HMHVV and Vampires Options

[Lord Ben]

How do you detect a vampire? Can you hook a biomonitor up to them to detect the virus?

Would various sniffers work?

[Jaid]

easy. you shoot them with dual panther assault cannons. if the resulting mist is red, they weren't a vampire. if it's normal-looking mist, they're a vampire :P

seriously, i believe an assensing test would at least give you a hint...

[Lord Ben]

Let me just check how much assensing my cybered up street thug has.... :)

[Gothic Rose]

[Lord Ben]

Are they though?

[Lord Ben]

They're not actually dead right? They just have an odd virus.

[Gothic Rose]

[Squinky]

I think the best way to spot a vampire is their chessy 80's styled clothing, and if Corey Feldman is around its a sure thing....

[Lord Ben]

Well, if they're living with a virus they'd have pulses and give off heat plus need calories, etc.

If they're "dead" they just need to drain essence 1/month to live and don't need to eat to sustain their bodies.

Plus it matters a hell of a lot for medicine and surgury, etc.

[FrankTrollman]

When a vampire is made, the following things happen:

1. The Victim dies. That's unambiguously described in the Essence Drain Power.

2. The body lies there in a state of "near death".

3. 24 hours later, a newly created critter "revives" and goes on an essence drinking rampage (as described in the Infection power).

So how "human" are vampires? That's really up to the gamemaster. They are not humans who are infected with a virus, they are a virus that wears a human shape. So they could plausibly be room temperature or even colder. When you cut pieces off of them, those pieces turn into mist, flow back, and reassemble themselves into the original vampire piece within seconds.

A physical test is simple - just stab a suspected vampire with a mechanical pencil. If the mark is expelled is less than a second, draw your room sweeper packed with sawdust and fire at point blank. A chemical test is likewise simple - just wave a strontium rod at a guy - if his skin doesn't blister, open fire. What tests are available beyond simply checking to see if they have regeneration or immunity to toxins is up to the gamemaster.

-Frank

[blakkie]

[Liper]

blakkie you're forgetting one important rule, this is a game, and this is magic within the game.

[BlackHat]

[Grinder]

The best explanation. :)

[FrankTrollman]

What evidence do we have that Vampires have any powers that are not magic driven? They can dismantle themselves at will into a fricking gas, and reassemble themselves at will. Just the fact that they have a shape is a magical effect.

Now, the days of vampires being able to pick up and throw cars is over in SR4 - Vampires no longer go out to strength 30 and beyond. In fact, the SR4 vampire isn't super strong at all - it's juct normal human strength. Vampires are super perceptive, but even at that it's no more than is available to Adepts.

The Shadowrun 4 Vampire runs no faster than an ordinary human, which means that it runs considerably slower than does an Ork, let alone a Troll. Over short distances, an alligator can outrun a human, and a vampire can't even do that.

-Frank

[Lord Ben]

How often do they have to satisfy their dietary requirement? I know they have to drain essence 1/month but what about just eating/drinking?

[Grinder]

[blakkie]

[Lord Ben]

Although it'd be fun to play an uneducated person that crutches on magic all the time. I wonder how airplanes flew before there was magic??

I just want a good RP reason to know that my party member is a vamp when I waste him with a full auto shotgun.

[Kleaner]

As a game master I feel it is my duty to nourish interparty conflict.

Throw a pool party during the day. If he doesn't want to come, hold it at night, and watch him sink in the pool, and then go into dormancy.

If all that is too much trouble, buy him dinner. Then go to a bar. When he throws up his meal later on, and gets sick off one beer that should start throwing up red flags.

Go ask your street doc, "What never shows up during the day, sinks in water, can't eat or drink normal food or alcohol, and seems to heal really quickly?"

After you waste your buddy, bitch slap your GM for letting one into the game.

[Drace]

but dont forget that there are different strains of HMHVV, some vamps are nosferatu's which are stronger, faster, and im pretty sure have little or no allergies. Also Im not sure if the bouyancy rules are in this version, correct me if Im wrong.

Also the only way to find a vampire is by physical characteristics (mostly for metahuman versions, ie. wendigos, goblins, banshees, and Dzoo-noo-qua), by them never eating and drinking, and by many not going into sunlight often (only a mod allergy, so not lethal really). Also, if there is a mage , shaman, or an adept that can astrally percieve, they can assense them to find out.

Also Im not sure if in this version if they are dual natured, I know Ghouls still are, but I think only the Kreiger HMHVV causes dual natured and only ghouls are made from it.

EDIT: just looked through the book again, your right, nothing about other vamps, cept the wendigo.

[Kleaner]

There's only one type of vampire in 4th edition so far. They are not dual natured but can be magically active.

[Lilt]

I'd go with one of the regeneration tests. This can be as simple as, during combat, making perception tests whenever they're hit.

A simple perception test on a good shot against him should do it. No blood on a shot that obviously should have caused some bleeding? It's a vamp!

[Squinky]

[FrankTrollman]

No, the lack of bleeding isn't a big deal. The big deal comes when after being blown across the room by a grenade, all the pieces turn into a fine mist and flow back. As soon as someone takes a considerable amount of physical damage, their regeration power is going to be obvious to anyone in the room.

-Frank