Dhampir: Optimization and Analysis

[@haenhaen4282]

I love how this race can crit on a bite and get a bonus to an Int check so high that it revolutionizes an entire field of science in the world. +30 to a check will do that.

[@thereaIitsybitsyspider]

You can build Dracula's castle

[@elizamalaguld9064]

But be careful not to let your wife burn at the stake, she'll be a pretty important plot point later on

[@havokmusicinc]

A high level kensai with 20 Con doin max of 15 + crit + vulnerability on the target (either from natural piercing vulnerability, or from a spell or ability like a grave cleric's channel divinity) like is like 60 damage - having a +60 on a check from a single bonus would be ridiculous even in Pathfinder/3.5.

[@XanderDraft]

Finally a use for the high level monk that’s in the party. J/K J/K The next character I make is going to try this maxed out bite just to see how high the numbers go.

[@ponytail336]

@@havokmusicinc Kensei can add a die of damage using a Ki point right? So with that, a crit, and vulnerability, you could deal 2(4d10+5) or like 90 damage if you miraculously max that

[@ASUbuckaroo15]

Your party turns the corner to see what appears to be a cow screech/hiss as it bites down on the neck of the guard in the hallway dragging it up the wall into darkness. A few moments later the body collapses to the floor. Smidge your halfling turned dhampir druid/monk friend comes walking down the wall wiping something from the corners of their mouth. "Hey guys!"

[@autodidacticpoly]

Be a half-vampire. Be a half-vampire monk that specialises in their bite and another weapon type, let's say a long-sword in the form of a katana. Well done, you've made blade!

[@johnnystulic42]

Get Goggles of Night to complete the package and extend your darkvision to a nifty 120ft

[@autodidacticpoly]

@@johnnystulic42 are these goggles potentially in sunglasses form?

[@ricklawrence2515]

Holy crap. and with spider climb you can even ice skate uphill

[@themadichib0d]

Ngl, a Kensei dhampir monk just sounds like an awesome character.

[@scumbad7953]

Blade is looking good

[@mydknightcloud]

I was looking at a Dhampir echo knight. Man, that screams castlevania.

[@BR4IN1N4J4R]

Two things: 1. I feel the Spider Climb is the more important feature than the bite, though having it even without focusing on it is a very decent "in case of emergency: break glass" option 2. The fact it works with Monk in any way leads me to pointing out there's a huge flavor win in a Dhampir Monk as long as you divorce the idea of it being a traditional vampire: so either you learned a secret martial arts technique that essentially gave you vampiric traits, or you're tied to the Jiangshi and rather than feeding on blood, you feed on Ki.

[@jacksonletts3724]

I think a way of the long death vampire or a way of mercy would be incredibly thematic.

[@cursedfantasy]

@@jacksonletts3724 concidering it's concidered a simple weapon it's already a Monk weapon, and Tasha's even allows new weapons to be used as monk weapons, it really could work!!

[@theblindbuildergrandminuti5648]

I made a dark gift: touch of death, Dahmpir, mercy monk. Because I want to maximize the theme.

[@nooneyouknowof]

@@jacksonletts3724 I was gonna say Monk of the Long Death as a suggestion too 😎

[@pranakhan]

The Jiangshi angle is super solid from an RP perspective, nice one

[@dilsoncamacho4100]

I don't know about your games, but in mine and my experience a lot of classes rely on magical weapons for their magical needs - like fighters, barbarians, rogues, rangers... - And we have a "deal" that eventually those classes get a magic weapon, at least a +1 of the type they are using for their build. In this case, just talk with your DM and ask for the insignia of claw when you are to get a magic weapon. Don't fret around, it's the +1 magic weapon for your natural weapon.

[@pranakhan]

Yes, it just creates more RP opportunities. Make a sub plot for your vamp that allows them to "Diablerize" (from VtM) a higher level vamp. Or perhaps a secret Ritual, or a magical tattoo. The options are endless. But you are absolutely right; there's a reason why the "magical weapon" property comes online at level 6. Its because you need it by then.

[@bladesandswords6136]

Dhampir + Battlemaster with Interception fighting = "I'll stop your sword with my teeth"

[@ronanfel8191]

My guess is that the bite uses CON purposefully to negate all those options to add damage to it.

[@Razdasoldier]

No lots of things can still buff it. One of the big things people pointed out is that you can do a Hunter Ranger to add 1d8 to it, Battle Master adds up to a d12, Monks upgrade the damage as a monk weapon. There is allot you can do to make it stronger it is the "Piercing damage" that was the nerf. Also add piercer feat to all the builds!!

[@DougAdams]

I think it's more likely so that any class can choose to be a Dhampir and have just as effective of a bite attack. It would suck to have your cool racial ability at -1 because you dumped Strength or Dexterity.

[@godofzombi]

@@DougAdams My toughts exactly.

[@CaitSith87]

@@DougAdams kind of agree most natural weapons use strengh which you mostly skip cause its the less usefull unless you are a strengh melee. But my builds usually have a 14 in dex and con and higher when its a dex race. So you can use dex or strengh would have been betrer i guess if that was the goal.

[@godofzombi]

@@rafaelbordoni516 Blood for the blood god!

[@bwhit7919]

Note: the vampiric bite would scale with the martial arts die of any monk subclass as it counts as a simple weapon. It would not, however, overcome resistance to magical weapons, as that only applies to the Monk’s unarmed attacks. No monk subclass can use their DEX modifier for the attacks, either, as the precise wording for the martial arts ability only allows the Monk to replace str attacks with dex. If I were to optimize this, I would multiclass the first level into Barbarian, put the rest of the levels into Kensai Monk, and forgetting about wisdom in favor of Con and Dex. This way you can have a Monk with good HP (you’ll be the only monk with good HP) and you could combine rage with spider climb and increased ability checks and increased move speed to pull off interesting maneuvers.

[@ohexenwahno5652]

I think the replacement of str for dex is worded like this because str is the default. Since monk was written before dhampir, there wasn't an example of a con attack roll. It's an issue of RAW vs RAI here, so it's up to your DM.

[@ohexenwahno5652]

Also, at 6th level, your kensei bite would become magical with no need for an insignia or tattoo.

[@joocebocks8610]

"as the precise wording for the martial arts ability only allows the Monk to replace str attacks with dex." I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I agree with ohex in that it's worded that way because STR is the default, but with the added caveat that I don't quite agree with what you stated as being a strict interpretation of RAW. It doesn't actually quite state you may only replace STR with DEX. The exact wording is "You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk weapons." Being able to use X instead of Y does not necessitate that Y has to be a requirement without X. It is accurate to say my Druid can wear a wooden breastplate instead of a metal breastplate, even if the metal breastplate isn't an option anyway. This is quite different from how an ability like the Barbarian's damage on Rage is worded, which is applied, "When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you [...]". If the Monk ability said, "When you make an unarmed or melee weapon attack with a monk weapon that uses Strength, you may instead use Dexterity for the attack and damage rolls.", then it would require STR be used in order to use DEX. I don't see such a requirement in the Monk ability as is currently written.

[@jinxtheunluckypony]

There’s something I’m surprised you didn’t bring up. You can use your special bite on yourself, if you absolutely NEED to make a skill check then it could absolutely be worth a hand full of hit points to make it happen.

[@ExeErdna]

Like when some people bite their thumb when thinking

[@ohexenwahno5652]

And you turn into a titan, lol

[@henryfleischer404]

That sounds really useful. My current dhampir character has a ring of regeneration, which heals her a bit every 10 minutes, so she could use it without much cost. Now I'm imagining her using it to help with her sewing...

[@leestauffenecker6227]

Sure. Or buy a mule/pack animal to take into the dungeon with you. It carries your loot and doubles as a snack in an emergency!

[@bravghede]

*Really* want to see a Dhampir Monk build! It would be great to find a way for this to work with Way Of Mercy; thematically would be lovely for dhampir, walking that life-and-death line.

[@jimsteele1265]

A great day to find this video on the 124th anniversary of ‘Dracula’ being published!

[@LegendarySquoth]

What I'm taking from this is that I should build a miniature vampire cow ninja.

[@tibdragger]

Heroclix has a "hell cow" miniature. Check it out

[@greygramarye7872]

I just don’t think the bite is worth optimizing. It’s getting all the discussion because it’s the biggest block of text, but I think the race’s real potential is in the spider climb and faster speed. If you’re playing a Druid who attacks with cantrips, for instance, you can start Thorn Whipping enemies from the ceiling to drag them 10 feet into the air and drop them prone. That’s pretty good for a Cantrip, not to mention whatever you’re Concentrating on while you’re up there.

[@obsidiandragon1385]

... holy fudging crap

[@benjaminnicholas5759]

combine with flaming sphere! use thorn whip from the ceiling to pull them up into the flaming sphere, then bonus action ram the sphere into them. up to 6d6 (4d6 from flaming sphere proccing twice, 1d6 from whip, 1d6 from falling damage) at level 3

[@GoblinLord]

honestly, I think it was a bit of a flavor fail for the bite to be so meh, since the main vampire ability is a bite, there's a reason they're called Blood Suckers or Leeches and not Wall Crawlers

[@GoddessCynthia]

Yes, but you have to have your hands free to be able to attatch to that ceiling.

[@Guyoverthere07]

@@GoddessCynthia It's confusing, but they mean to say your hands can be free while climbing. Not that they're needed to climb or cling to the surfaces. Anyone with Spider Climb can just walk up a wall, and stand upside down on the ceiling. I love the Thorn Whip idea for Druids. @Benjamin Nicholas Flaming Sphere on top is nice, but it'd only proc once during this situation. We can move and ram the sphere into a creature to proc damage, and the sphere damages something that starts their turn in the sphere's square. That means whipping them into it will not proc damage. If the Sphere is on the ground though we can do something similar. Ram the Sphere into Monster A who is up against a wall. Now the sphere is adjacent to Monster A. Target monster B with Thorn Whip from the ceiling at a diagonal so that it is pulled up 10ft and over 5-10ft to our square with the Flaming Sphere. Monster B takes whip damage, fall damage, is prone, and at the start of its turn takes Sphere damage. It'll want to get up and leave this square, but isn't getting too far. We could use Moonbeam instead to potentially hit more targets, and each Thorn Whip into the area would proc the spell on any turn. Then again at the start of their turn. This is nice for Spike Growth and/or Plant Growth too. Repositioning and proning enemies in these AoEs makes it very hard for them to get out. Ten feet of movement would cost 20, and half their speed is needed first to stand. Add in Telekinetic for our BA and they'll need 30 speed AFTER spending half to get up. Conjure Animals also benefits a great deal from just having a Prone target to wail on every round. Opens up more options besides the ones with Pack Tactics. Warlocks can make this even more reliable with Grasp of Hadar on Eldritch Blast. By level 5, we've got 2 attack rolls to proc the 10ft pull, more damage potential, and eventually scaling to more attacks. With a Dao Genie we can add Crusher for more forced movement and directional control, and cast Spike Growth. Pulling things back into Darkness can also be fun. Also with the option to push them with Repelling Blast. Cloud of Daggers could be used to get multiple procs of damage without a save. Push one through with our first EB, and then pull one onto the square with Grasp ideally. Cone spells like Fear are much better when originating from above our targets. Instead of hitting a cone, we hit a sphere. Allows for more squares affected, and is easier to avoid allies that are usually in front of the casters. Spider Climb is amazing. The Bite can be add some insane bonuses to a skil lcheck. My favorite is the Swords Bard who can make an AoE attack around them via Slashing Flourish. Deals extra damage to everything within 5ft...friend or foe. So gather round your allies, demand some offerings, and become the most Jacked Jack of all Trades there ever was.

[@kbeazy_3050]

Swarmkeeper doesn't add to the bite, even though Swarmkeeper still thematically might be the best ranger choice. Swarmkeeper - Once on each of your turns, you can cause the swarm to assist you in one of the following ways, immediately after you hit a creature with an attack: The attack’s target takes 1d6 piercing damage from the swarm.

[@godofzombi]

Swarm of bats, nice. Gloomstalker works and is also thematic. And Hunter conclave's Colosus slayer. Now you can play a dhampir hunter, not someone who hunts dhampirs, but a dhampir who's aslo ahunter.

[@obsidiandragon1385]

@@godofzombi or a dhampir who hunts dhampirs

[@normal6483]

If you're focusing on a single bite, the Charger feat might work. It adds +5 damage, which isn't much when you only attack once but if all you're looking for is a big skill bonus you can't go wrong with it.

[@minibuscus2]

well, now I really want a Treantmonk build for a monk and druid dhampir. Sounds like a fun time.

[@relrosner]

With the Monl Optional Rule of Dedicated Weapon, you don't need Kensei ... every Monk Has Ki Empowered Strikes. ... 2nd-level monk feature You train yourself to use a variety of weapons as monk weapons, not just simple melee weapons and shortswords. Whenever you finish a short or long rest, you can touch one weapon, focus your ki on it, and then count that weapon as a monk weapon until you use this feature again. The chosen weapon must meet these criteria: The weapon must be a simple or martial weapon. You must be proficient with it. It must lack the heavy and special properties. ... Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. ... You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only monk weapons and you aren’t wearing armor or wielding a shield: You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk weapons. You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or monk weapon. This die changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of the Monk table. When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a quarterstaff, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you haven’t already taken a bonus action this turn.

[@Sibula]

@@relrosner Wouldn't work, as attacks with natural weapons aren't unarmed strikes. Also, you couldn't use dexterity, because it specifically says "instead of strength"

[@relrosner]

@@Sibula but the bite specifically says simple weapon. Not natural.

[@relrosner]

@@Sibula and you use con for the attack RAW.

[@Sibula]

@@relrosner It also says it's a natural weapon, but that's not the point. It's not an unarmed strike if you use a weapon.

[@Mantorok12]

If your DM allows Blood Hunter as a class, I figure they may allow you to apply crimson rite to your fangs to make the bite magical. Which would be cool for a dozen different reasons

[@McCrappy]

My build focused completely on the concentration-free spider climb, and pretty much ignored the bite. It's for a renaissance setting so he has the gunner feat and sharpshooter. 1 level dip in Undead Warlock, 11 levels in Fey Wanderer Ranger (taking your idea from your last video). So he'd be a spooky sentry turret, shooting at people from the ceiling and making them frightened.

[@SpiderWaffle]

First thing I thought of when I saw the Dhampir was for a grappling focused build. (1.) The bite doesn't require a free hand, so you can grapple with one hand while holding a shield in an another, or hold two creatures grappled at the same time and still be able attack. very rare option in 5e (2.) Obviously you can get a bonus to your grapple checks. (3.) The faster movespeed and spider climb, also synergize, you can drag enemies up walls and drop them for FREE, or drop them off of ledges and cliffs without need to shove. The shield is something because a grappler often will be a tank putting themselves in harms way and making themselves a priority target. Maybe good with Rune knight because being bigger would make multi grapples much easier, and the rules could allow you to essentially teleport grappled creatures many tiles around you for FREE and release/drop them, put them in flank/oven, ect. And obviously advantage on your grapple checks. Also interesting would be jumping rules with grapple, If you have high strength you could carry most creatures without being encumbered, I'd think you still get your normal jump height. So something like Glory paladin or Beast Barbarian could jump rather high and drop off one or two creatures to deal and damage leave them prone even if there's no ledges or walls. Interesting to note how Path of the Beast Bite might bolster the vampire bite. "Bite. Your mouth transforms into a bestial muzzle or great mandibles (your choice). It deals 1d8 piercing damage on a hit." I'd really like this in a campaign with castles, tall buildings or cliffs/mountains, I'd focus on move speed and the drop attack. PS. Sucks the Grappler feat sucks, I think worst feat in the game, it feels bugged. Would love to see a new version of it. I think it should take one action to just break the pin and go back to plain grapple, since it takes two actions and successful checks to setup; like a sweep in jujitsu but opponent still can hold you throughout, position just changes. Maybe allow for both hands free once you get a pin, like knee on belly or mount position, and not restrain you. You could then move them while pinned, maybe it's only 1/4 speed though; like the way Tito would shuffle his opponents into the fence from their guard, not like it would be OP. Maybe it leaves you both prone, or you have option to do so when you win the pin.

[@christopherbryan160]

The idea of an artificer giving a lizardfolk or dhampir +1 grillz cracks me up.

[@GoldenDragon007]

Treantmonk talking about vampire cows gave some serious Little Vampire flashbacks. That's a movie I never thought would be relevant again but here we are I guess.

[@ShadamAran]

heck the bite, hands free permanant spider climb is freaking RAD.

[@-guy-2686]

So, was looking for subclasses that synergize with Dhampir and looking at Bard College of Swords: " Slashing Flourish. You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit and to any other creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die." Technically you're dealing piercing damage with your bite on a small area, the question is: Would you add up all the damage dealt to the Dhampir bite empowerments or just the damage from the initial target?

[@ohexenwahno5652]

Yes, any extra damage of the same type is fair game.

[@myersproductionsstudios4749]

Yep.... this reminded me why I want to play a dhampir bard.

[@Sean-fo8kg]

Beast Barbarian! Level 6 your natural weapons are magic. Also at level 6, you can choose water breathing & swim speed or insane jump ability to compliment spider climb.

[@jacksonletts3724]

I think the bestial soul feature says that your Form of the Beast natural weapons are magical not that all your natural weapons are magical, unfortunately. The other issue is that barbarian features largely encourage attacking with strength which you can’t do with the bite. It’s a shame, because a berserking blood mad vampire spawn sounds like an awesome character.

[@WhyYouMadBoi]

"causing the natural weapons of your Form of the Beast to count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage" The Wording says "natural weapons of your form of the beast" unlike the primal strikes from druid "Attacks in wild shape"

[@Sean-fo8kg]

@@WhyYouMadBoi good catch. I was going by memory, I should have gone back and reread it.

[@porsehussy3560]

When I read this in the UA, the first thing I thought was consensual biting. If I had a dhampir in the party, I’d let them bite my character for the bonus in higher level games. Perhaps I'd even give them permission to do it while my character was sleeping for the auto crit. Maybe even choose to fail a spell save to get a status effect that grants them the same kind of auto-crit bonus on a bite. Going prone would give them advantage for a slightly higher chance of a crit. I’ve been in some games that allow auto-crits while prone too. I’m sure some GMs would let you get away with arguing for an auto-crit (once or twice at least) if your character is offering their neck without resistance.

[@normal6483]

If not, there's also the option of paralyzing your buddy somehow, since that guarantees an auto-crit.

[@JugglingAddict]

@@normal6483 The Crawler Muccus and Oil of Taccit are poisons that if you fail the save you are paralyzed. These can be applied to weapons and on contact (when touched) the target has to make a save, if they fail you can crit. As long as you force enough saves one will fail eventually or if they choose to fail.

[@alextrollip7707]

Isn't just sleeping make it an auto crit? Seems alot easier. I mean you take the damage of the bite as well so surely you can say sure it's a crit if they're literally not defending at all.

[@thatsilentsoul]

When I was looking at getting the most out of a dhampir I ended up on Oathbreaker Paladin, Aura of hate is a consistent buff to your bites damage. The advantage the bite gives is great for smite fishing. Aberrant Dragonmark provides a scaling Con based ranged option (plus a potential boon) while being a Con half-feat. Insignia of Claws makes your bite magical at the low cost of an attunement-free uncommon. The build really only needs Con, Cha and enough Str/Dex to use your armor choice (which you can have from level one with point buy without sacrificing your two primary stats).

[@OptimalOwl]

I feel like not having to breathe won't come up very often, unless you _make_ it come up. Like, ambushing your foes and dragging them underwater, or contriving to fight inside a poison gas cloud (fun fact: with a lot of dangerous substances, the biggest difficulty with making them comes from avoiding accidental exposure. E.g. mixing ______ and _______ to make mustard gas should be fairly undramatic, so long as you can hold your breath until you've had a chance to give yourself and your equipment a thorough wash.) Combat is about _relative_ advantage, not absolute advantage. If you're small, fight in or escape through narrow passages. If you can see in the dark, put out the light. If you have enough fire resistance to not care about ordinary fire, then stock up on flasks of oil and set that house on fire before you storm it. The spider-climb sounds fantastic too. Just a shame the bite doesn't work with Sneak Attack.

[@demiurge2763]

I made a Dhampir Phoenix that thrives off of body heat. At 14th level, he learned how to take a person's body when they are heated up from his spells.

[@mcshark13]

Insignia of Claws, empowers "natural weapons" and treats them as magical, also gives them a +1 to attack and damage.

[@Tinkatube]

Keep in mind, any monk can increase the damage die of your Bite, as it is a Simple Weapon. You just can't use DEX to attack with it in any case, and it won't become magical later.

[@mikeroberts817]

Oh god. The image coming up at 13:50, given the preceding discussion, actually made me laugh till I cried. I paused the video and now every time I scroll back up to press play again it sets me off another time. I might actually never finish this one.

[@Tusitala1967]

The very first thing I thought of on reading the Dhampir, for some reason, was an order of vampire monks fueled by dark ki. An interesting variant might be to drain life and turn it into ki. Something like the Order of the Blood Moon would make an interesting bit of back story for a monk PC. Perhaps his order was overtaken and converted and he is the last student running from his now transformed friends.

[@nathanfivecoate5848]

Long Death subclass?

[@Tusitala1967]

@@nathanfivecoate5848 Could work.

[@godofzombi]

Rune knight's giants might: Good god, man! That's not gently biting the neck, that's gonna take the whole head off!

[@OneWingedAngelsBand]

I've played a dhampir multiple times and I rarely use the bite for combat. What I do use it for is for roleplay, particularly in interrogating captured villains. People the party interrogate normally don't have magical resistances. My DM is kind enough to give me an advantage on intimidation checks because it makes sense when a half-vampire is threatening to bite you to get answers.

[@jefftheless]

Doesn't the Tasha's feature allow any monk to pick a Kensei weapon, meaning that you could be a Mercy Monk and still get the Monk Damage bonuses?

[@jacksonletts3724]

All simple melee weapons are already monk weapons, so the bite is a monk weapon even without Tasha’s optional rules. The downside is there is no way to make the teeth magical without Kensei.

[@Razdasoldier]

@@jacksonletts3724 There is a tattoo in Tasha's that gives it

[@WhyYouMadBoi]

@@Razdasoldier The tattoo makes unarmed strikes magical. Dhampire's bite isn't a unarmed strike but rather a simple weapon.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

The main reason for Kensei is so the attack is treated as magical.

[@ohexenwahno5652]

@@gamecavalier3230Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the bite the only attack that uses con as a modifier? Since Monk was written before the dhampir bite was released, it's normal that the text doesn't specify str or con. It would make more sense if it said "dex instead of the weapon's attack stat". But either way, ultimately, it's the DM's call to allow it or not.

[@ponytail336]

I immediately thought blood hunter because they also get benefits for going below half health

[@Battleguild]

Dhampir Hexblade sounds like a nice thematic choice for this race.

[@JMcSkill]

The best I could come up with is a Battlemaster Fighter / Hunter Ranger multiclass. 1d4 (bite) + 1d8 (colossus slayer) + 1d8 (maneuver) + 1d6 (hunter's mark) + CON mod. Get the uncommon magic item, Insignia of Claws to overcome resistance. You'll do an average of 20 piercing damage assuming a + 4 CON and if you crit, it's 35 on average. If you want to get crazy, add in a couple levels of Grave Domain Cleric for Path of the Grave to double those numbers... Meaning a crit (you're rolling with advantage if below half hp) you'll be doing approximately 70 piercing damage. Would look like this - Action: Path of the Grave, Bonus Action: Hunter's Mark, Action Surge: Vampiric Bite.

[@pranakhan]

The "Piercer" feat from Tasha's would be a good option here to lean into the piercing damage angle. Love to see a Treantmonk build for this; it could be a good vid to add to your "Monk Builds" as well!

[@Vagran]

Just for fun, I like to imagine Chris being red faced with rage while typing up the Monk section of the video.

[@GroovyLemming]

For Monk Dhampirs, it's important to note that even if you are not a Kensei that your Vampiric Bite is already a "simple melee weapon" and thus a Monk Weapon. This makes it a little less MAD, since you can focus on Dex, which you probably want anyway as a Monk. While it is not RAW, I could see a GM ruling that the Vampiric Bite counts as an unarmed attack for purpose of Ki-Empowered Strikes. That opens up a lot of other possibilities for a Dhampir Monk, such as Shadow Monk, which feels very thematic to me. It's not a Finesse weapon so you can't Sneak Attack with it, and the bite isn't worth any money so you can't use Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade with it, but I think there's an open question of what happens if you combine this with something like a Paladin's Smite. Especially with that Ability Check bonus.

[@GroovyLemming]

Thinking more on this: Dhampir Oath of Vengeance or Oath of Conquest Paladin Use Hold Person on a target. While they are paralyzed, you auto-crit if you hit. Use a Smite attack with your Vampiric Bite If you can pump in even another 2nd level spell for the Smite, that's 2d4+6d8+Con Mod damage. If you even have a +2 Con, you're getting an average of 34 damage, for a +34 to that next ability check as long as you hit it. If you can pump in a 4th level smite, that's another 4d8 damage to bring that up to +52. Which basically breaks the game a little. You could also turn that 52 hit points into healing: which is equal to 10 levels of a Paladin's Healing Hands and is nearly a Heal spell, but uses a 4th level slot instead of a 6th and has the added benefit of doing all that damage along with it. Could double this if you have a buddy who is a Grave Cleric, of course. Possible nerf would be to say that add-ons like Smite do not count for the healing or bonus from Vampiric Bite, or to limit it to damage that the other creature takes. (which means you at least have to use it on a target with 30-50 hp and can't just use it on like, a commoner with 5 hit points who is your blood bag)

[@commodoreblood]

With a one level dip in Trickster Cleric, you can also add Charm Person and Disguise Self to your arsenal that are Wisdom-based DC's. A Fey Touched feat with give you a +1 to Wisdom for that AC bump, Misty Step teleportation, and Hunter's Mark to further increase the Bite damage.

[@dcyphermanplays8233]

Okay the one I have for the making the bite magical is a little convoluted I have a paladin that has access to the Alter self spell so if you use it for natural weapons they become +1 weapons for overcoming resistance and of you put a smite on there that's a lot but like you say that's pretty convoluted

[@chopcooey]

i guess the bite could be used out of combat, on a captured creature. Or on an ally with the false life invocation

[@Booklat1]

I’d just bite an animal tbh

[@OptimalOwl]

​@@Booklat1 "Oh, that? It's my bag of comatose rats. I like to bite one for luck every now and then."

[@Booklat1]

@@OptimalOwl yeah, i made a post on reddir about using the bag of rats for dhampirs It’s such an easy way to get a bonus to initiative or to boost your next counterspell

[@OptimalOwl]

@@Booklat1 Do you know any way to make them Vulnerable to piercing damage?

[@Booklat1]

@@OptimalOwl hm, I’m afraid I don’t This far i’ve been mostly looking into subclass features that synergise with those bonus to checks (or allowing biting and casting in the same round). Bite damage is something I’m only really trying to boost if easily available Haven’t given all that much thought to martials either

[@TheHengeProphet]

From the first line on the Vampiric Bite ability, "Your fanged bite is a natural weapon, which counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient", which means that as a simple weapon that is not heavy or two handed, it counts as a monk weapon. Unfortunately, even though it says you may use Dexterity instead of Strength, it also means that it does not say you may use Dexterity instead of Constitution. Rules as written, it would still be a constitution based attack; however, you would gain all of the other benefits of the attack being a Monk weapon.

[@foolycoolytheband]

Now I wanna see an optimized build for this

[@MrNikolasMorith]

Hahahahahahahaha! Vampire Spider Cow. It sounds like a bad B movie and I want to use it as a one shot villian. XD

[@godofzombi]

Bob the farmer: "Ah swear sheriff, there's a somethin' wrong with mah cows. Bessy been actin' weird all week." Sheriff: "Barn's empty Bob, where'd she go?" Drop of milk falls on the sheriff's head. Sheriff: " Oh my lord... It's on the ceiling!"

[@gustel48]

Wouldn´t the insignia of claws from horde of the dragon queen work? "While wearing the insignia you gain a +1 bonus to the attack rolls and the damage rolls you make with unarmed strikes and natural weapons. Such attacks are considered to be magical."

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Yep, though I wouldn't count on getting it.

[@jacksonletts3724]

I don’t know about how situational it really is. The fighter doesn’t get magical strikes in their class features because they can count on getting a +1 weapon in nearly 100% of games. It’s just an assumed part of their character progression. Mechanically the insignia is identical to a +1 weapon, so I think most DM’s will be willing going to give you one for the same reasons. The main exceptions here would be modules and adventurers league where the DM is more limited in loot drops. Also if the magic items are entirely random, but I’ve never had a DM play that way.

[@kilpatds]

@@TreantmonksTemple In certain AL games, you can likely arrange it. It was the starting item for a season, and trades are still a thing. AFAICT not possible now, but once this season gets pushed into the Historical bucket.... it should be possible.

[@ohexenwahno5652]

Eldritch Claw Tattoo

[@dino-joe]

Getting my dhampir a magical retainer. Good for damage and dental health!

[@benry007]

I think I would ignore the lack of magical attacks when looking at classes and instead ask the DM if I can get something like an insignia of claws (magic item) when the others are getting +1 weapons.

[@WexMajor82]

If you are a minitaur, stay away form tartar sauce. Also, the first thing I decided to make, as a character after reading the Damphir, was a Kensei monk. It was an hilarious oversight.

[@mirkalimaricadie160]

Okay, so if I get some dental work on my Vampiric Bite fangs, and they put some gold fillings in them, are they then worth more than 1sp and I can use them with Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade? >,>

[@autodidacticpoly]

- damn, arti's a no go, I'll keep the rest of my point though. Lastly, best use I can think of is to knock enemies out in combat and then bite them while they're unconcious as emergency healing/a boost to the attack. Guarantee a crit due to them being unconscious, also a nice combo with zealot barb to stop from dying after rage ends. Last thing, can achieve a base movement speed of 50ft if you're small (without even going monk/barb) - +5 from squat nimbleness, +10 from mobility = 50 feet, pretty nuts.

[@Malisteen]

I don't think the bite is a valid target for arteficer infusions.

[@nburo]

@@skymanta1222 Infusions require an item. The bite is not an item.

[@jacksonletts3724]

I’d rule that the artificer infusions do work. It says you infuse a simple or martial weapon, which this explicitly is. More importantly, if the artificer doesn’t work with the bite than what was the point of explicitly making it a simple weapon when every other natural weapon isn’t?

[@NotherPokemonTrainer]

@@skymanta1222 You do have to infuse an item as per the ability "At 2nd level, you gain the ability to imbue MUNDANE ITEMS with certain magical infusions." and in the required object for each infusion it specifies as "Item: ________" the item required for imbued weapons are a simple or martial weapon, but the ability requires those weapons to be an item, and therefore cannot be a body part such as teeth, claws, or horns

[@TreantmonksTemple]

"you can touch a non-magical object and imbue it with one of your artificer infusions" Your mouth is not an object.

[@scumbad7953]

9:50 I know ASI are typically better for optimisation than feats, but I reckon the Piercer feat would pair nicely with the Dhampir Bite. It grants an additional damage die on a crit, which would be more likely with the advantage the Dhampir Bite gets from being at half your total hp.

[@Electric_Wizard999]

You give good advice, keep it up man.

[@mirkofraccastoro7573]

I kind of disagree with the wild shape, it states the new form is capable of doing so, and sure many animals can bite but none can vampirically bite and get anything near the benefits described in the vampiric bite ability, so I wouldn't call them capable of using it

[@mattf5935]

That logic applies to everything in the game other than dhampirs (including vampires and humans). I think this falls into “ask your DM” territory.

[@Aarenby]

If a bat can't use vampiric bite then what's the point? I'd argue the same of weasels and stirges too. In older editions weasels could drain blood.

[@mirkofraccastoro7573]

@@Aarenby i mean a bat can bite something but sure as hell not suck blood and heal from it, still as a dm I would always allow a damper to turn into a vampiric bat if they took druid but that s not raw

[@benfawefwaeffwaefawfdekk2080]

I'm not sure if someone else has mentioned this, but if you can procure uncommon magic items in your campaign, you can turn your vampire bite magical and gain a +1 to attack and damage rolls with it through the Insignia of Claws magic item, no attunement required.

[@ricardogranelli]

But but.. i want to play as a Warforged that get turned into a Dhampir at lvl 1 =(

[@benjoffe948]

Your DM might allow that. Though you wouldn't keep any of your Warforged traits, actually, since the lineages only let you keep move speeds and not entire traits.

[@ricardogranelli]

@@benjoffe948 yeah i know, but i want to play a metal robot that gets bitten by a vampire, for reasons..

[@benjoffe948]

@@ricardogranelli So do that!

[@fullmetalpoitato5190]

I don't know if this is optimal or not but it's been a LOT of fun, Dhampir Echo Knight / Kensei Monk You are an absolute terror on the battlefield and there's nowhere you can't get to. I started Fighter up to 3 and have been going Monk since then....in almost every combat encounter there are 2 of me running all over the place, biting and slicing just about anywhere on the map at will. I'm currently Echo3/Kensei6, so 35ft base movement from the Dhampir, +15ft from unarmored movement and another +10ft from the Mobile feat I picked up along the way for a total of 60ft movement speed on basically any surface that I choose to exist on. Then when you factor in that Mobile lets me nullify opportunity attacks AND that I can teleport/swap places with the Echo..... my damage isn't insane or anything but it is just soooooo much fun to flit and teleport around the encounter space and be literally anywhere I need to be. Think about it! I don't know if this was necessary or not but there was a limitation the DM and I agreed upon at the start of the campaign because I told him my plans for the character and didn't want to blindside him with my teleporting vampire ninja. The way Manifest Echo is written it can be interpreted that your Echo can move vertically into the air to float/fly since it says it can move 30ft in ANY direction so we agreed from the beginning that the Echo would just be able to move along the floor/wall/ceiling the same way the Dhampir already can but no floating/flying shenanigans. I still feel like I make him want to pull his hair out designing combat encounters around such a mobile character but at least my shadow can't fly lol.

[@philippejean3032]

Hi, can you elaborate on your build? Why Monk and why Kensei? What does it bring that justifies to abandon the Fighter route? Can you detail your choice please: weapons, feats, abilities,…?

[@fullmetalpoitato5190]

@@philippejean3032 it was really all about thematics and flavor. Looking back on the build and how it performed it wasn't any stronger than either class on their own. The greatest strength of the combo was the already highly mobile Dhampir / Monk combo getting access to the effectively free teleports from swapping with the echo. There was nowhere on the battlefield I couldn't get to, even straight to a flying target if necessary. Sacrificing the Monks bonus action attacks hurt damage sometimes, but the versatility and power of being able to be ANYWHERE was worth it. Also, if you can convince your DM to let your Dhampir bite be a Monk/Kensei weapon it scales and becomes moderately more useful.

[@GodOf-Hammers]

I really feel like Jeremy Crawford got the magic weapon spell interaction wrong. It says the target is a non magical weapon. Dhampir's bite specifically says it counts as a simple melee weapon.

[@MattNeisinger]

With a much as you loathe the monk, I was almost surprised you mentioned it at all, Chris. Hahaha! It was the first option that came to my mind for methods to magically imbue a natural attack or (Kensei) specific weapon/attack.

[@lockepersonal]

If I remember correctly, natural weapons aren't considered an actual melee weapons, so you can't for example Divine Smite with them. Vampiric bite is, so you can. Oh my...

[@evans178]

You can Smite with natural weapons, there are Moon Druid X / Paladin 2 builds out there. What you cant smite with is Unarmed Strikes Edit : after all Natural Weapons are Weapons

[@benjaminpierce9996]

The problem is that the smite does radiant damage, and the bite's bonuses are keyed off of the piercing damage it inflicts. The holy grail here is to figure out a way to sneak attack with the bite.

[@thunderstorm9541]

does anyone know what art is used at 0:27?

[@morganpetros9635]

I really, *REALLY* miss the old Magic Fang spell. It would be especially helpful with this heritage. Remind me: are there any actual rules for inventing spells in 5e?

[@kazahani]

The DMG has some guidelines for altering or creating custom spells.

[@alexanderryanbaldwin]

Does the Unarmed Fighting Style, which increased unarmed strikes to a d8 also increase the bite to a d8? Biting is an unarmed strike, isn't it?

[@joseluizps95]

It counts as a simple melee weapon so unfortunately no

[@TreantmonksTemple]

No, it is not treated as an unarmed strike (or any Monk would work)

[@arnijulian6241]

You done it Treantmonk. You made a viable min/maxed monk. Tavern brawler would work well for the bonus action grapple so you could use the spider climb to drop. 5d +4xcon+drop= decent damage even without hunters mark. Very cheesy mind!

[@CaitSith87]

Kensei monk makes most sense as spider climb is a ranged option and the bite is melee. And kensei are ok at hoth.

[@Penumbralvision]

Why not go for the beast barbarian rage bite? You would not get the reckless or rage bonus but the bite would become a D8 and you’d get back damphir piercing damage health plus barbarian feature proficiency bonus health at the same time. And of course you’d be raging so regained health is kind of twice as valuable.

[@grandlordzero]

Dhampir Kensei Monk. AKA Blade from Marvel Comics. That's actually pretty cool.

[@Phentari]

I think the way to really optimize this isn't to try to make it competitive in combat; the effort required doesn't really seem to be worth the return. instead, I'm looking at this as a way to reliably give myself out of combat buffs. I'm currently working on an alternate build for my "Cedric P. Bunko, King of Downtime" build, which is designed to quickly max out skill checks and get the most optimal results from various downtime actions like buying and selling magic items. The Dhamphir is going to achieve those maximum checks MUCH faster than my current build, and will require less class-dipping to do so. Consider: I'm a level 1 Dhamphir rogue. I need to disarm a fiendishly complex trap. 1. I go to the local market and buy a chicken. 2. I render the chicken unconscious. 3. I bite the chicken, automatically critting. 4. Let's assume I have a 14 Constitution. I deal, on average, 14 damage, for a +14 to my next skull check. That's a pretty astounding skill buff at first level. At TENTH level, assuming no buffs at all to my Constitution, the damage I inflict will average 39.5...so roughly a +40 to my next skill check. Insane! Chickens have become "Potions of Super-Guidance." Alternately, in an emergency, those chickens can also serve as potions of pretty formidable healing. And if I really want to do this in an adventure situation? I'll beat the opponent unconscious with my rapier, and THEN bite him.

[@artzivon]

I have use the concentration free spider climb in every encounter and it is huge advantage. Battlefield and out of it. It helps a lot. Even in tight corners You can always run out of the door and climb above to wait the next assailant. As a Worlock-Sorcerer built it is fantastick benefit.

[@seacliff217]

A lot of this has been on my mind as well. While a true SAD CON character is by all means possible with this race (You don't even NEED Strength for Heavy Armor, you're speed will just drop to 25 feet), the limitation is you won't be great at it. My idea for a Dhampir build is not to lean on how to get the most out of the bite. They still get benefits for only needing CON for their martial attacks. A Dhampir Paladin or Ranger can start with 17 Con and later picking up Resilient Con at level 4 will have noticeably better concentration and hit points than other Paladins/Rangers of the same level. You'll get more out of individual spell slots, and take a couple more hits even for a class with a good number of hit points. That can alter a potential build a bit.

[@joocebocks8610]

"While a true SAD CON character is by all means possible with this race (You don't even NEED Strength for Heavy Armor, you're speed will just drop to 25 feet), the limitation is you won't be great at it." I disagree. I feel people strongly underestimate the power of a full DEX/CON support Sorcerer that dumps CHA in favor of spells without attack rolls or saves. Spells like Haste, Polymorph, Silvery Barbs, Mage Armor, Feather Fall, Enlarge/Reduce, Invisibility, etc., are all incredibly powerful uses for spell slots of their level and don't at all require a casting attribute. Sorcerers already get CON save proficiency, removing the potential feat tax of having to get Resilient CON, thus making them exceptional at concentration by default. Just use 1 Sorcery Point to extend a 16 hour Mage Armor every day and get a 16 DEX as well for a reasonable 16AC. With this the bite gives a simple melee attack option if necessary, and if you REALLY want a ranged attack option, a Sorcerer can always pick up Aberrant Dragonmark to get 1 Sorcerer cantrip that scales off of CON, and a 1st level spell that does the same, which is made more affordable by not needing Resilient CON. I find this unnecessary though, as Sorcerers by default don't really get good cantrip damage, as even a Firebolt at 2d10 by level 5 only does an average 11 damage, and any lesser spell at 2d8 only does an average 9, whereas the bite with +4 CON would do 6.5, and a light crossbow with +3 DEX would do 7.5. So, while the bite doesn't really do a lot of damage, it's not that far off from a typical Sorcerer cantrip before level 10, and it's a better option if stuck in melee without spell slots than most low level Sorcerers have available. Either way, I wouldn't consider a feat worth a 3.5 damage increase at range over the starting light crossbow, but it's an option. I also would safely say an average 3.5 damage drop is definitely worth a larger HP pool and higher Concentration on a caster, since maintaining Concentration should more than make up for that. Then with d6 HP, the +4 CON helps a ton, as well as the ability to heal a few times when you bite if stuck in melee. At level 5, that's 22HP average HP from dice, with +20 from CON for 42HP, and a 3x/long rest heal for an average 7.5HP each (22.5HP total). I personally like Clockwork Soul for a support Sorcerer, which would also offer the Aid spell for yourself and 2 other allies, increasing your own HP to 52, and each of theirs by +10. 16AC and 52HP on a Sorcerer at level 5, who has +7 to Concentration, access to Blade Ward, the ability to heal for 7.5 damage per hit in melee a few times per day, and the ability to walk on walls/ceilings, should have a very reasonable time maintaining their concentration, as well as surviving some heat after casting a spell that could draw the ire of their enemies. Special mention to the fact that the Dhampir bite can give its damage as a bonus to your next attack roll, which on a caster is actually a great way to try and give yourself a boost before using a spell slot on a spell that requires a spell attack roll. Even without building for CON and thus just having a +1 or +2 into it, that's still an average +3.5-4.5 to the next attack roll, which at lower levels could be great for spell economy if you want to use to-hit spells. Second special mention to Clockwork Soul Sorcerer getting Armor of Agathys, which is a great way to deter melee attackers and thus helping to preserve concentration, and works very well thematically with a Dhampir defending itself. tl;dr: With the Sorcerer's limited spell selection, if you specialize properly I consider them great CON SAD characters, and the Dhampir goes very well with that theme, with the bite being actually quite exceptional in early levels of play, which is where casters typically suffer due to low survivability and few spell slots. I would agree 100% that the usefulness of the Dhampir drops almost completely by the time you start hitting levels above 10, but most campaigns in my experience don't make it far past 8, if at all.

[@seacliff217]

@@joocebocks8610 My views on 5e optimization has changed quite significantly since posting this comment. I agree that spellcasters can afford to boost Constitution over their spellcasting stat. However, my own two cents is that Druid is a significantly better candidate for a spell caster that can dump its own spellcasting stat than Sorcerer. It doesn't need to lock itself into one role either, as Goodberry, Conjure Animals, Spike Growth, and more are still effective spells regardless of the Druid's spellcasting stat. A Druid with 13 Wisdom is still good at healing, battlefield control, damage, etc. Additionally, the Tasha optional feature that allows Druid to cast Find Familiar with the use of a Wild Shape is also great for a Dhampir. I do not think the Dhampir bite is a good enough weapon to use in battle, but it could be used to bite one's own familiar and get a meaty boost on the next initiative roll.

[@joocebocks8610]

@@seacliff217 I agree the Druid is a great option, but I say Sorcerer is on par because of metamagic and the default CON save proficiency, especially again when going Clockwork Soul. This is because they get so many additional options that don't require an attribute, such as Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration, Protection from Energy, Freedom of Movement, and Greater Restoration. They can also get Armor of Agathys if they want to do some frontline tanking. It's true they don't get the nice Conjure Animals spell, but they do get Animate Objects, which comes online a little later but is amazing for the same reasons as Conjure Animals. Also, Animate Objects is far less up to DM fiat. But what people truly underestimate is the ability of the Sorcerer to use metamagic to either cast a single targeted spell on 2 allies, or the ability to apply a self spell on an ally within a range of 30'. Being able to Blur your Barbarian, Mirror Image your Wizard without burning concentration, cast Protection from Evil and Good on two characters, Enlarge/Reduce on two allies if you have allies with many weapon attacks, can be amazing game changers for the use of single 2nd level or lower spell slots. Beyond that you do still get the spellcasting differences of divine versus arcane, such as Druids now getting Aura of Vitality and Revivify through Tasha's, while arcane casters typically get no healing options at all. But I'd say getting Animate Objects as an alternative to Conjure Animals is sufficient, even if it comes online later, and Armor of Agathys can get situational usage outside of party buffing the same way Spike Growth can, as could Cloud of Daggers, which like Spike Growth also has no saving throw.

[@mr_son]

The Alter Self spell is great here. Using the Natural Weapons option increases the attack die to a D6, and makes the attack Magical and a +1 natural weapon!

[@erichsandwell-weiss5878]

So is there a way to make a swarmkeeper/moon/Kensei multiclass work? Get the flavor of a bat swarm doing your bidding plus hunters mark, along with wildshaping into a giant bat or dire wolf, and all the things kensei gets you. Main issue is you'd have be nearly epic level for a lot of it to really come online I think.

[@Kurse_of_Kall]

Swarmkeeper doesn't work - it specifically adds damage after the attack.

[@erichsandwell-weiss5878]

@@Kurse_of_Kall I'm less interested in the bonus. More the flavor. Hunters mark is the main reason to use ranger at all. I've been bouncing around a drow swarmkeeper as a dhampir substitute, but with all these possibilities the build is a bit beyond me.

[@bacchus8081]

"You don't need to breath" seems to me like of those abilities that don't seem very relevant until a player actually has it. All the time. "I will drop into the water until the Watch gives up searching". "Those gas containers look kinda sus. How about you guys step outside for a minute?". "We just got transported to the elemental plane of water. How about you guys roll a new character while i step outside and chill for a minute?" ;P

[@LilBig780]

Just wanted to point out that the Damphir bite also counts as a simple weapon, which I think means it does count for the magic weapon spell. Additionally it is already a monk weapon without Kensei, making any monk a top tier option for the bite only draw back it that you’ll have to attack with con and not dex.

[@cyrosgold7]

So a 2nd level artificer could potentially turn their bite magical via infusion...Only it says object, so we also need to be a 3rd level fighter and go Echo knight...The echo counts as an object and can deliver our attacks for us.

[@SmugLookingBarrel]

Wall-walking vampire cow let's GO

[@ariashkenazi9211]

For wild shape bites, would normal animal teeth count as spooky fangs? I don't believe shelled wild shapes benefit from tortle shells

[@zeedar412]

Okay, my fist thought is Path of the beast Barbarian. Form of the Beast class feature gives your a d8 bite, and you add rage damage. That's not bad. From level 6 it also counts as magical. Although the feature specifies that it uses your strength, so i'm not sure how it mixes with the Dhampir bite.

[@WhyYouMadBoi]

You pick either or as one is a natural weapon and the other counts as a simple weapon. They don't mix at all.

[@zeedar412]

@@WhyYouMadBoi They are both referred to as natural weapons that count as simple weapons for you. Check the books, dude.

[@jacksonletts3724]

Presumably you can’t use both bite attacks as the same weapon and you’d have to choose which one to make attacks with. If your DM lets you fuse the rules for the two then I’d agree that this is awesome.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Unfortunately, it will not allow you to keep the parts you want from the Dhampir bite and keep the parts you want from the Beast Barb bite. You pick one or the other.

[@zeedar412]

@@TreantmonksTemple Fair enough. I would allow it, but I guess it's not RAW.

[@dragonyx336]

So an intense combo that I had thought of that would be legit, if you can make it to 20th level, is 6th level kensai and 14th level war domain cleric. The two classes have synergy with wisdom, for starters. Now the kensai bonuses you have already covered, but let me tell you about the cleric. The cleric would have divine strike, which for war domain cleric states "At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with divine energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 damage of the same type dealt by the weapon to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8." So already your bite would be 1d6+2d8+con. To further this though, cleric has access to hold person. If you have that on your target, they are paralyzed, which an attack that hits it is an auto crit. Now that may seem like the end, but it is not. The piercer feat. "When you score a critical hit that deals piercing damage to a creature, you can roll one additional damage die when determining the extra piercing damage the target takes." So now we are, on a crit(guaranteed on hit on held target), doing 3d6+4d8+con. At 20 con that's a minimum of 12(if you roll all 1s) and maximum of 37. Add an extra 2d6 for deft strike, for min 14 and max 49. You are welcome folks. Oh and if you are worried you will still struggle to hit with or without advantage, channel divinity guided strike for +10 to hit. *mic drop*

[@eDDyL666]

Can Piercer Feat help also?

[@darkboyx7]

yes. it actually quite good imo if you focus on the bite/piercing dmg in general

[@benjoffe948]

Yep, it's piercing damage, the feat just specifies piercing damage.

[@autodidacticpoly]

Yes! Good catch. So optimal would be kensei monk + piecer + unconcious/paralysed enemy + grave cleric + maybe some better criticals from barbarian + anything else you can apply.

[@benjoffe948]

@@autodidacticpoly I mean... Maybe? Remember that all simple weapons are monk weapons already (then again, I don't know what the Kensei really does lol). Trying to max the damage for the bite is really not a good idea to try and do. It's a total gimmick. Just like a character that ONLY specializes into damage won't be fun to play, and will often be lacking mechanically too, a character that ONLY specializes into making this one attack as potent as possible will also be unfun to play.

[@nburo]

@@benjoffe948 Kensei is to gain magical attacks, unlike other monks

[@oneearrabbit]

Gloom Stalker ranger gets Dread Ambush which gives you an additional attack and adds 1d8 to that attack. Also Path of the Beast barbarian gets a similar bite attack, will likely have a high Con score and at 6th level the bite is magical.

[@leohale6449]

Hey how about using Elemental Weapon - A nonmagical weapon you touch becomes a magic weapon. Choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. For the duration, the weapon has a +1 bonus to attack rolls and deals an extra 1d4 damage of the chosen type when it hits. The Vampiric bite says it is a Simple "Weapon" with which you are proficient, which should meet the spells requirements. I would also argue with Jeremy's ruling since Magic Weapon also just says a nonmagical weapon you touch.

[@johnpaullogan1365]

but the empowered bites key off the piercing damage.

[@thunder_bug_1451]

Consider, taking some of the smite spells and going order of the scribes wizard. Turn those radiant or fire or thunder dice or whatever else you use, with a high level slot, and turn it into piercing damage.

[@ShurikenSean]

even with the restriction of non magic bite a dhampir paladin seems so interesting thematically, a partial undead fighting against them and using smites through their fangs, basically unarmed. the piecing damage wont be as good but the real damage is from the smite, vengeance paladins also get hunters mark to atleast add some piercing damage damage, and with paladins being on the frontlines being half health is quite possible, advantage increasing our chance to crit to pump smites into, and the piercer feat could add more damage to the crits

[@Torthrodhel]

What I'm wondering about, is abilities that say things like "when you roll to regain hit points, you can maximize the roll"... Warlock Pact of Chain is my main thinking here. The bite, when boosted, is you rolling to do damage, but also is you rolling to regain hit points. So it should count as both things, right? Since it is both things. I am pretty sure this works, but not 100%, but I can't quite think why it wouldn't. If it works that means all those attacks are now automatically maximized since it affects the roll itself, not just how much you heal off it. So the damage would also be maxed.

[@clarkside4493]

>Treantmonk listing off ways to get magical bites. >Me, a high level dhampir, just brushing my teeth with Oil of Sharpness.

[@dmassive85]

Simple solution for over coming magical resistance is getting slivered fangs. Might be corny to get around with a grill and some dm’s might knock it back but it’s the easiest possible solution that covers any build.

[@fasterpet]

Alter self - Natural Weapons (lvl 2 spell) is a good option if you want to use your bite and need magical damage. Increases damage die to d6 and you get +1 to hit/dmg. It does use concentration, so other damage increasing spells like hunter's mark/hex/divine favor wouldnt work.

[@cameronkirby9479]

One idea I had for the bite was Hexblade but I'm not sure if it'll work RAW. Hex weapons can be any non two handed weapon so the bite works. But I can only find rules saying that hex warrior extends to pact weapons but not the other way around. Can anyone clarify? If it does work you would be able to shunt your bite into the extra dimensional space, which roleplay wise would be epic. I'd play it as a ranged weapon hexblade using spider climb to stay safely out of reach, but in the rare situation you get pulled into melee and damaged you can pull out your fangs for a surprise healing attack. Collaborate with your DM to hide the fact you're a Dhampir from the party and you could do a big reveal. I was strongly considering this for an upcoming CoS campaign but another player has gone the edgy bounty hunter route as a Blood Hunter so I don't want to step on their toes. Another idea is to build the character so that the bite not being magical doesn't matter. Using a blade cantrip for example. That way the majority of damage is elemental and resistance to non magical weapons has minimal impact. It makes the bonus less useful but could be great for the right gish as CON might be a better stat than STR/DEX. Plus the bite doesn't take up a hand so no spell component issues. Off the top of my head a Sorcerer with a cleric dip for heavy armour? Go for CON and CHA, use quicken metamagic to cast then cantrip bite? Another idea might be a Paladin tank. Max your CON and take interception or protection fighting style. Go into melee with a DPS party member at your side. Use warding bond, the help action and your auras (crown and redemption are perfect here) to keep them alive. When you drop to less than half HP use your advantage on attacks to go crit fishing. Overall though I agree that Spider Climb is the real standout here. I'm currently playing a Tabaxi in ToA and a normal climbing speed has been surprisingly useful and more importantly so much FUN! My character recently got both regular 1min flight and permanent spider climb and while flight is arguably more useful spider climb is crazy fun. I spend combat running along ceilings. Last session I used silent image to distract some powerful but dumb constructs and snuck along the roof out of their reach leading them away with the image while the party snuck by.

[@Adam_First]

Great video

[@noemiquintillan8055]

If I was a winged race turned Dhampir, do I still have the restrictions from medium to heavy armor?

[@xr9790]

Personally I’m using the Dhampir on a ninja class (Shadow Monk + Rogue), I feel like all the benefits like dark vision, spider climb, and deathless nature really help with the shadow-y stuff, since dark vision is always handy, spider climb let’s you scale any obstacle almost and can let you have Spider-Man-esque take downs, and deathless nature lets you play dead and creep out from water (I’m assuming) because you don’t need to breathe. The bite is also really neat, but I can see how there’s a point when it’s not going to be viable, but at the same time a vampire ninja seems like an awesome and menacing combo to me! I’m still split on what type of rogue I’d do though, arcane trickster let’s you mimic a lot of traditional ninja tools, but assassin lets you kinda emulate that sneaky style associated with ninjas.

[@TrenchCoatDingo]

does a bard of whispers Psychic Blades work with the bite?

[@Spectrulus]

Would a lizardfolk Dhampir lose their Frenzied Bite feature?

[@benjoffe948]

Yes, they would. The transformation only specifies that you keep movement speeds, sadly. :(

[@Malisteen]

Yes. You only keep skill proficiencies & movement modes.

[@benjoffe948]

@@Malisteen oh, yeah, proficiencies too, forgot about that!

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Yes, you don't get to be both a race and a lineage.

[@junsonofjack3740]

I’m definitely playing a dhampir today, and may make them a valor bard for non optimization reasons, but it seems slashing flourish would add damage. 8 levels of cleric as well? Slashing flourish+divine strike? Then guided strike+the previous boosted piercing damage? Could probably use GWM with 10 strength! I’m in a game with a very generous point buy. I could I easily MC.

[@MarshalGeneral]

I am curious as to how this would combine with the Beast Barbarian. "Bite. Your mouth transforms into a bestial muzzle or great mandibles (your choice). It deals 1d8 piercing damage on a hit. Once on each of your turns when you damage a creature with this bite, you regain a number of hit points equal to your proficiency bonus, provided you have less than half your hit points when you hit." At 6th it becomes magical and at 10th can also do 2d12 psychic damage

[@macfine]

My call you be to allow it work, but RAW the new mouth would replace the old. You wouldn't get properties of both

[@cloudfair2]

So what I’m getting from all this is even though the bite is thematically awesome, it really kinda sucks mechanically 😕

[@binolombardi]

The vampire based player character option sucks. Good one :)

[@cloudfair2]

Lol! I didn’t even notice that! 🤣