Vampires

Forever anchored to their coffins and the unholy earth of their graves, these nocturnal predators scheme constantly to strengthen themselves and fill the world with their foul progeny.

Vampires appear just as they did in life, although their features are often hardened and feral, with the predatory look of wolves. Like liches, they often embrace finery and decadence and may assume the guise of nobility. Despite their human appearance, vampires can be easily recognized, for they cast no shadows and throw no reflections in mirrors. Becoming a Vampire requires the character to adhere to the following:

* The character must possess the Cursed One Feat, in-order to become a Vampire.

* Or it can become one from being turned during an IC session.

Becoming a 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:**

Change all current and future Hit Dice to d12s.

**Speed:**

The base creature’s speed increases by 30ft.

**Armor Class:**

The base creature’s natural armor bonus improves by +30.

**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, which deals bludgeoning damage as indicated on the table below. 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.

 Diminutive
 Tiny
 Small
 Medium
 Large
 Huge
 Gargantuan
 Colossal

**Special Attacks:**

A vampire retains all the special attacks of the base creature and gains those described below. Saves for these special attacks have a DC of 10 + Character Level + Cha Modifier + Highest Spell Level, 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 1d10 points of Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained. On each such successful drain attack, the vampire gains hit points of twice the amount it has drained. It cannot exceed its maximum hit points.

* **Children of the Night (Su)**

During the night, a Vampire’s power reaches its peak. The energy suffused in its undead form is amplified at night, providing it with heightened prowess. From dusk until dawn, all a Vampire’s stats become 1.5 their current value.

* **Dominate (Su)**

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. The ability has a range of 30 feet.

* **Create Spawn (Su)**

A humanoid or monstrous humanoid slain by a vampire’s energy drain rises as a vampire spawn (see Vampire Spawn entry). If the vampire instead drains the victim’s Constitution to 0 or lower via blood drain, the victim returns as a vampire. 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.

* **Energy Drain (Su)**

Living creatures hit by a vampire’s slam attack (or any other natural weapon the vampire might possess) gain five negative levels. For each negative level bestowed, the vampire gains 10 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, wolf, or dire wolf as a standard action. While in its alternate form, the vampire loses its natural slam attack and dominate ability, but it gains the natural weapons and extraordinary (Ex) special attacks of its new form.

* **Damage Reduction (Su)**

A vampire has damage reduction 60. Silver negates this, while magic reduces this to half. A vampire’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

* **Fast Healing (Ex)**

A vampire heals 30 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 30 hit points per round.

* **Gaseous Form (Su)**

As a standard action, a vampire can assume gaseous form at will as the spell. It can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly speed of 30 feet with perfect maneuverability.

* **Resistances (Ex)**

A vampire has resistance to cold and electricity. It ignores the first 50 points of cold or electric damage it is dealt.

* **Spider Climb (Ex)**

A vampire can climb sheer surfaces as though with a spider climb spell.

* **Turn Resistance (Ex)**

A vampire has +15 turn resistance. This means it gains a bonus of +15 on saves against turning attempts.

**Abilities:**

Increase ability scores of the base creature as follows: Str +20, Dex +18, Int +6, Wis +6, Cha +6. As an undead creature, a vampire has no Constitution score.

**Skills:**

Vampires have a +8 racial bonus on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks.

**Weaknesses/Slaying a Vampire**

Vampires are unable to approach or touch holy symbols (Objects imbued with positive energy of deities). If it touches holy symbols or anyone holding one, it loses ⅕ of its Hit Points. Dropping to 0 Hit Points from this destroys 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 is destroyed utterly in the next round if it cannot escape. 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.