Designing a Vampiric Campaign

[Cogniczar 567]

I want to design a campaign where the main adversaries draw heavily from the Vampire mythos of popular culture. Particularly, I want to develop a heavy mythos for a group of acolytes to unravel that stretches back to the far antiquity before the Age of the Imperium. 

 

In this campaign, I'd like to borrow heavily from Vampire: The Masquerade, Soul Reaver (Legacy of Kain), Blood Rayne, Supernatural and some Cthulhu for a healthy mix of horror, heavy on the narrative juice, and deeply ingrossing.

 

Themes for my campaign I'd like to cover:

 

- The First Immortal: Possibly Cain from V:TM retooled for 40k goodness.

- The nature of the Beast and Immortality, and the drawing interest of Thorian-minded Inquisitors

- The lurking terror - the insidious nature of the vampire plague and the secret underworld pervading Imperial society.

- The path of damnation - the Infernalist vampires who court with daemons.

 

What I would like some input from other gamemasters:

 

- A good basis for a vampires profile - something incredibly difficult to combat, but with flaws to exploit.

- Some sort of 40k-ified mythos that draws from the sources I listed. (What plugs could i use with the canon setting?)

- Inspiration/suggestions on how to handle such a nemesis by human warriors of the Imperium 

 

[DeathByGrotz 544]

Have you checked out WHFRP2e's "Night's Dark Masters" supplement?

 

It has plenty of juicy stuff, and stats for vampires as well, that can translate fairly easily to 40k.

 

That said, given Necrons replace the undead in 40k, vampires would likely fall under their fold. Perhaps they're some sort of replicant that needs to replenish its supply of organic fluids regularily to pass for human, because its artificial body won't create new, living bloodcells? All the vampiric abilities like teleportation, control of animals/people etc. can be achieved with necron tech and nanites as well.

[Adeptus-B 926]

I cooked up some 'vampire' stats for DH1 a while ago that might be helpful to you. Check out the NEW XENOS link in my signature below. Post #7.

Edited February 1, 2015 by Adeptus-B

[Cogniczar 567]

Awesome idea DBG. I can already envision "The Techno-Vampyrs of Dread Mandragora" for my campaign as a very deadly and potential false lead into Necrontyr technology. 

 

Adeptus-B, totally digging the Nostrafex. Another great concept to update. The Nostrafex fits in well with the grouping of vampiric entities I want to use for my campaign to a t. 

[Robin Graves 6,054]

I would go with a C'tan curse. The way the Nightbringer has imprinted the immage of himself as death into almost every sentient species. And teh newcron flaied ones flesh hunger curse.

 

But now with the C'tan shard Vrykolakas spreading the curse of vampirism across the lesser races of the known universe.

 

Also don't forget there are many blood cults in the imperium.

 

The Red Ships: Space cruisers of a vampiric rogue trader scourge the worlds of the imperium in search of blood!

 

Space marines have the ability to gain knowledge of their cvictim by ingetsing small amounts of blood or meat from those they kill. Hence why a lot of chpaters have names like Fleash tearers or souldrinkers. Maybe something went wrong with teh chapter's geneseed (Cursed founding) and the few surviving marines now live in remote places as bloodthristy monsters.

 

Now for the xenos: A mutated strain of Kroot has become increasingly focused on sucking the blood from their prey. In adition to batlike wings they seem to be developing other powers aswell...

 

Dark eldar. Some archon's got hold of the last remaining (pre age of strife) copy of "dracula" and orders his homnuculi to graft batwings and bloodsucking fangs on his warriors. Okay maybe a bit cliché... But the idea of people in a hive city disapearing at night, only to be found drained of blood the next day has some nice kabalite raid vibe to them.

 

Kount Orkula! Now wait, that's just silly. "Oi da squigs o da noit! Wot zweet moozik de iz makin'!"

 

And finaly: Chaos did it.

[Lynata 2,228]

Vampires in 40k sounds like something that ought to have to do with the Blood Angels. The creators of the setting have woven so many references into this Chapter's background that it seems like an obvious first stop, whilst at the same time providing a justification for why the powers-that-be would do anything to keep it under wraps. Perhaps rogue members looking for a cure to their curse (not noticing how their quest has corrupted them), or a human Death Cult that aims to imitate them? If there was a way to use blood for some sort of rejuvenation, the Resurrectionist faction within the Inquisition might be interested in this, too.

 

Perhaps they're some sort of replicant that needs to replenish its supply of organic fluids regularily to pass for human, because its artificial body won't create new, living bloodcells? All the vampiric abilities like teleportation, control of animals/people etc. can be achieved with necron tech and nanites as well.

 

Hah, that reminds me of the Bubblegum Crisis episode "Moonlight Rambler" me and some colleagues watched last weekend.   Perhaps useful for inspiration: the idea there was that the self-maintaining 33-S was intended to run with an artificial blood stream, which worked nicely until it got damaged ... and had to start stealing human blood in order to stay alive. And since human blood is much less efficient, the murder count rose as the episode progressed.

 

So how about if it's not Necrons but rather an ancient AI-driven cyborg of human origin that has somehow re-activated (awakened by a Mechanicus archaeological dig or hive world scavengers stumbling over the ruins of a subterranean lab)? This way, you'd still get the dreadful appearance of a mechanical menace, but would circumvent the whole "baggage" that comes when you also have to account for the rest of the Necrons, instead really just having to deal with this one creature ... assuming it really was the only one.

 

And now for some oldschool b-movie horror!

 

 

[Cogniczar 567]

Really good thoughts on the matter Lynata. I enjoyed the clips very much.

 

As far as the Blood Angels go, I know it's their schtict to ram every cool vampire thing into that chapter, but I'm not really interested in exploring that bit of their legacy. Although If I did I could just dig up the Cephalon Auxia missions from Inquisitor.

[Robin Graves 6,054]

Speaking of space vampires... Lynata (or anyone else) Have you seen Lifeforce?

 

I decided to stay away from the Blood Angels as it's a bit obvious, and leave those poor blood angels alone!

 

But i must admit i like the idea of a dark age of technology/admech mechanical horror sucking blood for it's coolant systhems or whatever is pretty cool.

[Robin Graves 6,054]

Is it just me or is the 40k universe so effed up that finding out the one sucking blood from imperial citizens is a vampire, is a GOOD thing? I mean compared to the other options

 

Inquisitor: It's ok sir, It is a vampire responsible for the abductions and drained corpses we found.

Governor: Are you sure it's not the dark eldar?

Inquistor: Nope, same Modus operandi, but less cruel, and less casualties so far.

Gov.: I just tought of something! What if it's some type of tyranid vanguard organism i hear the PDF guys talk about?

Inq: No, don't worry this is something complety different, no chance of a hordes ofmonsters decending on your hive.

Gov: Oh good.

Inq: And it isn't daemonic forces either

Gov; What are daemonic forces?

Inq: You don't need to know that * shoots governor*

[Robin Graves 6,054]

Vampire cultists of Khorne!

 

Blood for the blood god...and me!

[Cogniczar 567]

Adeptus-B certainly did - he mentions it in his Nostrafex write up. =D

[Cogniczar 567]

Is it just me or is the 40k universe so effed up that finding out the one sucking blood from imperial citizens is a vampire, is a GOOD thing? I mean compared to the other options

 

[Robin Graves 6,054]

And don't forget you have SKULLS FLOATING AROUND THE PLACE! Jeez why do we think the imperium are teh good guys again?

 

[Lynata 2,228]

Huh? Who does that?

 

But that skull reminds me of another movie now ...

 

 

Have you seen Lifeforce?

 

I'm not entirely sure ... if so, it must've been ages ago.

 

There's a whole bunch of old movies that might nowadays be called cheesy, but which still have a certain charm to them. Re-watching old 80s stuff pays off.

[Robin Graves 6,054]

Huh? Who does that?

 

But that skull reminds me of another movie now ...

 

 

 

 

Wait -that picture...  Super Patriot is that you?

 

 

 

 

I'm not entirely sure ... if so, it must've been ages ago.

 

I don't think you would forget hot naked space vampire lady, or a London overrun witth zombies, years before "28 days later" did it and... oh yeah! Patrick Steward kissing a guy! (It made sense in context but it was a bit odd to see. )

Edited February 2, 2015 by Robin Graves

[Gridash 353]

Don't forget about the Curse of Unbelief, maybe you can draw some inspiration from that:

 

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Zombie_Plague

 

Those are "undead" as well.

Edited February 2, 2015 by Gridash

[cyclocius 77]

 How has nobody said Halo Artifacts?! They're space vampires in the vein of Strigoi vampires ala Warhammer. People put on the artifact (usually as a jewellery because shiny), the device eventually bonds with their flesh and cannot be removed. The wearer is all-but immortal and has a desire to consume flesh and all sorts of good stuff, their dreams are dominated by badwrongstuff, probably cosmic horror! Eventually their dreams consume them and the wearer is nothing but a vessel for the ancient race that made the Halo Devices.

 

- The First Immortal: Possibly Cain from V:TM retooled for 40k goodness.

- The nature of the Beast and Immortality, and the drawing interest of Thorian-minded Inquisitors

- The lurking terror - the insidious nature of the vampire plague and the secret underworld pervading Imperial society.

- The path of damnation - the Infernalist vampires who court with daemons.

 So here you've got: A possible first immortal, the first fool (likely a Rogue Trader) who found the Halo Devices and began importing them. You can rework the dreams the device causes to touch upon a V:tM vein of the Beast. Turns out that these fancy necklaces from beyond the Imperium are all the rage, anyone who's anyone is wearing one!

[Gridash 353]

"A curious trait that all the devices share is that they will not bond with anyone who worships Chaos, is possessed, or a psyker. A Halo Device seems to want nothing to influence the user but itself."

 

Makes you wonder what would happen if the user started to worship Chaos after being attached to the artifact, but before losing full control.

 

Pray to the Dark Gods, your false Emperor won't save you from this. 

 

The only remedy from damning your soul this way, is damning your soul in another way.

 

Or maybe just cut off the limb and go AdMech fashion sense. Will be hard if it's a necklace though.

Edited February 2, 2015 by Gridash

[ThenDoctor 862]

Khorne is generally presented as despising vampires. I mean they're taking HIS blood, how dare they.

[Lynata 2,228]

Yeah, if you want to include Chaos, I'd say ... Slaanesh. Suits the archetypical vampire cliché about "savouring" the taste/experience, and dressing in fancy clothes, generally cultivating a noble image etc. Besides, there's tons of references about Slaanesh cultists drinking blood already. In fact, BC's Tome of Excess has a neat little story about an Imperial noble who develops a taste ...

 

Of course, Nurgle might be another option. The aforementioned Plague Zombies were a result of Typhus and the Death Guard[2], and if we are willing to dismiss fancy appearances, we do have to acknowledge that the Plague Lord's servants do have a propensity for unusually long, if not eternal lifespans, their normal biological clock halted by the manifold viruses warring within their plague-ridden body, sustaining them in a state of unholy undeath.

 

Such a "vampire" might wish to feed on fresh blood to sustain his or her decaying body, as well as spreading their "gift" and turning ever more people into a secret army of Plague Zombies shuffling through the dark tunnels, killing any who venture too deep and biding their time until all is ready for their master's endgame.

 

[ThenDoctor 862]

If you want to base them off of WHFRP vampires then all chaos gods dislike vampires.

 

Khorne - they take his blood

 

Nurgle - they don't die

 

Tzeetch - they don't change

 

Slannesh - they become unable to experience new things over time

[Robin Graves 6,054]

So i did some digging around in my copy of Rogue Trader (40k 1st edition) and it has the stats for a Vampire!

Here they are, for you to convert to your liking.

 

VAMPIRES

 

Vampires are polymorphic entities able to change their metabolism to represent the creatures amongst who they live.

 

M 4

WS 6

BS 6

S 5

T 5

W 3

I 6

A 3

Ld 10

Int 10

Cl 10

WP 10

 

Drain willpower:

Vampires must drain WP (or psi points from psykers) or fall catatonic. In order to drain WP from a victim the vampire must have close physical contact with the victim for over at least a minute. It must then roll greater than the victim's WP to drain 1D6 WP.

 

If a victim is completly drained of WP it dies and can be resurected as a zombie under the vampire's control.

To regain WP one must have 1D10 days of complete rest after wich 1point of WP is recovered for each subsequent day's rest.

 

Psy powers:

Vampires have psychic powers on thesame levels as humans. (Determine mastery psy levels and powers as for humans and other psychic races)

 

 

Shange shape:

Vampires are able to assume the shape of any familiar human sized creature.

The transformation takes D6 turns to complete. Once transformed the vampire gains the physical abilities of the creature (like bei,ng able to fly or swim), but not any of it's psychic powers. The vampire's stats remain unchanged.

Edited February 2, 2015 by Robin Graves

[Lynata 2,228]

If you want to base them off of WHFRP vampires then all chaos gods dislike vampires.

 

If that was aimed at me, I am only looking at the 40k versions of the various Chaos Gods.

 

That being said ... what beef does Fantasy-Nurgle have with creatures not dying? I thought this was normal for all of Nurgle's creations in Fantasy, too? Something that is dead cannot host any plagues! 

 

Come to think of it, a case could be made for all the other gods, too:

 

• Khorne: as long as they spill enough blood, what does it matter that they take some for themselves? (Vlad the Impaler) In fact, is "drinking blood" not fairly common in Khornate cults?
• Tzeentch: humans don't change, either - but vampires could make excellent schemers (or are WFRP vampires 100% immune to mutation and this is the issue?)
• Slaanesh: this is probably the toughest one. If WFRP vampires are truly devoid of sensual experience (insofar that they cannot actually "enjoy" the blood they drink, or don't care about their fashion), then the only solution would be a different type of vampire ...

Edited February 2, 2015 by Lynata

[Gurkhal 110]

For Xenos inspiration I'd like to mention the Necroscope series which should fit fairly well with 40k style with its type of Xenos.

[Robin Graves 6,054]

 

If you want to base them off of WHFRP vampires then all chaos gods dislike vampires.

 

If that was aimed at me, I am only looking at the 40k versions of the various Chaos Gods.

 

That being said ... what beef does Fantasy-Nurgle have with creatures not dying? I thought this was normal for all of Nurgle's creations in Fantasy, too? Something that is dead cannot host any plagues! 

 

Come to think of it, a case could be made for all the other gods, too:

 

• Khorne: as long as they spill enough blood, what does it matter that they take some for themselves? (Vlad the Impaler) In fact, is "drinking blood" not fairly common in Khornate cults?
• Tzeentch: humans don't change, either - but vampires could make excellent schemers (or are WFRP vampires 100% immune to mutation and this is the issue?)
• Slaanesh: this is probably the toughest one. If WFRP vampires are truly devoid of sensual experience (insofar that they cannot actually "enjoy" the blood they drink, or don't care about their fashion), then the only solution would be a different type of vampire ...

 

 

Don't worry about it Lynata. In the End times: Nagash book we have Blood dragon vampires who have joined chaos!

One even went and wrecked Karl Franz and  Deathclaw...