So he is going to fight some Blampires...

[CottbusFiles]

Blind chance/GM fiat I expect.  That's usually how my players find plot critical bits out when they don't notice that I've been beating them over the head for half a dozen sessions with clues.  Thankfully that's a pretty rare occurrence anymore.  As is our old tendency to do things like decide to take a random, thousand mile road trip fifteen minutes into the session.  I think we had more fun foiling GM plots than we did NPC ones back in the bad old days.

A lucky investigation rol at first and then a "hypersensitive" potion, windows and a declaration of "there are coffins".

[martellian]

I'd use some of the shape shifting powers into account. For example having the coffin stored in a concrete room accessible only from a small vent (gas form), with another vent leading out to the sewers or something. Add this to the decoy coffin idea, and layered security.

Though as far as story potential goes, having the Blampire escape and start hunting them, is by far the most fun idea IMO.

[Richard_Chilton]

There's a game out there where some vampires shiftshape in various ways - going to mist form, earth melding, things like that...

Which led to a drain in a basement floor.  It's drain pipe was cracked and on the other side of the crack was an earthen area - one that had been hollowed out someone by tunneling rats (also controlled by the vampire).  The vampire entered the basement (which was made up as a death trap), turned to mist, floated down the drain, then merged with the earth - but only if he had enough blood in his system to do it.  Otherwise he had backups that would serve as decoys if he was hurting for blood...

When it comes to cunning creatures - like Black Court Vampires who have survived for decades with everyone knowing their weaknesses - there is no level of paranoia that is too much.  No level of planning that goes too far.  The stupid and unlucky, they didn't survive, so you're dealing with those who are fittest at surviving.

Richard

[toturi]

How old are the BC vampires? I feel that there should be as much effort made to improve the defenses of the vampires' lair as staying undetected in the first place. No point in setting up a super-secure secret safehouse if you easily give away the safehouse's location.

[Richard_Chilton]

Most Black Court Vampires create young, lots of young.  That's one of the reasons they are such a threat - they can breed so quickly.  Which means you have cannon fodder but that you also have young screw ups  that can mess things up for you.  Personally, I see there being a main lair and then the "kiddy's crypt" where the young idiots sleep.  That way they only lead hunters back to their own coffins...

But DFRPG is a collaborative game, which means it's not always up to the GM.

Richard