Vampires were a type of undead that fed on blood. They were one of the most feared and powerful undead creatures.[6][4]
Description[]
A vampire looked very much like it did when alive, but with paler skin, hardened and feral features giving them a predatory aspect, and red eyes that were hard to forget. Their hands were clawed.[4]
They did not cast shadows and had no reflections in mirrors.[4]
Personality[]
Vampires enjoyed fine things and engaging in decadent behavior, sharing such habits with liches. A vampire was always a creature of evil. If it was not evil in life, it became so in undeath.[4]
Powers[]
A vampire retained all the abilities it had in life, and it gained the ability to drain blood and life energy, and to dominate other creatures with its gaze. A vampire could also command rats, bats, and wolves, or take the form of those creatures.[4]
Weaknesses[]
Vampires were eternally bound to their coffins and the unholy earth where they were buried.[4]
Vampires could not tolerate the smell of garlic and would not voluntarily enter an area with a strong odor of it.[4]
Creation[]
A new vampire was created when another vampire drained the life out of a living creature. A humanoid or monstrous humanoid could become a vampire.[4]
Half-vampires could be created in one of two ways. First, in some rare cases, a vampire could consume enough blood that it could breed with a humanoid or monstrous humanoid, creating half-vampire offspring. Second, in even rarer cases, if a pregnant mother survived having her blood drained by a vampire, her unborn could be "tainted" with vampirism instead.[11]
Master vampires were vampires that had perfected the art of taking spawn, and as a result, could lead large gangs of them. They usually had one chosen spawn that was much better than the others. However, all of a master vampire's spawn were better than the norm: stronger, faster, and more numerous.[12]
Activities[]
Vampires typically plotted to empower themselves and produce spawn that would spread across the world.[4]
Varieties[]
- Corpse vampire
- Dhampyr
- Spirit vampire
- Vampire lord
- Vampire muse
- Vampire spawn
- Eastern vampire
Notable Vampires[]
- Mordoc SeLanmere: A vampire king who was once the most powerful vampire in all of Toril. He united the vampires under a single ruler from his home in the Battle of Bones.
- Bodhi: A vampire involved in Jon Irenicus's plan to join the elven pantheon.
- Kierkan Rufo: An exiled priest of the church of Deneir who turned into a vampire after drinking the contents of the Chaos Curse.
- Artor Morlin: A Shoon outlaw mercenary captain who became baron of Steeping Falls before moving to Waterdeep where he remained unchallenged by any rival for over 400 years.
- Shyressa: An archmage and a Runemaster of the Twisted Rune.
- Jander Sunstar: A sun elf vampire who became one of the Hellriders of Elturel.
- Strahd von Zarovich: A vampire and the darklord of Barovia, one of the Domains of Dread.
Appendix[]
This article is incomplete. You can help the Forgotten Realms Wiki by providing more information. |
Notes[]
The Lords of Darkness (1988) accessory described a "greater vampire" which was created from the life-draining kiss of a succubus. A greater vampire had all the abilities of a lesser vampire and could also move about freely in daylight, allowing it to take on the persona of a normal person, usually a wealthy individual. During the hours of daylight, the greater vampire retained its superior strength and spell immunities but could not use any of its special abilities such as life-drain, shapeshifting, or gaseous form.[13]
See Also[]
Appearances[]
- Adventures
- Polyhedron #66, "Caravan" • Hoard of the Dragon Queen • Storm King's Thunder • Curse of Strahd • Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage • Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
- Comics
- Shadows of the Vampire
- Novels
- Red Magic • The Paladins • The Chaos Curse • Bury Elminster Deep • Blackstaff • Gauntlgrym
- Referenced only
- The Crimson Gold
- Video Games
- Treasures of the Savage Frontier • Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace • Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder • Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II • Neverwinter Nights series (Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford • Neverwinter Nights: Tyrants of the Moonsea) • Baldur's Gate III
- Card Games
- Dragonfire
- Board Games
- Dungeon Command: Curse of Undeath • Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Begins
- Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
- The Vampire of Skullport
Gallery[]
Further Reading[]
- Nigel Findley (October 1990). “The Mind of the Vampire”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #162 (TSR, Inc.), p. 15.
- Bruce R. Cordell (August 2001). “Vs.: Vampires”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon #286 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 84.
External links[]
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the following links do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki, nor does any lore presented necessarily adhere to established canon.
Vampire article at the Baldur's Gate Wiki, a wiki for the Baldur's Gate games.
Vampire article at the Ravenloft Wiki.
References[]
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 297. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Claudio Pozas, Robert J. Schwalb (April 2011). Player's Option: Heroes of Shadow. Edited by Michelle Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 49–62. ISBN 978-0-7869-5745-3.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 258–259. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 250–253. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 David "Zeb" Cook et al. (1989). Monstrous Compendium Volume One. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 0-8803-8738-6.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Gary Gygax (December 1977). Monster Manual, 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 99. ISBN 0-935696-00-8.
- ↑ Carl Sargent (May 1992). Monster Mythology. (TSR, Inc), p. 112. ISBN 1-5607-6362-0.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 258. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- ↑ Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 253. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ Rodney Thompson, Logan Bonner, Matthew Sernett (November 2010). Monster Vault. Edited by Greg Bilsland et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 281. ISBN 978-0-7869-5631-9.
- ↑ Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 106. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 55–56. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood et al. (1989). Lords of Darkness. (TSR, Inc), p. 49. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.