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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Oct 2020
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So, he was a Vampire Spawn for 200 years. And now with the tadpole in his head, he came back to life? he is no longer undead? he is now immune to sunlight, he no longer regenerates health, he has no vampire powers at all, his HP dropped to a level 1 character (Vampire Spawn is a CR 5 monster with 82 hp), he can be healed by cure spells and healing potions, and I would guess that he is immune to Turn Undead. The only thing he has is his bite attack that also does much less than a "normal" vampire spawn. So why he still needs to drink blood?
I wish he had more undead features, like having him in the party would change your playstyle. I feel like it's a missed opportunity, and that his vampirism is only a gimmick rather than a real curse.
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apprentice
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apprentice
Joined: Oct 2020
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As far as he knows and we know, he is still a vampire spawn. The tadpole is arresting everything about it except for the thirst for blood. As far as the monster manual CR and hp, just... ignore that... Larian doesn't seem to be using the standard CR and hp for things.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2009
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As far as he knows and we know, he is still a vampire spawn. The tadpole is arresting everything about it except for the thirst for blood. As far as the monster manual CR and hp, just... ignore that... Larian doesn't seem to be using the standard CR and hp for things. Or pay heed to any special abilities or immunities, both for companions or enemies. At least at this stage of the game.
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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Oct 2020
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As far as he knows and we know, he is still a vampire spawn. The tadpole is arresting everything about it except for the thirst for blood. As far as the monster manual CR and hp, just... ignore that... Larian doesn't seem to be using the standard CR and hp for things. He either is undead or he is not undead. And if the tadpole changed him to aberration then it should have changed everyone in the party. Being undead means that you are a corpse. You don't eat, breathe, or sleep, you are immune to certain effects like poison and necrotic energy, you are not affected by healing magic, and clerics can attempt to turn you. You could argue that the tadpole removed his sunlight sensitivity to make Astarion stronger, but it actually seems to me like he got nerfed hard.
Last edited by Godforsaken; 27/10/20 04:20 PM.
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apprentice
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apprentice
Joined: Oct 2020
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As far as he knows and we know, he is still a vampire spawn. The tadpole is arresting everything about it except for the thirst for blood. As far as the monster manual CR and hp, just... ignore that... Larian doesn't seem to be using the standard CR and hp for things. He either is undead or he is not undead. And if the tadpole changed him to aberration then it should have changed everyone in the party. Being undead means that you are a corpse. You don't eat, breathe, or sleep, you are immune to certain effects like poison and necrotic energy, you are not affected by healing magic, and clerics can attempt to turn you. You could argue that the tadpole removed his sunlight sensitivity to make Astarion stronger, but it actually seems to me like he got nerfed hard. Idk what to tell you, man. I think you're treating it like Larian is using textbook DnD 5e rules for everything and that's just not the case. Whatever drives the narrative of the game is what they go with. There are just 5e elements. If you talk to Astarion enough you learn it, anyway. Being a vampire spawn is "none of the powers, all of the hunger" with a bonus of "mentally enslaved to my creator." And all Astarion knows is that while there's a tadpole in his head, he is free of the major drawbacks of his condition at the moment re: sunlight, needing an invitation to enter a home (if you use him to sneak into Ethel's cabin rather than just run the whole party in after talking to her) and being beholden to . Though he does mention that running water still causes him pain, and that mechanic is included if you take him into the swamp or the rocky beach behind the druid grove.
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2020
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it ultimately all boils down to the overall tone of the adventure not being well suited to a level 1 party. I've said a few times now that the start of the game should have been the second act, with the first act being more grounded and focused on introducing your character, events dont need to be directly tied to what the main narrative is about. But end act 1 with being collected and pulled into the nautiloid. Then you proceed per the normal game, but the NPCs can be setup more believably.
Admittedly, it'll never happen, and it would require making origin characters true NPCs, and the PC focus being on your custom one, but I also think that would be ultimately better for the game too.
Anyway, as far as Astarion himself is concerned, he probably should have been given spider climb and regeneration (probably toned down regeneration compared to normal vamp spawn). But again, part of the reason its even an issue is because we have pretty special snowflake origin characters/NPCs.
also, to be fair, it wasn't advertised as a game with some D&D 5e elements. It was advertised as a D&D 5e game where some minor things would be changed to make it play smoother as a CRPG, which isn't really what we got.
Last edited by blindhamster; 27/10/20 05:29 PM.
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addict
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addict
Joined: Oct 2020
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As far as he knows and we know, he is still a vampire spawn. The tadpole is arresting everything about it except for the thirst for blood. As far as the monster manual CR and hp, just... ignore that... Larian doesn't seem to be using the standard CR and hp for things. He either is undead or he is not undead. And if the tadpole changed him to aberration then it should have changed everyone in the party. Being undead means that you are a corpse. You don't eat, breathe, or sleep, you are immune to certain effects like poison and necrotic energy, you are not affected by healing magic, and clerics can attempt to turn you. You could argue that the tadpole removed his sunlight sensitivity to make Astarion stronger, but it actually seems to me like he got nerfed hard. Idk what to tell you, man. I think you're treating it like Larian is using textbook DnD 5e rules for everything and that's just not the case. Whatever drives the narrative of the game is what they go with. There are just 5e elements. If you talk to Astarion enough you learn it, anyway. Being a vampire spawn is "none of the powers, all of the hunger" with a bonus of "mentally enslaved to my creator." And all Astarion knows is that while there's a tadpole in his head, he is free of the major drawbacks of his condition at the moment re: sunlight, needing an invitation to enter a home (if you use him to sneak into Ethel's cabin rather than just run the whole party in after talking to her) and being beholden to . Though he does mention that running water still causes him pain, and that mechanic is included if you take him into the swamp or the rocky beach behind the druid grove. Actually had him die in the water at that beach, and then proceed to be unable to be revived by scroll because I didn't have line of sight. Had to do it the other way.
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member
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member
Joined: Oct 2020
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Mar 2020
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member
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member
Joined: Feb 2020
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A gay "vampire" elf spawn. There's nothing elfy about him besides the pointy ears. Likewise, little vampiric besides drinking blood :'D
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2020
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I found it a bit funny how he mentioned being a Vampire in dialogue when I was in the Druid Grove but then in camp later on I got that cutscene where he tries to feed on you in the night and my character was all like '' YOU'RE A VAMPIRE :OOOOO!? '' lol.
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journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Oct 2020
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He still takes damage from crossing water currents.
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Sep 2017
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Somehow, the picture in the spoiler box below ran through my mind.
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member
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member
Joined: Feb 2020
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I found it a bit funny how he mentioned being a Vampire in dialogue when I was in the Druid Grove but then in camp later on I got that cutscene where he tries to feed on you in the night and my character was all like '' YOU'RE A VAMPIRE :OOOOO!? '' lol.
Never would have guessed it with those red eyes and sharp fangs, I just thought he was quirky!
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