The Vampire (Rogue Subclass)
Artwork Credit: https://www.artofmtg.com/art/arrogant-outlaw/
We alluded to it in the preview discussing vampiric barbarians, but it’s finally time to preview the Vampire rogue subclass! This homebrew subclass will appear in our next D&D Unleashed compendium, The Impermissicon, as one of two new subclasses for rogues. Because of its regenerative abilities, this rogue is tougher than other subclasses, at least as long as they aren’t exposed to any of their vampiric weaknesses. While vampire barbarians and vampire warlocks are both optional choices available for those subclasses, vampirism is a requirement for this subclass. So what is it about vampiric traits that fits a rogue subclass?
Like other vampiric options, the Vampire rogue subclass presents the player character with a few bonus abilities (such as darkvision, climbing, and natural weapons) that don’t directly increase the combat power of the PC but can be used to create situations that they excel in, and, as a trade-off, also imposes a standardized set of vampiric flaws such as Forbiddance and Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The ability to climb vertical surfaces and upside-down on ceilings fits in-line with the rogue class’s focus on dungeoneering and exploration, as does darkvision. Natural weapons allow the rogue to thrive in interaction scenes, where they can be armed and dangerous without appearing to have any weapons. Even during combat scenes, the ability to fight while keeping one’s hands free to interact with the environment helps the rogue to fit into its role of battlefield versatility. This extreme competence in two game pillars (Exploration and Interaction) is balanced out by some gameplay considerations unique to vampires which complicates the typical activities of a rogue and encourages the player to think creatively and utilize their skills: the inability to enter a residence without an invitation, the inability to act freely in sunlight, and the difficulty in crossing running water.
In addition, the subclass provides combat-power features at level 3, level 9, level 11, level 13, and especially level 17 that grant the vampire rogue the abilities of any fully-fledged vampire in this D&D edition. Like other blood-magic and vampire-themed options, this subclass can use its hit dice at-will, and just like for the Progenitor warlock, hit dice allow us to limit the healing that regeneration can provide to a balanced level. The bonus action is incorporated into the rogue toolkit already, effectively giving the vampire rogue more choices for Cunning Action when they don’t need to use it for enabling Sneak Attack. The level 9 feature is useful for Exploration and Interaction, but it can also be used to command beasts that, while weak, can be used by the rogue to achieve Sneak Attack against its enemies. Similarly, the level 13 feature is mostly useful for those two pillars, but can be used as a reaction in combat when the temporary ability to fly, to use blindsight, or to fit through gaps is worth the trade-off action it will take to transform back for making attacks. Once they reach level 17, however, these traits all fluidly combine as bonus actions, allowing the rogue to shift easily between forms and use its vampiric talents while still threatening foes with fangs and claws, regenerating through the kind of harm that would fell other rogues… so long as they can avoid the sunlight.
