Dhampire Race

[sandmote]

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Dhampires! They're like vampires but not always the worst. What's not to love? Beside the blood drinking and partial undeath, of course. I chosen not to represent that undead much here, as it kind of complicates 5e's simplicity.

The children of human women, dhampires are poorly understood. What is known is that vampires are required to sire them, although the mechanism is hotly disputed among scholars. Often shunned or hunted by the living for their vampiric appearance, many dhampires quickly travel on to the next location upon being found out.

Racial Features

Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.

Alignment
Dhampires are born a knot of contradictions, and so tend toward extreme alignments. Some seeks out protection from systems of law, surrounding themselves with protective lackeys or seeking protection from legal codes where they have rights. Others turn to chaos as they rage at either the vampires that created them or the world that rejected them. Their positions on good and evil are similarly strong, and many dhampires turn themselves into either great heroes or terrible tyrants to carve out a place in the world.

Forceful Personality
Your innate vampiric charisma and experience with hostile humanoids has taught you to better read and manipulate others. You gain proficiency with your choice of the Deception, Insight, Intimidation, or Persuasion skills.

Darkvision
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Inured to Death
You have resistance to necrotic damage as a result of the influence by the undead on your form.

Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Minor Regeneration
As a bonus action, you can unlock the rapid healing of a vampire. You regain 1 HP at the start of your turn for a number of turns equal to your level. This feature ceases to function if you drop to 0 hit points. You can do so once, and regain the ability to do so after a long rest.

Size
Born from a human mother, your size is medium.

Sunlight Sensitivity
You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.

Spoiler: Dhampire Feats

Show

Blooddrinker
prerequisite: dhampire

Your incisors grow particularly long and powerful, and you have a limited ability to use them to drink blood. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

You can also attempt to drink the blood of an unconscious or grappled humanoid as an action. When you do so, make one attack with your fangs against the creature. In addition to the effects of your bite, you deal an additional 2d4 necrotic damage on a hit and gain temporary hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt.

Friend of the Nightlife
prerequisite: dhampire

You have made yourself a known friend of bats, rats, and wolves. You gain the following benefits:

• As an action, you can summon a swarm of rats, a swarm of bats, or wolf to your aid, as is appropriate for the environment. The creature is nonmagical but otherwise acts as if it had been summoned by the Conjure Animals spell, leaving your side after 1 hour. You can use this feature once and regain the ability to do at the end of a short or long rest.
• You can cast Animal Messenger and Beast Bond spells once, targeting a creature of the night, and regain the ability to do so at the end of a long rest.

In places where bats, rats, and wolves do not live, your Dungeon Master may choose to have these features apply to other creatures of the night appropriate to the local area.

[JNAProductions]

Minor Regeneration
As an action, you can unlock the rapid healing of a vampire as a bonus action. You regain 1 HP at the start of your turn for a number of turns equal to your level. This feature ceases to function if you drop to 0 hit points.

Is it an action, or bonus action?
And what's its limit? Because at-will Regen 1 is blatantly too good, but as a once per rest ability, it's not a big deal.

Overall, it feels a little overloaded. No single feature (excepting Minor Regeneration, if that's at-will) is broken, but you just get a few too many.

[sandmote]

Is it an action, or bonus action?
And what's its limit? Because at-will Regen 1 is blatantly too good, but as a once per rest ability, it's not a big deal.

Thanks for catching that.

Overall, it feels a little overloaded. No single feature (excepting Minor Regeneration, if that's at-will) is broken, but you just get a few too many.

Cramming in the entire vampire chassis was probably a bad idea, but none of these features are individually very significant. I'll move the fangs to the Blooddrinker feat and roll the charming and skill proficiency into one feature.

[JNAProductions]

Thanks for catching that.

Cramming in the entire vampire chassis was probably a bad idea, but none of these features are individually very significant. I'll move the fangs to the Blooddrinker feat and roll the charming and skill proficiency into one feature.

It’s not the formatting-it’s just too much. You should cut some less important features.

[sandmote]

It’s not the formatting-it’s just too much. You should cut some less important features.

Too much total or too many individual pieces?

[JNAProductions]

Too much total or too many individual pieces?

Too many abilities period. It doesn't matter how they're formatted, as one ability with a bunch of bullets or a bunch of individual abilities, you've just packed too many into the race.

[sandmote]

Too many abilities period. It doesn't matter how they're formatted, as one ability with a bunch of bullets or a bunch of individual abilities, you've just packed too many into the race.

I've stripped out the spells and resistance to disease.

How strong would you rank Minor Regeneration if it refreshes on a short or long rest?