D&D 5E How do Vampires Exist?

[thanson02]

I personally like how they did it in 4E where someone turned into a Vampire through a ritual act. Has there been any guidelines for Vampire transformation in 5E?

 

[pukunui]

[MENTION=6801619]thanson02[/MENTION]: Aside from the "PCs as vampires" sidebar in the MM, there isn't anything along those lines.

 

[Giant2005]

If the reduction in maximum HP does not recover naturally, you could just bite the person once per day and wait for the regular damage to heal overnight.

The maximum hit points recover while resting too, so that doesn't work either.

 

[Giant2005]

Unless it's a matter of a PC being turned into a vampire, I'd just be inclined to handwave it.

Its a matter of me being busy writing up a homebrew that is about vampires. I'd like to change as little as possible from the vampire entries in the monster manual, but I am really struggling to not change the requirements to create a vampire.

 

[Zaran]

I make it more like a disease that the victim can contract. I haven't needed it yet but I'd probably base the DC on the amount of damage drained.

 

[pukunui]

Its a matter of me being busy writing up a homebrew that is about vampires. I'd like to change as little as possible from the vampire entries in the monster manual, but I am really struggling to not change the requirements to create a vampire.

In this homebrew, will it be possible for a PC to become a vampire, and if so, will it be possible for that PC's player to continue playing the character? If yes, I can see the need for rules that work. If not, then I don't see any hard and fast rules being necessary. People become vampires as the story dictates.

You could always rule that a vampire doesn't have to keep biting an incapacitated target (it can stay latched on, as it were) and thus just deal the blood-sucking necrotic dmg without also having to deal the piercing dmg.

 

[Giant2005]

In this homebrew, will it be possible for a PC to become a vampire, and if so, will it be possible for that PC's player to continue playing the character? If yes, I can see the need for rules that work. If not, then I don't see any hard and fast rules being necessary. People become vampires as the story dictates.

The answer to both questions is yes.
The main point of the homebrew is to make vampires simultaneously both weak enough for a player to be one without breaking the game, and also strong enough that DMs can use them to make powerful, ancient vampires that rival the gods in power.

Everything is going well except for the process of being transformed into a vampire. There was a couple of minor things I needed to change to make it work (I had to change the vampire spawn's saving throw proficiencies to one good save and one crap save, and drop their damage from their claw attack from 2d4 to 1d8). I was hoping that there was some kind of loophole that makes it a lot more possible, but I think I'm going to have to change it which is a much more significant change than I hoped I'd have to pull out.

You could always rule that a vampire doesn't have to keep biting an incapacitated target (it can stay latched on, as it were) and thus just deal the blood-sucking necrotic dmg without also having to deal the piercing dmg.

That is really good! I was just planning on having anyone killed by the bite come back as a vampire, but your way sounds much better. The only issue would be the initial piercing damage.

 

[Ristamar]

Since the bite is considered a melee weapon attack, a vampire could simply declare the damage to be nonlethal. I'm not entirely sure if nonlethal would apply to the necrotic damage, as well, but it shouldn't violate RAW since it isn't a spell or magical attack. Even if you don't agree that the necrotic damage can be nonlethal, it isn't difficult for a vampire to turn a healthy "willing" victim.

Alternatively, you could interpret the last sentence (quoted below) to apply to death from any part of the bite attack. Admittedly, if that's what the designers intended, it is not very clear in its present form. However, given that hit points are abstract by RAW, it probably makes more sense this way.

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.

 

[pukunui]

That is really good! I was just planning on having anyone killed by the bite come back as a vampire, but your way sounds much better. The only issue would be the initial piercing damage.

How is it still an issue? If the victim is at 0 hp, that piercing dmg will just result in two failed death saves. But if the vampire then stabilizes the victim, those death saves will go away and it can just suck the blood without worrying about accidentally killing the victim through automatic failed death saves.

Unless, of course, the victim is a commoner, in which case the piercing dmg *would* be enough to kill them outright without even having to bother with death saves, but since the commoner would be an NPC, you can just handwave that and say they get turned into a vampire anyway.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Vampire bite damage: 7(1d6 + 4) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage.

Necrotic will beat piercing to the punch.

Especially if it's one bite (piercing) then a long swig from the vein. Then, once attached, it's just necrotic. Dracula doesn't bite on his victim's neck like he's eating an apple. One bite, the rest is suck.