The Struggle Within

Reaching out for something you've got the feel
While clutching to what you had thought was real
Kicking at a dead horse pleases you
No way of showing your gratitude
So many things you don't want to do
What is it? What have you got to loose?
What the hell?
What is it you think you're going to find?
Hypocrite
Boredom set into the boring mind

Struggle within it suits you fine
Struggle within your ruin
Struggle within you seal your own coffin
Struggle within the struggling within

Home is not a home
It becomes a hell
Turning into your prison cell
Advantages are taken, not handed out
While you struggle inside your hell
Reaching out
Grabbing for something you've got to feel
Closing in
The pressure upon you is so unreal

Struggle within it suits you fine
Struggle within your ruin
Struggle within you seal your own coffin
Struggle within the struggling within

Reaching out for something you've got the feel
While clutching to what you had thought was real
What the hell?
What is it you think you're going to find?
Hypocrite
Boredom set into the boring mind

Struggle within it suits you fine
Struggle within your ruin
Struggle within you seal your own coffin
Struggle within the struggling within


Image by Ulrike Kleinert

 

Adrian McFearson

Val

Char

Base

Cost

Pts.

Roll

Notes

30

STR

10

×1

20

15-

1600 kg; 6d6

25

DEX

10

×3

45

14-

OCV: 8 / DCV: 8

20

CON

10

×2

20

13-

15

BODY

10

×2

10

12-

18

INT

10

×1

8

13-

PER Roll: 15-

18

EGO

10

×2

16

13-

ECV: 6

30

PRE

10

×1

20

15-

PRE Attack: 6d6

20

COM

10

×½

5

13-

10

PD (STR/5)

6

×1

4

Total: 16 PD / 6 rPD

4

ED (CON/5)

4

×1

0

Total: 4 ED / 0 rED

5

SPD (1+DEX/10)

3.5

×10

15

Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12

10

REC (STR/5+CON/5)

10

×2

0

42

END (CON×2)

40

×½

1

40

STUN (BODY+STR/2+CON/2)

40

×1

0

Total

164

Pts.

Power/Talent/Skill/Perk

Roll

Vampire Powers

5

Undead Hardiness - Armor +6 rPD, not vs. wood or silver (-¾), does not work in sunlight (-¼)

30

Undead Hardiness - 75% Resistant Physical Damage Reduction, not vs. wood or silver (-¾), does not work in sunlight (-¼)

45

Undead Body - Full Life Support

24

Blood Drain - 1d6 HKA, continuous (+1), NND - having hardened neck defense or not having blood (+1), does body (+1), concentrate ½ DCV throughout usage (-½), must grab (-½), STR doesn't add damage (-½)

[6]

25

Hypnotic Gaze - 10d6 Mind Control, must establish eye contact (-1)

[5]

6

Embrace a Childe - 2d6 Major Transform Human into Lesser Vampire, cumulative (+½), only vs. humans (-½), no range (-½), concentrate 0 DCV throughout transform (-1), extra time - 1 minute (-1½), only one target per day (-1), target must die first by drinking of blood (-1), side effects - 3d6 STUN Drain (-½)

[5]

5

See Life - IR Vision

6

Sharp Senses - +2 PER w/All Senses

3

Act Dead - Simulate Death

13-

Nobleman Skills

1

Bribery

8

3

Bureaucratics

15-

3

Conversation

15-

3

Gambling

13-

3

High Society

15-

13

Languages: Brytin (native), Thrask (4), Elven (4), Dwarven (2)

3

Oratory

15-

3

Persuasion

15-

3

Riding

14-

3

Seduction

15-

3

Trading

15-

6

Perk: Count

2

AK: The Brytin Empire

11-

2

AK: The City of Generium

11-

2

KS: Fine Wines

11-

Musician Skills

3

PS: Harper

13-

3

PS: Singer

13-

3

KS: Famous Poems and Songs

13-

3

Mimicry

13-

3

Ventriloquism

153

3

Perfect Pitch

Combat Skills

2

FAM w/Common Melee Weapons

2

FAM w/Common Missile Weapons

1

FAM w/Cloak Fighting

1

FAM w/Lance

226

Skill Total

164

Char Cost

390

Grand Total

Disadvantage

Pts.

Dependence: Blood (difficult to obtain, 6d6, powers drop to 14- activation roll, weakness, once per week)

30

Distinctive Features: McFearson facial features (easily concealable)

5

Physical Limitation: paralyzed if impaled on a wooden stake (infrequently, fully)

15

Psychological Limitation: code vs. killing (common, strong)

15

Psychological Limitation: loner (common, strong)

15

Psychological Limitation: doesn't want to live (common, strong)

15

Susceptibility: sunlight (common, 5d6 per minute)

30

Total

125



Campaign: Quintara (Fantasy HERO)

Background:
Count Adrian McFearson's story is a story of total, complete, unconditional and never-dying love. It is also a story of the pain such love can bring.
It was in a formal dinner party that Adrian, old Count McFearson's firstborn son and heir met Lady Rowena Greenleaf from the Elven nation of Quinseti, and was immediately taken by her beauty. They shared a dance, a conversation and even a laugh, but it was not until he took out his harp and sang The Ode of Leogron that she fell in love with him too.
They were young and in love, yet they knew their love could never be. She was an Elf, destined to live for centuries, and he was but a mortal man, lucky if he would live to see seventy winters. As tales go, love must find a way, and they set out to find it. And so they did, in the form of Vladimir Dameor, a vampire. For a huge sum of money, he agreed to Embrace young Adrian, blessing (or perhaps cursing) him with the gift of unliving immortality.
As tales go, gold itself, no matter what use it is put to, cannot buy happiness, and death does not necessarily put an end to a man's cruelty. Vladimir had betrayed them. He did Embrace Adrian, but by doing so he retained a power over him as his Sire. For six hundred years Adrian was his wretched slave, obeying his every command. Together they harvested a harvest of blood from the land, starting from Adrian's family.
Eventually, Rowena was able to hunt them down and kill the vampire, and they shared a century of perfect bliss together, until Rowena heard her song calling. Elves do not die of old age, but after too long in the realm of reality they hear their song calling them to a distant land of light and magic. Most try to resist it, unwilling to forsake their mortal existence and friends. Rowena succeeded more than most do, but eventually, they all give in, as did she.
Now, Adrian is once again alone. Since Rowena had left, Adrian seems to be no more than a shell of his older self. He lives in his family castle's ruins and leaves only when his hunger is too great to resist. The rest of the time he wonders aimlessly in the crumbling castle or plays sad sad songs on his harp trying to recapture his time with Rowena.

Personality:
Adrian hates his existence as a vampire, but will not kill himself since he is afraid that if he dies as a vampire his soul will be forever lost. Since Rowena left, he has no goal in his life, no purpose, and in fact no real will to live. He is a loner and will defend his privacy with ruthless rage.
He still tries to live up to some moral standards, such as his refusal to kill humans to satisfy his hunger, but that is about all. Besides that, he has no motivations, no driving force, only the will to be left alone with his memories of a long lost love.

Appearance:
Adrian is in fact quit handsome, in a cold and perfect way. He is tall and slim, and his unnaturally pale skin gives him the appearance of a marble statue. He keeps his black hair long and lets it hang loose, not really caring enough to tie it back. He dresses in black cloths, a sign of his constant mourning.
But his most impressive feature, by far, are his deep blue eyes, that almost seem as if you could drown in their sorrow.

Powers/Tactics:
Adrian will usually prefer using stealth and trickery to avoid combat altogether, but if cornered he could be quite an formidable opponent.
In combat Adrian will fight with whatever weapon he can lay his hands on and will try to force close combat where his unnatural strength, quickness and toughness will give him an advantage. Even so, Adrian is not a killer and will always prefer to scare off opponents, or even force them or leave him alone using his hypnotic gaze.
If worse comes to worst, Adrian will maneuver himself behind an opponent and imbed his teeth in his neck, sucking out his blood and life. He will try to leave the victim (barely) alive, but mistakes do happen when instincts prevail over self control...

Notes:
Adrian was built up as a more or less typical vampire. Feel free to power him up or down to fit your campaign.
Depending on how vampires usually work in your campaign, you might consider giving Adrian one or more of the following powers: turning into a cloud of mist (desolidification), a bat form, a wolf form (both of which can bought as shapeshift with some extra powers), the ability to grow claws (HKA), invisibility or any other appropriate power.
Similarly, you might want to consider giving him one or more of the following disadvantages: repulsion or vulnerability to holy objects and symbols, repulsion from garlic, inability to enter a building if not invited, inability to cross running water, berserk attacks at the smell or sight of blood or any other disadvantage appropriate to a vampire in your campaign.

Campaign Use:
As noted, Adrian is a loner, who will not leave his castle except for a very good reason. The characters could investigate the old ruins during the day time (when Adrian is asleep) and take something that belonged to Rowena, which will send him hot on their trails.
Or perhaps another vampire is attacking the nearby town and the characters sent to investigate think it is Adrian. He might even join them to prove his innocence, and to rid the world of another one of the children of the night he hates so badly.


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 Image by Joseph Barnhard