Vampire Beasts
It is common knowledge that vampires often take the living as thralls, seducing them with dark magic or corrupting their minds with their own tainted blood. Less known, however, is that some vampires will also turn beasts into their spawn as well, especially in areas where the wilderness is more prevalent than towns and villages. These ghoulish servants are dependent on the vampire for their survival, and thus their loyalty is indeed undying. While they do not appear very much different from the unturned members of their species, they can usually be identified by their uncharacteristic behaviors, such as remaining in one place for days on end, keeping watch for their master. Sudden shifts to a nocturnal lifestyle or a distaste for their conventional diet are also ways to spot an animal that may have been changed into a vampire. Thankfully, they are vulnerable to the same weaknesses as their brethren, and can be dispatched in the same manner.
Vampire Beast Sample
Here the vampire template has been applied to a brown bear to create a vampire bear.
Vampire Beast Template
Any beast can be converted into a vampire's animal spawn. When converting one in this way, change its type to undead, and it retains all of its statistics except as noted below.
Ability Score Increase. The beast's Strength and Wisdom scores increase by 1 each, to a maximum of 20 for each score.
Challenge Rating. Follow the Challenge Rating guide in the Dungeon Master's Guide to determine the new rating after the template is applied. The beast's Regeneration and Bite attacks increase its effective hit points, so be sure to account for this in the calculation.
Special Traits. The beast gains natural armor, increasing its AC to 2 plus its Dexterity modifier unless its AC is already higher than this. The beast also gains the special traits of Regeneration and Vampire Weaknesses. One of its melee attacks now grapples Large or smaller creatures on a hit, and its bite attack deals additional necrotic damage. This necrotic damage heals the beast and reduces the maximum hit points of its target. Lastly, the beast gains resistance to necrotic damage. For an even higher challenge rating, you can give it resistance to nonmagical damage as well.
Senses. The beast gains a darkvision with a radius of 60 feet unless it already has darkvision with a greater radius.
Vampire Bear
Large undead, chaotic evil
- Armor Class 12 (natural armor)
- Hit Points 51 (6d10 + 18)
- Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 20 (+5) 10 (+0) 16 (+3) 2 (-4) 14 (+2) 7 (-2)
- Skills Perception +4
- Damage Resistances necrotic
- Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
- Languages --
- Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Keen Smell. The bear has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Regeneration. The bear regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point and isn't in sunlight or running water. If the bear takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn't function at the start of the bear's next turn.
Vampire Weaknesses. The bear has the following flaws:
Forbiddance. The bear can't enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
Harmed by Running Water. The bear takes 20 acid damage when it ends its turn in running water.
Stake to the Heart. The bear is destroyed if a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into its heart while it is incapacitated in its resting place.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The bear takes 20 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Actions
Multiattack. The bear makes two attacks: one with its claws and one with its bite.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC 13). Until this grapple ends, the bear can bite only the grappled creature and has advantage on attack rolls to do so.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the bear regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.