Vampire Spawn
Medium Undead · · CR 5
- Undead
- Medium
- Tier 2
Ranges across underground, urban, and ruins; Vampire Spawn lists at CR 5 as a medium undead (neutral evil). Sourced from Monster Manual (5e 2014) and Monster Manual (5.5e 2024).
Stat Block
- Challenge Rating
- 5
- Type
- Undead
- Size
- Medium
- Alignment
- —
- Speed
- —
- Habitats
- Underground, Urban, Ruins
- Sources
- Monster Manual (5e 2014), Monster Manual (5.5e 2024), Flee, Mortals!
Ecology
Vampire spawn are undead creatures created when a true vampire bites and drains a humanoid victim, then forces them to drink vampire blood in turn. The spawn rises after burial as a lesser undead, lacking the master vampire's full powers. They are sustained by drinking living blood. They cannot reproduce sexually; they create more spawn only by passing on the bite-curse (which they do less commonly than true vampires). They are bound to their resting place (coffin or sealed crypt) and must return there before sunrise.
Behaviour
Spawn are intelligent but enslaved to their creator (or, if creator-less, semi-feral). A spawn obeys the master vampire absolutely until the master is destroyed; then the spawn becomes free but lacking guidance. Free spawn often form loose packs, hunting cooperatively. They speak the languages they knew in life, but their personalities are corrupted: even kind humans become cruel as spawn. They retain memories of mortal life and sometimes return to former homes, terrorizing or stalking former family.
Origin
The first vampire spawn was created accidentally when a true vampire experimented on a willing servant, intending to grant immortality but only producing a thrall. Modern vampires create spawn deliberately as servants and disposable agents. Some vampire-cults breed spawn as soldiers. The lineage of every spawn traces back to a master vampire; if the master is destroyed and no other vampire claims the spawn, the spawn becomes ownerless and slowly degrades over centuries into mindless zombies.
Related Monsters
Frequently Asked Questions about Vampire Spawn
- What is the challenge rating of Vampire Spawn?
- Listed CR for Vampire Spawn: 5. Match it to a party that fits levels 5-11.
- What type of creature is Vampire Spawn?
- By creature type, Vampire Spawn is a undead, medium size.
- Where does Vampire Spawn live?
- In the bestiary, Vampire Spawn appears in Underground, Urban, Ruins.