VAMPIRE COFFINS
As most hardened adventurers will know, vampires are not easily "destroyed" ... for good. They even stand out from their undead counterparts due to their supernatural ability to avoid such final destruction. And what is the main focus of this ability to avoid such an untimely "death"? ... The vampire's coffin!
The coffin normally represents the final resting place of every mortal soul. However, in D&D, we can never take such assumptions for granted, especially when we think vampires may be around. For vampires, this normally straightforward casket is a place of sanctuary and resurrection. If an encounter with some vampire hunters goes badly for them, they can instantly turn into a gaseous form to avoid further combat and escape to their coffin. Once there, and after an hour's resting, they can quickly regenerate from their wounds and be ready to fight again!
THE ADVENTURER'S ADVANTAGE
However, like all things in D&D, what may be of benefit in one instance, may turn out to be a pitfall if an adversary (like the adventurer) knows how to use it to their advantage. For if a vampire's coffin should be destroyed before the vampire has time to flee to it, then the vampire becomes vulnerable to normal destruction, now unable to flee to its sanctuary. Furthermore, if an adventurer is able to discover a vampire's coffin with the vampire still inside, and they carry a humble wooden stake, then they can also destroy the vampire by plunging said stake into the vampire's heart even before it has time to react. Here is an in-game descriptive text for a coffin ...
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| In-Game Coffin Description |
VAMPIRES & THEIR SPAWN
Thanks to KevL's Creature Visualizer tool, I was able to produce something other than the stock vampire model we have in the toolset. Thankfully, vampires tend to be humanoid in nature, and so I simply crated some new "vampires" from the humanoid models. At first I was concerned about not having the correct teeth for them, but then I noticed that the official vampire lord does not show their teeth either, so decided it was not a major concern. I think the player will be able to see these for who/what they are. The bottom line, I was able to make the vampires look different, be they spawn types (lesser, but still very formidable) or the full blown vampire.
The story behind the vampire connection is still in development, but I do have a major premise to work from now. I also want to update the areas lighting and sounds, which were absent from the area I have, which was kindly put together for me by Eguintir, many years ago now!
OTHER UPDATES
While working with vampires and associated code, I noticed I had currently not allowed some creatures to drop items that may be useful in crafting. This mostly affected either constructs or outsiders. Thankfully, these drops are not critical, apart from they may be useful in crafting certain items with the appropriate skills ... and my guess is these parts are more likely for higher level crafted items. Therefore, any drops, apart from any monetary value, may well have been not usable until module two anyway. That said, if I release another version of module one, then these drops will become available again, but only if the module is started afresh.
In further code updates, I changed the HP Bars for party members to green and also enabled the bar to show above the Main PC as well now. Again, it is a minor alteration, and simply a cosmetic difference that I hope will be appreciated in the next release.
Lastly, I spent some time going over some functions (especially to do with host functions) to ensure the game is ready for additional modules. This is an ongoing point, but will become less of an issue as module two grows nearer completion.
And for those who like a picture, here is a themed one for this week...
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| The Heroes Discover A Dark & Ominous Place |
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