Order of the Kindred (WIS)

There are two versions of this subclass. This version uses your character's Wisdom score as their Hemocraft ability score.

Very few blood hunters have the privilege of belonging to the Order of the Kindred. Composed entirely of dhampirs, these blood hunters have finely honed their skills in the manipulation of their own blood and others. Unlike blood hunters of the Order of the Lycan, the majority of Kindred blood hunters cannot pass their transformation along to others. Instead, one must survive an encounter with a true vampire, forever changing their physiology in ways even other blood hunters with their Hunter's Bane could not replicate. For this reason, the Order of the Kindred is the smallest in terms of number of members.

While many sects form as a collection of survivors struggling to find a place in the world with their new abilities, some use vampires as trials for potential recruits. All sects, however, are united in their hatred of their progenitors.

Restriction: Dhampirs Only

Only dhampirs can become members of the Order of the Kindred. The Order performs a secondary ritual following the Hunter's Bane that caters specifically to the physiology of a dhampir in order to draw out the seeds of vampiric affliction within. The bodies of those who have not been touched by a vampire cannot handle such a process and perish in the process. Some sects may pit potential recruits against a vampire as a trial of proficiency and to cultivate dhampirism in said recruits, but most sects look down upon such practices.

Curse Recovery

Starting at 3rd level, you learn to draw out the blood of other creatures for your own gain. As a bonus action, when you damage a creature that can bleed with a melee attack, you recover a use of your Blood Maledict feature. You may only use this ability once and regain the ability to do so after a long rest.

At 7th level, you regain your use of this ability after a short or long rest.

Mantle of Darkness

As a reaction to taking damage from an attack, you cause shadowy bat-like tendrils to erupt from your body. All creatures of your choice within 5 feet of you take piercing damage equal to your proficiency bonus, and you can move up to half your movement speed without provoking opportunity attacks. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and recover all uses when you finish a short or long rest.

Revenance

At 7th level, the line between humanoid and undead begins to blur. You retain your creature type, yet you register as undead to spells and other effects that detect the presence of the undead creature type.

Vampiric Transformation

Upon reaching 7th level, you have gained some level of mastery of the tainted blood that runs in your veins. As a bonus action, you can undergo a harrowing transformation into your Vampiric Form. In this form, you carry some resemblance of your progenitor, the vampire that turned you into what you are. For example, your hair color may change to match that of your progenitor.

Your transformation lasts for 1 hour. You can revert to your normal form as a bonus action and automatically revert to your normal form if you fall unconscious or die. You can use this feature once and must take a short rest before you can use it again.

Normal Form

Your character is in their normal form. Change this option to "Vampiric Form" when the character has transformed.

Vampiric Form

Selecting this option has updated the character sheet with the features of your Vampiric Form.

Vampiric Form Features

While you are transformed, you gain the following benefits and drawbacks:

Blood-Starved

Your vampiric form is taxing on your body and requires nourishment in order to function. If you start your turn below half your hit point maximum (rounded down), you gain a stacking -1 starvation penalty (maximum of -5) to all ability checks and attack rolls, except those using your Improved Bite attack. When you successfully hit a creature that is not a Construct or Undead using Improved Bite, you reset your starvation penalty to 0. You will still continue to incur this penalty at the start of your turns until you are no longer below half your hit point maximum.

Horrific Appearance

You have a bonus equal to your Hemocraft modifier on Charisma (Intimidation) checks against creatures that can see you.

Improved Bite

Your Fanged Bite attack is replaced with the Improved Bite attack. You have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls with your Improved Bite attack and use your Hemocraft modifier in place of Constitution for attack and damage rolls. It is considered magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances and immunities. When you empower yourself with your Improved Bite, you expend a use of the same feature with your Fanged Bite attack. Your Improved Bite attack retains all other benefits and restrictions of the Fanged Bite attack.

At 11th level, you have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls with this attack. At 15th level, this becomes a +2 bonus, and at 18th level, this becomes a +3 bonus.

Simple Regeneration

You regain 1 hit point at the start of your turn if you have at least 1 hit point and are not in sunlight or running water. If you take radiant damage or make contact with holy water, this trait doesn’t function at the start of your next turn. This trait is only active while you are below half your hit point maximum (rounded down).

Sunlight Sensitivity

While in sunlight, you have disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Shapechange

At 11th level, you have begun to hone the abilities granted to you by your transformation. As a bonus action, you can expend a use of your Vampiric Transformation to instead polymorph into a bat for up to 1 hour. When you transform, you choose whether your equipment falls to the ground or merges into your new form. While in this form, you can freely switch between your bat form and normal form for the duration of the effect with a bonus action. You have a flying speed equal to your normal walking speed. You retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores, as well as your own normal hit points and Hit Dice. If you are reduced to 0 hit points while in your bat form, the duration of Shapechange ends early, and you return to your humanoid form.

Blood Curse of the Thrall

At 11th level, you hone your hemocraft abilities to mimic the mesmerizing charm effect of your progenitor. You gain the Blood Curse of the Thrall for your Blood Maledict feature. This doesn’t count against your number of blood curses known.

Blood Curse of the Thrall

As an action, you mesmerize a creature you can see within 30 feet of you and force them to make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature is hostile to you or your allies or is not a humanoid, it makes this saving throw with advantage. On a success, the creature is unaffected by the Blood Curse and is immune to the effect for 24 hours. On a failure, the creature is charmed by you for 1 minute. While charmed in this way, the creature treats you as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. The creature will attempt to do your verbal bidding (no action required from you) and is a willing target for your Improved Bite or Fanged Bite attacks. If the creature is hurt in any way by you or your allies (except by your Bite attacks), it can immediately repeat the saving throw and begins to make the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. You may only have one creature under this effect at any point. Attempting to use this Blood Curse on another target immediately ends the effect on the first target.

Amplify. The curse lasts for 24 hours.

Brand of the Gorging Siphon

At 15th level, you improve upon your Brand of Castigation by draining your foes' essence in retaliation to their strikes. Once per round, you gain temporary hit points equal to the psychic damage a branded creature takes when it deals damage to you or a creature you can see within 5 feet of you. You gain these temporary hit points after the damage has been dealt as the shadows that strike your foe return to coalesce around you.

Vampiric Transformation Improvement

You have used your hemocraft to push the boundaries of what a dhampir can do and in some ways even what a vampire can do, but such improvements are not without cost. You gain an additional use of your Vampiric Transformation between rests. While you are in your Vampiric Form, you have the following additional benefits and drawbacks:

Malleable Flesh

By manipulating the flow of blood in your body, you can finely turn your Vampiric Form to your advantage in social situations. When you make a Charisma (Deception) or Charisma (Persuasion) check, you can add your Hemocraft modifier to the roll. The target of the check must be able to see you for you to benefit from this ability.

Moderate Regeneration

While you are in your Vampiric Form, your Simple Regeneration ability will continue to heal you up to your hit point maximum as long as you fulfill all of its other requirements. In addition, you gain resistance to necrotic damage.

Sunlight Supersensitivity

In addition to the effects of Sunlight Sensitivity, you take damage equal to a roll of your Hemocraft die at the start of each of your turns while you are in sunlight.

Formless Shadow

Upon reaching 18th level, you have mastered control of your body and the many shapes it can take. You can remain in your bat form and Vampiric Form indefinitely while you are not unconscious or dead and are able to freely switch between any of your three forms with a bonus action an unlimited number of times.

Dread of Night

Your body's metabolic functions have slowed to a crawl. You are only able to keep your blood flowing with your mastery of hemocraft. For each century that passes, your body only ages one year. You cannot be magically aged, and you suffer none of the drawbacks of old age. If you die and your body is buried relatively intact, you will rise as an independent true vampire the following night. You retain your memories and power of hemocraft, but your alignment will shift towards evil (if it was not in life already).