#vampire characters
I will run through some simple guidelines on how to play a Vampire in D&D only using official content.
For Race pick Elf. Elves are long-lived, can go into a trance, are perceptive and dexterous, can’t be put to sleep, and can resist magical charming. For subrace, we have a few options:
1. High Elf is our best choice. If you take high elf, take one of the following cantrips (Chill Touch, Minor Illusion, or Frostbite). For the language pick any, but some thematic ones are the following (Infernal, Sylvan).
2. Shadar-Kai.
3. If Eberron (or at least Eberron rules) are allowed then the Mark of Shadow Elf is decent too.
For class: Bard, Fighter, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard are best.
College of Whispers or College of Glamour Bard
Eldritch Knight Fighter
Assassin, Mastermind, or Arcane Trickster Rogue.
Archfey, Undying, or Hexblade Warlock.
Illusion, Enchantment, or Necromancy Wizard.
NOTE 1: For Archfey you could say that your patron is a Vampiric Fey. Or you could say Vampires (or at least the first Vampires) are/were a type of fey (Unseelie) or were created by said fey. OR you could say that your Patron is a Vampire and not a fey but that the Fey Patron subclass best represents it.
NOTE 2: If you wanna play a Monstrous Vampire like the Nosferatu from Vampire the Masquerade or Vampire the Requiem, or you wanna play a vampire who has given in to the beast/hunger than Barbarian works as well. Also for the aforementioned Nosferatu Vampire or an outcast vampire hermit, you could take Circle of Spores Druid (if Ravnica options are allowed).
Important Skills to take are Stealth, Sleight of Hand, Acrobatics, Persuasion, Intimidate, Arcana, History, Religion, Perception, and Insight.
Good backgrounds are Noble, Hermit, and Haunted One (or make your own).
If you are a spell caster your damaging spells should focus on Necrotic, Cold, and Psychic damage. Summoning and Shape changing spells are always good.
Some Great Spells: Bane, Charm Person, Command, Fog Cloud, Jump, Find Familiar, Longstrider, Faerie Fire, Shield, Blur, Darkness, Detect Thoughts, Hold Person, Invisibility, Magic Weapon, Mirror Image, Misty Step, Pass without Trace, Ray of Enfeeblement, See Invisibility, Shadow Blade, Spider Climb, Suggestion, Bestow Curse, Conjure Animals, Fear, Fly, Gaseous Form, Haste, Major Image, Revivify, Slow, Speak with Dead, Vampiric Touch, Water Walk, Black Tentacles, Dominate Beast, Phantasmal Killer, Inflict Wounds, Polymorph, Contagion, Enemies Abound, Danse Macabre Dominate Person, Modify Memory, Scrying, Telekinesis, Expeditious Retreat, Mass Suggestion, Soul Cage, Truesight, Maddening Darkness, Time Stop.
Vampiric Touch is a must.
For Conjure Animals I recommend:
CR 0 - Bats, Rats, Ravens
CR 1/8 - Blood Hawk, Stirge, Giant Rat, Poisonous Snake
CR ¼ - Swarm of Bats, Giant Bat, Wolf, Constrictor Snake, Giant Poisonous Snake, Swarm of Rats, Swarm of Ravens.
CR ½ - Swarm of Insects, Swarm of Rot Grubs
CR 1 - Dire Wolf
CR 2 - Giant Constrictor Snake, Swarm of Poisonous Snakes
NOTE: Cast Polymorph on yourself to become a Dire Wolf or Giant Bat.
For melee combat focus on dex builds whenever possible. Mixing Magic and Melee are great ways to feel vampiric.
Archetypical Vampires you can create include the following: The Shadowy Killer (Jack the Ripper; History), The Seductive Predator (Alucard; Castlevania), the Monster in the Dark Woods (Gangrel; VtM), The Blooddrinking Noble (Elizabeth Bathory; History), the Hungering Beast (Nosferatu; VtM), and many more.
The point is you can, with a little imagination, build a Vampiric Character using only official options.
