Nosferatu (5e Race)

Nosferatu

“

It's a shame you're all alone in here. You never know what monsters might be lurking in the shadows. - The crazed Nosferatu hiding out in an old family barn just out of town.

”

Physical Description

From Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft

Nosferatu are uniquely hideous creatures. They're the unsightly, scraggly, severely blood addicted, sewer dwelling cousins of the everyday Vampire. They’re incredibly pale, lack any hair, they have repulsively thin limbs that end in sharp claws and very sharp, very prominent needle-like incisors, but despite their thin frames they’re still very dangerous in a fight.

History

Vicious, undead hunters, Nosferatu possess the endless thirst of vampires but none of their grace. For them, existence is nothing more than an everlasting string of cold, desperate nights punctuated by crimson splashes of momentary warmth and lucidity. These joys are fleeting, as their blood addiction can never be quelled. Nosferatu feed on anything with blood. Heaps of mutilated rats and stables turned into slaughterhouses are typical first signs of a Nosferatu's predation. When the sun interrupts their hunts, Nosferatu retreat to favored ruins, sewers, or caves, caring nothing for their lair's comfort. Rather than retiring to crypts, they seek filthy or inaccessible fissures, places any living soul would avoid. For a few moments after feeding, Nosferatu are lucid and capable of considering more than their next meal. In these instances, Nosferatu recollect glimpses of what they once were, beings who knew pride, intention, and a world beyond the shadows. They might even momentarily be convinced to converse with other creatures.

Society

Unlike most vampires, Nosferatu are very solitary and often fiercely territorial creatures who prefer to be alone so that they may feast without care. It’s uncommon, but not unheard of for a Nosferatu to make contact and communicate with people. However, they’re not typically welcomed due to their disposition for attacking people. It’s very rare but some Nosferatu have a better grasp of their previous lives, and make go to seek out others. Whether these events are for companionship, deceit, or something else has yet to be documented.

Nosferatu Names

Nosferatu typically retain their names from their past lives, so if the Nosferatu was once Human it’d have a normal human name. Though Nosferatu aren’t typically referred to by name more commonly they’re just called whatever insult normal people call them such as Beast, Leech, Freak, Sewer Devil etc.

Nosferatu Traits

The scrawny, sewer dwelling lesser cousin of the proud Vampire with its own ways to hunt.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength, Dexterity and Constitution scores each increase by 1.
Age. Nosferatu are immortal therefore they do not age.
Alignment. The unnatural hunger of a Nosferatu often pushes them towards acts of violence, and with their withered memories and their vacant emotions they’re commonly at odds with society. They lean towards chaos, but the fragments of humanity a rare few retain means not every Nosferatu is evil. However, those who talk with a Nosferatu typically find them selfish, duplicitous creatures whose memories are faded and whose basic respect for life is long dead.
Size. Nosferatu can range in height and weight like most humanoids would, though they are normally lighter than they appear to be while looming over others. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Undead. Your creature type is undead. You have advantage on saving throws against effects that target undead creatures, you are immune to diseases. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food and drink, though this food is always bland and stale to you. However, like other undead, you cannot regain hit points as a result of spells like cure wounds.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. As a vampire, one of your core weaknesses is the burning radiant energy of the sun. While in sunlight, you have disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls.
Unnatural Physique. Your monstrously grotesque body was built for being a creature of the night. 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. You're immune to being charmed or frightened, and are resistant to necrotic damage.
Unsightly Appearance. Your ghastly appearance can be used to great effect when it comes to terrifying others, the downsides being it's much harder for others to trust your intentions. You have advantage with Intimidation, but you have disadvantage with all other Charisma checks.
Blood Starved Addict. Even though you’re undead, you still require sustenance and for a Nosferatu it's blood and lots of it. If you go longer than four days without drinking at least one ration of blood, at the midnight of the fourth day and every midnight thereafter, you suffer one level of exhaustion, which can only be removed by drinking at least one ration of blood. After consuming one ration of blood, you recover all levels of exhaustion caused by this trait. If you reach six levels of exhaustion due to this trait, you're reduced to ash and are destroyed.
Blood Disgorge. To add to the unique repulsiveness of a Nosferatu. As an action you can vomit all of the blood you’ve consumed within the past 24 hours in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Constitution saving throw, DC = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failed save, a creature takes 2d8 necrotic damage, and it can't regain hit points for 1 minute. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage with no additional effects. Using Blood Disgorge causes you to empty your stomach, and you’ll begin to starve. Drinking blood then using Blood Disgorge does not reset Blood Starved Addict, only drinking blood and digesting it for 24 hours counts as feeding. You can’t use this action again until you finish a long rest and have consumed at least 1 ration of blood within 24 hours.
Bite. All vampires are infamous for their bite which is used for both food and infection and the Nosferatu are no different. If a living creature with blood is willing, paralyzed, charmed, incapacitated, restrained, or grappled, within 5 feet of you, you may use your bonus action to bite them dealing 1d6 piercing damage + additional necrotic damage equal to your Constitution modifier. The target dies if it’s hit point maximum is reduced to 0. Humanoids slain in this way and are left alone or buried rise as a Nosferatu after 1d10 days. If you drink blood in this way it counts as consuming a ration of blood. When you use Bite, you can choose to not deal damage.
Languages. You can speak, read and write Common.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 0''	+2d10	110 lb.	× (1d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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