So, I created 13 new "vampires" with their own origins, unique powers, and novel vulnerabilities. The idea is that, on the surface, they're all easily recognizable as vampires. They suck people's blood, yadda yadda. However, each (un)lives by its own rules, so players who go into a fight with the usual expectations will most likely find something (for once) unexpected.
Then, I added a big friggin' list of vampiric powers, weaknesses, and fatal vulnerabilities that can be combined to create even more unique bloodsuckers. Since this is a _systemless_ sourcebook, each entry contains guidelines for running it in any game system, rather than specific rules for one system. This isn't an easy thing to pull off, but I think the systemless approach will prove usable to experienced game masters, especially those running a skill-based game. (Newbies might want to stick to the example rules in the Open Gaming appendix.)
In the last section of the book, I added some material for creating vampire hunting player-characters. There are guidelines for using the vampiric powers and weaknesses to create half-bloods (a la Blade), blood magi, psychics, genetically engineered ass whupers, etc. A set of sample narrative structures show how hunters can work as a group, and an equipment section describes a small arsenal of anti-vamp traps and weapons, again with systemless guidelines.
Strengths - To my knowledge, none of these bloodsuckers has been seen anywhere else, so they should be able to keep any group of gamers on their toes. The Open Gaming appendix provides an optional rules set and shows how the systemless guidelines can be used to slap new vamps into an old game.
Weaknesses - I'm not much of an artist, so there's not much art in the book. In fact, it's just the cover. However, I always try to break up text with formatting and layout, so the pages remain easy on the eyes. If you're not used to monkeying with game mechanics, the systemless thing might not float your boat.
- 3 for Style, for the cover art and the writing style.
- 3 for Substance; there's a lot of original material, but few concrete rules.
This 50+ page PDF is available at http://www.Bayn.org/games
Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.
