Order of the Vampire

The curse of the vampire lives within your blood. If you choose, you can transform into a terrifying fanged monstrosity that moves at impossible speeds and is nearly impossible to catch. However, there are drawbacks to your condition.

You must avoid the sunlight, however, to any possible extent, and you have to be invited into buildings (through gesture, statement of intent, etc.). You prefer to sleep during the daytime, but you can sleep at night if necessary (sleeping at night will likely be necessary due to other party members' needs). Similarly, you CAN be in the sunlight for short periods of time, but you start to burn after 10-15 minutes and soon after will turn to dust (so short jaunts, crossing streets, or standing where the sunlight hits the forest floor all won't hurt you). At 10 minutes in the sun, you take D20 - your level damage and take the same amount of damage every minute longer you stay in the sun. Depending on how superstitious you are, you might believe, however, that any contact with the sun will prove deadly (consult your DM).

You don't have to eat food or drink water (and normal food and drinks are tasteless to you), but you must feed on living humanoids every two weeks in-game or you will die and turn to dust (without the possibility of resurrection). After a week, you suffer one point of exhaustion per day until you feed. Additionally, after two points of exhaustion, you must roll a Charisma saving throw each night to keep from feeding on your allies. You CAN feed on animals if you're in the woods for too long, but that merely staves off the exhaustion for a day, not for the full two weeks (so, should you drink animal blood only, you must feed every day, not once every two weeks). You can choose whether or not to kill the person you feed off of or not, but if you don't kill them, they must roll a high-DC Intelligence check in the morning or have over 20 passive perception (up to DM) to notice the scar or remember your presence last night (similar to Modify Memory failing or succeeding). While feeding, you can control the dream your victim has.

When you feed on someone and they die as a result, you must roll and Charisma saving throw the morning afterwards to see what traits you pick up from that person. At a DC 10 (baseline), you may pick up one trait you wish to obtain from that person temporarily (a language, posture, accent, stat, etc.). Rolling above a 15 (baseline) means you can choose two traits you wish, and you may, if you wish, pick three traits on a natural 20. If you roll below a 10, or if you want two traits with a roll below 15, you take on a characteristic of that person as judged by your DM (i.e. a stutter or language disability, their worst stat, etc.). You maintain ALL traits you take (good or bad) until you next feed or until you die. Feeding on animals does not alter the traits you have, and should be considered a last resort. 

If you see bleeding, you immediately and uncontrollably transform into your vampiric state, and must roll a Deception check to fool your allies and keep them from seeing your bloodlust. However, you do not expend a charge of your vampiric form by doing so (assuming this will happen often, like in combat). In combat, you can hide your form from your allies with a Deception check or Charisma saving throw (your choice), but your allies can roll matched insight checks if they want to discern where you are or, more likely, what you are. 

If someone has a holy symbol, you are naturally afraid of them. This condition progresses to frightened if they use the symbol on you (to ward you off).

You can control some animals, and all undead serve you (if you so wish). Wolves, in particular, and bats are inclined to trust and obey you, so you automatically succeed on Animal Handling checks towards them. Others, like cats, dogs, and horses, that may sense your true nature, are scared of you. You have disadvantage on Animal Handling checks towards domesticated creatures. If an animal or person invites you in, you may occupy their physical form for up to eight hours (for spying, Persuasion, Deception, etc.), but the person or animal dies in the process. 

You CAN belong to any Alignment and pray to any god, but Lawful Good vampires are extremely improbable, and your DM may choose to lower your alignment according to the actions you take (feeding off someone but not killing them, for example, might lower your status from Lawful Good to Chaotic Good). Depending on which god you pray to, you may pick up some warlock, cleric, druid, or wizard spells through multiclassing, but you use your Charisma modifier to cast them (as you should always be an exceedingly charming vampire, with the sophistication of a gentleman or lady).

At level 11, your transformation can take a new form: you may change into an innumerable swarm of bats. These bats have a high flying speed and maintain all your other stats, but you cannot attack normally as a swarm. Instead, if you wish to attack as a swarm, you must roll an attack (using your attack modifier) on your chosen enemy and for every point over the target's Armor Class, the bats deal your Unarmed Strike damage (so, if the target's AC is 20 and you roll a 24, you will deal four times your Unarmed Strike damage to the target). As a swarm, you cannot suffer attacks of opportunity, and opponents have disadvantage to hit you for the duration (which is the same as a normal transformation). This is intended as a getaway or damage-mitigation tactic rather than an offensive one, so choose wisely which form you take.

You are vulnerable to piercing damage from wooden weapons (e.g. clubs, arrows (because of the arrow shafts), etc.). You are immune to poison damage and disease, and you don't age. For a week after you've fed, you are resistant to necrotic damage, and after that week has passed, you are vulnerable to radiant damage and should avoid garlic. For every second while in running water, you take 1d8 acid damage (baths or other forms of standing water won’t hurt you).

When you fall unconscious, you do not make death saving throws and instantly stabilize. However, outside of healing magics, you must sleep on a bed of your grave soil to recover fully within an hour and wake with one hit point. You should carry a pouch or container of grave soil at all times, as rests (short or long) will not heal you should you sleep on a different surface. There are creative means to getting around this condition (for instance, placing a handful of soil under a normal bed), and you should pursue them when necessary to hide your vampiric nature.

Abilities that normally would utilize your Wisdom modifier now use your Charisma modifier (since you're equal-parts frightening and charming). 

Recommended stats to prioritize: Charisma, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom.

Suggested backgrounds: Noble, Knight, Charlatan, Courtier, Gambler, Haunted One, House Agent (any), Mercenary Veteran, Pirate, Sailor, Smuggler, Soldier.

Heightened Senses

Starting when you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you begin to adopt the improved abilities of a natural predator. You gain advantage on any Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on taste, hearing or smell.

Sanguine Transformation

Upon choosing this archetype at 3rd level, you begin to learn to control the vampiric curse that now lives in your blood. As an action, you can transform into your bestial Vampire form. This form lasts for up to 1 hour. You can speak, use equipment, and wear armor in this form. You can revert to your normal form by using an action on your turn. You automatically revert to your normal form if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die. You must be in this form to feed.

You can use this feature four times. You regain expended uses when you finish a short or long rest. While you are transformed, you gain the following features:

Gory Determination. You gain a bonus to melee damage rolls for bite or claw attacks equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down). You also have advantage on Dexterity checks and Dexterity saving throws.

Resilient Skin. You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons that aren’t wooden. So long as you are not wearing heavy armor, you gain a +1 bonus to your Armor Class.

Predatory Strikes. Your unarmed (bite or claw attack) strikes are considered a single weapon in regards to your crimson rite feature. You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolIs of your unarmed strikes. When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike, you can make another unarmed strike as a bonus action.

Your unarmed strikes deal 1d6 slashing damage. This die increases to 1d8 at 11th level, and 1d10 at 18th level.

Bloodlust. If you haven't fed in over a week, and you take damage on your turn, you must roll a CHA saving throw to avoid attacking your allies. If you fail (DC 10 baseline), you must attack the closest creature to you before you can take your turn. On a critical failure, you must attack that creature for the entirety of your turn.

Altered Appearance. Your fangs are difficult to hide, so if you wish to keep your true form concealed from your allies, you must make a Deception check upon making a bite attack.

Vulnerable in the Light

After ten minutes in sunlight, you take a D20 - half-your-level damage for every second you remain in the sun. If someone uses a holy symbol on you to ward you off, you are considered frightened of them. At the end of each turn, you may make a Wisdom saving throw at disadvantage to resist the effect. Additionally, for every second in running water (streams, rivers, etc.), you take 1d8 acid damage. You cannot enter buildings without the invitation of another (gestured or stated).

Eternal Hunger

You don't need to eat food or drink water, but you must feed every two weeks. After one week, you suffer 1 point of exhaustion each morning until you feed and are vulnerable to radiant damage. When you gain two points of bloodlust-related exhaustion, you must roll a Charisma saving throw every day thereafter to keep from feeding on your allies. By feeding, all points of exhaustion are removed. By feeding on animals, you can stave off the next morning's one point of exhaustion. You can alter your victim's dream, if they are humanoid, and can choose whether or not to kill them or allow them to live. You are resistant to necrotic damage for a week after you have fed.

Stake Through the Heart

You have damage vulnerability to wooden weapons that deal piercing damage (e.g. arrows or stakes).

Stolen Inheritance

When it comes to drinking blood, you’re a connoisseur. Having carefully chosen your victims, you can also choose to receive their natural gifts upon consuming their souls. 

When you feed off someone and they die as a result, you can make a CHA saving throw based on your Charisma DC. On a success, choose one desirable trait from your victim to inherit until you next feed. This can include any stat, physical feature, voice, accent, or mannerism (get creative!). On a success of more than 2 above your Charisma DC, inherit two traits of your choice. On a natural 20, pick any 3 traits. On a failure, you inherit a trait of the DM’s choice (positive, neutral, or negative). On a natural 1, you inherit two DM-controlled traits. Neutral or negative traits might include a stutter, limp or phobia. No matter what you roll, if you choose, you can inherit as many traits as you wish so long as you ALSO inherit an equal number of DM-chosen negative traits.

All Will Serve

You have advantage on all Animal Handling checks with wolves, bats, crows, rats, ravens, owls, bears, and other wild creatures. You have disadvantage on Animal Handling checks with domesticated creatures (cats, dogs, horses, etc.). The undead will obey your commands, and you can roll a contested Persuasion check if they already serve another master to take control. If you created the undead creature, they serve you automatically until they die, and Persuasion checks to turn them against you are at disadvantage.

Sleep of the Dead

You have mastered your soul to block the progress of death itself, but there are certain caveats to your undead fortitude. You do not age, but in order to get the full benefits of a long or short rest, you must sleep on a bed of your own grave soil. You can use creative means to define "soil" and "bed," in order to hide your nature from your allies, but you cannot recover spells, health, or sanguine transformation uses if you sleep on a different surface. Additionally, you gain the following feature:

Undeath to the Dying: when you fall unconscious, you instantly stabilize and do not need to roll death saving throws. However, you will only recover with a short rest while sleeping on a bed of your own soil for an hour or with the influence of healing magics.

Shark’s Frenzy

You can sense memories by tasting blood in the air. If an ally or enemy you can see bleeds, you can use a bonus action to extract one aspect of information (a name, a location, a damage vulnerability, a damage resistance, etc.) by tasting the air. Additionally, when you see, smell, or taste blood in the air, you transform uncontrollably into your vampiric form. This does not expend a charge of Sanguine Transformation, but you must make a Deception check to hide your true form from others (including allies). If this occurs in combat, you may instead choose to make a Charisma saving throw.

Stalker's Prowess

At 7th level, your speed increases by 10 feet. You now have 10 feet of flying speed and 3 feet of additional high jump distance. In addition, your vampiric form gains the Improved Predatory Strikes feature, as well as 10 additional feet of movement per turn.

Improved Predatory Strikes. When you have an active rite while in your vampiric form, your unarmed strikes are considered magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage (from non-wooden weapons).

Spider’s Grace

You have the agility of a spider, permanently granting you advantage on Stealth checks while in the shadows, as well as a climbing speed of 30 feet.

Courteous Guest

When invited, you may occupy and possess the physical form of any creature or humanoid a size over or under yours for 10 minutes (as an action). In the process, the host body dies. Additionally, you can reanimate the corpses of those you've drained using the Create Vampire action. Creations have limited intelligence and sentience, however, and only last for 4 hours at base level (see Create Vampire for more details).

Advanced Transformation

Starting at 11th level, you learn to unleash and control more of the monster within. You can now transform into your vampiric form as a bonus action, and your sanguine transformation now has 10 charges per day.

In addition, your vampiric form gains the Hematic Regeneration, Parasitic Precision, and Bat Form features.

Hematic Regeneration. At the start of each of your turns, you gain temporary hit points equal to 1 + your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) if you have no more than half of your hit points left and have bitten an enemy in your last turn. You don't gain this benefit if you have 0 hit points.

Parasitic Precision. You gain a bonus to melee attack rolls made with your unarmed strikes equal to half of your proficiency bonus (rounded down).

Bat Form. When you transform, you can choose whether or not to assume your normal vampiric form or to become a swarm of bats for up to 8 hours. In this form, your attacks use your normal modifier (DEX) but you do not gain Hematic Regeneration or Parasitic Precision. Upon a successful hit, the target takes your unarmed strike damage multiplied by every point your attack goes over the target's Armor Class (starting at 1 unarmed strike for attacks equal to the target's Armor Class). You cannot suffer attacks of opportunity in bat form, and your fly speed is 30 ft. You may choose which species of bat your swarm becomes when you learn this power.

Fanged Volition

Beginning at 15th level, you’ve honed your willpower to better resist the violent urges of your vampiric curse. Whenever you make a Wisdom saving throw to maintain control of your vampiric form, you do so with advantage.

In addition, you gain the following feature:

Duplicitous Temperament. You have advantage on Charisma saving throws and Deception checks.

Sanguine Transformation Mastery

At 18th level, you have wrestled your inner predator and mastered it. You can now use your sanguine transformation feature as many times as you like between rests.

You also gain the Blood Curse of the Bitten for your Blood Maledict feature. This does not count against your blood curses known.

Blood Curse of the Bitten. As an action, when you bite a creature, you chill the blood of all creatures within 30 feet, stunning them with fear. Any of the target creatures that can see you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or become frightened of you until the end of your next turn. If they fail their saving throw by 5 or more, they are stunned until the end of your next turn instead. A creature that succeeds on this saving throw is immune to this blood curse for the next 24 hours. The bitten creature must make a separate Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or become paralyzed until the end of your next turn.

Amplify. This curse can target any number of creatures within 60 feet of you.