Vampire

Vampires are undead shapechangers who hunger for blood.

Appearance
Vampires appear in undeath much as they did in life, but have sharp fangs.

Background
Vampires are extremely rare and were thought largely abolished close to 200 years before 810 PD. In few cases, there were murmurs about them. However, as soon as the rumors spread, large mobs gathered, and whoever had vampirism was hunted down and killed. Most of the well-known methods of killing a vampire proved to have no effect on them. However, some superstitious ways do make a vampire easier to slay:
 * Direct sunlight prevents them from rapid regeneration and ultimately destroys them and turns them to ash, should they be brought to the brink of death in the presence of sunlight.
 * Also, very quickly and consistently rushing water has a similar weakening impact.
 * When they are in their resting place, within their coffin and/or the dirt that is considered their resting location, they can be staked in the heart, paralyzing them.

Characteristics
The following is drawn from the Monster Manual:


 * Resistant to necrotic damage and physical damage from non-magical weapons
 * Vulnerable to running water and sunlight. They also cannot enter residences unless invited in by an occupant, and if staked through the heart in their resting place, they become paralyzed.

Abilities


 * Shapechanger: Vampires are able to change into either the form of a bat or a cloud of mist. A vampire will also automatically shapeshift into a mist when dropped to 0 HP. In any corporeal form, vampires can climb vertical and upside-down surfaces without difficulty.


 * Regeneration: Vampires can automatically regain some health on their turn if they are not in sunlight and if they did not take radiant damage nor damage from holy water on their turn.


 * If a vampire kills a humanoid with their bite, and that creature is then buried in the ground, the creature will become a vampire spawn, controlled by the vampire.

In other games (e.g., Vampire: The Masquerade), vampires have different abilities, although they typically share the thirst for blood.

Known vampires
Sylas Briarwood and Count Tylieri were both vampires that Vox Machina encountered and fought in Whitestone, along with many vampire spawn.

In the Thursday By Night One-shots, the Critical Role cast (other than Taliesin, who is the GM) play themselves as vampires using a modified version of the Vampire: The Masquerade TTRPG.