Bela Lugosi
Mark of the Vampire
“I was a soldier in the War of Northern Aggression, it was well over a century and a half ago. One evening while I was on patrol, a finely dressed gentleman strode from the woods toward camp. Before I could even challenge him, his eyes burned into mine. I felt him flip through my thoughts as a man might the pages of a book. As I fell to my knees, I knew him to be my master, my lord. I would serve and love him unswervingly-walk through the gates of Heaven or Hell for him. I wept to think he may look away.”
– Jedadiah White, Private, Confederate States Army(deceased).
Vladimir Dracula, Prince of Wallachia, Vlad the Impaler is one of the Million Favored Ones of Nyarlathotep. Though this number is probably not actually correct, they are many. The Million Favored are distinct entities, some created by Nyarlathotep, while others are despicable examples of their species and drew his attention. Many of the Million Favored Ones are independent of Nyarlathotep, having been created or modified on a whim, some however, including Dracula, maintain limited communication.
Dracula is immortal, though may be killed by a limited number of physical and magical means, as detailed below.
Generally, Dracula appears as a beautifully handsome man, impeccably dressed, often in formal clothing of an earlier era. He can display or conceal his fangs at will, though must extend them to feed on blood from a living being. He has a strong preference for human blood; he may subsist on the blood any living creature, though he finds other mammals distasteful and reptiles disgusting. Blood is his only means of sustenance.
When he becomes enraged, perhaps through being disobeyed or injured in combat, he involuntarily reverts into a hideous, hunched beast with huge talons and fangs.
Creating Servants: Dracula may make humans into vampires, who will serve him without question. In order to do so, he must feed on their blood for three consecutive nights, then they must drink his blood on the third night.
If Dracula is destroyed, these people revert to human form at whatever chronological age they should be. This often results in immediate death. “Destroyed” includes the suspended animation caused by a wooden stake driven through Dracula’s heart, as detailed below.
He also may have one “ghoul” at any time. In order to maintain his ghoul, who must be human, Dracula must feed on them every twenty eight days. This person will joyfully follow the commands of Dracula and is often dispatched to perform errands which require being out in the daylight. If the ghoul is deprived of their monthly feeding, they will desperately seek their master
and will shriek and struggle for any means to return to him.
Animate Dead: Each round, as his action, Dracula may animate any corpse or corpses he can see, provided they have not before been undead. This costs him 1 Magic point per body he wishes to animate and the corpse becomes a zombie.
Shape Change: Dracula may transform at will, as the only action on his initiative, into mist, a wolf, a bat or back to human form. In all forms he still takes damage only from spells, magical weapons and the sun.
Coffin: Dracula does not need to sleep every day, but daytime is his sleep period, and he does tire if he does not sleep. While he sometimes sleeps in his nice big bed in silk sheets, Dracula must spend one day each week sleeping in his coffin, located in basement room #3. Once 7 days pass without this requirement being met, he will experience a brief few moments of unimaginable mental, physical and spiritual torment, and then simply turn to mist and dissipate — destroyed forever.
Armor: Can reform after hit points are exceeded. Once physical attacks have exceeded his Hit Points, Dracula turns into mist at the end of the combat round, thereafter regenerating hit points at the rate of 1 point per round and able to move at a rate of only 1.
Holy Symbols: Dracula may not make physical contact (this includes throwing things) with anyone presenting an empowered holy symbol. An Elder Sign is empowered if it is magically active due to the Elder Sign spell, and the 2 POW thus spent. Other holy symbols are empowered if the wielder has a true faith which is represented by the symbol, and it has been charged in an appropriate ritual plus the expenditure of 4 POW.
He also may not make physical contact with a person who is an innocent (the definition of which is at the discretion of the Keeper.)
Ordinarily, non-Mythos holy symbols have no effect on Mythos creatures, as they are the stuff of a greater reality. Vampires, however, are. Dracula, being both, is affected by regular holy symbols, but they must be charged with double the ordinary amount of POW.
Holy symbols and Elder Signs also harm him as below in Other Considerations.
Other Considerations: Each turn Dracula is exposed to sunlight, in any of his forms, he bursts into flame, is immobilized, and incurs 1D8 damage. If this reduces him to zero Hit Points, he is destroyed forever.
A wooden stake driven through his heart immobilizes Dracula and forces into a state of suspended animation, during which he is only vaguely conscious. As stated above, the people he has made into vampires revert to human form at whatever chronological age they should be. This often results in immediate death. If Dracula has been in this state for an extended period (at the discretion of the Keeper) he awakens with a very powerful thirst.
The touch of a non-Mythos holy symbol causes Dracula 1 Hit Point and damage, he recoils and must succeed at a POWx5 roll (ie, he fails only on a roll of 96 to 00) or flee. The touch of an Elder Sign caused him 1D6 damage, he recoils and must succeed at a POWx3 (84) roll or flee.
Dracula can not enter a residence without invitation by a legitimate member or guest of the household.
Running water does not harm Dracula.
Garlic has no effect on Dracula.
Dracula casts reflection.
Vladimir Dracula, One of the Million Favored
STR 22
CON 30
SIZ 19
INT 21
POW 28
DEX 20
APP 18/0
Move 10/12 as wolf/12 flying as bat/1 as mist
HP 25/
Damage Bonus: +2D6
Weapons: Bite 50%, damage 1D4 on the first round, blood drain thereafter.
Claw 50%, damage 1D4+db
Gaze attack, see above
Armor: 6 points of supernatural toughness. Dracula regenerates 5 HPs per round
Spells: Alter Weather, Augur, Bind Enemy, Candle Communication, Contact Deep One, Contact Deity (Nyarlathotep), Contact Ghoul, Create Gate, Enchant Cane, Summon / Bind Hunting Horror
Skills: Human Psychology 60%, Scent Blood 75%
Sanity Loss: 0/1D4 Sanity points to be attacked; 1/1D3 to witness a transformation or feeding, vampires of human appearance cost no Sanity points to see.
Damage Bonus: +2D6
Weapons: Bite 50%, damage 1D4 first round + blood drain thereafter * , † Claw 50%, damage 1D+2D6 † Gaze , match POW on Resistance table ‡ Maintaining the bite stifles any resistance from the target and drains 1D6 STR (blood) from the +
victim each round thereafter
†POW v POW to drain 1D3 magic points from the victim, transferring them to the vampire. Magic points so acquired vanish after the vampire’s POW in hours (28). The victim regenerates the magic points normally.
‡If the vampire wins the POW v POW roll, the victim is hypnotized and can be made to follow simple instructions. If these instructions are self-destructive, at the start of each round the target may snap out of it on a roll of INT x5 or less.
Beast Form
STR 24
CON 30
SIZ 19
INT 8
POW 12
DEX 22
Move 14
HP 25/
Damage Bonus: +2D6
Weapons: Bite 30%, damage 1D6, Claws 50%, damage 1D8+db. If both claws hit, the beast will grapple and automatically hit with its bite attack (only) each round until the grapple ends.
Armor: 6 points of supernatural toughness. The beast regenerates 5 HPs per round
Skills: Scent Blood 75%
Sanity Loss: 1/1D6
Wolf Form
STR 13
CON 11
SIZ 8
INT 21
POW 28
DEX 13
Move 12
HP 10/
Weapons: Bite 30%, damage 1D8
Armor: 1 point fur
Skills: Spot Hidden 60%, Track by Smell 80%
Any damage causing hit reduces Dracula’s bat form to mist. Move is 12 flying.
My name is CthulhuBob Lovely, I live in my childhood hometown of Columbus, Ohio, and have a son and two daughters. I volunteer at MisCon, which occurs each year on Memorial Day Weekend in Missoula, Montana and help out at other shows.
In my younger years I had seen H.P. Lovecraft’s books in the collection of my older brother, Brian, who is also responsible for introducing me to Monty Python, Star Wars and many other things geek.
I began running and playing Dungeons and Dragons in 1977 at the age of 15, and Call of Cthulhu since its original publication in 1981.
I believe geekery and gaming can have positive effects on math, reading and writing, and social interaction skills, as well as family togetherness. I have three published stories online at
http://www.bewilderingstories.com/bios/lovely_bob_bio.html
