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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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There is a Legacy version here.

PFS StandardVampire Mastermind

Vampire masterminds are evil wizards who control entire cabals of the undead and instill fear in the hearts of mortals far and wide.

Recall Knowledge - Undead (Religion): DC 26
Unspecific Lore: DC 24
Specific Lore: DC 21

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Changes from being Elite are marked in red below.
NOTE: The +2 damage bonus to non-strike offensive abilities (+4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.

Elite Vampire MastermindCreature 10

Medium Undead Unholy Vampire 
Source Monster Core pg. 337
Perception +22; darkvision
Languages Common, Necril; plus one regional language
Skills Acrobatics +19, Arcana +23, Athletics +20, Deception +22, Diplomacy +22, Intimidation +24, Society +21, Stealth +21
Str +3, Dex +4, Con +1, Int +6, Wis +4, Cha +5
Children of the Night (divine, mental)
Items signet ring
AC 29; Fort +17, Ref +20, Will +22
HP 135 (coffin restoration, fast healing 10, void healing); Immunities death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, sleep; Resistances physical 10 (except magical silver)
Vampire Vulnerabilities Mist Escape [free-action]
Speed 25 feet, climb 25 feet
Melee [one-action] claw +20 [+16/+12] (agile), Damage 2d8+2+9 slashing plus GrabArcane Prepared Spells DC 31, attack +21 (+4 dmg); 4th fire shield, illusory disguise, vision of death, wall of fire; 3rd dispel magic, fireball, haste, lightning bolt; 2nd blur, floating flame, invisibility, stupefy; 1st dizzying colors (×2), enfeeble, fleet step; Cantrips (4th) detect magic, frostbite, message, sigil, telekinetic hand
Change Shape [one-action] (concentrate, divine, polymorph) Giant bat with fangs +19 for 2d8+9 piercing.Create Servitor (divine, downtime) Dominate [two-actions] (divine, incapacitation, mental, visual) DC 28Drain Bonded Item [free-action] (arcane) Frequency once per day; Requirements The vampire mastermind hasn't acted yet on this turn; Effect The vampire expends the power stored in their signet ring. This gives the vampire the ability to cast one prepared spell they had already previously cast today without spending a spell slot. The vampire must still Cast the Spell and meet the spell's other requirements.Drink Blood [one-action] (divine) When Drinking Blood, the vampire mastermind regains 10 HP.Steady Spellcasting If another creature's reaction would disrupt the vampire mastermind's spellcasting action, the vampire attempts a DC 17 flat check. If the vampire succeeds, their action isn't disrupted.Turn to Mist [one-action] (air, concentrate, divine, polymorph)

All Monsters in "Vampire"

NameLevel
Vampire Count6
Vampire Guardian10
Vampire Mastermind9
Vampire Servitor4

Vampire

Source Monster Core pg. 334
Vampires are undead creatures that feed on the blood of the living.

Creating a Vampire

You can turn an existing living creature into a vampire using the following steps.

Increase the creature's level by 1 and change its statistics as follows.
  • It gains the undead and vampire traits, and usually the unholy trait.
  • Increase AC, attack bonuses, DCs, saving throws, and skill modifiers by 1.
  • Increase its damage with Strikes and other offensive abilities by 1. If an ability can be used only a limited or infrequent number of times (such as a dragon's breath), increase the damage by 2 instead.
  • Reduce its HP by the amount listed on the table.
  • The vampire gains fast healing and resistance to physical damage (except silver) as indicated in the table. These abilities are the reason the vampire has fewer Hit Points.
Starting LevelHP DecreaseFast Healing/Resistance
3–4–205
5–7–307
8–14–4010
15+–6015

Basic Vampire Abilities

All vampires gain the following abilities. If the base creature has any abilities that specifically come from it being a living creature, it loses them. It also loses any traits that represented its life as a living creature, such as human and humanoid. You might also need to adjust abilities that conflict with the vampire's theme, such as powers that rely on sunlight or which assume the presence of vitality.

Darkvision
Void Healing
Immunities death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, sleep
Coffin Restoration (divine, void) Unlike other undead, a vampire isn't destroyed at 0 HP. Instead, they fall unconscious. If their body rests in their coffin for 1 hour, the vampire gains 1 HP, after which their fast healing begins to function normally.
Vampire Vulnerabilities All vampires possess the following vulnerabilities.
  • Compulsions Vampires are creatures with strange and unknowable compulsions. A typical vampire can't voluntarily cross running water unless they're transported while they hide within their coffin, nor can they enter a private dwelling unless invited in by someone with the authority to do so. At your discretion, vampires might have different compulsions—a pirate vampire might not be able to set foot on solid ground without being invited, for example. The vampire can still be forced to do these things and might be able to overcome their compulsion just as they do their revulsion (see below).
  • Revulsion A vampire can't voluntarily come within 10 feet of brandished garlic or a brandished religious symbol of a deity with a holy sanctification option. To brandish garlic or a religious symbol, a creature must Interact to do so, and it remains brandished for 1 round (similar to Raising a Shield). If the vampire involuntarily comes within 10 feet of an object of their revulsion, they gain the fleeing condition, running from the object of their revulsion until they end an action beyond 10 feet. After 1 round of being exposed to the subject of their revulsion, a vampire can attempt a DC 25 Will save as a single action, which has the concentrate trait. On a success, they overcome their revulsions for 1d6 rounds (or 1 hour on a critical success).
  • Stake A wooden stake driven through a vampire's heart drops the vampire to 0 HP and prevents them from healing above 0 HP, even in their coffin. Staking a vampire requires 3 actions and works only if the vampire is unconscious. If the stake is removed, the vampire can heal above 0 HP again, and if they're in their coffin, the 1-hour rest period begins once the stake is removed. If the vampire's head is severed and anointed with holy water while the stake is in place, the vampire is destroyed.
  • Sunlight If exposed to direct sunlight, a vampire immediately becomes slowed 1. The slowed value increases by 1 each time the vampire ends their turn in sunlight, and the condition ends when they're no longer in sunlight. If the vampire loses all their actions in this way, they're destroyed. Due to their supernatural aversion to light, vampires don't cast shadows or show a reflection in mirrors.
Climb Speed Vampires gain a climb Speed equal to their land Speed.
Claws If the creature had hands, their fingernails thicken and grow, granting them an unarmed claw Strike that deals slashing damage and has the agile trait. If the monster had any agile attacks, the damage dealt by their claws should be roughly the same as the damage dealt by those attacks. If they had only non-agile attacks, their claws should deal three-quarters that damage.
Drink Blood [one-action] (divine) Requirements A grabbed, paralyzed, restrained, unconscious, or willing creature is within the vampire's reach; Effect The vampire sinks their fangs into that creature to drink their blood. This requires an Athletics check against the victim's Fortitude DC if the victim is grabbed and is automatic for any of the other conditions. The victim is drained 1 and the vampire regains HP equal to 10% of their maximum HP, gaining any excess HP as temporary HP. Drinking Blood from a creature that's already drained doesn't restore any HP to the vampire but increases the victim's drained value by 1, killing the victim when it reaches drained 5. A vampire can also consume blood that's been emptied into a vessel for sustenance, but they gain no HP from doing so.
A victim's drained condition decreases by 1 per week. A blood transfusion, which requires a DC 20 Medicine check and sufficient blood or a blood donor, reduces the drain by 1 after 10 minutes.
Grab The creature's claw attacks (or equivalent unarmed attacks) gain Grab.

True Vampire Abilities

Powerful vampires that can create and control vampires from their victims gain additional vampire abilities, as detailed below. A creature below level 5 is not a significant enough creature to become a true vampire—you should instead simply make such a creature into a regular vampire servitor or rebuild the creature so that it's at least level 5 before becoming a true vampire.

Resistances The vampire resists all physical damage except magical silver.
Create Servitor (divine, downtime) If a creature dies after being reduced to 0 HP by Drink Blood, the vampire can turn this victim into a vampire servitor by donating some of their own blood to the victim and burying the victim in earth for 3 nights. A vampiric servitor is compelled to obey its creator, but if a vampire controls too many vampiric servitors at once (as determined by the GM), or if the servitor is a higher level than the vampire that created it, strong-willed servitors can free themselves by succeeding at a Will saving throw against the vampire's Will DC.
Mist Escape [free-action] Trigger The vampire is reduced to 0 HP; Effect The vampire uses Turn to Mist. They can take move actions to move toward their coffin even though they're at 0 HP. While at 0 HP in this form, the vampire is unaffected by further damage. They automatically return to their corporeal form, unconscious, if they reach their coffin or after 2 hours, whichever comes first.
Change Shape [one-action] (concentrate, divine, polymorph) The vampire transforms into one of their animal forms or back into their normal form. Most vampires can turn into a bat, but some can turn into a different creature, such as a rat or a wolf. Use the options in the aerial form and animal form spells as guidelines.
  • Bat The vampire changes into a bat swarm or giant bat. They gain echolocation 40 feet, a land Speed of 20 feet and a fly Speed of 30 feet, and a fangs Strike with the same attack bonus as their highest melee attack. These fangs deal the same amount of damage as the vampire's claws but deal piercing damage rather than slashing damage.
Children of the Night (divine, mental) The vampire's presence brings forth creatures of the night to do the master's bidding. These typically include rat swarms, bat swarms, and wolves but can include other creatures. The vampire can give telepathic orders to these creatures as long as they're within 100 feet, but they can't communicate back.
Dominate [two-actions] (divine, incapacitation, mental, visual) The vampire can cast dominate at will as a divine innate spell. Casting it requires staring into the target's eyes, giving the spell the visual trait. The save DC uses the high spell DC of the vampire's level, and a creature that succeeds is temporarily immune to that vampire's Dominate for 24 hours. Fully destroying the vampire ends the domination, but merely reducing the vampire to 0 HP is insufficient to break the spell.
Drink Blood As a typical vampire, but the victim is drained 2 instead of 1.
Turn to Mist [one-action] (air, concentrate, divine, polymorph) The vampire turns into a cloud of vapor, as the vapor form spell, or back to their normal form. The vampire loses fast healing while turned to mist. The vampire can remain in this form indefinitely.