I like a range of vampires, everything from ugly Nosferatu-style to sexy Ingrid Pitt style vampires. I think vampires can carry a variety of undercurrents. If they are all sexy and angsty, it gets dull, you need the monstrous ones as well. But I think vampires are also meant to have some sensuality. There was an overabundance of that perhaps in the 90s. But we are well past that now. There have always been sexy vampires in the mix. You can have sexy vampires who are not pompous emo-NPCs, just there to deliver the GM's bleak worldview.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;1007210I like a range of vampires, everything from ugly Nosferatu-style to sexy Ingrid Pitt style vampires. I think vampires can carry a variety of undercurrents. If they are all sexy and angsty, it gets dull, you need the monstrous ones as well. But I think vampires are also meant to have some sensuality. There was an overabundance of that perhaps in the 90s. But we are well past that now. There have always been sexy vampires in the mix. You can have sexy vampires who are not pompous emo-NPCs, just there to deliver the GM's bleak worldview.

I like variety too, including simply hideous. For the charming ones,
I suppose I can go with some sexiness in the mix, but for me sexiness is too narrow a definition of their charm. I prefer them to be more broadly sophisticated, dangerously intelligent, charismatic, persuasive etc. Seductive in a general way which may or may not play out as "sexy."

Cape-swirling slav dude, definitely not, too trope-tastic.

Quote from: Zirunel;1007214I like variety too, including simply hideous. For the charming ones,
I suppose I can go with some sexiness in the mix, but for me sexiness is too narrow a definition of their charm. I prefer them to be more broadly sophisticated, dangerously intelligent, charismatic, persuasive etc. Seductive in a general way which may or may not play out as "sexy."

Cape-swirling slav dude, definitely not, too trope-tastic.

I wouldn't reduce them to just having their charm be sexy. I am just saying it is one thing that can potentially be there. I basically want the full range of vampires you find in horror movies, including the sexy, the refined, the monstrous, etc. I am fine with capes and/or accents. Sometimes Christopher Lee or Bela Lugosi need to make an appearance. For me hammer and universal are pretty baseline with this stuff.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;1007218I wouldn't reduce them to just having their charm be sexy. I am just saying it is one thing that can potentially be there. I basically want the full range of vampires you find in horror movies, including the sexy, the refined, the monstrous, etc. I am fine with capes and/or accents. Sometimes Christopher Lee or Bela Lugosi need to make an appearance. For me hammer and universal are pretty baseline with this stuff.

Fair enough, chacun a son gout

In fantasy games, always evil, sometimes gross as well.
In urban fantasy, it might vary;).

Undead monsters with alluring camouflage that lets them pull in prey.

Every single vampire I have ever used looks like Bela Lugosi and talks like Count von Count. Except for the one time I ran a MAID game set in Ravenloft, where Strahd looked like Lelouch Lamperouge, and spoke like Count von Count.

Without categorizing it with media... Vampires are pure evil, on an elemental level... They might reach an age where camouflaging themselves (in human trappings) is possible for a limited amount of time, but their nature and power will more likely compel them to reveal their supernatural nature.

I lean mostly toward them being monsters. I am no fan of the Anne Rice style of vampires.

Bravely Default vampires for me, as a playable class. The lore in my setting is that they're people who tried to steal power from Nothingness, but it sort of backfired on them so the only thing they got was the ability to steal the powers/abilities/whatever of other people. If they do it too much, the Nothingness can fuck them up and eat their soul.

Classical vampires of any sort just don't exist in my setting. Neither do lycanthropes.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1006899What type of vampires do you want in your D&D game? Should they be the classic "count blah" sort of evil slav dude? Should they be sexy Lestat-style vampires? Ugly Nosferatu? Or something else?

When I did Pathfinder way back, I had planned for the PCs to encounter vampires. Now, they did, and when they met them they were like, "oh shit".

'Cause dudes was jacked-up berzerkers. I figured they're just different 'cause of the mechanics 'n' shit.
So they fight em', they're all 3rd-lvl Barbarians with a custom Racial type and this means I could run them with whatever stats I wanted which means pain. They take some damage but they've got a couple Cure Serious so the Monk and duel-wielding Ranger are good.

Next up comes the 5th-lvl Sorcerer and henchman 4th-lvl Ranger (because I like progressive numbering). At this point, PC Ranger and the Rogue are like "FUCK THIS!" and like ran. I cast Blacklight. They end up inside the darkness, at which point: BERZERKER!

One of the Barbarian Vamps wakes the fuck up with a Racial Feat allowing them to sacrifice 1HD once a night if unconscious (temporary) which must be re-rolled (and was). Takes AOO on Rogue who's now flat-footed to boot (AHAHAHAH, YOU NO 4TH-LVL JASE). One-hit. Rogue goes down and I make him into a vamp too which overrides his Race (because fuck you, I'm the GM!)

...

Needless to say, the Ranger makes quick work of the now rerolled Berzerker (rolled shit) and gets the hell out of there ASAP, finding out that everyone else has already run away. Just for that, Ranger switches to xbow and actually manages to hit the Sorcerer in the party even with penalty. Infighting ensues. I'm happy. Everyone who isn't Rogue is happy and everyone who isn't the Ranger, Sorcerer and Rogue isn't pissed and raging.

I fucking love the players I get sometimes.

Quote from: Willie the Duck;1007071What specifically does that mean, outside of the Whedon-verse?

They all listen to Phil Collins, and one out of four sees little Christina Agullira monsters crawling all over them.

(I was originally going to say they liked Barry Manalow, but I just saw the South Park where the kids all start taking Ritalin)

and IMO only 2 vampires can get away with sparkling in the sunlight.  Lastat in Tale of the Body Thief, and any vampire played by David Bowie.

Monsters. Inhuman. Evil. Like in Salems Lot both book and mini-series.

In the DnD campaign I currently run, well it varies.

I do have an area, a dark Fey corrupted Swamp area and a group of hills nearby where a Vampire lives in a castle.  He's a High Elf, but Vampiric.   Portrayed in a Christopher Lee Vampire style (think Hammer house of horror).  

I also have a Vampire Pirate lord..   more charismatic and Pirates of the Caribbean style undead guy and controls a small fleet of River pirates from his Large Grotto hideout.

I also have a Vampire who lives in sewers under a large city who controls Vampire spawn who capture people from time to time for him to feed on.  More of a disgusting Nosferatu style Vampire.

Seductive evil monsters straight out of Transylvania.