Vampire, Hopping (CR 5)

Medium Undead
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Initiative: +0; Senses: breath sense


AC: 16 (+6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 16
Hit Dice: 7d12+3 (48 hp); DR: 10/honorable
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +4
Speed: 20 ft.
Space: 5 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack +3; Grapple -2
Attack: 2 claws +11 melee
Full Attack: 2 claws +11 melee
Damage: Claw 1d4+3
Special Attacks/Actions: Curse of vampirism
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 10, Con -, Int 6, Wis 9, Cha 12
Special Qualities: Breath sense, undead, cold and electricity resistance 10, SR 15
Feats: Toughness; Power Attack; Weapon Focus
Skills: Climb +10, Intimidate +7, and Jump +10
Advancement: 8-21 HD (Medium-size)
Climate/Terrain: Any land
Organization: Solitary
Treasure/Possessions: Standard

Source: Oriental Adventures

Curse of Vampirism (Su): Any humanoid hit by a hopping vampire's claw attack must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 13) or contract a curse that turns her into a hopping vampire herself. Over the course of 1d4+1 days, the victim slowly transforms into a vampire, growing fangs and long fingernails and becoming more bestial. To stop the transformation, the character must receive a remove curse spell before the process is complete. Each hour spent hopping or dancing on pure sticky rice delays the time's onset by 1 day (As with any physical exertion, a character can only dance on sticky rice for so long before tiring: After moving around for an hour, each additional hour inflicts 1 point if subdual damage on the character, cumulative - 1 point the second hour, 2 points the third hour, 3 points the fourth hour, and so on.) Once the transformation has run its course, it cannot be reversed by any means short of a wish or miracle.

Breath Sense (Ex): Hopping vampires cannot see living creatures. They can only detect their presence by their breath. In the vampires' favor, this means that they are nor fooled by invisibility or other magic used to trick the sighted. Treat this ability like the blindsight special quality as far as living and breathing opponents are concerned; its effective range is 120 feet. On the other hand, a living creature that is not breathing (including a character holding her breath) is effectively invisible to the vampire. (See The Drowning Rule for rules on holding breath. Once a character is unconscious, he starts breathing. A character is unable to kill himself by holding his breath.) Unliving creatures that do not breathe, including undead and constructs, are visible to the hopping vampire's undead sight.

Hopping vampires are not the sophisticated, intelligent opponents that Western vampires are. They behave much like rabid animals, attacking with their claws and fangs, giving little thought to strategy or tactics.

When a body is buried improperly or in an inauspicious location, it often returns to activity as a hopping vampire, hungry to kill living creatures. The body is animated by the po soul (evil portion of the soul) of the deceased; the hun soul (good portion) is departed. Without the hun soul, the body is not truly alive, so it retains some of the rigidity of death. The spectacle of these creatures hopping around looking for victims would be ridiculous if they were nor such deadly opponents.

The return from death gives the hopping vampires a greenish tint to their skin, fangs in their mouths, and razor-sharp claws. They are usually dressed in funerary wear - either fresh and new or moldering with decay.

Hopping vampires never speak, but they understand Common.