Pyramid Review
Out for Blood (for d20 System)
Published by Bastion Press
Written by E.W. Morton
96-page b&w softcover; $22.95
Vampires. In the core d20 System these are blood-sucking and energy-draining undead with very specific powers, weaknesses, and restrictions. However, there are a lot of vampire traditions, ranging from Dracula to Anne Rice's books to Buffy the Vampire Slayer that present different flavors and versions of archetypal vampires that do not necessarily mesh with the standard core monster.
A number of d20 System sourcebooks have jumped in to offer variants or upgrades to the standard vampire. The Ravenloft Campaign Setting provided add-on age templates to power up vampires as they become ancient. Denizens of Darkness, the Ravenloft monster book, added a good dozen or so variant vampire or vampire-like creatures complete with age category modifications. Green Ronin produced Fang and Fury, a whole sourcebook on vampires, and Bottled Imp Games created Lords of the Night: Vampires. Kenzer's Kalamar setting introduced their variant in the adventure Harvest of Darkness, the Book of Templates had a fear vampire among its pages, and I even wrote two alternate vampire entries for Gaming Frontiers: Monsters.
Bastion Press enters the d20 System vampire field with Out for Blood, a three-part sourcebook with prestige classes, vampire variants or vampire-related creatures, and a campaign section of easily inserted organizations and general campaign advice.
Out for Blood is mostly . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: November 21, 2003
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