XVIII

### Age

51 (aging stopped at 18, worked for Dippel for about 2 years, was disposed of 31 years ago)

### Appearance

gaunt and lanky, tall, grey and black fur

## Synopsis

XVIII was a test subject and assistant of Johann Conrad Dippel, before they imbibed a mysterious chemical formula and woke up as a vampire.

## Adventuring Origin

XVIII is unsure of their own origins. They have no memories prior to the last few years of their life, which were spent in the castle dungeons of Dr. Johann Conrad Dippel, an alchemist and necromancer. During their time with Dippel, XVIII worked as both an assistant and a test subject for Dippel's alchemical experiments, which Dippel claimed were aimed at creating a chemical formula to "grant people a new life."

One day, while cleaning up after one such experiment, XVIII decided to drink one of Dippel's chemical formulas, in hopes of finding a new life. Upon drinking it, they fell unconscious for an unknown period of time.

When they woke up, XVIII found themselves in a pit filled with skeletons and emaciated corpses in a desert scrub, with no civilization anywhere nearby. Their memories of the following several days are fuzzy and unclear, but they have hazy recollections of wandering the desert scrub, catching various types of wildlife, and drinking its blood. This desire to consume blood was new to XVIII, and they were unsure of what it meant.

Eventually, XVIII regained enough strength and wherewithal to begin wandering the wilderness in search of civilization. Still not entirely coherent, and having some lapses in memory, XVIII found themselves wandering a hot, sandy desert. It was here that XVIII came upon an Alviren Empire patrol. The patrol took XVIII into custody, and escorted them through the desert to the coastal town of Karaad.

In Karaad, XVIII was questioned by the Karaadian guard, but they were unable to provide any information beyond Dr. Johann Conrad Dippel's name, which didn't seem to mean anything to the guards. As the guards were discussing what to do about XVIII, a diplomat from Mycorrhiza by the name of Frog, who was visiting on some sort of political errand, took pity on XVIII's condition and urged the guards to release him. The guards complied, and Frog gave XVIII some basic clothing and enough coin to survive for a few days.

Still feeling a craving to drink the blood of living things, XVIII took to living in the streets of Karaad, eating rats when desperate. It was in this desperate condition that XVIII was approached by Baron Millan Watts, the proprietor of a local brothel, who offered XVIII food and work. The work was difficult, and the Baron was a cruel and vicious souteneur, but XVIII had little context for the situation they had found themselves in, and the work at least provided them the opportunity to feed on clientele as they worked.

Months later, on another diplomatic visit to Karaad, Frog once again encountered XVIII. Frog took pity on the terrible conditions in which XVIII was working, and insisted on hiring them as a bodyguard to get them away from the Baron.

## Secret Origin

XVIII remembers nothing of their childhood or life before Johann Conrad Dippel, due to Dippel's chemical experimentation on them. In truth, they were born to Freddie Hackett and Daisy Hackett 48 years ago in the Emerald Highlands.They were born sickly and weak, and weren't expected to live long. Nevertheless, the Hacketts loved the child, and named them Robin Hackett.

Dr. Dippel visited the Hacketts shortly after Robin's birth, and offered a grim proposal: to purchase the sickly child in order to study its illness, which would inevitably take its life, he claimed. In despair, but also desperate for a windfall to help them through a rough stretch of years on the farm, Freddie and Daisy agreed to the arrangement, and never saw Robin again.

## Party Connections

### Frog

XVIII first met Frog about six months ago, when he first arrived in Karaad and was being questioned by the local guard. Frog used his political standing to have XVIII released, clothed, and given enough coin to get by for a short time. The two met again just a few days prior to the campaign's start, when Frog found XVIII working in deplorable conditions under Baron Millan Watts, and insisted on hiring them as a bodyguard to remove them from that life.

## Planned Story Arcs

### Johann Dippel’s Castle

In order to learn his nature, and why he was discarded, XVIII will need to return to Johann Conrad Dippel's castle in the Emerald Highlands. Here, he will learn that he was purchased as a very young boy, from a family of farmers in the highlands. He was subjected to dozens of different alchemical and necromantic experiments, which numbed his personality, damaged his long-term memory, and made him into a compliant servant. These experiments all had a primary goal - to create a living phylactery for Dippel to store his own soul, as a form of lichdom.

He will also learn that he was only one of several such experiments, including his former friend XV, who was another such child. Many children died or were otherwise horribly maimed by the experiments, and some even become undead monstrosities. But Dippel never successfully achieved a living phylactery.

Investigating the castle, XVIII will learn that Johann Conrad Dippel was forced to flee his castle and abandon his experiments, after the Weavers Conclave learned what he was doing. He will discover that these events took place about thirty years ago, and that Dippel's current whereabouts are unknown.

The only lead XVIII will find is that one of Dippel's experiments survived, and was taken with him as his own personal servant. This servant is XV.

### Rescuing XV

Eventually, XVIII will learn or discover that XV is in the city of Saltcrest, standing watch at the old manor of Tamrius Grimm. In the process of rescuing XV from Johann Conrad Dippel's influence, XVIII will learn of Dippel's plan to free Tamrius Grimm from imprisonment in exchange for his secrets of how to create a living phylactery.

### Defeating Johann Dippel

After the imprisoned Tamrius Grimm is taken by Johann Conrad Dippel, XVIII must find his new castle in Asaria, and defeat him.

## Story Rewards

### Team Skill: Edge of XVIII

Once XVIII awakens Syntithenai, he permanently gains the following skill, which he retains even after he ends his attunement to the blade.

***Edge of XVIII.*** At the end of each long rest, you can choose an ally to be attuned to your Team Skill. The ally remains attuned to your Team Skill until you complete another long rest. You can only use your Team Skill on the attuned ally, and you can only ever have one ally attuned to your Team Skill at a time.

When your attuned ally deals damage to a creature within 10 feet of you, you experience a surge of vitality. Your speed increases by 10 feet, and you gain advantage on Strength and Dexterity checks and saving throws until the end of your next turn.

### Story Reward: Vampiric Nature

Within Dr. Johann Conrad Dippel’s keep are three vials of vampire blood that Dippel created alchemically. XVIII can drink the blood to complete his transformation into a full vampire. He gains features based on the number of vials that he drinks, as follows:

#### First Vial

***Vampire Weaknesses.*** You have the following weaknesses.

* *Forbiddance.* You can't enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
* *Stake to the Heart.* If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into your heart while you are incapacitated, you are paralyzed until the stake is removed.

***Superior Darkvision.*** Your darkvision has a range of 120 feet.

***Magical Attacks.*** Your *vampiric bite* attack and unarmed strikes count as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical damage. In addition, you can apply your *sneak attack* feature to your *vampiric bite* attacks and unarmed strikes as if they were attacks with *finesse* weapons.

***Shapechanger.*** You can use your action to polymorph into the shape of a Tiny bat. The transformation lasts for a number of hours equal to your proficiency bonus, or until you use a bonus action to revert to your true form. While in bat form, you can't speak, your walking speed is 5 feet, and you have a flying speed of 30 feet. Your statistics, other than your size and speed, are unchanged, except that your Strength score becomes 2. Anything you are wearing or carrying transforms with you. You revert to your true form if you die. While in your bat form, you can use your *vampiric bite* racial feature, but you cannot cast spells, and your actions are otherwise limited to actions that could reasonably be taken by a bat, at the DM's discretion. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a long rest.

***Glamour.*** As an action, you can attempt to charm one humanoid you can see within 30 feet of you. If the target can see you, they must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your sorcerer spell save DC or become charmed by you. The charmed target regards you as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn't under your control, it takes your requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and will allow you to use your *vampiric bite* racial feature on it as long as it has at least half of its hit points.

Each time you or your companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until you use a bonus action to end the effect. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a long rest.

#### Second Vial

***Vampire Weaknesses.*** You gain the following additional weaknesses.

* *Harmed By Running Water.* You take acid damage equal to your level if you end your turn in running water.
* *Sunlight Hypersensitivity.* While in sunlight, you have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks. In addition, for each hour that you spend in sunlight, you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or gain a level of exhaustion. The DC of this saving throw is equal to 10 + 2 for each consecutive hour that you have spent in sunlight.
* *Bloodthirst.* You require humanoid blood for survival. You can consume humanoid blood by using your *vampiric bite* attack on a humanoid creature, or a humanoid corpse that has been dead no longer than 24 hours. If you complete a long rest and have not consumed blood in this way since the previous long rest, you gain a level of exhaustion. You then gain an additional level of exhaustion for each subsequent short or long rest you complete without consuming blood. Consuming blood removes all levels of exhaustion gained in this way, and levels of exhaustion gained in this way cannot be removed by any other means.

***Vampiric Resistance.*** You have resistance to necrotic damage.

***Children of the Night.*** As an action, you can cast the *summon beast* spell, requiring no components. When you cast the spell in this way, you cast it at a level equal to your proficiency bonus, and it has the following changes:

* The summoned bestial spirit resembles either a shadowy wolf or a giant bat (your choice). You use the Land environment for the wolf, or the Air environment for the bat.
* The summoned beast disappears early if it is exposed to direct sunlight.

Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a long rest.

***Blood Frenzy.*** As a bonus action, you can enter a blood frenzy for 1 minute. For the duration, your *vampiric bite* deals an extra 2d4 damage on a hit, and you have advantage on attack rolls that you make with your *vampiric bite* against any creature that is below its hit point maximum. In addition, you can empower your *vampiric bite* without expending any uses of the feature for the duration. Once you enter a blood frenzy, you can't do so again until the next long rest.

#### Third Vial

***Undead Nature.*** Your creature type becomes Undead, and you lose the Humanoid creature type. As such, spells that have no effect on undead creatures (such as *cure wounds*) have no effect on you. You are immune to disease and you do not age.

***Regeneration.*** You can use your *second wind* feature an unlimited number of times. If you end your turn with 0 hit points and are not dead, you regain hit points as if you had used your *second wind* feature. This trait does not function if you have taken radiant damage or damage from holy water since your last turn, if you are in sunlight or running water, or if a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into your heart.