Can you use the vampiric bite as an unarmed strike for the monk multiattack? My DM is open to it.
Vampiric bite:
Your fanged bite is a natural weapon, which counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. You add your Constitution modifier, instead of your Strength modifier, to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with this bite. It deals 1d4 piercing damage on a hit. While you are missing half or more of your hit points, you have advantage on attack rolls you make with this bite.
When you attack with this bite and hit a creature that isn’t a Construct or an Undead, you can empower yourself in one of the following ways of your choice:
You regain hit points equal to the piercing damage dealt by the bite.
You gain a bonus to the next ability check or attack roll you make; the bonus equals the piercing damage dealt by the bite.
You can empower yourself with this bite a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
With the original 5e version of the Dhampir from Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, you cannot, since it's defined as a "melee weapon", and unarmed strikes do not use weapons. However, if your DM is open to it, then that doesn't matter.
With the updated 5.5e version of the Dhampir from Astarion's Book of Hungers, you can, because the Vampiric Bite is explicitly defined as something you use when you make an Unarmed Strike.
Bites, claws, horns etc are natural weapons, not unarmed strikes. An unarmed strike, per the glossary, is a punch, kick, headbutt etc.
Exceptions to the general rules, are specific rules such as the Alter Self, spell.
There isn’t really a general rule about this at all; each thing like this tells you explicitly whether it counts as a weapon (which they usually did in the 2014 rules) or an Unarmed Strike (which they usually do in the 2024 rules).
As I explained above, the 2014-style Dhampir’s bite is explicitly defined as a weapon, while the 2024-style one is explicitly defined as an Unarmed Strike.
So from 24 (ish) ABoH Dhamphir you can replace an unarmed strike with a bite. Fair play. That does not however make a bite a monk weapon so it stays classified as an unarmed strike.
However the 2024 Monk says under it's martial arts features that;
You can roll 1d6 in place of the normal damage of your Unarmed Strike or Monk weapons.
You can use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier for the attack and damage rolls of your Unarmed Strikes and Monk weapons.
Bonus fries then it stacks with Monks martial arts and the damage scales as you level up. There must be some gothic style of martial arts that emphasises bites instead of elbows or leg sweeps maybe.
And as a RP type thing, you can bite to heal, especially when the victim is asleep and unsuspecting/unwilling ... just acting the part like a real bloodsucker I guess.
Dress like Elvis and say "FANG you very much" after biting victims?
You can use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier for the attack and damage rolls of your Unarmed Strikes and Monk weapons.
But the description of BITE says the damage uses CON MOD.
Yeah, it feels like the intent of the new version is that the bite's special 1d4+CON damage is meant to be an alternative way of calculating Unarmed Strike damage and wouldn't combine with the Monk's alternative way of calculating Unarmed Strike damage, but that's not super clear from the way it's worded.
That said, it does seem like, since the new version of the bite doesn't specify an ability score to be used for the attack roll, it would default to Strength and the Monk's override for Dexterity would still apply.
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Can you use the vampiric bite as an unarmed strike for the monk multiattack? My DM is open to it.
Vampiric bite:
Your fanged bite is a natural weapon, which counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. You add your Constitution modifier, instead of your Strength modifier, to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with this bite. It deals 1d4 piercing damage on a hit. While you are missing half or more of your hit points, you have advantage on attack rolls you make with this bite.
When you attack with this bite and hit a creature that isn’t a Construct or an Undead, you can empower yourself in one of the following ways of your choice:
You can empower yourself with this bite a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Genius with a god complex...
Get the joke?
With the original 5e version of the Dhampir from Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, you cannot, since it's defined as a "melee weapon", and unarmed strikes do not use weapons. However, if your DM is open to it, then that doesn't matter.
With the updated 5.5e version of the Dhampir from Astarion's Book of Hungers, you can, because the Vampiric Bite is explicitly defined as something you use when you make an Unarmed Strike.
pronouns: he/she/they
Bites, claws, horns etc are natural weapons, not unarmed strikes. An unarmed strike, per the glossary, is a punch, kick, headbutt etc.
Exceptions to the general rules, are specific rules such as the Alter Self, spell.
There isn’t really a general rule about this at all; each thing like this tells you explicitly whether it counts as a weapon (which they usually did in the 2014 rules) or an Unarmed Strike (which they usually do in the 2024 rules).
As I explained above, the 2014-style Dhampir’s bite is explicitly defined as a weapon, while the 2024-style one is explicitly defined as an Unarmed Strike.
pronouns: he/she/they
From what I read
General Rule can use DEX instead of CON for Attack roll
Specific Rule Damage mod is CON
So from 24 (ish) ABoH Dhamphir you can replace an unarmed strike with a bite. Fair play. That does not however make a bite a monk weapon so it stays classified as an unarmed strike.
However the 2024 Monk says under it's martial arts features that;
Bonus fries then it stacks with Monks martial arts and the damage scales as you level up. There must be some gothic style of martial arts that emphasises bites instead of elbows or leg sweeps maybe.
And as a RP type thing, you can bite to heal, especially when the victim is asleep and unsuspecting/unwilling ... just acting the part like a real bloodsucker I guess.
Dress like Elvis and say "FANG you very much" after biting victims?
Life's hard - get a helmet!
Yeah, it feels like the intent of the new version is that the bite's special 1d4+CON damage is meant to be an alternative way of calculating Unarmed Strike damage and wouldn't combine with the Monk's alternative way of calculating Unarmed Strike damage, but that's not super clear from the way it's worded.
That said, it does seem like, since the new version of the bite doesn't specify an ability score to be used for the attack roll, it would default to Strength and the Monk's override for Dexterity would still apply.
pronouns: he/she/they