We’re well beyond, “I vant to suck your blood. Blah.”
A lot of us are big fans of Vampire: the Masquerade or Vampire: the Requiem. As such, many TTRPG fans know the vampire TTRPG tropes with clans, social drama, freakish powers, and relationships with werewolves that go well beyond those on TV or movies. Today I want to look at life from the Monster hunter’s perspective ala Monster of the Week or similar games where vampires are not the protagonist. I also want to dive into vampires that aren’t the standard Transylvanian bipedal human magical parasites.
Content Warning: Body Horror, Blood, Gore, Parasites, Psychological Horror, Violence
Plot Idea 1: Leech Man. Recently several bodies have turned up next to a nearby lake completely exsanguinated. The evidence collected from the various bodies is that they’re all local residents, many of whom lived near the lake. All showed signs of physical trauma- each having been dragged or pushed to the lake. All had two concentric circles with small triangular marks inside them on the chest, under the arm, or inside the thigh.
The group will hear about this through one of their police or coroner’s office contacts. The police are trying to keep the whole thing quiet because they don’t want widespread public panic. They’re also trying to keep it from becoming a federal investigation. With the death toll rising by the day, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to fend off reporters, concerned families, and bystanders as another body is pulled from the water. The bizarre condition of the bodies has the police concerned there could be an element of the paranormal involved.
The Keeper will ultimately decide if the creature is some sort of alien, cryptid, weird science experiment, or some other explanation. The creature in question is a five and a half foot tall humanoid with pale skin, tentacles for arms and a human head. Its mouth is a large sucker, like that of a lamprey containing multiple rows of teeth that point inward, making it easy to stay attached to its prey.
Will the group put a stop to the creature before surveillance footage is leaked to the press? Is the creature acting alone or are there more? Could the creature be working to feed its offspring?
Plot Idea 2: Vamp-abetic? Hector was not an average run-of-the-mill vampire. He has a predilection for feeding on very specific victims. Surveillance footage from local convenience stores show him buying large amounts of sugary, caffeinated beverages for his victims. Sometimes energy drinks or other stimulants, but almost always lots of sugar. It should be important to note most, if not all Hector’s victims are people with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes. Almost all of Hector’s victims survive, but remember very little beyond the sugar rush and the human bite marks on their neck.
Despite the massive sugar and caffeine intake, all of the victims report low blood sugars after the incident. A few have been hospitalized with diabetic complications, but all have survived so far. Hector migrates frequently, never staying in the same town for more than a few weeks. He will leave town sooner if he thinks the police or local convenience store managers are growing suspicious.
It has been shown that after Hector feeds, he is capable of moving at almost blinding speeds for a few hours. However, sustaining such speeds often requires him to feed again afterward. Unlike typical vampires, he is only mildly allergic to sunlight and has been seen in the early morning or early evening hours. The age on his driver’s license says 32, but he looks a lot younger. The few victims who remember him all say he’s quite charming and polite.
Is Hector a vampire? Can the group contain him before he leaves town? What if his attacks suddenly become more deadly? What would happen if police were to intervene during one of his attacks? Can he be reasoned-with?
Plot Idea 3: The Orb. How this creature came about is a mystery left for the Keeper to decide. Is it intelligent ball lightning? Perhaps a UFO? Maybe it’s a paranormal apparition such as a Willow-the-Wisp in the modern era. Could it be mad science gone wrong, having escaped a nearby lab?
The group is alerted to a large, glowing ball of lightning that is blazing a path through town. It’s absorbing every ounce of electrical energy, including bioelectricity, from every source in its path. Can it be stopped, detained, or diverted to somewhere harmless? What if it splits or grows to an incredible size?
Is it intelligent? Where did it come from? Is there a way to survive contact with it?
Jeff's Game Box 