Modified Vampire Rules:

This is an alternate set of rules for dealing with vampires, modifying their strengths and weaknesses to make them tougher in some respects and to there more flexibility in how they are treated. Otherwise, use standard Nightbane / Rifts rules for vampires. Some of these rules were first introduced for my adventure "Church of Eternal Life" but have been updated and slightly modified.

Holy Symbols: Not just crosses will effect vampires but any holy symbol in general which is tied to a religious system which is seen as a force for good. Holy systems from religious systems perceived as evil (by the user of the holy symbol) should be decided by the Game master due to the fact that many evil Deities may not oppose vampires. Holy symbols from evil religions that oppose vampires should work though. The problem is that the person must have faith and belief in whatever holy symbol they are using or it is useless. An atheist waving a cross is a pitiful sight. This will require honesty out of the players and discretion from the game master. As well, some vampires will have the problem that they think the cross will effect them and that is why a cross even held by a person who does not have faith will not effect them. While purely psychological, the cross will still work. Both the appearance of a holy symbol and the touch of one will effect as per the Nightbane / Rifts Books.
Some examples might include a Christian alternatively using the Fish symbol, a Catholic using a picture of the Virgin Mary, a Hebrew using the Jewish Star, a Wiccan using a pentagram, a believer in the old Egyptian pantheon using an Ankh, and some American Indian tribes could use a torch of holy fire. The touch of holy fire will inflict double damage as compared to the touch of other holy symbols (4D6 points of damage.) Holy relics have similar effects although they usually inflict double damage if the user has faith in the artifact.
Holy Water: Normal Water will not effect Vampires the way listed in the Nightbane RPG book but they still cannot cross bodies of water on their own. Holy water inflicts damage as listed for normal water in the Nightbane game book. Holy water can be created by virtually any religion although they have the same effects. In most cases, it requires a priest of someone with convictions. As an addition, vampire bites may be cleaned with holy water. When at least one pint of holy water is used to clean a bit for either the slow kill or the cleaning bite, the effects of the bite will be gone. The cleaning does cause intense pain (as if being burned by acid) and the character must save vs pain or pass out.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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