Vampire predation strategies

[Axelmania]

I am looking at the special psionic and shapeshifting abilities that vampires have and trying to figure out how they would tend to strategically use them in the best way to prey on humans.

Page 180 gives Masters 3D6x10 ISP, page 182 doesn't list ISP for Secondaries, page 183 lists 1D6x10 ISP for Wilds.

Page 185 requires 20 ISP for Super-Hypnotic Suggestion, meaning all masters can do it at least once, 1/6 Wilds can't do it at all, 1/3 can do it once, 1/3 can do it twice, 1/6 can do it 3 times.

I want to say that Secondaries have at least 2D6x10 so they could all do it at least once too, though with 70 on average that would be about 3 attempts compared to the 5 attempts that 105 average would give Masters.

This ability is attractive because of the high range. There is no "feet" just "line of sight". It puts victims in a "light trance" which presumably stops them from acting against you. However the downside is that is makes your eyes glow (which can alert people to your nature) and seems to require verbal enforcment to actually give commands (meaning they must be in human form).

Page 184 mentions under "The Passive Victim" that vampires can "give mental commands" after they've bit someone, so at that point they might be able to give the verbal commands needed to guide Super-Hypnotic Suggestion telepathically and remain in Bat or Wolf form? SHS seems pointless at this point though because it doesn't seem like it gives anything that you don't already get for free against Passive Victim, except for enhanced raneg (line of sight could exceed 100 feet)

Vampires also have the cheaper normal version of Hyponotic Suggestion, which I think is meant to refer to "Suggestion (Hypnosis)". It's a little unclear which version that's meant to be used here. The "Sensitive" version on page 77 is 12 ft and requires 2 ISP, while the "Healer" version on page 84 is 10ft and requires 4 ISP and 15 seconds of preparatory meditation.

As a compromise: I think perhaps the inferior "Healer" version might be appropriate for Wild Vampires, while Secondaries/Masters should have the superior "Sensitive" version. Any problems with this?

Vampires have 2 other Healing psionics: Deaden Pain on page 83 and Induce Sleep on page 84. Both require 2 minutes of prep and last an hour per level.

Sleep works from 6ft and Deaden works from 3ft, I think you would probably want to use them in that order: make a victim fall asleep (it's easier to hide anywhere within 6ft as a bat than anywhere within 3ft) and then creep closer to deaden their pain, THEN bite them and they presumably will not wake up from the pain of the bite.

I think the best strategy would be to creep into homes using Mist form, then change into a Bat form to use their psi, then bite. Even though wolves somehow have the best Prowl, I don't think that would apply when breaking into a home!

[Sir_Spirit]

There is a super psionic power called Hypnotic Suggestion. Not sure if Nightbane has super psionics.
But it's out there in some game book.
Notably the vampires in Nightbane originated from a Rifts worldbook, though they didn't have a repulsion to garlic that these ones do.
My point is Hypnotic Suggestion could be a copypaste error that does refer to that power, instead of the minor/sensitive power.

[Axelmania]

If you look at the mechanics of the ability, Suggestion (Hypnosis) is basically Hypnotic Suggestion. I'm not sure why Carella renamed it.

[Sir_Spirit]

If you look at the mechanics of the ability, Suggestion (Hypnosis) is basically Hypnotic Suggestion. I'm not sure why Carella renamed it.

Because default Nightbane had no super psionics, so he was demoting a major power. So he just gave it a new name and pretended it was different.

[Nekira Sudacne]

Yes. Several other Super psionics got renamed the same way.

And then this fell apart almost immediately when Between the Shadows introduced super psionics anyway.