D&D 5E How do Vampires Exist?

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Maybe vampires drain HP from people because they are the only creature who is AWARE of HPs...they carefully calculate what is needed, stopping victims from their long rest by biting them and disturbing their sleep, until the perfect mathematical moment.

Vampires are Metagaming!

 

[GX.Sigma]

1. It's 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. Commoners have 4 (1d8) hp. A vampire's bite will almost always turn a commoner.

2. After reviewing many of the points raised in this thread (including #1 above), I conclude that this is a silly rule. It doesn't match vampire lore. If you get bitten by a vampire, you should just die. The vampire only turns you if he wants to, and it takes a lot of time and hypnosis. I'll use the 4e ritual explanation.

 

[MarcS]

The answer to the original question is simple :

1. It could be tricky for a vampire to make a turnable victim in combat because of the risk of accidentaly killing the victim as argued in the 5 pages of this thread.
2. If it's not in a combat situation, the discussion is silly because you are all being so litteral it's like bizarro zone here. According to the MM, The vampire bite its victim to death, bury them and they turn the next night, a ritual that is not that uncommon in vampire lore. End of story.

 

[Ezequielramone]

Here is how I would handle it:
First I have to say this: when playing DND people tend to track health, that is a concept mistake. You track two things: your Max HP (which almost never changes) and your injuries (NOT your health). Think as this: you have cylinder with a fund (Max HP) and you fill it with water (injuries). When your Max HP is reduced you cut part of the cylinder (so you can have less water). When you receive a hit you put an amount of water in the cylinder. When the cylinder is full you are KO.
Coming back to vampires. When they bite, you both cut the cylinder and add water to it. I'd say that after the first bite the vampire could chose to use the same holes avoiding piercing damage and only reduce your Max hp(so if you are KO you don't gain a failed dead save).
This way, they can turn you in a vampire without killing you, they just have to cut the cylinder till your Max HP is 0. And I'll say that the Max HP reduction don't produce a failed save and prevent the victim to fail in his turn.

 

[Giant2005]

That analogy doesn't really work. Reducing max hit points is like cutting the cylinder for sure, but taking damage isn't adding water to it, it is removing water from it.

 

[Maxperson]

I am making a homebrew vampires supplement. I need things to be functional and make sense outside of any one event.

The most simple fix is to just rule that the necrotic damage can turn a victim into a vampire in the round that the victim is reduced to 0, if the vampire chooses.

 

[Ezequielramone]

That analogy doesn't really work. Reducing max hit points is like cutting the cylinder for sure, but taking damage isn't adding water to it, it is removing water from it.

That is not correct. Eg you have 10 HP Max. If I hit you by 2 HP (remove 0.2 lts from a 1lts cylinder) and then I reduce your Max HP by 2 I'll be cutting .2lts f from the cylinder, and you will be at Max HP, wounded but at Max HP? IMHO that makes no sense. If I first reduce your HP and then hit you, you will have 6 remaining HP instead of 8.
If you add water both "kind" of damages apply in any case.

 

[Umbran]

How do vampires exist? Look, how often do *you* reproduce? Do you do so in the middle of combat?

It takes us nine months to manage the trick. Maybe we shouldn't worry that a vampire has to take their time about it.

 

[Giant2005]

That is not correct. Eg you have 10 HP Max. If I hit you by 2 HP (remove 0.2 lts from a 1lts cylinder) and then I reduce your Max HP by 2 I'll be cutting .2lts f from the cylinder, and you will be at Max HP, wounded but at Max HP? IMHO that makes no sense. If I first reduce your HP and then hit you, you will have 6 remaining HP instead of 8.
If you add water both "kind" of damages apply in any case.

That clarification was a little confusing. Maybe I can explain a bit better with your terms.
If you have 100 hp max, between the piercing and necrotic damage (3 piercing and 9 necrotic), the variable amount will be reduced to 88 and due to the necrotic damage's extra effect, the max will be reduced to 91.
After a repeat attack the variable amount will be reduced to 76 and the max reduced to 82.
Each time you repeat the process, the difference between those numbers will increase by 3. The issue is that the higher number needs to reach 0 before the lower number does.

You can use an analogy to change those numbers to volumes of liquid and containers if you like, it doesn't really change anything.

 

[Azurewraith]

How do vampires exist? Look, how often do *you* reproduce? Do you do so in the middle of combat?

It takes us nine months to manage the trick. Maybe we shouldn't worry that a vampire has to take their time about it.

Well I definitely re produce in combat got the scars to prove it! On a roughly 3yr cycle.

I'm shocked that vampires don't have the option to latch on and auto damge