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Lessee here -
Raven's Head - what I went with was that Raven's Head isn't needed to make the elixir itself; rather, it's needed to make a new phylactery. Without it, Tar-Baphon can still be successfully released into his new vessel, but his phylactery is still behind the Grand Seal and TB has to proceed very cautiously - get blown up once, and he's right back where he started. So he doesn't need Raven's Head, but his unlife would be much better with it.
The vessel's fate - Kendra would only die if your PCs botch and she actually gets fed the elixir. At Renchurch, the vessel gets pasted with a bunch of mental ability damage and a giant chunk of negative levels, but they aren't killed - the vessel needs to be delivered to Gallowspire alive to drink the Carrion Crown elixir. If the party succeeds at Renchurch, they'll save her.
Count Galdana drops out of the story if he isn't the vessel.
You can read up about how I handled the big reveal about Kendra's ancestry (I made the Lorrimars an illegitimate branch off of the Galdanas) here.
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+1 to what Zhangar said; Raven's Head as a desirable but ultimately unnecessary phylactery works perfectly. I would suggest that anyone actually planning on using Count Galdana insert him into the story far earlier than Book 6 so his kidnapping has more resonance with your players. An ideal place for this is either in Lepistatd or as a departing guest from Ascanor Lodge. For my part, I plan on omitting him and using Kendra as the vessel. What's interesting is that my players (in book 5) have already guessed this and are taking pains to try to protect Kendra and hide her with the Esoteric Order. Too bad there's gonna be a really big body count when most of the WW shows up to kidnap her... which will let me have cause for the Esoteric Order to not interfere or aid in Book 6; they'll be to busy getting raise dead and the like on themselves to provide aid.
Thanks. The party knew that Kendra went to Caliphas to stay in Adivion's townhouse, and they have just now received notice that she has disappeared, while resting from the conclusion of Book 4 in Lepidstadt [as an aside, at the end of the climatic battle in Book 4, two were dead (the rogue and cleric), one was insane as per the spell (the barbarian), and the last was insane by sanity loss (the wizard, who is not disfunctionally insane, but his obsession with the dark tapestry is irreversible)].
Anyhow, so Kendra it is and the party is suitably motivated. I just need to make sure I can keep them on track -- to make it clear they need to go through the events of Ashes at Dawn to find Kendra. Any ideas how to do that?
I liked your write up, Zhangar. I'm wondering if you were at all bothered by the coincidence factor of the Lorrimors being related to Tar-Baphon, of the AP starting in Harrowstone -- was a necessary component just coincidentally where Lorrimor lived? I'd feel better if I could explain all that to myself.
Finally, not having read Book 6, can you tell me what the phylactery does?
Phylacteries are a lich thing. They basically just let the lich come back to life an indefinite amount of times, as long as it isn't destroyed.
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Book 5 is pretty straight forward in motivation. Vampires hate Whispering Way (a world of undead is not great for vampires; they'd go hungry) and fought the big guy last time around. The Vampires can provide information as to how to stop the WW and where they went, but the Vampire Lord isn't going to just give that away. The players have to do two things for him: figure out who is killing his subjects and then teach the witches a lesson about the errors of using vampires for their studies.
I ran it in three parts. First was finding the now abandoned WW base in Caliphas and running into the Dhampir. Then they meet with the Vampire Lord, he lets them talk to the Nosferatu who says he knows the truth but they need to get the real killer first. When the players brought news to the Vampire Lord that it was Radvir, they were sent to bring him back to the Vampire Lord so he could punish Radvir. Once that was done, the Vampire Lord indicates that he had let the Nosferatu go and that he's now holding a letter addressed to the players... but they can't have it until they take care of Radvir's accomplices at the Abbey (the witches).
My players didn't like being used and the Vampire Lord was very smug about it, making no attempt to suggest it was anything but the right order of things (mortals doing the bidding of vampires).
Once at the Abbey, they found evidence (per another person's suggestions on the boards) that Kendra was the true descendent that would be needed for the transformation (a family tree was found engraved in one of the crypt walls that shows the Professor, so naturally his daughter would be a continuation of the line). Before then, they only knew she was missing but not why.
This presumes your players don't fight the Vampires. You can't really use the super smug Vampire Lord in that path, but you can have the Witches steal back the Nosferatu (with Radvir's help) and keep him as a prisoner in the Abbey. You would also have Radvir be a whole lot more motivated to kill the players per specific Whispering Way instructions.
The nice thing in either case is that the players will know nothing about the Abbey and the Witches until after killing Radvir, so they can't leapfrog the plot. If they start getting off track, you just have some of the 'weird unbound vampire spawn' types attack them to refocus their attention on the vampires.
Also, I'd make the witches the actual kidnappers if Kendra's already missing. They snagged her, ran some tests, and then shipped her off north.
I didn't worry about the coincidence, but you could go with Adivion finding out about the warden because the Lorrimars lived near an alleged haunted prison that was legit.
I'd gone with Petros and Adivion being master & student and genuine friends, before Adivion's obsessions led him off the deep end. I didn't think about it at the time, but the two them could've explored the haunted prison together, and even met the warden - and left at his request, since he was keeping everything bottled up.
Then, decades later, Adivion developed the formula and realized the warden was exactly what he needed.
Petros and Vrood meeting was an incredibly unfortunate coincidence.
I played up that Vrood would've been the future leader of the Whispering Way, if not for Adivion's influence and interference.
Thanks all. These are great ideas. One question: if Count Galdana AND Kendra are related to the Whispering Tyrant, then why grab Kendra instead of the Count? Or did most of you dispense with the Count being related to the Tyrant?
I ignored the Count entirely. It reduces the number of NPCs the PCs have to track and talk to and remember to care about.
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I plan to keep the Count in the module and likely be spending time with Kendra. It mentions in Rule of Fear that he can raise an army quickly, so he could be a useful ally for the PCs to gain. But I don't plan on having him be related to the Tyrant.
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Thanks all. These are great ideas. One question: if Count Galdana AND Kendra are related to the Whispering Tyrant, then why grab Kendra instead of the Count? Or did most of you dispense with the Count being related to the Tyrant?
I had Adivion grab Kendra specifically because she was a Lorrimar. Adivion was affably unhinged and felt that bringing the Tyrant's soul into her body was doing her a favor.
In my game, Adivion'd actually originally meant for the elixir for his teacher and friend Petros, and had been making adjustments "just in case" (since there was a risk that Petros could've died of old age before the scheme had been been completed).
I had Adivion treat the whole thing as something of a game; he was perversely pleased that his mentor's posthumous champions successfully vanquished the Whispering Way.
Keep in mind that Adivion is simply using the Way; he doesn't have any actual loyalty to them!
Question for the masses: Has anyone managed to truncate the roleplaying portion of the Caliphas vampire murder mystery down to just a 4 to 6 hour session? If so, what's the best way to trim down/streamline that leg of events?
I'm keeping a lot of the encounters from "Ashes", but relocating the witches' laboratory to Castle Kronquist instead of the Abbey and making Malyas himself the mastermind of the bloodbrew plot. So far, my players seem much more interested in a dungeon crawl than in a long sequence of dramatic events inside Caliphas proper. So, I'd kind of like to fast-forward through the talky bits and drop them right at the entrance of Castle Kronquist by the end of the next session of play (they've already fought Rask and been referred to Abraun Chelest by Judge Daramid in Lepidstadt, so we'll pick up right at the Haraday Theater/Quarterfaux Archives at the start of next session).
My players went to see the vampire Lord, there was talking, they met all the other vampire nobles, and the nosferatu prisoner. He told them that he had knowledge about where the Whispering Way is and how they operate, but won't share it until they free him. When they spoke to the Lord, he said he'd free the Nosferatu if they can find out who is killing the city vampires.
After hunting down tailor and dealing with all that, they return with the details to the Vampire Lord. He admitted to guessing that was the case and that he had already freed the Nosferatu. He then held up a letter saying it came from the prisoner and contained what the PCs needed... but if they want it, they have to find out where the vampire bodies were going and stop the bloodbrew drug manufacturing at its heart.
So the players didn't really do much sleuthing. They decided to follow the plan where one of them pretended to be a victim in the park and then jumped the attacking vampires. They followed the mists back to the tailor's shop and attacked it immediately.
I think we had one session for the fight in the green house, one session to meet the Vampire Lord and learn everything there is to learn in his area, and one section to have the encounter in the park and fight in the tailor's shop (and one more to finish that fight and get nearly TPKed by witchfires at the abbey).
The core of it is that the players have to help the Vampire Lord because he knows where the Whispering Way went. So you can simply skip the middle part. When the players meet the Vampire Lord, have the meeting interrupted by the lead priest vampire. He tells the Lord that the tailor is the murderer, the Lord decides the PCs should be the strike team since they aren't vampires and if it goes poorly he can pretend he had nothing to do with it. He orders them to pull the thread (heh) starting at the tailor shop until they unravel the entire bloodbrew thing. If they do, he'll provide them information on where the Whispering Way is.
Then you can move the Nosferatu into the tailor shop as a prisoner to give the bit of extra "what are the witches trying to do" bit and provide more motivation to go take out the witches in hope of stopping them from making the elixir (as far as the Nosferatu knows, they were still trying to figure it out). He can also provide direction to the witches.
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Quick question.
My group has gone on to Shadows of Gallowspire but are currently carting along the bones of Oothi in their bags. They tried to destroy them... but I was immediately confused as to why the townspeople who dispersed her bones hadn't done that upon her death.
The problem I have is that Hetna has been polymorphed into a cat and is masquerading as the rogue's pet until she can teleport the bones away for reconstruction.
Should I have allowed the group to destroy the bones? Should I simply rule them invincible beyond a very specific destruction like an artifact?
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It's entirely your choice. Oothi basically just cast a spell so her skin transformed into spider swarms in an effort to fool the townspeople. They had no idea she was still alive. They found her bones, assumed she was dead, had them dispersed (just in case), and figured they'd seen the end of her. There's nothing special about the bones that protects them from being destroyed. The townsfolk just didn't think that was necessary. Instead, they assumed there might be some terrible curse waiting within them. So, rather than destroy them, they simply tried sending them to different parts of Ustalav.
So, if your players seek to actually destroy them, there's nothing preventing them from doing that...unless, you decide otherwise. It's your game. Feel free to give them invulnerability due to the power of her magic. Or, let them reconstitute as her body constantly seeks to pull itself back together. Alternatively, make it so that Hetna has them restored somehow (via wish, etc.). Entirely your call...
My two cents,
--Neil
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Thanks for the help Neil. :)
The more I think about it I may just have the cat be a normal cat and allow the group to destroy the bones.
I asked a friend what she thought of my, 'Have Hetna swoop in ("She was the cat all along! Mwhahaha") at the moment of their victory to go off and resurrect a new BBEG', and she said that it might seem like I was essentially stealing the group's victory from them.
Another good reason to ax that plan is that they all already suspect the cat. There's no big shock at the end if everyone already assumes that it's going to happen.
Ah well, happy ending it is. (Barring the possible TPK)
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My group has gone on to Shadows of Gallowspire but are currently carting along the bones of Oothi in their bags. They tried to destroy them... but I was immediately confused as to why the townspeople who dispersed her bones hadn't done that upon her death.
Perhaps Ustalavic wise women advised them that hiding the bones would leave the hag powerless, but if the bones were destroyed, Oothi could come back from the grave as a witchfire.
Perhaps Ustalavic wise women advised them that hiding the bones would leave the hag powerless, but if the bones were destroyed, Oothi could come back from the grave as a witchfire.
I approve of this explanation! ^_^
Especially since there were already some witchfires that wanted revenge on Oothi and her coven hanging out at the abbey in the latter half of the adventure.
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It’s been my explanation of why undead-savy Ustalavics bury their dead in blessed soil or water instead of burning them: zombies and wights are easier to deal with than shadows and wraiths.
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That's awesome. :)
Thanks for that.
I'll give them a knowledge local check on Sunday and then give them the choice if they want to destroy them or not.
Even though I have decided that the rogue's cat is not Hetna they are still paranoid enough to probably grind them up.
That opens up some possibilities. :D
I know all the Mythology says that Banshees have to be female elves, but what if Oothi were an exception? Assuming your PCs are traveling through Virlych already, it'd be neat to have her bone's destruction facilitate the creation of the Bansheee at
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I know all the Mythology says that Banshees have to be female elves, but what if Oothi were an exception? Assuming your PCs are traveling through Virlych already, it'd be neat to have her bone's destruction facilitate the creation of the Bansheee at ** spoiler omitted **
Actually... it doesn't even have to be an exception.
Though it's a little-explored fact (much like everything else about the race), changelings can spawn from nonhuman fathers - including elves. So, drop a hint or two that Oothi was a little more elven than most hags, and if the bones get broken, there's your tie-in!
(I love changelings so much...)
Of course, my group barely found out about Oothi... they were too busy trying to save their friend (a changeling herself) who had been seduced by Radvir. So they were racing the clock to save her from vampirism. Now Aisa is imprisoned in Urgathoa's realm, Hetna is hopping around the swamps as a fully-aware toad, and the Countess's elixir all burned up after a firefall spell in the abbey. They're dealing with her vengeance now...
I should post all my stories and additions to Carrion Crown sometime. If anyone is curious, please tell me.
That's actually a pretty cool angle, and I may have to steal it.
On posting: Lots of people, including myself, post their alterations and encounter synapsis on here frequently. There's also a fair amount of campaign journals too, so depending on the nature of your posts, there are open avenues either way. I always like reading other group's takes on an adventure, so I'd say do it.
i'd also like to hear more, great idea:)
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My first novel! Sorry this took so long. It might also be a little disjointed, as it's missing some context here and there from earlier books, and some facts were omitted for space (not that I kept things short). If there are any questions, or if anyone wants implementation advice, I'm happy to answer them.
I'll start with some notes on the party to lead things off. My design decisions make more sense when you see the group...
Lyra (LG human magus): A variant staff magus whom I permitted to use a scythe. She was cast out from her extremely conservative Chelaxian family for both sexual orientation and her sorcerer heritage (a certain dragon with ties to Ustalav). Constantly hiding from anyone (especially nobles) who might recognize her, as her Pyre Hellknight father has threatened her old friends if she stains the family name. Brings all the lightning.
Bordana (CG aasimar cleric of Desna/harrower): The Desnan stereotype. Perky, bubbly, and headstrong, with a tendency to leave behind butterfly graffiti. Casty cleric - heals, channels, divinations. Having a full-on diviner made the adventure more complex.
Tessara (N elf hedge witch): A blank slate. Her dweomercat familiar has more personality than she does. After certain events I added to the book, her true identity is becoming clear to her.
Thanos Su'Koth (not the Marvel one) (N dhampir [svetocher] cleric of Urgathoa/unholy vindicator): This is the one that will get all the questions. This player is the most savvy, and is a poster on these forums. As such, he had a limited idea of the campaign outline and themes, including the Whispering Way as villains. His concept was that his mother, a vampire Blood Lord of Geb, found out that the Way was plotting something and sent him to oppose them. The character is very bon vivant, all about feeding his own indulgences. However, he has been rather heroic (for reasons that will become apparent), enough so that Urgathoa has occasionally sent him warnings to keep him at least neutral. As for the goddess, my inspiration for her actions in this Path has been based on the Daedra of Skyrim - a creature of dubious morality more interested in vicarious entertainment than the spread of an evil agenda. It doesn't matter who wins, so long as it's fun to watch. Warpriest-style build.
Ileosa Wintrish (LG changeling paladin of Iomedae, or so she thought): DMPC and victim of Thanos's endless seductions. Plagued by memory gaps, a tendency towards actions unbefitting a knight of Lastwall, a weakness for charming Varisian boys, and other unnatural phenomena. I won't go into the details of the party's moral spectrum, her seemingly broken paladin code, or her romance with Thanos here. All I'll say is, she has reasons, and the story worked for my group. A staggeringly inoffensive combatant focused on Loyal Oaths and lay on hands.
Now that that's out of the way, the modifications to the adventure. At this point, the modules had begun to blur together - I'll start with the party's journey to Caliphas. I replaced the dullahan with something a bit more expansive (partly to boost the party's xp) so I won't cover that here. Thrushmoor is now in a shambles, but the false lich raising an army (after the failure at Feldgrau) was defeated and his moribund key looted from his bones. The Raven's Head was destroyed in my Book 4, so his modus operandi was absent anyway.
They stopped in Vauntil for a brief festival. See Rule of Fear to learn more. On the way onward, they had a random encounter with a pair of nasty kithangian demons attacking a noble carriage. (I'm also running Wrath of the Righteous, so I have an excuse for various demonic presences. The events of that are also drawing the armies of Ustalav north, allowing Adivion to finish his plot uninterrupted. Rumors that he planned this all along are unconfirmed.) Once they slew the demons and unsheeped the noblewoman, they learned that she was one Lady Andaisin. She gratefully offered them a place to stay while in Caliphas.
Not much happened upon arrival. The scene with the guard played out largely as written. The group did go shopping, including the paladin buying everyone new outfits for consorting with nobles. And when you want the best in Caliphas... you visit the Nobleman's Stitch. I got to set up Radvir in advance - I played him as perky and bubbly, fawning over the ladies and seeming completely harmless.
For the most part, the next segment of the book played out as written. I played up the Esoteric Order as much more scholarly - they were especially fascinated by the butterfly-winged aasimar. Modd also was rewritten somewhat, as my players wouldn't have reacted all that well to the printed version. He was much more of a "political realist", who they were able to convince of the importance of their quest. While Galdana was present, I've been using the angle someone suggested of having Kendra be the heir.
The visit to the Way's safehouse was similar. I replaced Quinley with a dhampir they's met earlier in Tamrivena, but the change was mostly cosmetic. She came here, met her mother, then lost her. Given my party, the diplomatic approach to the vampires was guaranteed anyway.
The Vampire Underground was where I went all-out. I wanted more red herring options and more NPCs to work with. So I both expanded upon those given and added several more, including a number of more sympathetic individuals. Each also has a political outlook that colors how they guide the investigation. Here's the roster:
Luvick Siervage: As written. Already awesome.
Rubani al-Aumur: A little surprise for Thanos - his mother's vizier, here as an ambassador. A sly toady, with an interest in the bloodbrew for his own reasons. Red herring.
Lady Evenya (respelled): Has her own decadent circle, a bit expanded from the description in the book. Secretly addicted to the bloodbrew, but not complicit in the killings. Close friends with Radvir.
Desmond Kote: Expanded slightly - I had it known that he'd been preaching rhetoric about how "vampire culture has grown weak" and needed "shaking up". Red herring.
Radvir Giovanni: The dreamy one! I love a certain type of foppish, perky young lad. Unfortunate that he had to be a clothier - shades of Beverly Hills Cop. In any case, Radvir knew which side his bread was buttered on, and did everything in his power to ingratiate himself to the PCs - pointing out his status as a (lapsed) Desnan, fawning over the girls, making Thanos jealous, and generally seeming harmless. (They got to see the other side at the Abbey, of course.) His plot also got a reworking - see below. He also gave the Desnan a gift - a Desnan holy symbol which, unknown even to him, Adrissant had polymorph-any-object-ed from a tyrant's mark (Mythic Realms).
Merrick Sais: The vampire druid got tragic-ed up a little - being on guard makes her lonely, although her precious plants help. Of course, her good friend Radvir often visits.
Viktor Marsavos: The sympathetic one. A harrow reader who runs a cramped magic shop and Harrow parlor in the Underground. Guilty about his feedings but cannot escape the hunger. Low-ranking politically due to lack of ambition, has but a single minion. He has been trying to predict the killings. Set up for sympathy, and becomes the next victim.
Angsand Blunt-Fang: A true rarity - a vampire who has never tasted blood. An ex-priest of Erastil who now serves as an advisor to Luvick, his willpower is great enough that he has resisted the hunger for centuries. He guides the vampire agenda to protect the living, as best he can. Under his guidance, Luvick has set up feeding quotas.
Damion Henderthane: A visiting Hellknight who was taken by the vampires. He is now Luvick's premier enforcer. Here to spook Lyra.
Kagur Daughter-of-Stars: A vampire rebel and lunatic, and a key part of Radvir's plan - both as a red herring and distraction for the vampires' hunt, and as a friend who can go get chair legs for him (although she is kept carefully unaware of the larger plot). Major red herring. Has a pack of feral gnasher goblin vampires as pets - although "pet" might not be the best word for, essentially, a terrestrial pirahna swarm.
Additionally, there were more "crowds" of vampires in the Underground, including "homeless" vampires nearly starved by Luvick's quotas. One of these tried to sell the PCs info in exchange for a person or two she could convert - more minions = more power. This is the subclass Radvir gets his dealers and enforcers from.
I can't go into all their interactions with these individuals here. I ran it as a living environment for the PCs to investigate, and it was great fun. As for Radvir's improved plot, the core conceit was basically the same, although I tweaked the wand to boost the DC a bit. He made greater use of the hat of disguise, and worked through proxy where possible. I moved the furniture shop a bit, as he seemed too smart for "go get obvious clue from across the street". He feigned ignorance about the forgeries, and it was ever so convenient that many of these nobles had recently departed for Sinaria and the wardstone battlefields. The party set up the decoy tactic, but lost a party member first...
The group only solved the puzzle by coincidence. After Ileosa disappeared that night (off to buy a gift for her boyfriend and flirt with a cute young clothier, although she told nobody of her destination), the group was at a loss for her finding. The group was split, so Thanos was the first one to know. He went to the harrow parlor, only to find that Viktor was gone - apparently killed as well. The harrower's assistant let him use some scrolls, and he received a none-too-cryptic suggestion about his lady love's wandering eye (and to what fate it had led her). Distraught, he rushed straight for the Nobleman's Stitch, just him and his cohort - against an encounter group meant for the whole party. He acquitted himself fairly well, but Radvir's minions held him off while the panicked clothier gathered up both the staked harrower and the bloodless body of the paladin and fled to the Abbey of Sante-Lymirin. What followed was a race against time to find where he had gone and resurrect her, as (because long story) if she rose as a vampire, she could never be returned to life.
The sisters set up a blizzard to keep them out, but the group pushed through, entering the abbey with only minutes to spare. After a brief diplomatic encounter with some witchfires, they clashed with the mercenaries and Hetna in the main chambers. A firefall spell from the magus blinded the mercs long enough for their charm to be dispelled, while Hetna was quickly baleful polymorphed into a toad, falling from her broom and hopping away (presumably croaking something about vengeance. As none of her allies survived to restore her, she's going to be eating a lot of flies...
The party spotted Radvir watching this, and pursued him downstairs. They dealt with a unique addition (a half-marilith eldritch knight of the Way, from Casnoriva) before tracking down Radvir. The result was a major encounter, involving Radvir, Aisa, the blood knight, and Dolthysuun. It was epic, if occasionally anticlimactic. Radvir got commanded by the cleric, and made to sit out. The glabrezu went peacefully (after 150 damage), and even took the opportunity to get a little revenge on Radvir for some earlier taunts. In the end, Aisa was slain over the body of the fallen paladin, just as she attempted to finish raising her through evil magics. Urgathoa dragged her soul off to Abaddon, and the paladin was resurrected just in time!
After that, the party got in a little rest. They did have an appointment with Adivion Adrissant, famed scholar, though. He's offered to help the magus with her bloodline problem...
Finally, big thanks to Mr. Spicer. I know it sounds like I had to rebuild a lot, but he did a really good job with a very challenging writing assignment. His epic post earlier in this thread inspired a lot of this.
As before, thoughts/questions/etc. welcome. I'll try and post more epic works in the other threads when I can - especially Wake of the Watcher. Also, if anyone wants stat blocks for any of this, I still have all the Herolab files. I restatted most everything and added a bunch. If anyone is interested in anything from there, I'll see what I can do.
Nice work, Kalindlara! You have definitely inspired me. My group just met Merrick and convinced her to introduce them to Luvick, so they've gone through the pleasantries and interrogated Ramoska Arkminos; we pick up there next time. I like how you've introduced new vampires specifically to challenge and unnerve the PCs in your party. This is great food for thought.
My group just met Merrick and convinced her to introduce them to Luvick...
Interesting. I read the module as contemplating the fight with Merrick was pretty much unavoidable, because she was the guardian the PCs needed to fight through to gain access to the Underground, which had been sealed on orders of Siervage.
Admittedly, this caused me some concern, because I didn’t think Siervage would readily forgive the slaying of such an important guardian. Accordingly, I came up with an alternate scheme in which Merrick is disloyal to Siervage. This is how I envision it: Sensing it would not be possible to maintain the secrecy of his scheme much longer (as various vampire and spawn have become addicted to the Bloodbrew Elixir), Radvir Giovanni recently risked approaching Merrick, to see if he could gain a powerful ally. He convinced her to sample the bloodbrew elixir, which further awakened her savage, animalistic instincts (I’ve decided the Elixir makes vampires more savage and hungry for blood). Merrick now views Siervage’s relatively peaceful détente with the humans of Caliphas as a sign of weakness.
The PCs, led by the dhampir Quinley, will approach the Restoration Park entrance to the Underground thinking that Merrick will give them safe passage as an ally of Siervage, but she will instead attack and make comments reflecting her disloyalty. When the PCs reach Siervage, they can inform him of Merrick’s treachery. Quinley will encourage them not to slay Merrick while she is helpless in her coffin, but to instead bring her to Siervage for his judgment, presumably with a wooden stake in her heart to keep her immobilized on the way.
This gives the opportunity to play out the very cool Glass House fight, but still have it make overall plot sense. I’m going to try to play the Vampire community as a chaotic, confused, and paranoid group under siege -- which is how Radvir’s (and now Merrick’s) treachery and the use of the bloodbrew elixir have managed to go undetected. I really like Kalindlara’s idea of making the Vampire Underground a more crowded and complex environment. I don’t know how much I will expand the roleplaying and personalities down there, but I definitely like the atmosphere she describes.
Any thoughts on any of that? Also, how many vampires live underneath Caliphas and how many vampires have been killed? I’m not sure what seems a reasonable estimate, but I feel like I need to have a good estimate for both numbers as my PCs go underground and expand their investigations.
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Here's an alternate for the numerous vampires taken straight from the Bestiary that fill the module. I like variety in my enemies, so here's one I plan on using for the "Traitor Revealed" portion of the module. These guys are built with a Heroic NPC point array, with '*' indicating a spell or ability used that alters their statistics.
Vampire Alchemists
Male and Female human vampire alchemist 8
LE Medium Undead (augmented humanoid)
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception+22
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AC 32, touch 20, flat 22 (+9 dex, +1 dodge, +8 natural, +4 shield)
hp 82 (8d8+40+8); fast healing 5
Fort +12, Ref +19, Will +7 ; +2 vs. poison
Defensive Abilitieschannel resistance +4; DR 10/ magic and silver; Immune undead traits; Resist cold 10, electricity 10
Weaknesses vampire weaknesses
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee Slam +8 (1d4+2 plus energy drain)
Ranged Bomb 14/day +16/+11 (4d6+8 fire) or (4d6+8 cold and stagger [Fort DC 18]) or (4d4+8 force and fall prone [Reflex DC 18])
Special Attacks blood drain, children of the night, create spawn,
dominate (DC 18), energy drain (2 levels, DC 18)
Alchemist Extracts Prepared (CL 8th)
3rd- arcane sight, non-detection, thorn body-
2nd- alter self, eagle's splendor*,invisibility, resist energy, see invisibility
1st- illusion of clear, longshot, shield*, targeted Bomb admixture* (2),
true strike
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Str 14, Dex 28, Con --, Int 19, Wis 12, Cha 18
Base Attack +6; CMB +8; CMD 22
Feats Alertness(b), Brew Potion(b), Combat Reflexes(b), Dodge(b), Extra Bombs, Improved Initiative (b), Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes (b), Mobility, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Toughness(b), Throw Anything(b)
Skills Acrobatics +18, Bluff +13, Craft: Alchemy +20, Heal +12, Knowledge: Arcana +13, Knowledge: Nature +13, Perception +22, Sleight of Hand +20, Spellcraft +15, Stealth +18, Survival +9, Use Magic Device +15
Languages Aklo, Ancient Osirion, Common, Necril, Varisian
SQ alchemy (alchemy crafting +8, identify potions), change shape (dire bat or wolf, beast shape II), discoveries (dispelling bomb, fast bombs, force bomb, frost bomb),gaseous form, mutagen* (+4/-2, +2 natural, 80 minutes), poison use, shadowless, spider climb, swift alchemy
Combat Gearpotion of bull's strength, potion of greater magic fang (CL 10) potion of haste, potion of fly, potion of inflict serious wounds Other Gear belt of incredible dexterity, cloak of resistance +2, handy haversack, headband of vast intelligence +2, 220 gp
Thanks, Rakshaka -- I'll probably try to use this too. Did you have a particular place in mind where this Vampire would be?
Also, any thoughts as to how many vampires there are in the Caliphas clan and how many have been killed? I'm finding this hard to figure out and pretty important to frame things. I mentioned to my PCs a couple dozen vampires have been killed, but now I'm thinking maybe that was too many.
Also, how did your (or anyone else's) fight with the vampire druid go? We're in the middle of it, and, although I think the PCs have recovered somewhat, it could have been a TPK. That giant fly trap is basically impossible to escape the grasp of if you don't have freedom of movement or the like. It has kept the party's damage dealing barbarian locked up round after round. And it would have killed the wizard if not for a lucky dimension door. In the meantime, the druid can just hang out in a hidden position casting spells in bat form. And if someone approaches her she can dominate them -- as just happened to the party's rogue -- although the rogue may use a hero point to avoid that (it happened just as we ran out of game time).
Any thoughts on any of the above would be helpful. Thanks!
I plan on using that build where they encounter the traitor. There are more than a few Vampire Sorcerers lurking in that area, so that will give me some variety to those fights. Stay tuned, because I'm gonna have a couple other sub-ins up in the next couple days (A Vetala Ninja Shopkeeper and a Vampire Fighter Archer).
As far as numbers go, I'm assuming about 150 for the whole city. You have to figure that if Caliphas is the vampire capital of Ustalav (and probably contender for having the most per-capita in the world.), there's probably a percentage of about 1 vampire per ever 100 humans. Since the city sitting at around 15K people, I could see the 150 mark easily being met. I like the number on a whole since its large enough for the pettiness of politics to come to the forefront while still being small enough that everyone knows who the movers and shakers in the community are.
Our Druid fight went pretty awesome, but I gave her a few reinforcements besides what's written. I gave here a party of 5 7th level adventurers she had charmed into defending her grove, as well as a version of the Topiary Guardians from the Bestiary in the back of the module (I also greatly changed the environment, with half the greenhouse composed of fauna and large trees while the second half was a topiary maze that she could move in and out of with impunity. The Topiary Guardians (advanced, fire-resistant, giant template) could tree stride around the hedges as well, delivering fire seed attacks among other things. Made for a really good fight.
Oh, she can't dominate people in Bat form, as per the rule on polymorphing. Spells via Natural spell are totally legal though.
Thanks! 150 sounds pretty good, and I guess it would make a couple dozen killings sound about right. Maybe my number is a bit high. It certainly is enough to put the terror into the vampire populace.
I'm amazed you had to make the Glass House encounter MORE challenging, since my party is having a tough time with just the druid and the fly trap. The fly trap didn't give your party a hard time?
And thanks for the note about dominate. She actually transformed back into vampire form to do some parlaying with the Dhampir. I made her a traitor to Siervage, which comes out in her responses to the Dhampir's pleas that she stand down. Then she heard the party's rogue sneaking on the roof above her tree top position and dominated the rogue when the rogue broke through the roof.
On a related note, what are her motivations in your game? Doesn't it seem strange that she would slay the Dhampir, who she is familiar with? And then also strange that Siervage would then embrace the party after the party laid waste to her and her defenses, unless the party has the excuse that she was a traitor?
I look forward to your further substitutions!
I knew that the way it's presented, my PCs would have walked in with Freedom of Movement and Death Ward and simply separated and destroyed the two of them. Also, my PCs have a single Mythic Tier, so upping the ante was absolutely necessary. Besides that, I love having vampires using dominated minions to fight for them, especially other adventuring parties. While speed-bumps, it created the moral quandary of whether or not to kill those who made the mistake of encountering a vampire. The coolest moment was the opposing party's cleric using Shield Other on Merrick and then fleeing into the maze, giving her extra oomph when she when she finally got chased down (she moved around a lot in the fight).
In my game, she was using her undead state and druidic powers to grow a form of fruit that produces blood, a sort of symbiosis between plant and animal that she is trying to perfect with the aim of supplying her hunger. It also allowed me to have half the greenhouse overgrown so sunlight wouldn't be a factor.
Her motivation is a caretaker of the way into the vampire's lairs, a lair that in her eyes might be sought out by hunters due to the recent slayings. Furthermore, her lair's proximity to the park where the slayings are taking place has made her not only fearful for her own safety but also the safety of those beneath her. In short, she has become paranoid, and seeing a group of armed adventurers (probably bearing Raven's Head) means that they are there to kill, no matter their words. This is what triggers the fight. The aftermath is up to the players, which should greatly affect their interaction with Ludvick.
My group just met Merrick and convinced her to introduce them to Luvick...Interesting. I read the module as contemplating the fight with Merrick was pretty much unavoidable, because she was the guardian the PCs needed to fight through to gain access to the Underground, which had been sealed on orders of Siervage.
The main reason Merrick let them by (aside from the Diplomacy check in the low 40s that the party bard rolled during her interaction with the druid vamp) is that the PCs expressed knowledge of the same information that Radvir has presented to Luvick about a cabal of Caliphas nobles being behind the killings. Adivion left that info right in their path for them to stumble upon, for a multitude of reasons that would take WAY too long to explain since I've gone way off-the-books with some story elements, but mostly in hopes that it would distract them for awhile longer while he finalizes his own plans. Since the evidence they have corroborates Radvir's accusations against the nobles, and the PCs are openly expressing their distaste for the Whispering Way at every opportunity in order to court the vampires' favor, Merrick figures her master should speak with them... and she's confident that if they are lying, Luvick will surely find out about it, and deal with them appropriately. \=D
I'm amazed you had to make the Glass House encounter MORE challenging, since my party is having a tough time with just the druid and the fly trap. The fly trap didn't give your party a hard time?
In my case, I'm upping the difficulty on just about everything simply because I've got a party of six on my hands... which is part of the reason that the Abbey St. Lyrimin encounters are being shunted into Castle Kronquist! \=D
And it would have killed the wizard if not for a lucky dimension door.
Heh, the sorceress in our group who got swallowed did the exact same thing. Great minds think alike, I suppose!
Interesting stuff, Rakshaka and Power Word. I love how we have all gone in different directions with the druid.
The aftermath is up to the players, which should greatly affect their interaction with Ludvick.
It seems like the critical decision is whether to slay Merrick while she rests in her coffin or to allow her to recover. If Merrick were loyal to Siervage and my PCs were to slay her after the fight... it would present a huge obstacle to gaining Siervage's cooperation, at best. In my game, assuming the party defeats Merrick, Quinley will urge them to bring her staked body to Siervage for his justice. That would, admittedly, be awkward -- any way to carry a corpse inconspicuously? Can one shove a staked vampire corpse into a handy haversack?
Of course, there is a good chance Merrick may just use her tree stride to escape if things go badly. In which case they may meet her again at the Abbey.
One last question: Can the spawn from below join the fight? I guess we can assume the fly trap is trained to ignore them as they emerge from the hole, or that the fly trap would not be interested in them because they are not living?
...any way to carry a corpse inconspicuously? Can one shove a staked vampire corpse into a handy haversack?
I don't think a handy haversack is large enough (80-lb. limit). Most bags of holding should work just fine though; a type I has a 250-lb. limit. And it's not like a staked vamp needs to breathe... =b
One last question: Can the spawn from below join the fight? I guess we can assume the fly trap is trained to ignore them as they emerge from the hole, or that the fly trap would not be interested in them because they are not living?
Difficult to say. I'm no biologist, but I'd think necrotic flesh would likely not be nourishing to a flytrap, since they seem to process blood more than raw protein (and presumably vamps don't contain blood that would be nourishing for a carnivorous organism), although the digestive enzymes do break down the 'meat' of the prey too.
On the other hand, with an Int of 1, I doubt they'd be too selective about what they ingest. It's tough to train something that dumb to do much of anything reliably, outside of controlling it magically, as Merrick likely does.
Nice analysis! It occurs to me that I can be really evil and have the spawn emerge BEHIND the PCs by turning into gaseous form and coming up the concealed storm gates. Several of the PCs are maneuvering outside the greenhouse. The spawn don't appear to be restrained below, and there's no reason why they wouldn't have heard the shriekers and the sounds of battle coming through the open hole to the greenhouse. It would be cool if Merrick could summon them telepathically, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Nevertheless, I can't imagine why they wouldn't come to her aid once it is clear the battle is serious. But I think I may be risking a TPK here -- especially with the level drain and dominate abilities...
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Alright, here's three more I'm using as sub ins so my world isn't flooded with identical sorcerers, fighters, and charmed guards.For the first one, I realized I needed something to interact with customers during daylight hours, especially one with the ability to make suspicious customers forget what they've seen while also not feeding off the main food source that the vampires consume. Since Ludvick's traditional minded court probably has a suspicious attitude of foreigners, exotic vampires would probably find a place with the leader of the traitors rather than Ludvick.
Vetala Shopkeeper
Male and Female human vetala ninja 8
LE Medium Undead (augmented humanoid, human)
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception+23
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AC 25, touch 16, flat 19 (+6 dex, +4 natural, +5 shield)
hp 84 (8d8+48); fast healing 5
Fort +10, Ref +14, Will +6
Defensive Abilitieschannel resistance +4, improved uncanny dodge; DR 10/ magic and good; Immune undead traits; Resist electricity 10, fire 10
Weaknesses vetala weaknesses
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 claws +10 (1d6+4 plus paralysis)
Ranged +1 shuriken +14/+9 (1d2+5)
or +1 shuriken +12/+12/+7 (1d2+5)
Special Attacks drain prana, malevolence (DC 18), paralysis (1d4+1 rds, DC 20), possess corpse, sneak attack +4d6
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Str 18, Dex 22, Con --, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 22
Base Attack +6; CMB +10; CMD 26
Feats Alertness(b), Blind-fight(b), (b),Deceitful(b), Improved Initiative (b), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quickdraw, Skill Focus: Disguise(b), Throw Anything, Weapon Focus: Shuriken
Skills Acrobatics +24, Bluff +19, Craft: Clothing +10, Diplomacy +10, Disable Device +6, Disguise +30, Escape Artist +9 Heal +12, Intimidate +10, Knowledge: Local +6, Knowledge: Nobility +6, Linguistics +6, Perception +23, Profession (Tailor) +10, Sleight of Hand +16, Stealth +24, Use Magic Device +17
Languages Common, Draconic, Elven, Varisian
SQ ki pool (9 points; extra attack on full attack, +20 speed, or+4 stealth for 1 rd, swift), ninja trick (deadly range (3), flurry of stars), no trace +2 (+2 disguise and stealth), poison use
Combat Gearwand of greater invisibility (4 charges),wand of shield(10 charges)wand of inflict critical wounds (2 charges) Other Gear belt of incredible dexterity +2, cloak of resistance +2,+1 glammered mithral chain shirt, headband of vast intelligence +2, +1 shuriken (50) fine clothing worth 200 gp,60 gp
Drain Prana (su): Must establish or maintain a pin, deals 1d4 charisma damage, affects victim as if by modify memory as if vetala had concentrated for five minutes, and vetala gains perfect knowledge of any memory it eliminates.
Malevolence (Su): Full round action, works on helpless creatures only, functions as magic jar, lasts a number of rounds equal to charisma modifier (+6). Vetala's body is helpless during this time.
Possess Corpse (Su:) Full round, functions as malevolence, except animates corpse as a skeleton or a zombie.
This one's an alternative for the numerous sword and board fighters that guard the lower areas. Mainly, its the same idea with different stats, weapons, and feats.
Vampire Archer
Male and Female human vampire fighter 8
LE Medium Undead (augmented humanoid)
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception+23
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AC 29, touch 17, flat 22 (+6 armor, +6 dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural)
hp 84 (8d8+48); fast healing 5
Fort +13, Ref +13, Will +6 ; +2 vs. fear
Defensive Abilitiesbravery +2, channel resistance +4; DR 10/ magic and silver; Immune undead traits; Resist cold 10, electricity 10
Weaknesses vampire weaknesses
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee Slam +13 (1d4+5 plus energy drain)
Ranged +1 mighty composite longbow +17/+12 (1d8+9 19/20 x3)
or +1 mighty composite longbow +14/+9 (1d815 19/20 x3)
Special Attacks blood drain, children of the night, create spawn,
dominate (DC 18), energy drain (2 levels, DC 18), weapon training (bows +1)
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Str 20, Dex 24, Con --, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 20
Base Attack +8; CMB +13; CMD 31
Feats Alertness(b), Combat Reflexes(b), Deadly Aim, Dodge(b), Improved Critical: ongbow, Improved Initiative (b), Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes (b), Mobility, Point Blank Master, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Toughness(b), Vital Strike, Weapon Focus: Longbow, Weapon Specialization: Longbow
Skills Acrobatics +15, Bluff +14, Climb +9, Knowledge: Architecture and Engineering +5, Perception +23, Sense Moive +11, Stealth +15, Survival +10,
Languages Common, Varisian
SQ armor training 2, change shape (dire bat or wolf, beast shape II),gaseous form, shadowless, spider climb
Combat Gear potion of blur, potion of haste, potion of inflict serious wounds Other Gear belt of incredible dexterity 4, cloak of resistance +2,+1 mighty composite longbow (+5), +2 mithral chain shirt, +2,, 50 arrows, 20 silver arrows, 100 gp
Finally, for the number of charmed guards, I figured I'd use another adventuring party. I'm going to use the NPC Codex and use the following stats to accompany the fighter that's presented as the charmed guard: Island Defender (Elf Druid 7), Trickster Mage (Gnome Sorcerer 8), and Orc Slayer (Elf Ranger 8). Since there's 6 in the module, I'm going to double the fighter. The 6th will be an elven Magus. The idea is that they are waiting in the high end guest quarters on the second floor while their magic items are worked on. They've all been dominated and are being used as bloodbanks and hired muscle.
Elven Spellblade
Female elven magusi 8
LN Medium Humanoid (elf)
Init +4; Senses low-light vision.; Perception +7
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AC 24, touch 13, flat 21 (+7 armor, +3 dex, +4 shieldl)
hp 52 (8d8+16)
Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +8
Immune sleep
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Speed 20 ft.
Melee [i+1 ]ongsword[/i] +12/+7 (1d8+5 19/20 x2)
Ranged mwk light crossbow +11 1d8 19/20)
Magus spells known (CL 8)
3rd- dispel magic, haste, vampiric touch
2nd- cat's grace, frigid touch, glitterdust (DC 16), mirror image, scorching ray
1st- corrosive touch, shield, true strike, unseen servant,vanish
0- acid splash, arcane mark, detect magic, light, read magc
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Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 12
Base Attack +6; CMB +6; CMD 20
Feats Combat Expertise, Skill Focus: Use Magic Device, Slashing Grace. Weapon Finesse. Weapon Focus: Longsword,
Skills Knowledge: Arcana +13, Knowledge: Dungeoneering +12, Knowledge: Planes +13, Perception +7, Ride +9, Spellcraft +15, Use Magic Device +15
Languages Celestial,Common, Draconic,Dwarven,Elven,Varisian
SQarcane pool (8 points), improved spell combat, knowledge pool magus arcana (arcane accuracy, wand wielder), spell combat, spell recall, spellstrike
Combat Gearwand of cure moderate wounds (10 charges), wand of see invisibility (6 charges) wand of lightning bolt (5 charges), wand of obscuring mist (40 charges) Other Gear +1 breastplate, cloak of resistance +1, +1 longsword, mwk crossbow, 20 bolts, 50 gp
Hope these stat blocks help to diversify oher people's experience with this part of the module!
Thanks for these--my main beef with using stock vamps is that the baseline build in the Bestiary is a spell caster, and that can be cumbersome to run too often. The archers, in particular, will be getting some screen time at my table!
Thanks! I gather Vetala are not vulnerable to sunlight. I didn't know about them.
The only potential problem I see is that these stat blocks seem to have a LOT more magic equipment than the ones in the module. I'm not sure I want to hand my PCs so much -- especially something like a belt of incredible dexterity +4 which is worth 16,000 gp alone.
Well, if you look at the treasure output that the sample vampire in the Bestiary has, their gear is actually right on par gp-wise. I believe the vampire there has a Headband of Charisma +4 (16,000), a Cloak of Resistance +2(4,000), and a ring of protection +2 (9,000). The vampires above actually have less than 29,000 a piece, which is what your PCs would be getting three times with the Bestiary vampires.
Right you are! I missed the headband +4 on the standard vampires. That sure seems like some major treasure that could add up quick with several of these. Of course, if they all float away to their coffins upon hitting zero HP, then the PCs don't get most of it (unless they encounter the coffins later).
My group is SWIMMING in ring of prot/cloaks of resist/amulets of nat armor +2 right now. A change from that monotony is welcome at my table.
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I like the vampire varieties you've created, and will try to add a few more. Here's my first contribution, a tweak to the false Luvick Siervage, making him a dirge bard who can use morale-effecting spells on other undead.
Male human vampire dirge bard 8
LE Medium undead (augmented humanoid)
Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +24
DEFENSE
AC 24, touch 16, flat-footed 18 (+2 armor, +5 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural)
hp 109 (8d8+56+14 temporary); fast healing 5
Fort +10, Ref +16, Will +10; +4 bonus on saves against fear, energy drain, death effects, and necromantic effects
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, DR 10/magic and silver; Immune undead traits, Resist cold 10, electricity 10
Weaknesses vampire weaknesses
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk silver longsword +14/+9 (1d8+5/19–20) plus slam +8 (1d4+2 plus energy drain) or slam +13/(1d4+7 plus energy drain)
Ranged mwk dagger +14 (1d4+5/19–20)
Special Attacks bardic performance 23 rounds/day (move action, countersong, dirge of doom, distraction, fascinate, inspire competence +3, inspire courage +2, suggestion), blood drain, children of the night, create spawn, dominate (DC 19), energy drain (2 levels, DC 19)
Bard Spells Known (CL 8th; concentration +13)
3rd (3/day)—good hope, haste, see invisibility
2nd (5/day)—false life, glitterdust (DC 17), heroism, hold person (DC 17), mirror image
1st (6/day)—charm person (DC 16), expeditious retreat, grease (DC 16), hideous laughter (DC 16), litany of weakness, ventriloquism (DC 16)
0 (at will)—detect magic, ghost sound (DC 15), mage hand, message, prestidigitation, read magic
TACTICS
He has False Life, Heroism and See Invisibility cast on himself before any confrontation with PCs; Heroism bonuses are included in these stats. Desmond Kote casts Nondetection on him regularly. He begins a dirge of doom performance (all enemies not immune to fear within 30’ are shaken) as a move action at the beginning of combat, orders pre-summoned bat swarms to attack, then protects himself with Mirror Image, which he refreshes as necessary. He then uses Haste on himself and his allies and Good Hope on his allies, then tries to dominate, cast offensive spells or melee as appropriate, casting expeditious retreat if given an opportune moment. He uses Arcane Strike (+3 to weapon damage) or Litany of Weakness as his swift action every round.
Morale He fights until destroyed to protect his master.
STATISTICS
Str 20, Dex 20, Con —, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 20
Base Atk +6; CMB +13; CMD 27
Feats Alertness, Arcane Strike, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Deceitful, Dodge, Eschew Materials, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Skill Focus (Disguise), Toughness
Skills Bluff +28, Diplomacy +18, Disguise +23 (+33 with hat of disguise), Fly +8 (+9 as dire bat), Intimidate +18 (using Perform), Knowledge (history) +16, Knowledge (local) +16, Knowledge (nobility) +16, Perception +24, Perform (keyboards) +18, Sense Motive +24, Stealth +26
Languages Common, Elven, +1 additional
SQ bardic knowledge +4, change shape (dire bat or wolf, beast shape II), gaseous form, secrets of the grave, shadowless, spider climb,
Combat Gear potion of inflict light wounds; Other Gear masterwork dagger, masterwork silver longsword, bracers of armor +2, cloak of resistance +1, hat of disguise, jewelry worth 100 gp, noble’s outfit, signet ring worth 50 gp
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Blood Drain (Su)
A vampire can suck blood from a grappled opponent; if the vampire establishes or maintains a pin, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution damage. The vampire heals 5 hit points or gains 5 temporary hit points for 1 hour (up to a maximum number of temporary hit points equal to its full normal hit points) each round it drains blood.
Change Shape (Su)
A vampire can use change shape to assume the form of a dire bat or wolf, as beast shape II.
Children of the Night (Su)
Once per day, a vampire can call forth 1d6+1 rat swarms, 1d4+1 bat swarms, or 2d6 wolves as a standard action. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might summon other creatures of similar power.) These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve the vampire for up to 1 hour.
Create Spawn (Su)
A vampire can create spawn out of those it slays with blood drain or energy drain, provided that the slain creature is of the same creature type as the vampire's base creature type. The victim rises from death as a vampire in 1d4 days. This vampire is under the command of the vampire that created it, and remains enslaved until its master's destruction. A vampire may have enslaved spawn totaling no more than twice its own Hit Dice; any spawn it creates that would exceed this limit become free-willed undead. A vampire may free an enslaved spawn in order to enslave a new spawn, but once freed, a vampire or vampire spawn cannot be enslaved again.
Dominate (Su)
A vampire can crush a humanoid opponent's will as a standard action. Anyone the vampire targets must succeed on a Will save or fall instantly under the vampire's influence, as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 12th). The ability has a range of 30 feet. At the GM's discretion, some vampires might be able to affect different creature types with this power.
Energy Drain (Su)
A creature hit by a vampire's slam (or other natural weapon) gains two negative levels. This ability only triggers once per round, regardless of the number of attacks a vampire makes.
Gaseous Form (Su)
As a standard action, a vampire can assume gaseous form at will (caster level 5th), but it can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability.
Shadowless (Ex)
A vampire casts no shadows and shows no reflection in a mirror.
Spider Climb (Ex)
A vampire can climb sheer surfaces as though under the effects of a spider climb spell.
Alternately, he could be found in another group of vampires, lulling victims with the harpsicord or luring them with a innocuous guise. He's not a good solo encounter.
A good stat block, one I may end up using. I already used Florian's stats in a different vampire battle, and found that he definitely needed to be able to affect his undead allies to be effective.
I just noticed that there is a significant disparity in the treasure output of the module's vampires versus the bestiary ones (29K). I thought that your vampire might be a little under-treasured, but compared to the ones in the module, he's spot on.
The bestiary vampire has significantly more treasure than normal for an 8th level heroic NPC (7,800 gp) or for a CR 9 monster (4,250 gp), and falls only 4,000 shy of the 33,000 baseline for a 8th level PC.
The bestiary vampires are overtreasured for normal guidelines, making them a curiosity.