Vamps
Sigurdur said, “You’re right. They are in charge in these parts. And it don’t look like there’s much chance of that changing. Errgh!”
“What?”
“I’ve got to go again” It was the sixth time that day. Sigurdur had begun to worry.
Sigurjon told him, “Well, take it downwind. That last load was foul.”
Stomach cramping, Sigurdur stumbled away, headed for a spot he had scouted before darkness fell, anticipating this emergency.
Sigurdur realized that he was not alone. And that whoever was there was not one of his companions.
He could see his brother, Hallgrim, and Finnboga huddling close to the fire, making jokes at his expense.
He eased his hand towards his knife.
A shadow drifted nearer. The campfire cast just enough light to show him a woman wearing a hooded black cloak. The cloak’s hem dragged the ground.
He could see nothing but her face. It was a beautiful face, much as if his mother’s must have looked when she was young.
Sigurdur thought, you heard about this sort of thing all your life but you were never ready when it happened.
You never believed you would attract the interest of the Night.
The woman opened her cloak. She wore nothing beneath. Her body was perfection. It exuded warmth. It could not be resisted.
It was too late even for the wary.
They found Sigurdur half a mile from camp, half in and half out of the river, naked from the waist down. They never found his trousers.
“He died happy,” Hallgrim said.
But Sigurdur’s skin was as pale as snow, not because he was dead but because all the blood had been drained from his body.
The frozen mud retained footprints made by a woman’s small, bare feet.
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Extracted from Glen Cook’s “The Tyranny of the Night”
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VAMPS - Where you take on the role of a vampire struggling to exist in a hostile city.
Strife not due to the mortals inhabiting the town, but the others.
Those like you, competing for prey and room to hunt.
Will you prevail?
Check the rules for signup procedures. Good luck to all!
Rules For Vamps
Object: Players are Vampires trying to wipe out other vampire Families.
Victory: The last player with vampires is the winner.
Components -
Family -
Collective name for the Vamps controlled by a player.
Vamps -
The agents of the players.
Prey -
The poor mortals of the city.
Districts -
The areas of the city where the Prey encounter vamps.
Casket -
Marks injured injured vamps trying to recover.
Blood -
Measure of a vampire’s vitality.
Crest -
Color representing which vamps belong to a family.
Setup -
Game Sequence
Orders -
Each player notes which of their vamps are going to what Districts. Vamps in caskets may not receive orders.
A vamps orders may contain one or more orders.
Placement -
The GM moves the vamps according to the player instructions.
Encounters -
If more than one Family is in a district they fight each other till no opposing Families remain. This does not apply to vamps in caskets.
Harvests -
Recovery
Victory: The last player with vampires is the winner.
Components -
Family -
Collective name for the Vamps controlled by a player.
Vamps -
The agents of the players.
Prey -
The poor mortals of the city.
Districts -
The areas of the city where the Prey encounter vamps.
Casket -
Marks injured injured vamps trying to recover.
Blood -
Measure of a vampire’s vitality.
Crest -
Color representing which vamps belong to a family.
Setup -
1. Each player names one vamp as the Sire or Dame of their Family (please specify the sex of the vamp for ambiguous names). First names will be unique within a given Family, while the Last name will be eight characters unique among Families. This vamp starts with '3' blood.
2. The player selects a district for the vamp to start in.
2. In addition, the player should select a color that the GM uses to mark vamps and territory belonging to the Family.
3. The GM populates the city districts with d6 Prey in each one.
2. The player selects a district for the vamp to start in.
2. In addition, the player should select a color that the GM uses to mark vamps and territory belonging to the Family.
3. The GM populates the city districts with d6 Prey in each one.
Game Sequence
1. Orders
2. Placement
3. Encounters
4. Harvests
5. Recovery
2. Placement
3. Encounters
4. Harvests
5. Recovery
Orders -
Each player notes which of their vamps are going to what Districts. Vamps in caskets may not receive orders.
A vamps orders may contain one or more orders.
Movement - A vamp may move to any district adjacent to the one it is in currently.
Feed. - The vamp will attempt to feed its bloodlust.
Embrace - The vamp will try to convert a prey into a vampire.
Feed. - The vamp will attempt to feed its bloodlust.
Embrace - The vamp will try to convert a prey into a vampire.
Placement -
The GM moves the vamps according to the player instructions.
Encounters -
If more than one Family is in a district they fight each other till no opposing Families remain. This does not apply to vamps in caskets.
a. Persistance check. Roll a d6 for each vamp. If the result is greater than the vamp’s blood level, move the vamp to an adjacent empty district.
b. Randomly select a casualty from the remaining vamps in the district.
d. If there are any remaining vamps in the district, proceed with Harvest.
b. Randomly select a casualty from the remaining vamps in the district.
i. Reduce that vamp’s blood level by one.
ii. If that vamp has ‘0’ blood remaining, move it to an adjacent empty district, and place it in a casket for d6 turns.
iii. If there are not empty adjacent districts, remove the vamp from the game.
c. If there are still opposing families in the district, return to step b.ii. If that vamp has ‘0’ blood remaining, move it to an adjacent empty district, and place it in a casket for d6 turns.
iii. If there are not empty adjacent districts, remove the vamp from the game.
d. If there are any remaining vamps in the district, proceed with Harvest.
Harvests -
1. Randomly select a vamp in a district.
2. Feeding. If the vamp has instructions to feed and there are prey in the district roll a d6.
4. If there are still unsatiated vamps in the district, return to step 1.
5. If there is more than one vamp in the district the vamp with the highest blood level stays in the district. Move the other vamps to adjacent empty districts, no more than one to a district. Remove from the game any vamps that cannot move.
2. Feeding. If the vamp has instructions to feed and there are prey in the district roll a d6.
a. If the result is greater than the vamp’s blood level, reduce Prey level by one and that vamp gains one blood level, up to the maximum of five, and repeat step 2.
b. If the result is less than or equal to the vamp blood level, mark the vamp as satiated, and go to step 3.
3. Embrace. If the vamp has orders to Embrace, and there are prey in the district, reduce the vamps blood level by one, reduce the prey by one, and create a new family vamp in the district. Mark both vamps as satiated.b. If the result is less than or equal to the vamp blood level, mark the vamp as satiated, and go to step 3.
4. If there are still unsatiated vamps in the district, return to step 1.
5. If there is more than one vamp in the district the vamp with the highest blood level stays in the district. Move the other vamps to adjacent empty districts, no more than one to a district. Remove from the game any vamps that cannot move.
Recovery
1. Roll a d6 for each district. If the result is less than or equal to the number of prey there, add one prey.
2. Roll a d6 for each vamp NOT in a casket. If the result is equal to or less than the vamp blood level, reduce that level by one. If reduced to zero, place the vamp in a casket with d6 turns of Recovery.
3. For each vamp in a casket, roll a d6. On a ‘one’ result, remove that vamp from the game. Otherwise reduce the Recovery time for that vamp by one. Vamps in caskets with a ‘zero’ leave the casket and gain ‘one’ blood.
2. Roll a d6 for each vamp NOT in a casket. If the result is equal to or less than the vamp blood level, reduce that level by one. If reduced to zero, place the vamp in a casket with d6 turns of Recovery.
3. For each vamp in a casket, roll a d6. On a ‘one’ result, remove that vamp from the game. Otherwise reduce the Recovery time for that vamp by one. Vamps in caskets with a ‘zero’ leave the casket and gain ‘one’ blood.
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