Homebrew Vampire Spawn Species Details

Every time I die, this is the vision that greets my eyes. And every time I think, 'How lovely that sunlight which I forsook so many centuries ago... —Alucard

Physical Form

Vampires are pale and gaunt humanoids, their otherworldly presence and stillness make a vampire stand out among the warm bodied living. With sharp dark facial features, red eyes that seem to glow in the absence of light and cold bodies that cast no reflection, vampires are as solitary as they come.

Vampires are pale due to their undead nature and avoidance of the sun. While their stillness comes from the fact that they no longer need to draw breath, making every action and inaction a conscious decision on their part. When forced into a corner, their sharp retractable fangs and claws become a declaration of warning to all creatures that bleed as any eloquence in their humanoid guise disappears, replaced with a primal bloodlust as they cut down the living like a plague.

A Deal Or A Curse

Undead are not born, and vampires are no exception to this. When a creature dies and rises as a vampire or vampire spawn their race becomes this one, losing their previous traits, ability score increases, etc. Only retaining parts of their physical appearance as their personality is warped into a mockery of their former self. Vampires are usually the result of a dark pact and while the mortal may not make the deal with the goal of becoming a vampire in mind the dark powers they've negotiated with cares little and only seeks to sow as much evil and strife within the world as a result of such a deal. Powerful beings of evil such as malevolent gods are also capable of afflicting a mortal with vampirism.

It is a common misconception that being bitten by a vampire can turn you into one. When in practice it only, kills you, warping your body and mind into a creature of evil, a vampire spawn and as such a slave to the true vampire that killed you. It is only by drinking the blood of the vampire that turned you can a vampire spawn then become a vampires. Though, few vampires are willing to relinquish their control in this manner.

Dark Desire

Whether or not a vampire retains any memories from its former life, its emotional attachments wither as once-pure feelings become twisted by undeath. Love turns into a hungry obsession, while friendship becomes bitter jealousy. In place of emotion, vampires pursue physical symbols of what they crave, so that a vampire seeking love might fixate on a young beauty. A child might become an object of fascination for a vampire obsessed with youth and potential. Others surround themselves with art, books, or sinister items such as torture devices or trophies from creatures they have killed.

Dark Desire Table

This section provides a table for players and Dungeon Masters who want to choose or randomly generate dark desires and where they originated from for vampires. It is recommended that if you are picking a desire for an already made character, that you pick traits that oppose or are the warped version of one of your character virtues.

d8 Desire Description Example

1 Greed Greed is an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs, especially with respect to material wealth. The hoarding of materials or objects, theft, and robbery, especially by means of violence, trickery, or manipulation of authority are all actions that may be inspired by Greed. Greed can be considered to be the warped form of charity. A generous cleric who becomes a vampire may acquire a taste for the blood of those whose mouths they once fed out of their own pocket. Luring them in with their known charity only to drain them of their lives and possesses.

2 Lust Lust is characterized as an intense longing. It is usually thought of as intense or unbridled sexual desire, which leads to fornication, adultery, ****, bestiality, and other fraudulent sexual acts. However, lust can also mean simply desire in general; thus, hunger for money, power, and other things are also considered lust. Lust strips away the meaning of things and as such, it is produced from chastity or purity. A vampire that once loved someone or something without all their heart may find their love has been warped into a hungry self-destructive obsession.

3 Gluttony Gluttony is overindulgence and overconsumption of anything to the point of waste. Gluttony stems from temperance or self-restraint, a champion fighter might work every day of their life to mold their body into a perfect fighting machine, refraining from eating anything outside of their precisely thought out diet. As a vampire, that same fighter may wipe a village off the face of the planet when they receive even a pang of hunger, drinking, bathing and wastefully spilling the blood of others despite only needing a few sips to sate themselves.

4 Sloth Sloth is affectlessness, a lack of any feeling about self or other, a mind-state that gives rise to boredom, rancor, apathy, and a passive inert or sluggish mentation. Sloth may rise from diligence, zeal, integrity or labor. For example, a Monk who along with his brother who has spent years searching for an item of significance to their monastery that has become a vampire may kill their brother, sell all their research to a rival monastery and then sit in their coffin for as long as they can until their hunger forces them on the hunt.

5 Wrath It is important to understand that anger isn't evil nor good, it is a neutral act on the scale of good and evil, however, anger becomes wrath when it is directed against an innocent, when it is unduly, unbending or long-lasting, or when it desires excessive punishment. Anger becomes wrath when it reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound. It is the desiring that someone else may suffer misfortune or evil. Wrath stems not just from anger, but peace, composure, and forgiveness. It comes from a feeling of being wronged usually. A character that becomes a vampire may seek vengeance against any and all that have wronged them in the most brutal and cruelest fashion they are capable of regardless of the severity of the offense. Another may seek to use their position they held in life to incite war, strife and pain all so they have an excuse to take to the battlefield and rend skin from flesh from bone.

6 Envy Envy is the need to have better or be better than others. Is it the need to have the goods, possession or even the connection of others. Wanting what others have for yourself. Envy stems from kindness and admiration. A once diligent pupil may become envious of their teachers, achievements, skills, abilities and such and thus seem to destroy or take for themselves any of those, potentially wearing the guise of the even diligent student. A wizard's apprentice may steal the spellbook or research of his master, a warrior may challenge his mentor to a dual and using his vampiric might to surpass him to take his formal position as a leader, and one best friend may kill his own just to secure his position as a woman's suitor.

7 Pride Pride is considered by some to be the root of all evil and naturally is the most common characteristics for a true vampire to have. The almost stereotypical haughty and self-important vampire lord radiates an aura of superiority as they look down at the foolish adventurers who would dare challenge them. Unlike the other sins presented here, pride is natural for every true vampire to possess, and if not, it spawns from humility and humbleness. A character once content with dividing up the loot equally may simply demand more, for them with all their pride believe themselves to have done the most to earn such rewards. Or a character who once saw him companions as friends may now view them as expendable servants, as simply means to whatever twisted end, they have concocted.

8 Roll Twice. Rerolling results of 8.

d8	Desire	Description	Example
1	Greed	Greed is an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs, especially with respect to material wealth. The hoarding of materials or objects, theft, and robbery, especially by means of violence, trickery, or manipulation of authority are all actions that may be inspired by Greed.	Greed can be considered to be the warped form of charity. A generous cleric who becomes a vampire may acquire a taste for the blood of those whose mouths they once fed out of their own pocket. Luring them in with their known charity only to drain them of their lives and possesses.
2	Lust	Lust is characterized as an intense longing. It is usually thought of as intense or unbridled sexual desire, which leads to fornication, adultery, ****, bestiality, and other fraudulent sexual acts. However, lust can also mean simply desire in general; thus, hunger for money, power, and other things are also considered lust.	Lust strips away the meaning of things and as such, it is produced from chastity or purity. A vampire that once loved someone or something without all their heart may find their love has been warped into a hungry self-destructive obsession.
3	Gluttony	Gluttony is overindulgence and overconsumption of anything to the point of waste.	Gluttony stems from temperance or self-restraint, a champion fighter might work every day of their life to mold their body into a perfect fighting machine, refraining from eating anything outside of their precisely thought out diet. As a vampire, that same fighter may wipe a village off the face of the planet when they receive even a pang of hunger, drinking, bathing and wastefully spilling the blood of others despite only needing a few sips to sate themselves.
4	Sloth	Sloth is affectlessness, a lack of any feeling about self or other, a mind-state that gives rise to boredom, rancor, apathy, and a passive inert or sluggish mentation.	Sloth may rise from diligence, zeal, integrity or labor. For example, a Monk who along with his brother who has spent years searching for an item of significance to their monastery that has become a vampire may kill their brother, sell all their research to a rival monastery and then sit in their coffin for as long as they can until their hunger forces them on the hunt.
5	Wrath	It is important to understand that anger isn't evil nor good, it is a neutral act on the scale of good and evil, however, anger becomes wrath when it is directed against an innocent, when it is unduly, unbending or long-lasting, or when it desires excessive punishment. Anger becomes wrath when it reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound. It is the desiring that someone else may suffer misfortune or evil.	Wrath stems not just from anger, but peace, composure, and forgiveness. It comes from a feeling of being wronged usually. A character that becomes a vampire may seek vengeance against any and all that have wronged them in the most brutal and cruelest fashion they are capable of regardless of the severity of the offense. Another may seek to use their position they held in life to incite war, strife and pain all so they have an excuse to take to the battlefield and rend skin from flesh from bone.
6	Envy	Envy is the need to have better or be better than others. Is it the need to have the goods, possession or even the connection of others. Wanting what others have for yourself.	Envy stems from kindness and admiration. A once diligent pupil may become envious of their teachers, achievements, skills, abilities and such and thus seem to destroy or take for themselves any of those, potentially wearing the guise of the even diligent student. A wizard's apprentice may steal the spellbook or research of his master, a warrior may challenge his mentor to a dual and using his vampiric might to surpass him to take his formal position as a leader, and one best friend may kill his own just to secure his position as a woman's suitor.
7	Pride	Pride is considered by some to be the root of all evil and naturally is the most common characteristics for a true vampire to have. The almost stereotypical haughty and self-important vampire lord radiates an aura of superiority as they look down at the foolish adventurers who would dare challenge them.	Unlike the other sins presented here, pride is natural for every true vampire to possess, and if not, it spawns from humility and humbleness. A character once content with dividing up the loot equally may simply demand more, for them with all their pride believe themselves to have done the most to earn such rewards. Or a character who once saw him companions as friends may now view them as expendable servants, as simply means to whatever twisted end, they have concocted.
8	Roll Twice.	Rerolling results of 8.

Vampire Spawn Traits

Vampires are monsters to many, people to none...

Undead

Your creature type is considered to be both humanoid and undead.

Unholy body

Dark magic sustains you, making you resistant to necrotic damage. Healing potions do not have a healing effect on you. Instead, they deal poison damage equal to the amount that was meant to heal. To heal you must either drink blood, spend hit dice, or finish a long rest.

Blood Drinker

Even though you are undead, you still require sustenance in the form of blood to sustain your unholy existence. You are immune to diseases. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food and drink if you wish, though this food is always bland and stale to you. If you go for longer then seven days without drinking at least one ration of blood, you suffer one level of exhaustion on the midnight of that day, which can only be removed by drinking a ration of blood. After consuming one ration of blood, you recover all levels of exhaustion. If you reach six levels of exhaustion due to this trait, you are destroyed.

A ration of blood is a vial, roughly 4 ounces and while that is just enough to sustain you each week, you still feel the urge to drink and may still appear twitchy or ravenous in the heat of battle or when treating a wounded ally. A pint, such as that contained within a flask is considered a healthy amount, enough to keep you sustained while also suppressing your less civilized behavior. Each ration of blood heals you for 1d4+1 hit points while a pint will heal you for 2d4+2 hit points.

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.

Bite

All vampires have sharpened teeth capable of tearing flesh from bone and draining blood from the body. If a willing, paralyzed, charmed, incapacitated, restrained, or grappled, creature within 5 feet of you has blood, you may use your bonus action to Bite them dealing 1d6 piercing damage and draining their blood dealing additional necrotic damage equal to your Constitution modifier. Drinking blood this way is equal to consuming a ration as per your Blood Drinker trait. When you use your Bite, you can choose to not deal damage.

Claws

As a vampire you have a set of claws, your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength or Dexterity modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Spawn

You are a vampire spawn and as such your will is circumvented by that of your true vampire master. There is little you can do in the way of resisting your master and can't take actions to harm them, however, you can pervert the intent of their commands by exploiting their poor wording. The knowing perversion of such a command though will often lead to your destruction if their master believes it to be so. Any attempt to go against you masters will or pervert their command requires you to make a DC17 Charisma saving throw at disadvantage.

True Vampire

Whether you drank the blood of a true vampire as a vampire spawn or made a pact with a dark power, you have become a true vampire, gaining the following traits in addition to your vampire spawn traits, with the exception of your Spawn trait.

Blood Connoisseur As per your Blood Drinker trait, if you reach six levels of exhaustion due to this trait, instead of suffering death, no longer gain any more levels of exhaustion and become indefinitely paralyzed. The only way to remove this paralyze is to be exposed to a rations worth of blood.
Superior Darkvision Your darkvision increases to 120 feet.
True Vampire You gain a coffinic structure. In addition, you can now take vampire feats and you gain one of these feats of your choice.
Vampire Fangs & Talons Your teeth might as well have been that of a child's before. The damage for your Bite increases by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6). In addition, your claws lengthen and the damage for your Claws trait increases to 1d6.
Misty Escape When you drop to 0 hit points outside of your coffinic structure, you transform into a cloud of mist instead of falling unconscious, provided you are not in an area of sunlight or running water. If you can't transform, you are destroyed.

While in mist form, you can't take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. You are weightless, have a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile creature's space and stop there. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so without squeezing, and it can't pass through water. It has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and is immune to all nonmagical damage, except the damage it takes from sunlight.

While you have 0 hit points in mist form, you can't revert to your vampire form. If you do not reach your coffinic structure within 2 hours, you are destroyed. Once in you coffinic structure, you revert to your vampire form. You are then paralyzed until you regain at least 1 hit point. After spending 1 hour in your coffinic structure with 0 hit points, you regain 1 hit point.

Ability Score Increase

Your dexterity increases by 1 and your charisma increases by 2.

Age

Vampires are immortal and can be any age. Vampires retain the physical appearance of the age at which they were turned at during their mortal life. They also retain the psychological development associated with that age, therefore vampires who did not reach adulthood in their mortal life may still have the impulses of an adolescent in their vampiric life.

Alignment

Young vampires may keep the lawful, neutral or chaotic alignment they had in life, however, older vampires always lean towards lawfulness, usually following a code of their own design that they've developed over the centuries to ensure their survival. The vast majority of vampires are lawful evil, and none but the greenies attempt to maintain their inner humanity and remain even a neutral, let along a good one.

Size

Vampires can range in height and weight like most humanoids would, though they are normally lighter then they appear to be while looming over others. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language that you once knew.

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