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Author Topic: Here Comes the Sun  (Read 1520 times)

Cave Bear

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Here Comes the Sun
« on: April 15, 2019, 04:14:08 PM »
I don't believe I've ever actually fought a vampire in any roleplaying game, but I like the idea of biding one's time and fighting to stay alive until sunrise.

What are some useful tactical considerations and game mastery tricks you've picked up for these kinds of scenarios?
I think it's funny when vampires are blindsided by the sudden and fortuitous arrival of dawn. Did they lose track of the time?

JeremyR

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« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2019, 06:41:55 PM »
The whole vampires don't like the sun thing is really just a Hollywood invention, so them getting surprised by it is more a lazy plot device than anything.

Charon's Little Helper

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« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2019, 08:33:07 PM »
Quote from: JeremyR;1083372
The whole vampires don't like the sun thing is really just a Hollywood invention, so them getting surprised by it is more a lazy plot device than anything.

Nope - not invented by Hollywood out of whole cloth.

In Bram Stoker's Dracula, Dracula himself wasn't destroyed by sunlight, but he did lose most of his powers during the day. And it was implied that the lesser vampires would be destroyed by sunlight entirely. (The details were kept vague and unknown to the characters, as Stoker knew the rule of horror that the unknown/vague is always scarier & more interesting than the concrete.)

Quote from: Cave Bear
I think it's funny when vampires are blindsided by the sudden and fortuitous arrival of dawn. Did they lose track of the time?

It seems a bit silly most of the time. It just reminds me of the scene in The Hobbit where Gandalf distracted the trolls until dawn. But that worked largely because the trolls were morons - and vampires are generally supposed to be at human intelligence or better.
« Last Edit: April 15, 2019, 10:03:48 PM by Charon's Little Helper »

David Johansen

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« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2019, 09:58:06 PM »
When fighting vampires be sure to bring lots of orange juice.  It's like liquid sunshine!
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ThatChrisGuy

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« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2019, 10:35:05 PM »
Quote from: David Johansen;1083390
When fighting vampires be sure to bring lots of orange juice.  It's like liquid sunshine!

Why not bring a bottle of Sun Fizz instead?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjK1aUU2Dx4
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Omega

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« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2019, 03:45:34 AM »
Quote from: Cave Bear;1083352
I think it's funny when vampires are blindsided by the sudden and fortuitous arrival of dawn. Did they lose track of the time?

Have you ever lost track of time while doing something intense or demanding of attention? Or just had dawn or dusk break really fast due to location or weather conditions. And in a town or city with buildings obscuring the horizon it can be even easier to mistime things. Especially if wrist-watches or clocks arent in sight. One minute you are in the clear. The next BOOM! Sunlight!

The main trick becomes one of keeping the vampire occupied. And in older legends some types of vampires/equivalents were like super OCD/Cumpulsive. Sprinkle rice on the doorstep and the vampire would stop to count every single grain. Possibly till or after sunrise. A trait that has been attributed to other creatures as well.

And Charon is right. In the book Drac was able to walk around in the daytime. But he lost much of his powers and would be unable to change shape till night. If I recall right the big fight at the end is in daylight?

Opaopajr

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« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2019, 04:27:53 AM »
Quote from: ThatChrisGuy;1083391
Why not bring a bottle of Sun Fizz instead?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjK1aUU2Dx4

God, I loved that commercial... :p Such satirical dark humor.

Anyway, there is no way this topic can be brought up without one of the seminal pieces of media in the last 50 years that seals this trope: Castlevania IV, Dracula's Battle


It had everything, from the lead up hallway whose torches lighted up as you walked it, to the outdoor moonlit night shot to the crypt tower, all with foreboding Dracula's Theme playing in the background as the game timer ticks down. Top it off with a triumphal hero's theme (Simon's Theme) near the end, the bursting in of sunlight through a blackened window at victory, and the pathetic fade of bat forms dying to the sun. And last, the throbbing heartbeat of the final component to put Dracula to rest yet again... knowing he shall return.

Top notch "show not tell" gaming. There's likely a lesson in there to emulate for one's RPG. :)
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Omega

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« Reply #7 on: April 16, 2019, 06:07:22 AM »
I rather liked the end of the first Hammer Dracula movie with that chase between Dracula and Van Helsing through the castle after dawn breaks and Drac has to bolt into the castle with Helsing in hot pursuit. Then the knock down drag out struggle and finally Van Helsing making that mad dash across the table, leaping onto the curtains to tear them down and BOOM! Sunlight.

Sherlock Holmes chasing Sherlock Holmes... :cool:
« Last Edit: April 16, 2019, 06:14:47 AM by Omega »

Charon's Little Helper

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« Reply #8 on: April 16, 2019, 08:24:00 AM »
Quote from: Omega;1083410
And Charon is right. In the book Drac was able to walk around in the daytime. But he lost much of his powers and would be unable to change shape till night. If I recall right the big fight at the end is in daylight?

Yes - the fight at the end was more with the Gypsies than with Dracula, as he was already wounded and traveling in his coffin. Though I believe that when the coffin was opened he was awake enough to try to take mental control of the MC - which failed (he tried something - but its been a decade or so since I read it so I'm not 100% sure of what it was). It was the Gypsies who killed one of the good guys at the end - not Dracula himself.

Cave Bear

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« Reply #9 on: April 16, 2019, 02:51:57 PM »
Quote from: Opaopajr;1083412
God, I loved that commercial... :p Such satirical dark humor.

Anyway, there is no way this topic can be brought up without one of the seminal pieces of media in the last 50 years that seals this trope: Castlevania IV, Dracula's Battle


It had everything, from the lead up hallway whose torches lighted up as you walked it, to the outdoor moonlit night shot to the crypt tower, all with foreboding Dracula's Theme playing in the background as the game timer ticks down. Top it off with a triumphal hero's theme (Simon's Theme) near the end, the bursting in of sunlight through a blackened window at victory, and the pathetic fade of bat forms dying to the sun. And last, the throbbing heartbeat of the final component to put Dracula to rest yet again... knowing he shall return.

Top notch "show not tell" gaming. There's likely a lesson in there to emulate for one's RPG. :)


Neat! I haven't played that one (the teleporting sound effect is kind of annoying, though.)

trechriron

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« Reply #10 on: April 16, 2019, 03:29:05 PM »
Quote from: JeremyR;1083372
The whole vampires don't like the sun thing is really just a Hollywood invention, so them getting surprised by it is more a lazy plot device than anything.


Instead, Vampires should be vulnerable to The Thing Their Latest Victim Most Fears. If you are terrified of Spumoni Ice Cream, that is what lays the Vampire low...
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RPGPundit

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« Reply #11 on: April 24, 2019, 05:20:24 AM »
In D&D its more common to just fight the vampire head-on. That, or die at its hands, if you're too low-level.
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Trond

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« Reply #12 on: April 25, 2019, 12:19:35 AM »
Quote from: Cave Bear;1083352


What are some useful tactical considerations and game mastery tricks you've picked up for these kinds of scenarios?


The tactical use of garlic?

John Out West

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« Reply #13 on: April 25, 2019, 08:26:33 AM »
I always like to have my vampires be complete slaves to sin. Incapable of resisting pride, or lust, or wrath, etc. With that in mind, you'd just have to play the vampire's pride/sins until the sun comes up. You could insist that they are getting tired each time they are about to finish you, and their pride would force them to let you go to continue the chase. Saying that they are nothing without their weapons would force them to fight bare-handed, increasing your longevity.

They're not stupid, but they are so incomprehensibly prideful that they will ignore common sense in favor of satisfying their ego.

thedungeondelver

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« Reply #14 on: April 25, 2019, 08:07:58 PM »
Quote from: JeremyR;1083372
The whole vampires don't like the sun thing is really just a Hollywood invention, so them getting surprised by it is more a lazy plot device than anything.


*German Cinema

The first vampire killed by the sun was Count Orlok in Nosferatu.
THE DELVERS DUNGEON


Mcbobbo sums it up nicely.

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