I got the first draft of that statuepire template written up if you are interested Sanctaphrax.

http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,36458.60.html

Ok, there is clearly an interest so here is an attempt at a write up of my 'statuepires.'

These can serve as a jade court if you haven't already established one in your game or an ivory court.  It should be noted that these are not intended as playable templates.  They are more on the evil people eater side as a villain for powerful groups.  In the interest of a unique name for Sanctaphrax's template resource post I will call them the Porcelain Doll Jade Court.


The Jade Court have been a shadowy presence existing throughout most of Asia for more than two thousand years.  Rather than a single unified group, they exist as small hives of three to nine Elder vampires, and a single caretaker.  Though, a measure of communication does exist between hives for official actions, such as the signing of the Unseelie accords. 

The elders of the court are essentially sentient statues that communicate with each other by a collective mind.  The caretaker is a young vampire, still capable of physical movement, who acts as little more then a puppet for the collective with no individual will of it's own. 

The Jade Court life cycle progresses through four distinct stages.

Stage 1.) A newly made vampire is created as the old caretaker begins to wear out.  A suitable human is chosen and brought before the sanctuary of the elders.  Over the course of days the elders scrub all personality and individuality from the victim's mind.  Once so prepared, the caretaker carefully chips a fragment from the youngest elder in the hive, then quickly tears open the humans chest cavity and plunges it into the still beating heart.  If done quickly enough, the flesh around the shard begins to crystallize.  Over the next few weeks, the whole body becomes stony and crystalline.  When the process is complete, the new caretaker rises.  The hive's grasp on the old caretaker is released and the new destroys the old.

In this stage the vampire is practically a physical god.  It has:
Mythic Strength -6, Speed -6, and Toughness -6 as well as Blood drinker -1 and Feeding Dependency (Human Blood) +1. the catch is things that could shatter stone like sledge hammers, explosives, etc. +4.  The hive mind and lack of free will are largely represented through aspects and the psychic powers of the elders.  They can heal from injury, but no faster than mortals. 

Total template cost: -14

Stage 2.) After about a year the vampire progresses to the second stage of it's lifecycle.  It begins to slow down considerably as it's flesh stiffens.  It has Supernatural Speed -4 and Strength -4 as well as Mythic Toughness -6 catch +4.  It retains Blood Drinker -1 and Feeding Dependency +1

Total Template Cost: -10

At this stage the vampire may also begin to develop signs of a new intelligence and awareness forming, though most do not.  The new mind is still easily suppressed by the collective, but is taken as an early sign that the vampire will become a new elder rather than be disposed of. 

Stage 3.) After 50 years or so at stage 2 the vampire moves to this stage.  If the vampire has shown no signs of awareness then it is disposed of as it reaches this stage and a new caretaker is created.  If it is to become a new elder, it's mind will awaken fully and begin to join the collective and awaken in psychic power.  Such a vampire continues to act as caretaker and the search for a new caretaker is postponed until it nears the end of this stage.

Stage 3 vampires have Inhuman Speed -2, Strength -2, and Mythic Toughness -6 catch +4.  Blood Drinker -1 / Feeding Dep. +1.  Domination -2

Total Template Cost: -8

Stage 4.) After approximately 20 years at stage 3, the vampire begins to rapidly grow feeble and must quickly prepare a new caretaker or leave the hive defenseless.  Once this is done, the vampire takes it's place in immobility and becomes a new elder.  It's body solidifies and becomes an immobile statue, allowing it's psychic power to expand considerably.  The younger elders resemble detailed statues of themselves, while over the course of centuries their outer flesh begins to wear down and they come to resemble vaguely man shaped pillars of marble (or jade if you prefer.)

It has Mythic Toughness -6 catch +4, Domination -2, Master Dominator -2, possession -3

Total Template Cost: -9

The elders no longer need to feed on blood but still crave it.  One of the duties of the caretaker is to bring live humans to the lair every so often and butcher them to allow the elders to absorb blood through their now slightly porous outer flesh.  The elders sometimes possess these sacrificial humans to allow them to experience mobility outside of their joint control over the caretaker.  Elders may also take any additional psychic powers that are appropriate, and some can even work magic while possessing a body.

The Jade court are known to use their mental powers from a great distance to draw the weak minded to their lair, often creating cults to service them. 


What do you guys think?  Want me to add anything?

Nah, I did read the books years ago (I've mostly recovered) and they are described as sparkling in sunlight.  That was her justification for why they weren't seen out in the day.

Given how incredibly dull they are as written let's instead try to salvage something unique and interesting about them and see if we can make a template that is loosely inspired by them. 

So... If I remember correctly the reason for the sparkles related to their flesh being crystalline rather than fleshy.  That is fairly unique I think so let's run with it.  Picturing a damaged sparklepyre is at least interesting since their flesh would crack rather than tear when stressed to breaking points.  They are also strongest on the day they rise and grow physically weaker as they age which is also an interesting inversion of typical vampire lore.


Our vamps will be inspired by the hopping vampires of Asian mythology.  Creatures that slowly lose their ability to move, eventually becoming malevolent statues which only the younger members of the court can still communicate with via a psychic hive mind. 


The template: Jiang Shi a.k.a. the "porcelain dolls"

Begin with mythic strength, speed, recovery, and toughness.  Within a year all except toughness reduces to supernatural and in ten years to inhuman.  After fifty years they lose all these powers as their bodies slow down after a century they can no longer move on their own.  Any human who saw one would think it was a detailed porcelain or marble statue.  The catch is blunt weapons like hammers, maces, or anything else that could break stone like explosives. 


While they grow weaker physically they are gaining psychic powers.  When turned, they gain a Hive mind power, (something similar to pack instincts with long range telepathy built in,) this allows them to retain some individuality but also be fanatically loyal to their elders.  This also keeps them from drawing attention to themselves.  The elders know just how easily an angry mob could shatter them as they lay helplessly even though the younger vampires could get away with it.

After losing the mythic levels they gain incite emotion.  After losing the supernatural levels they gain dominate.  Upon losing the inhuman levels they get master dominator, psycometry, and any other powers that make sense.  When they become entirely immobile they gain a power similar to possession which allows them to attempt to possess nearby people or creatures for short periods until the body 'burns out.'  Their statue-like body is left behind helplessly while they are doing this, but it is the closest thing to independant mobility the jiang shi get as elders.

They also have a blood based feeding dependency until they freeze solid.  If they go without feeding they will eventually go into the statue phase prematurely without developing the corresponding psychic powers. 

Throw in venomous claws and that should cover everything.  What do you guys think?

I'm working on a Fate based urban fantasy game, tentatively inspired by the DFRPG.  I originally had something similar to the catch but scrapped it due to the issues you noted.  Instead, I replaced it with a system of weaknesses.  Rather than bypassing toughness powers, a weakness inflicts extra stress beyond what it would have dealt.  It also inflicts one point of stress per round with simple contact. 

Translated into DFRPG terms, pricing for weaknesses is +2 for an obtainable or common weakness that inflicts double the stress it would have otherwise.  It is +1 for somewhat uncommon and +0 for rare. 

There are also Environmental weaknesses which inflict one stress per round of exposure.  +2 for a common environment that would be harmless to a mortal (or mostly harmless) like sunlight or submersion in water, and +1 for a somewhat uncommon environment. 

Finally, there are power drain weaknesses.  These work similarly to environmental, but instead of stress, exposure renders you unable to use any supernatural powers for the rest of the scene. 

A character can only have one of each weakness type, any additional weaknesses of the same type give +0.  You could require anyone with a toughness power to take the first type of weakness, but anyone can take a weakness even without a toughness power. 


Just my two cents on one possible solution, I hope it gives you the germ of an idea. 

Heavy focus on the physical powers seems like the best bet.  Speed and strength powers in equal measure, along with world walker.  I don't see an emissary of the Erl King with sponsored magic or glamour.
Marked by powers seems like a good bet as does an item of power (a spear?)

Skills should focus heavily on the physical side of things, athletics and weapons being paramount.

I know it isn't exactly gritty or realistic, but I like to introduce moral quandaries through time travel. 

At one point, my PC's had been sent back in time 500 years to deliver a sealed letter to Aurora, from Aurora, with an artifact that they knew wouldn't have the juice to get them all the way back.  They were told that it could be recharged in places of great suffering and mortal death. 

Long story short, they wound up stranded in new york in 1911, two weeks before the triangle shirtwaist factory fire.  They were first torn between using the deaths to get back to the present and the temptation to save hundreds of lives, though they wisely decided not to alter events if it could be avoided. 

In the process they:

Ran afoul of wardens and fled to never never.

Barely escaped that and wound up in chicago in the home of a serial killer.

took the train back to new york with only days to spare.

Broke one of the doors while scoping the factory out, and had to pose as door repair men later to ensure the exits could be chained.

Discovered a plot by subterranean creatures to enact an outsider based ritual at the factory.

Wound up starting the fire accidentally while trying to stop the ritual and collapsed the building.

Got back home to a mostly unaltered time line.

(This plot took inspiration from the Fandible dresden files podcast.)


Given that the setting is new orleans, how about time travel to pre katrina, when PC's could save a lot of lives at the risk of severely altering the time line.