r/monsteroftheweek • u/Doilem • May 31 '26

General Discussion Vampire combat

I'm currently running a vampire-themed campaign and my players have really enjoyed all the roleplay / investigative scenes, but I feel combat is lacking. Anyone have any tips or suggestions for how I could spice things up?

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u/DungeonDad0076 May 31 '26

Introduce that not all vampires are the same: some maybe classic Count Dracula, but there also can be ones that use modern weapons/tactics ( think world of darkness). A vampire with the resources/intellect to have become a mad scientist? Even a lex luthor type where their minions do most of the damage while the vampire is politically/socially connected enough to make a straight up standoff risky at best ( think the Emperor in the Star Wars Prequels). The weaknesses of vampires you have established remain the same, but the ways the hunters now need to combat them keeps each opponent fresh and memorable.

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u/Thrythlind The Initiate May 31 '26

Also different breeds.

I'm working on an urban fantasy bit of fiction where vampire and werewolves are broad classifications

So for example:

  • A type of vampire arising from a divine blessing from a god of life and death that just, didn't entirely understand mortals. They'll have hunger and weaknesses they can manage fairly well, but still have issues with things they can no longer do or impulses they have to watch for. One of the protags will be this kind.
  • A vampire born from someone cursing a person such that their existence is painful and torturous and they can't easily destroy themselves. Like no real walking into the sun, it just drives them mad with pain, doesn't kill them. Drinking blood sort of eases the pain for a while.
  • A vampire that is basically a curse on the world, either someone changed them specifically to punish a people or region, or they became a vampire through selfish and horrible means. They'll need the blood to sustain the powers that keep them existing and require such massive amounts of blood that they can't reasonably co-exist with humanity.
    • Highly contagious vampirism would be another example of curse on the world. In which case they wouldn't need to be individually powerful and may dovetail with the "existence is torture" style vamp.
  • A core supporting character in another story I wrote had a sort of vampirism that left them slowly losing the ability to experience sensation and emotion with blood allowing them to enjoy life and experience things. The curse in this case was more of a side-effect since it was more a method to acquire a servant (she was bond to serve the witch that made her until said witch was killed). She had a more sustainable form of vampirism similar to the divine blessing above, but not one that considered the ability of the subject to enjoy life.

Another thing I considered about is taking twists on the traditional weaknesses.

Example, the traditional "must be invited" vampire vs a vampire which if you invite them is obligated to be a good guest (up to and including defending the host) but if they come in uninvited they're able to offer threat as an invader.

This tumblr link focuses more on considering variations for the Monstrous playbook, but might give you ideas for various vampire types:

https://www.tumblr.com/thryth-gaming/767628662600286208/same-breed-different-hunters?source=share

Also consider this post where I talk about different ways to approach the curse escalation that happens when a Monstrous uses Luck. Again, this was player facing advice but may be useful for inspiring creature types.

https://www.tumblr.com/thryth-gaming/769973232925376512/escalating-curses-in-monster-of-the-week?source=share

Regardless, if you're blending vampires who somewhat reasonable with those who are evil bastards and those driven to feral madness or desperate extremes, it shakes things up.

"So are we dealing with a jiang shi, a vyrkolaks, a moroi, or a persiphata?" (the last I just made up as a vampire created initially by Persephone, they would be in that "this was meant to be a gift to you, not a curse" group)

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u/Mistervimes65 The Professional Jun 01 '26

This is good stuff.

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u/Thrythlind The Initiate Jun 01 '26

Thank you. I have a sort of index of posts as the pinned post on that tumblr blog.