Thursday, August 18, 2022

The Hollywood Vampire, Low Budget B-Movie Villain

This is a generic vampire from low budget knockoffs trying to milk the 1931 Dracula film's popularity, freshly ripped from the silver screen (or perhaps a big screen TV) and let loose to do his stereotypical thing in the real world.  He's plenty dangerous to regular people, but seriously outclassed by even minor superheroes.  

Feel free to use him (them?) in multiples, they made dozens of these films, all with pretty interchangeable vampires in them.  They might even get confused about who came from which film, they're certainly not the sharpest villains out there.  Suddenly becoming non-fictional after spending the better part of a century repeating the same awful dialog would shake anyone's worldview.

How'd they get loose in the real world?  Villainous invention?  Magic?  Psionics?  Wager Master screwing around?  A better movie villain like the Silent Harvester yanking them out to serve as a lackey?  You decide.   

The Hollywood Vampire

Pick a B-grade vampire movie.  That's his origin and motivation.  If he spends enough time in reality he might grow beyond his paper-thin character, but he probably won't last that long.  Note that as a fictional vampire he doesn't actually have the traditional weaknesses while he's "real" (eg daylight just makes him look all washed out, he can't even smell garlic, etc.) but they can still be effective props for a Hinder attempt.  If you wind up fighting him in a film, he'll suffer from vampire banes as expected - that's his reality, our world is just fiction to him.  

Description: Stereotypical Hollywood vampire from anywhere in the Thirties, Forties, or Fifties.  Tall guy in outdated evening wear, looks vaguely like Bela Lugosi but clearly isn't.  Apparently from a black & white film because he's entirely in shades of gray, no color at all.  Speaks in someone's idea of an Eastern European accent except when he slips and forgets to try.

Gender: Male           Age: Looks 40-something             Height: 6'0"                 Eyes: Black 

Hair: Black                              Skin: White                    Build: Imposing

Approach:  Leech                                Archetype:  Fragile

Health:  10 + (5 x H)

Powers: Suggestion d10, Strength d8, Shapeshifting d6                                      

Qualities: Close Combat d8, Imposing d8, Stealth d8, Hollywood Vampire d8

Status: Green Zone Health - d10 / Yellow Zone Health - d8 / Red Zone Health - d6

Abilities:

Commanding Gaze (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Suggestion die.  If this negates all the damage of that Attack, Hinder the Attacker and Boost yourself with that same roll. 

From the Shadows (A) Attack using Stealth.  Use your Max die.  Defend against all Attacks against you with your Min die until the start of your next turn.

Mist Form (I) Whenever your personal zone changes you may immediately move elsewhere in the scene.

Vampiric Assault (A) Attack using Hollywood Vampire.  Use your Max die.  Hinder that target with your Mid die.  Recover Health equal to your Min die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Children of the Night (A) Replenish your vampiric minions up to the number of heroes in the scene.  

Servant of Darkness (I) If you are in a situation involving eldritch forces, automatically succeed at an Overcome to do the bidding of your dark master.

Tactics

Sneak around and bite people (generally attractive young women) on the neck.  Threaten to crush mere mortals with heavy objects.  Compel heroes to stop punching you.  If you have the upgrade, throw waves of minions at your foes.  Deliver corny dialog.  That kind of stuff.  

By supervillain standards you are made of tissue paper, and even with a decent defensive reaction you won't last long.  Good thing you're mostly intended to be a distraction, not a real menace.

The Children of the Night (reskinned from Mook Squad) upgrade generally produces d6 minions made up of bat and rat swarms.  The critters you summon are probably real vermin.  If your movie is playing nearby you might pull them from there, which could get you d8 wolves made out of stock footage and badly disguised dogs instead.

Do not go anywhere near a snarky anthropomorphic rabbit.  You have been warned.


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