Kender Vampires
Oh, hello there. You probably don't know me. I'm FuzzFoot
WoodChip, A kender vampire hunter (my uncle is one. A vampire that is).
you problably know about lord soth's kender vampires, but do you know
of the kender vampires created on krynn? Well then, I'll tell you. Before
the 5th age came, during the summer of chaos, Chaos had secretly (this
is odd. Chaos does nothing in secret) took a handful of kenders , and
cast a spell on them so as if they were neglected by paladine (his son)
they would mutate into hideous creatures of the night. These kender are
now immortal and have givin this fate to others like them. Kender vampires
are just ordinary kender during the day. But at night they transform into
hideously evil deranged creatures. 'True' Kender Vampires (or Lokie as
they are more commonly known among the kender of krynn) have all the stats
of Soth's kender vampires but, Lokie are able to shape change into dwarves,
gnomes, and gully dwarves at will. All Lokie have pure silver hoopaks,
This is important because one of the only ways to kill a lokie is with
its own hoopak. The other way is to kill it while it's in dwarf, gnome
or gully dwarf form. - FuzzFoot
WoodChip
From the dark land of Sithicus comes word of a breed of
vampire only recently released on the demiplane of Ravenloft: the kender
vampire. While not truly the equal of the other species of vampire, these
monsters are no less evil.
Kender vampires retain the same general physical properties that they
did in life. Thus, they stand somewhat under four feet in height and are
very slightly built. Their eyes and ears give them an impish, elfin look,
and their slender bodies are finely muscled, like those of gymnasts. Upon
closer examination, however, the foul corruption of the undead is obvious.
The skin is pale and withered, stretched tight across the bones in a manner
similar to that found on mummified corpses. The teeth are long and sharp,
giving the face a feral look that cannot be easily forgotten. The fingers
have been reduced to little more than bones with a thin covering of flesh,
and their nails have stretched into claws.
Kender vampires are able to speak only in hissing whispers. Since it
is clearly quite painful for them to talk, however, they seldom do so.
Their knowledge of languages seems unchanged from what it was in life,
however, so they often understand a small number of other tongues.
The kender vampire moves slowly and stiffly when it attacks. Thus, the
great agility and dexterity that served it so well in life have been lost
in its transition to darkness. Because of this kender vampires always
act last in any combat round and never surprise their opponents. The loss
of agility is somewhat compensated for by an increased physical strength
and the growth of dangerous claws. Thus, they are able to inflict 1D6
points of damage in any hand-to-hand attack.
Anyone struck by the claws of the kender vampire feels far more than
the pain of a physical wound. Their attacks reach beyond the mortal body
of their victim and strike directly into his spirit. The shock and pain
caused by this attack is great, requiring the victim to make a saving
throw vs. paralysis or be unable to act on the next combat round. Whether
or not they make their saving throw, they suffer a loss of 1 pint each
from their Intelligence and Wisdom scores. Those kender who die from the
spirit-rending attack of the kender vampire are in no danger of becoming
vampires themselves, however, for these foul creatures are the product
of dark sciences and magical experimentation that can only be duplicated
with the direct intervention of Lord Soth of Sithicus.
The kender vampire has the ability to throw back its head once per hour
and release a hideous laugh. Those within 20 yards of the vampire when
it cackles must save versus spells or be affected as if they had looked
upon a symbol of insanity. Those under the influence of a remove fear
or similar spells are immune to this attack.
The kender vampire can be hit only by magical +1 or better weapons. Non-magical
wooden weapons that strike the creature are instantly rotted and destroyed;
magical wooden weapons are entitled to a saving throw vs. acid to avoid
this effect.
The mystical nature of the vampire's physiology is such that it is able
to regain lost hit points very rapidly. Thus, the creature 2 hit points
per combat round. A raise dead spell cast upon the monster will restore
it to full hit points at once.
A kender vampire that is driven to zero hit points in combat is not truly
destroyed. Rather, its body is slain and it is forced to assume its spiritual
form. Because this new form is very easily destroyed (see below), the
kender vampire will immediately try to flee from the combat area and return
to its coffin. If it is unable to reach its coffin within 12 turns, the
creature will become trapped in this form and remain a poltergeist until
slain.
At will, the kender vampire is able to transform itself into a purely
spiritual creature similar to a poltergeist. While in this form, it is
invisible and has all of the characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses
of a common poltergeist. If the creature is slain while in this form,
it is forever dead, and the world is free of its evil machinations.
Kender vampires are immune to sleep, charm, or hold spells and can never
be influenced by any form of mind-affecting magic. They are wholly unaffected
by all manner of toxins, poisons, and diseases. Spells or other attacks
that rely on cold or heat (including ice and fire) inflict only half damage
to kender vampires, but lightning or electricity-based attacks inflict
full damage.
Holy water splashed on a kender vampire is somewhat harmful to them,
inflicting 1d4 points of damage per vial that strikes their flesh. Holy
symbols pressed against their skin inflict a like amount of damage and
cause the creature such pain that it must make a moral check (13-14) or
flee from the battle at once if possible.
Kender vampires are unable to leave the domain of Sithicus. The strange
and foul magics that created them have forged an unbreakable bond between
them and the realm of Lord Soth. Any attempt to cross the borders of this
domain (whether voluntary or not) instantly destroys vampire. Within seconds,
its body will crumble into dust and the thing will be gone. Even drawing
near to the border is painful for these creatures, and they will seldom
come within a mile of it for fear of being forced across it and destroyed.
Kender vampires are unusually easy to turn. It is thought that this is
due to the fact that their inner spirit is unbroken by their transformation
into an undead thing and, thus, they do not have the mental stamina that
similar undead do when confronting devoutly religious individuals. Whether
or not this is the case, kender vampires are turned as if they were only
wraiths.
Kender vampires are not as hard to destroy as many other types of undead,
for they are greatly vulnerable to their own hoopaks. Any vampire hunter
who is able to snatch a vampire's hoopak from him and then turn that weapon
against its owner will find that it inflicts full damage and has no chance
of being destroyed like other wooden weapons. Further, any natural attack
roll of 19 or 20 indicates that the attacker has been able to impale the
creature on the end of the weapon, killing it instantly. When the creature
dies (either from wounds inflicted with the hoopak or by being impaled
upon it) the body bursts into flames. In the next few seconds, both it
and the weapon are consumed by fire and irrevocably destroyed..
The kender vampire cannot stand the sight of shimmerweed (a crystalline
plant that grows on Krynn and in some secluded areas of Sithicus). The
mere sight of these flowers is enough to keep the vampire from drawing
within 10 yards of them. If moonlight is falling on these flowers, the
prismatic display they release is enough to actually harm the creature,
inflicting 1D4 points of damage for each round that the plants are within
20 yards of the vampire.
The kender vampire is a solitary creature that exists only to do the
bidding of Lord Soth of Sithicus. He is the father of their race, and,
although they despise him for what he has done to them, they are unable
to turn against him or act in any way contrary to his interests.
Knowing the revulsion that the elves who live in his domain feel for
all manner of unnatural things, Soth felt that he could find no better
slaves than a band of undead. Aware that undead elves might pose a threat
to his own power, Soth set about the creation of a new breed of undead.
Drawing a small kender village through the misty veils of Ravenloft and
into his domain, he had them killed one by one so that he could study
their sufferings and invoke carefully designed magical rituals over their
bodies in attempts to make them rise as undead. By the time he had finished
with these sad kender, fully half of them had died horrible deaths and
suffered unspeakable torment at the hand of the dreaded deathknight. The
results of his experiments were, however, satisfactory to Soth, for he
discovered a formula that would create a race of vampires utterly loyal
to him. It is believed that Soth has created no fewer than 10 such monsters
and no more that 30, although hard evidence to support any given estimate
is hard to come by.
The typical kender vampire heads a small band of undead who also serve
Lord Soth. As a rule, each such creature will command 3-12 (3d4) other
creatures, drawn from the chart below.
2d6 Roll - Type of Undead
2 - - Beast, Undead (Stahnk)
3 - - Spectre
4-5 - Ghast
6-8 - Ghoul
9-10 - Ghast
11 - - Spectre
12 - - Warrior, Skeleton
In addition to the forces generated above, the creature will have 4 to
24 (4d6) Hit Dice worth of lesser undead (zombies and skeletons) acting
under its command as well.
Kender vampires can exist only within the confines of Lord Soth's domain
of Sithicus. They are tied to that dark land in some mystical way that
no doubt, relates to the evil magic used in their creation. It is possible
that Lord Soth was required to invoke the favor of the Dark Powers in
his creation of these dreaded monsters and, thus, that he has paid some
horrible price for their loyalty to him.
Despite their links to Sithicus, the vampire kender are not natural creatures
and, therefore, have no place in the biology of the world around them.
The elves in Sithicus can sense the presence of one of these creatures
whenever it comes within 100 yards of them. At first, the elves feel only
a curious sense of concern or dread; but, as the monster draws nearer,
the feeling intensifies into one of loathing and horror. The elves describe
these sad creations as vile pollutants that foul the living by their mere
presence. It is unclear why only those elves native to Sithicus can sense
the kender vampire so easily.
Unlike the other vampires in Ravenloft, these creatures do not grow more
powerful with the passing of time. It is a part of their curse that they
must forever remain as they are, denied the pleasures of curiosity or
the wanderlust that once gave their lives meaning. It is said that the
rising of the full moon reminds these tragic souls of what they have lost
and that, on that one night each month, they are unable to do anything
but sit and weep beside the coffin that now serves them as both home and
prison.
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