Homebrew Dhampir (Gothic Lineages) Species Details

Dhampir

A dhampir is a creature that is the result of a union between a vampire and a human. Dhampirs are very shapely and comely. Their beauty is often compared to that of royalty. Dhampir powers are similar to those of vampires but without the usual weaknesses. They are a great danger to both enemies and friends, It is recommended to take extreme caution when dealing with them.

Physical Description

While they seem more or less human, many dhampirs have pale skin and dark hair. At birth they resemble stillborns, but they do have a very faint heartbeat. Most even possess sharpened teeth or claws, reminders of their undead heritage. They feed the same way as humans do but have problems being out in the sun. Their looks are human too, though they are described as being more graceful in appearance than humans. They are not as powerful as vampires but are instead granted the gift of not needing to feed on others.

Dhampirs appear tall and sturdy while also having graceful features and a slender appearance which belies their unnatural strength.

History

Being the offspring of a vampire and a human parent, the dhampir are usually the children of a tragic romance... or something much more sinister. This causes them to search their reason for being created or in some cases join or hunt their immortal parent for answers.

Society

Dhampirs normally live a solitary lifestyle, feared, shunned, and even hunted by other races. Because of this, a great number of dhampirs reject their vampiric heritage. Few, if any, can even stand the presence of a vampire. They are famed for their ability to not only hunt vampires, but also other mythical beings. Most are driven and stubborn, yet strangely charismatic. But yet again there is a group who are willing to help and protect their undead relatives and be their guard. This is presumably because of their ability to move in the sun which makes them excellent followers for vampires.

Dhampir Names

Dhampirs tend to use human naming conventions.

Dhampir Hungers

Every dhampir knows a thirst slaked only by the living. This desire is a whisper in the mind, a tinge to the sight, a reflex constantly needing to be suppressed. Those who overindulge their thirst risk losing control and forever viewing others as prey. Those who resist might find exceptional ways of controlling their urges or suppress it through constant, molar-grinding restraint. In any case, temptation haunts dhampirs, and circumstances conspire to give them endless reasons to indulge. While many dhampirs thirst for blood, your character might otherwise gain sustenance from the living. Roll on or choose an option from the Dhampir Hungers table to determine what tempts your character to feed.

d8 Hunger

1. Blood
2. Flesh or raw meat
3. Cerebral spinal fluid
4. Esoteric humors
5. Psychic energy
6. A color from one’s appearance
7. Dreams
8. Life energy

Dhampir Origins

Dhampirs often arise from encounters with vampires, but all manner of macabre bargains, necromantic influences, and encounters with mysterious immortals might have transformed your character. The Dhampir Origins table provides suggestions for how your character gained their lineage.

d8 Origin

1. You are the reincarnation of an ancestor who was a vampiric tyrant.
2. Your pact with a predatory deity, fiend, fey, or spirit causes you to share their hunger.
3. You survived being attacked by a vampire but were forever changed.
4. A parasite inhabits your body. You indulge your hunger to sate it.
5. You loved an immortal and were willing to be transformed into a vampire to join them, but tragedy interrupted the transformation.
6. You are a diminished manifestation of an otherworldly being. Slaking your hunger hastens your renewal.
7. You don’t know your origins, but you were raised by vampires or other monsters.
8. A radical experiment changed your body, making you reliant on others for vital fluids.

 

Dhampir (Gothic Lineages) Traits

As a half-vampire and half-human, you gain the traits of a vampire.

Ability Score Increase

Choose a Primary (2) and Secondary (1).

Age

Dhampirs mature at roughly the same rate as humans but do not age further after reaching maturity, and they do not die of old age.

Alignment

As with humans, a dhampir's alignment is solely determined by the individual, though due to their unique heritage and the subsequent treatment by most of the world they easily fall to evil, and they also tend slightly toward chaotic alignments.

Size

Dhampirs range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium or Small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Darkvision

Due to the vampiric change, 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.

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 to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with your bite. Your bite deals 1d4 piercing damage on a hit. While you are missing half or more of your hit points, you have advantage on attack rolls you make with this bite. When you use your 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:

• Regain hit points equal to the damage dealt by the bite
• Gain a bonus to the next ability check or attack roll you make; the bonus equals the damage dealt by the bite

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

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.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.