Horror Roleplaying Part 3: The Vampire

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The genre of horror is, indeed, a broad one: from vampires to atomic horror, Cthulhu Mythos to slashers and serial killers. In fact, it would be fair to point out that these each constitute sub-genres in their own right, and each needs their own special consideration. I shall endeavour to point out some of the particulars of the most common types – claiming to have an exhaustive list would lead to inevitable ridicule.

Let’s start with vampires. Vampires are an old staple; from arch-foes in a fantasy setting to running about the woods dressed in cloaks and wearing false teeth these monsters are reaching the peak of their popularity due to the whole Twilight thing going on. And for that reason I would urge the sensible gamer to AVOID VAMPIRES LIKE THE PLAGUE for at least the next few years. You will doubtless get your fill of jokes inspired by this insipid and trashy rubbish. You are not going to be able to get a good vampire story out until the ruckus dies down and Twilight becomes a relic of a bygone era, the dusty old tomes sitting on the library shelves gathering dust.

If you’re determined not to take my advice then at least take pains to make your vampire truly horrifying. One of the great elements of horror which arises from the Vampire is its seductive quality. To be a victim of the vampire is to have life immortal, to feel the heights of sensation, the depths of depravity opened for your exploration. The temptation to give in to your base, animalistic nature forms one of the most potent themes of this sub-genre. The character of the Vampire is also intriguing. The most compelling literary portrayals of vampires take pains to sketch a lengthy and intriguing history, stretching back for many hundreds, if not thousands of years. To get the proper effect in your players you must create a similarly compelling history and let them discover some of it. For the proper effect this lore must be earned, and some of the details need to remain shrouded in mystery. Don’t give your players “Ye Chronicle of ye Vampire”, no great tell-all exposition. Give them glimpses from disparate accounts, perhaps contradictory in places. This will add to the air of mystery and suspense.

Consider carefully what powers and weaknesses you are going to give your vampire. Although Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an awesome series, I would advise against the “squishy vampire” trope. Your players shouldn’t be able to knock a couple off in their spare time. Similarly, the traditional Garlic/Stake/Holy water/Sunlight deal is too trite, too overdone. I would mix it about a bit. Consider, for example, Bram Stoker’s version. Dracula could walk about during the day, appearing as a normal man – but he was deprived of some of his powers. Garlic didn’t affect him – only the flowers of the garlic plant. Don’t play on these strengths and weaknesses too strongly or your players will rely on them and feel secure of their protection. The players should never feel secure! Perhaps a good way to drive this point home is to provide some false information early on – perhaps a priest counsels the use of holy water against the undead. The players will dutifully carry super-soakers of the stuff to their first encounter. Have the vampire brush aside this sure protection as nothing but a nuisance. That should get the players thinking.

In fact, I wouldn’t let on the fact that you’re hunting (or being hunted by) a vampire until quite late in the piece. The subgenre is so popular and has been done so many times that your characters will immediately jump to conclusions the moment you let on. Consider this: Your players know a young lady who just happens to start wearing scarves all of a sudden. She starts to look pale over the course of a few days, eventually dying of a lack of blood. Examining the body you find two puncture wounds on her neck. At this point, every player knows exactly what’s going on. There’s a vampire, it’s sucking blood, get the garlic and holy water. Whereas it might be horrible for the characters, the players will be well within their comfort zone. This does not make for a horrifying campaign. Avoid this by the following method: instead of taking the easy route and imagining your vampire as an incidental monster who cares for nothing but where his next victim is coming from, give him interesting motivations and goals – and resources. What would a centuries-old, monstrously potent and competent mastermind be working towards? How far has this plan progressed, and what methods have been used so far to bring the eventual goal to fruition? This will provide your plot hooks and trail of evidence. The hard-won discovery of the vampire, coming after extensive research and no small amount of time (I’m talking about multiple sessions and numerous layers of plot) will not feel cliché or overdone. Let’s take an interesting example, using some of the advice I’ve previously given.

The players are an investigative team sent to look into the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Having been stonewalled by several employees of the firm responsible for the mishap you get an anonymous email containing internal memos cryptically referring to operations progressing successfully – cross checking the newspapers (provide real copies here) discovers that these memos coincide with public reports of failure to stem the flow of crude. Pressing the informant for more information, the individual lets on that he knows where more information might be found – providing these details – but is unwilling to risk any further on this venture. The PC’s, of course, can conduct a stealth mission to recover this evidence. I won’t detail the whole plot here – you could add bits like the whistleblower being discovered and asking for help, assassins being sent to take the characters out and other particulars. You should make sure to include some other-worldly elements hinting at a supernatural reality – perhaps an unlikely series of misfortunes occur, followed shortly by the discovery of some occult symbols painted on the character’s property. Keep it realistic and relatively low-key – perhaps these accidents really were simply unfortunate circumstances. This plot arc serves to prepare the ground for the final revelation. Eventually springing the undead on players who thought they were in a one hundred percent realistic setting might meet with incredulity. The evidence eventually uncovered should point to foes of ever increasing influence, until there is the final revelation of the mastermind behind the whole plot – a man of ancient lineage, great influence and power. The players should be encouraged to unearth this individual’s history – or maybe you’ve skilfully strung little bits of information in among the other evidence that only make sense after such a revelation. In this example you can see some of the elements we’ve talked about come into play: a strange modern occurrence, known as an all-too-real event, is used as the starting point. The character of the corporation is congruent with the current popular opinion. Props can be easily found – just look at recent newspapers. All this presents an inherently believable reality to the players. Gently, slowly, this reality is warped until the final horror is revealed. Skilfully weaving your vampire into reality as lived would provide an excellent horrific campaign.

A word should be said about the “elephant in the room” – the World of Darkness vampire. Those of you who have listened to our podcast might be aware that I have a rather limited experience of this particular game, although I love the concept and at some point would like to run through a campaign or two. The game claims to be about “personal horror.” This forms one of the more recently popular themes of the vampire genre, the exploration of the beast within us all. Unfortunately, I do not have the experience to provide much insight into this element of the sub-genre, and I would point you to the official World of Darkness forums for advice on this type of game. From my position of ignorance I remain sceptical about the level of fear which might be developed. As The Book of Pooh puts it (in the voice of Tigger)

If you’re scared of monsters
Pretend you’re a monster
Any old monster will do
‘Cause monsters don’t seem half as scary
When you’re a monster too!

With that said, reading the old edition of the Nosferatu clanbook gave me real chills. In this case I am willing to be proved wrong.

Vampires can be a wonderful foe, and with some careful thought and preparation you can avoid most of the clichés and jokes in your roleplaying campaign. However, I would recommend staying away from vampire plots for the time being, waiting until the Twilight fad has had time to work itself out and disappear from the public consciousness.

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