Homebrew Dhampir Species Details

 

Dhampir have become one of the most popular of the dark fantasy ideals. A Union of the powerful vampire and humans, they display the internal struggle most of us have in our daily lives, to follow the path of darkness or light. Ultimately we all want the power to control our lives and the Dhampir are the maximum potential of that, beautiful and deadly.

— Banloss (RC3ART)

 

Walking in two different worlds, never truly fitting in and always on the move, Dhampir walk the path of the loaner and the mercenary. Unable to stay in one place for too long the Dhampir must keep moving or else risk being discovered. Fortunately, due to their living parent's heritage, Dhampir don't tend to seem vampiric upon first glance. Their enhanced physical beauty and prowess make them a model of their humanoid race. Because of this, most Dhampir keep themselves hidden from view, those who don't, risk discovery and possible exile or even destruction by those afraid of their Vampiric blood line.

Dhampir do have some weaknesses due to their Vampiric blood line, one is a severe form of heat stroke due to over exposure to the sun. Dhampir have to rest in the ground or in soil for sometimes days to recover depending on the severity they allow it to reach. Also similar to this is their exhaustion which tends to hit them all at once. Unlike other humanoids who must eat or drink multiple times a day to stay nourished, Dhampir only need to feed on blood every few days and rest in soil one or twice a week. This makes them unyielding hunters but, because it is so easy for Dhampir to ignore the need for rest, they will likely feel this exhaustion all at once and be forced to rest anywhere between 24-48 hours to recover. This is a very vulnerable time and will usually be a time to find a considerably safe place to rest.

Striking Resemblance 

To most, Dhampir look like model examples of the living parent's ancestry instead of their dark lineage. Dhampir can appear almost godly to those who have never seen a vampire or who have never read stories about them. In height, weight, and general overall size Dhampir are the same as their living ancestory and are considered the same size for in game purposes. They are physically more pale in comparison to their living ancestry and generally have fangs instead of incisors but some are able to hide this feature to prevent detection.  Dhampir-Humans, Elves, and Halflings are the most common but Dwarves, Gnomes, and even Orcs have been discovered; Tiefling Dhampir have never been recorded, some believe due to their own dark bloodlines that don't allow the two to intermingle. Also not known to grow facial hair, other than eyebrows, unless the hair grew before they hit physical maturity, the Dhampir mature at an exponential rate, most reach physical maturity at the age of 12 but some have been rumored to hit maturity as early as 4 or 5 years old, due to this exponential physical maturity most Dhampir act childish at times. They also rarely age and once they hit physical maturity most will never change in appearance. No one truly knows how long a Dhampir lives, eventually they are either discovered and killed, or perish on their own adventures hunting the darkest of creatures.

Hunters or Wanderers

Dhampir are exceptionally rare in the world and most don't survive if they grow with their living parent. Usually hunt down early in life, believed they are vampires themselves, Dhampir that survive their first few years of physical maturity wander the world never staying in one place for very long. Dhampir that mature with their vampiric family tend to follow a darker path, hunting and killing prey such as their vampire lineage. Most of these Dhampir are used by their parent to protect them during the day, making them powerful allies and watchful protectors.

Those who survive early adulthood tend to wander the world as hunters. Usually known to hunt their own dark heritage but not unfamiliar with the rest of the dangers of the world, Dhampir are efficient and deadly hunters. Dhampir will usually hunt for their own food but are also known to take jobs or contracts to make some coin to help with their survival, you never know when you need supplies on the long road of the Dhampir life span.  Dhampir hunt down animal life usually in the forest lands for extra protection from the sunlight and due to it's large population of living prey. 

In most parts of the world Dhampir are exceptionally rare, usually never running into another of their kind for their entire lives. Almost just as rare are Dhampir found out in the world and even if they are, it's even less likely someone would even brush shoulders with a Dhampir or even realize if they did. 

Dhampir Names

Dhampir names are generally unknown and they can be extremely secretive of this information even to those who have proven to be allies. Due to this secrecy most Dhampir will never give their names or at the very least they will give a few letters to those they interact with. 

Cold but Compassionate

Dhampir don't usually interact with humanoids and this very cold calculating appearance can be confused with disgust or disregard, but Dhampir have something their Vampiric Ancestory doesn't have, a beating heart. This gives Dhampir a strong compassion to the living beings of the world, although they don't tend to mate or show love, they view most Humanoids as most view a pet, doomed to die far sooner than their masters.

 

Dhampir Traits

Your Dhampir shows a very similar resemblance to their humanoid counter part, strong an agile, you are an effective hunter beyond most mortals.

Living on the Living

Dhampir suffer from the horrible need to drink the blood of living beings. Although this doesn't mean they must drink from humanoids, the temptation can be difficult at times if the Dhampir hasn't fed in a very long time. This blood must be consumed every 4-7 days determined by your DM. The blood must also be of a sufficient amount, meaning the animal must be of equivalent or larger size. 

If the Dhampir ignores his cravings and doesn't feed, they gain 2 levels of Exhaustion until they feed, also gaining 1 more level of Exhaustion per hour they ignore the cravings.

Child of the Night

Your Vampiric lineage has given you a natural resistance to the cold but a severe vulnerability to sunlight over time. Every 7-10 days a Dhampir must rest by either burying himself in soil or resting in a tomb/coffin filled with dirt or soil for a full 24 hours. Since all a Dhampir needs to do is feed on blood everyone few days the Dhampir does not need to sleep until he rests in the ground. 

This rate of rest is increased based upon the amount of time spent in the sun. Your DM's may use his discretion on this amount of increase to the need to rest.

If you do not rest within this time period you gain 2 levels of fatigue and gain 1 additional level every hour you do not. If this fatigue is due to over exposure to the sun you gain 3 levels of fatigue instead.

 

The Silent Wanderer

The Dhampir's wandering life choice has left them unable to show emotion or even feeling toward another person. Due to this cold nature they gain disadvantage to persuasion checks against humanoid creatures.

Ability Score Increase

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

Ageless Beauty

Dhampir mature very quickly and reach full adulthood at the age of 12. They live for an unknown amount of years. None have even been known to die of natural causes such as age.

Unbelievable Speed

Once per short rest you can move double your movement speed as a bonus action.

Darkvision

Thanks to your vampiric blood, 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.

Natural Hunter

You gain proficiency in the Survival Skill

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, the language of your parent's race, and one extra language of your choice.