What do you think is the best vampire design? Also how do you

For describing monsters, don't make them uniform. I had some mongrelmen on a 2e game, and i made them interesting by descrobing them in various fucked up ways- lne had a single oversized arm he used as a club, another had something that appeared to be a hybrid of frog and rabbit legs hat allowed him to jump high, a third had a picer and a fourth had something like a stonger im place of his arm. Its all about making your creatures feel unique. Yes, its a group of four goblins, but what are they doig? Huntimg? Well, one one has a rabbit-fur vest, if you can call it something that well designed, while another looks like he had am ear torm off in a fight wih something toothy. The third one is dragging a boar, and ge other three seem to be in he process of mocking it, while the fourth's spear is bloody and looks ready to break, presumably damaged by catchig the boar on the eye. Yes, its still 4 gpblins wih no mechanical difference- but now they have a reaspm to exist, context for what they're dping, and character. The players will remember this fight better than "you encounter 4 ogblin hunters. They menace with obsidian spears."

>>54362378

Please excuse phoneposting.

>>54361928
>What do you think is the best vampire design?
I like many different kinds of vampire designs, and it usually depends on the tone of the setting. Ancient aristocrats with maybe only a few inhuman traits such as weird eye color, clearly monster-like with a mouth full of fangs, or man-sized bat-demons, it's all good.

>Also how do you describe monsters well?
By not doing it. Rather than describing the appearance of a monster, try to invoke a feeling.

>>54361928
Sexy vampire is best vampire.

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>>54361928

>>54361928
I kinda love the way Darkest Dungeon presented their vampires.
Insect-like features, mosquitos instead of bars and so on

>>54362757
Interestingly, Count Orlok's design was also supposed to be rather animalistic. He looked ratlike because, as vampires, rats are "filthy", plague-bearing, dark-dwelling creatures. It's the same reason you occasionally see mosquito vampires

>>54362396
No.

>>54361928
Unearthly beauty crossed with an inherent aura of superiority that constitutes a mind-affecting ability to enthrall and sway the weak-willed or unaware.

Then right before the fight starts, their faces go full Count Orlok and they become fucking undead posthuman warriors.

>>54362722
Vampy a shit though

>>54361928

Dracula, Nosferatu, and Interview varieties are all fine by me. Even if you have strong opinions about which is better in the abstract, it's hard to think of a story with an irresistible tempter of women would be better served as a grotesque monster hiding it's nature in the shadows or vice-versa. Apples and oranges is my point even if they share nomenclature.

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>>54361928
I'm personally a fan of being able to maintain the "charming nobleman" look as a facade, but they're completely monstrous in their natural forms.

>>54363394

I quite like Witcher vampires. Especially that most vamps are literally inhuman animals that don't so much suck blood as rip apart and eat their prey, yet they're also cunning hunters who can stay hidden in a town or city.

The added bonus of having a secret cabal of more traditional vampires is a nice touch. Since the presence of the animalistic ones hides the activities of the humanlike ones.

Really well thought out idea from start to finish.

>>54362980
I wonder what other kind of creatures we could use as a base for vampires

Leech-vampire? Lamprey-vampires?

>>54364187
Bloddiborni's got you already with tick vampires at Cainhurst Castle.

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i just treat them the same as werewolves, so werebats

>>54363552
Patrician taste.

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>>54361928
I think my favorite now has to be the strigoi from The Strain.

>>54364187
>>54364220

Googled some stuff and discovered this

>>Vampire finch

A bird that peck other birds and drinks their blood

>>Assassin bugs
An insect that uses a rostrum to inject an enzymes and digest them from the inside out, then drinking them while they are still alive. Some species hunt spiders by vibrating their webs, other hunt termites and use their prey dead remains to attract other termites. Another species glues his victim's body to his shell as extra armor.

>>54362396
I'll allow it.

>>54363552
I do love dracula in castlevania.
I do wonder what the reason as to why his monster form changes each time.
I guess you can blame the chaos he has as the battery to the castle.

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>>54361928
I like the old-school rules fused with the more modern sexy vampire look.

>Natural running water or holy water burns them like acid
>Presenting a holy symbol or a mirror forces them to look away and recoil, temporarily keeping them at bay
>Can transform into a bat or cloud of mist temporarily
>Can walk on walls and ceilings just as easily as floors
>Can dominate the minds of unaware or weak-willed people, though some can shake it off with either willpower or training
>Incredibly strong and agile, though they look deceptively frail and have an unearthly beauty to them
>Retractable fangs, skin is a sickly pallor, but otherwise indistinguishable from a regular humanoid
>Sunlight burns them, and prolonged exposure destroys them permanently
>They are compelled to seek out a coffin to rest in during the day, and form a mystical bond with it
>When a vampire kills someone by drinking their blood, they rise again as a vampire completely under the original vampire's control, making the original the master vampire and the new one the vampire spawn
>Vampire spawn can become free master vampires themselves if their master allows them to drink his own blood, but this rarely happens for obvious reasons
>When killed, vampires are forced into the form of a cloud of mist and must return to the last coffin they rested in to reconstitute their physical form
>A stake to the heart kills a vampire instantly, and also prevents them from entering the cloud of mist form
>However this does not instantly destroy them, you must also cut off the head and anoint it with holy water to permanently destroy the vamp

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>>54365100
>They are devoid of a soul, and thus crave the blood of mortals to try and fill that void within them
>Animal blood does little to satisfy this hunger because animal souls are much weaker than the souls of sentient creatures
>The longer a vampire goes without feeding, the stronger the hunger grows and the more bestial the vampire becomes
>Ones that have been deprived of blood for extended periods of time take on a more Nosferatu appearance
>Hair loss, ears become bat-like, teeth elongate into more prominent and non-retractable fangs, nails become claws, eyes take on a pale yellow or bright red color
>Mental degradation usually occurs as well. These vampires are little more than extremely clever and dangerous animals
>Can eventually return to sanity and a more human appearance by consuming vast quantities of humanoid flesh and blood

>>54365116
Forgot to mention, they're immortal undead of course. Vampirism is a very attractive option for evil mortals seeking to evade death and who don't mind consuming the blood of others to sustain their sanity. Plus, it's often easier to achieve than lichdom. Some of the more reasonable master vampires might offer to turn those they deem worthy into vampire spawn, with the promise that a few centuries of service will be rewarded with their freedom and status as a master vampire themselves. Whether or not they eventually grant this promise is a bit of a gamble, but one some are more than willing to make. Even eternal servitude to a master vampire is preferable to what awaits in the afterlife to some.

I personally really like the Darkest Dungeon ones; the insect theme was pretty awesome.

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>>54364831
He is literally connected to the Anti-God of the entire Castlevania universe. I'm surprised he even bothers with a human form at all.

>>54363325
Kain has been diefied.

>>54365218
I do like the supremecy over monsters drac and his reincarnation has.
Just that soma can use the souls for power is great.
I do wonder if in lore he can use even more than in game.
Like I doubt like the skeleton soul just lets him throw bones.

I like both Nosferatu-looking vampires, and vampires that look beautiful but feel inhumanly horrible. If both exist in the same setting, I like the Nosferatu-looking vampires to actually have more of a capacity for humanity in them.

>>54365217
Came here to post this.

Not sure if they are my favorite, but it's a pretty good spin.

Although, sorta amazed that the DD world hadn't been overrun by vampires when the curse is so virulent.

I came here expecting DIO and got no DIO.
Where is DIO

>>54364294
The Strain really caught me off guard with how dope the concept was; I had no prior knowledge of the series when I tuned into the first episode.

I went in expecting some kind of bullshit show about a supervirus, ended up adapting my thoughts to thinking that it would be about zombies, and then I got super, SUPER fucking hype as soon as I realized they were doing a modern take on vampires.