I'm wondering if my fellow DMs can help me find the best way to turn a player character into a vampire/vampire spawn. Should I use a homebrew race, a homebrew subclass to a class, or magic item?
The easiest way, in D&D Beyond specifically, to do almost anything is with a feat. Feats can add special actions, and can also modify the character sheet in ways many other things cannot. Feats can be used to mimic Supernatural Gifts as well, which seems to be what most people wanting to play vampires are going for. Create a "Vampirism" feat, add all the various things vampirism does in your game to it, monkey with it until it's all working right in the builder, then add that feat to the vamp'd character and have at it.
If your game specifically is calling out that vampirism replaces your original species' abilities, you'll need to do that as a homebrew race. Those are vastly more difficult to build than feats and will often require tuning to the specific character being vamp'd.
If you're looking for ways to implement specific modifiers for your vampire, you'd have to let us know which ones they are. A lot of them are basically just going to be Honor System, though. Stuff like blood thirst, sunlight hypersensitivity, and the like don't have any real rules that show up - they're just written on the sheet and the player's supposed to honor them. Anything that modifies numbers on the sheet or adds special actions, we can try and help with.
I know the link in the thread I linked to died, I was part of the conversation when the moderator explained why they kicked it back as “rejected.” That doesn’t mean that the creator cannot tell this user how they did it. It really was very good. A bit stronk, but very good.
Custom Race IMO is mandatory for the best effect. You can bake in whatever you want or your setting demands without issue and also whatever detriments or specific criteria are necessary.
Things I like to add are innate spell casting but I make the players earn the morphs from person to bat / mist etc: with player levels tied into the vampire race. Think tiefling / triton spells but a bigger list at later levels with better effects. This allows your player to not change class or have features robbed from them in their min maxing (as best as able anyway) and also helps you avoid doing strange things to stat alignments or subclass shenanigans. Not to mention once you've got the race built, it's not hard to give it specific feats that they can choose or you can mandate to add in flavor, skills, or direction of vampire type later on.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"I once knew this fella, Aasimar raised in the Underdark. Was like a brother to me. When he escaped we couldn't take much with us. Poor, emaciated husks of the living we were. 'ts okay though. We survived and made our ways. I'll never forget the way the people from my home looked at us when we walked in the archway. Though, I'm frighteningly certain the feelings they would have, had they but the opportunity ta see us leave." --Manolovo the Traitor, Memoirs of a Scoundrel
I think the easiest way is a warlock (just charge various invocations for vampiric features), but D&D Beyond doesn't have a method of homebrewing invocations.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I'm wondering if my fellow DMs can help me find the best way to turn a player character into a vampire/vampire spawn. Should I use a homebrew race, a homebrew subclass to a class, or magic item?
The OP in this thread has a fantastic feat for it.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/bugs-support/76173-custom-feat-not-changing-ability-scores
Maybe they can offer you some help.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
The link in that post seems to've died, Sposta.
The easiest way, in D&D Beyond specifically, to do almost anything is with a feat. Feats can add special actions, and can also modify the character sheet in ways many other things cannot. Feats can be used to mimic Supernatural Gifts as well, which seems to be what most people wanting to play vampires are going for. Create a "Vampirism" feat, add all the various things vampirism does in your game to it, monkey with it until it's all working right in the builder, then add that feat to the vamp'd character and have at it.
If your game specifically is calling out that vampirism replaces your original species' abilities, you'll need to do that as a homebrew race. Those are vastly more difficult to build than feats and will often require tuning to the specific character being vamp'd.
If you're looking for ways to implement specific modifiers for your vampire, you'd have to let us know which ones they are. A lot of them are basically just going to be Honor System, though. Stuff like blood thirst, sunlight hypersensitivity, and the like don't have any real rules that show up - they're just written on the sheet and the player's supposed to honor them. Anything that modifies numbers on the sheet or adds special actions, we can try and help with.
Please do not contact or message me.
I know the link in the thread I linked to died, I was part of the conversation when the moderator explained why they kicked it back as “rejected.” That doesn’t mean that the creator cannot tell this user how they did it. It really was very good. A bit stronk, but very good.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Ah. That's what I get for not reading the thread. Derp. Bad ghost.
Please do not contact or message me.
Now go to your room and think about what you’ve done. And there will be no night bumping or chain rattling until your punishment is over. 😜
Okay, it’s over.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
my friend hombrewed this if it is helpful.... --> https://www.dndbeyond.com/races/459250-darkhalf-3
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
The way I handle this...
Custom Race IMO is mandatory for the best effect. You can bake in whatever you want or your setting demands without issue and also whatever detriments or specific criteria are necessary.
Things I like to add are innate spell casting but I make the players earn the morphs from person to bat / mist etc: with player levels tied into the vampire race. Think tiefling / triton spells but a bigger list at later levels with better effects. This allows your player to not change class or have features robbed from them in their min maxing (as best as able anyway) and also helps you avoid doing strange things to stat alignments or subclass shenanigans. Not to mention once you've got the race built, it's not hard to give it specific feats that they can choose or you can mandate to add in flavor, skills, or direction of vampire type later on.
"I once knew this fella, Aasimar raised in the Underdark. Was like a brother to me. When he escaped we couldn't take much with us. Poor, emaciated husks of the living we were. 'ts okay though. We survived and made our ways. I'll never forget the way the people from my home looked at us when we walked in the archway. Though, I'm frighteningly certain the feelings they would have, had they but the opportunity ta see us leave." --Manolovo the Traitor, Memoirs of a Scoundrel
I think the easiest way is a warlock (just charge various invocations for vampiric features), but D&D Beyond doesn't have a method of homebrewing invocations.