D&D 5E Vampires in 5e

[MonsterEnvy]

I don't believe anyone is saying that Daylight has to have the same umph that Sunbeam does. As you say it is only a 3rd level spell rather than 6th so I would be inclined to rule that while it DOES affect creatures much like sunlight, it is weaker than the more powerful spell and such creatures would gain advantage on saving throws against it. This will make the spell weaker but not completely useless against vampires and similar creatures.

Vampires don't get a save against Sunlight they just take 20 radiant damage while in it and have disadvantage on all rolls. The disadvantage on the saving throw against sunbeam is when the laser is shot at them. Just being close to the caster of sunlight laser or no will cause them to take damage on their turn.

So it cripples them in a certain range. Sunbeam cripples them if they remain close to the caster. While daylight with it's much bigger radius does nothing like it has always done and should continue to do nothing to them.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Vampires don't get a save against Sunlight they just take 20 radiant damage while in it and have disadvantage on all rolls. The disadvantage on the saving throw against sunbeam is when the laser is shot at them. Just being close to the caster of sunlight laser or no will cause them to take damage on their turn.

So it cripples them in a certain range. Sunbeam cripples them if they remain close to the caster. While daylight with it's much bigger radius does nothing like it has always done and should continue to do nothing to them.

You can play it however you wish. I prefer that single classed LIGHT clerics are moderately useful in their niche.

 

[KarinsDad]

I don't believe anyone is saying that Daylight has to have the same umph that Sunbeam does. As you say it is only a 3rd level spell rather than 6th so I would be inclined to rule that while it DOES affect creatures much like sunlight, it is weaker than the more powerful spell and such creatures would gain advantage on saving throws against it. This will make the spell weaker but not completely useless against vampires and similar creatures.

The extra damage of Sunbeam is not the umph I am talking about. Nor does Daylight give a saving throw.

The "I cannot use Misty Escape so I die", "I cannot regenerate" is the umph I am talking about. Sunbeam is a 6th level spell. It should do more damage than a 3rd level spell.

But the real issue is that 4 or 5 prepped PCs of level 5 can wipe out a CR 13 (deadly encounter) vampire, pretty much at ease. A Charm Person or some such might swing the tide of battle, but Daylight makes this a lot easier of a fight. At least this happened in our game (although we had 6 5th level PCs at the time). The party was struggling until the Daylight spell was cast.

For this discussion, yes, it would be fine to houserule Daylight with a saving throw for this type of thing, especially for Clerics and Paladins. But also for this discussion, I think that RAI and RAW is that Daylight does not hinder vampires and other sunlight sensitive creatures.

 

[steeldragons]

You are a vampire. You are moving in on these interloping fools with their lanterns and torches. Their weapons are ineffective. Their [justified] fear has their tactics all muddled. You've charmed their lead warrior who actually has some ancient weapon that appears capable of wounding you. She will make an acceptable addition to your guardians...for a time. Now to remove the quivering man toting the symbols of the southerners' storm goddess before he can try to call on the divine power that can harm you.

*FWOOM!!!!*

The chamber immediately becomes bright as the noon day sun. The sudden illumination forces you to squint. With a shriek and single bound, you remove yourself out of the area of hateful brightness that might be your final doom. You are able to tell, as you melt back into the shadows to remove yourself to your great chamber/ledge/known hiding/ambush place, it seems an elfin sorcerer in the rear is the source. You silently vow him an especially gruesome end when next you meet. "DEFEND ME!" you shout and the great warrior-woman you charmed raises her shield and retreats with you while her compatriots shout out her name.

As a powerful immortal undead....are you sitting around waiting to see if you start to smoke and scorch when your catacomb looks like a sun-bathed field?

Or are you getting the hell out of there BEFORE you start to turn to dust?

The vampire is not sitting there saying "Hmm. I don't SEEM to be taking 20 radiant damage. There's no "lasers" shooting out of the sorcerer's hand. Maybe its not that extremely rare and powerful spell that can destroy me (assuming you have some way of having in-world knowledge of the sunbeam spell in the first place)." All YOU know is that, some magic has caused "DAYLIGHT" to happen where you are.

As always, different strokes and play what you like. But I'm not playing intelligent uber-powerful undead creatures, with a single (other than running water) weakness they must avoid at all costs, as dullards gambling around with their immortality, "Let me sit around and see if I begin to disintegrate from this 'bright [DAY] light' appears around me."

tl:dr/IOW: Daylight doesn't have to produce actual "sun light" or have the same description as Sunbeam to effect a vampire. You don't need the spell to define the same effect to have an effect that is the same.

And PS: AFAIAC Sunbeam is justified as a 6th level spell because you can actual aim/choose targets and shoot laser beams along with/in addition to shedding bright light in whatever radius and dim light beyond it. Not because it is "sun light" because the description says so, but 3rd level Daylight isn't because the description doesn't use the word "sun." This is the very definition of pedantry.

 

[Zorku]

With Daylight being a 3rd level spell that sounds like it might harm vampires, I'd expect most long lived vampies that have been very active in their machinations to have encountered the spell before. They might flinch when the room lights up, but when you've lived long enough that you're getting a bit bored with these mortal's coil you're pretty good at recognizing the difference between some pauper's daylight and the actual kind that puts the fear of death back into you. If vampires actually have themselves a bit entrenched then the REALLY ancient guys are gonna know all about the limits of magic in their realm and they'll tell what younger undead, that they care to, about the nuanced differences between these two spells.

That said, if there's no good radiant damage option for clerics and paladins specializing in this kind of thing, I'd definitely toss in a home brew option at suitable levels.

 

[Mercule]

Stake them, cut off the head, burn the body to ash, and bury the ashes at a crossroad or in running water. Its the only way to be sure.

Don't forget the rose petal under the tongue.

 

[MechaPilot]

Let's say it is reduced to 0 on land at night...it goes into Misty Form. Said form is immune to all nonmagical damage except sunlight. The vampire does not regen in misty form either (if it assumes misty form as a result of damage)

What happens when my wizard fire bolts the vampire in said form? It's already at 0...

Essentially nothing happens.

The firebolt, as a magical attack, does damage the vampire. However, you cannot reduce someone below zero HPs (there are no negative HPs in 5e). Therefore, unless your firebolt does enough damage to qualify for the instant death rule, the vampire will not really be any worse off for having been struck by the firebolt.