How To Use Vampires In Your D&D 5e

Campaign

Vampires are one of the most widely recognized and feared monsters in Dungeons and Dragons.
They are an often lethal combination of speed, intelligence, and power and can easily be the final
boss of an arc or even a whole campaign. With how complex they can be, shaping vampires in
your campaign can be a difficult process. Here are some basic tips on how to use vampires in
your D&D 5e Campaign:
Make them powerful and intelligent

Give them a lair or stronghold

Figure out the vampire hierarchy

Decide on their larger goal

Covering those bases will help ensure that your players feel like the vampire is an actual threat
that must be dealt with instead of a tired cliche that must be tolerated. Still, there is significantly
more to be said about making them into the incredible undead threats that they are. Before we
get going, if you are thinking about using vampires in your campaign, you will need some
miniatures! Check out our friends at Noble Knight Games and get your minis from a real store!

U n d e r s t a n d i n g Va m p i re L o re

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Vampire lore in Dungeons and Dragons is somewhat unique compared to the classic
interpretations of undead lords that are often shown in media. The basics are still the same,
though. Vampires are undead creatures who feed on the living by drinking their blood. They
are immortal, as they cannot die of old age, and have some common weaknesses such as
sunlight and running water. Mechanically, they have quite a few more features that will be
covered later. For now, it is important to take a look at the lore of vampires and see how they
came to be in the Dungeons and Dragons universes. As a quick note before explaining the
history, remember that, in your home games, you can take as much or as little of this history as
you would like! Be sure to change the history to fit the type of story you want to tell.

C h a n g e s I n Va m p i re s
When someone becomes a vampire, they may not lose all of their memories from life. This,
however, may often end up being an additional curse. Vampire spawn eventually lose all happy
emotions they may have experienced while alive. Friendship is replaced by envy, love may turn
into obsession, and life’s pleasures turn into bitter reminders of what has been lost. Often,
vampires will fixate on something or someone that reminds them of what has been lost. A
vampire who was young and gifted may focus on a child, given their symbolism of youth and
potential. Perhaps a vampire who was poor in life becomes obsessed with collecting riches and
living undeath in excess.

W h a t M a ke s A Va m p i re
Only a vampire can create more vampires, turning them into a spawn by biting them. These
spawn are weaker than a fully independent vampire but still certainly a threat to be careful
around.  Vampire spawn must listen to and obey the commands of the vampire that created
them. They also cannot create more vampires. Vampire spawn can win their freedom, so to
speak, when their creator allows them to draw blood from its own body. Spawn also become
free when their creator dies.  By the very nature of this chain of command, there is a hierarchy
that must exist for vampires. While lords will almost always remain independent of each other,
families around those lords tend to crop up and become threats.

S t ra h d Vo n Z a ro v i c h

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Strahd Von Zarovich is the original vampire, spawning all others. This is stated in the Monster
Manual, although left to some debate. Even if you decide Strahd is not the first vampire in your
game’s lore, he is an essential piece of the Dungeons and Dragons vampire puzzle and an
interesting vampire in his own right. His story is a particularly vile and sad one, great
conditions for creating any vampire. Strahd was a great warrior and strategist when he was
alive, fighting often for his people. Eventually, after years of service, he moved to the valley of
Barovia and built his castle, named Castle Ravenloft. His much younger and more handsome
brother, Sergei, eventually came and lived with him as a sort of advisor. As always happens with
vampires, Strahd became jealous of his younger brother’s looks and potential, eventually souring
the entire relationship with hate. Strahd’s betrothed, Tatyana, turned to Sergei and planned to
marry him instead, the final nail in the proverbial coffin.  Strahd, now fully enraptured with hate
and anger, made a pact with some unknown dark force that made him immortal. He then went to
the wedding between his brother and previous love, confronting and killing his brother. His love
then ran away and flung herself from the towering walls of Castle Ravenloft. For his despicable
actions, Strahd was then turned on by his men who sought to kill him. However, they could not –
Strahd’s turn into a vampire was complete.  How Strahd went on to sire more vampire lords and
spawn is never made clear, so starting with his origin story is a great way to get more vampires
into your own campaign. The story of Strahd and the valley of Barovia was also made into an
adventure by Wizards of the Coast for D&D 5e, titled Curse Of Strahd. You can find the digital
version here at dndbeyond if you want to see more of Strahd’s story or get even more great
vampire advice.

Ty p e s o f Va m p i re s ( L o rd s v s . S p a w n )  

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In Dungeons and Dragons, there are two main types of vampires. A few modified versions have
been added in other sourcebooks which will also be briefly discussed, but they are often specific
to a setting such as Ravnica.  The two main versions of vampires that exist in D&D are
vampire lords and vampire spawn. The differences between these two types of vampire can be
quite large, though both are very powerful. Here are some of the key differences:
Vampire lords can create new vampires. Spawn cannot.

Vampire spawn must obey the commands of their own lord.

Vampire lords often have their own lair.

Vampire lords may have the ability to cast spells or wield powerful weapons.

Va m p i re L o rd s
Vampire lords are simply called vampires in D&D 5e. They are extremely powerful and are often
what people think of when considering vampires. Vampires in D&D 5e are legendary creatures,
meaning they can take extra actions that other creatures could not. If you aren’t sure how to use
these Legendary Actions, make sure to read my post all about them! They are meant to be
powerful, final bosses of arcs or campaigns. Due to this, they have an enormous range of
abilities and options to try and kill or convert the player’s characters into vampire spawn.

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There are a few defining traits that vampires have over their created spawn, as noted above. Key
among these is the vampire’s ability to create new vampires. Because of this, and the implicit
control vampires have over their spawn, it would be rare to fight a full vampire without a couple
of additional spawns around to turn the tide in their favor. Another vital bonus that vampires
have over their fledglings is the ability to charm humanoids into being on their side. Ultimately,
this can allow vampires to get away with crimes if there is a witness or even charm a king into
supporting the vampire’s plans. Vampire lords also come in two variants; a vampire spellcaster,
and a vampire warrior. Think of these as vampires which were highly trained at either of those
schools in life, transferring their skill into undeath. They are even more powerful than a
traditional vampire!

Va m p i re S p a w n
Despite being significantly weaker than a full vampire, vampire spawn are still a force to be
reckoned with, especially in the lower levels of play. A single vampire spawn could have enough
power to fully devour a whole town, if their vampire lord allowed them to. The power
relationship between a vampire spawn and its master is the most essential quality to
understand about them. While some lords may allow the spawn to act fairly independently, a
spawn is never allowed the final say. Vampire spawn are also weaker across the board, losing
their shapeshifting and charm abilities and generally doing less damage. When utilizing vampire
spawn, consider the hierarchy of power at play. Does the vampire lord allow these spawn relative
freedom, or does the lord keep them on a tight leash? Does all feeding happen independently or
must sacrifices be brought back to the lair? Answering questions such as these will help
vampire spawn feel more alive than just weaker vampires.

Va m p i re Fe a t u re s

Vampires in D&D 5e are powerful creatures of the night, capable of bringing ruin to whole
kingdoms if allowed to operate unchecked. The features and abilities vampires are given
supports this power.  While some of the features vampires have are standard across all fiction,
D&D provides some interesting additions that can make playing a vampire villain even more
engaging than you might have thought.

P o s i t i ve Va m p i re A b i l i t i e s
A full vampire’s list of abilities can be overwhelming to new dungeon masters or people
unaccustomed to running monsters with a host of abilities. To make it a bit easier, here are
some of the more important or easy to forget positive abilities:
Vampires can shapeshift into mist or a bat when not in direct sunlight

They can charm people for 24 hours, turning enemies into allies

Vampires can summon swarms of wolfs, rats, and bats once per day

Vampires regenerate hitpoints every turn when not in sunlight or running water, making them
incredibly hardy

They must be killed in their coffin, otherwise they will come back to life

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As you can see, the list of positive attributes a vampire has is tremendous, and that is to say
nothing of the incredible power they have when actually dealing damage. In addition, they get
further power or control when in their lair, physically shaping the area around their resting place.
Be sure to use all of these abilities to their potential when playing as a vampire – remember, they
are intelligent creatures!

N e g a t i v e Va m p i re At t r i b u t e s

Of course, there have to be a few negative attributes to vampires after all of the bonuses they
receive. These are attributes that your players will and should try to use against the vampire if
they have any hope of defeating it:
Vampires cannot enter a home without an explicit invitation

They are weak to running water, losing some of their abilities and taking damage when in it

They are extremely weak to sunlight, taking damage and even attacking and defending with
disadvantage when in it. 

A stake to the heart while the vampire is sleeping will paralyze it until the stake is removed.

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These negative attributes may seem fairly steep, and they certainly can be if your players take
full advantage; however, it is important to remember that vampires are intelligent and aware of
their shortcomings. As such, they will most likely do everything in their power to limit how many
of these can be utilized against it.  To cover for these, a vampire may spread lies throughout a
region that it cannot be harmed by water, or have magical darkness spells around its lair. Be
creative!

Avo i d i n g t h e C l i c h e

While vampires are meant to be fearsome and incredible opponents, it can be easy to fall into
tropes and cliches while attempting to utilize them. While this is not inherently a bad thing, your
players viewing the vampire as a joke may break the image you are trying to give your vampires
and make play more difficult. There are a few steps you can take to ensure that your players
respect the vampire as a threat while ensuring that your monster feels unique:
Make them deadly – a vampire should follow through on threats. Otherwise, it could seem like
the vampire is not utilizing its full potential.

Give the vampire a backstory – often, the cliche around vampires is them living in a brooding
castle all alone, dark and angry at the world. Give your vampire a unique backstory and the
whole cliche can be avoided easily! For instance, what if the vampire was the leader of a
traveling circus troupe? 

Define their personality – Consider what is classically considered the vampire cliche when
defining a personality for your villain. Then, flip a few of the common denominators on their
head. Rather than lusting after human flesh, maybe the vampire wants to rid themself of the
need for blood in the first place. Perhaps the vampire is amicable and goes into public often,
with people viewing them as a good person until the dreaded secret is revealed.

U n d e a d M o n s t e r s to U s e w i t h Va m p i re s

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In various fiction, vampires have been called “Lords Of The Undead”. While D&D 5e doesn’t give
that as a title, pairing vampires with other undead monsters is a great way to get a group of
fearsome villains together for a final boss or set-piece. When considering undead monsters to
pair with a vampire, consider these things:
Vampires want to control – the other monsters should listen to the vampire

The other undead should not need to feed – normally, a vampire may only share blood with its
spawn (if at all)

The other monsters need to be weaker – the vampire should not feel threatened by them

Ultimately, vampires need a firm hierarchy with them at the top. The supporting cast of
undead monsters should support this order and most likely be below even the vampire’s spawn.
Here are some undead that vampires could utilize.

Skeletons

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While vampires traditionally do not have the ability to raise skeletons, it is not out of the realm of
possibility. Some vampires keep spellcasting abilities they had in life. If your vampire was once a
great wizard, consider allowing for them to have raised skeletons to fight alongside it.  Skeletons
are great for any vampire that needs a large number of undead mobs. While they are not
powerful, skeletons are enough to keep any normal person in a D&D world in line or to wage war
with.

Ghouls & Ghasts

Ghouls and ghasts are undead that feast on corpses. They tend to travel in packs, swarming
enemies to bring them down and then eating the bodies. A vampire could easily use ghouls to
clean up victims after blood has been drained, or for some more powerful bottom ranks. Ghasts
are intelligent as well and may seek to work with a vampire if one is in the region. This would
allow the ghasts to continue feasting while ensuring that they do not incur the wrath of the
much stronger vampire, so it is a win-win.  Looking for some more creative options to back up
your Vampire Lord? I have a whole list of unique and fun undead creatures for your campaign!
(And there’s not a zombie in the bunch!)

Te a s i n g a Va m p i re F i n a l B o s s

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By now you have probably gathered that a vampire can be used to great effect as the final boss
of a campaign. They can have far-reaching effects even before the players know they are
dealing with a vampire, offer great utility to make the final boss fight interesting, and have
enough weaknesses that the players could enter into the final fight with a surprise upper-hand. 
Armed with all of that knowledge, how do you tease the players with a vampire final boss? When
teasing a vampire final boss, consider the vampire’s goals and actions. Due to how powerful
vampires are, they can have highly ambitious goals. Maybe they want to find an ancient lost
civilization or turn a whole kingdom into their spawn. Once a goal has been set, the vampire’s
actions will do much of the teasing. Due to the scope of the vampire’s goals, the players should
hear about the effects of their efforts long before ever meeting the vampire. For instance, if the
vampire’s goal is to convert a kingdom, players should hear of rising vampire attacks or a larger
number of wolves in that kingdom. The vampire’s actions should leave crumbs that the
players can use as a trail. 

  T i p s f o r U s i n g Va m p i re s
Vampires are complex monsters with a toolkit so large that it is easy to forget about all they can
do. Throughout this article, tips for using vampires to their fullest and making them deadly,
terrifying enemies have been laid throughout.  For a quick reference and recap, here is a
shortened list of tips for using vampires to maximum effectiveness:
Vampires are intelligent – This is a centuries-old monster we are talking about here! Your
players should be afraid to fight a vampire

Vampires have underlings – vampire spawn and other undead should be weakening the
vampire’s enemies long before the big one has to actually step in

Vampires should have lofty goals – they have until the end of time to achieve their goals, so
make them big! The effects of them going after their goal is what will tip off the players to
them

Vampires are charming – they will probably turn allies against each other to gain an upper
hand

Utilizing these tips and more, you should have a great vampire as a main villain that is sure to
provide fun and engaging gameplay for both yourself and your players! It really is a shame
vampires have become a cliche shadow of their former selves. These monsters are intelligent,
ancient, powerful, and brutal. What they need is a few good DMs to bring them back! And I have
a feeling you just might be the one. Happy hunting! Until next time, May your game have
advantage, my friends!

Halfling Hannah

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