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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: SunlessNick on May 11, 2011, 05:05:39 AM

Title: Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: SunlessNick on May 11, 2011, 05:05:39 AM: [Although "Court" is a bit of a misnomer for all three; none of them are very organised bodies, and the term's applied because it's applied to the more familiar types]

Grey Court:
(Yeah, I know, everyone uses Grey; but there aren't that many colours that seem vampiric).

Like the White Court, the Grey Court is made up of families which propgate by interbreeding with humans. They are similar in another respect too, in that they are living beings who access their supernatural power by feeding - and attunement with spirits of hunger - although in the Grey Court's case, this feeding is on blood. Grey Court vampires resemble normal humans by day, during which time they are also deprived of most of their power - only at night do they take on their full strength and hunger, together with a much less human appearance - their nocturnal forms have bluish skin and features halfway between a rat and a rotted corpse. Within a Grey Court family, all the vampires are of one gender - when they have children with humans, the children of that gender will be vampires, the others human. How Grey Court families treat their humans varies widely - anything from slaves, to favoured pets, to respected retainers, to near equal lovers can be found. Most Grey Court vampires are also magical practitioners (almost always Ritual; the spirits within them tend to go haywire under the raw power of Channelling). Grey Court families usually ignore one another unless one poses a problem for the other. They extend the same attitude to other vampires, which is why they don't have any prominence in the dealings of the Courts. Some have been found on each side of the vampire war.

(Essentially, a way to get the "human by day, monster by night" and "bloodsucking witch" types into a Dresden-style Court).

Human Form (they assume their supernatural form at night, and are human by day) and Feeding Dependency. These affect the following: Fangs, Inhuman Stength, one of Inhuman Recovery or Toughness (the Catch is symbols and trinkets holy to the human side of their heritage), and Blood Drinker.

They have the Sight in both forms. If they have Rituals, they have this in both forms as well.

Minimum Refresh cost: -4, -6 if they have Rituals.

Green Court:

The Green Court are among the most territorial of all vampires, because it's literally territory they feed on - they leech the vitality out of their surroundings, affecting people, livestock, crops, and all. Rather than feeding physically, they drain an area through their auras, spreading their own diseased energy into the land itself. The presence of a brood of Green Court vampires is marked by an increased in stillbirths and wasing illness. Green Court vampires resemble emaciated and plague-stricken corpses, and are preternaturally stealthy (no physical slouches either). They haunt an area in broods of a half dozen or so, together or in various underground boltholes. They reproduce by "injecting" their energy into the bodies of those killed by their feeding - they are purely inhuman, with no memory or spirit of the victim remaining - and as might be expected, they're irredeemably nasty. Most can't meaningfully communicate with those outside the Court, though a few learn the languages of the people around them - they have no dealings with other vampires, and indeed tend to be hunted out when discovered by the rest of the Courts as they mess up the whole area in ways troublesome for other predators.

(Based on vampire-as-disease of course, most especially a couple of African legends).

Feeding Dependency, which affects every other ability.

Living Dead, Cloak of Shadows, Psychometry (works on locations rather than portable objects), Gaseous Form, Inhuman Strength, Inhuman Recovery and Supernatural Toughness (the Catches are healing and healthful herbs like garlic, or being wounded with wooden weapons).

They also have "Area Drinker," which I made a -4. Each day, they roll Conviction to feed on the life forces of the area around them - this affects a radius in zones equal to ten times the numberical value of the numerical value of the result on the ladder - the affected area takes on an Aspect of "Depleted," which can be compelled and invoked to cause illness and decreptitude, and against the healing of physical consequences suffered by inhabitants (inhabitant being defined as someone who last slept in the affected area). The effect is cumulative if multiple vampires feed.

Refresh cost: -15.

The Pale Court:

Pale Court vampires are spectral entities (although some can manifest themselves physically) that feed on emotional and vital force, usually on sleeping victims. They do apparently begin as ghosts, since they remember a mortal life before their current existences - how they turn from normal ghost into Pale Court vampire is subject to some conjecture in magical circles - but the White Council usually puts it down to necromancers seeking a more capable and freer roaming servant than the average ghost (and which then gets away from them through those same attributes). What is known is that Pale Court vampires have gained or regained a level of coherent sapience, which is maintained as long as they continue to feed - should they go without, they begin to revert to the autonomic condition of the average ghost.

(The hungry ghost niche obviously).

Ghost Speaker, Spirit Form, Physical Immunity (the catch comprises the same sorts of things that harm ghosts, which I made +2, as research can turn them up fairly easily; they do not get the protection that an attacker needs to gain their acknowledgment in order to affect them). They also have Manipulate Dream and Dream Vampirism (see below). And they have Feeding Dependency, although rather than affecting their powers, it affects their sapience and free will.

Refresh Cost: -12.

Manipulate Dream -2: This power allows a creature to incite or alter a target's dreams. In general, this is a contest of Deceit vs the victim's Discipline - success allows the creature to lay an Aspect on the dreamscape, which can be tagged or invoked to ease further manipulations, or the use of other powers such as Dream Vampirism. Aspects on dreams can be environmental ("everything grows dark"), emotional ("everything is inexplicably frightening"), or an incorporated element or monster ("beware the jabberwock"). [Mortals can take a Lucid Dreaming stunt for Discipline, which allows them to use this power on their own dreams, which counters the manipulations of others]

Dream Vampirism -1: This is carried out using the same system as Emotion Feeding, using the vampire's Decit vs the victim's Discipline - as the name implies, it can only be used on a target who is currently dreaming - however, any Aspects laid on a dream by the Manipulate Dream power can be tagged or invoked to benefit feeding. Some Dream vampires draw on emotional energy, while some siphon life force more directly - the only mechanical difference is that the former inflicts psychological stress and the latter physical - decide which one this vampire does.

Some Pale Court vampires have Domination, Incite Emotion, and/or the Poltergeist enhancement to Spirit Form.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: Katarn on May 11, 2011, 12:56:08 PM: Very impressive, I wouldn't be surprised if Jim ever uses some of these ideas
(click to show/hide)
or the 3 minor courts he mentioned.
. It re-uses some ideas, but in clearly unique ways.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: knnn on May 11, 2011, 01:05:38 PM: How about the Purple Court?

These monster feed off of brainwaves, making everyone around them dumber. Often found around universities. Some of the most powerful of them appear on educational TV, making everyone who watches them dumber...

(http://josh.st/blog/wp-content/2006/08/countvoncount.jpg)
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: bobjob on May 11, 2011, 03:58:47 PM: Glad to see you've made it over here, Sunless. I seem to remember the Grey and Green Courts from a thread we both participated in on RPG.net

The Pale Court looks pretty interesting. I really dig the concept.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: SunlessNick on May 11, 2011, 04:28:16 PM: Hey Bobjob! I remember yours too.

Thanks for the kind words (Katarn's too).
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: Sanctaphrax on May 11, 2011, 09:25:17 PM: I like them.

You ought to take the custom powers here to the appropriate thread on the Resources board.

I don't understand how Feeding Dependency works when it isn't linked to any powers.

It seems to me that you've ignored the catch when calculating minimum refresh cost.

Do you mind if I make some examples of each court?
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: SunlessNick on May 11, 2011, 11:01:25 PM: In order...

Danke.

I will.

Are you referring to the Pale Court there? Their powers provoke hunger stress as normal - so if they mess with minds or dreams, marshall other ghosts, are attacked a lot, or use anything else they might have, they can get hungry - but when the stress builds up, it affects their sapience rather than those powers. I haven't found a great way to represent that in system, but currently I add it to the difficulty of any roll that requires an ability to think clearly or learn/grow (essentially which requires mental capacity beyond what a regular ghost has). They can offset the penalty by taking consequences, which will be obsessions and rigid patterns - ie, they let ghostly rigidity take over one part of their thinking which gives them some breathing space on the rest. If they get taken out by their hunger, their minds fade and they become regular ghosts.

Grey: +2 for Human and Feeding, -1 for Fangs, -2 for Strength, -1 for Recovery or Toughness after the catch, -2 for Sight and Blood Drinker = -4, that's ok. Green: -1 for Living Dead, -1 for Cloak of Shadows, -1 for PSychometry, -3 for Gaseous Form, -8 for the Strength and Toughness (catch is easy to come by but probably needs research for +3), and -4 for Area Drinker = 15, yep added it up wrong, thanks. Pale: -1 for Ghost Speaker, -3 for Spirit Form, -6 for Physical Immunity and catch, -3 for Manipulate Dream and Dream Vampirism, and +1 for Feeding Dependency = -12, that one's right.

I don't mind in the least. As you've probably figured, I planned on the Grey Court being playable.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: Sanctaphrax on May 11, 2011, 11:13:10 PM: Ah, I see. I counted Human Form as worth +2 on the Grey Court, since it seems to be involuntary and it only works at night.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: Rechan on May 11, 2011, 11:20:28 PM: Indigo isn't taken and doesn't sound bad. You can be a little creative with the court names. For instance, the "Ivory" court, the "Ash" court (Ash functions as a color), and so forth.

The only reason you would call the Pale Court a vampire is the fact they're feeding off of their victims (but really, under those circumstances you could call a Fetch a vampire). There are a few monsters in legend that eat you as you sleep. Building them off of a ghost (a roaming ghost at that) isn't a bad idea though - especially if they stop feeding they revert back to their ghostly nature, that's a cool bonus. Although these could be created by other things - a regular ghost that gets hit by some sort of magical force (like a ghost situated on a ley line gets fat off the magical power and can roam). Or they could be someone who died during a nightmare.

I like the Green court concept. Black Court vampires have that effect (in Blood Rites Harry talks about them basically causing decay of the surroundings) but I imagine Greens make it even worse, even faster. It harkens back to the myths that vampires bring illness/death even with their presence, and that they're just wandering plague-baring corpses that live in graves. I think those are Germanic vamp myths in origin.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: Rechan on May 18, 2011, 05:24:13 AM: A player of mine who is just looking into the Dresden Files had this idea:

The Blue Court. Instead of Mermaids and Nereids being based on Faerie, they're actually aquatic vampires. But they do not drink blood. Instead, the Blue Court drink breath, and the mystical things associated with breath: memories, feelings, and other intangibles.

Part of the reason for this is because the world beneath the sea is one of sound and thought, not light and activity. The Blue Court also covet thoughts and memories - they hoard and trade secrets, and memories are a luxury as well - the memory of a vacation is like a fine wine.

I propose that they could also do water-based tricks, such as drowning people while on land, and naturally they'd have some level of Water evocation.

As for what kind of Catch they could have, that I'm not sure.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: Team8Mum on May 18, 2011, 07:00:04 AM: Quote from: Rechan on May 18, 2011, 05:24:13 AM
A player of mine who is just looking into the Dresden Files had this idea:

The Blue Court.
As for what kind of Catch they could have, that I'm not sure.
Drying out?

Seriously - They need a supply of water. Thus they could only function in 'damp' climates - near the sea or lakes, or places where it rained, or there was a supply of running water (Most cities would be fine due to Taps and Baths etc)
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: Rechan on May 18, 2011, 12:58:30 PM: Quote from: Team8Mum on May 18, 2011, 07:00:04 AM
Drying out?

Seriously - They need a supply of water. Thus they could only function in 'damp' climates - near the sea or lakes, or places where it rained, or there was a supply of running water (Most cities would be fine due to Taps and Baths etc)
That may be an environmental thing, but I mean, if you're near water there's not much you can do. Catches are typically, well, combative things.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: devonapple on May 18, 2011, 02:18:44 PM: Catch: targeted desiccation; salt. Salt is a general supernatural bane in some mystical scheme anyway.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: SunlessNick on May 18, 2011, 02:30:50 PM: If they're marine, though, salt might be good for them; fresh water might not be, though.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: ways and means on May 18, 2011, 02:32:56 PM: The Brown Court
The Brown Court are vampires who feed upon the will, they especially like the taste of the will to power as it is the will that consumes other wills, no one know what their motives are beyond feeding, what they look like or even if they leave any signs at all. It is rumoured for every dictator there is Brown Court Chief of Command or head of Security and that nearly every government and every billionaire will have a brown on his staff somewhere.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: devonapple on May 18, 2011, 03:40:48 PM: Quote from: SunlessNick on May 18, 2011, 02:30:50 PM
If they're marine, though, salt might be good for them; fresh water might not be, though.

Sorry, I was too brief: I meant salt on its own, outside of any other water.

As for fresh water: we *could* set some sort of mystical opposition by establishing that mountain spring water, fresh from its source, or pure rain water, was as opposite as you can get from the marine water in which they may thrive, but I'm not sure how dramatic or interesting that would really be. It would certainly be a good test of how truthful various "mountain spring" bottled water companies actually are, though.
Title: Re: Three Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: SunlessNick on May 18, 2011, 04:20:21 PM: I thought salt on its own was what you meant; my reply was clumsily phrased.

[Point of order: I changed the name of the thread, since we're now up to five :)]
Title: Re: Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: Set Abominae on May 18, 2011, 06:58:48 PM: The Fuchsia Court. They feed on marshmallow fluff. Admittedly this makes them a particularly nonthreatening breed of vampire...unless you're a marshmallow.

The Orange Court, led by Bunnicula. They feed on fruit and veg. Again, not particularly threatening. Unless you come from the produce department.

I'm...not really helping am I? :P
Title: Re: Homebrew Vampire Courts
Post by: Sanctaphrax on May 18, 2011, 07:56:05 PM: Grey Court Ritualist (Feet In The Water)

High Concept: Grey Court Vampire
Other Aspects: Pretends To Be Human, Mortal Family, Hunger Magic, Day And Night
Skills:
Good: Lore, Conviction, Fists
Fair: Might, Alertness, Discipline
Average: Endurance, Athletics, Deceit, Contacts
Stunts:
I'm Totally Normal (Deceit): +2 to Deceit when pretending to be human.
Powers:
The Sight [-1]
Ritual (Hunger Magic) [-2]
Human Form (Monster during the night, human during the day) [+2]
Blood Drinker [-1]
Claws [-1]
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Inhuman Toughness [-2]
The Catch (culturally-appropriate holy stuff) [+1]
Total Refresh Cost:
-7
Refresh Total:
-1