Homebrew Half-Vampire (Dhampir) Species Details

As the young man was walking home from the tavern, he thought he heard a faint screech coming from an alleyway. Suspecting danger, the young man drew his sword and approached the alley.

"Hello," he said with an air of carefulness, "If anyone is here, I am warning you that I'm a great adventurer."

As the man walked into the alley, he noticed that there was only one person there. Keeled over in pain, the man suddenly turned into swarm of bats and flew at the young man, lacerating him and tearing all of his skin off. The bats flew off into the night and disappeared.

-Mr. Alfred Grim, Studies of Dhampirs

Walking in two worlds but truly belonging to neither, dhampirs combine what some say are the best qualities of their vampire and human parents: human curiosity, inventiveness, and ambition tempered by the refined senses, love of fine dining, and artistic tastes of the vampires. Some dhampirs live among humans, set apart by their emotional and physical differences, watching friends and loved ones age while time barely touches them. Others live with the vampires, growing restless as they reach adulthood in the haunted castles of the underdark, while their peers continue to live as children. Many dhampirs, unable to fit into either society, choose lives of solitary wandering or join with other misfits and outcasts in the adventuring life.

Of Two Worlds

To humans, dhampirs look like vampires, and to vampires, they look human. In height, they’re on par with both parents, though they’re neither as slender as vampires nor as broad as humans. They range from 5 feet to about over 6 feet tall, and from 100 to 180 pounds, with men only slightly taller and heavier than women. Dhampir men do have some ammount facial hair, and sometimes grow beards to mask their vampiric ancestry. Dhampir coloration and features lie somewhere between their human and vampire parents, and thus show a variety even more pronounced than that found among either race. They tend to have the eyes of their vampire parents (commonly light red to maroon).

Vampiric Tendencies

Dhampirs have a land of their own (the underdark), though they are welcome in human cities. In large cities in regions where vampires and humans interact often, dhampirs are sometimes numerous enough to form small communities of their own. They enjoy the company of other dhampirs, the only people who truly understand what it is to live between these two worlds.

In most parts of the world, though, dhampirs are uncommon enough that one might live for years without meeting another. Some dhampirs prefer to avoid company altogether, wandering the wilds as trappers, foresters, hunters, or adventurers and visiting civilization only rarely. Like vampires, they are driven by the wanderlust that comes of their longevity. Others, in contrast, throw themselves into the thick of society, putting their charisma and social skills to great use in diplomatic roles or as swindlers.

Dhampir Names

Dhampirs use either human or vampire naming conventions. As if to emphasize that they don’t really fit in to either society, dhampirs raised among humans are often given vampire names, and those raised among vampires often take human names.

Vampire Names: Aliz, Alyena, Amaliya, Aurek, Bela, Dacso, Delja, Galia, Jasia, Kalina, Kasper, Kirill, Ksenia, Idzi, Ilari, Ilona, Lev, Milena, Mika, Misha, Pasha, Sandor, Shari, Shura, Veliya

Half-Vampire (Dhampir) Traits

Your dhampir character has some qualities in common with vampires and some that are unique to dhampirs.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age

Dhampirs mature more slowly than humans do and typically reach adulthood around the age of 30. They live much longer than humans, however, often lasting 200 years.

Alignment

Dhampirs commonly share the evil bent of their vampiric heritage, though some tend towards neutral from their human parent.

Size

Half-elves are about the same size as humans, ranging from 5 to 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Due to your vampiric lineage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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.

Batlike Form

Once per long rest and while not in bright light or running water, as an action you can transform into a batlike form. You can only stay in the batlike form for up to one hour.

Additionally, your batlike form shares some physical features with your dhampir form.

If you get killed while in your batlike form, you revert back to your dhampir form and are knocked unconscious but stable.

Bite

Your fangs are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit, your fangs deal 2d4 + your Constitution modifier piercing damage.

Additionally, once per short rest, when you use your bite attack, you can choose to regain a number of hit points equal to the damage done.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Undercommon.