Count Dracula from 'Dracula' - Jack's Definitive Version

Count Dracula

 

For the first part, I wanted to distance this write-up from the Marvel write-up, which is difficult if not impossible to divorce from because of how ingrained the media portrayal of Dracula is to the character. It's impossible to sort out the original Dracula from how he has been featured, from the Bela Lugosi version in 1931, to the Christopher Lee Hammer films, and even the anime version. The original version, the supporting characters, and the story set the standard in 'modern' horror, influence writers from HP Lovecraft to Stephen King. King wrote Salem's Lot as a deconstructed Dracula in modern times, and indeed Kurt Barlow is in many ways a modern version of the Count.

In Edwardian England, Dracula was a gothic romance, an invasion novel, and a pulp all rolled into one. While borrowing elements from the older Sheridan Lefanu Carmilla, which many consider Stoker lifting a great deal from, such as the strong Dutch doctor Van Helsing (Van Hessilus) and more as seen in the novella Dracula's Guest. The novel of Dracula influenced the silent film Nosferatu, which in turn influenced the 1931 Dracula, and set the stage of the 'Hollywood' vampire. Dracula has the distinction of being the most filmed fictious character, with well over 200 movies featuring the character. In media, Dracula also has the distinction of being the lead character in the longest running villain-centric comic, Marvel's Tomb of Dracula, as well as being adapted into anime in both Vampire Hunter D and Hellsing, as well as one of the earliest Western Comic adaptations into anime with Tomb of Dracula.

Important Dracula facts:

• Bela Legosi was buried wearing his Dracula cape.
• The Marvel version of Dracula is based visually from a production starring Jack Palance.
• Dracula Guest actually features another vampire, and is more in-line with Carmilla.
• Dracula has been represented with a heavy to moderate accent, but in the novel it is clearly stated he spoke perfect english with only a slight inflection.

This write-up will focus primarily on the novel version of Dracula with very little influence by other sources, at least I hope, although I'm probably influenced by my recent viewing of 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula Vlad Dracula

F: Rm (30)
A: Rm (30)
S: Rm (30)
E: Am (50)
R: Gd (10)
I: Am (50)
P: Am (50)

Health: 140
Karma: 110
Resources: Rm (30)
Popularity: - 10


Talents:
Amassed during generations of study and learning, the Dracula from the novel include several skills not often associated with the later representations of the character. These skills include:

• Sharp Weapons
• Leadership
• Horsemanship
• Occult Lore
• Alchemy
• Business/Finance
• Athletics
• Multi-Lingual
• Demonology
• Area Knowledge: London
• Area Knowledge: Styrian Mountains
• Military
• Area Knowledge: Eastern Europe
• Cultural
• Crime

Dracula however is capable of possessing far more skills, as he has existed for hundreds of years, and kept very current on 'modern' society.
Powers:
Vampire: Dracula is a vampire, an undead being that requires the lifeblood of the living to continue to exist. As a vampire, Dracula has many abilities which compliment his formidable will and various skills. Dracula is caught between life and death; existing but not living. As such, Dracula may perform the following:

• Vampirism: Dracula requires blood to sustain his youthful appearance and fortify his powers. Dracula must feed constantly to maintain his youth, requiring 1-4 pints of blood every three days to remain youthful. Dracula gains health by feeding off of an individual in equal exchange, renewing his youth and vitality. Dracula not only drains health, he drains endurance ranks, allowing him to renew not only his health but his endurance.
  Dracula can infect another being with vampirism, by reducing their endurance to half and forcing them to ingest his ‘blood’, essentially replacing their lost endurance with equivalent of his own lifeblood. The process requires the consumption of 20 points of health from Dracula to the host for the process to begin. Once begun, the victim begins the process of becoming one of the undead over a 7 – 10 day period, with some of the markings and weaknesses of a vampire. Should the victim perish during the period, they will become one of the undead between 1 – 3 days of death, becoming a lesser vampire in the thrall of Dracula. Dracula’s bite by itself will not transform someone into a vampire, nor does his preference seem to work on men as seen by the crew of the ship [the Demeter], who died to the man with none returning as vampires.
• Shapeshifting: Dracula has the ability to change his shape in a variety of ways, including into a rat, wolf, bat, owl, and a fine fog-like mist. Dracula can grow and shrink from his normal size to a particle, capable of entering or exiting through any crack or crevice. Dracula can reduce his mass to Sh 0 and gain natural weapons: Bite and Natural weaponry: Claws (both at strength) while in his animal forms.
• Undead State: Dracula is wholly immune to damage from normal means, requiring blessed weapons, holy objects, or the other means to damage a vampire to truly damage him. Dracula cannot be harmed through physical attacks that are not magical in nature, suffering no loss of health, stun/slam/stagger effects, and will not suffer kill results, within acceptable reason. For the most part, Dracula is considered to have Am (50) resistance to damage, as well as not having the need to breathe, sleep, or sustain himself outside of the need for blood.
• Hypnotism: Dracula’s ability to mesmerize his opponents is phenomenal, even functioning while incapacitated or ‘asleep’. Dracula can mesmerize and control the actions of those around him by simply making eye contact, possessing Am (50) ability to do so. Dracula can plant post-hypnotic commands with a simple FEAT against the opponent’s Psyche, rather than Intuition.
• Vampiric Control: Dracula can command and control those individuals who have either been turned into a vampire or infected by Dracula directly. Dracula can command those undead with a simple Psyche FEAT, and can influence the actions of individuals that Dracula has forced to drink his blood or drained. Dracula is considered to have telepathy equal to -1cs of his Psyche rank with his victims, and is capable of both reading their minds and using them in a form of clairvoyance and Claudience as to activities and such. What Dracula do thralls see and hear, Dracula sees and hears.
• Weather Control: Dracula can control the weather with Rm (30) ability, causing massive storms, impenetrable fog banks, and winds. As seen in the early arrival at the Borgo pass and later onboard the Demeter, Dracula can easily cause the weather to bend to his will.
• Necromatic Magic: Although only addressed In Dracula’s Guest and the early stages of the novel itself, Dracula had learned ancient mystical arts such as necromancy and alchemy, and it was suggested that Dracula had used such to become a vampire. While Dracula did not display such powers overtly, Dracula could be considered proficient in mystical abilities. Dracula was stated as being a student at Scholomance, the legendary school in the Hungarian mountains that was run by the Devil.
• Wall Crawling: Dracula is capable of scaling sheer surfaces ‘Like a spider’, with Rm (30) ability, often cited by Jonathan Harker as being reminiscent of a large spider or bat.

Contacts:
Dracula, despite the potential to having legions of the undead at his beck and call, is rather limited to who he can call upon for assistance. The local gypsies that serve Dracula could be called upon, and while abroad Dracula made use of various agents such as movers, shippers, barristers, and the like. Despite it all, Dracula has no real contacts or allies.


Limitations:
Despite all of his powers, Dracula is limited in several ways:

• Unholy Nature: Dracula cannot stand the presence of the relics of divine faith: crucifixes, holy water, the sacramental host, and other items. Dracula can be repelled and even driven away from areas which are sanctified accordingly. Dracula will suffer a -2cs in the presence of holy objects.
• Rules of the Undead: Dracula is bound by certain rules that govern his status: First, Dracula cannot cross running water and can only cross at low tides. Second, Dracula cannot enter a place or location without being invited (Leading many to speculate it was the necessity of Jonathan Harker’s visit). Third, Dracula must rest on his home earth to regain strength, which means he must have large crates of his home soil with him. If the soil is blessed or sanctified, then it is unable to be used. Finally, while Dracula can endure sunlight, he is locked into the form he has taken prior to dawn and cannot shapeshift until dusk. In addition, if Dracula is at rest, he is completely incapacitated, and can only truly find rest during the daylight hours.
• Dracula's Arrogance: Dracula is extraordinarily arrogant, and he's been thrown off his plans and plots, and often times in the novel that his own arrogance was his undoing.