Improved familiars for vampires?

[eyebreaker7]

"Vampire sorcerers and wizards retain their class abilities, but if a character has a familiar other than a rat or bat, the link between them is broken, and the familiar shuns its former companion. The character can summon another familiar, but it must be a rat or bat."

Is there any "expansion" about what they can get like using the improved familiar feat?

[Ruethgar]

Take the vampire template class up to 6th but no further and skip that bit.

Edit: Technically should be able to do something like Class 1/Bloodline 1/Vampire 1 LA Buy-Off Bloodline 2/Vampire 1 LA Buy-Off etc but that’s a bit cheesy.

[Venger]

Sure. They can always delay taking improved familiar until later, and a changeling wizard vampire's familiar could just morph back into other stuff.

[Adamantrue]

I would allow things that are thematically appropriate, such as a Vargouille (Complete Scoundrel) or Hell Hound (Complete Warrior).

[Ruethgar]

https://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20021031x

While it doesn’t call out vampires specifically, it does say “ If a DM wishes to give undead sorcerers and wizards greater scope for their familiars, she may consider using one of the three following alternatives.” With Tiny Centipede, Maggot, and Giant Fly.

Edit: I’m not sure if it calls out undead masters being appropriate, but as a DM, I would allow the Undead Familiar feat to bypass any limitation on what familiar an undead could have.

[ShurikVch]

How about the "literal approach": template asks for "bat or rat" - let's give it "bat or rat"

Bat:
Bat
Vampire Bat (Dragon #341)
Night Hunter Bat (Monsters of Faerûn) Feat: Darkness Familiar - in Dragon #322
Bat Swarm (Dragon #329)
Sinister Bat (Monsters of Faerûn) Feat: Darkness Familiar - in Dragon #322
Bat (Dragon #331) - gives Blindsense 20'

Rat:
Rat
Salvage Rat (Dragon #341) - Tiny Construct
Rat Swarm (Dragon #329)
Rat (Dragon #331) - 1/day, sacrifice prepared spell co convert some oncoming damage to nonlethal (1 hp per spell's level)
Bone Rat Swarm (Dragon #329)
Corpse Rat Swarm (Dragon #329)


Aforementioned Darkness Familiar have some straight Undead
Also:
Stitched Flesh Familiar feat (Libris Mortis)
Construct Familiar and Undead Familiar feats (Dragon #280)
Betrayal of the Spirit Linked feat (Dragon #336) allow to turn your Familiar into Skeleton or Zombie
Animate Dead Familiar (http://archive.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/sb/sb20011209a) spell
Dragon #329 allow to get a swarm as Improved Familiar - besides aforementioned, there are also Ephemeral Swarm (11th level), and Bloodmote Cloud (13th)
Demonologist and Diabolist PrC (Book of Vile Darkness) are getting Quasit and Imp as a Familiar - I doubt they would refuse to serve a Vampire

[Elkad]

Quasits and Imps (and other evil outsiders) would feel fine as well.

[Gruftzwerg]

"Vampire sorcerers and wizards retain their class abilities, but if a character has a familiar other than a rat or bat, the link between them is broken, and the familiar shuns its former companion. The character can summon another familiar, but it must be a rat or bat."

Is there any "expansion" about what they can get like using the improved familiar feat?

Imho it depends more on the "when did you get access to the (Improved/...) familiar", meaning the order is important here.

You see, both the vampires version of a familiar and that of e.g improved familiar are exceptions to the general rule for familiars, altering its ruletext.

You just have to change your familiar after becoming a vampire. Because the limitation of a vampires familiar gets than altered by e.g. Improved Familiar.

[zlefin]

I'm not aware of any RAW expansion; but it'd clearly allow for some additional choices. Most obvious Dire Rat and Dire Bat. It'd basically be DM's call, but there should be some additional options gained. I'd rule that anything thematically appropriate for a vampire would be fine.