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A Vampire is a deadly and powerful undead creature with the DnD 5e classification. This evil being, once a human, has been cursed with eternal life and an insatiable craving for blood. In this entry of our database, we will discuss how to recognize a Vampire, what its tactics are, and the strategies to implement if you want to fight one with the help of a few selected collaborators.
TABLE OF CONTENT:
Description
Blood was the sustenance of choice for the undead creatures known as vampires. They were considered to be among the most dangerous and potent of all undead creatures.
A vampire’s appearance is very similar to that of the creature when it was alive, but they have paler skin, features that are more craggy and feral, giving them a more menacing appearance, and red eyes that are difficult to forget. Their hands had sharp claws on them.
They do not have any shadows and have no reflections in any mirrors that they pass in front of.
Vampires from Dungeons & Dragons are undead monsters that are powerful and intelligent. They are creatures of obsession and need, with their once-pure emotions having been warped into something evil and harmful after death.
Theat level & details
An Ettin is a Deadly enemy only for Low-level parties.
- Maximum Player’s Level for Deadly Encounter*: 8
- Minimum Player’s Level for Easy Encounter**: 11
- Party members: 4
- Number of enemies: 1
* Above this level, the Encounter becomes easier
** The starting level from which the encounter becomes easy
Analysis conducted by A.T.L.A.S. Foundation – Research Division
Vampire’s Stat Block
Medium Undead (shapechanger), lawful evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 144 (17d8 + 68)
Speed 30 ft.
Saving Throws Dex +9, Wis +7, Cha +9
Skills Perception +7, Stealth +9
Damage Resistence necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages the languages it knew in life
Challenge 13 (10,000 XP)
Shapechanger. If the vampire isn’t in sun light 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.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the vampire fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
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.
- 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.
Actions
Multiattack (Vampire Form Only). The vampire makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack.
Unarmed Strike (Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage. Instead of dealing damage, the vampire can grapple the target (escape DC 18).
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 ft. 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.
Legendary Actions
The vampire can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The vampire regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Move. The vampire moves up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Unarmed Strike. The vampire makes one unarmed strike.
Bite (Costs 2 Actions). The vampire makes one bite attack.
Behavior
Lichs and vampires shared a taste for the finer things in life as well as a propensity for engaging in decadent behavior. A vampire has always been considered a sinister creature. If it was not already evil when it was alive, it indeed became so after it became undead.
A vampire maintains all of the skills it had when it was alive, in addition to gaining the ability to feed off of other creatures’ blood and life energy and to exert dominance over them with its gaze. A vampire is also able to assume the form of rats, bats, or wolves at their command, and they can also control them.
One of the greatest vulnerabilities shared by all vampire species is an extreme sensitivity to light from the sun. They would start to experience harm right away if exposed to the sun’s light, and if they didn’t seek refuge in the shadows, they would eventually turn to ash. In addition to this, they are able to spend more than a minute moving water without suffering any harm.
The unholy ground in which vampires were buried served as an eternal chain that held them inextricably bound to their coffins. If you are able to drive a stake through their undead heart while they are in their coffin, either resting or regenerating, you will be able to kill them instantly. These undead are also unable to stand the smell of garlic and would not knowingly enter a space that has a strong presence of that odor.
It is also worth noting that they were unable to enter any residence unless specifically invited to do so by the beings already residing there, even though the specific reason for this limitation is unknown (probably linked with their curse).
How to use Vampire in your campaigns
A Vampire is a powerful being that can be used as the master of a long campaign that transports the party through many challenging encounters.
Further Reading
- Learn more about the Dampyr
- Discover more about the Vampire Spawn
Credits
The Vampire is a DnD 5e Undead creature from the Monster Manual
- Image source: Mitchell Malloy
- Cover art sourced from this article
