For the purpose of a Shifter who has become a Vampire, do the various vampiric traits apply? I am referring to things such as;
"Garlic will keep a vampire at bay, as well as prevent it from entering a room or building laced with garlic."
"Staking a vampire does not destroy it, however it paralyzes the vampire, rendering it helpless until the stake is removed."
"Vampires are repelled by mirrors (as they lack a reflection) and cannot attack someone wielding a mirror."

As mentioned here:
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Vampire

_________________
Just lurking about!

You need to be careful with the Forgotten Realms wiki: alot of it is 4th edition information nowadays.

Shifters don't ever become true vampires when they shift, I know that much:

* They don't turn people into Revenants or Vampires

* They don't gain the ability to shapeshift like vampires can

* They don't need to drink blood.


For the rest... I don't know. The weakness against moving water has been used against me during DM plots but it's not mechanically enforced beyond DM events.

_________________
Plays:

"I'll think of something once Amia:EE drops."

The stuff quoted there about garlic and mirrors and such is in the 3rd Ed Monster Manual as well.

As to the original question... I think nobody can answer this but a DM. Druid/shifter shapeshifting has been ruled on Amia to be "natural" shapeshifting (as opposed to shifting granted by spells, etc.) which is not a distinction that exists in lore, so its workings and relations with other systems are unclear.

If it worked the same as regular shapeshifting, I would think the rule "The creature retains the special qualities of its original form" would govern, and a shifted vamp would still be stuck with its weaknesses.

_________________
Winner of Amia's "Most Ethical Time Traveler" award 2026

Character Portraits!

How many of some forms rather specific weaknesses are biological, and how many are brought on by the essence of the creature?

Shifters become undead, in the sense that all their organs cease functioning in the traditional way and they instead start living off negative energy or what-have-you specific to the form, but they are not TRUE vampires in the sense that they will not go gaseous when they die, have no coffins, and thus cannot be permanently killed in the way a vampire can.

That said, is the aversion to garlic/mirrors/etc baked into the physical aspect of the form, or is it something spiritual (or lackthereof?) The core of the form (and the mind) is still the shifter, which is why we get some biological banes/boons but don't get languages and such.

Shifters are very odd in this way, what we can and cant do is really up to the DM at the time as we have no solid rules about the very minor lore things of each form.

_________________
================-<Cory ShadowFlame>-================
Risenlord-Shifter(OMG a Non-Dragon Shifter that can hold his own in PvE)

It would seem as though shifters become "natural shapes" up until they get some bonus or drawback that people find uncomfortable What they do and do not get seems relatively arbitrary lore-wise.