"Can Vampires drown? Can Vampires Starve?" Topic

And not just in Holy Water…

Seriously, would you allow them to drown, or would it take too long?

What do you think happens to a Vampire with no bloodsource for an extended length of time?

The standard vampire does not breathe; so I doubt he or she could drown.

It's your game, so they do whatever you want them to do!

Being without a blood source can't be a good thing for them but it probably wouldn't 'kill' them unless you want it to.

White Wolf has out a nice little adventure called "The Ruins of UR". It is set in modern Iraq and pits Coalition troops against ancient vampires. These guys haven't 'fed' very often in the last 3000 years! So they are quite 'happy' to see the GIs.

So do what you want with them and have fun.

Once upon a time they used to die in running water, and with out food they would hibernate.
But now anything goes, they walk in day light, have meaningful relationships with humans, don't fear crucifixes or garlic.
In today's vampire fiction a vegan, Olympic swimmer is not out of the question.
So I suppose the answer is if it feels right, do it

I wouldn't think vampires drown, but they'd sure get a lot even uglier* if they had to spend years underwater.

Starvation. In my world they would not die from going without fresh blood.
They'd become desiccated, weak, and driven insane(r).
If they have gone a very long time they might be comatose and require to be woken (drip some blood into their mouth, or perhaps the smell is enough to get them up and looking to feed).

* And vampires are ugly to begin with – none of those newfanged pretty vampire boys in my games, I tell you.
Vampires are beastly things that drink fresh blood directly from the source. (They feed of humans, not hospitals.)
They can pass for ugly humans, at least in poor light.
Their teeth are NOT retractable.
;-)

Hereīs my take:

Vampires canīt drown since they are not "alive" to begin with – although being submerged for a longer period perhaps could corrupt their flesh, making them look like a drowned corpse. Interesting idea…

They require a constant diet of fresh blood to maintain a human resemblance. Going without blood for years would make a vampire dry up, turning into a withered husk, like a mummy or even a skeleton. But a single drop of blood or pulling the stake out of the corpse would instantly start a proces of revival…

As much as anything I am gathering ideas on Vampires, if nothing else I want them killable, but to make the players come up with ways, so some of the famous metyhods may or may not work, but others might, hence the questions…

In the Hammer vampire movies Running water killed them, grlic repelled them, holy water workrd like acid and a stake through the heart nailed them until it was removed.

Sunlight was the only sure was to kill them

Traditionally Vampires & Witches & Spells couldn't cross running water like a stream, river ,etc. Additionally they had to have some of their native soil of the graveyard they were buried in to rest in while they lay in their coffins. Supposedly the loss of that soil would destroy them as well.

So obviously they could drown because the running water would suck the magic out of them & carry it away. Stagnant water would be no problem though I would guess. The ocean is constantly running which is why Dracula has to take a boat & attendant in the original book & has issues with the sea.

Also imagine the fun you could have stealing his burial soil & sprinkling it across the asphalt of say the Denver Airport, where they run full spectrum bulbs all night long.

In old stories you had to stake the vampire, then cut off his head and stuff the mouth with garlic. I would imaging burning the body would be pretty final, but I think some movies have had them come back from that, too.

Another method of dealing with a suspected vampire was to bury it at a crossroads. Not knowing which way to go was supposed to keep it in place.

Fresh swiftly running water will kill a vampire provided that there is enough water to completely submerge said vampire. On the other hand, polluted stagnant water will not harm a vampire. The jury is still out on whether or not rain hurts them.
Vampires don't breathe and therefore cannot drown.
It is not known if vampires can starve, but they can be affected by substances like heroin and cocaine (They can eat and often eat regular food).
As late in the 1970s in Yugoslavia, accused vampires were dispatched by being hanged at a crossroad. The vampire's cadaver would be cut down only to be then decapitated and having his heart torn out. Then the vampire would be buried facedown in the crossroads inside a wooden coffin jammed full of wild roses with his face stuffed with garlic and his lips sewed shut. Finally his heart would be burned into ashes inside an iron cauldron thrown into a bonfire that was lit beside the spot where the vampire was buried and the ashes dissolved in Holy water.

Every "canonical" vampire story is different in its treatment of their weaknesses and limitations. Even in Stoker's "Dracula", he has him moving around in the daylight, in a brief scene. However, obviously he has to rest. Perhaps Dracula had a stronger will than other vampires.

The need to suck blood is often called a hunger. If it IS a hunger, than obviously it must be slaked. Is it just an addiction, or is it a real physical hunger that can lead to death if not slaked?
Again, I would say it is the will and strength that matters. A lesser vampire might very well starve to "death", but Dracula's will would keep him alive. However, he would have to build up his physical strength. Digging him up after being buried for 40 years, he might start out weak, but would grow stronger as he fed.

You guys do know that vampires don't exist, right?

A mere technicality.

The portrayal of vampires in Nosferatu seems a little more credible – stakes do the job, as do the rays of the morning sun, but that is about it. They don't like crosses or normal daylight (but they aren't fatal), and they can't cross a threshold unless invited, or the host at any time.

They are already dead so they can't 'die', just be destroyed, however their hunger is what drives them, they cling to life by a thread, IIRC N likened it to hanging from a precipice forever, and without food their hunger will become overwhelming, which may lead them to do rash things.

They aren't pretty boys who do good deeds and have 'relationships', but ugly creatures of nightmare who step into our world lightly as if from a dream. Perhaps thinking of them as an amoral and very determined life force from another dimension is they way to go.

Every now and then I have to sort out something that has been in the water for a long time, and trust me, it ain't pretty

So – if they can't drown – they might actually want to, considering the alternatives

I agree with both John and Baggy – the same thing applies to zombies, but that certainly hasn't stopped anyone from commenting

"You guys do know that vampires don't exist, right?"

Oh, you've never worked at some of the places I've worked, or you wouldn't say that.