Editing Vampire Variant Rules (3.5e Variant Rule)

This page is a different way to play a vampire, so that they still have all of the abilities as in the MM, just spread out and with a more reasonable LA. please feel free to criticize.


CREATING A VAMPIRE 
“Vampire” is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).
 
A vampire uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here. 

Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to undead (augmented humanoid or monstrous humanoid). Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged. 

Hit Dice: Increase all current and future Hit Dice to d12s. 

Speed: Same as the base creature. If the base creature has a swim speed, the vampire retains the ability to swim and is not vulnerable to immersion in running water (see below). 

Armor Class: The base creature’s natural armor bonus improves by +.5(rounded down) per level until level 12. 

Attack: A vampire retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack if it didn’t already have one. If the base creature can use weapons, the vampire retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A vampire fighting without weapons uses either its slam attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A vampire armed with a weapon uses its slam or a weapon, as it desires. 

Full Attack: A vampire fighting without weapons uses either its slam attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a slam or other natural weapon as a natural secondary attack. 

Damage: Vampires have slam attacks. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the vampire’s size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons retain their old damage values or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is better. 

Size Damage 
Fine 1 
Diminutive 1d2 
Tiny 1d3 
Small 1d4 
Medium 1d6 
Large 1d8 
Huge 2d6 
Gargantuan 2d8 
Colossal 4d6 

Special Attacks: A vampire retains all the special attacks of the base creature and gains those described below. Saves have a DC of 10 + 1/4 vampire’s HD + vampire’s Cha modifier unless noted otherwise. 

Blood Drain (Ex):  A vampire can suck blood from a living victim with its fangs by making a successful grapple check. If it pins the foe, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained. On each such successful attack, the vampire gains 5 temporary hit points. 

Children of the Night (Su): at 8th level,Vampires command the lesser creatures of the world and once per day can call forth 1d6+1 rat swarms, 1d6(-1 per level less than 12) bat swarms, or a pack of 3d8(-1 per level less than 15) wolves as a standard action. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might summon other creatures of similar power.) These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve the vampire for up to 1 hour. 

Dominate (Su): At third level, a vampire can crush an opponent’s will just by looking onto his or her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, except that the vampire must use a standard action, and those merely looking at it are not affected. Anyone the vampire targets must succeed on a Will save or fall instantly under the vampire’s influence as though by a dominate person spell (caster level is the characters character level, max 15). The ability has a range of 30 feet. 

Create Spawn (Su): At 15th level, a humanoid or monstrous humanoid slain by a vampire’s energy drain rises as a vampire spawn (see the Vampire Spawn entry, page 253) 1d4 days after burial. If the vampire instead drains the victim’s Constitution to 0 or lower, the victim returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD. In either case, the new vampire or spawn is under the command of the vampire that created it and remains enslaved until its master’s destruction. At any given time a vampire may have enslaved spawn totaling no more than twice its own Hit Dice; any spawn it creates that would exceed this limit are created as free-willed vampires or vampire spawn. A vampire that is enslaved may create and enslave spawn of its own, so a master vampire can control a number of lesser vampires in this fashion. A vampire may voluntarily free an enslaved spawn in order to enslave a new spawn, but once freed, a vampire or vampire spawn cannot be enslaved again. An enslaved vampire may free itself with a will save (DC=creators character level) 

Energy Drain (Su): After 5th level, Living creatures hit by a vampire’s slam attack (or any other natural weapon the vampire might possess) gain two negative levels. For each negative level bestowed, the vampire gains 1d6 temporary hit points. A vampire can use its energy drain ability once per round. 

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

Alternate Form (Su): A vampire can assume the shape of a bat, dire bat (at level 2), wolf (at level 4), or dire wolf(at level 8) as a standard action. This ability is similar to a polymorph spell cast by a 12th-level character, except that the vampire does not regain hit points for changing form and must choose from among the forms mentioned here. While in its alternate form, the vampire loses its natural slam attack and dominate ability, but it gains the natural weapons and extraordinary special attacks of its new form. It can remain in that form until it assumes another or until the next sunrise. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might allow other forms.) 

Damage Reduction (Su):At 15th level, A vampire gains damage reduction 10/silver and magic. A vampire’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. 

Fast Healing (Ex): After 13th level, a vampire heals 5 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, it automatically assumes gaseous form and attempts to escape. It must reach its coffin home within 2 hours or be utterly destroyed. (It can travel up to nine miles in 2 hours.) Any additional damage dealt to a vampire forced into gaseous form has no effect. Once at rest in its coffin, a vampire is helpless. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless and resumes healing at the rate of 5 hit points per round. 

Gaseous Form (Su): As a standard action, a vampire can assume gaseous form at will as the spell (caster level 5th), but it can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability. 

Resistances (Ex): At 7th level, a vampire gains resistance to cold 5 and electricity 5 (10 at level 18). 

Spider Climb (Ex): A vampire can climb sheer surfaces as though with a spider climb spell. 

Turn Resistance (Ex): A vampire has +.25 turn resistance per level(max 4). 

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +4, Dex +2, Cha +2. As an undead creature, a vampire has no constitution score.

Skills: Vampires have a +1 per level (max 5) racial bonus on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature. 

Environment: Any, usually same as base creature. 

Organization: Solitary, pair, gang (3–5), or troupe (1–2 plus 2–5 vampire spawn) 

Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +2. 

Treasure: Double standard. 

Alignment: Always evil (any). 

Advancement: By character class. 

Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +3. A vampire must take his first level in vampire, which gives him no feats, no skills, no BAB,no will or fortitude save bonuses, and +1 to reflex saves.

Vampire Weaknesses 
For all their power, vampires have a number of weaknesses. 

Repelling a Vampire
 Vampires cannot tolerate the strong odor of garlic and must make a will save(DC 17)to enter an area laced with it, and is always considered flat-footed in such an aera. Similarly, they recoil from a mirror or a strongly presented holy symbol. These things don’t harm the vampire—they merely keep it at bay. A recoiling vampire must stay at least 5 feet away from a creature holding the mirror or holy symbol and cannot touch or make melee attacks against the creature holding the item until he stops keeping him at bay. Holding a vampire at bay takes a standard action. Vampires are also unable to cross running water, although they can be carried over it while resting in their coffins or aboard a ship. They are utterly unable to enter a home or other building unless invited in by someone with the authority to do so. They may freely enter public places, since these are by definition open to all. vampires must sleep in their coffins at least 1 hour every day or become fatigued, despite the fact that they are undead. they can acquire a new coffin by sleeping only in that coffin for a month. a vampire that has not used its blood drain ability for three days must make a will save (DC= 10+ # of days without feeding) the first time it encounters a living creature with blood each day or rush to attempt to drink its blood.

Slaying a Vampire
 Reducing a vampire’s hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn’t always destroy it (see the note on fast healing). However, certain attacks can slay vampires. Exposing any vampire to direct sunlight disorients it: It can take only a single move action or attack action and takes 1d10 damage per round it has been exposed to sunlight, including the current round,next round if it cannot escape. Similarly, immersing a vampire in running water paralyzes it and it takes 2d6 cold damage each round and all immunities and DR are ignored.weakness to cold still applies. a vampire reduced to 0 hit points though either of these methods dies instantly. Driving a wooden stake through a vampire’s heart instantly slays the monster. However, it returns to life if the stake is removed, unless the body is destroyed. A popular tactic is to cut off the creature’s head and fill its mouth with holy wafers (or their equivalent). 

Vampire Characters 
Vampires are always evil, which causes characters of certain classes to lose some class abilities, as noted in Chapter 3 of the Player’s Handbook. In addition, certain classes take additional penalties. 

Clerics: Vampire clerics lose their ability to turn undead but gain the ability to rebuke undead. This ability does not affect the vampire’s controller or any other vampires that a master controls. A vampire cleric has access to two of the following domains: Chaos, Destruction, Evil, or Trickery. 

Sorcerers and Wizards: Vampire sorcerers and wizards retain their class abilities, but if a character has a familiar other than a rat or bat, the link between them is broken, and the familiar shuns its former companion. The character can summon another familiar, but it must be a rat or bat.