What is in a Vampire's lair?

[aliberator]

I am making an adventure for my PCs where they must invade a Vampire's stronghold. My problem is whenever I make an adventure like this all the room's end up much the same. I have a throne room, torture chamber, treasure vault, library, bedrooms, unused kitchen (Vampire's don't eat after all), dinning room, and so forth. Blah. Eventually all my adventures end up having the same rooms albeit with minor differences. What other types of rooms might a Vampire have that could spice up my adventure and make his stronghold unique? Thanks!

 

[Drakron]

Nothing really, only a secret area with is coffin and perhaps several easier to find false areas with trapped coffins to wear down the party.

 

[shadoe]

It is not what types of rooms that should make it different, but the organization of the rooms that should set the tone. For a vampire, use the standard rooms but with no doors or hallways, just cracks that lead from one room to the next, nothing much bigger that rat sized. And maybe include some false rooms with conections that are trapped/ guarded by various servants.

Also don't think of the kitchen as being unused, make it look very used with a larder full of victims in cages that the vampire can feed on at will.

Just some stray thoughts.

 

[digitaldark]

You could have the vampire live in a large mansion...here's a site with mansion floor plans.. http://www.serianni.com/wh5.htm

 

[Harlock]

The Virgin in White room (lots of pretty young ladies in diaphanous white gowns)

The Used kitchen (includes crazy straws with dried flaky blood inside them)

The Coffin Room (be interesting, include a King Size or Double Coffin, even vampires need lovin')

The enormous walk-in closet (vampires have all those trendy goth clothes from Hot Topics {bleh!})

The media room (stacks of old tomes on religion, history, and how to pick up virginal young ladies in diaphanous white gowns)

Ditch the torture chamber. Vampires have no need to torture, they seduce. Might change this into a cozy more normal type of love nest, sans coffin.

More seriously, think about your vampire. Is s/he an older one that's been at this quite a while? Did s/he buy this house used or have it custom built by an ensorcelled victim? If it's an older house with a younger more newish vampire it could have all the normal amenities of a manor type house. If it's an older vampire a lot of this stuff could be in disrepair or completely overhauled to fit a vampires needs. Vampires do not need to torture, they rely on charm and enchantment and mind control to get what they want. Fear does not help that. It would need to be a place to put people at ease. To feel like they are in the presence of a gracious host who is both meek yet charismatic at the same time. Comfortable furniture, lived-in but clean looking rooms, faint smells of fresh baked bread or sweets wafting in from the kitchen area. The kind of place you'd never want to leave. And if you're the vampire, hopefully the party never will. You could include a darker seedier side to the place as well behind secret doors. Have a wine cellar that magically stores blood in vintage bottles or some tragic silliness like that. If you feel you're in a rut, maybe try looking into Toolbox from AEG. It's a great book loaded with tables you can roll randomly on or simply flip to the room description tables for inspiration.

 

[seasong]

Small, 3" steam pipes leading into and out of the house, and between rooms. Maybe large enough for a rat, but with grills covering them. Sometimes the rats can be seen behind them, but usually not.

Somewhere in the house is the rat's lair. There are only two ways into this lair - through the 3" pipes or through the "disposal bin". When the vampire has killed someone and doesn't want them to rise back up, he dumps 'em down there for the rats to eat. This oubliette toilet should be damnably hard to get out of if you can't turn to mist.

If you can turn to mist, of course, this is the full-on secret passage to every place in the house.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I would consider who/what the Vampire was in life. He'll typically have similar interests, so use that. A former bard might have a organ room, halls filled with musical instruments, or perhapsa ballroom or two. A nobleman might have a castle full of undead servants who still cowtow to him. A formerly rich farmer might have miles of untended fields, and stables full of animals (who will be constantly trying to escape their undead master, thus requiring him to send his minion/fieldhands to round them up again).

Think of what he was like in life, and then twist it a little into a mockery of that thing.

 

[Darth Shoju]

vampire

I'm assuming you have the vampire living in a castle or large manor? Just a thought but perhaps the vampire could inhabit a location he wouldn't have in life. Maybe his lair is more of a place of convenience, or whatever he could find on short notice. Perhaps he just doesn't have access to a castle/manor.

Just some ideas, but maybe an abandoned temple/abbey off in some semi-remote location, with a small population nearby that is also fairly remote from the rest of the countryside (so word of his activities doesn't get back to some vampire hunters or something). Or perhaps he's in a system of caves, inhabited by other creatures that he controls or has a deal with. How about he lives underwater, in a sunken ship or some such thing? (undead don't need to breath, right? ).

Basically, any abandoned building in a remote location would work. You could even put him in a city, have him be rather brazen and just use his vampire powers to conceal his presence (sort of like Bram Stoker's Dracula...not exactly but that general idea). A powerful vampire in a city can cause all sorts of trouble.

You could even have a traveling caravan of vampires. They could be traveling entertainers or a carnival of some sorts (or even gypsies of sorts). They could stop in an area, subtly take a few victims and then move on, maybe even using their supernatural powers to make the dissappearances look like the work of something else (wolves perhaps).

Anyway, just a bunch of thoughts. I guess I kinda wandered from your original post topic but I just thought I'd brainstorm with ya.

 

[Voadam]

An art gallery with all sunny daylight scenes.

depends upon the vampire's personality, was he a warlord who kept trophies?

Was he a wizard with lots of experiments?

Was he a noble with lots of art?

Guest rooms?

Servants quarters?

 

[frankthedm]

Contact poison on everything the bloodsucker can afford. especialy door handles.

Multi levels without stairs with only mist sized wholes for passage.

Non Flamable Poision gas in the coffin rooms. The vampire won't be breathing and niether will his uninvited guests.