Base Class: Bard
This is the Walrock's Vampire Prestige Class transferred over to 5E as a Bard sub-class. All credit for class ideas and just about every ability (things had to understandably be shifted to fit as a subclass) go to Walrock for his amazing work on the Prestige Class!
Skulking through the shadows, a tall female elf with skin white and cold as marble spies two night watchmen conversing. Though she hears enough to discern they are discussing a recent string of unsolved murders, the sound of their heartbeats and their blood coursing through their veins is what lingers longest on her mind. Soon one will leave the other unattended, she thinks, and then will it be feeding time.
A pale human noble clad in a blue military coat gazes over the guests at a rival lord's lavish gala. Spying his adversary amongst the rest of the rabble, a small smile approaches the noble's lips. As he meets the eyes of his nemesis, his opponent falters. Beckoning with one finger, the noble gestures to his rival, and the rival approaches, vulnerable and fully entranced.
A bat dances on wind and leather wing through a cloudless night sky, before plummeting downward and biting into the neck of a very surprised thief creeping along a rooftop. As the thief shrieks in agony, alerting a trio of nearby guards, the bat peels off into the night. Only when reaching the relative safety of the town's outskirts does the bat alight in a tree, shedding its shape to become a beautiful female halfling, wiping the blood from her lips as she straightens out her clothing.
Though once you were an unwitting or shockingly willing mortal, you have been transformed into a creature of nightmare by either an eldritch curse or the necromantic embrace of another vampire. Eternity, darkness, and insatiable hunger are your reality now, and every day of your existence is a torturous struggle to resist the beast within you, or an unending downward spiral as you give in ever more to its voracious sanguine appetites.
CHILDREN OF THE CURSE
Depending on setting and location, vampires can be thought of by most as either a dark fable used to frighten children or a terrifying, lethal reality. Those versed in vampiric lore know that vampires are products of a dark curse levied on their blood, and that once one becomes a vampire, there is very little hope to undo this curse, outside of direct divine intervention or a wish spell.
None truly know the origin of this vampiric curse, but some few fragmented tales hint at it originating within the murky pages of the Book of Vile Darkness or with an elusive and seemingly immortal figure known only as the Red Witch. In either case, finding the beginnings of the curse could hold the key to removing it, though very little good comes from unfathomably evil tomes or dark, primeval spell-casters.
Regardless, powerful vampires and some depraved mortal spellcasters carry within them the ability to spread the curse of vampirism. The first stage to becoming a vampire is either seeking out one of these individuals or, as is more frequently the case, having one of them stumble upon you.
NOBLES AND NOMADS
Whether their driving interests are discovering a cure, keeping out of trouble, or merely feeding well enough to cling to un-life, vampires typically fall into two camps. Either they choose the wilds and the open roads to escape what hunters may be on their trail, or they use their longevity and power to maneuver themselves into positions of status, thus being above the scrutiny of their lessers.
Their station aside, vampires hunger for more than just blood and are always seeking something to give them satisfaction. Some vampires endlessly quest for power, others protect the mortals they care for, and still, others endeavor to cling to their mortal lives best that they can, often weaving webs of lies, excuses, and halftruths to cover the nature of their new existence.
VAMPIRIC QUIRKS
Vampires are highly individualistic creatures by nature, and the curse of vampirism has side effects on the body and mind that vary wildly from individual to individual. Some of these effects may be closely associated with a particular house, clan, or lineage of vampires, while others occur spontaneously as a manifestation of the dark magics that cause vampirism. If you desire a vampiric quirk to give additional flavor to your vampire, you may roll or choose one from the table below. Be warned that such quirks can make concealing your vampirism even more difficult, and may add an extra challenge to roleplaying a vampire.
Vampire Quirks
| d6 | Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | Holy symbols belonging to a particular deity (usually one dealing with light, the sun, or civilization) cause you severe anxiety while you can perceive them. |
| 2 | You cannot stand the sight, smell, or taste of garlic, in any amount. |
| 3 | Beasts that have a CR of O and that are not under your control instinctively know your true nature, and are frightened of you while they can see you. |
| 4 | Your fangs are large and protrude visibly from your mouth, occasionally affecting the clarity of your speech. |
| 5 | You often hear voices, sometimes that say very compelling things. Whether they are real or not, who can say. |
| 6 | You are icy cold to the touch. |
Make sure to give em the succ!
- T-Revvington
Child of the Night
At 3rd level, your transformation into a vampire has given you supernatural strengths and inherent weaknesses that come coupled with your condition. You gain the following benefits:
• Undeath. You are an undead creature. All spells and effects that would apply to undead creatures apply to you, and spells that cannot affect undead do not affect you. As an undead creature, you do not need to breathe, cannot suffocate, and you do not age. Unlike many undead, though, you still require sleep.
• Eyes of Night. You have darkvision to 60 feet or, if you already have darkvision, its range increases by 60 feet.
• Creature of Darkness. You have resistance against necrotic damage.
You also gain the following weaknesses or drawbacks:
• Forbiddance. You can't enter a residence that isn't owned by you under your own will without an invitation from one of the occupants.
• Harmed by Running Water. You take 10 acid damage if you end your turn in running water.
• Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into your heart while you are incapacitated during a long rest, you are paralyzed until the stake is removed.
• Sunlight Hypersensitivity. You take 10 radiant damage when you start your turn in sunlight and lack protective clothing that completely obscures the sun. While exposed to sunlight and suffering this damage from it, you have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Vital Reserves
Beginning at 3rd level, you have a store of blood inside you that you use to sustain yourself and empower your vampiric abilities. You gain a pool of five blood points that increases to 10 at 6th level, and 15 at 14th. Every time you complete a long rest, or a day passes without you completing a long rest, you expend a single blood point from your pool.
If there are no blood points in your pool and you are required to expend a blood point, you begin to wither and take one cumulative level of exhaustion, which may only be removed by expending a blood point for each level of exhaustion you have gained in this way.
Blood Drinker
Starting at 3rd level, your teeth grow into fangs and you gain a bite attack, which counts as an unarmed attack with which you possess proficiency. Attack rolls for this bite attack are modified by your Charisma modifier. 1d6 + Charisma piercing damage on a hit. When you deal damage with this attack to an enemy of a type other than construct, ooze, plant, elemental, or undead, you gain temporary hit points equal to twice your vampire level, and you gain two blood points.
If you use your bite attack on a tiny-sized or dead target that meets the type restrictions above, you gain no temporary hit points and only gain one blood point.
A target may be fed from in this way a number of times per day dependent on its size: a tiny or small creature may be fed upon once, a medium-sized creature may be fed on twice, and a large or greater sized creature may be fed on three times. A bite attack made after this limit is reached still deals damage, but gains no temporary hit points or blood points. At your DM's discretion, a creature that is inherently magical may award extra blood points per feeding, while similarly feeding from a creature that is tainted or of the aberrant type may deal damage or cause unpredictable magical effects to you, such as those found on the sorcerer's Wild Magic table (found on page 104 of the Player's Handbook).
Sanguine Strikes
Beginning at 6th level, you may use your magic to agonizingly draw out your enemies' blood from the wounds you inflict, channelling it back to yourself to feed upon.
Whenever you succeed on a melee or ranged attack of any type against a living target of a size larger than tiny without the ooze, undead, construct, elemental, or plant types, you may expend a spell slot of up to 3rd level. Add necrotic damage equal to 1d8 per level of the spell slot you expended to your attack, and gain a number of blood points equal to the spell slot's level.
This counts as feeding for the purposes of the Blood Drinker feature, and a creature with no feedings remaining will grant no blood points from Sanguine Strikes, regardless of the spell level used. If you use this ability with the bite attack granted to you by the Bloocl Drinker feature, you may either gain blood points from Blood Drinker or the number of blood points granted by this ability, not both.
Blessings of Vampirism
Starting at 6th level, you can choose up to three blessings between long rests.
Bat Form
As a bonus action, you can expend two blood points to transform into a tiny bat (Player's Handbook, page 304) for up to an hour, whereupon you revert to your natural form, unless you use another bonus action to end this effect early. While in this form, you are still able to use the bite attack granted by your Blood Drinker feature. During this transformation, you are still able to use and benefit from any other vampire abilities that require the expenditure of blood points.
This transformation follows the same guidelines as outlined in the bullet points of the druid's Wild Shape feature on page 67 of the Player's Handbook. You may use this transformation an unlimited number of times per day, as long as you have the appropriate amount of blood points to consume when you transform.
Deathly Reflexes
Before rolling initiative, you may expend a blood point to gain advantage on the roll. Additionally, you may spend a blood point on your turn to take the Dash action as a bonus action. Your movement does not provoke opportunity attacks on a turn in which you use a blood point to take the Dash action.
Eyes of the Enticer
You may expend two blood points as an action. One creature within 30 feet of you that you can see must make a Wisdom saving throw (with advantage if you or your companions are fighting it) or become charmed by you if it fails. The charmed target regards you as a trusted friend to be heeded. The target isn't under your control, but it takes your requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for your bite attack. Each time you or your companions do anything harmful to the target (including hitting it with your bite attack), it can repeat the saving throw with advantage, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts a minute, or until you lose consciousness or take a bonus action to end the effect.
Heartbeat Sense
You may expend a blood point as a bonus action. For the next minute, you know the location of all living creatures with a heartbeat within 60 feet. This effect can penetrate barriers, but 2 feet of rock or 2 inches of any metal blocks this sense.
Masquerade
As an action, you can expend a blood point to cats the spell Disguise Self.
Mist Form
You may expend two blood points as an action to cast the spell Gaseous Form on yourself. When gaseous form is cast through this feature, you gain a flying speed of 60 feet instead of the flying speed the spell would normally grant.
In addition, you may expend three blood points to cast gaseous form as a reaction when you take damage. If you use the ability in this way, you have resistance to the triggering damage unless it is psychic damage, radiant damage, or the damage you take from sunlight or running water.
Predatory Gaze
As an action, you may expend two blood points. One creature within 30 feet of you that you can see must make a Wisdom saving throw or drop whatever it is holding and become frighten eel of you for up to a minute. While frightened by this ability, a creature must take the Dash action and move away from you by the safest available route on each of its turns, unless there is nowhere to move. The creature repeats the Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of its turns, and a success ends this effect.
Veil of Shadows
As an action, expend two blood points and begin concentrating. You become invisible for up to a minute, or until you attack, cast a spell, or take a bonus action to end the effect.
Wolf Form
As an action, you may expend two blood points to transform into a wolf (Player's Handbook, page 311) for up to an hour, whereupon you revert to your natural form, unless you use a bonus action to end this effect early. While in this form, you are still able to use the bite attack granted by your Blood Drinker feature, and its damage die increases to a d8. During this transformation, you are still able to use and benefit from any other vampire abilities that require the expenditure of blood points.
This transformation follows the same guidelines as outlined in the bullet points of the druid's Wild Shape feature on page 67 of the Player's Handbook. You may use this transformation a number of times equal to your vampire level before requiring a long rest to refresh this ability's uses.
Sinister Nourishment
Beginning at 14th level, the blood you drink not only revitalizes you, but also lends you additional power as you digest it into your dark life-force.
Whenever you expend a blood point during a long rest for your Vital Reserves class feature, you can choose to increase one ability score of your choice by 2 or increase two ability scores of your choice by 1, until the next time you must expend a blood point for Vital Reserves. Whenever you later expend a blood point during a long rest for Vital Reserves, you can alter this choice, reducing the scores you previously increased and improving different scores. As normal, you cannot increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Curse of Eternity
Starting at 14th level, you can impart your powerful curse to those you drain with your bite.
When you kill a humanoid creature with your bite attack, you may perform a ritual over the course of a short rest, burying the creature in a makeshift grave for the duration. After the ritual is completed, the creature arises from the grave as a ghoul, ghast, wight, or vampire spawn that is completely loyal to you. and lasts until it dies, you perform this ritual again, or you use an action to cause it to disintegrate into dust. Creatures raised by this ability have the statistics listed for them in the Monster Manual, with the exception of being unable to themselves raise and command minions.
In addition, if you perform this ritual on another player character, you may raise them as a vampire independent of your control. The character must meet the requirements to multiclass into bard, or the ritual will not function. If all requirements are met, the player character will rise from their grave on completion of the ritual multi-classed with the first level of the bard class, ready to descend into vampirism at 3. The player may alternatively swap some of his original classes to start off at bard level 3 (or above) to have the vampire subclass, but this is at the DM's discretion.
Comments