Dhampir Feeding

[Pooky the Imp]

I'm thinking about playing a Dhampir (idea being a character with a parasite/symbiote type creature inside them) but I'm a little confused as to the feeding aspect:

Every dhampir knows a thirst slaked only by the living. Those who overindulge their thirst risk losing control and forever viewing others as prey. Those who resist might find exceptional ways of controlling their urges or suppress them through constant, molar-grinding restraint. In any case, temptation haunts dhampirs, and circumstances conspire to give them endless reasons to indulge.

While many dhampirs thirst for blood, your character might otherwise gain sustenance from the living. Roll on or choose an option from the Dhampir Hungers table to determine what tempts your character to feed.

My first question is how exactly do Dhampirs feed? I get that they have a bite so that works fine for the 'blood' and 'raw flesh' options. However, what about options like 'psychic energy' or 'cerebral spinal fluid'? Would they also be obtained just with a bite attack or would the Dhampir have to get them via other means?

My second question is whether Dhampirs eat normal food? They're still technically alive, right? So do they still eat normal food and just supplement it with cerebral spinal fluid when they can, or do they now only need to eat their special Dhampir food? If the latter, can they still eat normal food or does it make them sick?


Thanks in advance.

[Psyren]

The bite works for everything on the table. Remember that it doesn't just restore HP (and HP are not always "meat" anyway) but it can also give you a bonus to your next ability check, which fits quite easily with consuming psychic energy, life energy and dreams.

If you want a more humorous example, go watch psychic vampire Colin Robinson from What We Do In The Shadows

I would definitely be cautious about letting a Dhampir character drain others with a touch, at range, or some other means besides biting, unless you want a milder (read: cosmetic) effect.

[Dualight]

My reading is that the 'thirst' is closer to a drug addiction than a vitamin deficiency, if that makes sense.
It isn't their main source of nutrients, but they cannot help themselves from craving it, and their magical nature means that kicking the habit is impossible without something like reincarnate or wish.

That said, I have never had to deal with a dhampir at my table, be it as DM or as player, so all I can do is provide theory.

[da newt]

I've always played it that the 'HUNGER' was an insatiable craving like a drug addiction. Roll on the table and then figure out narratively hoe your PC would quench that particular thirst. For some a bite works fine, for others something else would be needed. Tap into your creative writing itch and come up with something fun/thematic.

The Vampiric Bite melee attack is a separate thing and it does exactly what it says it does.

There is nothing in the Dhampir description that says that they don't need to eat or sleep (like normal) but dhampir do not need to breathe.

[Mastikator]

I imagine that cerebral spinal fluid is extracted via the bite action against someone's spine/neck. Or possibly eating their brain.

Dreams and psychic energy could just be bites against their head, but you could reflavor a class ability to involve this.

I think the question of "is the hunger a need or a want" question is best answered by the origin.

• "You are the reincarnation of an ancestor who was a vampiric tyrant." is more of a want, you might want it because of past life memories
• "Your pact with a predatory deity, fiend, fey, or spirit causes you to share their hunger." also sounds like a want, this would jive well with an undead patron warlock
• "You survived being attacked by a vampire but were forever changed."
  and "Tragedy interrupted your transformation into an immortal."
  and "One of your parents was a vampire." straight up half-*vampire, this is a need IMO
• "You are a diminished form of an otherworldly being. Slaking your hunger hastens your renewal." neither a need nor a want, it's a means to an end
• "A parasite lives inside you. You indulge its hunger." The parasite needs it, it compels you, this would jive well with the aberrant mind ceremorphisis origin
• "A radical experiment changed your body, making you reliant on others for vital fluids." suggest a vitamin deficiency or equivalent

One thing I find a bit lacking is the question of "what if you just don't indulge", there are no mechanics for not satisfying your hunger. I wouldn't expect that in 5e, but there aren't even any roleplaying guidelines for withdrawl or compulsion (other than aforementioned molar-grinding restraint)


*half-vampire could be replaced with half-ghoul if hunger is meat, for dreams it might be some kind of renegade inspired monstrosity, who knows. The potential is endless!

[Psyren]

The bite doesn't have to involve consuming something physical from your target. The mechanical effects are abstract enough that you can justify them however you like. Perhaps feeding on someone's psychic energy involves feeding on the pain you inflict with your bite, or feeding on their dreams involves them feeling a brief moment of giddy bliss, euphoria, or arousal that you then siphon.

[Pooky the Imp]

Thanks for the replies so far, everyone.

I imagine that cerebral spinal fluid is extracted via the bite action against someone's spine/neck. Or possibly eating their brain.

Dreams and psychic energy could just be bites against their head, but you could reflavor a class ability to involve this.

Do you have any suggestions for this?

My intent was to play as a Living Weapon Monk. The only other thing I'll have is the Mind Spike cantrip (through a re-fluffed aberrant dragonmark), but I imagine feeding just by successfully hurting creatures with a Cantrip would be too simple?

[*]"A parasite lives inside you. You indulge its hunger." The parasite needs it, it compels you, this would jive well with the aberrant mind ceremorphisis origin

The parasite option is the one I was going with. My idea was to refluff some of the monk/living weapon abilities as my character reshaping their body (so forming a hand into a claw for slashing damage or a tentacle for reach and piercing damage).

However, you've now also made me want to play an Aberrant Mind Sorcerer as well. I hate when I have so many more character ideas than games.

One thing I find a bit lacking is the question of "what if you just don't indulge", there are no mechanics for not satisfying your hunger. I wouldn't expect that in 5e, but there aren't even any roleplaying guidelines for withdrawl or compulsion (other than aforementioned molar-grinding restraint)

Yeah, this is part of the reason why I was asking. As stated, I wasn't even clear on whether this was supposed to by my character's main source of nourishment or not.


One thing I should perhaps add - I guess I'm trying to tread a line between not having a hunger so easy to fulfil that it becomes meaningless but also trying to avoid one that will get me kicked out of the party in short order. e.g. if I start cracking heads open and munching down on brains, I imagine I'll quickly be regarded little better than the average Mind Flayer.

[Mastikator]

I made a backup character that was a dhampir aberrant mind, since both have similar origins I decided to combine them and say that a mindflayer tadpole was injected, the ceremorphosis started but never completed. The dhampir vampire bite is a reduced version of the mindflayers devour brain ability, the tadpole still lives and gives the character psionic powers BUT the tadpole is hungry for cerebral spinal fluids. It all together very nicely and it ends up being a half-mindflayer that still looks human. (the name for this character is Bob, because that's funny)

I think you can do other classes too, for example warlock pact of he blade could be an extension of the parasite, and your parasite is in fact your patron (fathomless, great old one are most apt but it could be any kind of parasite, actually. A celestial parasite that lives in your body and needs you to eat people's dreams, because why not).

If you're going for monk that is a parasite infected dhampir that eats dreams/psychic energy then I think Astral Self is the most apt, the arms that you manifest aren't actually your arms, their the parasite's arms. The parasite could be some kind of Quori type monster, a projection of a nightmare monster from the far realm. It comes nicely together with the dhampir origin, hunger and the class. You could make a vampire bite that drains someone's dreams and then flurry of blows using the nightmarish spectral tentacles that the parasite projects through your body.
The downside of a monk dhampir is that spiderclimb won't do much for you since monks can already run on vertical surfaces and liquids.
Long death also works because of Touch of Death, then it's less about the parasite and more about the feeding. Up to you which you prefer to lean into.

[Pooky the Imp]

Oh, you make some good points.

However, I'm not interested in Astral Self or Long Death so I guess I'll probably just shelve this idea and do something else.

Thanks for all your help.

[Psyren]

I hate when I have so many more character ideas than games.

Welcome to D&D

One thing I should perhaps add - I guess I'm trying to tread a line between not having a hunger so easy to fulfil that it becomes meaningless but also trying to avoid one that will get me kicked out of the party in short order. e.g. if I start cracking heads open and munching down on brains, I imagine I'll quickly be regarded little better than the average Mind Flayer.

As there are no guidelines around how often you need to feed, just ask your GM whether snacking once per combat or even once per day is good enough. Even then I wouldn't call it meaningless - you need to land a bite attack during combat, or bite someone afterwards, and if you spend a whole day fighting constructs/elementals/undead they may have you start to get antsy.