Antimagic field used on a vampire in mist form

[Grom Kranock]

What do you think the effects of an Anti-Magic field cast to cover a vampire that had been forced into gaseous form due to HP loss would be?

[Halek]

Here is what you want to look at. You know gaseous form is a supernatural ability.

Rules:

An invisible barrier surrounds you and moves with you. The space within this barrier is impervious to most magical effects, including spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. Likewise, it prevents the functioning of any magic items or spells within its confines.

An antimagic field suppresses any spell or magical effect used within, brought into, or cast into the area, but does not dispel it. Time spent within an antimagic field counts against the suppressed spell's duration.

So it it suppressed by the antimagic field.

[Kayerloth]

Heh, interesting.

Not sure it's as all that straight forward. For one he is already gaseous but he's also not at rest yet. So if it is suppressed then have you got a vampire with 0 hp who is incapacitated? But despite being 'incapacitated' he can clearly move at least in the direction of his coffin (normally doing so while gaseous) and his Fast Healing is shut off until he reaches his coffin and can 'rest'. And then what happens when he moves and leaves the AMF on his turn. Does he now become gaseous until the caster/AMF get within 10ft again. Might be RAW but boy that sure has the potential to get a bit ... silly. Hello flickering vampire.

Well this is the Advice not Rules section and my thoughts have me leaning towards forced into gaseous means he stays gaseous, AMF not withstanding. But I am open to being swayed one way or another. Even the wording of AMF leaves the door open.

AMF text wrote:

Elementals, undead, and outsiders are likewise unaffected unless summoned. These creatures' spell-like or supernatural abilities may be temporarily nullified by the field.

Bolding mine.

[quibblemuch]

Why can he clearly move in the direction of his coffin?

[Kayerloth]

Bestiary text wrote:

If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, a vampire assumes gaseous form (see below) and attempts to escape.

Note the utter lack of the use of the word forced ... up the that point. A couple sentences later same paragraph.

Quote:

Additional damage dealt to a vampire forced into gaseous form has no effect. Once at rest, the vampire is helpless. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless and resumes healing at the rate of 5 hit points per round.

Bolding mine.

But he is moving i.e. attempts to escape, so he's in some weird helpless/incapacitated state but apparently able to move. But that movement may share more in common with what a soul or spirit does after death traveling into the afterlife than what might be considered normal movement perhaps.

Of course this also leaves me with the Gaseous Form interacting differently based on whether the assumption of the form is voluntary or forced. Which isn't entirely satisfactory either.

[quibblemuch]

Still confused.

Why does bolding the word "forced" and noting that it is used one place but not another clarify anything?

Here is the scenario as I see it:

1. Vampire reduced to 0 hit points. Typically, undead are destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points, but vampires are an exception and so:
2. Vampire assumes gaseous form.
3. Vampire begins moving towards its coffin.
4. Vampire enters anti-magic field. This suppresses the gaseous form effect on the vampire.
5. Vampire is now solid and incapacitated. Basically, it's a body just laying there unable to get to its coffin and unable to regenerate via fast healing. This status quo continues until the antimagic field is moved or the spell ends or the vampire exceeds the 2 hours they have to get to their coffin.

(5) is not that different from the situation the vampire is in when it gets to its coffin and is helpless for an hour before regaining 1 hit point. Except, of course, it's not in its coffin and therefore when the timer expires, so does the vampire.

EDIT: Are you thinking that the "vampire assumes gaseous form" and "vampire attempts to escape" are two entirely separate things? Because I don't think so--I think the "and" conjunction there means that while it is in its gaseous form due to 0 HP it attempts to escape (only attempts to escape, precluding other actions). If some magic forced it out of its gaseous form, it would be at 0 HP. Ordinarily this would mean it was destroyed, but the specific vampire rules over-ride the general undead type rules and so it is just solid and helpless.

[Kayerloth]

Hmmm I get where you are going and yes I think you right about my thinking they are two separate things.

And it wouldn't matter if the vampire was reduced to 0 hp before or after interacting with the AMF. He hits 0 and game over if the AMF is there.

[Claxon]

I think Quibblemuch's suggestion is the way to run it.

Vampire hits antimagic field and is basically screwed. The gaseous form drops and you have an unconscious vampire laying there. If the field doesn't end before the time window is up the vampire dies.

It is an interesting case though...because in theory the vampire could also be healed while in this state by someone else.

But yeah.... I don't think instant destruction but helpless and unconscious is bad enough.

[quibblemuch]

Claxon wrote:

It is an interesting case though...because in theory the vampire could also be healed while in this state by someone else.

Hmmm... it would have to be some form of negative-energy healing that worked in an anti-magic field... now that is a corner-case situation!

[Claxon]

quibblemuch wrote:

Claxon wrote:

It is an interesting case though...because in theory the vampire could also be healed while in this state by someone else.

Hmmm... it would have to be some form of negative-energy healing that worked in an anti-magic field... now that is a corner-case situation!

You know, I was imagining them pulling the body out...but then it'd just turn gaseous again wouldn't it.

Of course as far as I know it can still be healed by channeled negative energy at that point....so yeah.

[The Steel Refrain]

I also agree with quibblemuch's suggested way of handling it.