Shapechanger. If the vampire isn’t in sunlight or running water, it can use its action to polymorph into a Tiny bat or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into its true form.
While in bat form, the vampire can’t speak, its walking speed is 5 feet, and it has a flying speed of 30 feet. Its statistics, other than its size and speed, are unchanged. Anything it is wearing transforms with it, but nothing it is carrying does. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
While in mist form, the vampire can’t take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. It is weightless, has a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile creature’s space and stop there. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so without squeezing, and it can’t pass through water. It has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and it is immune to all nonmagical damage, except the damage it takes from sunlight.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the vampire fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Misty Escape. When it drops to 0 hit points outside its resting place, the vampire transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the Shapechanger trait) instead of falling unconscious, provided that it isn’t in sunlight or running water. If it can’t transform, it is destroyed.
While it has 0 hit points in mist form, it can’t revert to its vampire form, and it must reach its resting place within 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in its resting place, it reverts to its vampire form. It is then paralyzed until it regains at least 1 hit point. After spending 1 hour in its resting place with 0 hit points, it regains 1 hit point.
Regeneration. The vampire regains 20 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point and isn’t in sunlight or running water. If the vampire takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the vampire’s next turn.
Spider Climb. The vampire can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Vampire Weaknesses. The vampire has the following flaws:
Forbiddance. The vampire can’t enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
Harmed by Running Water. The vampire takes 20 acid damage if it ends its turn in running water.
Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into the vampire’s heart while the vampire is incapacitated in its resting place, the vampire is paralyzed until the stake is removed.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The vampire takes 20 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Multiattack. (Vampire Form Only). The vampire makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack.
Unarmed Strike (Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage. Instead of dealing damage, the vampire can grapple the target (escape DC 18).
Bite. (Bat or Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by the vampire, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the vampire regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. A humanoid slain in this way and then buried in the ground rises the following night as a vampire spawn under the vampire’s control.
Charm. The vampire targets one humanoid it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the vampire, the target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by the vampire. The charmed target regards the vampire as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn’t under the vampire’s control, it takes the vampire’s requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for the vampire’s bite attack.
Each time the vampire or the vampire’s companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until the vampire is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect.
Children of the Night (1/Day). The vampire magically calls 2d4 swarms of bats or rats, provided that the sun isn’t up. While outdoors, the vampire can call 3d6 wolves instead. The called creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, acting as allies of the vampire and obeying its spoken commands. The beasts remain for 1 hour, until the vampire dies, or until the vampire dismisses them as a bonus action.
The vampire can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The vampire regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Move. The vampire moves up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Unarmed Strike. The vampire makes one unarmed strike.
Bite (Costs 2 Actions). The vampire makes one bite attack.
A Vampire’s Lair
A vampire chooses a grand yet defensible location for its lair, such as a castle, fortified manor, or walled abbey. It hides its coffin in an underground crypt or vault guarded by vampire spawn or other loyal creatures of the night.
Regional Effects
The region surrounding a vampire’s lair is warped by the creature’s unnatural presence, creating any of the following effects:
- There’s a noticeable increase in the populations of bats, rats, and wolves in the region.
- Plants within 500 feet of the lair wither, and their stems and branches become twisted and thorny.
- Shadows cast within 500 feet of the lair seem abnormally gaunt and sometimes move as though alive.
- A creeping fog clings to the ground within 500 feet of the vampire’s lair. The fog occasionally takes eerie forms, such as grasping claws and writhing serpents.
If the vampire is destroyed, these effects end after 2d6 days.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Mar 24, 2020If I had to hazard a guess, it’s because a vampire is one of the few undead template low-level PC could feasibly gain.
They aren’t unlikely to even think of becoming a Mummy Lord or Lich before they are casting at least sixth level spells.
As an aside, the concept of a vampire being susceptible to poison and exhaustion opens some fascinating possibilities. At the very least, it would encourage a discriminating taste in meals.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Mar 24, 2020If a vampire can be poisoned, can they get drunk by feeding on an inebriated mortal? Would some vampires seek this out? (That leads into a longer tangent about blood “flavors” and the “flavoring” of victims.)
Unlike many undead, Vampires rest regularly (during the day), so I suppose “exhausted” follows.
The most interesting is probably the susceptibility to Charm. Not as ubiquitous an immunity among Undead, but interesting because vampire have a natural association with charm, and dominate. It hints that older, more powerful vampires may use their abilities on younger “generations” of true vampires and free spawn.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Mar 31, 2020Why do you think it mentions radiant and holy water in its regeneration ability? Doesn't holy water deal radiant damage?
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Apr 2, 2020Under Chained to the Grave: "If a vampire didn’t receive a formal burial, it must lie beneath a foot of earth at the place of its transition to undeath."
Well what if it doesn't? Let's say a vampire has travelled somewhere far from it's original grave, and brought with it a coffin and enough dirt to satisfy this rule, but these get destroyed. What's the penalty for not sleeping on home turf, as it were?
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Apr 20, 2020I think the idea is they must sleep in their respective burial place. If that is destroyed, they are unable to sleep. Or at least it cannot regenerate once its body is destroyed, as it cannot return to its resting place for Misty Escape so will die two hours later.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Apr 22, 2020From a lore perspective, Vampires make better monsters than they do player characters. A vampire, is an undead creature that masquerades as a living being. The masquerade is important for players to remember. The MM, states well how to RP a vampire. They are monsters, and as such are limited in their scope. Vampires do not love, and they are always following their base needs. However, they can and will lie. Their charms are so convincing that even players tend to believe that Vampire (PCs)can be more than just soleless monsters.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Apr 23, 2020This is not true. There is a side bar in the Monster Manual for player characters as vampires.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Apr 26, 2020It’s interesting to note that the vampire’s “undead nature” entry only says that they “don’t require air”, implying that they still need to feed and rest.
It receives penalties for not resting, which funnily enough I can’t find listed anywhere (it only lists the exceptions, like elves).
In my games, I impose levels of exhaustion (a condition which vampires are conspicuously not immune to), for each 24 hours without sleep (or “sleep” in the case of vampires).
(Edit: I stand corrected, there are rules for sleep deprivation. It’s exactly what I listed, but involves saves against an escalating DC.)
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted May 15, 2020Wait, so if you get charmed you stay charmed even if your companions are killed in front of you?
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Jun 21, 2020Here's a tip for any DM's about to run a Gothic horror campaign: DON'T LET ON THAT A CHARACTER IS A VAMPIRE.
Keep it a secret because once the party knows who the vampire is, they'll be running to get stakes and holy water and will make a plan to kill it in less than a round.
Use their deception, stealth and intelligence to make them hidden from society or hide the fact they're a vampire from everyone. You could make it like a murder mystery where a people go missing and the corpses are found weeks later and later the players find that it was caused by a vampire masquerading as a homeless drunkard.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Jun 25, 2020So if someone succeeds on the saving throw against being charmed would you be able to seduce the vampire and whilst laying with it stab it in the chest with a stake to make it paralysed or nah?
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Jul 9, 2020Yes, you 100% can. If you can manage the spectacular social rolls necessary, that is the ideal way to defeat a vampire.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Jul 9, 2020The above make an excellent points. Dracula doesn’t start with Harker knowing the count’s true nature, he has to figure it out as the story goes on.
They pass as living humanoids better than any other undead, because their diet requires them to dwell among a sizable living population.
Although, they may have an affinity for necromancy, this average vampire would never use undead servants. In fact, they would actively avoid other undead, because skeletons and ghouls draw the attention of anti-Undead specialists. Those with resources would seek access to effects like Arcanist’s Magic Aura to avoid being sniffed out by a first level paladin.
With the nature of Barovia’s situation, Strahd is the exception that proves the rule. As a powerful wizard and Dark Lord of his own little world, he intentionally broke all these rules to attract would-be challengers.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Jul 20, 2020In a campaign I played we had a player that became a vampire spawn. and once we killed the master he was free. We added the following stats to his Character.
+2 STR, +2 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA || Retain all vampire abilities and weaknesses. || Player does not retain any lair effects or legendary actions. || Player is considered a +6 creature. Meaning he loses access to his player levels past 14th lvl. So if he is 14th when he is turned, he is now a level 20 Player. If higher than 14th lvl he loses all experience, abilities, HP and spell casting attained beyond 14th lvl.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Jul 23, 2020That is a pretty good, straightforwards reintroduction of the old edition template rules.
The level cap is harsh, but makes sense from a balance standpoint.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Aug 3, 2020In the monster manual, there is an entry on how to deal with vampire players, rules as written, they don't change race nor class, and it is, according to me, way better/simpler for them and the DM
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Aug 3, 2020Unless they do sunlight damage via some kind of spell (sunbeam for instance), they would not prevent regeneration, but a high level paladin could probably get rid of it by spamming divine smites, the damage would be way higher than the regeneration, the only thing that could go wrong is if you run out of spell slots
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Aug 10, 2020Radiant damage, which smite and a lot of Paladin spells can deal, does also stunt the vampire’s Regeneration, although it could still steal hit points with it bite.
That being said, a master vampire like the above it still pretty tough, it would likely take a level 16 or 17 Paladin to take one down without any support.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Aug 15, 2020I took one down as a level 8 Oath of Vengeance Paladin solo, vow of enmity and 4 rapid fire smites and it was very dead(also had a longsword that did additional 2d6 fire damage so that probably helped alot)
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Aug 18, 2020Oh, cool. Even with that strong setup, that’s pretty impressive.
My earlier analysis assumed no magic weapons, which was honestly a silly assumption on my part.