Undead

AX.GHW.13.08 - Threat Category: Undead

Undead are the dead that did not stay that way, returned through violence, through will, through shadow compact, or through the simple weight of unfinished business that refused to let the body or spirit rest. They occupy the widest range of threat profiles in the hidden world: Zombie thralls that barely constitute individual threats; Vampires who have lived long enough to build empires in the hidden world's margins; Vengeful Spirits who are genuinely pitiable and genuinely lethal; Revenants whose singular focus makes them more dangerous than any of them.

What undead share is an inversion of the living state. They do not heal naturally. Many do not think, or think only in fragments. They are often immune to conditions that affect the living, fear, exhaustion, disease, poison, and they are often specifically vulnerable to things that the living world uses to mark the boundary between its side and death's: salt, iron, consecrated ground, radiant energy, the resolution of the business that keeps them here.

Category traits common to most undead: - Immune to poison and disease - Do not require air, food, or sleep (exceptions noted per entry) - Radiant damage is effective; Infernal damage typically is not - Many are repelled or harmed by consecrated ground (Sacred Fire: Consecrate Ground; Order of the Warden's Flame protocols) - Salt disrupts spiritual cohesion, most incorporeal undead cannot pass a solid salt line without a successful Wit Save vs Threshold 3

The living and the dead: Haunt lineage characters have a particular relationship with undead threats, their Psychic Sensitivity to dead at Near range means they often perceive undead before other characters do, and undead perceive them as something neither fully living nor fully dead, which produces unpredictable responses. GMs should develop how specific undead react to Haunt characters based on each entity's intelligence and motivation.

Threat Entries

Zombie (Minion)

A reanimated corpse driven by residual predatory instinct, no will, no memory, nothing left of the person it was. Zombies are the most common undead threat at the street level: slow, obvious, destroyed by standard approaches, and dangerous primarily through numbers and the civilian exposure risk they represent.

Type: Undead (Corpse) Threat Power Package: Minion Size: Medium

Attributes - Body: 2D - Speed: 1D - Wit: 1D

Talents - Brawl: 1D - Fortitude: 1D

Combat Statistics - Health: 27 (20 + Body 2 + Minion modifier 5) - Defense: 1 (Speed 1 + Armor 0 = 1 ÷ 3 = 0.33, +1 base = 1) - Armor: None

Saves - Body Save: 3D (Body 2D + Fortitude 1D) - Speed Save: 1D (Speed 1D + Acrobatics 0D) - Wit Save: 1D (Wit 1D + Resolve 0D)

Attacks - Grab and Bite: Body 2D + Brawl 1D = 3D vs Defense, 1–2 damage typical; on hit, target must make Speed Save vs Threshold 2 or be Grabbed (cannot move until they break free with Body Save vs Threshold 2)

Undead Traits - Unliving: Immune to poison, disease, exhaustion, fear, and mind-affecting effects - Mindless: Cannot be reasoned with, intimidated, or deceived; immune to social effects; does not retreat - Rot Stench: Living creatures within Close range that have not previously encountered zombies must make a Body Save vs Threshold 1 on first exposure or become Hindered (−1D on actions) for one Turn from nausea

Special Abilities - Pack Advance: When three or more Zombies are within Close range of the same target, each Zombie rolls at +1D on Brawl attacks against that target, the sheer press of bodies overwhelms individual defense.

Tactics Zombies move toward the nearest living creature and attempt to grab and bite. They do not respond to pain, do not stop for downed allies, and do not change strategy when tactics fail. A single Zombie is a minor problem. Five Zombies in a tight space with civilians present is a genuine crisis.

Lore & Ecology Zombies are almost never self-originating. Something made them, a necromancer, a curse, a shadow ritual, a contagion with supernatural origin. Finding and addressing the source is more important than destroying individual Zombies, which will continue to accumulate until the source is removed. The reanimation varies in quality: fresh Zombies are faster and slightly more durable than older ones. Zombies that have been mobile for more than a week begin to physically degrade.

Destruction Destroying the brain ends animation permanently. Fire is effective and leaves no mobile remains. Salt poured into the mouth and eyes disrupts the animating force and immobilizes the Zombie without destruction, useful if the body needs to be identified or examined. Addressing the source of reanimation causes all Zombies produced by that source to collapse simultaneously.

Scene Materials - The body itself (identification, forensics, evidence of cause of reanimation) - Whatever the person had on them when they died - Tissue samples for Aldersham-style analysis ($200–500 value to research organizations)

Vampire Thrall (Minion)

A human recently turned or fully dominated by a Vampire's blood, not yet their own creature, operating under the controlling Vampire's will with whatever skills they had in life plus the beginning of vampiric enhancement.

Type: Undead (Turned Human) Threat Power Package: Minion Size: Medium

Attributes - Body: 2D - Speed: 2D - Wit: 1D

Talents - Brawl: 1D - Precision: 1D - Fortitude: 1D

Combat Statistics - Health: 27 (20 + Body 2 + Minion modifier 5) - Defense: 2 (Speed 2 + Armor 0 = 2 ÷ 3 = 0.66, +1 base = 1... rounded; with Light armor: (2+1) ÷ 3 = 1, +1 = 2) - Armor: Light (+1), most Thralls wear whatever they had on

Saves - Body Save: 3D (Body 2D + Fortitude 1D) - Speed Save: 2D (Speed 2D) - Wit Save: 1D (Wit 1D)

Attacks - Strike: Body 2D + Brawl 1D = 3D vs Defense, 1–2 damage typical - Firearm (if armed): Speed 2D + Precision 1D = 3D vs Defense, 2–3 damage typical

Undead Traits - Unliving: Immune to poison, disease, exhaustion, fear - Blood Bond: The Thrall operates under their controlling Vampire's will. If the controlling Vampire is destroyed or actively releases the bond, the Thrall loses all combat effectiveness for 1D3 Turns (disorientation) and then acts independently, which may mean fleeing, collapsing in shock, or continuing to fight depending on their mental state

Special Abilities - Borrowed Resilience: The Thrall heals 1 HP at the start of each of their Turns while their controlling Vampire is alive and within Far range. This healing stops if the Vampire is destroyed or moves beyond Far range.

Tactics Thralls act as directed by their controller; they guard, they intercept, they use whatever skills they had in life (a Thrall who was a soldier fights like a soldier; a Thrall who was a civilian fights like someone who has just been given abilities they don't fully know how to use). When their controller goes down, assess the Thrall's original personality and circumstances to determine their response.

Lore & Ecology Thralls exist on a spectrum from fully dominated (no independent will, acts as an extension of the Vampire) to recently bonded (personal will largely intact but suppressed by blood compulsion). Older dominations are more complete. A Thrall recently turned may be recoverable, the blood bond can be broken by a skilled Mediumship or Sacred Fire practitioner before it fully sets (within 48 hours of turning). After that, recovery requires the controlling Vampire's death and significant time.

Destruction Thralls die as humans die, no special requirements for permanent destruction. If the goal is recovery rather than destruction, the blood bond must be severed (Extended Work, Sacred Fire or Mediumship at Threshold 4, contested against the controlling Vampire's Wit).

Scene Materials - Personal effects (ID, phone, evidence of their life before turning) - Blood sample (confirms vampiric influence; $100–300 to research organizations) - Evidence of the controlling Vampire's location or identity

Vampire (Standard)

An established predator who has survived long enough to master the fundamental capacities of their undead state, fast, strong, capable of mesmerizing prey, and thoroughly aware that survival requires managing their exposure to the hidden world and the mundane both.

Type: Undead (Vampire) Threat Power Package: Standard Size: Medium

Attributes - Body: 3D - Speed: 3D - Wit: 3D

Talents - Brawl: 2D - Stealth: 2D - Persuade: 2D - Fortitude: 1D - Acrobatics: 1D - Resolve: 1D

Combat Statistics - Health: 33 (20 + Body 3 + Standard modifier 10) - Defense: 2 (Speed 3 + Armor 0 = 3 ÷ 3 = 1, +1 base = 2) - Armor: None (supernatural resilience, not physical armor)

Saves - Body Save: 4D (Body 3D + Fortitude 1D) - Speed Save: 4D (Speed 3D + Acrobatics 1D) - Wit Save: 4D (Wit 3D + Resolve 1D)

Attacks - Claws: Body 3D + Brawl 2D = 5D vs Defense, 3–4 damage typical - Bite (Grabbed target only): Body 3D + Brawl 2D = 5D vs Defense, 3–4 damage typical + drains 1D3 HP from target (Vampire heals equal amount)

Undead Traits - Unliving: Immune to poison, disease, exhaustion, fear - Sunlight Vulnerability: In direct sunlight, the Vampire rolls all actions at Disadvantage and takes 1D3 Radiant damage at the start of each of their Turns - Stake Through the Heart: If a character spends a Primary Action to drive a wooden stake through an incapacitated Vampire's heart (Body + Brawl vs Threshold 3), the Vampire is paralyzed, not destroyed, but immobile until the stake is removed

Special Abilities - Mesmerize: Primary Action, Near range, contested Wit + Persuade vs target's Wit + Resolve. On success, target is Charmed; they will not attack the Vampire, will follow simple instructions, and take −2D on all Wit rolls while the effect lasts. Lasts until the Vampire attacks the target, the target takes damage, or the scene ends. Targets with Psychic Sensitivity (Dhampir, Haunt, Faeborn) roll at +1D on the contested resistance. - Vampire Speed: Once per scene as a Free Action, the Vampire may move up to Far range in a single movement. This does not use their Move action.

Tactics Vampires are predators with centuries of survival instinct. They prefer to control the terms of engagement: isolate prey, use Mesmerize to neutralize the most dangerous target, feed quickly, and withdraw. In direct confrontation they are fast and aggressive, claw attacks to establish damage, close to bite when a target is Grabbed or downed. They retreat when they take significant damage, preferring survival to victory. A Vampire who cannot retreat will fight with genuine desperation.

Lore & Ecology Established Vampires typically maintain a daytime sanctuary (secured against light and intrusion), a network of Thralls for logistics and protection, and a feeding territory they manage carefully to avoid drawing attention. Most have spent decades or centuries developing a mundane-seeming identity. Within the hidden world they are known quantities, the Bloodline Courts track them, the BUA has files on many, and Network hunters know their standard profiles. The interesting ones are the Vampires who have moved beyond the standard profile.

Destruction Decapitation is permanent. Staking immobilizes but does not destroy, a staked Vampire left alone will eventually pull free if no one ensures otherwise. Sunlight exposure causes steady Radiant damage; sustained exposure over several minutes will destroy a Standard Vampire. Consecrated ground causes 1D3 Radiant damage per Turn spent on it. Fire is effective but messy and leaves evidence. The traditional complete destruction protocol, stake, decapitation, burning the remains, originated because hunters wanted to be certain.

Scene Materials - Whatever the Vampire used as a cover identity (documentation, keys, devices, investigation value) - Blood sample (confirms lineage, age estimate; $300–500 to researchers) - Personal effects accumulated over the Vampire's lifetime (potentially significant historical value)

Revenant (Standard)

The dead returned by singular purpose, not mindless like a Zombie, not predatory like a Vampire, but focused. A Revenant has one reason to be here and will not stop until it is done, which may mean finding its killer, fulfilling a promise, protecting someone it left behind, or delivering justice it could not obtain in life.

Type: Undead (Returned) Threat Power Package: Standard Size: Medium

Attributes - Body: 4D - Speed: 2D - Wit: 2D

Talents - Brawl: 3D - Fortitude: 2D - Notice: 1D - Resolve: 2D

Combat Statistics - Health: 34 (20 + Body 4 + Standard modifier 10) - Defense: 2 (Speed 2 + Armor 0 = 2 ÷ 3 = 0.66, +1 base = 1; with supernatural resilience effectively treated as 2) - Armor: Supernatural resilience equivalent to Light (+1), weapons that are not silver, iron, or otherwise significant deal −1 damage (minimum 1)

Saves - Body Save: 6D (Body 4D + Fortitude 2D) - Speed Save: 2D (Speed 2D) - Wit Save: 4D (Wit 2D + Resolve 2D)

Attacks - Crushing Strike: Body 4D + Brawl 3D = 7D vs Defense, 4–6 damage typical - Unstoppable Advance: The Revenant ignores the Hindered and Staggered conditions. Effects that would impose these conditions on the Revenant instead deal 1 damage.

Undead Traits - Unliving: Immune to poison, disease, exhaustion, fear - Singular Purpose: The Revenant knows the location of the person, object, or place connected to its purpose at all times, no tracking or investigation required. It moves toward that purpose. Nothing else significantly diverts it. - Unkillable (Temporarily): The Revenant cannot be permanently destroyed by conventional means. When reduced to 0 HP, it collapses but reforms over 1D6 hours. It can only be permanently put to rest by fulfilling or formally resolving its purpose (see Destruction).

Special Abilities - Death Grip: When the Revenant successfully hits with Crushing Strike, the target must make a Speed Save vs Threshold 3 or be Grabbed. A Grabbed target takes automatic Crushing Strike damage at the start of the Revenant's each Turn without requiring a roll. - Ignore Pain: Once per scene, when the Revenant would be reduced to 0 HP, it instead remains at 1 HP and continues acting. This cannot trigger again until the Revenant has reformed after a previous collapse.

Tactics The Revenant does not think tactically. It advances toward its purpose and destroys whatever is between it and that purpose. In combat it uses the most direct path, Death Grip to lock down the immediate obstacle, Crushing Strike to remove it, advance. Characters can redirect a Revenant temporarily by placing its purpose object or person nearby, but this only delays the inevitable if the purpose isn't resolved.

Lore & Ecology Revenants are rare because the conditions that create them are specific: a person must die in circumstances that produce a genuine, focused, unresolved purpose strong enough to anchor them to the physical world. Murders with known killers who escaped justice are the most common origin. Broken oaths with significant consequences are another. A Revenant is typically recognizable as the person it was; they wear what they died in, they look like a corpse that is moving, and they do not speak except occasionally to name what they're after.

Destruction Permanently putting a Revenant to rest requires fulfilling or formally resolving its purpose. For a Revenant seeking justice for its murder: confronting its killer and ensuring they face genuine consequences (legal, or their death). For a Revenant fulfilling a promise: actually fulfilling the promise. For a Revenant protecting someone: ensuring that person is genuinely safe. A Mediumship practitioner can facilitate direct communication with the Revenant to identify its purpose, which is often faster than investigation. Forcing the Revenant's physical remains into contact with its purpose object while the purpose is declared resolved, with a Sacred Fire application at Threshold 3, can compel rest if the resolution is genuine.

Scene Materials - Personal effects from when the Revenant died (evidence of the original incident) - Evidence of the Revenant's purpose (the killer's identity, the broken oath, the person it's protecting) - Remains (if investigators need to confirm identity, forensic value, connects to original death record)

Vengeful Spirit (Standard)

A ghost with enough focused emotion, rage, grief, fear, betrayal, to manifest physically and harm the living. Distinguished from gentler haunts by the intensity of its attachment and its willingness to act on it.

Type: Undead (Incorporeal Spirit) Threat Power Package: Standard Size: Medium (incorporeal)

Attributes - Body: 0D (incorporeal, cannot be harmed by physical attacks; Body used only for Spirit Manifestation effects) - Speed: 3D - Wit: 3D

Talents - Supernatural Power (Manifestation): 3D - Notice: 2D - Resolve: 3D

Combat Statistics - Health: 33 (20 + Body 0 + Standard modifier 10 + Spirit Resilience +3) - Defense: 3 (Speed 3, incorporeal, most physical attacks pass through; effective Defense 3 against attacks that can harm it) - Armor: Incorporeal, immune to physical damage from non-iron, non-silver, non-salt weapons

Saves - Body Save: 0D (Spirit Resolve Save used instead: 6D) - Speed Save: 3D (Speed 3D) - Wit Save: 6D (Wit 3D + Resolve 3D)

Attacks - Telekinetic Strike: Wit 3D + Supernatural Power 3D = 6D vs Defense, 3–5 damage typical (hurled objects, environmental force; this is physical damage that affects corporeal targets) - Touch of the Dead: Speed 3D + Supernatural Power 3D = 6D vs Defense (Touch range only), 2–4 damage typical; target must make Wit Save vs Threshold 3 or become Frightened until end of their next Turn

Undead Traits - Incorporeal: Immune to physical damage from mundane weapons. Iron, silver, and salt-loaded weapons deal normal damage. Radiant damage deals normal damage. Blessed weapons deal +2 damage. - Unliving: Immune to poison, disease, exhaustion - Salt Barrier: Cannot cross a solid, unbroken line of salt without a successful Wit Save vs Threshold 3. Failing this Save causes 1D3 damage to the Spirit and it cannot attempt to cross again for one Turn.

Special Abilities - Haunt: The Spirit can affect its environment without a roll, flickering lights, dropping temperature, moving small objects, making sounds. These effects are always active when the Spirit is present and agitated. In investigation contexts they function as clues; in combat they function as atmosphere that the GM can use to impose −1D on Notice and Wit rolls for characters in the space. - Possession Attempt: Once per scene, Primary Action, Touch range. Contested Wit + Supernatural Power vs target's Wit + Resolve. On success, the Spirit attempts to possess the target, target is Incapacitated for 1D3 Turns as the Spirit establishes control. A Mediumship or Sacred Fire practitioner can interrupt this with an opposed roll. If the possession fully establishes, treat the target as a Possessed Civilian (see cursed-or-possessed category).

Tactics Vengeful Spirits fight in the space they haunt, their attachment to a location or object gives them advantages in familiar territory (GM may grant +1D on all rolls while the Spirit is in its anchored location). They use Telekinetic Strike at range and advance to Touch of the Dead against isolated or already-frightened targets. Possession Attempt is used when a Spirit has identified a target whose body would serve its purpose, not purely tactical, but driven by what the Spirit wants.

Lore & Ecology Vengeful Spirits were people. They are defined by what they experienced at death and what they were unable to complete or accept. The rage that powers a Vengeful Spirit is real and was real before death; this is not a monster in the simple sense. Mediumship practitioners who work with Vengeful Spirits regularly develop the professional conviction that most hauntings are situations rather than threats: the Spirit is doing the only thing it knows how to do, and the solution is addressing what it cannot let go.

Destruction A Vengeful Spirit cannot be permanently destroyed by combat alone, reducing it to 0 HP dissipates it temporarily (1D6 hours before it reforms). Permanent resolution requires addressing the root: burning or respectfully interring the Spirit's remains (if they were not properly handled); resolving the unfinished business the Spirit is anchored to; using a full Quiet the Unquiet application (Mediumship, Threshold 4–5) to facilitate the Spirit's departure. Salt and iron damage the Spirit and can buy time; they do not resolve the situation.

Scene Materials - The Spirit's remains or significant personal objects (resolution focus) - Evidence of the original incident (what happened, who was responsible) - EMF readings and audiovisual documentation (Aldersham value: $200–400)

Poltergeist (Elite)

A Spirit that has been agitated, trapped, or fed by concentrated negative emotional energy until it has grown beyond its original identity, still anchored to the location or event that created it, but now expressing as raw, violent telekinetic force rather than recognizable personality.

Type: Undead (Incorporeal, Ascended Spirit) Threat Power Package: Elite Size: Large (environmental presence, treat as occupying the full space it haunts)

Attributes - Body: 0D (incorporeal) - Speed: 4D - Wit: 3D

Talents - Supernatural Power (Manifestation): 4D - Notice: 3D - Resolve: 3D

Combat Statistics - Health: 38 (20 + Body 0 + Elite modifier 15 + Spirit Resilience +3) - Defense: 3 (incorporeal; effective Defense 3 against qualifying weapons) - Armor: Incorporeal

Saves - Body Save: 0D (Spirit Resolve: 6D) - Speed Save: 4D (Speed 4D) - Wit Save: 6D (Wit 3D + Resolve 3D)

Attacks - Kinetic Burst: Wit 3D + Supernatural Power 4D = 7D vs Defense (Near range, affects all targets in Close range of the burst center), 4–6 damage typical; each target must make Speed Save vs Threshold 3 or be knocked Prone - Directed Strike: Speed 4D + Supernatural Power 4D = 8D vs Defense, 5–7 damage typical (single target, hurled heavy object, car, furniture, structural element)

Undead Traits - Incorporeal: As Vengeful Spirit - Environmental Dominance: In its anchored location, the Poltergeist has total control of the physical environment. It can activate any mechanical or electrical system in the space as a Free Action. It can seal doors (Speed Save vs Threshold 4 to open from inside). It can collapse portions of the structure (structural damage per GM discretion).

Special Abilities - Kinetic Storm: Once per scene, the Poltergeist triggers a full environmental assault. Every character in the haunted space must make Speed Saves vs Threshold 3 each Turn for 1D3 Turns or take 3 damage from hurled debris. The Storm prevents ranged attacks and imposes −2D on all actions requiring concentration. - Anchor: The Poltergeist cannot be drawn more than Far range from its anchored location or object. Within its anchored space it regenerates 2 HP per Turn. Outside that space (if somehow forced there) it deals half damage on all attacks and cannot use Kinetic Storm. - Identity Fragments: Beneath the violence, the Poltergeist retains fragments of its original identity. A Mediumship practitioner who can reach these fragments (Wit + Mediumship vs Threshold 4, requires the practitioner to survive being in the space) can identify what originally created the Spirit and what resolution would look like.

Tactics Poltergeists do not distinguish between targets, everything in their space is subject to the same violent attention. They use Kinetic Storm first when multiple targets enter their space, then Directed Strike against whatever target is moving most aggressively toward their anchor point. Characters who are not moving or acting are sometimes ignored, the Poltergeist's attention is drawn by action, which means a skilled team can divide roles: one person draws attention while another works the resolution.

Lore & Ecology Poltergeists develop over time, a Vengeful Spirit in a location saturated with fear, grief, or violence can eventually lose its individual identity in the accumulated negative emotional energy. Old buildings with multiple trauma histories, prisons, hospitals where terrible things happened, locations of significant atrocities: these are Poltergeist incubators. The original Spirit that anchored the accumulation is still there, buried under layers of accreted energy, which is why resolution is possible but requires finding it.

Destruction The anchor must be found and addressed, not just the building, but the specific original anchor (remains, object, the specific location of the original trauma). Once identified, the resolution process is the same as a Vengeful Spirit, but the Threshold is higher (Quiet the Unquiet at Threshold 5) because the accumulated energy resists dispersal. Some Poltergeists cannot be resolved without structural intervention, if the anchor is the building itself, resolution may require the building's demolition combined with ritual clearing of the site.

Scene Materials - Structural damage evidence (documents the event for BUA/Aldersham) - Historical records of the location (the investigation work that identifies the anchor) - EMF documentation (significant research value: $500–1,000 to Aldersham)

Vampire Elder (Elite)

A Vampire who has survived for centuries, old enough that the standard approaches require more preparation, smart enough to have survived long enough to become old, and powerful enough that direct engagement without thorough preparation is a significant mistake.

Type: Undead (Ancient Vampire) Threat Power Package: Elite Size: Medium

Attributes - Body: 4D - Speed: 4D - Wit: 4D

Talents - Brawl: 3D - Stealth: 3D - Persuade: 3D - Lore: 2D - Fortitude: 2D - Acrobatics: 2D - Resolve: 2D - Supernatural Power (Blood): 3D

Combat Statistics - Health: 39 (20 + Body 4 + Elite modifier 15) - Defense: 3 (Speed 4 + Armor 0 = 4 ÷ 3 = 1.33, +1 base = 2; Elder supernatural resilience raises effective Defense by 1) - Armor: Supernatural resilience

Saves - Body Save: 6D (Body 4D + Fortitude 2D) - Speed Save: 6D (Speed 4D + Acrobatics 2D) - Wit Save: 6D (Wit 4D + Resolve 2D)

Attacks - Claws: Body 4D + Brawl 3D = 7D vs Defense, 5–7 damage typical - Bite (Grabbed target): Body 4D + Brawl 3D = 7D vs Defense, 5–7 damage typical + drains 2D3 HP (Elder heals equal amount) - Blood Command: Wit 4D + Supernatural Power 3D = 7D vs target's Wit + Resolve (contested), Near range, see Blood Dominion below

Undead Traits - Unliving: Immune to poison, disease, exhaustion, fear - Sunlight Vulnerability: As Vampire, but the Elder can endure indirect sunlight (through windows, in shade) without penalty, only direct, unobstructed sunlight imposes Disadvantage and damage - Stake Through the Heart: As Vampire

Special Abilities - Blood Dominion: The Elder can issue a mental command to any creature who has consumed its blood (willing or otherwise) within the past month. This functions as a permanent Mesmerize that does not require line of sight or presence, the Elder can compel a dominated individual at any range. Contested Wit + Supernatural Power vs Wit + Resolve; on success, the target carries out one specific instruction over the following 24 hours. - Ancient Resilience: The Elder regenerates 3 HP at the start of each of its Turns. This regeneration does not function for one full Turn after the Elder takes Radiant damage or damage from a blessed weapon. - Elder Speed: As Vampire Speed, but usable twice per scene.

Tactics Vampire Elders have survived by not taking risks they don't need to take. They research targets before engaging, establish favorable conditions (controlled environment, Thralls in position, exits secured), and do not engage at all if the situation is disadvantageous. In direct confrontation they use Blood Command to split the party's attention, Elder Speed to control positioning, and Bite against Grabbed targets to sustain themselves through the fight. They retreat early and without shame, centuries of survival has given them no illusions about the cost of pride.

Lore & Ecology Vampire Elders are significant players in the hidden world's political landscape. Most have extensive Thrall networks, property holdings under mortal-seeming identities, and relationships with other hidden-world organizations that have developed over decades or centuries. The Bloodline Courts track them carefully. The BUA has files. Even the Grimoire Compact has historical records on most known Elders. An Elder that has remained unknown is either very new to Elder status or very careful, either possibility is concerning.

Destruction All standard Vampire destruction methods apply, but require more sustained application. Sunlight damage is slower against an Elder (takes twice as long). Decapitation remains permanently effective. An Elder who is staked is truly paralyzed, cannot use mental abilities, regeneration stops. A fully prepared destruction operation, stake to immobilize, then decapitation and burning, is the reliable protocol.

Scene Materials - Centuries of accumulated personal documentation and historical records (significant research value to Grimoire Compact, Aldersham: $1,000–5,000) - Personal network records (operational intelligence for BUA or Network) - Blood sample confirming Elder-level vampiric lineage ($500–1,000 research value)

Master Vampire (Champion)

The apex of sustained vampiric existence, a Vampire who has survived long enough, fed on enough significant blood, and developed enough understanding of their own nature to have become something qualitatively different from younger Vampires. Master Vampires are not threats to be hunted without extensive preparation. They are power centers in the hidden world's ecosystem.

Type: Undead (Master Vampire) Threat Power Package: Champion Size: Medium

Attributes - Body: 5D - Speed: 4D - Wit: 5D

Talents - Brawl: 4D - Stealth: 4D - Persuade: 4D - Lore: 3D - Tactics: 3D - Fortitude: 3D - Acrobatics: 2D - Resolve: 3D - Supernatural Power (Blood): 5D

Combat Statistics - Health: 50 (20 + Body 5 + Champion modifier 25) - Defense: 4 (Speed 4 + supernatural resilience equivalent to Medium armor (+2) = 6 ÷ 3 = 2, +1 base = 3; Master-level resilience raises to 4) - Armor: Supernatural resilience (equivalent to Medium)

Saves - Body Save: 8D (Body 5D + Fortitude 3D) - Speed Save: 6D (Speed 4D + Acrobatics 2D) - Wit Save: 8D (Wit 5D + Resolve 3D)

Attacks - Claws: Body 5D + Brawl 4D = 9D vs Defense, 6–8 damage typical - Bite (Grabbed target): Body 5D + Brawl 4D = 9D vs Defense, 6–8 damage typical + drains 3D3 HP (Master heals equal amount, excess becomes temporary HP up to 10) - Blood Command: Wit 5D + Supernatural Power 5D = 10D vs Wit + Resolve (contested); operates at any range, no line of sight required

Undead Traits - Unliving: Immune to poison, disease, exhaustion, fear, and mind-affecting effects - Sunlight Vulnerability: Only unobstructed direct sunlight has any effect; damage is 1D3 per Turn (reduced from younger Vampires); indirect sunlight has no effect whatsoever - Stake: Immobilizes as standard; a Master Vampire can make a Wit Save vs Threshold 5 each Turn to begin pulling free

Special Abilities - Blood Empire: The Master maintains a network of Blood Dominion connections with up to 20 individuals simultaneously. This network is their primary operational structure. The Master is always aware of the general state (location, health, emotional condition) of each network member. - Ancient Power: The Master's Supernatural Power is beyond tradition-level capacity. Its Mesmerize is permanent on a successful contest; resisting it after the fact requires a Wit + Resolve roll vs Threshold 5 per day (targets may not know they are dominated). Blood Command requires only a Free Action (not Primary Action) against dominated targets. - Master Regeneration: Regenerates 5 HP per Turn. Only Radiant damage and damage from blessed weapons temporarily suppresses this (for 1 Turn per instance). Fire damage suppresses regeneration for 1D3 Turns. - The Sleep: Once per combat as a Reaction to dropping below 15 HP, the Master can enter a death-like suspension and disperse into mist, reforming in their sanctuary within 24 hours at full HP. This ability fails if the Master has been staked or is in direct sunlight.

Tactics A Master Vampire almost never engages in direct combat without significant advantage; they consider it a failure of planning. When direct engagement is unavoidable, they fight with centuries of experience: tactical awareness (Tactics 3D applies +1D per success to allied actions when the Master directs the combat), Blood Command to dominate the most dangerous target immediately, and withdrawal via The Sleep if the situation turns. In any scenario where the characters are fighting a Master Vampire directly, the Master has already made several mistakes. Understanding what those mistakes were reveals the larger situation.

Lore & Ecology Master Vampires are institutions. They have been present in the hidden world long enough to be woven into its structure, the Bloodline Courts have formal positions for dealing with them, the BUA has separate classification tiers, the Order of the Warden's Flame treats them as campaign-level concerns rather than individual threat responses. Most are not actively predatory in the simple sense; they feed carefully and manage their feeding territories with the same attention a rancher gives to livestock. Their danger is political as much as physical: a Master Vampire who decides a particular organization or person needs to be removed has the resources to make that happen without ever being in the same room.

Destruction A Master Vampire requires coordinated, prepared response, this is not a solo hunter operation. The standard protocol: locate the sanctuary, stake during daylight hours while the Master is in repose, then decapitation and burning. The challenge is the Blood Empire, the Master's dominated network will defend the sanctuary actively, and many of them don't know they're being controlled. Complete operation planning must account for the network before touching the Master.

Scene Materials - Centuries of accumulated records, identities, and documentation (significant historical and operational intelligence, Grimoire Compact assessment value: $10,000+) - Blood Empire network records (critical operational intelligence for BUA or Bloodline Courts) - Personal effects of potential historical significance - Tissue sample (research value to Aldersham: $2,000–5,000)

Variant Rules

The Sympathetic Vampire: Not all Vampires are predators who view humans as food. Some have developed synthetic feeding methods, feed only from willing donors, or have centuries of ethical development behind them. These Vampires are NPCs with complex motivations who may be allies, contacts, or reluctant adversaries. Mechanically identical to standard Vampires; the distinction is behavioral and relational, not mechanical.

Ghost Investigation Mode: In campaigns emphasizing investigation over combat, Vengeful Spirits and Poltergeists function primarily as mysteries to be solved rather than threats to be defeated. Combat is possible but counterproductive, the Spirit reforms. The scenario is resolved by investigation work (Wit + Lore, Mediumship applications) that identifies the anchor and the resolution path. GMs running this variant should reward investigation successes with narrative progress rather than combat advantage.

Zombie Outbreak: A necromantic source producing ongoing Zombie reanimation creates a containment scenario rather than a combat scenario. Individual Zombies are manageable; the accumulation is not. Scenario resolution requires finding and eliminating the source, with Zombie management as the ongoing pressure. Appropriate for Street Level campaigns or as a mid-campaign complication at Regional level.

Plot Hooks

• A Bloodline Court has contacted the party through Safe Harbor intermediaries. One of their Court-recognized Vampires has disappeared. The last known contact was with a Vanguard-adjacent operative whose current assignment is not public.
• A forensics report has come through Network channels: a body in a small-town morgue has bite marks consistent with Vampire feeding, but the victim's blood work shows something no Vampire victim has ever shown before. The Aldersham researcher who flagged it is now not answering messages.
• The Poltergeist in an apartment building has been building in intensity for three months. The building's management company has been aggressively suppressing reports. The reason they're suppressing reports is more interesting than the Poltergeist.
• A Revenant is walking toward a specific address in a residential neighborhood, ignoring everything in its way. The person at that address is a retired BUA agent. The Revenant's face matches a photo in a sealed BUA file from 1987.

Destruction Methods Summary

Undead Type	Temporary Stop	Permanent Destruction
Zombie	Destroy the brain; immobilize with salt	Destroy brain; fire; address reanimation source
Vampire Thrall	Kill as human	Kill as human; break blood bond for recovery
Vampire	Stake to heart (immobilizes); sunlight	Decapitation + burning remains
Revenant	Reduce to 0 HP (reforms in hours)	Fulfill or formally resolve its purpose
Vengeful Spirit	Salt/iron damage (disperses temporarily)	Resolve unfinished business; inter remains properly; Mediumship Threshold 4–5
Poltergeist	Kinetic Storm can be interrupted; leave the space	Find original anchor; resolve as Vengeful Spirit at Threshold 5
Vampire Elder	Stake + daylight sustained exposure	Stake + decapitation + burning
Master Vampire	The Sleep (reforms in 24 hours)	Stake in repose + decapitation + burning; neutralize Blood Empire first