Blood Magic, Demon Knights, and Vampires

[Valandil]

Demon Knights are wonderful troops, indeed, B5 mages aren't actually too rare: Athame+Brazen vessal on a regular B3 dude works.

In a recent game, I had a god up to B12, casting infernal crusade when I could.

Well, up until about when my demon knights discvered that they weren't shock immune.

[Tiavals]

While vampires surely aren't ghosts, Etherealness also denotes the fact that vampires are usually impervious to normal weapons, which is essentially what etherealness does. While the name might be wrong, the effect is right. If you shoot a vampire with a normal gun, he is unfazed by it. In dom3, he would be dead but back in a month, which seems contrary to most vampire lore, where magic weapons harm them normally but normal weapons rarely do much unless used in a ritualistic manner(cut the head off or stake the heart).

[Reverend Zombie]

Tiavals said:
While vampires surely aren't ghosts, Etherealness also denotes the fact that vampires are usually impervious to normal weapons, which is essentially what etherealness does. While the name might be wrong, the effect is right. If you shoot a vampire with a normal gun, he is unfazed by it.

Well, lots of depictions show a vampire being wounded by a normal weapon, then healing quite rapidly.

Maybe they could have their regen boosted to 50% or so to reflect this, without making then ethereal again.

[Morkilus]

I know we have had this discussion before, but I too am sad about the state of vampires. They were scary in Dom2 like they should be, and now they're just a laugh. I'd rather have ethereality back and have an occasional VQ rush than have pathetic vampires.

[SelfishGene]

But following mythology Dominions vampires have always been far scarier than vampires are ordinarily represented.

How many stories have you heard of blood drinking women in nightgowns taking on whole armies and beating them, straight up in a fight? .

Generally in literature even a small party can beat a solo vampire.

What would be nice, though, is a reduction in her path costs. 50 is too high; i'd like to see somewhere in the range of 20-30 per new path. The VQ could also have Seduction, and all Vamps should, perhaps, have glamour. All Vampire commanders should eat a few pop per turn as well.

We chould also have some summonable Vampire Princesses as well as if you give them seduction.

[Ironhawk]

Just give regular vamps back ethereality and leave it off the VQ. Its a matter of usability and balance.

[Archonsod]

Tiavals said:
which seems contrary to most vampire lore, where magic weapons harm them normally but normal weapons rarely do much unless used in a ritualistic manner(cut the head off or stake the heart).

Only in Hollywood lore. It was the same with Werewolves and silver. According to the original Vampire lore (in most of the West at least) a vampire could be killed in the same way as anyone else. It was keeping them in the grave which was the problem - they'd rise up at the next full moon. Over here in England traditional practice was to bury those suspected of vampirism with the coffin facing downwards, which would mean that any awakening vampire would find themselves tunneling the wrong way once they woke up. The French were more practical - they would dig up the corpse, behead it, stuff the head with garlic and bury it at a crossroads, while the body was cremated and the ashes scattered in a churchyard. Not much coming back from that one.

Course, in most Vampire lore they actually were walking corpses, not dapper gentlemen in evening wear. Blame Bram Stoker for that one.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Don't forget the vampiric squash. Hollywood's overlooked that one as well.

[Sombre]

They didn't overlook it, they passed on it under pressure from Squash lobbyists.

[WraithLord]

Morkilus said:
I know we have had this discussion before, but I too am sad about the state of vampires. They were scary in Dom2 like they should be, and now they're just a laugh. I'd rather have ethereality back and have an occasional VQ rush than have pathetic vampires.

I have said it before in dom-II forums when I've first heard the plan to take ethereality from vampires in dom-III, I'll say it again - Vampires should be scary and powerful in a creepy way for no better reason than that they are a lot more fun to play than wimpy vamps.

I'd like to either see ethereality back or a different buff given to them. If not in a future patch then maybe in the balance mode.