These involve my concerns with Erin Tarn's 30 April 101 PA letter titled "Vampires and Water", which includes an equal-sized title "Vampire Legends" which has no separate date, and appears before the 3 May 101 PA "Juarez Mexico" letter, leading me to conclude it was included as part of the April 30th letter.
Page 147 of Rifts Africa defines Erin Tarn as part of the Gathering of Heroes (103 PA) as having "demon & monster lore" at 98% by 14th level. This includes her 5% IQ bonus. Since it is 25% +5% / level, she could not have learned this at level 12, because even with the +20% bonus Scholars got to Technical skills (RMB pg 80) it would only be at 60%/65% (depending on whether you counted 1st level as getting the per-level bonus) at 14. It could not have been at level 9 either, as 3 more levels would only bring that up to 75/80%. It could not have been at level 6 either, as 3 more would only bring that to 90/95. So we know that Erin Tarn must have selected this skill either at 1st level or 3rd level. Level 3 would mean 105/110 by 14 (capped down to 98) or 90/95 by level 11. Even using the lesser number this would guarantee her 95% by level 12, 98% by level 13.
Keep that in mind, when estimating what experience level she might have been in 101 PA compared to level 14 in 103PA. Also keep in mind that she did not experience 2 years between these dates. According to Rifts England page 6, her letter in May 103 PA:
- "only six months have passed for me since the spring of 101 PA"
Someone who is 14th level at 64 years old would probably not be very many levels lower at 63.5 years old, no matter how fantastic the adventures she had in Wormwood/England prior to visiting Africa. I think we can realistically expect that Tarn had a rather competent skill level, as even if she had been 10th level 6 months prior, she would still have a minimum of 85% skill in Demon/Monster Lore.
Page 39, Vampire Kingdoms, July 1991
- The following enumerated facts (?) are about true vampires and are universally agreed upon by the residents along the Rio Grande.
1. Vampires stalk at night and sleep by day.
2. The light of day will turn a vampire to dust.
3. Water will hold at bay, hurt and even destroy a vampire.
4. A wooden or silver stake, driven through the heart, will kill a vampire. A wooden arrow or silver bullet will hurt or kill them.
5. Vampires are impervious to all other types of weapons, including particle beam weapons, rail guns, and explosives (I find this difficult to believe).
6. Vampires can metamorph into the shape of a bat, wolf, or mist.
7. Vampires posses superhuman strength.
8. Vampires can regenerate entire limbs overnight.
9. Vampires feed on humanoid blood. Animal blood cannot be substituted.
10. The victim of a vampire is cursed to walk the earth as an undead until slain.
11. Vampires are always evil and savage monsters.
12. The purest heart is not safe from a vampire.
Page 7, Vampire Kingdoms New Revised Edition, August 2011
- The following enumerated beliefs are accepted as facts by the residents along the Rio Grande.
1. Vampires stalk at night and sleep by day.
2. The light of day is agony to a vampire and turns them to dust.
3. Vampires cannot cross moving water and if forced into its embrace it can destroy vampires.
4. A wooden or silver stake, driven through the heart kills a vampire. A wooden arrow or silver bullet can also hurt and kill them.
5. Vampires are impervious to all other types of weapons, including particle beam weapons, lasers, rail guns, and explosives.
6. Vampires can "metamorph" into the shape of a bat, wolf, or mist.
7. Vampires possess Supernatural Strength.
8. Vampires can regenerate entire limbs overnight.
9. Vampires feed on humanoid blood. Animal blood cannot be substituted.
10. The victims of vampires are cursed to walk the earth as the undead until slain.
11. The undead, though once human, are demons when they are reborn as vampires.
12. Vampires are always evil and savage monsters.
13. Even the purest hearts and men of the cloth are not safe from a vampire.
14. Vampires never age and are said to be immortal.
I have redded in the 1st list the things which Kevin Siembieda removed in the 2nd list, and also redded in the 2nd list the things which Kevin Siembieda removed in the 1st list.
Evaluation of details in these lists from "random" to "conspicuous" can be done in two ways. Irrespective analysis would be how items on a list stand out in relation to other items on the same list. Respective analysis would be how items in the list were changed between one and the other.
Irrespective analysis for 1991 version
- A) Tarn opted to place a question mark next to "facts" preceding the list, despite acknowledging UNIVERSAL agreement of the inhabitants. She also places "true" before vampires when introducing the list. This emphasizes that Tarn is aware of other creatures who are called vampires which differ from these. This only serves to emphasize how informed she is about the subject matter.
B) In item 3, Tarn mentions WATER (not running water) being able to kill vampires, even though ONLY running water could kill them. If inhabitants were wrong about this (low Lore) she could have supplemented that information with her own knowledge.
C) In item 4, Tarn also does not correct the misconception that a stake to the heart will kill vampires. Someone skilled in Lore pertaining to them (this is the very Lore skill that Atlantean Undead Slayers have, at a LOWER percentage than Tarn) should know that it only puts them into suspended animation.
D) In item 5, Tarn adds a parenthesized (I find this hard to believe) following her statements. She does not do this for the other 11 items. This ties back to "facts (?)" preceding the list. Item 5 is a list of 3 things which Rio Grande residents universally accept that vampires are impervious to, according to Tarn. Tarn expresses no difficulty at believing any of the other 11 items, to reiterate. Even things which are false, while it is TRUE that vampires are impervious to these 3 things.
E) In item 10, Tarn does not explain that ONLY the victims of Slow Kill are actually cursed to walk the earth as undead. Her statement is broad, and "victims" makes it sounds like ANYONE bitten by a vampire, or even hypnotized by them, are guaranteed vampires-to-be.
F) In item 11, Tarn does not correct the misconception about all vampires being evil. Page 14 clearly states that Secondaries can be "unprincipled good" and page 14 even allows Wilds to be anarchist.
Respective analysis between 1991 and 2011 versions:
- G) Siembieda changes "facts (?)" to "beliefs .. accepted as facts". I don't view this as a major change, as in either case Tarn's presentation of the list is worded in a way which calls it into doubt. This is not an honest thing to do if you know otherwise, as someone of her Lore proficiency should.
H) "about true vampires" was removed, either removing the idea that Tarn is aware of non-True vampires, or implying she does not wish to inform people of them
I) "universally agreed upon" was removed. This paints Tarn as more neutral, and more justified in questioning what she hears, in the revised edition.
J) Item 2: "is agony" is added to the light>dust statement. This might be to invoke sympathy for them, since the conjunction she chooses is "and" rather than "then". She doesn't actually point out that they aren't INSTANTLY turned into dust, and that it could take some critical time in which they could still harm you, or escape.
K) Item 3: "moving" is added before water. This makes her appear more honest in 2011 than in 1991, but also MORE COMPETENT.
L) Item 4: "will" is changed to "can" when describing wooden arrows and silver bullets' capacity to "hurt and kill them". Tarn still insists that stakes (or Warrows/Sbullets) to the heart kill vampires, despite appearing to be more informed or honest on other matters.
M) Item 5 removes the parenthesized "hard to believe" and adds "lasers". Like K) this makes Tarn appear more knowledgeable (added example) and impartial (not snubbing that particular rumor
N) Item 6 puts the word "metamorph" in quotations in the revised version. No ideas on this one.
O) Item 7: -superhuman strength- becomes -Supernatural Strength-. It's like Tarn's been reading a game manual.
P) Item 10: singular>plural, doesn't seem important.
Q) Items 11 and 12 are moved to become 12 and 13
R) The new item 11 has Tarn communicate that vampires are demons (absent in her original list) which makes her appear more knowledgeable and honest, like amendments K/M to Items 5/6. However this makes the non-removed falsehoods identified in E/F for 10 and 11>12 (that all vampire victims become vampires, that all vampires are evil) even more suspect.
S) This new 13th point (in position 12) uses the phrase "once human", which implies that only humans become vampire-demons when attacked by them.
T) The addition of "men of the cloth" to "purest hearts". No comment.
U) the addition of a 14th point about vampires not aging. Tarn's lack of disagreement with this (although per point G, she still refuses to call the list "facts" unmodified) like K/M/R, makes her seem honest and knowledgeable, and contrasts further with the misleading statements of 10/12 (previously 10/11) highlighted in E/F above.
Page 32 of Rifts Main Book under Lore: Demons & Monsters (not that book consistently abbreviates this to Lore: Demon)
- It includes the beliefs of ancient and primitive cultures, as well as documentation in the modern Rifts world regarding demons, vampires, possession .. and the study of legendary and known supernatural beings, including their known habits, appearance, weaknesses, strengths, powers, and abilities.
Page 324 of Rifts Ultimate Edition under Lore: Demons & Monsters
- General knowledge includes .. the myths and legends of vampires .. Specific knowledge is limited to the continent where the character lives/originates
Lore: Vampires (introduced in Nightbane) does not appear to have been imported into Rifts in 2005 with Ultimate Edition, the 2011 revised edition of VK is the earliest I can find it in Rifts. It is unclear if this is meant to retcon Lore: Demons into not having this knowledge. I can't actually find the skill defined in this book, but it appears on page 33 for the intelligence and page 60 for the Hero Vampire (an addition to Secondary, implying Secondaries normally lack the skill). Page 108 the Vampire Hunter specifies "beyond the parameters of Lore: Vampires" and page 109 defines the % for them as well as listing a lower percentage for people not trained as vampires, which presumably is a very roundabout way of making it available as a technical skill.
THAT skill has a base 20, lower than Lore: Demons base 25. There wouldn't be incentive for people to select it if Lore: Demons included all of that knowledge, so I'm wondering if there was an unclarified intent for this to divorce all vampire knowledge from Lore: Demons, which would be strange considering the addition of a new item on the list where Tarn goes out of her way to state that vampires are demons.
Two items on 109 stand out as potentially illustrative here:
- separating truth from fantasy,
their true powers
RUE 325 refers to "known powers" then "powers" again for some reason, but never "true powers" so what this may imply is that Lore includes knowledge of "fake powers" of vampires too. For example: vampires are able to breathe fire, and are able to bend leylines at a glance.
While this in no way redeems 1990s Tarn, it could be an aspect of Siembieda's clear efforts to redeem 2010s Tarn, since she has never been listed as having Lore: Vampires, only Lore: Demons (& Monsters). From this perspective, Lore: Demons know very little, they just collect rumors but have no ability to discern useful information from them, while someone with Lore: Vampires has more specific knowledge which DOES allow them to discern useful information from them.
If that is the case, and Tarn really is that ignorant, then I can't fault the 2011 version (14 items) for lacking disclaimers. Tarn is a noob who doesn't know what is real, and she probably would've died if she had chosen to travel by land through Mexico instead of Rifting there. Even being diverted to Wormwood was probably the safer route.
The 1991 version (12 items) is still a problem for her, and some of the alteration by Siembieda to her letter show this, if only because of the sole point that she chooses to single out item 5 (the truth) for doubt, but not the other 11, included 2 falsehoods, which went unmolested.
To give Tarn (particularly the 1991 version) the benefit of the doubt and keep her a beacon of goodness and friend to humanity as some wish to see her, requires understanding that Lore: Demon MUST have HUGE limitations to justify such a viewpoint, not just for vampires, but for anything covered under it, in terms of "I heard stories that maybe" v "I know for certain" levels of knowledge.
This would be important for realistically roleplaying people who have this skill and avoiding metagaming. Even with experience fighting vampires, it wouldn't necessarily be realistic for characters to learn from it quickly, since the terror of fighting the supernatural could make recollecting clearly difficult.