Vampire (5e Template)
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Vampire[edit]
Of all the dark and evil things that bump in the night, few, if any, are more fearsome than the vampires. These creatures can often move freely about in the world of civilized humanoids and, as such, are all the more dreadful. Their unexpected attacks often target the innocent and helpless, leaving little hope that a victim will survive to lead would-be vampire hunters to the monster. All-in-all, they are certainly the darkest of the dark.
No humanoid creature is immune to the vampiric curse, there are three ways to become a vampire. Each of these paths to darkness has its own unique character, but the end result is always a creature of great evil and power.
The first path, generally known as that of deadly desire, is perhaps the most awful. In this case, the individual who is destined to become a vampire actually wishes to cross over and become undead. While it has been said that they must sacrifice their lives to attain this goal, a greater cost is often paid. Those who desire to live eternally and feed on the life essences of their fellow men must give up a portion of their spirits to powerful fiends from the lower planes and evil-aligned deities. In this way, they are granted the powers of the undead but also stripped of the last vestiges of their humanity. In the centuries to come, many find this loss too great to bear and seek out their own destruction.
The second path, that of the curse, is often the most insidious of the three. In this case, the individual is often unaware that he or she is destined to become a thing of the night. The transformation into unlife might occur because of a potent curse laid down by someone who has been wronged by the victim. Occasionally, an individual might find that he or she has inherited (or found) a beautiful and alluring magical artifact–only to find that it cannot be removed and that the character is slowly … changing. There are those who accept this curse and embrace their new existence as a vampire, while others despise the things they have become. In nearly every case, these are the most passionate and “alive” examples of this evil race.
The final, and surely most tragic, path to vampirism is that of the victim. This is the route most commonly taken to vampirism, for it is the way in which those slain by a vampire become vampires themselves. Vampires created in this way almost always detest themselves and the creature that made them what they are. All-in-all, the victims of other vampires are unhappy in their new lives, for few ever accept their fates happily – and many do not have the strength of character to seek an end to their wretched unlives.
- Prerequisite
Any sentient humanoid.
Statistics[edit]
Abilities. The vampire's Strength, Dexterity and Constitution scores are increased to 18, if they weren't already higher. Int, Wis and Cha are augmented by 2.
Damage Resistances. The vampire resists necrotic damage and bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks.
Saves The vampire gains proficiency in Wisdom and Charisma saves.
Skills As base creature, accounting for modified ability scores.
Alignment The vampire's alignment becomes lawful evil.
AC Increase the vampire's AC by 1 (natural armor).
Traits[edit]
Undead Nature. A vampire doesn't require air and counts as Undead.
Shapechanger. If the vampire isn't in sunlight or running water, it can use its action to polymorph into a Tiny bat or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into its true form.
While in bat form, the vampire can't speak, its walking speed is 5 feet, and it has a flying speed of 30 feet. Its statistics, other than its size and speed, are unchanged. Anything it is wearing transforms with it, but nothing it is carrying does. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
While in mist form, the vampire can't take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. It is weightless, has a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile creature's space and stop there. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so without squeezing, and it can't pass through water. It has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and it is immune to all nonmagical damage, except the damage it takes from sunlight.
Misty Escape. When it drops to 0 hit points outside its resting place, the vampire transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the Shapechanger trait) instead of falling unconscious, provided that it isn't in sunlight or running water. If it can't transform, it is destroyed.
While it has 0 hit points in mist form, it can't revert to its vampire form, and it must reach its resting place within 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in its resting place, it reverts to its vampire form. It is then paralyzed until it regains at least 1 hit point. After spending 1 hour in its resting place with 0 hit points, it regains 1 hit point.
Regeneration. The vampire regains 20 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point and isn't in sunlight or running water. If the vampire takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn't function at the start of the vampire's next turn.
Spider Climb. The vampire can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Vampire Weaknesses. The vampire has the following flaws:
Forbiddance. The vampire can't enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
Harmed by Running Water. The vampire takes 20 acid damage if it ends its turn in running water or 10 acid damage if it's exposed to water
Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into the vampire's heart while the vampire is incapacitated in its resting place, the vampire is paralyzed until the stake is removed.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The vampire takes 20 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Radiant Vulnerability. The Vampire is vulnerable to radiant damage.
Actions[edit]
Bite (Bat or Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by the vampire, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the vampire regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. A humanoid slain in this way and then buried in the ground rises the following night as a vampire spawn under the vampire's control.
Charm. The vampire targets one humanoid it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the vampire, the target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by the vampire. The charmed target regards the vampire as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn't under the vampire's control, it takes the vampire's requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for the vampire's bite attack.
Each time the vampire or the vampire's companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until the vampire is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect.
Children of the Night (1/Day). The vampire magically calls 2d4 swarms of bats or rats, provided that the sun isn't up. While outdoors, the vampire can call 3d6 wolves instead. The called creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, acting as allies of the vampire and obeying its spoken commands. The beasts remain for 1 hour, until the vampire dies, or until the vampire dismisses them as a bonus action.
Dwarf vampires summon swarms of rats and 3d6 giant badgers. Elf vampires summon 3d8 eagles and 3d6 wolves and Orc vampires summon 3d6 boars.
CR Calculation[edit]
- Increased hit points (from increased Constitution).
Examples[edit]
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