Infirmary, Hospital or Hospice???

[Garudos Celestar]

If you limit the cerebral's daytime powers as per nosferatu, a whip-poor-will would be a better choice. Nightingales don't sing or fly much after dark -- which would make a night-active one awfully conspicuous to a PC druid or ranger -- whereas whip-poor-wills are nocturnal by habit ...

Alas, as a whippoorwill the vampire wouldn't be able to fly, no matter what the artwork shows.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

??? The whip-poor-will is an IRL bird. It flies. It calls (wheep-poooor-whill) too. If you're making a joke, I don't get it.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

It's a joke with a very limited audience. I get it, and it's funny, but I'll let Garudos explain. (And if he offers you a pet Lemure, don't be fooled by it's cuddly disguise)

[MillicanDarque]

Ok, while i like the idea of changing into other things, instead of a bat/wolf/mist, how lame is a seagull or a whipporwill. I mean i get the idea of songbirds of night birds, and the idea has merit but seriously. How many adventurers have you had that shook in fear when confronted with the dread whipporwill?

[DeepShadow of FoS]

How many adventurers have you had that shook in fear when confronted with the dread whipporwill?

About as many as shook with fear at the sight of an ordinary bat, or even a very large one. The advantage of the winged form is transportation, size and disguise among a group of similar creatures. Matter of fact, having an intimidating form prevents that last advantage, as it would allow adventurers to simply aim for the biggest/scariest of the group.

I prefer to intimidate my players by beating the PC's within an inch of their lives.

[Sylaire]

About as many as shook with fear at the sight of an ordinary bat, or even a very large one. The advantage of the winged form is transportation, size and disguise among a group of similar creatures. Matter of fact, having an intimidating form prevents that last advantage, as it would allow adventurers to simply aim for the biggest/scariest of the group.

You know, if I was a PC and my DM made the point of mentioning the existence of a whippoorwill, I'd be a heck of a lot more scared than if a horde of ogres came over the hill. At least with the ogres I could make a valid threat assessment. I'd be wondering if the songbird is some kind of murdering fiend, and if so, what...or if it's just a red herring that's focusing my attention for when the truly nasty monster nails me in the back.

The way I see it, if a situation calls for a by-the-rules fear check...it's not really scary.

[Brandi]

And if you go with the psychopomp legends that HP Lovecraft used in The Dunwich Horror, whippoorwills *are* pretty unsettling.

(For the record, folkloric vampires could turn into all sorts of odd things, including butterflies....)

[MillicanDarque]

You know, if I was a PC and my DM made the point of mentioning the existence of a whippoorwill, I'd be a heck of a lot more scared than if a horde of ogres came over the hill. At least with the ogres I could make a valid threat assessment. I'd be wondering if the songbird is some kind of murdering fiend, and if so, what...or if it's just a red herring that's focusing my attention for when the truly nasty monster nails me in the back.

Point taken. I apologize. Perhaps the dreaded whipporwhill is a more horrific creature than i had first imagined when seen under those circumstances.