Homebrew Vampire Species Details

Vampires are creatures of the night, often used to scare little children. Most think of them as simply a myth or folktale, but they are real. Hidden in the deep recesses of the underdark or ancient castles, Vampires rarely come out of their lairs. When they do however, they strike fear into the hearts of all who have the misfortune of encountering them.

Ghosts of Their Former Selves

Vampires reflect a deathly version of their living selves. Though they look very similar, they have a haunting aura and stark paleness that is off-putting to members of many races. Their height and weight are dependent on their former race, but usually ranges between a height of under 5 feet to just over 6 feet and a weight of between 150 and 180 pounds. Though they don't look it, vampires are very strong, swift and agile.

Vampires also have fangs in place of their canine teeth. While some vampire's fangs may protrude out of their mouths, many are not as long, and can be easily hidden. These fangs are used to puncture the flesh of the vampire's prey so that they can draw the blood from them. Vampires typically have no facial hair and prefer darker clothes to better conceal them in darkness.

Immortal Outcasts

 Vampires are immortal, and spend most of their lives being feared and reviled. Because of this, many vampires lose their sense of empathy they once had, and they tend to drive themselves deeper and deeper into the darkness that shrouds them. They are reclusive, usually only ever interacting with others if absolutely necessary. They tend to be generally apathetic, and lose sight of most of their aspirations from life. They look down on most other races, seeing them only as food and a nuisance. Some may begin to fall in love with the thrill of the hunt,  while others despise it.

Over all, vampires are as varied and unique as any other race. How they lived their life will usually determine how they handle their undeath, and if or when they fall victim to evil. Some may resort to feeding off of small woodland creatures for the rest of their long lives, while others give in to the darkness and freely hunt in small villages.

Creatures of the Dark

Most Vampires live in ancient castles of long-forgotten monarchs, far from civilization. They usually reside in isolation, but will sometimes form small communities. Some may also abandon the world entirely and decide to live in the underdark, where they can better blend in with their surroundings and other races. Vampires acquire much knowledge during their immortal lives, and as such tend to enjoy reading, practicing magic, or any activity that can be improved upon for centuries.

A Vampire's Quest

Many new vampires will travel the world on a personal quest. Some may seek to take advantage of their new immortality in order to see new places and not worry about the stresses of ordinary life, while others may seek a sense of purpose or serenity and attempt to make peace with their new life. Older vampires may adventure simply for something to entertain them, and others may become season hunters of even more dangerous creatures. Whatever the reason, these vampires are outliers to their kind, shying away from the typical trend of solitude their race usually comes to find.

Vampire Names

While most vampires simply use the name they had in life, some may choose to throw away their old identity completely and create a new name for themselves. These names are usually intended to strike fear into people's hearts, and as such are more intimidating than normal names. Many will choose names or words from abyssal or infernal.

Male Names: Ascelin, Gadiel, Thorne, Qadir, Lothaire, Sabien, Zaff, Kozani, Acheron, Marcellus, Athanasius, Gair, Seskel, Xavier, Aramastus

Female Names: Eldia, Willow, Ursula, Asphodel, Esmeralde, Danika, Rowena, Lynexia, Sabrione, Vespera, Cordelia, Vasilisa, Pythea, Alvira, Melantha

Vampire Traits

Your vampire has certain abilities gleaned from their undead and predatory nature.

Ability score increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Age

Vampires are immortal, and do not age naturally once they are turned.

Alignment

Younger vampires tend to retain their original alignment, while older vampires tend to lean into the evil that others view them as being.

Size

You retain the height and weight of when you were alive. Your size is medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Superior Darkvision

Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.

Sunlight Sensitivity

You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.

Undead Pallor

As an undead creature, you are resistant to necrotic damage and vulnerable to radiant damage. In addition, you must consume blood to survive. For every three days you do not consume 1 gallon of blood, you will gain a level of exhaustion. Drinking 1 gallon of blood will get rid of 1 level of exhaustion brought on by this feature.

Vampiric Magic

You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the charm person spell at 1st level once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the vampiric touch spell at 3rd level once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Shapechange

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your action to magically shift into a bat. You can use this feature at will.

You can stay in your bat form for a number of hours equal to half your character level (rounded down). You then revert to your normal form unless you expend another use of this feature. You can revert to your normal form earlier by using a bonus action on your turn. You automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die.

While you are transformed, the following rules apply:

• Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the bat, but you retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies.
• When you transform, you assume the bat’s hit points and Hit Dice. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. However, if you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form. As long as the excess damage doesn’t reduce your normal form to 0 hit points, you aren’t knocked unconscious.
• You can’t cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your bat form. Transforming doesn’t break your concentration on a spell you’ve already cast, however, or prevent you from taking actions that are part of a spell, such as call lightning that you’ve already cast.
• You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the bat form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can’t use any of your special senses, such as darkvision unless your bat form also has that sense.
• Your equipment merges with your bat form, and has no effect until you leave the form.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write common and one other language of your choice. This is typically a language you knew before turning.