Vampire Template

Evolved from the vicious m’l’ykkri of Ancerra, born from Lilith’s vile machinations, or synthesized under Dracula’s insistence in Frankenstein’s laboratory, vampires come in many varieties, but are united in their power, ferocity, and malice. They possess myriad powers from summoning mist and nocturnal animals to charming their adversaries to climbing on walls. Vampires drink humanoid blood and must do so with some regularity in order to maintain their greatest level of power. This often leads them to try taking over some town or city so that they have easy access to their lifeblood.

Ancerran, Croftian, and Draculean vampires each have different strengths and weaknesses. Ancerran vampires tend to possess a bestial cunning, but are vulnerable to running water. Croftian vampires are especially skilled at commanding fiends, but they are vulnerable to silver. Draculean vampires, however, are objectively the strongest of the three, as Dracula’s synthesized form of Vampirism deliberately stripped away the impurities of Ancerran Vampirism, resulting in a pure, powerful strain.

Vampires are incredibly difficult to truly kill. When a vampire dies at night, its body dissolves into mist and floats back to its ancestral soil. If it reaches its soil before dawn, then it solidifies back into its vampiric form and returns to its semblance of life fully revived at dusk the following evening. Killing a vampire during the day prevents the vampire from turning into mist and returning to its ancestral soil until nightfall, which makes permanently killing it significantly easier.

Aside from possessing formidable battlefield prowess, vampires are also very charismatic and madly driven by their own goals. Many vampires are motivated by political influence and want to control as large of an area as possible, but some may have different motivations.

Vampire Template

This template can be used to turn any creature into a vampire.

First,

• Gain the undead and shapeshifter tags.
• Increase its CHA by +1.
• It gains a climb speed equal to its walking speed.
• It gains Resist Occult +2 and Immune Necrotic.
• It gains Vulnerable Radiant +2 and DR 2/Silvered or Magical Weapons.
• It gains the Iron Will, Steel Mind, and Regen 2 traits.

If a stat block references the vampire template in its features section, then skip this step and apply only the second, third, and fourth steps.

Second,

It gains a Forbiddance feature (choose Ancerran, Croftian, or Draculean).

Ancerran Forbiddance. The Vampire must observe certain restrictions:

• If the Vampire starts its turn in direct sunlight, it takes 33 (6d10) radiant damage.
• If the Vampire starts its turn in running water, it takes 11 (2d10) radiant damage.
• If the Vampire takes radiant damage, it loses its Regen ability for 30 seconds.
• If the Vampire consumes garlic or uses Blood Drain on a creature that ate garlic within the last 8 hours, it takes 5 (1d10) toxic damage and is Sickened for 1 minute.

Croftian Forbiddance. The creature also gains the fiend tag.

The Vampire must observe certain restrictions:

• If the Vampire starts its turn in direct sunlight, it takes 22 (4d10) radiant damage.
• If the Vampire starts its turn in running water, it takes 5 (1d10) radiant damage.
• If the Vampire takes radiant damage, it loses its Regen ability for 30 seconds.
• If the Vampire consumes garlic or uses Blood Drain on a creature that ate garlic within the last 8 hours, it takes 5 (1d10) toxic damage and is Sickened for 30 seconds.
• The Vampire gains Vulnerable Silvered Weapons +3.

Draculean Forbiddance. The Vampire must observe certain restrictions:

• The Vampire cannot enter a private residence without a written or verbal invitation.
• If the Vampire starts its turn in direct sunlight, it takes 22 (4d10) radiant damage.
• If the Vampire starts its turn in running water, it takes 5 (1d10) radiant damage.
• If the Vampire takes radiant damage, it loses its Regen ability for 30 seconds.
• If the Vampire consumes garlic or uses Blood Drain on a creature that ate garlic within the last 8 hours, it takes 5 (1d10) toxic damage and is Sickened for 30 seconds.

Third,

It gains the following features if it does not already have them.

Crimson Thirst. Vampires can only consume blood for sustenance. For every 3 days that they do not use Blood Drain, they lose 20 current and max HP. After using Blood Drain at least once per day for a week, their current and max HP reset to normal.

Shadowy. If the Vampire moves and does not enter bright light during its movement, it cannot be attacked reactively.

Vampiric Curse. Any living humanoid who takes damage from Blood Drain three times within 1 week becomes infected with Vampirism.

Unholy Resurrection. If the Vampire dies at nighttime, it turns into a fine mist and floats back to its ancestral soil at a rate of 60 ft on each of its turns. If it does not reach its soil by dawn, then it dies permanently. If it reaches its soil before dawn, it solidifies back into its vampiric form but is still dead. It reawakens at full health at dusk that evening. A Vampire that dies during the daytime turns into mist in this way at dusk the following evening, where it tries to return to its ancestral soil. When a Vampire is dead and in solid form, it can be staked through the heart to permanently kill it.

Fourth,

It gains the following actions if it does not already have them.

Tier 1 Actions

Charm. Ranged 20 ft Natural Weapon. +CHA vs WILL. Hit: Target is Charmed by the Vampire until the start of the Vampire’s next turn.

Tier 2 Actions

Blood Drain. This attack automatically hits targets Charmed or Enthralled by the Vampire. Reach 5 ft Natural Weapon. +DEX vs ANT. Hit: 2d10+DEX necrotic, and the Vampire regains HP equal to the damage it dealt.

Frighten (Recharge 6). 20 ft Radius Natural Weapon. +CHA vs WILL of each creature in the radius. Hit: The creature is Frightened of the Vampire until the end of its next turn.

Enthrall (1/Catch Breath). Ranged 20 ft Natural Weapon. +CHA vs WILL. Hit: The target is Enthralled by the Vampire for 8 hours. Whenever the target deals damage to one of its allies or takes damage, it may make a CHA check against a DC of 10 + the Vampire’s CHA; on a success, the Enthralled condition ends. A creature that was Enthralled by the Vampire and is no longer Enthralled, is Immune to this attack and the Vampire Charm attack for the next 24 hours.