Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2024/10/review-van-richtens-guide-to-vampires.html

The 1990s brought something of an existential crisis to AD&D and TSR. For the first time ever, there was a real competitor for RPG sales, and that was White Wolf's Vampire The Masquerade. I know a lot of AD&D gamers dismissed WW and Vampire at the time, but we all know that was a mistake. Vampire:TM was a phenomenon that still has an impact today. It was felt in the halls of TSR as well. Granted, doing a book on Vampires for Ravenloft was a no-brainer; their premier inhabitant was a vampire. But there is a little more going on here.

Van Richten's Guide to Vampires

Nigel D. Findley, 1992 PDF. 96 pages, color cover by Den Beauvais, Black & White interior art by Stephen Fabian.

For this I am considering the PDF and Print on Demand versions.

One of the best Vampire supplements ever for a game was the Chill 1st Edition Vampires book. This book is for the AD&D 2nd Edition game, and it has the same utility to me.

First, a bit about these Van Richten's Guides. Rudolph Van Richten is Ravenloft's resident Vampire hunter and expert on the supernatural. He was Ravenloft's answer to Van Helsing, and he was not really all that different. If you read about him and picture Peter Cushing, you will be excused. The conceit is that they were all written by Van Righten himself and left for other hunters to find. There were several of these Guides, and all had quite a lot of utility for me. They were a good mix of "crunch" (game mechanics) and "fluff" (narrative material). I would LOVE to say I used them outside of Ravenloft when I was playing AD&D 2nd Ed, but in truth my AD&D 2nd experience was all about Ravenloft. I will point out that a lot of the "innovations" of these books would later find a home in D&D proper post AD&D 2nd Ed. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Chapter 1 is the Introduction and sets the tone for the book. This is all from the point of view of Van Richten himself. Game applications appear in text boxes throughout.

Chapter 2 covers the background of vampirism, including how it is spread and how vampires think. Here we learn that a vampire's blood can cause damage to the living much like holy water does to the undead.

Chapter 3. Here, I want to point out that none of the chapters use "1, 2, 3," but rather just the titles. The feel is that of a journal or a quasi-academic treatise. Chapter 3, Vampiric Powers, is a good one. It covers all the powers normally associated with the AD&D 2nd Edition Vampire and adds more. Most importantly is the idea that vampires get more powerful as they age. This was not a new idea; it was sort of implicit in all the retellings of Dracula and other popular media. It had also made it's way into other games before this, but for AD&D this was new stuff. Less revolutionary and more evolutionary; that is, it was going to happen sooner or later. It is an idea that has been adopted for D&D ever since for all vampires, in one form or another. I certainly used it in all my AD&D games going forward, even applying it to my 1st Ed and Basic-era games. Vampires also gain control over lesser undead.

Chapter 4. Covers the way new vampires can be created. Here, Van Richten moves away from Van Helsing and more into Professor Hieronymus Grost from "Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter." Detailing all the then known ways the vampiric curse can be passed on. Throughout the book, this information is presented as Van Richten's personal experiences and those of trusted colleagues, with the caveat that there may be other means and ways they do not know yet.

Chapter 5. This covers the various weaknesses of the Vampire. This includes all the classic ones and how they are altered by Ravenloft's unique environment.

Chapter 6. This covers all the means to destroy a vampire, including the classics: Stakes, running water, blessed items, and sunlight.

Chapter 7. Magic and Vampires is the most "D&D" of all the chapters really. It not only covers how vampires are affected by magic but also how they can use magic items. Want to polymorph a vampire? Great, if it gets past their magic resistance, and they fail their saving throw, they will be come what ever it was you wanted. For one round. Then, they can shift to one of their alternate forms.

Chapter 8. This chapter is called "Life-Blood: Vampiric Feeding Habits" and is the one that takes the vampire further away from the AD&D model of the vampire. In particular the vampires of Ravenloft drain blood, not really levels, though there is an option for that. This was great because frankly I never liked level drain as a mechanic. We have seen blood drain in the Core Rules and Feast of Goblyns introduced us to a vampire that drains spinal fluid. Again the parallels to "Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter" are there.

Chapter 9. Covers the "Sleep of the Dead" and how vampires sleep. We learn through other sources (and put into game terms here) that Strahd sleeps the sleep of the dead during the daylight hours and can't be woken. Other vampires like Jander Sunstar are very light sleepers. Note: Neither of these vampires are mentioned here as examples. They are detailed in other contemporaneous products.

Chapter 10. Akin to sleep in Hibernation, something all vampires do after a certain number of years. Hibernation is an extended sleep all vampires go through and as a means to keep 1,000+ year old vampires out of the game. OR at least out of Ravenloft. The previously mentioned Jander Sunstar is thought to be 700+ years old (as a vampire) and Cazador Szarr is also believed to be very old. Both are elves. I bring these two up in particular because rules laid down in this book continue to effect their 5th Edition versions.

Chapter 11. Relationships between vampires is our next chapter. As (mostly) Chaotic-evil creatures vampires rarely work together, save for a master-thrall relationship. There are also vampire "brides" and "grooms" (see Dracula) and they are little more than elevated thralls, albeit ones with more free-will. One wonders how this book might have been different if a movie like "The Only Lovers Left Alive" had been out then.

Chapter 12. This covers vampire psychology. How a vampire thinks and how they deal (or not) with immortality.

Chapter 13. Related to the previous chapter is this chapter on "The Facade." As the most human and living looking of all the undead (odd exceptions aside) the vampire has the best chance of blending in. But their immortality and their altered psychology often prevent a full integration into any society.

Chapter 14. In a largely mechanical chapter, this deals with the vampires of certain classes and the powers and skills they can retain. Honestly, I think this one would have been a better Appendix since this chapter lacks a lot of the Van Richten notes and would have given us a nice 13 chapters.

At 96 pages this is a wealth of information about vampires. Just as I extended it from Ravenloft to all my AD&D 2nd Edition games, you can also use ideas (and even some mechanics) to extend this form AD&D 2nd edition to other editions of D&D. Indeed, some of that was already getting baked into post AD&D rules. I have also used ideas from this in other games outside of D&D.

The interior art is all by Stephen Fabian and gives us a great visual connection to the core rules. There is some repeated art here from the core and other products, but only someone who has all the books and read them all over and over would notice.

A word about the PDF and PoD

I had this book when it was first published, but I unloaded it from the time I was in grad school to when I bought my first house. I kinda regret that for this one. The PDF, though is easy to read and bookmarked.

The POD version is also nice, but the interior text is a bit faded, and the red text is more pinkish. It is 100% serviceable for gameplay and reading. It just reminds me I wish I still had all my originals.

Van Richten's Guide's are perhaps some of the best Lore books in the D&D bibliography, and To Vampires is among the best of them.

The highlighted review does a great deep dive into all the aspects of this book, and I cannot improve on that. I do want to highlight that this book does not have the title on it's spine, something Warewolves and Created - This makes it a bit of an eyesore in the bookshelf. - But content wise, 10/10.

I ordered the print on demand and was delighted with the quality. My only criticism is that the title was not printed on the spine. I have two other print on demand Van Richten Guides (werebeasts and the created) both have the titles on the spines. I'm sure you can appreciate the need when looking for the book on a shelf.

Originally posted at: http://diehardgamefan.com/2013/11/25/tabletop-review-ravenloft-van-richtens-guide-to-vampires-advanced-dungeons-dragons-second-edition/

Van Richten’s Guide to Vampires is not only my favorite supplement for Ravenloft, but it just might be my favorite for all of Second Edition AD&D. More importantly, it’s easily the single best release about vampires in the history of Dungeons & Dragons. Hell, It’s hard to think of a release for any other system that matches up to the sheer quality of this one, and that includes White Wolf’s Vampire games. It’s the magnum opus of the late, great Nigel D. Finley, and considering he was the mastermind behind such products as The Tome of Magic, Draconomicon, Shadowrun Second Edition, Tir Tairngire, and multiple releases for games I love like Vampire: The Masquerade, Chill and Earthdawn, that should tell you just how amazing this release is. It’s something all Second Edition AD&D fans should own, and honestly, if you use vampires in your tabletop game at all, for whatever reason, you should own this too. Now, if you need concrete, specific reasons as to why you should purchase this, read on. Otherwise, just go purchase it now.

There are fourteen chapters to Van Richten’s Guide to Vampires. Each one of them is more narrative and descriptive rather than filled with stat blocks and mechanics. This is for the best, as AD&D and Ravenloft in particular already had tons of mechanics for vampires, but the problem was most Dungeon Masters were just using them as generic monsters to fill dungeons with. The disgust from seeing DMs use vampires inappropriately or as cannon fodder is what caused Ravenloft to be born in the first place, and Findley definitely uses this book to ensure readers can get inside the heads of the most iconic of undead. How they think, what drives them, how they differ from mortals now that the subside on the life force of the living. So on and so forth. It really is a must read for anyone even remotely thinking of using a vampire, especially in a high fantasy setting.

Chapter One is “Introduction,” and it is a narrative by the character Rudolph Van Richten, explaining why he is writing this book (yes, the entire thing is in character rather than third person, and it works beautifully), along with background information on why he hunts monsters. Chapter Two is “The Background of Vampirism,” and it tells the possible origins of vampires, the general genetic makeup of this type of undead and a bit on different racial variations, like dwarven or elven vampires. Chapter Three is your first chapter that is devoted to stats and mechanics. “Vampiric Powers” starts on with in-game narrative about the most common powers vampires have in AD&D. The ability to Spider Climb or assume Gaseous Form at will, hypnotism, shapeshifting into animals and the like. It also introduced Salient Abilities, which are powers unique to a specific vampire. This idea helps a vampire from becoming generic and also lets you customize a creature to throw players off while also making your vampire a memorable antagonist. After this narrative, you are given a ton of charts and stat blocks to help you customize your vampire. You get to see how a vampire’s stats improve with age, and a list of eighteen salient abilities that range from being able to charm while in Gaseous From to draining four levels with each successful hit. Yikes to all.

Chapter Four is “Creating New Vampires,” and it’s mostly self-explanatory. It gives multiple ways a vampire can be created rather than just the old “killed by a vampire drinking your blood” motif. Chapter Five is “Vampire Weaknesses,” and this too is rudimentary. Findley gives us a list of common AD&D vampiric weaknesses, like running water, holy symbols and sunlight, but also expands this to possible other weaknesses for unique vamps, ranging from classic folklore issues (such as having to count poppy seeds) to mirrors keeping a vampire at bay as well, instead of just refusing to show their reflection. Chapter Six gives us “Destroying the Vampire,” and this is basically a continuation of the previous chapter.

Chapter Seven is entitled “Magic and Vampires,” and it covers multiple spell groups from AD&D, like Illusion/Phantasm, Enchantment/Charm, Necromancy and so on, listing how spells may have different than intended effects on vampires. It also talks a bit about vampires wielding magic items, but not much. Chapter Eight, “Life-Blood: Vampiric Feeding Habits,” talks about ways vampires feed, how much blood they need versus how much they WANT, and also why they must do it. It also talks about alternatives to blood (again, to make a vampire unique) and also what the victim feels when being drained. Chapter Nine, “The Sleep of the Dead,” talks about what passes for slumber amongst vampires. Why they must do it, whether or not they need to sleep in a coffin or have their tomb lined with native soil. Things like that. You also get mechanics for a sleep deprived vampire, which is neat. Chapter Ten, “Hibernation,” continues this discussion by going into details about long sleeps, or what V:TM called Torpor. This chapter helps to explain how vampires can survive many centuries as well as gives you a way in which they can be especially vulnerable at the same time.

Chapter Eleven is by far the most interesting chapter in the guide. It is called “Relationships Between Vampires,” and it talks about not just how a vampire embraces another, but also the relationship that forms between those two vampires afterwards. There is the common master-slave vampire dynamic, but this chapter also gives you a new way for a vampire to create an equal, such as a vampire mate (as well as how to engage in a vampire based divorce). Of course, not all vampire relationships are positive ones, so this chapter discusses how to run combat BETWEEN vampires and how age comes into effect. Perhaps most interesting is that the chapter does delve into homosexuality amongst the undead, but very briefly and as a side note. Still, that was pretty progressive for 1991 and especially for AD&D at the time.

Chapter Twelve is “The Mind of the Vampire,” and it discusses the psychology of being undead. Why does a vampire do what it does or think what it thinks? How does immortality change one? The chapter also talks about why vampires are generally listed as Chaotic Evil by AD&D alignment terms. It also discusses how a vampire can indeed hold its original alignment for a while, but why Van Richten believes they all eventually turn to Chaotic Evil. Mainly this is due to a long life and a growing detachment from mortals and the way they think. It also discusses the ego and arrogance of a vampire and also what to do with an insane one.

Chapter Thirteen is “The Façade,” and it talks about how vampires may pose as a human or mortal in a local area, and how they are eventually discovered by some foolish or nosy person. It also discusses WHY a vampire might want to have a public life. Finally, Chapter Fourteen is “Retained Skills,” and it talks about what abilities, spells, powers and the like a vampire can retain if they had class levels before being embraced. More importantly, it also tells how they can level up! Now that’s a scary thought, isn’t it? The chapter also ends with a warning to not make vampire PCs and why. This is also the note the book ends on, and it’s a very smart one indeed.

All in all, Van Richten’s Guide to Vampires is one of the best supplements for AD&D Second Edition ever written, and it’s certainly the crown jewel of all Ravenloft supplements. I know I’ve said this multiple times throughout this review, but if you’re thinking of running a vampire against your PCs, regardless of system, you should really have this book on hand to use. This is a must have for almost any gamer. It’s truly a joy to have this publicly available for purchase again.