Homebrew Damphyr Species Details

Poised between the worlds of the living and the dead, damphyr retain their grip on life yet are endlessly tested by vicious hungers. Their ties to the undead grant damphyr a taste of a vampire’s deathless prowess in the form of increased speed, darkvision, tremorsense, and a life-draining bite. A damphyr can be turned or created; determine your origin with your DM.

Many damphyr find themselves as wanderers and travelers, due to their strange natures that can more often than not cause tensions among the living if their Hunger is not kept in check. Their unique insights into the undead and their array of innate abilities make them well-suited for adventuring, monster hunting, or other similar work. 

Damphyr Hunger

Feeding is a necessity for a damphyr to survive. While many damphyr thirst for blood, your character might otherwise gain sustenance from the living. Roll on or choose up to two options from the damphyr Hungers table to determine what tempts your character to feed.

Options 1, 2, or 3 can be consumed in traditional fashion ; options 4, 5, or 6 require a more supernatural means (psychic leeching, telepathic bonding, strange body parts/orifices, etc). Discuss these with your DM at character creation. It is recommended that if you take two options, choose one from 1-2-3 and one from 4-5-6 for variety.

Damphyr Hunger
d6 Hunger
1 Blood
2 Flesh or raw meat
3 Cerebrospinal fluid
4 Psychic Energy or Emotions
5 Dreams
6 Life Energy

Damphyr Origins

Damphyr most commonly arise from encounters with vampires, but there are numerous other possibilities for transformation, including supernatural bargaining, or even direct lineage. The damphyr Origins table provides suggestions for how your character gained their lineage; choose one or roll for it.

Damphyr Origins
d6 Origin
1 You are the reincarnation of an ancient vampire (through lineage or possibly unwillingly).
2 You gained your deathless state through pact with a deity, fiend, fey, or spirit; the price is your Hunger.
3 You survived an attack from a vampire; their feeding and/or embrace was incomplete (accidentally, but sometimes on purpose), leaving you in a half-state.
4 One of your parents was a vampire (alternately, both of your parents were vampires but you are a 1 in 10 chance of not being a full vampire yourself)
5 An experiment to grant you immortality did not turn out how you expected; you have enhanced abilities but now rely on feeding to survive.
6 You are cursed by a powerful magic user, forced to walk the line between living and dead.

Damphyr Traits

Your Damphyr character has the following racial traits.

Spider Climb

You have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed. In addition, at 3rd level, you can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving your hands free.

Vampiric Magic

You can cast Charm Person at 1st level a number of times per day equal to your Proficiency modifier.

Vampiric Bite

Your fanged bite is a natural weapon, which counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. You add your Constitution modifier, instead of your Strength modifier, to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with this bite. It deals 1d4 piercing damage on a hit (2d4 at 10th level). While you are missing half or more of your hit points, you have advantage on attack rolls you make with this bite.

When you attack with this bite and hit a creature that isn’t a Construct or an Undead, you can empower yourself in one of the following ways of your choice:

  • You regain hit points equal to the piercing damage dealt by the bite.
  • You gain a bonus to the next ability check or attack roll you make; the bonus equals the piercing damage dealt by the bite.
  • (10th level) You use the blood to heal an ally for hit points equal to the piercing damage dealt.

You can empower yourself with this bite a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Brutal Feed

Sacrificing your Vampiric Bite slots for the day, you increase the efficacy. On a successful contested Grapple, deal bite damage. If after 3 rounds of Constitution saving throws the creature cannot break the Grapple, they fall Unconscious and you restore 1d12 HP. If they succeed in the save, you take 1 Exhaustion. Replenish this trait after Long Rest.

Vampiric Legacy

At level 10, a facet of your vampiric origins comes to the surface. Choose one enhancement.

 At level 18, gain a second.

Clouded Mind - Cast Modify Memory at 6th level once per long rest.

Dread Gaze - Cast Eyebite twice per long rest.

Draining Touch - Cast Vampiric Touch at 4th level three times per long rest.

Natural Weapons - Cast Primal Savagery (3d10 damage) a number of times equal to your Proficiency modifier per long rest.

Vampiric Form - Cast Form of Dread a number of times equal to your Proficiency modifier per long rest.

 

Creature Type

You are a humanoid,  the specific race determined by your origin. You determine your appearance and whether you resemble any of your kin.

Size

You are Small or Medium (your choice).

Speed

Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Ability Score Increase

One Ability Score of your choice increases by 2 and another increased by 1, or increase three different scores by 1.

Deathless Nature

You do not need to breathe and thus cannot suffocate or drown. You are resistant to Necrotic and Poison damage.

Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Tremorsense

You are sensitive to vibrations in the ground (or in the water if you are in contact with it), giving you a sense of others' movements. You can automatically pinpoint the location of anything in contact with the ground or moving through the water, as well as determine its approximate size and make-up (living creature, automaton, elemental, etc).

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for your character based on your origin.

Previous Versions

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