Van Richten's Monster Hunter's.pdf - Askadesign.com

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Gu.rpicion had been buiidinq in my mind that /he .re/f-dyird Countr~rs Sbaiia wac
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actuaiiq a vampire. c7n fact. c7 had tota//q convinced mqrcif ihai shr wat a fiend. Jou
wi// undrrrtand my ciuyrfacfion ihcn. when on that wcninq J saw hrr primpinq and
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prcening in a lith hand mirror rhr beid hefore her face. @t?ifh mo.rf rmcem/q ha.rtc, J
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yojifionrd mystif behind hcr and loohed in the mirror. . . to her face. rmiiinq archiif at
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mc. e71 war oniq iatcr. after mi! inaction had icd to JO many draths. that J undenfood
whai had hapycncd. ':The Countm Rbalia was not on/!{ a vampire, but ais0 a w iad
of condrabic Mi. aoth thr mirror Jhc heid and thr rrficction c7 saw in it wcrc
nothinq more than ma icai iiiusionr. . . .
c 4
-From the journal of Melnor Melabbey
' '
o quote from a respected
bestiary, "In most cases,
vampires do not lose the
1 abilities and knowledge
'
1. which they had in life
w;r). ~.. . become undead. Thus, it is
possibie 'or a vampire to have the
powers of, for example, a wizard, thief,
or even priest." Thankfully, this is not
always the case, as the transition to
vampirism sometimes seems to wipe
the victim's mind clean of most or all
previously held skills.
Priests
Only those priests who worshiped evil
deities during life can retain the ability
to cast spells after death. The reason
for this is simple: priest spells are
bestowed by the priest's deity or by its
minions. Deities dedicated to Good will
certainly not bestow spells upon
vampires because these creatures will
always use those spells for evil
purposes. And some evil deities may
refuse to bestow spells or, perhaps,
only bestow certain spells upon
vampires.
The process that a vampire-priest
must follow to attain spells is the same
as for a mortal priest. In other words,
the creature must meditate and pray to
receive the powers. Vampire-priests
seem to be much more skilled at
casting spells from the necromantic
sphere than are mortals, and less
adept with spells from the sun sphere.
Tvrning 01- Commanding unclead
Vampire-priests who followed nonevil
deities while alive retain none of their
mortal abilities to turn or command
other undead. Priests who worshiped
evil deities sometimes retain this ability
after death and, in fact, often wield it
with an aptitude they never had in life.
wizards
Individuals who were wizards or
arcanists while alive can retain their
spellcasting abilities regardless of their
previous alignment, and seem to retain
the ability to cast all spells they were
able to wield while alive, with much the
same effect. The fact that vampires
can develop inhumanly high levels of
intelligence gives some creatures the
ability to cast sometimes many more
spells than they could while alive.
Vampire-mages must memorize
spells as they did while alive. The
same holds true for gaining access to
new spells. Vampire-mages must have
spell books, like mortal wizards. These
undead wizards are particularly adept