Dracanpire (3.5e Template)
Dracanpire
A dracanpire has 9 forms the true humanoid form has dragon scales, elongated features, red reptilian eyes, exaggerated teeth and claws and wings. Although their features are often hardened and feral, with the predatory look of wolves and small dragon horns and spikes. The hybrid form that is a mix of its humanoid and animal forms. A hybrid has hands and can use weapons, but it can also attack with its teeth, claws and dragon's breath. A hybrid has the same damage reduction that its animal form possesses. The hybrid form has dragon wings, tail, horns, spikes, vampire fangs, black fur, red eyes and dragon scales on it's chest and belly. The other forms are animal forms and a dragon form (see below).
Creating a Dracanpire
"Dracanpire" is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid, monstrous humanoid or giants creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature). The Dracanpire template can be inherited (for natural Dracanpires) or acquired (for Dracanpires spawn).
A dracanpire uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to dragon Shapechanger Undead. Augmented Humanoid, Monstrous Humanoid or Giant.The dracanpire takes on the characteristics of some type of carnivorous or omnivorous creature of the Animal type (referred to hereafter as the base Animal}. Do not recalculate Base Attack Bonus, saves, or Skill Points. Size is unchanged.
Hit Dice and Hit Points: increase base creature’s racial HD by one die size, to a maximum of d12. Do not increase class HD. Same as the humanoid plus those of the base animal. To calculate total hit points, apply Constitution modifiers according to the score the dracanpire has in hybrid form.
Speed: Same as the base creature or base animal, depending on which form the dacanpire is using. Hybrids use the base animal’s speed. A dracanpire has wings and can fly at twice its base land speed (maximum 120 ft.) with average maneuverability.
Armor Class: In humanoid form natural armor improves by +12. The base animal’s natural armor bonus increases by +2 and in all other forms. In hybrid form, the dracanpire’s natural armor bonus is +12.
Base Attack/Grapple: Add the base attack bonus for the base animal to the base attack bonus for the base creature. The dracanpire’s grapple bonus uses its attack bonus and modifiers for Strength and size depending on the dracanpire’s form.
Attack: A dracanpire retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack if it didn’t already have one. If the base creature can use weapons, the dracanpire retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A dracanpire fighting without weapons uses either its slam attack or its primary natural weapon {if it has any). A dracanpire armed with a weapon uses its slam or a weapon, as it desires.
Full Attack: A dracanpire in hybrid form fighting without weapons uses both claws and its bite when making a full attack. If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack and its bite as a natural secondary attack. If it has a hand free, it uses a claw as an additional natural secondary attack.
Damage: Dracanpires have bite and claw attacks in there hybrid form. If the base creature does not have these attack forms, use the damage values in the table below. Otherwise, use the values below or the base creature’s damage values, whichever are greater. Dracanpires have slam attacks. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the dracanpire’s size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons retain their old damage values or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is better.
| Size | Bite Damage | Claw Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Fine | 1 | — |
| Diminutive | 1d2 | 1 |
| Tiny | 1d3 | 1d2 |
| Small | 1d4 | 1d3 |
| Medium | 1d6 | 1d4 |
| Large | 1d8 | 1d6 |
| Huge | 2d6 | 1d8 |
| Gargantuan | 3d6 | 2d6 |
| Colossal | 4d6 | 3d6 |
| Size | Damage |
|---|---|
| Fine | 1 |
| Diminutive | 1d2 |
| Tiny | 1d3 |
| Small | 1d4 |
| Medium | 1d6 |
| Large | 1d8 |
| Huge | 2d6 |
| Gargantuan | 2d8 |
| Colossal | 4d6 |
Special Attacks: A dracanpire retains the special attacks of the base creature or base animal, depending on which form it is using, and also gains the special attacks described below.
A dracanpire’s hybrid form does not gain any special attacks of the base animal. A dracanpire spellcaster cannot cast spells with verbal, somatic, or material components while in animal form. A dracanpire gains a breath weapon based on the dragon variety (see the table below), it can’t breathe again until 1d4 rounds later. A half-dragon’s breath weapon deals 6d8 points of damage. A successful Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 half-dragon’s racial HD + half-dragon’s Con modifier) reduces damage by half.
Breath weapons come in two basic shapes, line and cone, whose areas vary with the dragon’s size.
| Dragon Variety | Breath Weapon |
|---|---|
| Black | 60-foot line of acid |
| Blue | 60-foot line of lightning |
| Green | 30-foot cone of corrosive (acid) gas |
| Red | 30-foot cone of fire |
| White | 30-foot cone of cold |
| Brass | 60-foot line of fire |
| Bronze | 60-foot line of lightning |
| Copper | 60-foot line of acid |
| Gold | 30-foot cone of fire |
| Silver | 30-foot cone of cold |
Blood Drain (Ex): A dracanpire can suck blood from a living victim with its fangs by making a successful grapple check. If it pins the foe, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained. On each such successful attack, the dracanpire gains 5 temporary hit points.
Children of the Night (Su): Dracanpires command the lesser creatures of the world and once per day can call forth 1d6+1 rat swarms, 1d4+1 bat swarms, or a pack of 3d6 wolves as a standard action. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might summon other creatures of similar power.) These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve the dracanpire for up to 1 hour.
Create Spawn (Su): A humanoid, monstrous humanoid or giant that drinks the blood of a dracanpire will become a dracanpire spawn after full moon of drinking the blood. One who drinks the blood can swallow a pinch of fur or feathers of a animal type and a dragon's scale to determine what animal and what dragon they have. If they didn't swallow any of these it is randomly determined whin they are changed.
| d% | Animal Type | |
|---|---|---|
| 01–03 | Ape | |
| 04–06 | Baboon | |
| 07–09 | Black Bear | |
| 10–12 | Boar | |
| 13–15 | Brown Bear | |
| 16–18 | Cheetah | |
| 19–21 | Cougar | |
| 22–24 | Dire Badger | |
| 25–27 | Dire Boar | |
| 28–30 | Dire Bat | |
| 31–33 | Dire Cat | |
| 34–36 | Dire Rat | |
| 37–39 | Dire Weasel | |
| 40–42 | Dire Wolf | |
| 43–45 | Eagle | |
| 46–48 | Fox | |
| 49–51 | Hawk | |
| 52–54 | Hyena | |
| 55–57 | Leopard | |
| 58–60 | Lion | |
| 61–63 | Lynx | |
| 64–66 | Monkey | |
| 67–69 | Owl | |
| 70–72 | Panther | |
| 73–75 | Polar Bear | |
| 76–78 | Raven | |
| 79–81 | Panther | |
| 82–84 | Red Bird | |
| 85–87 | Riding Dog | |
| 88–90 | Roadrunner | |
| 91–93 | Tiger | |
| 94–96 | Wolfoceros | |
| 97–100 | Wolverine |
| d% | Dragon Type | |
|---|---|---|
| 01–10 | Black Dragon | |
| 11–20 | Blue Dragon | |
| 21–30 | Green Dragon | |
| 31–40 | Red Dragon | |
| 41–50 | White Dragon | |
| 51–60 | Brass Dragon | |
| 61–70 | Bronze Dragon | |
| 71–80 | Copper Dragon | |
| 81–90 | Gold Dragon | |
| 91–100 | Silver Dragon | |
Dominate (Su): A dracanpire can crush an opponent’s will just by looking into his or her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, except that the dracanpire must use a standard action, and those merely looking at it are not affected. Anyone the dracanpire targets must succeed on a Will save or fall instantly under the dracanpire’s influence as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 12th). The ability has a range of 30 feet.
Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a vampire’s slam attack (or any other natural weapon the vampire might possess) gain two negative levels. For each negative level bestowed, the vampire gains 5 temporary hit points. A vampire can use its energy drain ability once per round.
Special Attacks: A dracanpire has all the special qualities of the base creature and the base animal, and gains those described below. Saves have a DC of 10 + 1/2 dracanpire’s HD + dracanpire’s Cha modifier unless noted otherwise, plus darkvision out to 60 feet and low-light vision. A dracanpire has immunity to sleep and paralysis effects, and an additional immunity based on its dragon variety.
| Dragon Variety | Immunity | Dragon Variety | Immunity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | Acid | Brass | Fire |
| Blue | Electricity | Bronze | Electricity |
| Green | Acid | Copper | Acid |
| Red | Fire | Gold | Fire |
| White | Cold | Silver | Cold |
'''Alternate Form (Su):''' A dracanpire can assume the form of a specific animal (as indicated in its entry). And can assume the shape of a bat, rat or wolf as a standard action. While in its bat, rat or wolf forms, the dracanpire loses its natural slam attack and dominate ability, but it gains the natural weapons and extraordinary special attacks of its new form. It can remain in that form until it assumes another. It does not assume the ability scores of the animal, but instead adds the animal’s physical ability score modifiers to its own ability scores. It can remain in that form until it assumes another A dracanpire also can assume a bipedal hybrid form with prehensile hands and animalistic features. Changing to or from animal or hybrid form is a standard action. A slain dracanpire reverts to its humanoid form, although it remains dead. Separated body parts retain their animal form, however. Dracanpire spawn find this ability difficult to control (see Dracanpire as an Spawn, below), but natural dracanpires have full control over this power. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might allow other forms.)
Become Dragon {Su}: Once a month a dracanpire can assume the form of a specific dragon for 24 hours. after that he will reach -5 HD and become unconscious.
Blindsense (Ex): Dracanpires can pinpoint creatures within a distance of 60 feet. Opponents the dracanpire can’t actually see still have total concealment against the dracanpire.
Damage Reduction (Su): An dracanpire spawn in animal or hybrid form has damage reduction 5/silver. A dracanpire has damage reduction 10/silver and magic and in animal or hybrid form has damage reduction 15/silver. A dracanpire’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Darkvision {Ex}: A dracanpire has darkvision vision in any form and can see out to 120 feet.
Fast Healing (Ex): A dracanpire heals 5 points of damage each round so long as it has at least -9 hit points. If reduced to -10 hit points in combat, it automatically gaseous form and attempts to escape. It must fined a new body to house in within 2 hours or be utterly destroyed (It can travel up to nine miles in 2 hours.) Any additional damage dealt to a dracanpire forced into gaseous form has no effect. Once at rest in its new body, a dracanpire is helpless for it lies dead in the body. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless and resumes healing at the rate of 5 hit points per round. And comes back to life. {see Gaseous Form below for types of dead a dracanpire can house in}.
Frightful Presence (Ex): A dracanpire can unsettle foes with its mere presence. The ability takes effect automatically whenever the dracanpire attacks, charges, or flies overhead. Creatures within a radius of 30 feet x the dracanpire’s Cha modifier are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than the dracanpire. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 dracanpire’s HD + dracanpire’s Cha modifier) remains immune to that dracanpire’s frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Dracanpire ignore the frightful presence of other dracanpires, dragons and Half-Dragons.
Gaseous Form (Su): As a standard action, a dracanpire can assume gaseous form at will as the spell (caster level 5th), but it can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability. And can then house in dead/undead bodes. A Dracanpire in gaseous form can house in a dead body until it rots away into a skeleton. While in the body the dracanpire can control as if it was his own body having all his abilities except for Breath weapon, Alternate Form, Fast Healing and Frightful Presence.
Dracanpiric Empathy (Ex): In any form, dracanpires can communicate and empathize with normal or dire animals of their animal form. This gives them a +4 racial bonus on checks when influencing the animal’s attitude and allows the communication of simple concepts and (if the animal is friendly) commands, such as “friend,” “foe,” “flee,” and “attack.”
Low-Light Vision (Ex): A dracanpire has low-light vision in any form.
Scent (Ex): A dracanpire has the scent ability in any form.
Spells: A dracanpire knows and casts arcane spells as a sorcerer of the level indicated in its variety description, gaining bonus spells for a high Charisma score. Some dracanpires can also cast spells from the cleric list or cleric domain lists as arcane spells.
Spider Climb (Ex): A dracanpire can climb sheer surfaces as though with a spider climb spell.
Tail Slap: The dracanpire can slap one opponent each round with its tail. A tail slap deals the indicated damage plus 1-1/2 times the dracanpire’s Strength bonus (round down) and is treated as a secondary attack.
Wing: The dracanpire can slam opponents with its wings, even when flying. Wing attacks deal the indicated damage plus 1/2 the dracanpire’s Strength bonus (round down) and are treated as secondary attacks. Wing attack 2 this wing attack can only attack when the dracanpire is not flying. It is a piercing damage.
Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +8, Dex +4, Int +2, Con +2, Wis +2, Cha +4 In addition, when in animal form, a dracanpire’s physical ability scores improve according to its kind, as set out in the table below. These adjustments are equal to the animal’s normal ability scores –10. A dracanpire in hybrid form modifies its physical ability scores by the same amount. In addition, a dracanpire may also gain an additional ability score increase by virtue of its extra Hit Dice.
Skills: A dracanpire gains skill points as a dragon and has skill points equal to (6 + Int modifier) x (HD + 3). Do not include Hit Dice from class levels in this calculation—the dracanpire gains dragon skill points only for its racial Hit Dice, and gains the normal amount of skill points for its class levels. Treat skills from the base creature’s list as class skills, and other skills as cross-class. And gains skill points as if it had multiclassed into the animal type. (Animal is never its first Hit Die, though, and it does not gain quadruple skill points for any animal Hit Die.) Any skill given in the animal’s description is a class skill for the dracanpire’s animal levels. In any form, a dracanpire also has any racial skill bonuses of the base creature and of the base animal, although conditional skill bonuses only apply in the associated form. And have a +8 racial bonus on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Feats: Add the base animal’s feats to the base creature’s. If this results in a dracanpire having the same feat twice, the dracanpire gains no additional benefit unless the feat normally can be taken more once, in which case the duplicated feat works as noted in the feat description. This process may give the dracanpire more feats than a character of its total Hit Dice would normally be entitled to; if this occurs, any “extra” feats are denoted as bonus feats. And gain Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, and Lightning Reflexes, assuming the base creature doesn’t already have these feats.
Environment: Any, usually same as either the base creature, the dragon variety or base animal.
Organization: Solitary or pair, sometimes family (3–4), pack (6–10), or troupe (family plus related animals or dragons).
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +5
Treasure: Double standard.
Alignment: {Any} but dracanpire spawns noble creatures such as bears, eagles, and lions tend to produce good-aligned dracanpires. Sinister creatures such as rats, and wolves tend to produce evil-aligned dracanpires. This is a reflection of how these animals are perceived, not any innate quality of the animal itself, so the alignment of the animal form can be arbitrarily assigned.
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +8 (spawn) or +9 (natural). In addition, a dracanpire’s character level is increased by the number of racial Hit Dice the base animal has.
| Name | Animal Form | Animal or Hybrid Form Ability Modifiers | Preferred Alignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Werebear | Brown bear | Str +16, Dex +2, Con +8 | Lawful good |
| Wereboar | Boar | Str +4, Con +6 | Neutral |
| Wererat | Dire rat | Dex +6, Con +2 | Chaotic evil |
| Weretiger | Tiger | Str +12, Dex +4, Con +6 | Neutral |
| Werewolf | Dire Wolf | Str +15, Dex +5, Con +7 | Chaotic evil |
| Dire Wereboar | Dire boar | Str +16, Con +6 | Neutral |
Dracanpiry as an Affliction
When a character contracts dracanpiry through a dracanpire’s blood (see above), no symptoms appear until the first night of the next full moon. On that night, the afflicted character involuntarily assumes animal form and forgets his or her own identity, temporarily becoming an NPC. The character remains in animal form, assuming the appropriate alignment, until the next dawn.
The character’s actions during this first episode are dictated by the alignment of its animal form. The character remembers nothing about the entire episode (or subsequent episodes) unless he succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom check, in which case he becomes aware of his dracanpiric condition.
Thereafter, the character is subject to involuntary transformation under the full moon and whenever damaged in combat. He or she feels an overwhelming rage building up and must succeed on a Control Shape check (see below) to resist changing into animal form. Any player character not yet aware of his or her dracanpiric condition temporarily becomes an NPC during an involuntary change, and acts according to the alignment of his or her animal form.
A character with awareness of his condition retains his identity and does not lose control of his actions if he changes. However, each time he changes to his animal form, he must make a Will save (DC 15 + number of times he has been in animal form) or assume the alignment of his animal form in all shapes.
Once a character becomes aware of his affliction, he can now voluntarily attempt to change to animal or hybrid form, using the appropriate Control Shape check DC. An attempt is a standard action and can be made each round. Any voluntary change to animal or hybrid form immediately and changes the character’s alignment to that of the appropriate dracanpire for the whole spawn time.
After the sixth month a dracanpire spawn at the first night of the next full moon. A new symptoms appear after he or she awakes up. They now have scales, elongated features, red reptilian eyes, exaggerated teeth and claws and wings. Although their features are often hardened and feral, with the predatory look of wolves and small dragon hons and spices. And he becomes aware of his dracanpiric condition.
Dracanpire is only a spawn for 1 year then is a natural dracanpire thus permanently changing the character’s alignment back to normal.
Dracanpire spawn has all the same abilities except for Children of the Night, Create Spawn, Become Dragon, Gaseous Form, and Fast Healing heals 2 points of damage each round instead of 5. And when a dracanpire spawn reaches -10 hit points it dies. (see above).
Changing Form
Changing form is a standard action. If the change is involuntary, the character performs the change on his next turn following the triggering event. An dracanpire spawn character who is not aware of his condition remains in animal form until the next dawn. An afflicted character who is aware of his or her condition (see above) can try to resume humanoid form following a change (voluntary or involuntary) with a Control Shape check, but if he fails his check, he remains in animal (or hybrid) form until the following dawn.
Curing Dracanpiry
A remove disease or heal spell cast by a cleric of 12th level or higher also cures the affliction, provided the character receives the spell within three days of the dracanpire’s attack.
The only other way to remove the affliction is to cast remove curse or break enchantment on the character during one of the three days of the full moon. After receiving the spell, the character must succeed on a DC 20 Will save to break the curse (the caster knows if the spell works). If the save fails, the process must be repeated.
Characters undergoing this cure are often kept bound or confined in cages until the cure takes effect.
Only dracanpire spawns can be cured of dracanpiry.
Dracanpire Weaknesses
For all their power, dracanpires have a number of weaknesses.
Repelling a Dracanpire: Dracanpires cannot tolerate the strong odor of garlic and will not enter an area laced with it.Similarly, they recoil from a sprig of belladonna (also called wolfsbane). These things don’t harm the dracanpire—they merely keep it at bay. A recoiling dracanpire must stay at least 5 feet away from a creature holding the wolfsbane and cannot touch or make melee attacks against the creature holding the item for the rest of the encounter. Holding a dracanpire at bay takes a standard action.
Slaying a Dracanpire: Reducing a dracanpire’s hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn’t always destroy it (see the note on fast healing). However, certain attacks can slay dracanpires. Driving a wooden stake through a dracanpire’s heart instantly slays the monster. However, it returns to life if the stake is removed, unless the body is destroyed. A popular tactic is to cut off the creature’s head.