AC 16 (natural armor)
HP 142 (15d8 + 75; bloodied 71)
Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.
Proficiency +4; Maneuver DC 17
Saving Throws Dex +8, Wis +7, Cha +8
Skills Perception +7, Persuasion +8, Stealth +8 (+1d4)
Damage Resistances necrotic; damage from nonmagical, non-silvered weapons
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages the languages it knew in life
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). When the vampire fails a saving throw , it can choose to succeed instead. When it does so, it visibly grows older. Its original appearance is restored when it finishes a long rest.
Misty Recovery. When the vampire drops to 0 hit points, instead of falling unconscious , it turns into mist as if it had used the Mist Form legendary action. It can't revert to its vampire form, and it must reach its resting place within 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in its resting place, it reverts to vampire form and is paralyzed for 1 hour, at which time it regains 1 hit point. While paralyzed in this way, it can be destroyed by fire damage, radiant damage, damage from a magical weapon, or a wooden stake driven through the heart, but it is otherwise immune to damage.
Regeneration. The vampire regains 20 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point and hasn’t taken radiant damage since its last turn.
Spider Climb. The vampire can climb even on difficult surfaces and upside down on ceilings.
Vampire Weaknesses. Vampires’ most common weaknesses are sunlight and running water. When the vampire ends its turn in contact with one of its weaknesses (such as being bathed in sunlight or running water), it takes 20 radiant damage. While in contact with its weakness, it can’t use its Regeneration trait or its Mist Form or Shapechange actions.
Resting Place. Every vampire’s lair contains a resting place, usually a coffin or sarcophagus, where the vampire must rest for at least an hour each day to recuperate its powers. This resting place is sprinkled with soil from its mortal homeland. If this soil is scattered or is subjected to a bless , hallow , or similar spell, the vampire is destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points.
Spellcasting. The vampire is a 7th level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 15). It has the following wizard spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): mage hand , minor illusion
1st-level (4 slots): disguise self , shield
2nd-level (3 slots): darkness , misty step
3rd-level (3 slots): animate dead , fireball
4th-level (1 slot): blight
ACTIONS
Grab (Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. The target is grappled (escape DC 17) and restrained while grappled in this way.
Charm. The vampire targets a creature within 30 feet, forcing it to make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw . On a failure, the target is charmed by the vampire for 24 hours. While charmed it regards the vampire as a trusted friend and is a willing target for the vampire’s bite. The target repeats the saving throw each time it takes damage, ending the effect on itself on a success. If the target’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, it is immune to this vampire’s Charm for 24 hours.
Fireball (3rd-Level; V, S, M). Fire streaks from the vampire to a point within 120 feet and explodes in a 20-foot radius, spreading around corners. Each creature in the area makes a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw , taking 21 (6d6) fire damage on a failed save or half damage on a success.
Blight (4th-Level; V, S). The vampire targets a living creature or plant within 30 feet, draining moisture and vitality from it. The target makes a DC 15 Constitution saving throw , taking 36 (8d8) necrotic damage on a failure or half damage on a success. Plant creatures have disadvantage on their saving throw and take maximum damage. A nonmagical plant dies.
BONUS ACTIONS
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target that is grappled , incapacitated , restrained , willing, or unaware of the vampire’s presence. Hit: 10 (1d10 + 5) piercing damage plus 21 (6d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage dealt, and the vampire regains this number of hit points. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. If the target is reduced to 0 hit points by this attack, it dies and rises the following night as a vampire spawn in the vampire’s thrall. Before the target first rises as a vampire spawn, a bless , gentle repose , or similar spell cast on the body prevents this transformation.
REACTIONS
Hissing Scuttle (1/Day). When the vampire takes radiant damage, it moves up to its Speed without provoking opportunity attacks .
Warding Charm (1/Day). When a creature the vampire can see targets it with a melee attack but before the attack is made, the vampire uses Charm on that creature.
Shield (1st-Level; V, S). When the vampire is hit by an attack or targeted by magic missile , it gains a +5 bonus to AC (including against the triggering attack) and immunity to magic missile. These benefits last until the start of its next turn.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
The vampire can take 1 legendary action, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Blood Charm. The vampire uses Charm. A creature makes its initial saving throw with disadvantage if the vampire has hit it with a bite attack within the last 24 hours.
Grab. The vampire makes a grab attack.
Mist Form. The vampire transforms into a mist or back into its true form. As mist, the vampire has a flying speed of 30, can’t speak, can’t take actions or manipulate objects, is immune to nonmagical damage from weapons, and has advantage on saving throws and Stealth checks. It can pass through a space as narrow as 1 inch without squeezing but can’t pass through water. Anything it’s carrying transforms with it.
Shapechange. The vampire transforms into the shape of a Medium or smaller beast or back into its true form. While transformed, it has the beast’s size and movement modes. It can’t use reactions or legendary actions, and can’t speak. Otherwise, it uses the vampire’s statistics. Anything it’s carrying transforms with it.
Combat
The vampire grabs and bites its most vulnerable opponent. Once it has weakened a foe with a bite attack, the vampire uses its Blood Charm on that target. When reduced to 30 hit points or fewer, the vampire retreats in animal or mist form through well-prepared escape routes, returning to take its revenge another day.
Vampire Quirks
1 The vampire’s eyes have giant pupils. It has disadvantage on attack rolls and Perception checks while in bright light
2 Instead of being weak to sunlight, the vampire has bat ears, winces at loud noises, and is vulnerable to thunder damage
3 Instead of being weak to sunlight, the vampire surrounds itself with candles and torches, has luminescent sparkling skin, and is weakened while in total darkness
4 Instead of being weak to sunlight, the vampire has frost-covered skin and is vulnerable to fire
5–7 Instead of a bat, the vampire most frequently Shapechanges into a (roll d6): 1 cat , 2 giant centipede , 3 jackal , 4 flying snake , 5 raven , 6 spider
8–10 Instead of sunlight and running water, the vampire is weakened when it (roll d10): 1 touches gold, 2 smells garlic, 3 enters a building without express permission, 4 smells flowers, 5 hears a certain children’s rhyme, 6 touches dirt, 7 hears its own name or that of someone from its past, 8 sees extracted teeth, 9 sees a mirror, 10 (roll twice more). The vampire is obsessed with its weakness, frequently talking about it and incorporating its symbols into its lair. A character can make a DC 12 Insight check to learn this weakness
Legends and Lore
With a History or Religion check, characters can learn the following:
DC 10: Vampires are nocturnal undead that drink blood. Many religious orders hunt them.
DC 15: Most vampires are weak to sunlight, holy water, and radiant damage. They are shapechangers that can turn into clouds of mist or animals such as bats or wolves.
DC 20: Some vampires are weak to things other than sunlight. (A character researching a specific vampire learns its history, weaknesses, and quirks.)
Many vampire mages retire to tombs or ancestral manors, where they conduct arcane research in the manner of a lich. Unlike a lich, however, the vampire mage must occasionally venture from its lair to search for humanoid prey.
Lair Behavior
1 Drinking blood from a wine glass and staring meditatively into the fire
2 Greets you by name and invites you to dinner: you and it have a common enemy
3 Pampering a charmed, innocent person
4 Muttering about its weakness
Lone Behavior
1 Hiding in ambush
2 Pale and furious with hunger
3 Tries to stall you with small talk until vampire spawn arrive
4 Roosting in bat form
Group Behavior
1 A master and apprentice(s) of equal power; there is no trust between them
2 Lovers who enjoy depraved entertainments such as corrupting holy knights
3 Ambassadors from rival clans negotiating a peace treaty
4 A clan in their lair
Wilderness and Underground Signs
1 Gusts of wind ruffle hair and extinguish naked flame
2 The distant cry of a wolf or other beast
3 Two vampire spawn scouts scuttling on the ground, wall, or ceiling; they flee to their master when spotted
4 A dead adventurer, such as a knight in plate armor, soon to rise as a vampire spawn
5 Tendrils of mist cover the ground (vampires in mist form are invisible here)
6 Plants are thorny and seem to move by themselves, drawing blood from unwary passersby
Settlement Signs
1 Pale, fearful faces watch you from windows
2 People on the street seem afraid to talk to strangers; if pressed, they admit there have been strange disappearances
3 Pale nobles walk empty streets, their laughter too loud, insulting anyone they happen to meet; these nobles have been fed upon by their vampiric protector, but they are not yet spawn
4 Totems of protection, such as silver crosses or strands of garlic, hang above every door
Many vampires lurk in sparsely inhabited places, preying on terrified villagers. Others conceal themselves in the rich hunting grounds that large settlements offer.
CR 11–17: vampire (or vampire assassin , vampire mage , or vampire warrior ); vampire with 1d4 ghouls , shadows , swarms of bats , or wolves ; vampire with malcubus , night hag , vampire spawn , or wererat
Treasure 2,600 gp, ring bearing a family crest (250 gp), silver tableware (750 gp), 6 sets of fine clothes (100 gp each), spell scroll of fireball , amulet of proof against detection and location
CR 17–22: elder vampire ; 2 vampires ; vampire with ogre mage ; vampire with 2 vampire spawn ; vampire with 3 or 4 doppelgangers , wights , or winter wolves
Treasure 10,000 gp, 12 bottles of rare wine (250 gp each), golden holy relic (2,500 gp), magical wine (acts as 3 potions of mind reading ), magical black mantle (acts as ring of invisibility )
CR 23–30: elder vampire with 2 shadow demons or vampire spawn ; 3 vampires
Treasure 2,000 pp, ruby and platinum ring (7,500 gp), 12 masterpiece paintings of which one is slashed (750 gp each for the other 11), recent letters from people thought long dead, 2 potions of supreme healing , spell scrolls of antimagic field , plane shift , and symbol , 2 rapier (named Bloodthirst; when it hits, its wielder gains 5 (2d4) temporary hit points), staff of frost
CR 31+: elder vampire with 2 or 3 vampires ; elder vampire with 3 to 5 vampire spawn ; elder vampire with 2 blackguards , barbed devils , or trolls ; elder vampire with adult shadow dragon , ice devil , or rakshasa
Treasure 5,000 pp, 20,000 gp, ruby necklace (25,000 gp), platinum mask (7,500 gp), gold bust (25,000 gp), document indicating that the ruler of a city or kingdom is a vampire, crystal ball of mind reading , rod of lordly might