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Best Anti-Vampire Weapon EVER!!!... if the laws of physics let it work

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Mastah Since: Jan, 2014
#26: Feb 18th 2014 at 10:04:21 AM

Didn't Blade use similar bullets? I remember him mentioning it in one of his movies.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#27: Feb 18th 2014 at 11:16:50 AM

Blade has a weapon that launches syringes filled with a UV-luminescent liquid.

edited 18th Feb '14 11:29:00 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Elfive (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#28: Feb 18th 2014 at 11:27:27 AM

I think garlic does work in Blade, but so does silver, which is his weapon of choice after the sword.

Wolf1066 Crazy Kiwi from New Zealand (Veteran) Relationship Status: Dancing with myself
Crazy Kiwi
#29: Feb 18th 2014 at 12:41:42 PM

It all depends on the vampires in your mythos.

Some are well-nigh ludicrous - indestructible machines against everything except some odd-ball Achilles' Heel(s) - while others are more "plausible".

The Revenants/Vampires I came up with for one of my Wi P were vulnerable to a lot of things that would kill any living creature:

Starvation (you've got to fuel your body, regardless of how invulnerable it is and if you're expending vast amounts of energy healing from wounds or performing superhuman feats, then your dietary needs probably exceed those of less capable lifeforms.)

Beheading or sufficient damage to the brain (remove that and functionality departs pretty quickly.)

Drowning/suffocation or any other means of incapacitating the lungs (the laws of physics/chemistry dictate that if you can't oxygenate your food to provide the requisite energy, you die.) This includes having your lungs destroyed by a suitably-sized weapon.

Fire. 'Nuff said.

Thirst (everything needs water to function properly).

Destruction of heart (if it can't pump blood/nutrients around the body, the body stops working).

The key being complete destruction/removal of brain, heart or lungs - a serious wound that would incapacitate or kill a human may be survivable if there's enough function left to survive long enough to heal (and they heal fucking quickly).

To which is added: "allergy" to certain plants (garlic, rose, ash, white oak and hawthorn) the juice/sap of which can cause serious aggravation of any wounds, increasing damage received as well as impairing the healing process considerably.

A stake through the heart would seriously impair them (it'd kill most things) and would prevent healing until such time as it was removed (which is usually easy for a large stake - grab and pull). A stake of rose, ash, white oak or hawthorn (or has been soaked in garlic oil) would cause a wound that takes longer to heal after having been removed.

Other than that, Holy Water would only make them wet and religious symbols are only effective if you make them from garlic, rosewood, ash, white oak or hawthorn...

... then somehow force the vampire to eat them.

In the case of my vampires/revenants, a gun that fires bullets that have garlic oil in them would do serious damage. A shot to the heart or brain would be quite devastating and potentially lethal to them, especially if it fragments nicely and scatters highly motile oil throughout their vitals causing aggravated damage.

Traces of garlic oil getting into the bloodstream and being carried throughout the body wouldn't be pleasant, either.

Then again, a 12ga full of steel bird shot to the heart from about 4-5 yards (at 1" spread per yard, roughly) would probably stand the same chance of killing them - that crater where their heart used to be would be "problematic"...

But if your vampires heal from the most ridiculous wounds because of some dark magic, then you may need something with more "oomph".

edited 18th Feb '14 12:48:25 PM by Wolf1066

RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#30: Feb 18th 2014 at 12:51:49 PM

[up][up]Very true, though the DM (or storyteller or whatever) can just blanket decide that vampires are either completely unharmed by conventional rounds and even nuclear explosions, or just heal from everything including outright disintegration in seconds. Similarly, technological advantages can be balanced out in that the more 'processed' the weapon is, the less damage it does. So stakes and whole medieval-farmed garlic cloves stuffed in the mouth will instakill a vampire, arrows and minced garlic do markedly less damage, while wood or garlic-filled FMJ rounds do scratch damage. I'm sure there's a trope for that :)
This just seems hand-wavey to me. Of course, you could blow them away with the shotgun and stuff garlic in the wounds while they're regenerating.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
GeekCodeRed Since: Sep, 2010
#31: Feb 19th 2014 at 7:11:34 AM

In. Skulduggery Pleasant, the Vampires have none of the normal weakness, and instead have an allergic reaction to seawater, which closes their throats and suffocates them.
Enough bullets to put down a rhino on PCP also works too.
Then again, they act a lot like hairless werewolves anyway. tongue

Elfive (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#32: Feb 19th 2014 at 7:14:30 AM

Water is a funny one, because sometimes it's a big weakness, but sometimes it doesn't do anything because they don't even need to breathe.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#33: Feb 19th 2014 at 7:14:59 AM

Seawater closes my throat and suffocates me too. If I immerse myself in it for a long time. In that regard it's little different from freshwater, or indeed any other liquid.

Now if you mean they have an anaphylactic reaction to it... yeah.

edited 19th Feb '14 7:15:30 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#34: Feb 19th 2014 at 5:03:32 PM

It really does depend on how various substances affect the vampire in question as in what mythos.

Packed bullets are indeed not all that reliable to varying degrees but then again packed bullets also give us polymer expansion tips. The biggest concern though is round balance. If a round is poorly balanced it will tumble shortly after exiting the barrel and become increasingly inaccurate over distance.

Wood is kind of an odd choice for a bullet. It can be amazingly hard but under the kinds of forces fire arms exert on projectiles rather fragile and the hardest woods are not the most dense woods.

IIRC correctly the most dense wood in the world is Black Ironwood it is more dense the Lignum Vitae. However the plant that produces it can only produce small amounts of lumber. It has a wood density of 81 lbs per cubic foot. But it only has a Janka Hardness of 3,660 lbf. The Lignum Vitae while less dense is harder with a Janka Hardness of 4,390 lb. The hardest of hard woods is a species of iron wood found in Australia called Allocasuarina luehmannii

You need to strike a balance between density and hardness. Something similar is done with bullets which is part of the reason why jacketed rounds exist. The copper is harder then the lead but the lead is more dense. So maybe the answer is a composite round.

As for incendiary rounds. Here is the catch. Most incendiary rounds are very lousy at setting people on fire. They are designed specifically to set vehicles, fuel, munitions, and other very flammable things on fire. They don't reliably ignite a targets clothing either. The (pyrotechnic) Dragon's Breath round is lousy as an incendiary weapon as well.

If you want reliable incendiary effects against personnel you have a few options. The traditional burning petrol chemical mix. Usually splashed or sprayed by any number of devices like flame throwers or Molotov cocktails or aerial munitions like Napalm bombs.

The next option is white phosphorus. As long as it has access to air it will continue to burn and can burn people down to the bone. It will keep burning until smothered sufficiently or no more phosphorus remains. There have been a large number of anti-personnel munitions including a type of grenade, rockets, bombs, and artillery shells. It tends to coat a large area and also generates a fair bit of smoke.

The final option is something the Russians specialize in. Fuel Air Explosives. These weapons are classified as incendiaries for a good reason. The weapons have two primary effects. A very intense thermal flash followed by a powerful shockwave. Close to the center of the explosion it is possible for people to be vaporized. Further out they become severely burned with blast injuries. Further out it is all blast injuries and injuries from flying debris. They have made FAE munitions that can be packed into a round as small as 25mm and still remain lethal.

Incendiary Rocket launchers replaced the bulky flame throwers with their short range and very limited fire time. The Russians moved over to mostly FAE weapons like the RPO-A while the US created the M202 Flash which uses something similar to napalm but enhanced with aluminum accelerants.

Either one would be nasty and likely would get the job done.

A consideration for the bullets in general I forgot about. A saboted round could be viable. A sleeve rest around the projectile, which is often designed with aerodynamics and balance in mind typically a dart with fins, this provides the grip the barrel needs and the sabot takes the brunt of the forces of firing. The round will be going down range pretty fast. Combine that with drunks idea of a solid metal core for mass and you can make round with a "wood jacket" that you can fire with some high velocity.

There are other crazy things you could try. Like fine wood powder/dust bound with a strong epoxy polymer. You could even incorporate silver and other metals for mass and even add powdered garlic into it. It would be a frangible type round though meaning body armor will stop it cold but it should in theory perform well.

edited 19th Feb '14 5:05:27 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Who watches the watchmen?
majoraoftime (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#35: Feb 19th 2014 at 5:32:43 PM

Yeah, it all really depends on what kind of vamps we're talking about here. If they sleep in coffins during the day, you might not even have to bother with making custom bullets. Just plant a homemade bomb on the coffin and run.

Of course, if they're the immortal unless you hit them with their weaknesses type, the bullets might be a good idea.

edited 19th Feb '14 5:34:46 PM by majoraoftime

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#36: Feb 19th 2014 at 6:35:28 PM

They are designed specifically to set vehicles, fuel, munitions, and other very flammable things on fire.
Vampires aren't highly flammable? sad

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#37: Feb 19th 2014 at 9:48:31 PM

Blue: Well that depends on your definition of flammable. Anything covered in copious amounts of gasoline, white gas, pitch and oil, or other petrol products intends to catch easily. Or if you just short cut it and coat them in napalm.

Who watches the watchmen?
Elfive (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#38: Feb 20th 2014 at 1:14:52 AM

Flammability also depends on 'verse. Sometimes they go up like kindling, sometimes they don't.

Medinoc from France (Before Recorded History)
#39: Feb 20th 2014 at 1:16:11 AM

[up][up][up]I think you got them confused with mummies. Mummies are, at least in popular culture, much more flammable than living human beings. I don't know how it is in reality.

edited 20th Feb '14 1:16:22 AM by Medinoc

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
Elfive (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#40: Feb 20th 2014 at 1:55:39 AM

Well the wrapped ones are usually covered in old, dry strips of cloth.

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#41: Feb 20th 2014 at 7:53:44 AM

[up][up] Vampires are normally more susceptible to fire than normal people. That implies to me that they are more flammable than your average Screaming Alpha fire.note  Though as noted, I'm sure it does vary based on which universe you're talking about.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#42: Feb 20th 2014 at 8:20:36 AM

It's not that they are more susceptible, necessarily — fire kills normal people quite well too. They are just not resistant/immune to damage from fire like they are from most other things.

Now, if there are some depictions of vampires where touching them with a match makes them ignite like they were covered in gasoline, that's definitely an extraordinary susceptibility. You normally associate that kind of vulnerability with mummies, though, as mentioned previously.

edited 20th Feb '14 8:24:21 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
KnightofLsama Since: Sep, 2010
#43: Feb 20th 2014 at 4:19:20 PM

Well the wrapped ones are usually covered in old, dry strips of cloth.

And if memory serves correctly they use pitch or something similar as part of the preservation process which is going to increase flammability.

Poisonarrow Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: In love with love
#44: Mar 7th 2014 at 3:08:10 AM

A dragon's breath round to the face might be a good idea for flammable vamps.

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TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
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#45: Mar 7th 2014 at 9:09:30 AM

Any kind of shotgun round to the face would be lethal for most vamps. Decapitation kills.

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BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#46: Mar 7th 2014 at 9:32:33 AM

[up] I thought shotgun decapitation was exagurrated by movies/games?

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#47: Mar 7th 2014 at 9:43:57 AM

Exaggerated, yes. Invented wholesale, no. It's not a clean decapitation like you'd get with an axe, but it can still do it.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#48: Mar 7th 2014 at 2:22:46 PM

It will blow off a pretty good chunk of the head depending on the load. Slugs are best obviously.

Who watches the watchmen?
Poisonarrow Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: In love with love
#49: Mar 11th 2014 at 8:16:07 PM

Also, you don't need full decapitation to give a brain the swiss cheese effect.

Feminist in the streets, sex slave in the sheets
Alucart23 Since: Jun, 2015
#50: Jun 21st 2015 at 5:02:03 PM

couldnt we blind one by using a handheld black light, like the ones that are tubes, but emmit the light in just one line, instead of spreading multiple rays out from multiple angles, held horizontally? it would also be pretty painful, so it should stun them, allowing an easier target


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