So the stakes and mallet in the core rulebook mentions making a Theologian test to destroy a surprised or sleeping vampire, but it doesn’t list any kind of Ob. The Denizens of Darkness book stats out master vampires and minor vampires, but again doesn’t talk about what the Ob might be to stake them.
I would just do a versus test against their Nature score.
I was thinking the same thing, and then last night I saw some threads on Google+ that seemed to preview Jared’s thinking before he made Denizens. I suspect that’s what he intended: Theologian vs. Nature.
YEP.
Ob4 against Minor Vampires, ob 7 vs the Vampire Lord!
http://www.memento-mori.com/rpg/torchbearer-sagas-denizens-of-the-dark
Keep in mind staking a sleeping vampire takes a turn, so time’s not on your side if you’re in a nest.
The twist for failure is pretty obvious.
Ouch–so the obstacle is actually their Nature, rather than a Versus test? That’s rough.
That’s cool, though–it changes the nature (pun not intended) of the conflict. You track them to their nest and there’s a high-stakes (pun totally intended there) test to see if you stake them–or if they wake up. Very Salem’s Lot.
I’m going to make this more complicated!
If you’re going with an opposed nature roll, unless the vampire you are using has an applicable nature descriptor, you should roll only half its nature dice. Jared’s vampire from denizens has scheming, so I suspect a lot of vampires will scheme to feign sleep and attack the adventurers. However, I would only allow this if it were dusk or dawn, as the vampire could actually function at those times.
If the vampire is in fact insensate while resting, then this is just a factored Theologian test. That happens to be the implication of the rules as well. I would call Jared’s minor vampires as lesser spirits (Ob 2) and a vampire lord as greater (Ob 3) – then factor their “Disposition” (should be called attitude). Chances are it’s malign – but I can think of at least one reference in fiction where the vampire wanted to die.
So there you have it: the Ob for consecrating undead remains is Ob 3 for minor vampires and Ob 4 for a vampire lord. It’s probably Ob 5 or 6 for dealing with a lich’s phylactery once the lich itself is destroyed.
Film and fiction are rife with examples of this test not going too well.
That’s a very cool idea, and it makes a lot of sense. Thanks!