Wulfgarn wrote:
I have a couple of questions- the M&T says there are protection scrolls vs undead and the like but offer no price to purchase such.
I would like to purchase scrolls of protection vs Energy Drain.
Also I'd like to slap the creator /writer of the M&T for not allowing a saving throw for the Vampires energy drain attack.
that seems unfair in the extreme and mostly no fun to play against.
I think the "save" the character gets is under "Blood Drain" (M&T p.82). After you are hit, you make a strength save. If you fail, the vampire can bite you, which drains _2_ levels, plus 1 every round thereafter! Yikes.
So there is a bit of a save, but fail it once and you are in trouble
That does bring up a question I had though. This may be obviously written somewhere in the M&T, but do characters always get a Constitution Save against undead energy drains? I can't see a specific mention under wraith or vampire or wight that you get a save. But in the Player's Handbook, one of the archetypal instances of Constitution saves is listed as "Energy Drain" (PH, p. 112-113). And it says "an energy drain attack takes away levels or attribute scores from the victim unless a successful saving throw is made (PH p.113)
So I think you do get a Con save. So for the vampire, you would actually get two rolls, by my reading (a STR save to resist the bite, and then a Con save to resist the drain). Make either roll and you are fine (for a round )
Wulfgarn, the first line of defense is do not get hit (either through personal defence, or having clerics to turn them away, or killling them before they get to you, and so on). After that, you will have a Con save, and maybe a STR save too (against vampires anyway). So there is hope. And worst come to worst, if a few attacks do penetrate, your cleric has hopefully not lost enough levels so that he cannot cast restoration on the unfortunate party members
Remember, they are just as afraid of you, as you are of them! (Not really )
I agree with you though, when you actually read what they can do, it is tought to see how a party can always make their saves and so on.
Plus, Treebore is a pretty smart DM, although he is fair to the players, and has some generous house rules, so we have that going for us.
Good luck to your team, you will need it!
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All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure
-Mark Twain