For a bit of backstory, I'm currently a player in the Curse of Strahd Module. My race and class don't factor into this at all, but I am a level 10 Changeling Rogue/Swashbuckler Fighter/? who up until a few days ago was Chaotic Neutral.
What's changed is that I've touched a sarcophagus, specifically the one Strahd touched, said yes to the being's offer, became chaotic evil, and learned how to become a vampire like Strahd. The session is tomorrow, and I need to have a question answered: If I kill someone who loves/reveres me and drink their blood, do they have to stay dead?
My character always rode a fine line between neutral and evil, particularly when in came to money. To put it bluntly, I betrayed my party to Strahd for some money. Then I immediately turned around and betrayed him when they gave me one gold piece. I'll be honest, at the beginning of the campaign, I was very much "that guy" and a murderhobo extraordinaire. Most characters hated mine, even the player characters, except for one. A Goliath Cleric who was as much as a sweet roll as possible, both in and out of character.
Being a Changeling Rogue, I spent the first few sessions sneaking around, stealing, burning down buildings and at some point was disguised as a random old guy. I eavesdropped on my party, and everyone was giving my character crap, except for the cleric. It was then that both in and out of character I decided to change my ways. Less stabbing, more talking, less hoarding loot, more buying stuff for the party. It made for a halfway decent redemption arc, and I also began to be a much better player.
This brings us to when we are in the amber temple, and touched the sarcophagus. I said yes, became evil, all during a text based rp session with the dm on our own. He did the right thing and gave nothing away that my character wouldn't know. I needed someone who loved/revered me and someone who hated me to kill me. The second part was easy, Esmeralda the npc hated my guts, as not only did I blow up her cart containing her entire life's work (killing the entire party, me out right, but some damn lucky natural 20's saved all our lives) I've also been at odds with her and have insulted her wooden leg. I'm pretty certain it can be ruled that she hates me. The first part, though, the killing and drinking blood, left me with only on real option. The one person I could think of to kill, both in and out of character, was the cleric, at least with the small amount of information I was running on. So, lucky me, he was alone, asleep, and completely at my mercy.
However, I played my character as that his new found evilness didn't change him persay, but rather exasperated his innate greed and lust for money. But evil is evil, so I also plan on following through on killing the cleric, but not with out some serious confliction. I had my character wake up the cleric, tell him what he'd done and what he planned on doing. The cleric said he would let me kill him, if I did what I also said in that I'd use the power to kill Strahd. Now for why I'm putting this into this section of the forum.
I'm killing the cleric come tomorrow. However, I have a plan that I want to try, but it delves into a real gray area on the rules. A little note, the cleric knows revivify, which doesn't really matter here, but the paladin who is also in the party has a scroll of the same spell. My plan is to have the cleric call and scream for help, and just as the party gets into the room we're in (they're all asleep at the moment) I kill him in some way, which will be outright as he's allowing me to kill him. I'll hold my action to let's say pierce his heart, kill him, and lick the blood off the blade, therefore completing the first part of the process of becoming a vampire. I then plan on initiating combat with the party, and though it might change depending on initiative rolls, both me and the npc Esmeralda have a high chance of being top of the order. This whole time, it is still presumably possible to revive the cleric. I'll rush in, allow Esmeralda to kill me, which will hopefully complete the second part of the process and make me a fully fledged vampire. With me dead, the paladin will revive the cleric, I'll come back as a vampire with new power, and nobody has to die. I know there will be some fallout with the other characters, specifically the paladin, but that's a problem I might not ever deal with.
With this plan laid out, will it even work? I know it's mostly up to the dm, but I have to know if there are any rules pertaining to this situation? Is there an instance of this happening that's recorded and have any precedents been set? What even are the mechanics that are involved and am I correct in my reasoning and how it goes with my plan?
With all this said, a few things have to be said. The cleric's player through some series of events is also in control of a warlock. He is also super psyched about all this and can't wait to see what happens, same with the dm (the other two players don't know about any of this). Also, that warlock also touched a sarcophagus and is probably super evil as well. So, I'm pretty sure this might work out well between the players regardless of what happens in game, but I don't want it to end the way it looks like it's going to end. Is there any hope for me and my character?
If the DM and the cleric are excited, you have a good shot at it, especially given your redemption arc.
Once you kill the cleric, it probably doesn't matter who kills you--they'd all hate your character for killing the cleric.
Remember once you're a vampire, you can't go inside residences without an invitation from an occupant, sunlight damages you and makes it harder to attack, etc.
Will you be able to reach Strahd if he's inside a residence (because of the invitation thing), or will the party have to draw him out, or get you an invitation? Solvable problems, but worth considering.
If the DM and the cleric are excited, you have a good shot at it, especially given your redemption arc.
Once you kill the cleric, it probably doesn't matter who kills you--they'd all hate your character for killing the cleric.
Remember once you're a vampire, you can't go inside residences without an invitation from an occupant, sunlight damages you and makes it harder to attack, etc.
Will you be able to reach Strahd if he's inside a residence (because of the invitation thing), or will the party have to draw him out, or get you an invitation? Solvable problems, but worth considering.
There are several points in CoS where Strahd will issue an open invitation to the party to come to Castle Ravenloft. If they are level 10, they have likely already received it so the odds are good that an invitation won't be an issue.
The other downsides of a vampire generally don't apply in Barovia. Daytime is so dim, cloudy and misty that vampires can act at will during the day.
Anything more is up to the DM since there are several ways that the module could evolve with a plot event like this one.
With this plan laid out, will it even work? I know it's mostly up to the dm, but I have to know if there are any rules pertaining to this situation? Is there an instance of this happening that's recorded and have any precedents been set? What even are the mechanics that are involved and am I correct in my reasoning and how it goes with my plan?
RAW, I don't think there are any real answers. Curse of Strahd is an interesting and compelling adventure that exists in its own world. Technically, the instant you become a vampire, your character would become an NPC under the DM's control. If you have been allowed to retain control over your character, that's uncharted waters.
Lots of people ignore the official rules, because it's fun, but there are rarely formal precedence for such events because game balance strongly hinges on having players and monsters separated by a thick line.
RAI, there is an entirely different problem. The act of killing a loved one shouldn't be about the killing itself, but rather about making a sacrifice and committing yourself to the dark powers. Unless the death is final, there is no sacrifice and the ritual ought to fail. Someone might come along and save the victim, but the would-be vampire shouldn't take that into consideration. A would-be vampire might even deliberately stage the murder so that resurrection was highly unlikely. Murdering a loved one is dramatic and intimate, and could easily be romanticized. The new vampire might even actively hunt down anyone who attempted to disturb the corpse out of obsession with the "purity" of the moment.
Curse of Strahd is about corruption and an inevitable descent into darkness. While there is no wrong way to play D&D, "winning" isn't necessarily the point.
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For a bit of backstory, I'm currently a player in the Curse of Strahd Module. My race and class don't factor into this at all, but I am a level 10 Changeling Rogue/Swashbuckler Fighter/? who up until a few days ago was Chaotic Neutral.
What's changed is that I've touched a sarcophagus, specifically the one Strahd touched, said yes to the being's offer, became chaotic evil, and learned how to become a vampire like Strahd. The session is tomorrow, and I need to have a question answered: If I kill someone who loves/reveres me and drink their blood, do they have to stay dead?
My character always rode a fine line between neutral and evil, particularly when in came to money. To put it bluntly, I betrayed my party to Strahd for some money. Then I immediately turned around and betrayed him when they gave me one gold piece. I'll be honest, at the beginning of the campaign, I was very much "that guy" and a murderhobo extraordinaire. Most characters hated mine, even the player characters, except for one. A Goliath Cleric who was as much as a sweet roll as possible, both in and out of character.
Being a Changeling Rogue, I spent the first few sessions sneaking around, stealing, burning down buildings and at some point was disguised as a random old guy. I eavesdropped on my party, and everyone was giving my character crap, except for the cleric. It was then that both in and out of character I decided to change my ways. Less stabbing, more talking, less hoarding loot, more buying stuff for the party. It made for a halfway decent redemption arc, and I also began to be a much better player.
This brings us to when we are in the amber temple, and touched the sarcophagus. I said yes, became evil, all during a text based rp session with the dm on our own. He did the right thing and gave nothing away that my character wouldn't know. I needed someone who loved/revered me and someone who hated me to kill me. The second part was easy, Esmeralda the npc hated my guts, as not only did I blow up her cart containing her entire life's work (killing the entire party, me out right, but some damn lucky natural 20's saved all our lives) I've also been at odds with her and have insulted her wooden leg. I'm pretty certain it can be ruled that she hates me. The first part, though, the killing and drinking blood, left me with only on real option. The one person I could think of to kill, both in and out of character, was the cleric, at least with the small amount of information I was running on. So, lucky me, he was alone, asleep, and completely at my mercy.
However, I played my character as that his new found evilness didn't change him persay, but rather exasperated his innate greed and lust for money. But evil is evil, so I also plan on following through on killing the cleric, but not with out some serious confliction. I had my character wake up the cleric, tell him what he'd done and what he planned on doing. The cleric said he would let me kill him, if I did what I also said in that I'd use the power to kill Strahd. Now for why I'm putting this into this section of the forum.
I'm killing the cleric come tomorrow. However, I have a plan that I want to try, but it delves into a real gray area on the rules. A little note, the cleric knows revivify, which doesn't really matter here, but the paladin who is also in the party has a scroll of the same spell. My plan is to have the cleric call and scream for help, and just as the party gets into the room we're in (they're all asleep at the moment) I kill him in some way, which will be outright as he's allowing me to kill him. I'll hold my action to let's say pierce his heart, kill him, and lick the blood off the blade, therefore completing the first part of the process of becoming a vampire. I then plan on initiating combat with the party, and though it might change depending on initiative rolls, both me and the npc Esmeralda have a high chance of being top of the order. This whole time, it is still presumably possible to revive the cleric. I'll rush in, allow Esmeralda to kill me, which will hopefully complete the second part of the process and make me a fully fledged vampire. With me dead, the paladin will revive the cleric, I'll come back as a vampire with new power, and nobody has to die. I know there will be some fallout with the other characters, specifically the paladin, but that's a problem I might not ever deal with.
With this plan laid out, will it even work? I know it's mostly up to the dm, but I have to know if there are any rules pertaining to this situation? Is there an instance of this happening that's recorded and have any precedents been set? What even are the mechanics that are involved and am I correct in my reasoning and how it goes with my plan?
With all this said, a few things have to be said. The cleric's player through some series of events is also in control of a warlock. He is also super psyched about all this and can't wait to see what happens, same with the dm (the other two players don't know about any of this). Also, that warlock also touched a sarcophagus and is probably super evil as well. So, I'm pretty sure this might work out well between the players regardless of what happens in game, but I don't want it to end the way it looks like it's going to end. Is there any hope for me and my character?
If the DM and the cleric are excited, you have a good shot at it, especially given your redemption arc.
Once you kill the cleric, it probably doesn't matter who kills you--they'd all hate your character for killing the cleric.
Remember once you're a vampire, you can't go inside residences without an invitation from an occupant, sunlight damages you and makes it harder to attack, etc.
Will you be able to reach Strahd if he's inside a residence (because of the invitation thing), or will the party have to draw him out, or get you an invitation? Solvable problems, but worth considering.
There are several points in CoS where Strahd will issue an open invitation to the party to come to Castle Ravenloft. If they are level 10, they have likely already received it so the odds are good that an invitation won't be an issue.
The other downsides of a vampire generally don't apply in Barovia. Daytime is so dim, cloudy and misty that vampires can act at will during the day.
Anything more is up to the DM since there are several ways that the module could evolve with a plot event like this one.
RAW, I don't think there are any real answers. Curse of Strahd is an interesting and compelling adventure that exists in its own world. Technically, the instant you become a vampire, your character would become an NPC under the DM's control. If you have been allowed to retain control over your character, that's uncharted waters.
Lots of people ignore the official rules, because it's fun, but there are rarely formal precedence for such events because game balance strongly hinges on having players and monsters separated by a thick line.
RAI, there is an entirely different problem. The act of killing a loved one shouldn't be about the killing itself, but rather about making a sacrifice and committing yourself to the dark powers. Unless the death is final, there is no sacrifice and the ritual ought to fail. Someone might come along and save the victim, but the would-be vampire shouldn't take that into consideration. A would-be vampire might even deliberately stage the murder so that resurrection was highly unlikely. Murdering a loved one is dramatic and intimate, and could easily be romanticized. The new vampire might even actively hunt down anyone who attempted to disturb the corpse out of obsession with the "purity" of the moment.
Curse of Strahd is about corruption and an inevitable descent into darkness. While there is no wrong way to play D&D, "winning" isn't necessarily the point.