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How To Kill A Dracula, and Other Lesser Undead

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    MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Oh hey i firgot to meantion i will be out for a bit. I am phone typing so this post is gunna be ass. Vut i should be about to get to some of this by sunday night, maybe? Also Dracula can polymirph draculas can not.

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    MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Dear Dr. Melding,

    What happens if a dracula bites The Wolf Man? What happens if they bite each other? Do they cancel out? Asking for a friend.

    Sincerely,

    An American Normal Human in London

    The wolf man is a man with an unfortunate medical condition, you really shouldn't be calling him that, it's very disrespectful. if you mean a werewolf, not a whole lot happens as the regenerative powers of the werewolf can typically replace the blood before death sets in. also werewolves are supposed to taste real bad which is why they are not farmed by vampires as some kind of ever lasting food.
    Brainleech wrote: »
    I have scars from someone with a Vampire Fetish
    Should I be worried? form being bit from someone who had vampire fangs and they were ever so sharp

    Well, as you are not currently showing signs of madness you are likely fine, but it is something to watch for in general. vampire bites are no laughing matter.
    Wasn't one of Dracula's original powers the ability to turn into a wolf?

    Dracula was also trained in magic by a powerful demon, possibly even The Satan at the time. Dracula is a Special Case.
    Dear D. Melding,

    it has come to my attention that draculas seem to employ different feeding strategies - some seem able to feed on their prey without killing them whereas others will suck a person dry

    Are these two different types of dracula or is this down to the personal preference of the dracula in question

    It is typically the difference in personalities. While there might be finer catagories of draculas they all typically operate within the same realms that lumping them together at a base level is safe enough. even if some mutations have better mental domination or some are stronger, it's really not that big of a deal on this end. Most draculas don't want word of a dracula being around to reach people, so leaving living victims is a no-no, and most will cover their tracts to make it look like a conventional murder. Others are trying to breed thralls, so leaving living victims to test fortitude or not trying to cover it up to spawn lesser vampires is a bonus.

    in short, draculas are classed by ability, not feeding habits, those tend to be the same throughout.

    alright, did i miss anything? i was moving province.

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    WyvernWyvern Registered User regular
    A general question: of the various types of corporeal undead, which do and do not contain the bodies' original souls? I feel that this information is important when determining how to ethically deal with them (for instance, neutralizing a group of zombies by permanently entombing them but leaving them otherwise intact should not be considered a satisfactory resolution if so doing would leave human souls imprisoned in undead bodies unnecessarily).

    Switch: SW-2431-2728-9604 || 3DS: 0817-4948-1650
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    MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Wyvern wrote: »
    A general question: of the various types of corporeal undead, which do and do not contain the bodies' original souls? I feel that this information is important when determining how to ethically deal with them (for instance, neutralizing a group of zombies by permanently entombing them but leaving them otherwise intact should not be considered a satisfactory resolution if so doing would leave human souls imprisoned in undead bodies unnecessarily).

    unless the zombie can talk there is no soul present is the general rule. While this doesn't hold when you get to say vampires but most undead with souls tend to act erratically so they shouldn't be too hard to tell them apart. Revenants have souls but are temporary as do liches but these are pretty much the only ones you can be sure have souls.

    also, aside from these two typically none of them have their original souls. Zombielords have souls but these are very much not the original body's soul. trapping them in a pit forever isn't the worst way to deal with them.

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    MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Incorporeal Undead

    These beings after often broadly categorized as “ghosts” and thought to be the souls of people trapped on Earth for reasons not understood and that solving this puzzle will allow them to pass on to whatever afterlife they have earned. This is true less than 1% of the time. Incorporeal Undead are often just fragments of “the soul” and not actually the individual, or just emotional impressions left on the material world that have gained some kind of spark they have started to manifest as something else entirely. While, the second of these doesn’t sound like the usual undead fair, all current methods of removal of undead spirits and such are completely effective, so categorizing them as anything else seems pointless.

    The last and rarest group is of course the reanimated soul. Self aware and spectral these are a dangerous force when self created, and still a threat if angered. The reasons of how they came to be are not always the same but a tragic death is rarely among them. Curses are far more common, which is remarkable when considering how rare they are.


    Intelligent Examples: Spectres, Ghosts, Wraiths

    These are far more uncommon than the mindless types, often a fate chosen by necromancers and evil wizards who haven’t mastered to ritual to become a lich, but are too cowardly to face death. Their intellect and magical ability intact and hard has hell to hit they are a threat to just about anyone regardless of ability. Most don’t actively menace the living however, as the pursuits one can follow when untethered to the mortal world is intoxicating. Rarest among these are those who have come under the effect of a terrible curse and are just kind of stuck. Luckily, curses are easily broken when prepared for it, so getting these folk on their way is pretty easy.

    Unintelligent Examples: Poltergeists, Echos, Phantasm

    These tend to come in one of three types. The embodiment of a strong emotion left on the area, a fragment of someone who drew power from a place, or necrotic power runamok. All of these are basically pure id, but are of varying levels of power. They are also generally tied to an area or an object and often destroying it releases the power to the four winds effectively destroying the creature. More powerful ones however can rebuild and require a lot more work to get rid of, even trapping them within objects does not stop them for long.

    Re-enactors

    There’s no single example of these creatures that can be broadly categorized. Each is a unique example, and best follow the classic ghost tale of having to solve a deep mystery related to the person’s death to free them or whatever crap people try to sell these days. Typically it’s worth noting that these are more evolved echos, and not actually the people themselves, and that more often than not “solving” the mystery actually just releases a powerful undead spirit to wreck shit up, no longer caught up on the memories of person who gave them unlife. So, proceed with caution.

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    TubeTube Registered User admin
    I would like a working definition of zombielord if one is available

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    MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    So, Zombielord

    Zombielords, also sometimes called Discount Liches, are a type of created undead. their general intention is that of a lich. A Way for a necromancer to live beyond his years and amass more power. However, the secret of lichdom is pretty closely guarded by all who know it, after all it's not a secret if it's public information. So, necromancers will less clout and money came up with their own solution. The Ritual typically includes two necromancers. The one who is going to become the zombie lord and the guy there who expects the favour repaid one day. A body is prepared and enchanted by the first necromancer, who then ritualistically commits suicide which allows the second to place their soul into the prepared body.

    This created a new undead driven by the soul of a powerful necromancer, and while is more often limited than a lich in most cases is just as dangerous as typically the chosen body is a body builder or some huge person who looks real strong, making them somewhat of a physical threat as well as having dark magics.

    They are weaker for a number of reasons however. The body still rots, while much slower, and when the body becomes unusable they will either need a new shell or perish. As well, as anchored spirits, if you cut its tether they get kicked out of this realm just like any other. Problems not faced by normal liches.

    So, why do it? if you only got a few years left to live its an enticing prospect to live for another 50 years in hopes of getting a lich ritual, and let's face it, a lot of people like having physical bodies.

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    PolaritiePolaritie Sleepy Registered User regular
    I love the idea that necromancers go wraith and then just ignore everyone because they now have infinite time for intellectual pursuits.

    Has it ever been fruitful to try and get advice from one of them on dealing with a matter? Say, by bringing them a rare book or something (I mean, they probably could take it if they knew where it was, but I figure if they've gone undead scholar you may be able to get them to tell you how to put down something unusual).

    Steam: Polaritie
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    MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Polaritie wrote: »
    I love the idea that necromancers go wraith and then just ignore everyone because they now have infinite time for intellectual pursuits.

    Has it ever been fruitful to try and get advice from one of them on dealing with a matter? Say, by bringing them a rare book or something (I mean, they probably could take it if they knew where it was, but I figure if they've gone undead scholar you may be able to get them to tell you how to put down something unusual).

    Not really, the ones who do it were typically jerks in life and are even bigger jerks in death. if you have the book on you most will try to kill you for it, and others will just refuse the request.

    Plus, their voice is real spooky and no one wants to put up with that while they're explaining how a thing works. Those who will, and manage to wrangle information out of a wraith might have much to gain, but personally I don't find it worth the hassle.

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    Karrde1842Karrde1842 Registered User regular
    How would a dracula be affected if one were subjected to the water pressure at the bottom of the ocean? Say by kicking one out of a submarine somehow?

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    MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Karrde1842 wrote: »
    How would a dracula be affected if one were subjected to the water pressure at the bottom of the ocean? Say by kicking one out of a submarine somehow?

    they'd probably be crushed to death. vampires are strong but not structurally sound enough to deal with that much pressure.

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    milskimilski Poyo! Registered User regular
    Dr Melding, a few questions:
    • You mentioned that a Zombielord might attempt to become a Lich. Are these sorts of undead-to-undead transformations possible for other types of undead, e.g. a dracula to a lich? If so, have you encountered any particularly long/bizarre chains of undeath?
    • Your solution to draculas involves burning them to ashes, so I wonder: Are draculas, or specifically dracula bones, more flammable than typical humans? Burning bone to ash requires some very high temperatures not readily available with a common torch.
    • Are reanimated creatures and/or creatures with their minds/souls shifted by psionics considered undead? Can psions take over the minds of intelligent undead safely?

    I ate an engineer
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    MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    milski wrote: »
    Dr Melding, a few questions:
    • You mentioned that a Zombielord might attempt to become a Lich. Are these sorts of undead-to-undead transformations possible for other types of undead, e.g. a dracula to a lich? If so, have you encountered any particularly long/bizarre chains of undeath?
    • Your solution to draculas involves burning them to ashes, so I wonder: Are draculas, or specifically dracula bones, more flammable than typical humans? Burning bone to ash requires some very high temperatures not readily available with a common torch.
    • Are reanimated creatures and/or creatures with their minds/souls shifted by psionics considered undead? Can psions take over the minds of intelligent undead safely?

    1) Zombielord is kind of a special case, and in effect it is an anchored spirit animating a body. an anchored spirit isn't technically undead though it's close enough that it gets lumped in. in theory, if their body was still alive they could be brought back to normal if the spirit was returned. It's a whole thing. Other undead typically do not have spirits, or are spirit given form, so they can't be made into something else typically speaking.

    2) Not really, but it's one of those things where if your break them up enough they burn better. Often enough charring the bone greatly is enough to get the job done, as repairing bone is hard for undead bodies, but putting a vampire though a wood chipper or something would work just as well. But outside of that, they are no more flammable than a normal corpse, you just have to be dedicated to your craft.

    3) I have almost no working knowledge on how psionics works, so i can't really say. I would hazard that possessing an undead mentally would be a taxing experiance as the pain of the grave is said to be all consuming, and even jockeying on that would probably be a lot for a living person to take in.

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    TubeTube Registered User admin
    Could a necromancer force the soul out of a living body to create a zombielord that is still alive? I'm asking for a friend

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    MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Tube wrote: »
    Could a necromancer force the soul out of a living body to create a zombielord that is still alive? I'm asking for a friend

    the first body would need to be vacant of a soul, so possibly but could lead to complications if the original soul was to be released.

    Namely shunting the second soul out, which would attempt to return to their original body that is now dead, but they might still be tethered to this world and whoops you're now possessing an inanimate corpse.

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