The New Dhampir (DnD 2025 Species Guide)

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Living beings possessed with the unnatural thirst and powers of a vampire, the Dhampir has long been a staple of Dungeons & Dragons, having first appeared as a monster stat block in theh third edition of the game. It wasn’t until 2021, however, that they were available as a playable species, appearing in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.

Now, a new version of the Dhampir has risen from the darkness of Astarion’s Book of Hungers, the new D&D Beyond digital supplement featuring the titular vampire rogue from Baldur’s Gate 3. Updated to align with the DnD 2024 ruleset, the new Dhampir has seen significant changes to key abilities, particularly in terms of its bite attack and the way it integrates with species.

So are these new bloodthirsty beings worth playing? Below, we sink our teeth into all the details.

What are Dhampirs in DnD 2025?

Dhampirs are living humanoids who carry a spark of vampiric power, often the result of a curse, a bite that did not complete the full transformation or a dark bargain with an evil entity. Some Dhampirs may also be the direct offspring of a vampire lord, while others are mortals touched by undeath through rituals, parasitic spirits or eldritch curses. Whatever their origins, they walk a fine line between life and death, forever battling the urges that come with their unnatural existence.

While Dhampirs retain their mortal minds and bodies, their appearance often hints at their undead origin. Many have unnaturally pale or corpse-cold skin, sharp canines, ghostly or luminous eyes and a supernatural stillness that sets them apart from the living. Their vampiric traits manifest most clearly in their heightened agility, resistance to necrotic energies and their ability to drain the life force of their victims through a powerful Vampiric Bite.

What’s changed with the new 2025 DnD Dhampir?

Astarion’s Book of Hungers introduces a number of key changes from the previous legacy Dhampir playable race that appeared in 2021 in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. Below are all their species traits and associated updates.

Feature	2021 Dhampir (Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft)	2025 Dhampir (Astarion’s Book of Hungers)	What’s Changed
Creature Type	Humanoid	Humanoid	No change.
Size	Medium or Small	Medium or Small	No change
Speed	35 feet	35 feet	No change.
Ability Scores	Increase one ability score by 2 and increase a different one by 1, or increase three different ability scores by 1.	None	Races/species no longer provide ability score improvements. Instead, character nows receive these bonuses from the new DnD backgrounds.
Languages	Common and one extra language	None	Languages now come from background, not species.
Ancestral Legacy	You could choose to be a dhampir version of another species (such as an elf dhampir) which allowed you to keep the skill proficiencies of your original species, plus your climbing, flying, or swimming speed. If you didn’t choose to keep your pre-dhampir species traits, you instead gained proficency in two skills of your choice.	None	Removed. You cannot bring over any traits from whatever species you were before you became a dhampir.
Darkvision	Range of 60 feet	Range of 60 feet	No change.
Deathless Nature	Doesn’t need to breathe	None	This 2021 trait was removed. Dhampirs now breathe normally.
Spider Climb	Climb speed equal to walking speed. At 3rd level can move on vertical surfaces and ceilings while leaving hands free.	Climb Speed equal to your Speed. At level 3 can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and along ceilings while leaving hands free.	Wording updated, but functionally the same feature.
Trace of Undeath	None	Resistance to Necrotic damage	New defensive feature added in 2025.
Vampiric Bite (Type & Attack Bonus)	Your bite is a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. You add your Constitution modifier (instead of your Strength modifier) to the attack and damage rolls.	When you use your Unarmed Strike and deal damage, you can choose to bite with your fangs.	This is a major change as it means you no longer can use your Constitution modifier on attack rolls. Instead, since it’s now an Unarmed Strike, you must use your Strength (or Dexterity if you’re a Monk).
Vampiric Bite (Damage)	1d4 piercing damage on a hit (plus Constitution modifier)	1d4 + Constitution modifier Piercing damage	Damage remains effectively the same.
Vampiric Bite (Advantage Condition)	While missing half or more of your hit points, you have advantage on attack rolls with the bite	None	Advantage-on-bite-when-wounded has been removed.
Vampiric Bite (Empower Options)	On a hit against a non-Construct, non-Undead, you can either: regain HP equal to piercing damage dealt or gain a bonus to the next ability check or attack roll equal to the damage dealt	When you deal this damage to a non-Construct, non-Undead, you can either: regain HP equal to the piercing damage (Drain), or gain a bonus to the next ability check or attack roll you make within the next minute equal to the damage dealt (Strengthen)	Core options are the same; 2025 version adds explicit 1-minute duration for the bonus.
Vampiric Bite (Uses)	Can empower yourself with this bite a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest	Can empower yourself with this bite a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest	No change.
Hungers & Origins Tables	Included tables listing Dhampir Hungers (what you feed on) and Dhampir Origins (how you became a dhampir)	None	Narrative tables removed from the core mechanics. Now left to DM and player to define.

What are the new Dhampir species traits in DnD 2025?

Below is the full list of all the Dhampir traits using the new 2025 rules from Astarion’s Book of Hungers.

• Creature Type: Humanoid
• Size: Medium (about 4–7 feet tall) or Small (about 2–4 feet tall), chosen when you select this species
• Speed: 35 feet

As a Dhampir, you also have the following special traits:

• Darkvision: You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
• Spider Climb: You have a Climb Speed equal to your Speed. When you reach character level 3, you can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and along ceilings while leaving your hands free.
• Trace of Undeath: You have Resistance to Necrotic damage.
• Vampiric Bite: When you use your Unarmed Strike and deal damage, you can choose to bite with your fangs. You deal Piercing damage equal to 1d4 plus your Constitution modifier instead of the normal damage of an Unarmed Strike.

In addition, when you deal this damage to a creature that isn’t a Construct or an Undead, you can empower yourself in one of the following ways:

• Drain: You regain Hit Points equal to the Piercing damage dealt.
• Strengthen: You gain a bonus to the next ability check or attack roll you make within the next minute; the bonus is equal to the Piercing damage dealt.

You can empower yourself with this trait a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Is the new DnD Dhampir worth playing?

Overall, the new 2025 Dhampir feels mechanically cleaner and better aligned with the DnD 2024 core rules (particularly when it comes species). At the same time, it also feels less powerful and less flavorful than its 2021 counterpart. The biggest nerf is that you are no longer able to use your Con bonus when rolling a bite attack, plus no longer have advantage on bite attacks when reduced to half hit points. Notably, the new rules also don’t include the Hungers and Origins tables, which provided some fun narrative meat to the species.

That being said, despite these changes, the new 2025 Dhampir remains a solid playable species with interesting mechanical and story-based features that can still tap into plenty of new veins of gameplay at the table.

You can find the complete rules for the Dhampir in Astarion’s Book of Hungers, which is available now on D&D Beyond.

More D&D News Coverage

For more from the world of Wizards of the Coast, visit our D&D News page.