Regeneration. The vampire regains 10 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 when it ends its turn in running water.
Stake to the Heart. The vampire is destroyed if a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into its heart while it is incapacitated in its resting place.
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. The vampire makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) slashing damage. Instead of dealing damage, the vampire can grapple the target (escape DC 13).
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by the vampire, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) 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 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.
I'm currently playing a wizard vampire spawn in curse of strhad. If you want free will as a PC you're going to have to create a backstory that includes your vampire master being dead. For stats, I chose a race and rolled up stats like normal. I have all the restictions of a vampire spawn(Hurt by running water and sunlight, cant enter a house uninvited and i count as an undead). My DM allowed me to gain the ability to spider climb at will at level e3 (when you would normally get 2nd level spells.). I ignore the Dark desires, regional affects, and chained to the grave as those dont specify that they affect vampire spawn, only vampires. I dont need to breathe either. If i where to bite someone, they wouldnt become a vampire spawn and if a full vampire gave me thier blood id become a full vampire. My dm allows me to preform the bite action however, the hp gained is halved so im not too overpowered. My DM doesnt allow me to do multi attacks, regeration or the claw attack. Also another thing to point out is that as an undead creature, healing spells have no affect on you. To counter this, my Dm allowed me to gain hp by casting chill touch ( because its necromancy) on myself as a first level spell instead of a cantrip and gain 1d8 hp. For all the actions that I preform, I use the stats I rolled up, not the stats for vampire spawn. for feeding rules, my dm created a system where I needed to feed on blood of any kind (human or animal ect) at least once a week. However, after day 5 of not feeding I begin to starve and will uncontrollably attack anything that is bleeding nearby me. By day 7, I uncontrollably attack anything whether or not its bleeding. I recommend playing a vampire spawn in campaigns without much sunlight like curse of strahd or into the abyss. You could also use the dhampir stats found in van richten's guide. Hopefully this was helpful and not completely long winded.
somehow survived an encounter with 6 of these bad boys. four player characters of level five each, one DM npc that was at best surviving and giving out the occasional cure wounds to a single player. a single potion was used, no sunblade. i think the DM went easy on us, only one of us died. had a funeral. all in all, good sesh!
In 2e, which is much less ambiguous, to enter a home the vampire needed to be invited by a resident and to qualify as a resident, they either have to be the owner of the home or someone invited to live there for an indefinite amount of time, meaning that someone staying temporarily (even if the length of time isn't specified) is not a resident. Someone staying as a guest is specifically exempted. Further it says that the oldest member of the household offers an invitation the invitation is permanent, otherwise it allows the vampire to enter once. [Source: Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium]
Now, of course this isn't canon in 5e, but if anyone is ambiguous about what constitutes an occupant or how long the invitation lasts, 2e is always a good source of information. In 2e there's almost a scientific study of each monster in the MM and some of the creatures like vampires get an even more in-depth study in supplements. 3e shrank the amount of information presented on a creature by a lot, and 5e did so even more. It's now up to the DM to decide, which is good, but if you're like me and you want some guidance to base your rulings on, I'd start there.
The wording is very important here. It doesn't specify that vampiric creatures can't enter a residence of its own free will without an invitation, it just says that they cannot enter without an invitation. So vampires are physically unable to enter households unless an occupant invites them inside. So with this you would be unable to push a vampire into a house, as you are neither an occupant nor inviting them. It would be as if you pushed the vampire against a brick wall. Now pulling might work depending on how your DM interprets an occupant and nonverbal invitations.
Of course this is just how it is in 5e, previous editions are more specific on how these mechanics work.
I think what I would do is take all the silly vampire weaknesses and either twist them around or nulify them completely. It would be simply that the people came up with "weaknesses" so they could feel safe, but most of these wouldn't work as the people believe in them. (So no, you can't just kill all vampires using a decanter of endless water)
the weaknesses are half the fun
this one gets it
you can cast dawn after a succesfull grapple right ?
Vampires feed on the blood of the living. They don't digest it like we digest food; it courses through their veins.
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I remember my character got ambushed by 8 of these in knee-high fog. I couldn't escape because there were just too many of them, and they brought me to their vampire spellcaster master who then proceeded to use me as a juice box of free healing for the rest of the fight while she made me protect her.
So I have a fun question I haven't seen answered in my internet dive. In the stats the Vampire Spawn has an equal Str and Dex, so my question is this: Does a Vampire Spawn use Str or Dex for its Claw and(or) bite attack? I ask as a Grave Cleric given the holy power to enfeeble those who cross my path.
Unless the text shows otherwise, all attacks are Str based.
So it only takes damage from running water if it ends its turn in it? I suppose the implication is that they don't start corroding instantly, only from several seconds of exposure? Honestly I'm not sure why it wasn't ruled as 'it takes 20 acid damage if it *starts* it's turn in running water', that would get the vulnerability across better in gameplay I think.
As I see it, vampires are required to drink other's blood in order to survive. Thereby, the spawn would be drinking the blood that the vampire drank from others now flowing through the vampire's veins.
Theoretically the action of you pushing them into the house, is an invite into the house.
The restriction is on the Vampire being able to enter of its own free will.
According to legend and movies there is not even damage for doing this, they just can't!
Also, does this mean that if a spawn betrays its master, defeats it, and drinks- it doesn't then become a true vampire?
IF it was somehow able to betray and defeat its master, then yes.
However, under normal circumstance, a Vampire Spawn cannot even think about betraying its master. The chains binding its will are so powerful, it often mistakes its master’s command for its own desire. (This is one of the reasons getting turned is a really bad)
For a Spawn to successfully rebel, something weird needs to be going on. Maybe divine intervention (or really exceptional willpower) has preserved/restored its soul? Maybe it’s defying its master because it has fallen under the control of an outside force? "The mystery of the rogue spawn” could make a fun plot-hook for your campaign setting.
It doesn't mention that these creatures are immune from charm themselves. While the charm spell indicates that undead are immune, the hypnotic pattern spell does not indicate that undead are immune. If the spell doesn't callout a limitation on undead, doesn't that mean there is no limitation on undead?
Hello,
I have a question as a beginner to D&D. If my character is, for example, a chaotic evil human, then does his alignment (and thus, behavior) turn to neutral evil? And suppose the one who sired him dies, and he's still a spawn, would he become chaotic evil again, or as a spawn he would remain neutral evil?
AND if his alignment changes, would that force me to change his goals, weaknesses, etc. or just the way he approaches things in the world?
Thank you.