D&D 5E Dhampir Barbarian

[Weiley31]

The whole rule does seem a bit wonky and open to exploitation, especially empowering yourself on skills checks when you've got a bit of time and space to prepare, and are willing to go beat up some random farm animal or summoned creature to get yourself warmed up. Even if you're only doing 1d4 base with the bite, add a combat superiority dice from Commander's Strike and an inspiration dice from a Valor bard's combat inspiration, and THEN roll your ability check to pick the lock or persuade the prisoner into talking or whatever. Absolutely blows the roof off the bounded accuracy curve.

I mean, the Barbarian can technically smack themselves to keep Rage up. It is damage. So why bite an animal/summon when you can bite your thumb/your lip ala Anime and then proceed to bite the Lock off the door. Or Bite the Prisoner into Persuasion.

 

[Weiley31]

The easiest fix for the dhampir bite would be to flag it as a melee spell attack.

Dhampir: I go to Bite

Wizard BBEG: C-C-C-C-COUNTER SPELL!!!

Morgan Freeman: The Dhampir then forgot to bite.

DM: That's......that's not how that works.

Morgan Freeman: But I'm Morgan Freeman, and I narrated it.

DM: Well.....can't argue with that.

Dhampir PC player: Wait..................what?

 

[shadowoflameth]

As a DM I will say:

If you have Extra Attacks, you may sub your Teeth/Bite attack in place of one of your Extra Attacks.

Which means that Dentures and what not is probably now a legit weapon type at my table.

And since it is a Simple Weapon, yes. Yes Dhampir Monks can make their Teeth/Dentures into a Monk Weapon.

Only using the optional rules in Tasha's. The Kensei can do it making the bite a Kensei Weapon.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I would not allow Dedicated Weapon to apply to Vampiric Bite. Aside from the balance issue of boosting the damage dice, the text for dedicated weapon says:

• It must lack the heavy and special properties.

Whilst it is not stated that the bite has "special" properties, the description of "special" properties states:

A weapon with the special property has unusual rules governing its use, explained in the weapon's description.

And the vampire bite has unusual rules governing it's use that are explained in the weapon description. Ergo it has the "special" property.

 

[shadowoflameth]

The Special Property is a game term like finesse or heavy or light referring to the kind of weapon. The Dhampir's teeth count as a natural weapon and as a simple martial weapon with which you are proficient, not finesse, not heavy and not 'special'. RAW They do not have the special property because teeth themselves are not 'special'. They aren't finesse or versatile or heavy either. If you would house rule that, would you also rule that a Hexblade Warlock/Kensei could not make his soul weapon a kensei weapon for the same reason? The warlock's sword uses a non-standard ability score to attack and a hit can have effects other than damage, but that's a function of what the character can do, not the nature of swords. Likewise, the Dhampir has teeth that let him make use of them as a weapon, but using Con to attack and empowering himself with the bite are by virtue of what the character can do, not the nature of his teeth themselves. You can be a dhampir from a race that may not even have teeth. Your call, but I don't see a lot of potential for abuse.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The warlock's sword uses a non-standard ability score to attack and a hit can have effects other than damage

But that is not in the weapon description. The special property refers to things that are part of the weapon description. The whole point of the "no special properties" part of the Dedicated Weapon ability is to limit it to standard weapons, and hence prevent exploits. That is, of course, RAI. RAW is for idiots.

 

[Weiley31]

Teeth as Monk Weapons.

RAW is for idiots.

DANG RIGHT!

 

[shadowoflameth]

But that is not in the weapon description. The special property refers to things that are part of the weapon description. The whole point of the "no special properties" part of the Dedicated Weapon ability is to limit it to standard weapons, and hence prevent exploits. That is, of course, RAI. RAW is for idiots.

Correct. What the hexblade weapon can do is not in the weapon description. It's in the character description. What the bite can do is in the Dhampir description, not a description of teeth. If the bite was in the weapons table, it would list the properties, and the Dhampir description says that those properties are simple, and Natural weapon. Any monk could bite, but it wouldn't be the Dhampir's bite and any monk couldn't make his bite a kensei weapon, but the dhampir can. An orc or a human couldn't do that no matter what his teeth were like. The RAI, was for characters of all classes to find the bite usable. The rule doesn't include finesse property or thrown because those would make no sense and be abused. I'm looking at you Rogue, throwing your teeth at the bugbear. The rogue could bite get use out of empowerment, but not add sneak attack to the empowerment feature. That was intended. otherwise all dhampir would be rogues and would bite with every attack. I imagine in the next errata there will be clarification on however many dozen Dhampir Bite questions people had.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The hexblade ability modifies an existing weapon, It is not a weapon itself.

The Dhampir bite is a new weapon, with stats as detailed in the lineage. Across the whole ruleset there are many new weapons that are not in the weapon table. E.g. the yklwa in ToA.

You may be thinking of the Pact of the Blade ability to create a weapon. Which you could use to create yourself a Dhampir bite if you wanted, because RAW is for idiots.

 

[Weiley31]

Eldritch Dentures.