is removed, unless the head is also severed and
anointed with holy water.Bold is mine
Read the entire paragraph and you will see that a vampire is only permanently destroyed via decapitation if it has first been staked in the heart, and subsequently the head is anointed with holy water. These conditions are the only ones in which a vampire will be truly killed, anything else happens (vorpal decapitation in combat) would instantly bring it to 0 hps, which would cause it to become incorporeal as per its specific version of gaseous form and float off towards its coffin.
I was saying the staking could be skipped(not made permanent). The word "unless" is key here.
Example: You can't take math 104(kill the vampire) without getting a 95 on the entrance exam(keeping the vampire staked) unless you take math 101 and math 102(remove the head and anoint it with holy water.)
Basically you have 2 methods to kill the vampire(qualify for math 104).
Another explanation
Staking kills the vampire. However if the stake is removed the vampire comes back to life unless the head was removed, and anointed with holy water.
Your logic would make sense if the statement said the vampire cannot be truly killed unless its head is removed and anointed, but it instead says that it will return to life after being slain instantly via driving a wooden stake through its heart. unless the following occurs
To make your statement = this statement, it would look something like this:
Passing math 104 (staking the vampire) will allow you to receive your diploma (instantly kill the vampire). Your diploma will be revoked (vampire returns to life) unless you also do 20 hours of community service (removing the head and anointing it).The word "unless" does not alter the first sentence in any way, and the first sentence does not imply anything about the second sentence. 20 hours of community service does not allow you to receive your diploma, you must still pass math 104, and you will still receive your diploma whether or not you do 20 hours of community service.
The vampire does have to be staked, but the condition is only checked only. The stake can be removed as long as the following requirements are met. Now if ....<realizes that I agree but misread your earlier post>. Nevermind.
Thought it might be good to mention this:
Vorpal: This potent and feared ability allows the weapon to sever the heads of those it strikes. Upon a roll of natural 20 (followed by a successful roll to confirm the critical hit), the weapon severs the opponent's head (if it has one) from its body. Some creatures, such as many aberrations and all oozes, have no heads. Others, such as golems and undead creatures other than vampires, are not affected by the loss of their heads. Most other creatures, however, die when their heads are cut off. A vorpal weapon must be a slashing melee weapon. If you roll this property randomly for an inappropriate weapon, reroll.
So, it doesn't instantly kill on a natural 20 UNLESS it is a vampire.
i.e. A vampire is still subject to the instant kill clause.
This causes is to basically return automatically to it's coffin:
James Jacobs:
There's PLENTY of flavor in movies, books, stories, video games, etc. that beheading a vampire kills them outright. Which in the case of a vampire, drops it to zero hit points and sends it back to its coffin. Beheading any other undead only annoys it... and only destroys it if the associated damage from the attack would have reduced its HP to 0 anyway.
I'm still a bit confused with respect to the Vampire. Here are the snippets that are unclear, to me:
If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, a vampire assumes gaseous form (see below) and attempts to escape.OK, so when exactly does this happen? Immediately? Meaning, as an immediate action?
Reducing a vampire's hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn't always destroy it (see fast healing).Fast healing continues to function (even at negative hit points) until a creature dies, at which point the effects of fast healing end immediately.Regardless of whether the Vampire goes Gaseous immediately or not, it is clear that a Vampire can go negative from a single strong attack. This text would suggest that a Vampire can actually be killed in this manner, after reviewing Fast Healing. No sun, stakes, or beheading required.
Am I interpreting all of this correctly? If a Vampire is sent to -CHA before they go gaseous, they're dead?
Vampires immediately(not the immediate action) go to gaseous form once their hp hits 0 or less. You can not kill them in such a manner.
If they are immersed in water that also saps their hp, and it kills them when they reach 0If you use a weapon to put them at 0 they assume gaseous form and go their coffins where they return to solid form. They are "sleep" for lack of a better word, and can be staked at that point.
You have to read the entire text
Reducing a vampire's hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn't always destroy it (see fast healing). However, certain attacks can slay vampires. Exposing any vampire to direct sunlight staggers it on the first round of exposure and destroys it utterly on the second consecutive round of exposure if it does not escape. Each round of immersion in running water inflicts damage on a vampire equal to one-third of its maximum hit points—a vampire reduced to 0 hit points in this manner is destroyed. Driving a wooden stake through a helpless vampire's heart instantly slays it (this is a full-round action). However, it returns to life if the stake is removed, unless the head is also severed and anointed with holy water.
The specific attacks above prevent fast healing from working.
Uhm,
Pardon me, but vampires are not immune to damage in gaseous form.
The subject and all its gear become insubstantial, misty, and translucent. Its material armor (including natural armor) becomes worthless, though its size, Dexterity, deflection bonuses, and armor bonuses from force effects still apply. The subject gains DR 10/magic and becomes immune to poison, sneak attacks, and critical hits. It can't attack or cast spells with verbal, somatic, material, or focus components while in gaseous form. This does not rule out the use of certain spells that the subject may have prepared using the feats Silent Spell, Still Spell, and Eschew Materials. The subject also loses supernatural abilities while in gaseous form. If it has a touch spell ready to use, that spell is discharged harmlessly when the gaseous form spell takes effect.
So, while it's floating along at 20 feet in gaseous form, just hit it with spells or magic weapons and send it into negatives so far down that it can't continue moving. It still takes damage in gaseous form. Get it to negative con (or is it cha?) and it still dies.
EDIT : Also note, it's fast healing goes away in gaseous form, being supernatural.
Uhm,
Pardon me, but vampires are not immune to damage in gaseous form.
In the Vampire description, under Defensive abilities: Additional damage dealt to a vampire forced into gaseous form has no effect.
It is a specific rule superseding the generic rules of gaseous form.
Huh,
Ok, missed that (it should be under gaseous form, honestly). That means it's impossible to kill a vampire, honestly. You can't do it cause it can mist at will. And that's only a +2 CR? Seriously?EDIT : Or is that intended to mean additional damage dealt to the vampire beyond what forces it to mist has no effect? It boggles my mind that the vampire can mist and be immune to dragon breath, fireballs, etc.
I think that means you have to locate the vampire's coffin to truly kill it, and you'd better do it quick or it'll fast heal back up to full hp. If you had a means to trap the gaseous form (Resilient Sphere?) from reaching the coffin, you could kill it that way too.
You might also grapple a vampire if you could trick it into going near a stream and immerse it in water for three rounds (=dead vampire).
Say, what would happen if you baleful polymorph a vampire into a bunny? Does the bunny still have to be staked and have it's head cut off?