[PEACH] Playable vampire template + Vampire feats!

[CinuzIta]

Hi all!

With the release of Nosgoth' beta my love for the Legacy of Kain serie has blossomed again!

So I thought for some day about brewing a vampire template loosely inspired to the Legacy of Kain vampires. Here it is, mind that I'm open to suggestions and constructive criticism is welcome!
Let me know what you think!

Vampire

Creating a Vampire
Vampire is an applied template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid.

Size and Type
The creature’s type changes to undead (augmented humanoid or monstrous humanoid). Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.

Hit Dice
Increase all racial and class HD to d12's.

Abilities
Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Cha +2. As an undead creature, a vampire has no Constitution score.

Skills
Vampires have a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.

Speed
Same as the base creature. If the base creature has a swim speed, the vampire retains the ability to swim and is not vulnerable to immersion in running water (see below).

Armor Class
A Vampire gains a +1 natural armor bonus to AC.

Attack
A vampire gains two claw attacks if it did not already have them. The base damage for a vampire’s claw attack varies with its size as follows:

Fine 1
Diminutive 1d2
Tiny 1d3
Small 1d4
Medium-size 1d6
Large 1d8
Huge 2d6
Gargantuan 2d8
Colossal 4d6

If the base creature already has a claw attack, the vampire uses the better base damage.

Special Attacks
A Vampire retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following special attacks.

Blood Drain (Ex)
A Vampire can suck blood from a living victim with its fangs by making a successful grapple check. If it pins the foe, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained. On each such successful attack, the Vampire gains 5 temporary hit points that last 1 hour per HD of the victim.

Special Qualities
A Vampire retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following special qualities.

Turn Resistance (Ex)
The character gains Turn Resistance +2.

Pupation (Ex)
Vampires undergo some transformations as they become more powerful, evoluting and distinguishing themselves from the other vampires. A Vampire gain a bonus [Vampire] feat for every 4 HD it has. To obtain the feat, the Vampire must envelope himself in a self-made cocoon (1 hour work process, no money nor materials invested) and then rest for an entire day (24 hours) uninterrupted. At the end of this period they emerge from their cocoon with a new Dark Gift. The Vampire is not forced to undergo the pupation as soon as he reach the 4th HD, he can undergo the pupation whenever he wants to.

Alignment
A Vampire cannot be Good.

Level Adjustment:
Same as the base creature +1.

Vampire Weaknesses
For all their power, vampires have a number of weaknesses.

Repelling a Vampire
Vampires recoil from a strongly presented holy symbol. This thing doesn’t harm the vampire—it merely keep it at bay. A recoiling vampire must stay at least 5 feet away from a creature holding the holy symbol and cannot touch or make melee attacks against the creature holding the item for the rest of the encounter. Holding a vampire at bay takes a standard action.

Vampires are vulnerable to running water. If a Vampire with this weakness is immersed in water, it takes 1d10 points of damage each round it remains immersed.

Vampires are vulnerable to and weakened by sunlight. A Vampire caught in natural sunlight is dazzled, takes 2d6 points of damage each round, and cannot use any of its supernatural abilities. Additionally, while a Vampire is exposed to direct sunlight, he takes a -2 penalty to all attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, opposed checks, and saving throws. The Vampire is treated as an undead who has a weakness to sunlight for the purpose of certain spells, such as sunburst.

Slaying a Vampire
Reducing a Vampire to 0 Hit Points do not kills it outright as per the other undeads. The Vampire instead falls unconscious and is considered stable. He can't take no actions until his Hit Points are restored.
Driving a wooden stake through a vampire’s heart instantly slays the monster. A popular tactic is to cut off the creature’s head and fill its mouth with holy wafers (or their equivalent).

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That's it, this is the basic template. It was intended to be playable and enjoyable for a player so I tuned down some major weaknesses (water and sunlight) and removed some others that I always found silly, even tough they appear in popular belief (like garlic). [Vampire] feats in the next post.

[CinuzIta]

[Vampire] Feat

Dark Allies [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 4, Cha 14.
Benefit: You can summon 1/day for every 6 HD 1d4+1 bat swarms. These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve the vampire for up to 1 hour.

Dark Cohort [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 12, Cha 18.
Benefit: If you drain a humanoid or monstrous humanoid’s Constitution to 0 or lower, the victim returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD. In either case, the new vampire or spawn is under the command of the vampire that created it and remains enslaved until its master’s destruction. At any given time a vampire may have enslaved spawn totaling no more than twice its own Hit Dice; any spawn it creates that would exceed this limit are created as free-willed vampires or vampire spawn. A vampire that is enslaved may create and enslave spawn of its own, so a master vampire can control a number of lesser vampires in this fashion. A vampire may voluntarily free an enslaved spawn in order to enslave a new spawn, but once freed, a vampire or vampire spawn cannot be enslaved again.

A vampire spawn aquire the Vampire template but doesn't gain the Pupation special quality.

Dark Grace [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 12, Cha 14.
Benefit: You gain a bonus equal to your Charisma bonus (minimum +1) on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects.

Dark Resistance [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 4, Cha 12.
Benefit: Your Natural Armor bonus increases by +1 for every 4 Hit Dices you posses.

Dark Scent [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 4, Cha 12.
Benefit: You gain the Scent special quality.

Dark Shadow [Vampire]

Spoiler

Show

Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 4, Cha 12.
Benefit: As a standard action, you can assume gaseous form at will as the spell (caster level 5th) for one round.

Dark Superiority [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 8, Cha 14.
Benefit: Your Turn Resistance increase to +4.

Dark Toughness [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 4, Cha 14.
Benefit: You can use your Charisma modifier to determine bonus hit points (instead of Constitution).

Dark Telekinesis [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 8, Cha 14.
Benefit: This feat allow you to use the Mage Hand spell at will. The caster level is equal to the Vampire's HD and it may move objects weighting 5 pounds per HD of the vampire.

Dark Wings [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 8, Cha 14.
Benefit: You grow membranous wings gaining a fly speed (with average maneuverability) equal to your base land speed. You can use your flight for a number of consecutive rounds equal to 1 + your Charisma Modifier (minimum 1); between these uses you cannot fly for 1 round.

Improved Dark Resistance [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 12, Cha 16.
Benefit: You gain Damage Reduction 5/Silver and magic.

Improved Dark Superiority [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 12, Cha 16.
Benefit: Your Turn Resistance increase to +6.

Improved Dark Toughness [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 12, Cha 16.
Benefit: You gain Fast Healing 5.

Improved Dark Wings [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 12, Cha 14, Dark Wings.
Benefit: Your wings grow stronger. You can fly without any round limit and your flight speed become twice your base land speed.

Improved Vicious Claws [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 8, Cha 14.
Benefit: Your claws are treated as adamantine and magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Vicious Claws [Vampire]
Prerequisites: Vampire, Character Level 4, Cha 12.
Benefit: The damage dealt by your claw attack improve by one die increment. Moreover your claws are strong enough to penetrate walls while climbing, providing you with a +4 bonus on Climb checks and a Climb speed equal to half your base land speed.

[Amechra]

What, no turning into a giant spider demon thing?

My money. I want it back.

[CinuzIta]

What, no turning into a giant spider demon thing?

I see what you did there

To be honest, at first I was considering something to turn the player into something more demon-like, but in the end I decides against as this was a template intended for playable characters (I wouldn't give anything like that to a player, even cause my players usuallly are REALLY smart bastards )