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Old 07-10-2019, 09:40 PM   #1
b-dog
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Default Nosferatu Vampire gaze attack

I want to have a gaze attack for my vampire work like a combat attack. The vampire will gaze at a PC with a skill of say 20 and the nosferatu rolls against this to see if he hits then the PC must make a dodge roll to avoid this attack and if he does not make the roll then the PC takes Will point damage of say 1d6 and then he must use this modified Will roll to resist the vampiric charm. The vampire can continue this attack round after round and he can eventually make the Will of the PC to nothing and have complete control of the PC. What do you think about this?
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Old 07-11-2019, 09:17 PM   #2
Dalin
 
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Default Re: Nosferatu Vampire gaze attack

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Originally Posted by b-dog View Post
I want to have a gaze attack for my vampire work like a combat attack. The vampire will gaze at a PC with a skill of say 20 and the nosferatu rolls against this to see if he hits then the PC must make a dodge roll to avoid this attack and if he does not make the roll then the PC takes Will point damage of say 1d6 and then he must use this modified Will roll to resist the vampiric charm. The vampire can continue this attack round after round and he can eventually make the Will of the PC to nothing and have complete control of the PC. What do you think about this?
My first thought is that in order for a PC to dodge an attack, it must be visible, right? Is there a beam shooting out from the vampire's eyes that PCs can perceive? Or at least a nasty red glow or they suddenly spout flames or something? If so, it sounds like a basic ranged attack. Instead of a bow of anti-Will arrows, the vampire shoots anti-Will rays from its eyes. Seems ok to me. I would stat it up like a ranged attack with Acc and whatnot. (Would there be a half-damage range?)

Are there any canonical examples of attacks that reduce Will? I don't have a problem with it either way, but it's always good to look around for other examples. (I don't have time to search my Monsters pdf right now.)
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Old 07-12-2019, 08:07 AM   #3
DouglasCole
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Default Re: Nosferatu Vampire gaze attack

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Originally Posted by Dalin View Post
Are there any canonical examples of attacks that reduce Will? I don't have a problem with it either way, but it's always good to look around for other examples. (I don't have time to search my Monsters pdf right now.)
Check the Falleglygi in Citadel at Nordvorn? I think they tap will. Third-party, though, so not "approved by Kromm canonical."
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Old 07-12-2019, 12:19 PM   #4
Dalin
 
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Default Re: Nosferatu Vampire gaze attack

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Check the Falleglygi in Citadel at Nordvorn? I think they tap will. Third-party, though, so not "approved by Kromm canonical."
That was tickling my memory, but I couldn't figure out where I'd seen it. The Falleglygi has an entirely different mechanic, but it does feature reducing Will over time. Thanks for the reference.
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Old 07-12-2019, 06:56 PM   #5
Yssa
 
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Default Re: Nosferatu Vampire gaze attack

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My first thought is that in order for a PC to dodge an attack, it must be visible, right?
It could also be eye-contact based. The Vampire's skill roll is to establish eye contact, on a potential hit, the PC's feel the power and have the chance to break eye contact before it takes hold, in the form of a dodge.

Doesn't really change the effect at all, just the color.
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Old 07-12-2019, 08:30 PM   #6
Anthony
 
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Default Re: Nosferatu Vampire gaze attack

An affliction can resist will, though there isn't a standard for a way of doing it that's irresistible.
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Old 07-12-2019, 08:43 PM   #7
Dalin
 
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Default Re: Nosferatu Vampire gaze attack

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Originally Posted by Yssa View Post
It could also be eye-contact based. The Vampire's skill roll is to establish eye contact, on a potential hit, the PC's feel the power and have the chance to break eye contact before it takes hold, in the form of a dodge.

Doesn't really change the effect at all, just the color.
Good point. I like the vibe of struggling to break eye contact. Feels genre-appropriate.

In this case, though, once PCs know about the ability, they should be able to avoid its gaze more easily, right? Like keeping eyes downcast or closing them altogether. That might work well, but is a different flavor than an active gaze attack. I’m away from my books right now, but I’d like to see how gaze is handled with a Medusa or basilisk. (Though, I don’t think they’re in DFRPG Monsters.)
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Old 07-12-2019, 09:19 PM   #8
Dalin
 
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Default Re: Nosferatu Vampire gaze attack

Ok, I was curious enough about this that I dug out the laptop and tracked down my PDFs. The basilisk and medusa are, logically enough, included in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 3: Born of Myth & Magic. The basilisk just gazes at people and causes mayhem (kinda like the eye of death, but there are some rules for whether it can see a target). The medusa's face must be directly viewed in order to cause problems. There's a helpful sidebar, Fighting with Eyes Averted (p. 15), that provides mechanics for how to handle this.

Either of these could be alternate models for how the OP's nosferatu attack might work (but changing the effect to reducing Will).

One thing that would have to be included in the creature's description is how fast one's Will would regenerate. Is it like FP, "healing" one point per 10 minutes? Or, like HP, taking a long time to heal naturally? Is there a way to magically heal Will? (The Strengthen Will spell?)
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Old 07-13-2019, 06:09 AM   #9
evileeyore
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Default Re: Nosferatu Vampire gaze attack

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Originally Posted by Dalin View Post
One thing that would have to be included in the creature's description is how fast one's Will would regenerate. Is it like FP, "healing" one point per 10 minutes? Or, like HP, taking a long time to heal naturally? Is there a way to magically heal Will? (The Strengthen Will spell?)
More than likely it's only while directly under the nosferatu's gaze or under their sway.


It's ye olde trope where the vampire locks eyes with it's victim and they slowly succumb to it's charms and seductions and remain under sway until the vampire leaves or something snaps them out of it.
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