Vampire PC [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

Vampire PC [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
TamianTheRanger
06-20-07, 10:12 PM while very unorthadox i was wondering if anyone had ideas on a vampire PC i was thinking rogue or ranger but any suggestions are welcome thx :mage:
Salla
06-20-07, 10:16 PM I recommend ... not, since you won't be able to do anything half the time (aka the daylight half).
TamianTheRanger
06-21-07, 06:44 AM ya your right but he would be a great dungeoneer :emp:
The_Shaman
06-21-07, 07:07 AM Maybe, but you still need to worry about insane LA and a bit of the fairly useless undead racial HDs. Half-vampire (LMortis) and Vampire Scion (Fang & Fury) may be better options.
CrazyOzzy
06-21-07, 07:12 AM Maybe, but you still need to worry about insane LA and a bit of the fairly useless undead racial HDs. Half-vampire (LMortis) and Vampire Scion (Fang & Fury) may be better options.

Otherwise, If you insist on making a PC, I find that Cleric, Blackguard and Rogues are the best core classes for a Vampire.
Mai_ariti
06-21-07, 08:54 AM There is a feat in Libris Mortis that allows a creature that has something awful happen to itself in the sunlight to off set ot for a number of rounds equal to his Cha modifier. I currently have a NPC in one of my games that is a Vampire who can be in the sun for 6 rounds before he is stunned. On top of that he has the Lifebond feat to another NPC and is a swarmshifter (alternative vampires in the last chapter of the book) who took the Undead Tomb Dust option (from the Swarm Shifter template). Basically, he spends his days riding around in the pocket of his Life-bonded person and she doesn't open the pocket all day. If they run into trouble, he can come out for 5 rounds and return to the pocket for the 6th then come out for 5 more. The Life-bonded is also a Warlock so she can drop globes of darkness when he really needs them.

This takes a lot of work to set up but if you have a party member who would go for being the Life-bonded, it makes being a Vampire a lot less troublesome.

Oh yes, and carry you coffin around in a Portable Hole or Bag of Holding so that if you die you dont have to go far to reenter your coffin.
RobbyPants
06-21-07, 09:49 AM It's a bit of a shameless plug, but if you can talk you DM into using the modified vampire template (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=708607) I created, it will help lower your LA, making the character more playable.

Even still, I'd avoid any type of spell caster. I'd think rogue (as has already been suggested) will be one of your stronger options. Vampires inately have some very good stealth abilities, so this will help you to make up for lower ranks in some of your skills. The lower BAB you will have will be somewhat offset by increased Str and Dex scores, plus you can often strike with surprise (denying your opponents their Dex bonus to AC; sneak attack!). Also, having d12 hit dice does help with less hit dice, as does damage reduction and fast healing.

Just be weary that as an undead creature, you die at 0 HP, not -10, so you have to keep an eye on that. Well, more correctly, you'll turn into mist at 0 (being a vampire), but you still have to get to your coffin at that point.
lint trap
06-21-07, 09:54 AM Playing a straight, by-the-book vampire is difficult enough in a solo campaign; with a party, it becomes nearly impossible. Between sunlight, running water, and the whole invitation-only thing, you'll be an anchor and a liability. Throw in the fact that the other characters will have an 8 level lead on you, and you might as well stake yourself from the get-go. I'd go for a half-vampire or even a gravetouched ghoul before touching the vampire template.
EternalWizard
06-22-07, 09:12 PM I' ve always liked the Vampire. I've always dreamed of playing a Vampire Wizard or Sorcerer but that's obviously impossible because of the LA. Same applies to all classes that are highly level-dependant, rogue included.

I think, the best race for a PC Vampire is Fighter. The Vampire's stats are good for a Fighter, you are a tough guy with Natural Armor, Fast Healing, DR and resistances, plus you get some really nice feats which are great for melee combat.
Finally as a Fighter you will have a good Strength score, which is useful when using slam attacks to Energy Drain or grapple to Blood Drain.

So Fighter is my suggestion :)
ElberethSilverleaf
06-24-07, 02:09 PM Why would you want to play a vampire in the first place?
The hardships it would place on the rest of the party seem pretty unfair to me.
Omega_Grey
06-24-07, 10:14 PM Well, I played a vampire once in a solo campaign (influenced heavily by the fact that Legacy of Kain: Defiance came out that day, and that we had a Legacy marathon where we played the all the games through) and had a lot of fun. There is a ton of DM-Player interaction that must take place in order to keep everything balanced, not just DM-character. You have to sit down with your DM and work together on what exactly your character is going to be capable of so he doesnt accidentally put you against something you cant handle.

But talking from a character build point of view, I played as a Human Ranger that went into Blackguard as my character, and it worked out great. So any class that can take advantage of that bonus to stealth and strength (rouge, ranger, and even fighter) are great choices.

Oh, and we did this before Libris Mortis (in fact it was 3.0 core only) came out so we didnt even have all the nifty feats presented in there, so I think it is easily taken care off. Just keep in mind the HUGE level adjustment where you gain nothing from classes.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
TamianTheRanger 06-20-07, 10:12 PM	while very unorthadox i was wondering if anyone had ideas on a vampire PC i was thinking rogue or ranger but any suggestions are welcome thx :mage:
Salla 06-20-07, 10:16 PM	I recommend ... not, since you won't be able to do anything half the time (aka the daylight half).
TamianTheRanger 06-21-07, 06:44 AM	ya your right but he would be a great dungeoneer :emp:
The_Shaman 06-21-07, 07:07 AM	Maybe, but you still need to worry about insane LA and a bit of the fairly useless undead racial HDs. Half-vampire (LMortis) and Vampire Scion (Fang & Fury) may be better options.
CrazyOzzy 06-21-07, 07:12 AM	Maybe, but you still need to worry about insane LA and a bit of the fairly useless undead racial HDs. Half-vampire (LMortis) and Vampire Scion (Fang & Fury) may be better options. Otherwise, If you insist on making a PC, I find that Cleric, Blackguard and Rogues are the best core classes for a Vampire.
Mai_ariti 06-21-07, 08:54 AM	There is a feat in Libris Mortis that allows a creature that has something awful happen to itself in the sunlight to off set ot for a number of rounds equal to his Cha modifier. I currently have a NPC in one of my games that is a Vampire who can be in the sun for 6 rounds before he is stunned. On top of that he has the Lifebond feat to another NPC and is a swarmshifter (alternative vampires in the last chapter of the book) who took the Undead Tomb Dust option (from the Swarm Shifter template). Basically, he spends his days riding around in the pocket of his Life-bonded person and she doesn't open the pocket all day. If they run into trouble, he can come out for 5 rounds and return to the pocket for the 6th then come out for 5 more. The Life-bonded is also a Warlock so she can drop globes of darkness when he really needs them. This takes a lot of work to set up but if you have a party member who would go for being the Life-bonded, it makes being a Vampire a lot less troublesome. Oh yes, and carry you coffin around in a Portable Hole or Bag of Holding so that if you die you dont have to go far to reenter your coffin.
RobbyPants 06-21-07, 09:49 AM	It's a bit of a shameless plug, but if you can talk you DM into using the modified vampire template (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=708607) I created, it will help lower your LA, making the character more playable. Even still, I'd avoid any type of spell caster. I'd think rogue (as has already been suggested) will be one of your stronger options. Vampires inately have some very good stealth abilities, so this will help you to make up for lower ranks in some of your skills. The lower BAB you will have will be somewhat offset by increased Str and Dex scores, plus you can often strike with surprise (denying your opponents their Dex bonus to AC; sneak attack!). Also, having d12 hit dice does help with less hit dice, as does damage reduction and fast healing. Just be weary that as an undead creature, you die at 0 HP, not -10, so you have to keep an eye on that. Well, more correctly, you'll turn into mist at 0 (being a vampire), but you still have to get to your coffin at that point.
lint trap 06-21-07, 09:54 AM	Playing a straight, by-the-book vampire is difficult enough in a solo campaign; with a party, it becomes nearly impossible. Between sunlight, running water, and the whole invitation-only thing, you'll be an anchor and a liability. Throw in the fact that the other characters will have an 8 level lead on you, and you might as well stake yourself from the get-go. I'd go for a half-vampire or even a gravetouched ghoul before touching the vampire template.
EternalWizard 06-22-07, 09:12 PM	I' ve always liked the Vampire. I've always dreamed of playing a Vampire Wizard or Sorcerer but that's obviously impossible because of the LA. Same applies to all classes that are highly level-dependant, rogue included. I think, the best race for a PC Vampire is Fighter. The Vampire's stats are good for a Fighter, you are a tough guy with Natural Armor, Fast Healing, DR and resistances, plus you get some really nice feats which are great for melee combat. Finally as a Fighter you will have a good Strength score, which is useful when using slam attacks to Energy Drain or grapple to Blood Drain. So Fighter is my suggestion :)
ElberethSilverleaf 06-24-07, 02:09 PM	Why would you want to play a vampire in the first place? The hardships it would place on the rest of the party seem pretty unfair to me.
Omega_Grey 06-24-07, 10:14 PM	Well, I played a vampire once in a solo campaign (influenced heavily by the fact that Legacy of Kain: Defiance came out that day, and that we had a Legacy marathon where we played the all the games through) and had a lot of fun. There is a ton of DM-Player interaction that must take place in order to keep everything balanced, not just DM-character. You have to sit down with your DM and work together on what exactly your character is going to be capable of so he doesnt accidentally put you against something you cant handle. But talking from a character build point of view, I played as a Human Ranger that went into Blackguard as my character, and it worked out great. So any class that can take advantage of that bonus to stealth and strength (rouge, ranger, and even fighter) are great choices. Oh, and we did this before Libris Mortis (in fact it was 3.0 core only) came out so we didnt even have all the nifty feats presented in there, so I think it is easily taken care off. Just keep in mind the HUGE level adjustment where you gain nothing from classes.