Homebrew:Ixalani Vampire: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:30, 7 December 2022

(OOC: This is an implementation of the vampire race from Planeshift: Ixalan)

The Legion of Dusk is dominated by an aristocratic class made up of vampires. They are faster and stronger than most humans, and gifted with supernatural abilities that made them the most formidable force in their homeland. Now, as they push into the depths of Ixalan in search of the Immortal Sun, they bring this strength to bear against all who would resist their advance.

For many vampires, the Rite of Redemption that transforms a human into a vampire is an act of personal sacrifice, paving the way for a promised glorious age. These vampires embody Torrezon’s noble tradition in Ixalan. They are often guided by their dual loyalties to church and crown, believing that the monarch acts with righteous purpose. As such, these vampires carry themselves with a self-assurance that is both imposing and imperial. Other societies seem inferior and unclean compared to their own, leading them to feel that they have a right to claim new lands despite the presence of people already inhabiting those lands.

Other vampires view vampirism merely as a means to attain a powerful advantage over others. These vampires are fierce, ruthless, and often cruel, relishing conflict—be it political or armed—as a means of demonstrating their superiority. Many are politically ambitious, invoking Torrezon’s hierarchy when it serves their interests, but ignoring all the rules of church, state, and morality when those rules become a burden. When these vampires come to Ixalan, they are conquerors, motivated by the prospect of personal glory and the accumulation of riches. Those who achieve wealth and power display it ostentatiously.

The core of every vampire’s nature is the Feast of Blood. Though it is forbidden to feed on human citizens of Torrezon, including the human sailors and servants who accompany the vampire conquistadors to Ixalan, vampires are encouraged to feed on outsiders and heretics. The Feast of Blood sends new life essence flowing through the vampire who partakes of it, manifesting as even greater strength and speed.

Ixalani Vampire Traits

Your vampire character has the following traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Wisdom score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.

Age

Vampires don’t mature and age in the same way that other races do.

Alignment

Vampires might not have an innate tendency toward evil, but many of them end up there. Evil or not, their strict hierarchies incline them toward a lawful alignment.

Size

Vampires are the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medium

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Thanks to your heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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.

Vampiric Resistance

You have resistance to necrotic damage.

Blood Thirst

You can drain blood and life energy from a willing creature, or one that is grappled by you, incapacitated, or restrained. Make a melee attack against the target. If you hit, you deal 1 piercing damage and 1d6 necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and you regain hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Vampire.

(Note: the vampire language must be added to your character sheet manually.)

Feast of Blood

When you drain blood with your Bloodthirst ability, you experience a surge of vitality. Your speed increases by 10 feet, and you gain advantage on Strength and Dexterity checks and saving throws for 1 minute.

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 [[file:zendikar vampire.jpg|right|thumb|500px]]
-{{ooc note|This is an implementation of the vampire race from Planeshift: Zendikar}}
+{{ooc note|This is an implementation of the vampire race from Planeshift: Ixalan}}
 __NOTOC__
-Born into ancient servitude and bred to a life of decadent corruption, the vampires of Zendikar feed on the energy in the blood of living creatures—an energy that is particularly strong in times of terror and pain. To members of the other races, vampires are a fearsome mystery and the stuff of nightmares, hunting their prey like beasts or reclining on thrones made of skulls in their moss-draped cities. But few understand how the vampires are locked in a brutal civil war. On one side are those who hold to their traditional ways, desperately battling to remain free. On the other side are those vampires whose legacy reaches back into the deepest recesses of history. Bound once more to the Eldrazi who were their ancient masters, those vampires hunt their kin in an effort to extinguish any dreams of freedom and rebellion. Vampires are associated with black mana. Their existence is predicated on draining the life from others to fuel their own existence, and on putting their own lives ahead of all other concerns. Philosophically, they do not constrain themselves with artificial rules of morality, but believe that the strong can and should take what they need from the weak.
+The Legion of Dusk is dominated by an aristocratic class made up of vampires. They are faster and stronger than most humans, and gifted with supernatural abilities that made them the most formidable force in their homeland. Now, as they push into the depths of Ixalan in search of the Immortal Sun, they bring this strength to bear against all who would resist their advance.
-== Between the Living and the Dead ==
+For many vampires, the Rite of Redemption that transforms a human into a vampire is an act of personal sacrifice, paving the way for a promised glorious age. These vampires embody Torrezon’s noble tradition in Ixalan. They are often guided by their dual loyalties to church and crown, believing that the monarch acts with righteous purpose. As such, these vampires carry themselves with a self-assurance that is both imposing and imperial. Other societies seem inferior and unclean compared to their own, leading them to feel that they have a right to claim new lands despite the presence of people already inhabiting those lands.
-The vampires of Zendikar are not undead. Rather, their unique nature comes from an eldritch disease that turns their flesh cold, makes their gray or purple skin feel dead to the touch, and enables them to drain concentrated magical energy from the blood of other living creatures. They are tall and slender, with long, elegant necks and broad shoulders. Bony horns protrude from their shoulders and elbows, often augmented by the layered plates of their armor and clothing. Their canine teeth are slightly elongated, but not enough to protrude between their closed lips. Vampires dress in leather and the chitin carapaces of the gigantic insects that dwell in the swamps and jungles of their native Guul Draz, augmented with fine silk and gauzy fabric. They decorate their skin in elaborate, symmetrical patterns of red paint made from blood and mineral pigments. Their clothing is an odd mixture of complex layers and elaborate patterns combined with plenty of exposed skin, since their cold bodies are unaffected by the temperature around them.
-== Zendikari Vampire Traits ==
+Other vampires view vampirism merely as a means to attain a powerful advantage over others. These vampires are fierce, ruthless, and often cruel, relishing conflict—be it political or armed—as a means of demonstrating their superiority. Many are politically ambitious, invoking Torrezon’s hierarchy when it serves their interests, but ignoring all the rules of church, state, and morality when those rules become a burden. When these vampires come to Ixalan, they are conquerors, motivated by the prospect of personal glory and the accumulation of riches. Those who achieve wealth and power display it ostentatiously.
-Your vampire character has the following traits as a result of the unique origins of your kind.
+The core of every vampire’s nature is the Feast of Blood. Though it is forbidden to feed on human citizens of Torrezon, including the human sailors and servants who accompany the vampire conquistadors to Ixalan, vampires are encouraged to feed on outsiders and heretics. The Feast of Blood sends new life essence flowing through the vampire who partakes of it, manifesting as even greater strength and speed.
+== Ixalani Vampire Traits ==
+Your vampire character has the following traits.
 === Ability Score Increase ===
-Your Intelligence score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.
+Your Wisdom score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.
 === Age ===
-Vampires don’t mature and age in the same way that other races do. Every living vampire is either a bloodchief, infected by Ulamog’s influence in the distant reaches of history, or was spawned by a bloodchief from a living human. Most vampires are thus very old, but few have any memory of their earliest years.
+Vampires don’t mature and age in the same way that other races do.
 === Alignment ===
-Vampires have no innate tendency toward evil, but consuming the life energy of other creatures often pushes them to that end. Regardless of their moral bent, the strict hierarchies of their bloodchiefs inclines them toward a lawful alignment.
+Vampires might not have an innate tendency toward evil, but many of them end up there. Evil or not, their strict hierarchies incline them toward a lawful alignment.
 === Size ===
-Vampires are about the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medium.
+Vampires are the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medium
 === Speed ===
@@ Line 32: / Line 35: @@
 === Blood Thirst ===
-You can drain blood and life energy from a willing creature, or one that is grappled by you, incapacitated, or restrained. Make a melee attack against the target. If you hit, you deal 1 piercing damage and 1d6 necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and you regain hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. A humanoid killed in this way becomes a null (see “A Zendikar Bestiary”).
+You can drain blood and life energy from a willing creature, or one that is grappled by you, incapacitated, or restrained. Make a melee attack against the target. If you hit, you deal 1 piercing damage and 1d6 necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and you regain hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.
 === Languages ===
@@ Line 38: / Line 41: @@
 ''(Note: the vampire language must be added to your character sheet manually.)''
+=== Feast of Blood ===
+When you drain blood with your Bloodthirst ability, you experience a surge of vitality. Your speed increases by 10 feet, and you gain advantage on Strength and Dexterity checks and saving throws for 1 minute.
 [[category:homebrew subraces|Vampire]]