Contains possible spoilers !
I assume you are pretty early on in the game, since later on fighting these creatures does not represent that much of a problem anymore,
mainly because of the protective equipment you can pick up along the way. One nice piece
that, I think, you can buy right from the start at the Copper Coronet in the slums is
an axe(forgot the name) that instantly destroys any undead (such as vampires and mummies) hit by it if the creatures fails a saving throw vs. death with - and that makes it really effective - a minus four penalty
(same as the mace of disruption, but to get to that you must have already survived a couple of battles with vampires). You need plus 2 magical weapons to hit vampires.
In more general terms, the key to fighting
vampires is to avoid their level drains, since their normal damage is not too bad. So use the 4th level priest spell "negative plane protection"( It only lasts for 5 rounds !) to protect one or two "tanks" and keep the rest of your party out of the vampires' reach and attack with range weapons. If you decide to work for the shadow thieves you will get the "amulet of power" early in chapter 3 which grants permanent "negative plane protection"(there is also an option to upgrade the mace of disruption so that it will have the same capacity making it
, of course, the ultimate vampire fighting tool - almost too powerful in my opinion). The amulet is ideally suited for a fighter/mage, but if you have not got one in your party, you might still consider using a mage, with the amulet and properly protected (stoneskins, etc.), as your "tank" when figthing vampires, since negative plane protection is so essential here. You can reverse any level drain suffered by your party by using the 5th level priest spell "Lower Restoration". A good idea when fighting monsters that have special attacks, thus making it especially important not to get hit, is the use of summoned creatures as "cannon fodder". Even if they can't hit the opponent they will still buy you time to kill it with range weapons/magic. Later on, you will face female and fledgling vampires that usually open battle by casting "Domination" and similiar spells on you. There are many different magical items (like helmets, etc.)in the game that provide protection from that type of magic. You can also use the 5th level priest spell "Chaotic Commands".
I also found 10plus level clerics to be sometimes successful in turning less powerful mummies and vampires allowing you to deal with them one at a time.
Actually, from what I have experienced mummies are more difficult, at least the higher ones, than vampires. Their thac0 is very good, they do quite a bit of normal damage and if hit more than once the extra damage from the disease can be very dangerous. I do not think that there is any way to avoid that damage altogether, but I think the easiest way to heal the disease is the 3rd level priest spell "Cure disease" - I am not completely certain about that, though. Thankfully, mummies are very slow, so
you can revert to the "hit with range weapons and run" - tactic against them. Come to think of it, I am not that sure, if and what level of magical weapons one needs to hit them. I think Keldorn was very successful with the bolts of lightning against them. Anyway, with enemies like
high mummies that can quite easily hit ac -10
it is important to take them out quickly and even more so to remember the "first rule of combat"(does not apply when facing groups with spellcasters): two foes reduced to half their original hit points can still do double the amount of damage to you as one dead and one uninjured. Concentrate all of your fire power at one opponent at a time, then move on to the next.
Another spell I had sucess with is the 3rd level mage spell "Hold Undead". Cast "Greater
Malison" (4th level mage spell) beforehand to improve your chances. Higher mummies, though,
have quite a higher level of magic resistance.
I hope I could provide with some new ideas and above all that I did not bore you with a long list of things you already knew anyway.
Good luck and one more thing: once you have encountered your first group of mindflayers,
you will wish you could go back to fighting
vampires and mummies all day, even entire armies of them. I assure you of that.
Ramon
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