D&D 5E May I get help with a Vampire conundrum?

[Slit518]

In the previous session my character was in my Drow Vampire Paladin got into a fight with his neighbor, another Drow Vampire.

I wound up turning him to mist, to which it floated to its Grave Dirt which is inside its house in a coffin, rematerializing his body, but leaving him in the state of unconsciousness.

There was an investigation conducted on what happened by the City Guard whom are also vampires.

Anyway, after it was conducted and some crafty roleplay on my part, I snuck my way into the neighbor's bedroom, opened his coffin, and stole his Grave Dirt, throwing it down the plumbing in his bathroom.

What now happens to the Vampire neighbor? He was still within the 1 hour time-frame to recover while resting in his coffin, but there is no longer Grave Dirt in it.

Does he not wake? Does he stay in a state of torpor? Does he recover as normal? Does he now die?

Thanks in advance for any solutions to this inquiry.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

By RAW, it sounds like the coffin no longer counts as a resting place, so the vampire won't finish it's rest and regain 1 hit point after an hour. However, there's still the general rule that a stable creature with 0 HP regains 1 HP after 1d4 hours. So the vampire will eventually regain 1 HP and stop being paralyzed.

At this point the vampire's main priority will probably be to return to a proper resting place, or set up a new one. The rules don't say what happens if a vampire doesn't have a place to rest, only that it must, so your DM will have to decide what happens next.

 

[Quickleaf]

One creative interpretation would be having the vampire turn into a vampiric mist (MToF). At least until he / his minions can procure actual earth from his original grave.

 

[Ancalagon]

There are no "correct" answers here - it all depends on what the "vampire rules" are like in this particular world/setting - it's just a fantasy, after all. Are you the GM?

I would also note that drow are (usually) very paranoid. If grave dirt is so important, the grave dirt would be protected, and there would be hidden "spare" grave dirt stashed away for such cases.

 

[Oofta]

Looking at the rules for vampires in 5E, the text says

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.​

Later on, it also states

Chained to the Grave. Every vampire remains bound to its coffin, crypt, or grave site, where it must rest by day. If a vampire didn’t receive a formal burial, it must lie beneath a foot of earth at the place of its transition to undeath. A vampire can move its place of burial by transporting its coffin or a significant amount of grave dirt to another location. Some vampires set up multiple resting places this way.​

My ruling would be that a vampire at 0 HP in their body is unconscious, neither the living dead nor destroyed. If someone were to take the body to an alternate resting place they would regain 1 HP after an hour and then continue to regain HP as normal.

 

[J.Quondam]

I don't really have a helpful opinion on the mechanics of this scenario, sorry. But as a scenario involving a spat between irate neighbors that culminates in tossing valued property down the toilet, this whole thing reads like a wonderfully bizarre small claims court case.
Quite possibly the best episode of "Judge Judy" ever.