Vampyrs: 2 half-vampires make a whole vampire, right?

[jaker2003]

I'm looking for opinions, regarding this template or myself.


Vampyr
Vampyrs are rare creations resulting from the union of two half-vampires of the same kind. Vampyrs are drawn to other living creatures, preferring to live in large communities. Vampyrs are often physically attractive and persuasive. Their skin is pale, even ashen in color.

Vampyrs sometimes embrace their vampirism, delving into evil; others resent their vampiric taint and search to do good as repentance. Most vampyrs simply accept their nature and seek to live as others do.



CREATING A VAMPYR

“Vampyr” is an inherited template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid (hereafter referred to as the base creature). The creatures’s size and type do not change.

A vampyr uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Armor Class: A vampyr’s natural armor bonus improves by 4.

Attack and Damage: A vampyr retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack as appropriate for its size. Table available on page 252 of the Monster Manual.

Special Attacks: a vampyr retains all the special attacks of the base creature and gains the blood drain ability described below.

Blood Drain (Ex): Vampyrs can suck blood from a living victim with their retractable fangs by making a successful grapple check. If the vampyr pins the foe, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution damage each round the pin is maintained. A vampyr can’t drain more points of constitution in a single hour than its constitution score. When a vampyr drains a victim’s constitution score, it gains 5 temporary hit points. Temporary hit points last for up to one hour.

Special Qualities: A vampyr retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains those described below.

Blood Dependency (Ex): If a vampyr does not use its blood drain special attack against at least one living creature each day, it must make a DC 10 Fortitude save or become fatigued. Each day after the first that the vampyr does not drink blood directly from a living creature, the DC increases by 1 until it fails the save and becomes fatigued. After that, , it must make a DC 15 Fortitude save each week (with the DC increasing by 1 each week thereafter) That it does not use its blood drain ability or become exhausted. Using its blood drain ability eliminates a vampyr’s fatigue immediately, or reduces exhaustion to fatigue.

Dammage Reduction (Su): A vampyr has damage reduction 10/silver.

Fast Healing (Ex): A vampyr heals 2 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point but less than half its full normal hit points. As long as the vampyr has more than half its full normal hit points, its fast healing does not function (but other forms of healing still function normally).

Resistances (Ex): A vampyr has resistance to cold 10 and electricity 10.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +4, Dex +2, Cha +2.

Skills: Vampyrs have a +4 racial bonus on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot checks. Otherwise, same as base creature.

Feats: A vampyr gains Alertness and Improved Initiative, if the base creature doesn’t already have the feats.

CR: +2

LA: +3

 

[Cheiromancer]

No vulnerabilities from its vampire heritage? Like sunlight or holy things, or extra damage from silver? I guess blood dependency is a step in that direction.

It doesn't really need any more benefits, but a racial bonus to grapple checks might be a good idea. Improved grapple, maybe. Though with DR it probably doesn't care if it draws an AoO, and its bonus to strength also helps it grapple. Still, something to think about.

There should be some kind of rage ability that it can use while fatigued (or exhausted) from lack of blood, to overcome the stength and dexterity penalties that fatigue/exhaustion grants. Not that it would come into play very often. How hard is it to catch mice?

Anyways, the LA seems low. Do you see it as a PC race? DR/silver is pretty potent- how many monsters have silver weapons? A substantial armor bonus and energy resistance, and fast healing to cover whatever manages to get through. Then there's the skills, feats and ability scores. I'd eyeball it at about LA +5, I think. I'd think that a 5th level rogue/fighter vampyr would fit in fine with a 10th level party.

 

[jaker2003]

Yes, I do picture it as a PC race. Here's what I'm seeing for changes:
Natural AC +2
DR 10/silver or magic
Sensitivity to Sunlight (Ex): Every round a vampyr is in direct sunlight, it must succeed on a DC 30 Fortitude save or suffer 2d6 Constitution damage as the sun burns their flesh.
How does that sound?

 

[Drowbane]

Yes, I do picture it as a PC race. Here's what I'm seeing for changes:
Natural AC +2
DR 10/silver or magic
Sensitivity to Sunlight (Ex): Every round a vampyr is in direct sunlight, it must succeed on a DC 30 Fortitude save or suffer 2d6 Constitution damage as the sun burns their flesh.
How does that sound?

So these are what... 3/4 Vampires? More of a true Dhampeal? (A la Vampire Hunter D)
Most people WAY over do LA... I think +3 is about right.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Most people WAY over do LA... I think +3 is about right.

I think of a +4 strength bonus as making up for 2 or 3 points of lost BAB. It adds +2 to attacks, and also +2 to damage, sorta like an automatic power attack. The DR is equivalent to at least 3 hit dice (1 hit dice for each time you get hit in an encounter by non-silver using creatures.) 24 points of bonuses to skills (counting alertness as +2/+2) is at least 3 levels worth (at 8 points per level). Except the higher ability scores also adds +2 to all your strength based skills, and +1 to all your dexterity and charisma based skills.

So I see at least 3 levels of a martial or skill using class (like fighter or rogue), and that's without counting the natural armor bonus, fast healing or energy resistance. Any of which are comparable to or superior to three levels of (non-spellcasting) class abilities.

Nah. I think LA +3 is too low. At +5 it looks like a class with poor BAB, d6 hit dice, 4 to 6 skill points per level and very good (two feat equivalent per level) special abilities. That seems about right.

Yes, I do picture it as a PC race. Here's what I'm seeing for changes:
Natural AC +2
DR 10/silver or magic
Sensitivity to Sunlight (Ex): Every round a vampyr is in direct sunlight, it must succeed on a DC 30 Fortitude save or suffer 2d6 Constitution damage as the sun burns their flesh.
How does that sound?

You want to shoot for no higher than LA +3, huh? I think that is about what lycanthropes are. You could just modify the stats of a wererat.

An infected wererat, not a natural. I DMed a natural lycanthrope once, and vowed never again to allow a PC to have DR 10/silver. 5/silver tops. I haven't DMed a character with fast healing, but I have strong reservations about that, too.

As for the sensitivity to sunlight- I don't think it is a good idea to try to balance strong advantages with strong disadvantages. Either the character is too strong (away from sunlight) or he is dead (he is in the sun for 2 rounds).

 

[jaker2003]

I used the Half-vampire Template in Libris Mortis and that's got a +2 LA
I doubled skill bonuses, added Alertness, Increased fast healing one step, increased Str bonus, and doubled the DR.
I think I can see DR 10 as a bit excessive . . . DR 5/silver or magic would be better wouldn't it?