D&D 5E Jasper reviews Van Ritchen

[iltharanos]

Dhampir I give one star out five stars. Why a hybrid lineage would be better at things the base monster is eludes me. A base speed of 35 makes too good of a thing for monks, rogues, or mobile type builds not to take. And bite attack is better than a vampire bite. A vampire has to have a successful grapple attack before it can bite attack. A Dhampir can bite as long as it has an attack action. I recommend if a Dhampir is in the party, give the same speed and bite at will to nearby vampire creatures.

The recommendation honestly doesn't make sense to me. Aside from what Paul said that it's meant to evoke the character Blade, why would the fact that a dhampir's bite and speed mean that vampires have to be "upgraded" to match?

1. D&D makes hybrids better at <insert feature> than a lot of the base creatures. Half-orcs are a really good example, they're a better orc than orcs. Half-elves, prior to the free-floating stat change, were arguably better Paladins than base humans, and maybe even v. humans.
2. Dhampirs have a better bite in the sense that the target doesn't need to be, "one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by the vampire, incapacitated, or restrained." However, the vampire's bite reduces the target creature's HP max and if reduced enough transforms the creature into a vampire spawn under the vampire's control.
3. Dhampirs have a faster walking speed than vampires, yes. But vampires are shapechangers and can turn into mist (easy squeeze) and bats (and thus fly).
4. Vampires also have a ton of other features dhampirs don't get that makes them much more powerful:
   1. Proficiency in three saving throws
   2. Damage Resistances to Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
   3. Legendary Resistance (3/Day).
   4. Regeneration 20
   5. Charm as an action
   6. Summoning of bats, rats, and wolves
   7. Legendary actions

With all that vampires have that is demonstrably better than what a dhampir has, it just doesn't make sense to me that you'd need to buff the vampire's bite and speed.

 

[Morrus]

Richten!

/sorry

 

[jasper]

I hated hybrids being better from base critter since 1E. If fact I never saw a hybrid which got the worst of both critters. And Blade is only an okay character is my book.

 

[jasper]

Richten!

/sorry

The greedy beep is Rich enough for Ten.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I hated hybrids being better from base critter since 1E. If fact I never saw a hybrid which got the worst of both critters. And Blade is only an okay character is my book.

It's not implausible - a liger is bigger and stronger than both a lion and a tiger. And Dhampir is clearly aimed at players who do like Blade.

 

[jasper]

It's not implausible - a liger is bigger and stronger than both a lion and a tiger. And Dhampir is clearly aimed at players who do like Blade.

And I don't like it. So I gave one star. This is the joy of having a huge fan base. Some will like it, some will not.

 

[Azzy]

It's not implausible - a liger is bigger and stronger than both a lion and a tiger. And Dhampir is clearly aimed at players who do like Blade.

The funny thing is that dhampirs in fiction and folklore typically are better than both humans and vampires in terms of abibilities, powers, and weaknesses.

 

[Remathilis]

.Reborn I give three out five stars. The Deathless Nature gives the elf trance ability, poison resistance, and death save bonuses. The poison resistance should have been dropped.

The Reborn have the same basic racial traits as a warforged when it comes to resistances. The difference is warforged are immune to disease while reborn have death save advantage. The poison, sleep and biological function traits are all the same though.