There are some monsters in the Monster Manual that are hard to write about. Not the Frogs or the Cloakers or the Commoners – those were easy compared to this.

Writing about Vampires here is hard because so much has already been written about Vampires in general. We’ve all seen vampire movies, TV shows, books, games, and comics have we seen? Is there any aspect of Vampiredom that has not been revealed? Heck, if you want a D&D campaign centered on Vampires, Curse of Strahd is right there, and probably one of the most famous modules ever printed.

So let’s try to think of the Vampire from some different directions, and see if we can find some corner of this incredible monster that has not been explored.

The Vampire is Already Dead

Your Party comes to a strange little town, deep in the mountains, and they find the aftermath of a grand celebration. Ragged bunting, a bandstand, empty ale barrels and confetti everywhere, sticking to wet cobblestones. You see, a band of plucky adventurers had finally rid this region of the horrible Vampire who plagued this land for generations. They raided his castle, fought him, and killed him in every way they know how.

And there was much rejoicing.

But not long after that, things started to go… wrong.

Crops failed. The weather has been unnatural. Children are going missing.

At least with the Vampire, they all knew what they were dealing with. What if the Vampire was not just a hunter and tormenter of the humans who lived here? What if, with the apex predator at bay, new things are moving into this land? New things that only a vampire can hold back?

The vanquishing of that Vampire was the first domino in a new horror that no one could have predicted. Can your Party deal with this new menace? Do they need to convince another Vampire to move in? Become one themselves, perhaps?

That’s up to them, of course….

The Vampire Bureaucracy

Vampires live a very long time, if they’re lucky, and over time they accumulate more and more control over the region they occupy. Not through mind control – that can be broken by a strong enough will. Not by threats – that only invites heroes. They rule through something far more insidious: paperwork.

The city your adventurers visit is a pleasant and safe one. There is not crime to speak of, the streets are clean, and the sanitation systems all work perfectly.

Because if you’re going to keep something caged, it is best to keep their cage clean. The Vampires are the ones who know the rules and regulations, and it is they who pull the levers of governance.

Your Party won’t be crashing a spooky castle on the clifftop – they’ll be tackling an undead bureaucracy that has ruled this land for centuries. They people they’re fighting for will have been ground down by procedure and process for generations, obedient to rules that make no sense, but which must be followed. The alternative would be chaos.

If your Party wants to rid this region of Vampires, they’ll be going up against a whole government, perfect for your Franz Kafka dreams or Vogon nightmares.

The Blood is Not the Point

Forget the blood. That’s just a side effect. The real horror of vampirism is emotional consumption.

Your Players come to a town with a beloved public figure. A teacher who’s taught pretty much everyone by now. A city council member that everyone trusts with their problems. A celebrity that sells out every venue. Everyone knows their name, and follows their careers as if they were their own.

But the town grows paler by the day. The people’s joy, their passion – their will fades from them. All but their love of the Vampire.

In many stories, Vampires feed on love, trust, obsession — they bind people to them with supernatural charisma, then drain them of everything but their blood. Blood is symbolic: what they really take is will, joy, freedom.

This Vampire doesn’t kill. They leave you alive, but hollow. And you’ll love them for it.

Your Friend is Turning

In this scenario, the Vampire isn’t the villain. They’re your companion.

That is, until they aren’t.

Somehow, one member of the Party has been afflicted with Vampirism. Perhaps a curse from an angry Hag, or bitten by a member of a Swarm of Bats that wasn’t what it seems.

How it happens matters much less than what happens next. What are the first signs? A certain paleness? Sun too bright? A thirst that not even the best Dwarven ale can quench?

And as they resist the turning, they are also becoming more powerful. Unlocking abilities that they never could have accessed before.

How far can they go before the monster within them finally wins?

When does saving them turn into killing them?

Of course, you want to be careful which player you offer this chance to. They should be someone who understands what this entails, and can make choices which help make the game more interesting. If you have no such player, a favorite NPC can do the job as well.

Wouldn’t be interesting, then, if their transformation draws attention from other Vampires? Vampires who want to take them under their wing, or who want to eliminate competition?

And when the fight comes – because the fight will come – the 2024 Monster Manual gives you plenty to work with, from the surprisingly dangerous Vampire Familiar to the truly terrifying Vampire Umbral Lord. There’s a Vampire for every level of play.

Once you really think about what being a Vampire means – immortality, unfulfilled desire, a need for control, an unquenchable thirst – you can start crafting a campaign around Vampires that doesn’t have to be a hunt-and-kill operation. It can be tense and terrifying in ways that call upon players to look into more than their stat blocks.

They’ll have to look into who they are, and decide who they want to be.

Vampires endure because they reflect us. They show us our hunger, our vanity, our fear of time. That mirror doesn’t always need to be bloodstained. Sometimes it’s framed in law books, or carved into the face of someone we trust. Whatever shape your vampire takes, make it matter. Make it more than a monster. That’s how it sinks its teeth in.