VAMPYRIC CURSE

5TH EDITION SUPPLEMENT

VERSION 1.1

by CHAD SKILES
artwork by LAWRENCE VAN DER MERWE

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Stages of the Curse
After a creature fails a saving throw against a
vampire’s bite and goes 24 hours without
receiving a cure (see Seeking a Cure section on
pg. 4) that creature will gain the features of Stage
1 Vampyrism.
In addition to those outlined below, all vampires
from Stage 1 onward have the following
conditions.
Traces of Undeath. You only regain half of the
hit points received through magical
healing/potions. Additionally, you only need to
consume half of the amount of food and water as
a normal humanoid does per day. This effect
changes at Stage 5.
Sunlight Sensitivity. You are vulnerable to
radiant damage. Attack rolls made by you in
direct sunlight suffer disadvantage,
Silver Weakness. You are vulnerable to all
damage caused by silvered weapons.
Stage 1 - accursed
Bloodlust. You hunger for blood. For every 24
hours you go without consuming 1 pint of fresh
blood, you suffer three levels of exhaustion. Only
blood consumption can reduce these levels. You
cannot reach the sixth level of exhaustion from this
feature—at this stage or any subsequent stage.
Nocturnal Sight. You gain darkvision up to 15
feet.
Claws. Your unarmed attacks deal 1d4 piercing
damage, plus 1d4 necrotic damage. You are
proficient with these claws; they have both the
versatile and finesse properties.
Vampyric Strength. Upon reaching this stage,
your Strength score increases by 1.
Vampyric Agility. Upon reaching this stage,
your base walking speed increases by 5 ft.
Next Stage. You advance to the next stage after
7 days. The effects occur after a long rest.
Stage 2 - blood thrall
Bloodlust. For every 24 hours you go without
consuming 1 pint of fresh blood, you suffer three
levels of exhaustion. You can detect and track the
scent of fresh blood within 30 feet of you.
Nocturnal Sight. Your darkvision increases to
30 feet.
Claws. Your claws’ additional necrotic damage is
now 1d6.
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Vampyric Touch. You gain the ability to cast the
Vampyric Touch spell at level 3 without using a
spell slot or material components. You may not
use this ability again until you complete a long
rest.
Vampyric Seduction. You gain training in the
Persuasion skill. Charisma-based rolls made to
seduce an intelligent creature are made at
advantage.
Vampyric Resilience. Upon reaching this stage,
your Constitution score increases by 1.
Next Stage. You advance to the next stage after
10 days. The effects occur after a long rest.
alignment changes
As a character advances through the stages of vampyrism, the
transformation they undergo is not solely physical. Their thirst for
blood will often give way to savage rage. Due to this, their
alignment might shift toward chaotic tendencies. Upon reaching
full power, many Vampire Lords are driven to madness and evil in
their immortality. As the characters advance, encourage them to
adopt new traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws to convey this.
Stage 3 - vampire spawn
Bloodlust. For every 24 hours you go without
consuming 1 pint of fresh blood or damaging a
creature with your Bite, you suffer three levels of
exhaustion and are afflicted with one short-term
madness effect. You can detect and track the
scent of fresh blood within 60 feet of you.
Nocturnal Sight. Your darkvision increases to
60 feet.
Claws. Your claws’ additional necrotic damage
remains 1d6.
Vampyric Touch. You have the ability to cast the
Vampyric Touch spell at level 3 without using a
spell slot or material components. You may not
use this ability again until you complete a short
or long rest.
Vampyric Seduction. You are trained in the
Persuasion skill. Additionally, Charisma-based
rolls made to seduce an intelligent creature are
made at advantage. You gain advantage on saving
throws to be charmed,
Vampyric Reflexes. While you are wearing no
armor or shield, your AC equal 12 + your
Dexterity modifier. You also gain training in the
Acrobatics skill and may crawl at your full speed.
Next Stage. You advance to the next stage after
15 days. The effects occur after a long rest.
VAMPYRIC CURSE: 2
Stage 4 - vampire adept
Bloodlust. For every 24 hours you go without
consuming 1 pint of fresh blood or damaging a
creature with your Bite, you suffer four levels of
exhaustion are afflicted with one long-term
madness effect. You can detect and track the
scent of fresh blood within 90 feet of you.
Nocturnal Sight. You have darkvision up to 60
feet.
Claws. Your claws’ additional necrotic damage
remains 1d6. If you make this attack with both
hands and hit the target, it is also grappled (if it
Medium-sized or smaller).
Bite. You gain the ability to make a Bite attack
using either Strength or Dexterity. The attack
does 1d6 piercing damage plus 1d6 necrotic
damage. The target’s hit point maximum is
reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic
damage taken. The reduction lasts until the
target completes a long rest.
Vampyric Touch. You have the ability to cast the
Vampyric Touch spell at level 3 without using a
spell slot or material components. This ability is
now Recharge 6.
Vampyric Seduction. You are trained in the
Persuasion skill. Charisma-based rolls made to
seduce an intelligent creature are made at
advantage. You have advantage on saving throws
to be charmed,
Improved Vampyric Reflexes. While you are
wearing no armor or shield, your AC equal 14 +
your Dexterity modifier. You are trained the
Acrobatics skill, can crawl at your full speed, and
also gain the ability to Spider Climb up to half of
your speed.
Next Stage. You advance to the next stage after
30 days. The effects occur after a long rest.
Stage 5 - vampire lord
Bloodlust. For every 24 hours you go without
consuming 1 pint of fresh blood or damaging a
creature with your Bite, you suffer four levels of
exhaustion and are afflicted with an indefinite
madness effect. You can detect and track the
scent of fresh blood within 120 feet of you.
Nocturnal Sight. Your darkvision increases to
75 feet.
Day Tracker
Stage 1 °°°°°°°
Stage 2 ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °
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Claws. Your claws’ additional necrotic damage is
now 1d8. If you make this attack with both hands
and hit the target, it is also grappled (if it
Medium-sized or smaller).
Bite. You gain the ability to make a Bite attack
using either Strength or Dexterity. The attack
does 1d6 piercing damage plus 2d6 necrotic
damage. The target’s hit point maximum is
reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic
damage taken. Targets affected by this by become
afflicted with Vampyrism and will develop Stage 1
within 24 hours if they do not receive treatment.
Vampyric Touch. You gain the ability to cast the
Vampyric Touch spell at level 4 without using a
spell slot or material components. This ability is
now Recharge 5-6.
Vampyric Seduction. You gain expertise in the
Persuasion skill (add double your proficiency
bonus). Charisma-based rolls made to seduce an
intelligent creature are made at advantage. You
have advantage on saving throws to be charmed,
Masterful Vampyric Reflexes. While you are
wearing no armor or shield, your AC equal 16 +
your Dexterity modifier. You gain expertise in the
Acrobatics skill (double your proficiency bonus),
can crawl at your full speed, and also gain the
ability to Spider Climb at your full speed.
Masterful Vampyric Agility. Upon reaching this
stage, your base walking speed increases by 5 ft.
Vampyric Resistance. You gain resistance to
necrotic and poison damage/poisoned condition.
Elder Vampire. You have reached the final stage
of vampyrism. You are a fully undead creature for
the purposes of healing, spells, and other effects.
You no longer need to consume food or water and
you age only one year for every decade that you
are alive.
optional vampyric powers
These abilities can replace (or add to) features from Stages 3-5.
Regeneration. At the start of each turn, you regenerate HP equal
to your proficiency bonus. If you are in direct sunlight, or have
taken radiant or silvered-weapon damage in the previous round,
you do not regenerate.
Misty Escape. You can cast the Misty Step spell without any spell
slots or material components as a bonus action, or as a reaction
after you take damage from a creature within 5 ft. of you. You may
not use this ability again until you complete a short or long rest.
Stage 3 ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °
Stage 4 ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °
VAMPYRIC CURSE: 3
Campaign Implementation
Vampires and their role in the world can vary
heavily depending on what sort of campaign you
are running. If you are playing or DMing
adventures set in the Curse of Strahd series, then
vampyric creatures and curses can play a strong
role in the events of the campaign. However,
vampires might play an entirely different role in a
Sci/Fi hybrid such as Eberron or a
modern/futuristic setting.
Whatever the case may be, these are not
features intended to be added with 1st-level
character creation. It works much stronger as a
player option that arises out a progression within
your campaign’s narrative.
When introducing the concept of the vampyric
curse to your game, provide some foreshadowing.
If the players are on their way to confront a
vampire (who is powerful enough to impart the
curse on to others), consider including a random
encounter with recently-turned vampyric
villagers, hunters, or even animals. With some
investigation, players may be clued into the
possibility that they, too, risk falling victim to the
curse.
Once a player is afflicted and is enduring the
24-hour period before the curse advances,
describe to them the strange feeling their
character is undergoing. You might say after their
next encounter, “As the last enemy falls, you’re
frozen—your eyes affixed to the freshly-spilled
blood of the battlefield. You feel inexplicably
mesmerized for a moment before snapping back to
reality.”
While this supplement provides an option for
players who wish to incorporate vampyrism into
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their current characters, remember that this is
intended to be a player option. If a player
becomes affected with vampyrism and wishes to
cure themselves rather than advance through its
stages, be sure to provide opportunities for
receiving a cure so that they are not irreversibly
tied to mechanics and features that they may not
enjoy playing. This may mean seeking out a
powerful NPC who owes the players a favor,
through conducting an elaborate ritual, or even
going on a new quest for a special cure—as
outlined below.
Seeking a Cure
When a cursed player seeks a cure for
vampyrism, it provides a character-focused quest
hook for the campaign. Imagine a cursed holy
paladin or cleric fighting against their own
bloodlust as they seek out a way to expunge it.
How might this affect the worship of their gods?
Or how will their party feel about seeking a cure?
It makes the role of the curse far more interesting
if it incorporates moral dilemmas such as these,
rather than just unflavored mechanics.
After a target has been affected, for the next
24 hours they can remove the curse entirely by
having a remove curse spell cast on them. It must
be cast a level equal to ½ the CR of the creature
that inflicted the curse (rounded down).
For example, if a Vampire Spawn, CR 5 (MM,
pg. 298) inflicted the curse, the remove curse spell
could be cast using a 3rd level slot, its lowest
possible casting level. However, a Vampire Lord’s
curse would need to be cast at 6th level of higher
to prevent the advancement to Stage 1.
Once the curse has reached Stage 1, the curse
has reached full strength. A remove curse must
be cast at a level equal to the CR of the creature
that caused it + the cursed target’s current stage.
For example, a target cursed from a Vampire
Spawn who has progressed to Stage 2 would need
a remove curse spell cast at level 7 to remove the
vampyrism. Curses inflicted by stronger vampires
are beyond cure with the use of spells even when
cast at the highest-possible level (with the
exception of a wish spell). Players wishing to rid
themselves of the curse must instead conduct an
elaborate ritual.
Every ritual might be different, depending on
the role of vampyrism in your campaign.
However, here is an example ritual.
VAMPYRIC CURSE: 4
Purify Blood improvements, etc.) are removed.
4rd level divination (ritual) The only vestige they bear of their curse is the
Casting Time: 30 minutes scar over their heart, a cruel reminder of what
Range: One creature affected with vampyrism they once were.
Components: V, S, M (a divine artifact to be used At Higher Levels: When you perform this ritual
as a focus, a vial of the target creature’s blood, a using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, you lower
silvered dagger, and 250 gp worth of sanctified the DC required for the target’s Constitution
incense and chalk, which is expended during the saving throws by 1 for each level above 5th.
ritual)
Duration: Concentration, up to 30 minutes
This ritual requires careful timing. It must be
conducted half an hour before sunrise, so that
the sun emerges just as the ritual ends.
For preparation, you inscribe holy glyphs into
the ground using the chalk, encircling the target
creature, then burn the incense.
You hold the silvered dagger in one hand and
the vial of blood in another. Using holy
utterances and incantations, you proceed to
remove the curse. As you do so, the process is
grueling for the target.
Every 10 minutes the ritual persists, the
target must succeed on a DC Constitution saving
throw equal to 10 + the stage of the curse. On a
failed save, the target takes 3d10 internal
hemorrhaging damage; this damage cannot be
resisted in any way. The target takes half of this
damage on a successful save.
The target will make a total of three of these
checks. If at any time during the ritual, the target
falls unconscious from the damage taken, or fails
two or more of the three checks, the ritual ends
without curing the curse. All of the material
components are still consumed.
If the caster loses concentration at any points
during the ritual, or the timing is significantly
upset, the ritual also fails.
On a success, the vial of blood sears with
radiant light, purified. The caster will cover the
Preserving Blood
Dusk lotus is a rare plant with dark purple petals
silvered blade in the purified blood and, just as
and a ruby-red center. It tends to grow in moist
the sun emerges, plunge it into the target’s heart.
environments and is incredibly durable upon
After letting it burn for a moment, the caster then
maturing. They are said to curiously reach bloom
removes the dagger as the wound instantly heals
at dusk. Bards and storytellers say that in an
itself, closing up with a scar.
ancient war, demons’ blood spilled upon the
The target will pass out for one minute.
earth infected the soil and stained these flowers
During this time, the features of vampyrism will
with their taint. For this reason, some consider
slowly fade away from them the target. When they
the presence of dusk lotus to signify bad luck.
awaken, they will have permanently lost one hit
Unknown to most others, cursed vampires
die, as well as that hit die’s average value from
have discovered that the extract from this plant
their maximum hit points. Other than that, all
can be ground into an alchemical preservative for
effects of vampyrism (including all abilities, stat
blood. A DC 25 Intelligence (Nature) check reveals

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this, but this knowledge is more likely to be their blood. This is a shorthand way to simulate
passed down from another vampire, or through a their need to feed without designing entire
withered journal or tome chronicling one’s encounters devoted to that purpose.
advancement through the curse. Alternatively, you may simply adjust the
Consider placing the presence of dusk lotus in Bloodlust penalty to occur every 7-days rather
a forested area within your campaign for players than every 24-hours. Obviously, this will
to encounter while exploring, or perhaps even minimize the drawback of advancing through the
hunt down as a side quest. Stages, so consider also adjusting some of the
A player can attempt to harvest the extract benefits from each stage to be less powerful if you
with a DC 13 Intelligence (Nature) or DC 13 go for this approach.
Wisdom (Survival) check. With the proper Bloodlust Quelled. If you feel that the
knowledge and equipment (such as vials, generic drawbacks from bloodlust are too challenging for
alchemical reagents, etc.) the player can spend players to overcome or are interfering with the
ten minutes creating a preservative formula. players’ ability to skip time for narrative purposes
While the formula itself does not spoil, fresh and/or travelling, then you may want to change
blood mixed with this formula will stay fresh for their durations needed for blood consumption as
up to three days (or a week, if that suits your follows.
campaign’s pacing better). After three days, the • Bloodlust Stages 1-5. For every 24 hours
blood is spoiled for purposes of satisfying you go without consuming 1 pint of fresh
Bloodlust, and it cannot be preserved again after blood, you suffer one level of exhaustion.
spoiling, nor can multiple preservatives be used If you reach the third level of exhaustion
to extend the lifespan of one blood sample for due to this feature, you also suffer a
longer than a three-day period. short-term madness effect. If you reach

Variant Rules the fourth level of exhaustion due to this

feature, you also suffer a long-term
Stage Advancement. You may find that madness effect. If you reach the fifth level
progressing through the stages via passage of of exhaustion due to this feature, you also
time feels tedious to manage, or perhaps just out suffer an indefinite madness effect.
of place in your campaign. Alternatively, a player Only blood consumption can reduce these
can reach a new curse stage each time they also levels. You cannot reach the sixth level of
reach a new level and/or milestone. exhaustion from this feature.
Unknown Fate. You may also wish to reveal
limited information about the stages to the
cursed player. Instead of handing them this
supplement to plan around, reveal each stage
only as they advance to it. This will maintain an
element of surprise and reduce min/maxing.
Bloodlust Frenzied. If you are using the gritty
realism variant (as outlined in the Dungeon
Master’s Guide), you may want to heighten the
drawback of the Bloodlust feature. Instead of
having three levels of exhaustion set in
immediately after failing to consume a pint of
blood, you may want to space it out gradually; a
cursed player might suffer one level of exhaustion
for every one or two hours they go without
consuming a small vial’s worth of blood.
If being used with a 7-day long rest, for each
day of the rest, players can make either a DC 15
Intelligence (Nature) check in order to hunt an
easy prey for blood or DC 15 Charisma
(Persuasion) check to seduce a target and extract

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