1d10 Random Alien & Lovecraftian Menaces From Within The Vampire's Corpse Table For Your Old School Campaigns

There are things that survive the killing of a major undead horror such as a vampire especially around Christmas time. The true nature of these horrors is revealed in this world & the alien negative material plane. Parasites, alien things, and worse that live within the bodies of the lords of the undead reveal themselves. PC's should be aware of task that they take on for themselves when one of these monsters is destroyed.

Efficiunt Daemones, ut quae non sunt, sic tamen quasi sint, conspicienda hominibus exhibeant.
(Devils so work that things which are not appear to men as if they were real.)

—Lactantius

HP Lovecraft
The Festival 1925

Sometimes vampires  journey  to the far edges of reality or worse. They often bring back invasive species of supernatural or preternatural infestations that can cause plagues that ravage local villages, or even the populations that they feed on. Adventurers may be called in to deal with such infestations because they have no connection to the local community. Vampires often have extensive treasures, relics, and more because of their undead 'immortality' & connection to the supernatural realms. Wizards who showed especially good service to their Lovecraftian gods are sometimes 'rewarded' with the condition of undeath & vampirism.


Parasites & weird lifeforms found in the corpses may not exceed 2 hit points and can be menaces in their own rights. Alien things that can cause infestations, plagues or worse. Cure light wounds or remove curse spells will outright destroy such horrors as well as holy water which will act as acid on the flesh of these monsters. These sorts of horrors will seek out a host as soon as possible to avoid the rays of the sun. They are mostly AC8 or 9 but have a move of 10" per round.

1d10 Random Alien & Lovecraftian
Menaces From Within A  Vampire's Corpse Table

1. 1d10 Black slugs from beyond that will animate a corpse or living host as a Ju Ju zombie. They are completely alien & weird. 
2. 1d6 alien macro life forms that spread 'The Red Death' as they infect hosts with this horrid plague. 
3. 1d8 black bat like  life forms that enter in through the host's mouth and create animated plague wraiths. They spread a cancerous form of an alien disease. 
4. 1d4 alien life forms the size of a small lap dog that bite, claw, and try to spread a horrid form or rabies or Ghoul plague. 
5. 1d8 black goo like mini black puddings that will slowly change those they bite with form of wasting disease that turn the victims into B/X shadows within 1d6 hours 
6. A strange colour life form exits the vampire's rib cage will seek to drain 1d6 victims of life force before spreading to another village or county within 1 mile. 
7. 1d10 parts & pieces of the vampire come to undead life on their own and crawl off to bite & claw others with a form of least zombism creating 1d10 minor zombies or skeletons. 
8. The skeleton of the vampire breaks free of the corpse & becomes a menace in its own right having a more twisted & destorted version of the damned soul of the vampire. It will seek to create 1d6 others of its kind. The skeleton is weirdly spongy & twisted in odd ways. 
9. 1d8 alien organs burst from the corpse on weird angel like miniature wings & seek to create 1d6 ghouls of strange & hungering aspect. These organs can be used in dangerous necrotic magic. 
10. The alien shadow essence that inhabited the vampire is now free to wreck mayhem & seeks to infect the countryside with its evil. It will seek to create 1d10 other shadows from the souls of nearby villagers or victims to consume & come back to quasi life.

Now as the twilight's doubtful interval
Closes with night's accomplished certainty,
A wizard wind goes crying eerily,
And on the wold misshapen shadows crawl,
Miming the trees, whose voices climb and fall,
Imploring, in Sabbatic ecstacy,
The sky where vapor-mounted phantoms flee
From the scythed moon impendent over all.

Twin veils of covering cloud and silence, thrown
Across the movement and the sound of things,
Make blank the night, till in the broken west
The moon's ensanguined blade awhile is shown....
The night grows whole again....The shadows rest,
Gathered beneath a greater shadow's wings.

The Eldritch Dark  (1912)
by Clark Ashton Smith