Sangrolu are terrible in battle. They retain
the vampiric ability to drain life energy at a rate of 2 levels/HD per
hit. Also, they gain the lich ability to induce paralyzation with
a touch, if a save vs. paralyzation is failed.
So powerful are the dark energies surrounding a
whole sangrolu that it can only be hit by +2 or better magical weapons.
Broken sangrolu require at least +1 weapons to hit.
Sangrolu are immune to charm, sleep, enfeeblement,
polymorph, cold, electricity, insanity, death, and paralysis magic.
Poisons do not affect them. Sangrolu are not hindered by the
weaknesses of a vampire. Wooden stakes are
no longer a threat. Running water is...running water to them,
and sunlight does no more damage than the wind to a whole sangrolu. (Broken
sangrolu will rot away one hit die per round of exposure to direct sunlight.)
Also useless are mirrors, as the sangrolu are quite able to see their reflection,
and are not bothered by the reflective glass at all. Holy symbols
retain their effectiveness, but only by a priest. The faithful masses
can no longer depend upon them against the Blood Lich.
Whole sangrolu still regenerate three Hit Points
per round (or more, if the age of the blood lich as a vampire dictates),
but broken sangrolu do not. If one is brought down to zero hit points,
it does not take on a mist form, as it has no coffin
to retreat to. However, a sangrolu can only be permanently destroyed
if it's phylactery is emptied (See Ecology). However, sangrolu
do have an aversion to pure lead. Any contact with this metal will
do 1d4+2 points of damage to them per round of contact. Non-magical
lead weapons will do half damage to them. Finally, sangrolu
no longer require coffins, nor do then need to sleep during the day.
They may enter any structure without being invited. Sangrolu are
turned as liches, but with a -6 penalty to the roll. This penalty is
negated if the holy symbol used in the turning is made of pure lead.
Sangrolu have a staggering array of dark powers available
to them. They retain the vampiric ability to Spider Climb and take
the form of mist. They cannot transform into a wolf or bat,
nor can they summon these animals. Whole sangrolu retain the vampire's
Charm ability, but do not the lich's fear aura. Broken sangrolu lose
the Charm, but gain the fear aura. Sangrolu of both types can drink the
blood of living beings (but only the broken require it). A sangrolu
may hold hit points of blood equal to 10 times it's Hit Dice. Both
kinds can derive great power from the blood they take. Whole sangrolu
retain the blood until they use it for some purpose. Broken sangrolu
must continually replenish their supply because of decay. Broken
sangrolu lose 20 points of blood (as well as two hit dice) to rot per 24-hour
period. All sangrolu may use stolen blood to gain many powers and
abilities. NOTE: A sangrolu may not spend more
points of blood than it has Hit Dice in a single round.
1) A sangrolu may call upon the inherent life energy
in its stolen blood to add power to its spells. Thus;
FOR EVERY POINT OF BLOOD SPENT -- The spell's range and
area of effect are increased by 10%
FOR EVERY FIVE POINTS SPENT -- The spell's damage is increased
by one point per die. The spell's casting time is decreased by one, and
the spell imposes a -1 to all saves against it.
FOR EVERY TEN POINTS SPENT -- The spell's duration increases
to the next unit of time upward. Segments become rounds, rounds become
turns, turns to hours, hours to days, days to weeks, weeks to months, months
to years, and so forth.
2) The necrology of a sangrolu
twists the blood it takes and bonds it to the creature's dark essence.
Thus, any being that drinks the blood of a sangrolu must save vs. poison
or become the lich's absolute slave. Each consecutive time a creature
drinks a sangrolu's blood, a cumulative -2 penalty to the save is added.
The only way to break the servitude is to cast a successful Remove Curse
on the victim (against the sangrolu's Hit Dice), but only after the victim
has imbibed a flask of holy water. This process is painful to the
slave, and a System Shock check must be made, or the slave will permanently
lose 1 point of Constitution, whether or not the process was successful.
3)After taking a creature's blood, a sangrolu
may enter a trance, whereby it delves into the lifeforce of the blood it
has taken to learn information about the victim. This must be done
within one hour of drinking the blood, any longer
means the blood is no longer whole and has mixed with that of the sangrolu.
The trance demands absolute concentration, during which the creature is
immobile and (relatively) defenseless. In the trance, the sangrolu
enters
the spirit of the victim, which is still contained in the stolen blood,
although it is fading. The sangrolu may gain the answer to a number
of questions from the victim's blood, similar to the way a necromancer
speaks with dead. There a number of limitations to this ability:
A. Technically, the sangrolu may ask one question
for every four levels/HD it possesses. In practice, it may only get
one answer for each hit point of the victim's blood that it has drained.
B. Each question takes at least a full round to ask and
receive answer (long answers are up to the DM as to how long they take).
Bear in mind the blood is only fit for questioning for 6 turns after drinking.
C. The questions will always be answered truthfully.
There will be no deceit, for the sangrolu is not questioning an intelligent
creature. However, information cannot be gained from the blood if the victim
didn't know it at the time the
blood was taken. Sangrolu can get around the time limitation
by keeping the victim's blood in a container for later use. As long
as it is kept in liquid form, and is kept pure, it will remain useful for
questioning.
4) A Sangrolu may spend the energy in stolen blood
to repair damage to itself. Whole Sangrolu may "heal" one hit point
by spending two points of blood. Broken sangrolu must spend four
points of blood for one hit point of healing. In
any case, only four points of damage may be repaired per round, and
this is cumulative with the Whole sangrolu's regeneration ability.
The sangrolu's trailing mist is far more than a supernatural
oddity. The mist is actually a part of the creature's physical form
and dark essence. If the sangrolu remains still and concentrates,
it may control the direction of the mist's flow, and may see and hear normally
in any location where the mist is present. Sangrolu may extend the
mist 10 yards from themselves for every Hit Die they possess, and may create
one such "tendril" of mist for every 4 Hit Dice. They may only concentrate
their senses on one tendril at a time, however. The mist tendrils
move at a rate of 10, and may move across any surface. The mist's
nature prevents it from moving through empty air, and it must remain attached
to a surface. The surface may be vertical or upside-down, and the
mist can move through any space that is not airtight, such as keyholes
or window shutters.
In addition, a sangrolu may actually grant its mist
temporary sentience, and a piece of the lich's own nether energy.
By concentrating and spending a certain amount of blood, a sangrolu may
create one or more Crimson Deaths from its
trailing mist. These creatures are independently intelligent,
but totally subservient to the lich. The cost of making these creatures
is 5 points of blood for every Hit Die the creature(s) is to have. This
energy is transferred from the lich to the
Crimson Death, so if the Death is destroyed, the points are lost. Normally,
the blood cost limits the number of Deaths a lich can make, but no sangrolu
may have more than five Deaths in existence at any one time. Each Death
takes a full
round to manifest, and only one may be created at a time.
A Death may be manifested anywhere that the sangrolu's
trailing mist is present. It may then move about on it's own, and
may travel any distance from it's creator. Curiously, a Death created
this way cannot exist if a body of running
water, even as small as a brook, lies between it and the lich.
Except for the changes noted above, the monsters otherwise
conform to all statistics given for Crimson Death in the Monstrous Manual,
Pg.253, except they may possibly be fewer in HD. The Deaths can transfer
all blood that they take
from mortals to the sangrolu that created them. In this manner, sangrolu
may perform "remote feeding." Blood transfer is on a one-for-one
basis. When wearing another form (and thus not emitting trailing
mist), a sangrolu cannot create
mist tendrils or Crimson Deaths. It can, however, maintain Deaths
previously created.
While they cannot transform into animals by innate
power (spells are another matter), sangrolu do possess incredible control
over their physical forms. In addition to mist form, a sangrolu can
alter it's features to appear as any humanoid
creature. So great is this control that the sangrolu can even
alter its fingerprints.
Sangrolu emit no mist when they have altered their
forms. This is useful for disguise, but also hinders another ability
dependent on the trailing mist, described below.
Whole sangrolu may enter and leave mist form instantly.
If it beats an opponent at initiative, it may attack (spell or melee) and
take mist form before the opponent can retaliate.
NOTE: While broken sangrolu may still alter their forms,
their curse of decay forces them to spend a point of blood for every round
they remain in another form (except mist). Also, broken sangrolu
require a full round to change to or from mist form.
The physical attacks of a sangrolu combine the chill and
paralyzation of a lich with the energy drain of a vampire. Barring
any skill as a Fighter, sangrolu normally attack once per round for 1d10
points of damage, 2 drained levels, and paralyzation if a save is failed.
As if this wasn't bad enough, a sangrolu may increase
it's attack rate and damage by spending blood. Damage is increased
on a point-for-point basis, with a maximum of 10 spent points per attack
(Thus, if 7 hit points of blood are spent, one attack's damage is increased
by 7). The sangrolu uses its stolen blood to increase its power, and can
deliver incredibly hard blows. The blood is spent before the attack is
delivered, and is lost even if the lich misses.
The lich may increase it's number of attacks, as well.
For every 5 points spent, the monster gains an additional attack.
Finally, the sangrolu may increase its Strength, already 18/00, to even
greater levels by spending blood. Three points of
blood must be spent per point of Strength, per round. Thus, raising
Strength from 18/00 to 19 for five rounds costs 15 points of blood.
The final horrid ability of these undead (not counting
it's spellcasting ability) is Procreation. Sangrolu can create undead in
much the same way as normal vampires. They must drain a victim of
all its blood, and then have the victim drink some of the sangrolu's own
blood. Then, the corpse must be kept out of the sunlight for three
days and nights, as it transforms. On the third night, the corpse
will rise again as a vampire under the sangrolu's control.
Sangrolu-born vampires are different from the normal variety.
They are more bestial in nature, and will be called Feral Vampires from
here on. Their fangs are longer and sharper than a normal vampire's, their
ears are sharp, and their brows
are more pronounced. Their limbs are slightly longer than normal,
and more muscular. Feral vampires are absolutely hairless.
Feral vampires are named such because their every habit
reminds one more of an animal or beast than a human or demi-human.
In truth, they are as every bit as intelligent as they were in life, but
the dark aura of the sangrolu has changed their nature drastically.
Feral vampires are basically a cross between vampires and ghouls.
They are cannibalistic, seeking not only the blood of the living, but the
very flesh and bone of the living as well (see Vampire, Feral).
Blood liches may have salient abilities as per the
Von Richtens guide to the Vampire and the Guide to the Lich. The
lich salient abilities slowly replace vampire abilities, but the blood
lich always retains at least 1 vampire salient ability, but thus does not
prevent it from getting its full allotment of lich salient abilities.
Thus a blood lich that had 2 salient abilities as a vampire and rolls 3
as a lich, will eventually loose 1 of the vampire salient abilities and
have 3 lich and one vampire salient ability (for a total of 4). On
the other hand, a very aged patriarch with 5 salient abilities that gains
3 lich abilities will end up with 3 lich and 2 vampire salient abilities.
Most "whole" sangrolu have salient abilities, broken may or may not have
any. Also, the blood lich may replace "detrimental" salient abilities
from the guide to the vampire (such as blood lust), with "good" abilities
from the guide to the lich, as the sangrolu escapes from the curses of
Kanchesis.
Blood liches, like standard liches, get the bonus casting ability
of a specialist necromancer per Von Richtens guide to the lich, i.e. 1
additional necromantic spell per level, -1 saves vs. necromantic spells
(no drawbacks- i.e. can still cast illusion spells unlike a mortal necromancer)
In the event a sangrolu is reduced to 0 hit points, it's
physical form will merge with it's trailing mist, to become a Crimson Death.
This will not be immediately apparent to any observers, and it will appear
only that the destroyed creature vanished into mist. The Crimson
Death will then slowly leave the area, acting as much like a cloud as possible,
spreading itself out thinly to mimic dissipation. If the DM is kind,
she may allow. Observation rolls (at -5 or more) to notice the mist
is not dissipating as it should. As a Death, the Sangrolu must conform
to all statistics given as normal for this critter, save it's intelligence
and memories. It loses all spellcasting ability, salient powers,
and other such vampire, lich, or sangrolu abilities.
To regain it's physical form, the "sangrolu-wraith"
must find a suitable living body, drain that person dry of blood, and then
take over the husk. Having done this, the creature must make a save vs.
death, using the host's creature's saving
throw. Success means the body now belongs to a new whole sangrolu.
Failure indicates that the sangrolu has inhabited the body, but it was
unable to take the strain of possession, and the sangrolu is now broken.
For this reason, the sangrolu-wraith will try to
find the most powerful individual available (i.e., better saves) to possess.
The sang-wraith does have a rudimentary sense of a creature's hit dice,
but only after taking a sample of its blood. This means the sang-wraith
may have to attack several different individuals before it finds a suitable
host (This may provide clues to alert adventurers to what the sangrolu
is doing, e.g. find the trail of dead farmers, and follow it to the
13th-level fighter now serving as the sangrolu's new body.)
Then, the sang-wraith will have to attack this individual
to drain it's blood. Thus, the sang-wraith may have to manipulate
matters so that the prospective host is already weakened or damaged when
the sang-wraith attacks. The monster doesn't need his hit points,
just his body and his death-save.
If the sang-wraith is destroyed before it finds
a new host, then the lich's soul remains in the phylactery (see below;
POSSESSION FROM PHYLACTERY). After possession, the monster will have whatever
hit points the host had at the time of possession, up to the sangrolu's
max. However, time is required to fully adjust to the new host, as
it's physiology dies and transforms into the complex necrology of a
vampiric lich.
Basically, this adjustment period will be one night per
point of difference between the sangrolu's max hit points and the host's
current hit points. During this time, the sangrolu does not regenerate
hit points. It can still consume blood and burn it for various powers,
but the cost of this is twice normal, and the max amount of blood spent
in a round is still the beast's Con score (equal to it's host's Con score,
now). If the sangrolu is broken, it will decompose at twice the normal
rate during the adjustment period, thus it's blood requirement is twice
normal.
During the adjustment period, the sangrolu emits no mist,
and cannot create Crimson Deaths. When the adjustment
period ends, the sangrolu regains all regular abilities, and has a new
face. All physical stats are either the default vampire
scores (see Van Richten's Guide to the Vampire) or the scores of the
host, whichever is better. This is the only method
a broken sangrolu may repair it's condition. It may become whole
if a new host succeeds it's death save. Thing is, it probably doesn't
know that, nor would it unless somebody managed to slay the beast in the
first place. This ignorance is the reason broken sangrolu don't immediately
seek a new body when they enter their sorry condition.
One more thing I must deal with. If a broken sangrolu rots away to 0 hit dice, or if a sang-wraith is destroyed before finding a host, then the sangrolu's soul will exist only in its phylactery. If this occurs, then the world may breathe easy for a while. Only once in a period of up to a century, the phylactery may manifest a Crimson Death to go forth and hunt a new host, as described above. If the Death is destroyed, the phylactery must wait 1d100 years to regain the necessary strength to make another one.
An ugly side ability of a sangrolu changing hosts is Memory
Retention. Again, this must be learned by the lich from experience...he
doesn't automatically know it unless he's read up on Blood Liches.
In most worlds, these creatures
are so rare that there is liable to be no such information floating
around about them.
Memory Retention is the ability to retain the new host's
memories, but saving them from the host's blood before it putrefies (similar
to the sangrolu ability to question a victim's blood after taking it).
The first time the sangrolu takes a new body, it must
make a Wisdom check at -8. Success means the sangrolu has retained
1d10% of the host's memories. The sangrolu gains a fraction of the
host's knowledge, class abilities, proficiencies, innate abilities, and
other such things. Failing the Wisdom check means all memories of
the host were lost, and the sangrolu is none the wiser.
After this, the sangrolu may actually attempt to
salvage host memory when switching bodies. The Wisdom check is still made
at -8 every time, but success indicates a yield of one more d10% of memory
than was gained last time. Thus, the second try yields 2d10%, the
third 3d10%, and so forth. After ten successes (not ten tries), the sangrolu
will now salvage 10d10% of host memories on a success. All retained
memories of each host stay with the sangrolu forever, even into the next
host body, forming a bank of stolen knowledge. Even innate powers
or abilities are gained, and the DM will have to decide which ones are
kept to equal the percentage of retention. I suggest roughly one
innate power per 5% of memory retained. 100%, of course, retains
all the abilities. A sangrolu possessing a balor on it's tenth try
could get really disgusting...
With practice, a sangrolu may actually learn to leave
his physical form as a Crimson Death at will, for the purpose of stealing
other's memories. This mastery cannot be achieved until at least ten successes
of forced sang-wraithdom-to-host have been logged. Thus, a sangrolu
who has never been destroyed knows nothing about this ability. In this
way, destroying a sangrolu's body may actually serve to teach the monster
to better use its power? The only way to get rid of these bastards is to
empty the phylactery, which, of course, will be very well protected.
Sangrolu are created when a vampire that has achieved at
least 18th level as a Wizard creates a special variant of a lichdom potion,
and drinks it during a complex ritual.
Sangrolu make use of a phylactery, the same as other liches
do. However, the phylactery must be an object capable of holding
a pint of the prospective vampire's blood. The blood is what contains
the soul of lich, and the creature will be
destroyed if the blood is ever emptied from it. The blood will remain
liquid as long as it remains in the enchanted container.
The potion is created with the same spells used in the
normal version. The ingredients are different, though. The sangrolu
potion makes no use of poisons, as vampires are immune to such substances.
Instead, the potion is a mixture of blood and ashes. The blood comes
from about 13 different creatures of magical or extraplanar origin, and
the ashes come from ancient trees from graveyards, the corpses of the wicked,
or similar sources.
A sangrolu begins its new existence with basic hit
dice when created equal to that it would have according to its age level
per PLUS 4. This gives the basic 12+ HD. Then, for each levels
the creature gains, the blood lich has a 50% chance to gain 1 HD
(alternatively, the DM may simply assign a die type approximating the number
of levels the blood lich has gained- thus a 24th level (mage) blood lich
that transformed at 18th level would have its base HD for age level +
4 HD + 1d6 HD.) Further blood liches may be allowed a constitution
bonus as per the High Level Campaigns rulebook.
Sangrolu lairs show quite a bit more thought to the environment
than those of normal liches. While "standard" liches desire seclusion,
sangrolu want a ready supply of blood handy. Whole sangrolu
lair themselves outside but near large cities. Typically, a whole
sangrolu will inhabit a large country estate, a lonely abandoned barn,
or any other place near but outside a populated area. They need never
actually venture into a city due to their ability to create Crimson Deaths
to feed for them, but they try to remain no farther than 10 miles from
such places.
Broken sangrolu need blood much more badly than whole,
and tend to more drastic measures. Broken sangrolu tend to set up temporary
lairs in places of large populations, but that will escape the notice of
the world at large. They will
typically take over (or lair in) a prison or asylum, a large ship at
sea, frontier villages, or sewers of large cities. Sangrolu also
tend toward kingdoms or provinces where slavery exists, to easily purchase
supplies of blood.
Any servant vampires are wracked with blood-boiling pain
as the master transforms into a lich. Each one must make a SysShock roll.
Failure indicates the vampire is not merely freed from the sangrolu, she
is completely destroyed as her blood ignites.
Success indicates a startling change in the vampire.
All servant vampires thus affected will immediately take mist form, and
will converge upon the new sangrolu. This is not an option, the vampire
will drop whatever it is doing to go to it's master. Once there,
each misty vampire will mix it's form with that of the new sangrolu's trailing
mist. Thus, the bond is strengthened between the servants and the
master.
From hereafter, the servant vampires serve much the same
function as do the Crimson Deaths the sangrolu may generate from it's mist.
As the vampires will, they may leave the sangrolu's mist and take on their
physical forms once again. Or, they may remain in mist form, but
are now Crimson Deaths as opposed to regular old mist. In essence
all servant vampires become independent Deaths that the sangrolu does not
have to generate himself, and who may become vampires at will. Or,
they may blend in with the sangrolu's mist, and even go so far as to lend
their hit points to their master, as well as all blood taken during their
hunts. Of course, when they leave the sangrolu's mist, the lich loses
their
hit points, as they take those with them. Blood transference
can be permanent, though. So, if a vampire feeds and then merges
with the sangrolu, then the lich can take the blood the vampire just drank,
and then the vampire can leave (still
hungry).In this way, a sangrolu may also transfer it's own HP to the
vampires, in the case that they are damaged or starving, although this
isn't done often.
These vampires are actually bonded, blood and soul, to
the sangrolu in a sort of necrosymbiotic relationship. As a result,
all servant vampires/deaths have telepathic communication with each other
and the sangrolu at all times, as well as an empathic bond which allows
them to sense each other's pain or stress. However, this relationship
has it's drawbacks to the sangrolu as well. If one of these servants
is destroyed by an outside force, then this may incapacitate the
sangrolu for some time (1d6 rounds per HD of the servant). Also,
when a servant is destroyed, it takes mist form and goes back to the sangrolu,
not a coffin. The servants don't sleep in coffins anymore, they just
merge with the sangrolu's
mist. This means that a destroyed servant could very well lead
the sangrolu's enemies straight to him, at the worst possible time (as
he's incapacitated right now).
Thus it is quite possible for a blood lich with five vampire
servants to have around 45 extra Hit Dice worth of Hit Points at its disposal
(yes, the lich can use them all at once, even well beyond its own maximum
HP total) The lich just has to be careful not to let his vampires
get staked. Otherwise, in material form, these vampires conform to "normal"
vampire statistics as given per age category.
One curious characteristic of the blood lich is that if
they take the blood of a single, certain type of creature for an extended
period, they will begin adopting mental characteristics of that type of
creature. This is probably because the
sangrolu's own personality fades over time, and it more readily adopts
the mindset and nature inherent in the blood it takes. If a sangrolu spends
a year feeding primarily on the insane, the lich will start to exhibit
signs of mental illness. If it
takes the blood of children long enough, the mental age of the lich
will drop. Just after the transformation, a new sangrolu must spend
at least a few years on a certain "diet" before exhibiting this personality
adoption, but as the sangrolu gets older and it's own personality fades,
this time becomes steadily shorter.
| Climate / Terrain: | Any |
| Frequency: | Very Rare |
| Organization: | Solitary of Pack |
| Activity Cycle: | Nocturnal |
| Diet: | Living Flesh |
| Intelligence: | Very |
| Treasure: | Special |
| Alignment: | Chaotic Evil |
| No. Appearing: | 1-4 |
| Armor Class: | 1 |
| Movement: | 18, Br 8 |
| Hit Dice: | 9 |
| THAC0: | 10 |
| Number of Attacks: | 3 |
| Damage/Attack: | 1d4+7 (x2) / 1d8+7 |
| Special Attacks: | Paralyzation, Con Drain, Beserk Rage |
| Special Defenses: | See Below |
| Magic Resistance: | Nil |
| Size: | M-L (5' - 7') |
| Morale: | Fanatic 18) |
| XP Value: | 9,000 |
These vampires are created
when a sangrolu (See the Blood Lich)forces a victim to drink the lich's
blood after completely draining the victim of its own vital fluid.
Within the space of three days and nights, the victim will transform into
a monstrous creature bent on destruction, but which is totally subservient
to the blood lich that spawned it. Feral vampires are by nature more
bestial than "normal" vampires, they do merely drink blood but feast on
the flesh and bone of their victims.
Feral vampires closely resemble ghouls, with
long, sharp fangs even more pronounced than on regular vampires.
Ferals have long tongues, wild eyes, sharp brows, chins, and ears, and
angular features. Upon transformation, feral vampires lose all hair
from their bodies, and their skin becomes chalky white. Eyes are
usually yellow and bloodshot.
These vampires are restless. Their animalistic
nature and burning blood prevents them from sitting still too long, and
they pace like caged animals when not allowed to roam and kill. Sangrolu
only create these abominations with good reason...they are excellent weapons,
but can become hard to control.
Normal vampires are themselves terrible opponents,
but feral vampires can only be described as demonic in battle. Their
jaws can open to an incredible width, and their fingers can extend horrid
claws. When entering combat, a feral vampire will often fly into a berserk
frenzy. The chance of this is 5% cumulative per round of combat,
+1% per point of damage inflicted on it. While in the frenzied state,
the feral vampire's eyes become red, it's features will become even more
bestial, and it will attack with wild abandon, stopping at nothing to rip
its foes apart.
While berserk, a feral vampire gains an effective
21 Strength (increased from the normal 19!), and thus gains +4 to hit and
+9 to damage. It also gains either two more claw attacks or one more bite
attack, in addition to the normal number, thereby allowing 4 or 5 attacks
in any given round. While berserk, the vampire's movement rate increases
to 22, but it's dig rate remains the same. Berserk ferals have a
morale of Fearless (20), and they have double their normal amount of hit
points. This hit point increase fades when the berserk does, which
is when five rounds pass without an opponent in sight.
In any state, a feral vampire attacks with it's
claws and teeth. If both claw attacks hit the same victim,
the bite attack gets an extra +2 to hit. If either claw hits a victim,
then a save vs. paralyzation must be made at -3, or the victim cannot move
for 1d8+4 rounds. This time can be extended with subsequent hits.
Worse, if a bit attack hits, then the victim is drained of one Constitution
point. If a system shock check is failed, this loss is permanent.
If made, lost Con comes back at a rate of one point per day. If a
victim dies from lost Con, then they may only be resurrected by a Wish.
Ferals retain the normal vampiric abilities of regeneration
(3 points per round), Spider Climbing, and taking mist form. They
cannot Charm, nor can they transform into a wolf or bat. They also
cannot summon animals. They can, however, produce an effect
identical to the 2nd-Level Wizard spell Blur, and they always use this
in combat.
Feral vampires have excellent senses. They
can track as a ranger with a score of 18, and are only surprised on a 1
in 10 chance. They can also move with perfect silence as a normal
vampire (but not while berserk).
These vampire's powerful limbs and claws allow them
to dig quickly through soil and sand. They can also dig through stone,
but at a rate of 4. This is used primarily to escape the sun,
but can also be used as an ambush tactic.
Feral vampires face slightly different weaknesses
than their cousins. They are turned not as vampires, but as liches.
In addition, garlic, running water, and wooden stakes do not pose any threat
to them. They can enter private structures without invitation.
Although they do not reflect in mirrors, they will not recoil from them.
Feral vampires share the sangrolu weakness versus
pure lead. Just a touch of this metal will do 1d10 points of damage
to a feral vampire and nonmagical lead weapons will do full damage to them.
The presence of the metal is irritating to these monsters, and the chance
for berserk is increased 10% per round if they are within 30 feet of it.
Open flame is also a threat to a feral vampire,
and they will not approach within 20 feet of it. If flame is forced
into them, and they cannot retreat, they will automatically become berserk.
Flames do normal damage to them, but it cannot be regenerated. All
burning damage must be healed by a feral vampire at the rate of 1 point
per night, and it will always leave horrible scars.
Otherwise, feral vampires have the same immunities
to spells and poisons as regular vampires do.
Feral vampires do not need a coffin to spend the
daylight hours. They can dig at a rapid rate, allowing them to sleep
anywhere they can dig themselves into the ground. Since they were
never buried, they have no need of earth from their graves.
Feral vampires cast no shadows or reflections.
It is important to note that feral vampires are "sterile," that is, they
cannot create more undead.
Feral vampires are extremely rare, and 99% of the
time they are serving a Blood Lich, since these liches are the only thing
that can create this type of vampire. If an independent feral is
encountered, it will most likely be alone, either escaped from it's sangrolu
master (and feverishly on the run), or has been displaced because it's
master has been destroyed or is otherwise indisposed.
Ferals serve sangrolu the same way dogs serve humans.
They are hunters, warriors, and occasionally guardians. Usually,
a sangrolu will only create these monsters when it needs muscle to destroy
an opponent. Feral vampires are bonded completely with their sangrolu
masters, and usually can do nothing to harm the lich, nor even run away.
On occasion, one feral in hundreds musters up the willpower to break free
of the sangrolu's control and flee. The effort usually drives such
creatures hopelessly insane.
It should be noted that broken sangrolu are much
more likely to create these vampires, due to their greater need for protection
and diversion from hunt that might target them.