Bloodthirst. The vampire dragon has advantage on attack rolls against creatures that have half or less of their hit points remaining.
Dual Nature. The vampire dragon is considered both a dragon and an undead.
Regeneration. The vampire dragon regains 60 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 dragon takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn't function at the start of the vampire dragon's next turn.
Sanguine Spells. The vampire dragon's spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 22). It can cast the following spells, requiring no component, but can only target flesh-and-blood creatures with them:
- at will: bestow curse, blight, call lightning (cast at 5th level), hex
- 3/day: circle of death, hold monster, negative energy flood, tether essence
- 1/day: Abi-Dalzim's horrid wilting, power word pain, finger of death
- Forbiddance. The vampire can't enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
- Harmed by Running Water. The vampire dragon takes 20 acid damage if it ends its turn in running water.
- Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The vampire dragon takes 20 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks, cannot use its breath weapon and cannot use its misty escape legendary action.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the vampire dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Multiattack. The vampire dragon can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its vampiric bite and two with its claws.
Vampiric Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d10+8) piercing damage plus 27 (6d8) necrotic damage. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken and the vampire dragon regains an equal amount of hit points. 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.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) slashing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 23 Strength saving throw or is grappled. While it is grappled in this way, it is restrained. The target can use its action to escape by succeeding on a DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check.
Tail. The vampire dragon swings its tail in a wide arc. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw, taking 17 (2d8+8) bludgeoning damage and 9 (2d8) piercing damage on a failure or half as much on a success.
Frightful Presence. Each creature of the vampire dragon's choice that is within 120 feet of the vampire dragon and aware of it must succeed on a DC 22 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the vampire dragon's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Sanguine Breath (Recharge 5–6). The vampire dragon exhales crimson gas and necrotic energy in a 90-foot cone. Each creature in that cone must make a DC 22 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, it takes 72 (16d8) necrotic damage and gains a level of exhaustion. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and is not exhausted. In addition, a creature killed by this breath rises as a greater zombie under the vampire dragon's control.
The dragon cannot use its breath weapon while it is in sunlight.
Black Sun Prophecy (1/day). The vampire dragon utters profane words, which echo across the lands, while concentrating as if it was concentrating on a spell. All running water within 5 miles of the vampire dragon stops, falling completely silent. The sun starts turning crimson, before the rising darkness blots it out entirely and fills the area within 5 miles of the dragon - all light sources are quenched, no light, magical or not, can exist in that area of nonmagical darkness.
Moreover, no creature can benefit from resistance to necrotic damage and all radiant damage dealt in the area is halved.
These effects last for 1 hour or until the vampire dragon drops its concentration.
Crimson Quickened Spell. If the vampire dragon has hit with a bite attack on this turn, it can cast one of its spells with a casting time of one action as a bonus action.
The vampire dragon can take 5 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 dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect. The vampire dragon makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Attack. The vampire dragon makes an attack with its claws or uses its tail.
Cast a Spell (2 Actions). The vampire dragon casts one of its sanguine spells.
Misty Escape (Costs 2 Actions). The vampire dragon transforms into a gargantuan cloud of mist. While in this form, it has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage, cannot be grappled, restrained or paralyzed and can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. However, it cannot make physical attacks, cannot use its wing attack legendary action and its flying speed is halved.
The dragon can drop its mist form as a bonus action on its turn. If it is in sunlight, it cannot use this legendary action, and if it enters sunlight while in mist form, it instantly transforms back.
Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions). The vampire dragon beats its wings. Each creature within 15 feet of the dragon must succeed on a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw or take 15 (2d6 + 8) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The vampire dragon can then fly up to half its flying speed.
Crimson Vortex (Costs 3 Actions). The vampire dragon fills the area within 20 feet of it with a vortex of blood and magical darkness. The area remains filled with magical darkness for one minute or until the vampire dragon uses this ability again. Creatures inside the darkness cannot regain hit points. A creature that starts its turn within the darkness must succeed on a DC 22 Constitution saving throw or take 18 (4d8) necrotic damage and have its hit point maximum reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken.
Description
A vampire dragon is an ancient dragon of any kind that, after its death, got tainted by sanguine magic and rose to the skies once more. Vampire dragons can be created in many different ways. Some evil dragons actively pursuit the way of vampirism, seeking to master sanguine magic. Other dragons might have been servants to powerful vampire lords or were raised from the dead by them and, once they became powerful enough, overthrew their former masters. And some dragons might become vampire dragons simply by getting into contact with a vampire's blood by accident, such as when they lair beneath a vampire lord's castle and blood drips down into their cave.
A vampire dragon's flesh rots away over time, especially when the dragon is starved of blood for an elongated time, leaving it with nothing more than a skeleton in a blood-stained hull of dull, black and decaying scales with equally blood-stained wings that look a lot more like bat wings than wings of a living dragon. The dragon's fangs are elongated similar to a regular vampire's fangs, but they of course are much, much bigger.
While a vampire dragon certainly is a very powerful being, it is plagued by the same weaknesses as any regular vampire. However, particularly powerful and old vampire dragons have mastered profane magic to such a degree that they can temporarily blot out the sun and stop running water to overcome their vampiric weaknesses.
Lair and Lair Actions
Vampire dragons typically either choose to keep the lair they had when they were still among the living, use their own burial site as their lair or build a new lair. Such a lair often is located close to or within a castle or its ruins. Some dragons prefer to lair inside the castle, while others build a new lair beneath, using the castle as a living space for their servants, living and undead. A vampire dragon's lair typically is filled with the stench of death and decay, coming from the skeletal remains of their victims the ground is littered with. Pools of blood can be found all around, some even big enough for the dragon to bathe in. Bats and spiders swarm the lair as do undead the dragon created with its profane magic.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the vampire dragon takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the dragon can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Blood Surge. Pools of blood that the vampire dragon can see within 120 feet of it surge outward in a grasping tide. Any creature on the ground within 20 feet of such a pool must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be pulled up to 20 feet into the blood and knocked prone.
- Creepy Mists. Mist starts swirling throughout the lair. If the dragon has used its misty escape, it becomes one with these mists, turning invisible. It is considered to be everywhere in the lair at the same time. This effect lasts until initiative count 20 of the next round. Each creature in the lair must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened until the end of its next turn. While frightened in this way, its movement speed is reduced to 0 as it does not know where to run to.
- Crimson Runes. The vampire dragon reveals a rune inscribed with blood and activates it. The rune is a symbol as per the symbol spell. Upon activating it, the dragon can choose its effect. The rune remains active until initiative count 20 of the next round.
- Vampiric Swarm. A cloud of swarming spiders or bats fills a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point the dragon chooses within 120 feet of it. The cloud spreads around corners and remains until the dragon dismisses it as an action, uses this lair action again, or dies. The cloud is lightly obscured. Any creature in the cloud when it appears must make on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature that ends its turn in the cloud takes 22 (4d10) piercing damage.
- Sanguine Power. The vampire dragon drinks all the blood from one of the pools on the ground, causing Its breath weapon to recharge.
Regional Effects
The region containing a legendary vampire dragon’s lair is warped by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- Bloody Water. Water sources within 3 miles of the lair are supernaturally fouled. They have a crimson hue and either a metallic, blood-like smell to them or a stench of death and decay. Enemies of the dragon that drink such water regurgitate it within minutes and must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or are poisoned and afflicted with the Flesh Rot disease. They are poisoned until the disease is cured.
- Swirling Fog. Fog lightly obscures the land and clings to the ground within 6 miles of the lair. The fog occasionally takes eerie forms, such as grasping claws, dragon's fangs, wings and writhing serpents.
- Children of the Night. There's a noticeable increase in the populations of bats, rats, and wolves in the region.
- Horrid Wilting. Plants within 1 mile of the lair wither, and their stems and branches become twisted and thorny.
- Haunting Shadows. Shadows cast within 1 mile of the lair seem abnormally gaunt and sometimes move as though alive.
If the vampire dragon is destroyed, these effects end after 2d6 days.
Previous Versions
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