Vampire Lord

Family: Vampires

Medium undead (shapechanger), lawful evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 209 (22d8 + 110)
Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
20 (+5)	18 (+4)	20 (+5)	18 (+4)	19 (+4)	20 (+5)

Saving Throws Dex +10, Wis +10, Cha +11
Skills Insight +10, Perception +10, Persuasion +11, Stealth +10
Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 20
Languages the languages it knew in life
Challenge 18 (20,000 XP)

Special Traits

• Shapechanger. If the vampire isn’t in sunlight or running water, it can use its action to polymorph into a Tiny bat or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into its true form. While in bat form, the vampire can’t speak, its walking speed is 5 feet, and it has a flying speed of 30 feet. Its statistics, other than its size and speed, are unchanged. Anything it is wearing transforms with it, but nothing it is carrying does. It reverts to its true form if it dies. While in mist form, the vampire can’t take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. It is weightless, has a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile creature’s space and stop there. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so without squeezing, and it can’t pass through water. It has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and it is immune to all nonmagical damage, except, the damage it takes from sunlight.
• Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the vampire fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
• Misty Escape. When it drops to 0 hit points outside its resting place, the vampire transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the Shapechanger trait) instead of falling unconscious, provided that it isn’t in sunlight or running water. If it can’t transform, it is destroyed. While it has 0 hit points in mist form, it can’t revert to its vampire form, and it must reach its resting place within 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in its resting place, it reverts to its vampire form. It is then paralyzed until it regains at least 1 hit point. After spending 1 hour in its resting place with 0 hit points, it regains 1 hit point.
• Regeneration. The vampire regains 25 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point and isn’t in sunlight or running water. If the vampire takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the vampire’s next turn.
• Spider Climb. The vampire can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
• Vampire Weaknesses. The vampire has the following flaws:
  • Forbiddance. The vampire can’t enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
  • Harmed by Running Water. The vampire takes 20 acid damage if it ends its turn in running water.
  • Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into the vampire’s heart while the vampire is incapacitated in its resting place, the vampire is paralyzed until the stake is removed.
  • Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The vampire takes 20 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Actions

• Multiattack. The vampire makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack.
• Unarmed Strike (Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage. Instead of dealing damage the vampire can grapple the target (escape DC 20).
• Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage.
• Bite (Bat or Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by the vampire, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage plus 17 (5d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the vampire regains 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 slain in this way and then buried in the ground rises the following night as a vampire spawn under the vampire’s control.
• Charm. The vampire targets one humanoid it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the vampire, the target must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by the vampire. The charmed target regards the vampire as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn’t under the vampire’s control, it takes the vampire’s requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for the vampire’s next bite attack. Each time the vampire or the vampire’s companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until the vampire is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect.
• Children of the Night (1/day). The vampire magically calls 3d4 swarms of bats, provided that the sun isn’t up. While outdoors, the vampire can call 3d8 wolves instead. The called creatures arrive in two rounds, acting as allies of the vampire and obeying its spoken commands. The beasts remain for 1 hour, until the vampire dies, or until the vampire dismisses them as a bonus action.

Legendary Actions

Can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Spent legendary actions are regained at the start of each turn.

• Move. The vampire can move up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
• Unarmed Strike. The vampire makes one unarmed strike.
• Bite (Costs 2 Actions). The vampire makes one bite attack.

About

The legendary vampire lord is one of the most powerful denizens of the city. This evil monster can even rule an entire city or kingdom. It will often have other vampires under its command as well as an army of vampire spawn and other undead. Like other vampires, it preys on the living. However, unlike other vampires it is able to fly in vampire form. Vampire lords also have unusual mounts like nightmares, wyverns, or even evil dragons.

Double Life. The vampire lord really lives two lives, it’s a charming noble during the day and a hideous monster at night. This undead monster is often part of the elite in a large city. Sometimes it is a close advisor to the king or queen. There are tales of vampire lords remaining undetected for years and years, all the time living amongst the aristocracy. The vampire lord’s manor or castle is often filled with trophies from its victims. These arrogant creatures often boast about their treasures to other nobles but don’t reveal how they acquired them.

Legendary Lord. Only the bravest of heroes would face this dangerous foe. It creates multiple resting places by moving dirt from its grave. Some vampire lords have survived for hundreds of years.

Undead Nature. A vampire doesn’t require air.