| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 18 | +4 | +4 |
| DEX | 18 | +4 | +9 |
| CON | 18 | +4 | +9 |
| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| INT | 17 | +3 | +3 |
| WIS | 15 | +2 | +7 |
| CHA | 18 | +4 | +9 |
Legendary Resistance (3/Day, or 4/Day in Lair). If the vampire fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Misty Escape. If the vampire drops to 0 Hit Points outside its resting place, the vampire uses Shape-Shift to become mist (no action required). If it can’t use Shape-Shift, it is destroyed.
While it has 0 Hit Points in mist form, it can’t return to its vampire form, and it must reach its resting place within 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in its resting place, it returns to its vampire form and has the Paralyzed condition until it regains any Hit Points, and it regains 1 Hit Point after spending 1 hour there.
Spider Climb. The vampire can climb difficult surfaces, including along ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Vampire Weakness. The vampire has these weaknesses:
Forbiddance. The vampire can’t enter a residence without an invitation from an occupant.
Running Water. The vampire takes 20 Acid damage if it ends its turn in running water.
Stake to the Heart. If a weapon that deals Piercing damage is driven into the vampire’s heart while the vampire has the Incapacitated condition in its resting place, the vampire has the Paralyzed condition until the weapon is removed.
Sunlight. The vampire takes 20 Radiant damage if 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 Grave Strike attacks and uses Bite.
Grave Strike (Vampire Form Only). Melee Attack Roll: +9, reach 5 ft. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) Bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) Necrotic damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it has the Grappled condition (escape DC 14) from one of two hands.
Bite (Bat or Vampire Form Only). Constitution Saving Throw: DC 17, one creature within 5 feet that is willing or that has the Grappled, Incapacitated, or Restrained condition. Failure: 6 (1d4 + 4) Piercing damage plus 13 (3d8) Necrotic damage. The target’s Hit Point maximum decreases by an amount equal to the Necrotic damage taken, and the vampire regains Hit Points equal to that amount. A Humanoid reduced to 0 Hit Points by this damage and then buried rises the following sunset as a Vampire Spawn under the vampire’s control.
Charm (Recharge 5–6). The vampire casts Charm Person, requiring no spell components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 17), and the duration is 24 hours. The Charmed target is a willing recipient of the vampire’s Bite, the damage of which doesn’t end the spell. When the spell ends, the target is unaware it was Charmed by the vampire.
Shape-Shift. If the vampire isn’t in sunlight or running water, it shape-shifts into a Tiny bat (Speed 5 ft., Fly Speed 30 ft.) or a Medium cloud of mist (Speed 5 ft., Fly Speed 20 ft. [hover]), or it returns to its vampire form. Anything it is wearing transforms with it.
While in bat form, the vampire can’t speak. Its game statistics, other than its size and Speed, are unchanged.
While in mist form, the vampire can’t take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. It is weightless and can enter an enemy’s space and stop there. If air can pass through a space, the mist can do so, but it can’t pass through liquid. It has Resistance to all damage, except the damage it takes from sunlight.
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature’s turn, the vampire can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The vampire regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Beguile. The vampire casts Command, requiring no spell components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 17). The vampire can’t take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Deathless Strike. The vampire moves up to half its Speed, and it makes one Grave Strike attack.
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Posted Feb 4, 2025Very interesting that they seemingly nerfed a vampire’s charm to function like charm person now. It’s still good for its intended purpose but it makes it less clear if they can order a charmed creature around.
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Posted Feb 5, 2025They can't order people nor could they ever order people to do actions they didn't want to do other than be willing to be bitten with their charm same for charm person spell they just regard the vampire favourably. Other than it being a spell so able to be countered and with advantage on save if fighting the vampire the utility of the ability is unchanged which is a small nerf for the major buff of now being only a bonus action.
*Edit I'm fully aware that it cannot be countered since it has no spell components upon my re-reading months ago. Thanks for clarifications though.
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Posted Feb 6, 2025I was thinking about how you run the Charm Bonus Action as a DM, specifically the "when the spell ends, the target is unaware it was Charmed by the vampire" part, and while you could just tell them that they are Charmed by the vampire but the character doesn't know it, which does give the player a better opportunity to roleplay what happens and gives them more control of their (character which is good), I prefer the idea where you don't tell them what's going on. You just randomly have them make a Wisdom saving throw with Advantage on the vampire's turn, they fail but you just say ok and don't describe anything else happening. Then on their next turn the character goes to attack the vampire and you tell them that "you walk toward the vampire but when you go to make your attack, you tell your body to swing your weapon, but your body doesn't comply, it instead just stands there, then the vampire turns its head towards you and smiles, allowing you to see it's fangs." Then on the vampire's next turn: "the vampire turns back towards you, covers the thirty feet you had just put between it and you with your Dash action, then the vampire slowly leans down to bite you, it's moving slowly, surely you can avoid the bite ease, but once again you tell your body to MOVE but it doesn't, you're frozen in place, you feel the vampires teeth sink into you and then you can feel the energy drain from you as the vampire drinks your blood." The terror this sort of description evokes is what vampires deserve.
Now if you do plan to do this you should make sure your group is ok with body horror type stuff, which should be a given, but it's worth mentioning.
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Posted Feb 8, 2025The new art for the vampires be a big lady in a suit of armor, and a guy in a pretty dress is exactly how I envision vampires in my games. Thank you WotC <3
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Posted Feb 10, 2025I am noticing that they took away the Vampires regeneration ability
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Posted Feb 11, 2025Seems like Deathless Strike's movement shouldn't provoke Opportunity Attacks, especially if it's supposed to be an upgrade of the vampire spawn's Deathless Agility.
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Posted Feb 13, 2025Looking at other creatures with self-healing abilities, this seems to be a conscious design choice this cycle. As here, they remove self-healing abilities and increase each relevant monster's health accordingly (e.g., Devas and their healing touch). It makes sense given that Wizards is trying to remove unnecessary text from stat blocks wherever possible (and healing abilities just mean more health, so cutting out the middleman and just adding the health to the stat block via more hit dice lets them get rid of the text without changing the monster's challenge rating).
Personally, I'm a fan (it lets monsters do cooler things in combat than heal themselves)
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Posted Apr 4, 2025what is up with his arm?
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Posted Apr 11, 2025They didn't fix the charm spam. No cool down on the ability or temporary immunity.
In a social situation the ability is broken. The whole party will be charmed and they can't fight it without meta gaming
they also actually buffed it a bit, since its only a bonus action on recharge. it is basically charm person meaning that if youre fighting you have advantage.
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Posted Apr 30, 2025there is no way to counter as it has no components, so no forewarning to react to.
even then the new counterspell sucks as its con save is good and youre wasting it on a spell they can cast infinitely, although it wouldnt expend a resource anyway.
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Posted May 16, 2025How does one recover their hit point maximum after it’s reduced by a vampire bite? Greater restoration? If that’s it, that’s gnarly.
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Posted May 23, 2025A long rest.
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Posted May 27, 2025How does a 14 to Escape the Grapple make any sense? Old vampire was 18. With +4 to Strength it should be higher....isn't it 8+PB+Stat modifier?
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Posted May 28, 2025No, monster save DCs are calculated with 10 + mod, so they don't have massive DCs. because the tarrasque doesn't need a grapple DC of 27
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Posted Jun 5, 2025How does a vampire regain hp now that regeneration is gone? Let’s say I’m a vampire and get wrecked by a party. I’m not in sunlight or running water so I misty escape to my lair, and rest in my coffin for an hour- 1 Hp!
now what? Do I have to feed on innocent npc’s to regain health? Do I need to take a long or short rest? What if the players are great detectives and have learned about my identity and know where my lair is and arrive 1.5 hrs after I get there? do they fight me with 1 hp? Do I need to have a room full of caged npc commoners to just buffet on as soon as I pop out of my coffin?
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Posted Jun 7, 2025I can't stop looking at that arm...
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Posted Jun 30, 2025yes it's really bad...
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Posted Jul 1, 2025"requiring no spell components" can't be countered.
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Posted Aug 8, 2025It will probably change how the monster plays though, as previously you could stop the vampire from healing using radiant damage (or holy water or sunlight or running water). Now there isn't that option, which I'm not sure I like.
Also, to your point about the monster doing cooler things, vampire healing didn't use their action, it just happened, so the vampire could still do the cool things.