Sink Your Teeth Into These Vampire RPGs, Plus Dice Fit for Strahd von Zarovich
Whether it’s interviews with, sparkles, or something else, we all have favorite vampires. Let’s add a little of that to our RPGs.
Vampires, as a genre, have had a hold on the fantasy and supernatural genres for a long time. Horror? Romance? Neither or both? Something else entirely? Maybe something that’s not technically a vampire in name. But like… you know. Vampires will pop in for an appearance. Especially now with Halloween right around the corner, we’re looking for a way to add a few more blood-suckers to our RPG adventures. And there are lots of vampire games and lots of ways to add a few vampires to your next game.
1. Vampire: The Requiem
We’ve talked about Vampire: The Masquerade, and that is definitely the name in Vampire tabletop RPGs. But Requiem may be just as, if not more, worth checking out. The successor to Masquerade, Vampire Requiem works really hard to fix former issues and clean up some messiness, while keeping the same dramatic game at its heart. And the world of vampires is full of drama.
2. Thousand Year Old Vampire RPG
An entirely different game in nearly every possible way, Thousand Year Vampire is a solo, journalizing-based RPG. It’s a game that asks you- and your vampire- to be introspective and emotional, thinking back on the last millennia of memories. Gameplay can take hours, weeks, or anything in between. It’s designed to be played solo, but can be a group RPG as well.
3. Blood Dice
We’re no strangers to the ‘faux blood splattered dice’ design. Horror games love them, and we love suggesting them for spooky games come the Halloween season. But this isn’t that. This is more of a ‘your dice are full of blood’ sort of design. Or even a ‘I’m sure that’s just red wine in their goblet,’ look. This is exactly what all of the human characters will be saying about the vampiric ones. I’m sure those fangs are just for show, don’t worry about it.
4. Vampire Minis
Not every game needs minis, but when a session calls for them, they’re nice to have. Whether you’re trying to keep the layout and map clear for everybody at the table, or just want to maintain an aesthetic, a table full of minis is always welcome in my games. This set comes with two unpainted vampires, one in attack mode and the other… sort of threatening to go into attack mode. Either way, it’s not good news for whoever opposes them.
5. Urban Shadows
The world of Urban Shadows throws fantasy and horror into your average city. Players take on the lives of urban-fantasy tropes and archetypes, navigating supernatural underworld politics and hierarchies. Mortals and monsters fight for control of the city with creatures like faeries, magic-wielders, and of course, vampires and hunters. If you want a vampire story or character, but also want to see a whole world of magic and urban fantasy outside of them, this game has a big city for you to explore.
The Curse of Strahd
“I am ancient, I am the Land. My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I am not dead. Nor am I alive. I am undead, forever.”
So begins the Tome of Strahd, a book dedicated to the life of the dark prince of Barovia, Strahd von Zarovich. This tortured vampire was one of the first Darklords of Ravenloft. He ruled over the shadowed lands of Barovia with a bloody fist. From his castle, he lamented a lost love. Embrace the mists, dear Adventurer, and step into a land of darkness and terror with this 5e book and Tarokka Deck bundle.
Oh hey! BoLS might make a little dolla-dolla if you decide to buy these items. We need that money to bribe the nice folks at the local blood bank. For no reason. Don’t worry about it.
