Vampire

Contrary to popular belief, monsters are not all alike. Like people, individual members of the same species can each have their own unique traits, preferences and weaknesses. A good example of this is the many species of vampires, some very different from the others, and only connected by their mandatory diet: fresh blood. Vampires are often referred as of the lower or higher variant. There seem to be some disagreement in the academic world as to what makes a vampire belong to either category. Most scholar qualifies a vampire of higher ascendancy when they show the ability to shapechange into a humanoid, but other base their assumption on their intelligence and capacity to use magical abilities. Other deny entirely the aforementioned classifications and state that higher vampires are an entirely different species, immortal and human looking.

Blood Addiction

When a vampire loses control of itself because of its Blood Addiction weakness the vampire enters a state called blood frenzy. In order to control itself near a source of blood, the vampire must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw, on a failed save it loses control and enters blood frenzy. The blood frenzy ends when the vampire use its bite attack successfully and inflicts necrotic damage to a target, unless noted otherwise in its individual description. If a vampire's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the vampire is immune to the blood frenzy for the next 24 hours. While under the blood frenzy the vampire gains the following:

• The vampire shapeshifts back to its vampire form and cannot use its shapechanger feature until the frenzy ends.
• The vampire has advantage on melee weapon attack rolls, but attack rolls against it have advantage until the frenzy ends.
• The vampire cannot use its Innate Spellcasting or Spellcasting feature until the frenzy ends.
• The vampire becomes immune to the charmed and frightened condition until the frenzy ends.

Fleder

Common people believe that fleders are dead heathens who turned into vampires and rose from their graves. Being vampires, they attack sleeping people and drink their blood. According to peasants, a man bitten by a fleder becomes a fleder himself. This is nonsense, obviously, for towns would be completely infested by them after only a few weeks due to the creature's ravenous appetite.

Savage Killer

The fleder is a lesser vampire. Its appetite for blood is the only thing it shares with the noble princes of the night. A creature with animal instincts, deprived of any humanity, it can mutilate its victims terribly. Its head — triangular, with a flat face and horn-like protrusions with certain bat-like features, including the creature's face and ears — renders it similar to other animalistic vampires, such as garkain or ekimmara. With its glowing red eyes the fleder also resembles a demon and inspires terror in the heart of peasants and city folks alike.

Death from Above

The fleder is not a good flier, the membranes under its arms allowing only short jumps and attacks from above. Though not particularly smart, it knows that it gains an advantage and increases its chance of victory by suddenly attacking unsuspecting victims. The long, prehensile toes on the beast's feet allow it to hang head down from the ceiling, one of its favorite method to ambush a prey. Fleders are terrified of sunlight and will avoid it at all cost. While it is true that they don’t turn to ash while exposed to it like other vampires do, they are still significantly weaker when expose to direct sunlight, be it natural or magical. They are otherwise unaffected by the current time of the day but tend to slumber during daylight hours.

Terror of the Squalor

Fleder usually hunt in rundown city districts, especially where buildings are high and cramped, allowing the creature to use its agility to escape after a bloody meal. They are clever enough to recognize an inebriated prey, hunting near taverns to feed on unwary town drunks. Fleder are usually lone, nocturnal hunters, but in large cities, where they can cover a huge hunting ground, it can happen that a brood of this creatures band together. They then pick a common nest to rest during the day, often an abandoned church tower or an old windmill. They are also found in the wilderness, usually near cliffs and rugged, hilly lands where they can easily hide.

Protofleder

Primitive Cousin

If you take a fleder and magnify all itsmost primitive traits, feeding it abundantly with higher vampire blood, you will eventually get a protofleder. This beast, the fleder's primal cousin, is the purest expression of its breed. In our time protofleders are rare, only appearing in the domain of a higher vampire or hibernating in secluded places, deep in the Underdark.

Otherworldly Glow

Similarly to their lesser cousins, protofleders rely on their instincts rather than intelligence and are quite sensitive to the scent of blood. The members of this species are characterized by their considerable strength and resilience as well as the strange glow they emit, a trait most likely tied to their otherworldly nature. While in the presence of the vampire even a shallow cut can feel like bleeding to death. Agonizing pain is caused by the vampire’s presence, as blood answers its voracious call.