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Hello, loves!
So, I am not as familiar with the Pathfinder system as anyone here would be, so I am reaching out for advice on a build. I'd like to create a Vampire- but not actually a Vampire- a human with traits that mirror what we think about Vampires in older pop culture (Moroi).
There's a decent likelihood that I'd actually become a Vampire during this session, and would probably be better off if I focused on a class that synergies with vampirism. As fun as a Vampiric Bloodline sorcerer is, a lot of the perks it has would completely fall away as soon as I became a vampire and gained the same skills. CHA being a defining skill is nice, so what other bloodlines are fun with it?
I was also considering Monk, Paladin, Druid, Bard- anything that would make for a interesting experience. What would you do if you were to make a character like this? As for gear, I'm fond of tattoo enchantments, but what would work well here?
Role- variable, preferably not DPS.
Stat rolls: 16, 15, 14, 14, 13, 13
Starting level: 5
Starting gold: 10,500
Caveats: Human only, access to "Racial Heritage feat for Aasimar, Elf, Half-Elf, or Tiefling
No alignment restrictions outside of class
Special materials on gear: Alchemical Silver, Cold Iron, Mithral and Umbrite are available
How exactly would you be gaining access to vampirism? Would you be getting the template, or a set of abilities designed by your GM, or...?
Ah, hello! GM would apply the generic template later on in the story.
There is the dampir race which is half vampire. There is also the simple corruption template which could later be augmented to the normal vampire or even the dread vampire templates later on.
Oh! I'll have to ask my GM about those templates, thank you! :D
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Rednal!
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Okay, so first and most importantly, you'll need to cover your weaknesses. There's a third-party item for this, and you should definitely ask your GM about it - bursting into flames when you walk outside during the day puts a pretty sharp limit on a lot of adventures.
** spoiler omitted **
First party daylight protection can be gained through the Penumbra cantrip (though that might not be enough for a vampire) or, for a while (no infinite castings here), through the Protective Penumbra spell.
First party daylight protection can be gained through the Penumbra cantrip (though that might not be enough for a vampire) or, for a while (no infinite castings here), through the Protective Penumbra spell.Okay, so first and most importantly, you'll need to cover your weaknesses. There's a third-party item for this, and you should definitely ask your GM about it - bursting into flames when you walk outside during the day puts a pretty sharp limit on a lot of adventures.
** spoiler omitted **
That spell seems wonderful- is there way to get that enchanted into something?
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I mean, the shroud of the daywalker does it all better, haha. I'll just save up and hope I can get one made before I turn (into) undead
That spell seems wonderful- is there way to get that enchanted into something?
Going by the magic item pricing guidelines (which should only be used if there's no comparable item and are always subjected to GM approval), a command word activated item of Protective Penumbra would cost 2 * 3 * 1'800 * 1.5 = 16'200 gold, for infinite uses, and would give you 30 minutes protection each use. Not much cheaper than the cloak, and less useful.
On the other hand, Penumbra (the cantrip) would be 0.5 * 1 * 1'800 * 1.5 = 2'700 gold, which is *much* cheaper (and only 10 minutes per use, though uses are still infinite).
Of course, as mentioned, custom item pricing is strongly subjected to GM approval, even more than most other stuff.
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I think a Lunar Oracle (possibly multiclassed) is extremely appropriate for a vampire. It's very strong on charisma with a cool ability to put charisma towards Dodge AC instead of dexterity, and Oracle can be good at both combat and spellcasting. Lunar also has things like growing claws or a bite, turning into an animal, seeing through darkness, etc. It's pretty perfect.
For a combat-oriented character, you can easily be an Oracle/Fighter or Oracle/Swashbuckler or Oracle/Ninja or whatever; 1-3 levels of a combat class plus Oracle still has plenty of spell power, but with a stronger combat edge.
Oracle can also just cast Protective Penumbra or any number of Darkness effects.
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Or you could just make them constant effects for slightly more and not have to deal with actually activating the items
*Checks pricing again*
Oh, right. It's actually 10'800 for command word "Protective Penumbra", and the "Penumbra" cantrip pricing math was miscalculated *and* off, its actually 900 Gold.Command Word activation does not have the duration-based multiplier (1.5 for spells that are 10min/Level).
In comparison, continuous items do have that modifier, and 2k (instead of 1'800) base price, so they'd cost 18'000 (Protective Penumbra) or 1'500 (Penumbra Cantrip).
Comand Word can be a good deal cheaper for higher level items because it does not raise the price for short-duration spells.
(If your GM actually lets you use - and game - the pricing table.)
It's ten minutes per level. You can overlap it, reseting the duration every five minutes.
If you can't take a standard action for five minutes, then you're probably dead anyway.
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When I think of vampire I think of charisma.
1: Be a Human, pump Charisma.
2: Noble Scion feat (cha to initiative)
3: Lunar Oracle (to shapechange into animals, charisma to AC and reflex, wolf companion, plenty of thematic abilities)
4: Choose Vamprism as the oracle curse (Do I need to say why?)
5: Focus on enchantment spells (not only are they thematic for a classic vampire, theyre also good)
6: Use your charisma towards eldritch heritage of your choice if you feel you need it.
If at some point you become a full vampire, you already have high charisma to base HP on.
There is any number of things you could tag on to this to get it closer to your idea of a vampire, but its a solid start.
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Depending on whether a DM allows some of the above items, another option could be Umbrite.
I’ve got a Vampire BBEG that I’m building. I’m looking at using Umbrite in its armor, & possible plus an amulet & woven into its clothes.
As the DM running the campaign with this BBEG, I’m looking for a fair way to adjudicate it’s benefits.
As written, Umbrite provides +3 to Hide, and shadows are deeper & darker for 5ft radius as light is dimmed. So I’m thinking Vampire could gain 3 rounds of protection from sunlight, max, from say a 1# amulet or wrist guard or whatever (destroying the item). That gives it 18 seconds to react if surprised or from initial attack, thereby eliminating a one-shot-killed event after genius BBEG after 18-month campaign.
Thoughts on this idea?