Toned down Half-Vampire (3.5)

[Jeivar]

If my current character dies I want to try playing a half-vampire, just for kicks. However, I would like to tone it down from the official version, partly to lower the level adjustment to +1, and partly because the GM feels the template is too powerful as is.
Thing is, I'm not the most rules-savvy person out there, and I'd appreciate some input.

The official version goes thus:

+2 Natural armor bonus
Cold Resistance 5
Electricity Resistance 5
+2 Racial bonus to Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot
Damage Reduction 5 / silver or magic
Strengh +2
Dexterity +2
Charisma +2

Level +2

1d6 Slam Attack
Improved Initiative
Fast Healing: 1 per round, as long as the half-vampire has less than half its hit points.

ONE of the following abilities:

Blood Drain: Drain Constitution to gain temporary HP, and becomes Fatigued if it doesn't feed daily, and Exhausted if it keeps skipping meals.
Charm Gaze
Children of the Night: Summon bats, rats, or wolves.

* * *
What I want to do is remove the Resistances and Damage Reduction (or lower it), the Slam Attack, and probably the Fast Healing as well, and add Light Sensitivity and either Low-Light vision or Darkvision. Also, instead of Charm Gaze or Children of the Night, I'd like to go with Blood Drain, since it's a flaw as well as a strength (blood-drinking can cause problems, after all)

What do you think? Does this add up to a Lvl +1 character?
Oh, and does adding an inherited template to a human mean I don't get the Human extra Feat?

[The Rose Dragon]

Oh, and does adding an inherited template to a human mean I don't get the Human extra Feat?

Unless the template specifies otherwise, such as in the case of Dragonborn, you keep all your racial traits.

[Geiger Counter]

Replace gaze with a bonus to charisma checks against anyone who does not avert their eyes from the Damphir. Replace call of the night with either a casting of nature's ally or a familiar available to vampires based on his total HD. The daily blood drain is both powerful and a detriment, replace this with weekly needs to drink blood as a coup des grais. Oh yes and call this thing a Damphir. If you loose one +2 ability bonus and make fast healing equal to charisma bonus every 10 minutes it might just be LA+1.
Edit: Also I personally prefer to give creatures endure elements as the spell as an extraordinary ability rather than give it energy resistance.

[Jeivar]

Replace gaze with a bonus to charisma checks against anyone who does not avert their eyes from the Damphir. Replace call of the night with either a casting of nature's ally or a familiar available to vampires based on his total HD. The daily blood drain is both powerful and a detriment, replace this with weekly needs to drink blood as a coup des grais

I think you misunderstood: The template gets to pick ONE of the three powers.


Oh yes and call this thing a Damphir

What makes you say that?

[Geiger Counter]

I think you misunderstood: The template gets to pick ONE of the three powers.

What makes you say that?

Yeah I know, and they're ilconceived, especially since the middle one is more of a detriment than an ability. The other two aren't even clear about their mechanics work but if I was just to go on how one would assume they'd work than this monster is pushing into +3 or even +4 LA.

Damphir is the classical and proper name for half vampires.

[Eurus]

Yeah I know, and they're ilconceived, especially since the middle one is more of a detriment than an ability. The other two aren't even clear about their mechanics work but if I was just to go on how one would assume they'd work than this monster is pushing into +3 or even +4 LA.

Damphir is the classical and proper name for half vampires.

Dhampir, technically. As for whether it balances out at LA 1, I'm not sure; fast healing is a pretty potent ability by itself, and getting either Charm Person at will, the ability to deal con damage, or the ability to summon swarms (very nasty at low levels) isn't half bad either. Decent stat adjustments and a not-irrelevant DR, too. Probably wouldn't be a big deal at higher levels, but at low levels this could be an extraordinarily effective template.

[Set]

A weak version, which would probably be LA +1 under 3.5, or LA +0 under 4E or Pathfinder;

+2 Str, +2 Cha
Darkvision 60 ft.
DR 5 / slashing or piercing (essentially, he has DR 5 against bludgeoning attacks)
+2 racial bonus to Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently and Spot
Children of the Night: +4 racial bonus to Handle Animal (or Wild Empathy) checks vs. bats, rats and wolves, and +2 CL to summoning spells (including summon swarm) that call up bats, rats or wolves (dire or normal or fiendish) for the purposes of determining duration.
Blood Drain: Bite for 1d4 piercing damage + drain 1 Con point per round the bite is maintained (continuing to do bite damage is optional). For every Con point drained, you are healed one hit point of damage. If you do not drain at least 1 Con pt of blood in a 24 hour period, you become Fatigued and take 1d6 nonlethal damage that does not heal until you feed (as per starvation or thirst rules) and you do not recover any hit points or ability scores through rest until you have fed. On any day where you drain 2 Con pts, you can go without any other food. On any day where you drain 3 Con pts, you can go without water or other drink.
Light Sensitivity: You suffer the dazzled condition in areas of sunlight or daylight equivalent illumination.

Other minor or cosmetic stuff can be added, such as Will save to enter a home uninvited, or shaken by Turning attempts in area, or takes 1 hp of damage from a full flask of holy water (none from splash damage, although you don't like it), or your reflection is always translucent, or you have a 50% chance of suffering nightmares if you don't sleep surrounded by grave trappings (wrapped in a burial shroud or near a graveyard, only 20%, in a coffin or grave, no nightmares at all) and being fatigued for the first hour after rising from the after-effects of your rough night.

Names: Dampyr (so overused), Bloodborn, Sanguine, Leech, Cruori, Fetch

[Scorpions__]

Have you considered just using the original Half-Vampire and utilizing LA Buyoff?





DM[F]R

[Jeivar]

Have you considered just using the original Half-Vampire and utilizing LA Buyoff?


Well, the problem is that the GM feels the Half-Vampire is too powerful at low levels. But I'm not familiar with LA Buyoff. How does that work?

[Jeivar]

Well okay, how about this version:

+2 Strength
+2 Charisma

+2 Racial Bonus to Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot.

Low-Light Vision

Light Sensitivity

Improved Initiative.

Natural Armor Bonus +2 OR Damage Reduction 2 / Magic. I'm not sure which one.

Blood Drain: Can do 1d4 Constitution damage per round, and gain 5 temporary hit points. Must drain at least 1 Con point per day from a living being or become Fatigued (FortNeg), and later Exhausted.

If hit with a successful Turn, the character is Shaken.

* * *

Would THIS add up to a reasonable Level Adjustment +1 template? With the weaknesses factored in? Just how is the formula for calculating it?

[Jeivar]

Uh, anyone?

[dota600]

Well, the problem is that the GM feels the Half-Vampire is too powerful at low levels. But I'm not familiar with LA Buyoff. How does that work?
That is idea of most templates, monstrous races and other races with L.A. They have advantages at early levels but it becomes a burden at late levels because you then fall down to the other players.

I only took templates or other races with L.A if I want their fluff fits it. Otherwise, I will stick with +0 L.A races.

Yeah, I got to say is that stick with the official half-vampire on the Libris Mortis or to the dhampir of Denezins of Darkness.

My pick is the dhampir because of its (imbalanced?) strength, though it is Ravenloft so it is understandable.

[Set]

Well okay, how about this version:

+2 Strength, +2 Charisma
+2 Racial Bonus to Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot.
Low-Light Vision
Light Sensitivity
Improved Initiative.
Natural Armor Bonus +2 OR Damage Reduction 2 / Magic. I'm not sure which one.
Blood Drain: Can do 1d4 Constitution damage per round, and gain 5 temporary hit points. Must drain at least 1 Con point per day from a living being or become Fatigued (FortNeg), and later Exhausted.
If hit with a successful Turn, the character is Shaken.

* * *

Would THIS add up to a reasonable Level Adjustment +1 template? With the weaknesses factored in? Just how is the formula for calculating it?

Seems acceptable for an LA+1, comparing it in my head to an Aasimar, which has none of those penalties, and some energy resistances in place of the free Imp Initiative.