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Author Topic: Vampires creating ghoul spawn  (Read 1538 times)

C27

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Vampires creating ghoul spawn
« on: January 06, 2015, 08:13:37 am »

Inspired by a little discussion of vampires, I've been struck with a thought that could make them more interesting and potentially dangerous.

Vampires can create ghoul spawn.

When a vampire feeds and would normally kill a victim, it has a chance to convert it to a ghoul instead. The ghoul would not show up as "dead" and would attempt to hide as a member of the fortress, though less effectively than the vampire itself - becoming sallow and growing long teeth and claws is easier to detect. The ghouls would be undead, though their hunger increases - but they only eat the dead, so now and then would plunder the graveyards, smashing tombs and devouring dead dwarves if available (with all that entails), snacking on other corpses if they're not and giving in to their hunger and trying to eat the living if no other options are available. The ghouls would be loyal to the vampire that spawned them while it lives, but if the vampire is killed with ghouls still around then they become Hostile to Life and go berserk.
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Aslandus

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Re: Vampires creating ghoul spawn
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2015, 12:15:34 pm »

I like the idea of vampires having some kind of followers, perhaps the ghouls or thralls or whatever they would be called will volunteer themselves to be drunk from when the vampire gets thirsty instead of having them hunt down other fortress members, making it easier for vampires to hide for a long time...

Sirbug

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Re: Vampires creating ghoul spawn
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2015, 02:03:59 pm »

I would like something this to be incorporated into adventure mode, with vampire lairs.

That is, instead of being defenceless civilians, vampires would depart, find a base away from civilization, like a cave and start building a gang. They should have ghouls as bodyguards (Although I would propose some different lore, like injecting them with vampire blood and mutating on uncontrollable rate (unlike drinking blood) and have mortal servants who sometimes get promoted into vampirism.
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Cool, but wouldn't this likely lead to tongues having a '[SPEACH]' tag, and thus via necromancy we would have nearly unkillable reanimated tongues following necromancers spamming 'it is sad but not unexpected'?

tonnot98

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Re: Vampires creating ghoul spawn
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2015, 02:21:55 pm »

I would like something this to be incorporated into adventure mode, with vampire lairs.

That is, instead of being defenceless civilians, vampires would depart, find a base away from civilization, like a cave and start building a gang. They should have ghouls as bodyguards (Although I would propose some different lore, like injecting them with vampire blood and mutating on uncontrollable rate (unlike drinking blood) and have mortal servants who sometimes get promoted into vampirism.
Knowing this community, people would end up creating vampire-only worlds using this system. Could you imagine the adventures to kill the vampire king?
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LordBaal

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Re: Vampires creating ghoul spawn
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2015, 03:02:46 pm »

Vampires... oh so much can be done with them... right now they don't have negative effects from not drinking blood for one...

Different vampires, depending on the race they come from, their personalities and luck and traits could end up in different positions. A human vampire could lead a kingdom like the ones from warhammer fantasy. Others could end up like wild beasts, lurking on huge city sewers or forests.

Dwarven or even goblin vampires lurking on old mines and tunnels.
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Aslandus

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Re: Vampires creating ghoul spawn
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2015, 03:04:48 pm »

I would like something this to be incorporated into adventure mode, with vampire lairs.

That is, instead of being defenceless civilians, vampires would depart, find a base away from civilization, like a cave and start building a gang. They should have ghouls as bodyguards (Although I would propose some different lore, like injecting them with vampire blood and mutating on uncontrollable rate (unlike drinking blood) and have mortal servants who sometimes get promoted into vampirism.
Knowing this community, people would end up creating vampire-only worlds using this system. Could you imagine the adventures to kill the vampire king?
First they would make an adventurer, train him/her up until they were legendary in all skills, then retire as king/queen of the world, then create an epic citadel in fortress mode and make it the mountainhome, then have a final battle between a freshly made new adventurer (after slaying legions of ghouls and vampire underlings of course) and the vampire-master overlord of the world over pits of lava with demons flying around shooting fireballs the whole time, which would end with the vampire master unceremoniously dodging into the lava and burning to death...

mate888

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Re: Vampires creating ghoul spawn
« Reply #6 on: January 07, 2015, 02:09:43 am »

Vampires... oh so much can be done with them... right now they don't have negative effects from not drinking blood for one...

Different vampires, depending on the race they come from, their personalities and luck and traits could end up in different positions. A human vampire could lead a kingdom like the ones from warhammer fantasy. Others could end up like wild beasts, lurking on huge city sewers or forests.

Dwarven or even goblin vampires lurking on old mines and tunnels.
Imagine an adventurer entering into the sewers of the human capital, only to see, horrified, lots and lots of little yellow dots looking at him trougth the darkness, as hundreds if not thousands of vampire kobolds jump at him to drain him of blood.
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Gargomaxthalus

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Re: Vampires creating ghoul spawn
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2015, 03:06:26 pm »

All very nice. Add in a reworking of werebeasts, actually get the games gnomes and gremlins going and things will get very interesting indeed.
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Aslandus

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Re: Vampires creating ghoul spawn
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2015, 03:29:48 pm »

All very nice. Add in a reworking of werebeasts, actually get the games gnomes and gremlins going and things will get very interesting indeed.
Maybe make them have some kind of ragtag Republic of the Fey, so the "outcasts" of civilization are working together, albeit very chaotically (randomly getting into fights with each other, breaking furniture, etc. Like a civilization full of small dwarves that constantly tantrum without going insane), to rob dwarven fortresses and survive.