Cerebral Vampire

These vampires hunger for thought, not blood. They work as orderlies in a grim island asylum: burly young men in gray robes, faces hidden behind masks painted with cheerful, empty grins. Like ordinary vampires they pass for living humans, yet they show no reflection, cast no shadow and make no sound as they move. They carry no weapons, trusting their undead gifts instead. Most speak the harsh, guttural tongue of a vanished neighboring land plus two or three other languages.

An 18/51 Strength gives a cerebral vampire +1 to hit and +3 damage, so its fists deal 4-9 (1d6+3). Locking eyes with it has the effect of hypnotic pattern, and its touch acts as confusion with a -4 penalty on the save vs. spell. Once a victim is muddled, the vampire bites into the back of the skull and drinks cerebral fluid. Each round of draining costs 1 point each of Intelligence and Wisdom and forces a madness check.

It is hurt only by +1 or better weapons, regenerates 3 hit points per round, and at 0 hit points dissolves into elemental vapor rather than dying. In that form it is nearly invulnerable and can squeeze out of almost any trap. It then has 12 turns to get back to its coffin and rest 8 hours to regain its body, or its essence breaks apart for good. Sleep, charm, hold and other spells that work on the mind or body fail, as do poison, disease and any natural or magical paralysis. Cold and electricity deal half damage, but fire and heat hurt it fully.

Near the coast it calls 10-100 seagulls that peck for 2d4 damage per round while blinding foes and disrupting spellcasting. In open country it calls 3-18 wolves. Either summons arrives in 2-12 rounds and stays until driven away.

Holy water, sunlight and running water do nothing to these creatures. Instead, the smell of pure alcohol keeps them from attacking or entering an area. Displayed with real conviction, a mirror or a lawful good holy symbol makes them shrink back and look for a way to remove it, though it causes no harm and does not chase them off; the symbol works whatever faith the vampire once held. They cannot enter a home until a resident invites them, though public buildings and shops are always open to them, and one invitation grants permanent access. Although daylight is harmless, each must sleep 8 of every 24 hours in the coffin it was buried in.

A wooden stake through the heart drops one, but pulling it out restores the creature. To end it permanently, strap the body into a straitjacket, cut off the head and fill the mouth with holy wafers or an equivalent.

Cerebral vampires almost never leave their island. When one turns up elsewhere it is on an errand for the asylum lord, the only being who knows how they are made. They do not breed true: a human or humanoid whose Intelligence or Wisdom drops to 0 rises as a ghoul under its killer's total control, freed to act on its own only if that vampire is destroyed. Undead made this way usually keep their skills and memories but turn chaotic evil, so abilities tied to alignment, such as a paladin's powers, are lost.

Like every vampire, it plays no role in the natural world.