Dhampir

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Dhampir

(Creature)

2E1E

Dhampir

Level

Varies

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Adjective

Dhampiric or dhampir

Images of dhampirs

Source: Player Core 2, pg(s). 42–43

In Monster Core, dhampir creatures have the common trait. In Player Core 2, dhampir player characters are an

Uncommon

versatile heritage.

Type

Humanoid
(dhampir)

CR

By class

Environment

Any land

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Adjective

Dhampiric or dhampir

Images of dhampirs

Source: Bestiary 2, pg(s). 89

Ⅰ

Ⅱ

Dhampirs are the cursed, mortal progeny of vampires. They are sometimes termed half-vampire or, more cruelly, half-dead.

Description

Larsa, an Ustalavic dhampir investigator.

Most dhampirs are tall and slender, possessing physical grace and unearthly beauty. While their eye colour, skin hue, and hair colour resembles that of the mother, they also possess a ghostly pallor which people find unnerving. They tend to move with unworldly fluidity, and have a piercing gaze. Finally, all dhampirs possess elongated incisors, a trait passed down from the vampiric progenitor.

Regardless of their heritage, dhampirs are still mortal creatures, although they age far more slowly than most mortals, with a lifespan comparable to that of elves.

Adventurers

Outsider status combined with supernatural abilities make dhampirs natural adventurers. Magic-using dhampirs are often undead-bloodline sorcerers, wizards of the necromancy school, or occasionally oracles or witches. Self-sufficient dhampirs might be rogues or swashbucklers, and those who seek to destroy undead might choose champion or ranger.

Ecology

As vampires primarily exist among human cultures, dhampirs are most commonly of the human race. However, dhampirs can arise from any ancestry of people; for example, elves' long lifespans make them fitting companions for immortals, so more dhampirs are born among elves than nearly any other ancestry besides human. Some dhampirs are the result of relations between a mortal parent and a vampiric parent, while other dhampirs are born to a mortal who was turned into a vampire while pregnant, and still others rise from occult rituals or other supernatural influences upon a mortal infant. Dhampirs have difficulty producing children of their own, and their few progeny are never dhampirs themselves (but often have sorcerous abilities.

Usually rejected and mistrusted for their lineage, a dhampir is rarely accepted into normal society. Most grow up as orphans, as few mothers survive birthing the young dhampir, and most have difficulty forming real relationships with others in spite of their unnatural charm and grace. Ultimately, most dhampirs feel the pull to evil, or at least moral ambiguity, and view those around them as tools and pawns. A handful have been known to reject this, however, vowing to destroy the undead horrors responsible for their conception.

Dhampir lineages

See also: Category:Dhampir/Lineages and Category:Dhampir/Heritages (1E)

Most of the dhampirs encountered in the Inner Sea region are related to the common vampire, also known as the moroi, but since there are other, related vampire species around the world, there are also other varieties of dhampirs.

Adhyabhau

Few adhyabhau dhampirs, descendants of the rare vetalaranas, live outside the Impossible Kingdoms of Vudra, including some in Jalmeray.

Ajibachana, or vetala-born

Ajibachana are children of vetalas, vampires of Vudra. They are quite dexterous and fond of scholarly pursuits.

Cel rau

Cel rau are the descendants of strigoi, the first vampires to walk Golarion.

Ru-shi, or jiang-shi-born

Ru-shi are the indirect offspring of jiang-shi vampires, which are most active on the continent of Tian Xia. They are generally mechanically, mathematically, or linguistically gifted.

Svetochers, or moroi-born

Svetochers are the direct progeny of the charming moroi vampires, the most common vampires of the Inner Sea region.

Straveikas, ancient-born, or nosferatu-born

The unnatural offspring of mortals and nosferatu vampires, straveikas have a deep intuition for reading others' motives and intents. They are most common in Ustalav.

References

Paizo featured dhampirs as a heritage in Ancestry Guide.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.