Optional Metatype: Vampires v3.1

You know, it's amazing what you can learn when you actually PLAY the characters you write up :] Anyways, after reviewing the Vampire, I realized I needed to Update the character to Third Edition, and decided to tweak the rules a bit further.

The rules below allow you to create vampire characters, either as a starting character, or to turn your current favorite Human PC into a Vampire.

Human HMHVV (Contracting Vampirism)

First off, HMHVV is contracted when a human is killed do to having all of his/her essence drained by a Vampire. The human body will remain legally dead and lifeless until it rises upon sunset 24 hours after death occurred. At this time, the new Vampire awakens, and his initial powers manifest.

Also, latent regeneration powers (Even if the Vampire has no Regeneration during the early part of his life) will force any and all Cyberware and Bioware from it's body. This can be very painful, especially if the vampire had cyberware that connected to his nervous system, like Wired Reflexes or Skill wires.

However, his body will be completely whole and normal, with no scarring, and any body parts that were replaced by artificial devices will have grown back fully. The new vampire, however, will begin it's new life with an Essence of 1, and will be quite hungry. Vampires often are forced to feed on the first victim they find after awakening to their new life. They will, most often, retain their memories of their former lives, though the memories of their last moments of true life (IE: meeting the vampire that killed them, and their death) will be blank or fuzzy, as the human psyche doesn't deal with death very well.

If the body of a human that has contracted HMHVV is destroyed before it "awakens", then the person will not rise as a vampire. Methods of destruction include incinerating the body, or dismemberment with a Stake through the heart, and the head cut off. The latter form is more common due to the common misconceptions based on movies and novels such as Dracula, by Bram Stoker. This method works, however, due to the body not being able to regenerate itself from the severed head and the stake.

Rules

The Vampire gains Powers that work similar to the way an Adept works, so that playing something like a vampire is somewhat feasible (but still very susceptible to munchkinizing. Sorry, but there's no way to make a vampire that isn't a munchkin, at least deep down inside.)

If the character is a new character, you pick your priorities. Race must be taken at Priority (A). Non-Spellcasting Vampires must take Magic at Priority (D). Spellcasting Vamps take Magic at (B), and Adept Vampires or Aspected Magician Vampires take Magic at (C).

If you are using the SR Companion rules, You must spend 35 points on Race for the Vampire. Magic is chosen as normal.

Other than that, the rest of the character is standard. The last thing you do is pick your vampiric powers, which are detailed below.

If the character is a current PC getting transformed do to contracting HMHVV, his natural, unmodified stats are used as the base for the vampire. Any bioware or cyberware is lost during the transformation, so the characters stats drop accordingly. He also gets to choose vampiric powers, though alternatively the GM can choose what powers he starts off with.

Spellcasting for a vampire can be a little bit difficult to run, as they have to deal with fluctuating essence. Their Magic Rating will rise and fall depending on what their current Essence Rating is.

Also, for Vampires, if a spell is cast at a higher force than his magic rating, double the damage rating and the damage code of the drain to be resisted, as this has a particularly nasty effect on regenerating beings. (Thus a 3M drain becomes a 6D). This prevents a Vampire Player from constantly casting Force 12 Hellblasts and simply regenerating the damage from it.

Vampire Adepts (An addition to the 3.0 version of these rules) can be difficult to play, as their fluxuating Essence affects their Magic rating as well. Even more than the Vampire itself, Vampire Adepts should be played with the GM's permission only, as the GM will have to do some work as well.

When you create a Vamp Adept, choose 12 points worth of Adept powers to start with.

If you are playing an Adept that has been transformed into a Vampire, you get additional points for powers equal to your 12-(your original essance). These additional powers can be learned for no karma cost, and take 2 full days of study per power point. Study Times are per Power, not per point, and may be learned seperatley. Thus, a power costing .5 Points may be learned in a single day, but a power costing 3 points would take 6 full days. Interupted training times must be started anew. Nothing else can be done during these days, except sleeping and eating.

The GM then makes a prioritized list of the powers. The Vampire has access to all his powers when fully fed (12 essence), but loses powers as his essence falls, according to the GM's priorities from first to last.

Example: Mime the Adept has the following powers, prioritized by his GM: 1) Killing Hands (4 pts), 2) Astral Perception (2 pts), 3) Combat Sense (1 pts), 4) Distance Strike (2 pts), and 5) Quick Strike (3 points).

Mime goes one week without feeding, and his essence drops to 11. He loses Killing hands until he feeds again. However, since he now only has 8 points of powers "active", Mime will not "lose" any more powers until his essence drops below 7, at which time he would lose Astral Perception.

Optional Rule: At the GM's discretion, powers that have levels, such as Increased Attribute and Killing Hands, may simply drop in levels rather than the whole power.

Example: Mime drops a point of power as his essence drops to 11. Killing Hands (Deadly) costs 4 points, and Killing Hands (Serious) costs 2. Mime's Killing Hands drops from Deadly to Serious. 2 weeks later, Mime still hasn't fed, and his essence drops to 9. Killing Hands (Moderate) only costs 1 point, so the powere drops once more.

Vampire Power Points

The Vampire gets three "Power Points", which is what he uses to buy his vampiric powers. All vampiric characters are new vampires, freshly infected with the Vampiric Disease, thus they haven't fully developed most of there powers.

Also, Vampires have a large amount of weaknesses. These vary from Vampire to vampire, and some even have few, if any, weaknesses. You can buy Vampiric Weaknesses, which will then give you more Power Points to spend on Vampiric Powers. This is similar to the Edges and Flaws from the Companion. Weaknesses can ONLY be bought at character creation, and the bonus Power Points given by them must be spent at that time. Any points not spent at this time are lost. You may not "save" points or partial point until the next "grade", or Vampire Level.

Powers	Point Cost	.	Weaknesses	Point Return
Enhanced Strength	2	.	Allergy to Sunlight, Mild	*
Enhanced Hearing	.25	.	Allergy to Sunlight, Moderate	.5
Enhanced Smell	.25	.	Allergy to Sunlight, Severe	1
Essence Drain	*	.	Induced Dormancy from Lack of Oxygen	.25
Immunity to Aging	.25	.	Vulnerability to Wood	.25/lvl
Immunity to poison	.25	.	Allergy (Psychological) to Holy Symbols	.5
Imm. to pathogens	.25	.	Unable to use Cyberware or Bioware	*
Infection	1	.	Essence Loss	*
Mist Form	2	.	Natural Lack of Buoyancy	*
Thermographic Vision	.25	.	.	.
Regeneration	1/lvl	.	.	.
Natural Claws	.5	.	.	.
Enhacned Quickness	2	.	.	.
Enhanced Body	2	.	.	.
Heightened Speed	1	.	.	.

Powers or Weaknesses marked with '*' are automatically gained. They cannot be bought off, nor do they give any bonus.

Regeneration: Player Character Regeneration rules are slightly different from the base rules in the main book. Having a 2+ regen on a d6 gets vulgar, so it was balanced out a bit. Each level improves the roll by 1 number. The chart below calculates it. Notice at level one, you do not have a roll. This is simply a basic regen. If you are hit for a Deadly wound, you are dying. You do not get to regen. However, If you are at below a deadly wound, then you auto regen like normal. The cost is deliberately high so that all but the most powerful vampires instantly regenerate everything. Also, not that stun damage does not regen.

Regeneration Chart
Level 1	Basic Regen, no roll for deadly wound.
Level 2	Roll of 6 to regen
Level 3	Roll of 5 to regen
Level 4	Roll of 4 to regen
Level 5	Roll of 3 to regen
Level 6	Roll of 2 to regen
Level 7	Roll of 1 to regen
Level 8	Doesn't Exist

Vulnerability to Wood: You can take this at 4 levels: Nuisance, Moderate, Serious, and Deadly. This will buy that allergy at that level, as well as affects the damage code of pure wooden weapons (No formica or varnished wood, it reduces the damage). Each level automatically stages the damage from such a weapon up one notch (or 2 automatic successes, depending on how you calculate it).

Example: A wooden club that does 6L damage normally, will do 6S damage instead to someone with a level two allergy.

A vampire is unable to use cyberware or bioware, as it messes up his essence and if he had the regeneration ability, it would automatically kick the intruding piece out and replace it with a regenerated original.

Enhanced (Physical Attribute): The Vampire adds his current essence to the appropriate Physical attribute.

Essence Drain/Essence Loss: A vampire loses essence at a rate of 1 point every 7 days. When they drain essence, they only get a point of essence for every full point they drain. Thus, while they will kill (and possibly "Vampirize") a Sammy with .2 essence, they will gain no nourishment from it.

Each week, when a Vampire loses a point of essence, he must make a Willpower test with a target number of 8-(current essence) to avoid going into a "Blood Rage" and feeding on the first available victim. The Vampire has no control over this Blood Rage.

Note: Essence does not recover, and is permantly lost when a Vampire drains them.

Claws: These are similar to cyber spurs and will do Str M damage.

Heightened Speed: This gives the vampire +1d6 to initiative.

Psychological Weakness to Holy Symbols: This weakness will cause a Vampire to want to avoid viewing Holy Symbols or holy men, and being inside a church or being touched by a holy symbol will cause the vampire to take 6S stun damage/round of exposure, as well as cause him to become violently ill for several rounds.

Vampire Grades

Vampire characters have levels, or Grades similar to Initiate Levels for Spell-Casters and Adepts. A Vampire can increase his Vampire Grade in the same way an Adept Initiates, either through Self Initiation, or through Group Initiation with a group of Vampires. Follow the same rules for Initiation and creating Magical groups as found in Magic In The Shadows.