D&D 5E Stake to the Heart, Misty Escape, and Vampires / Vampire Spawn

[TrinityDM]

OK, I'm gearing up to run Curse of Strahd, and ran into a general question on how the Stake to the Heart feature works.

Both the vampire and vampire spawn have regeneration, and both have the Stake to the Heart weakness (when the specifically-worded condition of "a piercing weapon made of wood [is] driven into its heart while incapacitated in its resting place", a vampire spawn is destroyed, and a true vampire is paralyzed).

The true vampire also has the Misty Escape ability, which changes how the creature functions when brought to 0 hp when not in sunlight or running water (instead of dropping unconscious, it assumes mist form and travels back to its resting place where it must stay, paralyzed, for an hour before it regains 1 hp, at which point it can begin regenerating).

However, vampire spawn do not have the Misty Escape ability, which makes the fact that it has the Stake to the Heart weakness (with conditional wording very similar to that of the true vampire) very confusing.

a) Is a vampire spawn destroyed when simply reduced to 0 hp (regardless of whether it's in sunlight or running water)? If not, why bother with the Stake to the Heart entry (it seems unlikely that it would ever be "incapacitated in its resting place", as it cannot Misty Escape)?

b) What happens if the vampire spawn (or true vampire, for that matter) is staked when otherwise incapacitated but not in its resting place?

Further confusing things, the Shapechanger ability implies that magical damage would affect the vampire in mist form, by specifically mentioning immunity to nonmagical damage except sunlight. However, while engaged in Misty Escape, it's already at 0 hp. Is this meant to imply that the alternative way to permanently destroy a vampire while it is engaged in a Misty Escape is by dealing massive damage (i.e. > max hp) to it from magic or have it enter sunlight / running water (which would preempt the Misty Escape ability)?

Just hoping for some clarity on the conditions under which vampires and vampire spawns can be permanently destroyed.

 

[Tony Vargas]

(it seems unlikely that it would ever be "incapacitated in its resting place", as it cannot Misty Escape)

What about when resting during the day?

 

[TrinityDM]

it seems unlikely that it would ever be "incapacitated in its resting place", as it cannot Misty Escape

What about when resting during the day?

Hm, the MM entry doesn't say anything about the specific conditions a vampire is subject to when resting (only that they must rest during the day). Without further elaboration in the vampire entry, I guess the assumption is that "resting" equals sleeping (as opposed to being in some sort of semi-aware trance). Since the unconscious condition includes being incapacitated, staking a resting spawn (without waking it up first) would be one sure way to destroy it, and would explain the "Stake to the Heart" entry.

What's still unclear to me is whether vampire spawn are destroyed when they reach 0 hp or if they continue regenerating until staked in their resting place. The former seems implied to me. Unlike the MM entries for the troll and revenant (which state death occurs if the creature starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate) or the oni and shield guardian (which state regeneration only occurs if it has at least 1 hp), there's no clear indication of how the vampire spawn's regeneration works when they reach 0 hp.

Even if the intent of the rules is for spawn to only regenerate at 1 hp or more, I may handle vampire spawn similarly to trolls and revenants (only destroyed if at 0 hp and prevented from regenerating), possibly also requiring staking. Most of the vampire encounters in Curse of Strahd are with spawn, and having them simply drop at 0 hp removes some of the mystique.

I'm also still not sure how magical (non-massive) damage affects a true vampire using Misty Escape, since it's already at 0 hp.

 

[I'm A Banana]

a) Is a vampire spawn destroyed when simply reduced to 0 hp (regardless of whether it's in sunlight or running water)? If not, why bother with the Stake to the Heart entry (it seems unlikely that it would ever be "incapacitated in its resting place", as it cannot Misty Escape)?

What happens when a vampire spawn reaches 0 hp? The same thing that happens to everything else - it drops unconscious. The DM can choose to have it die on that instant, and usually will, but they need not - if a vampire spawn stabilizes, it will regain 1 hp in 1d4 hours like anything else, and then it'll start regenerating.

The most common scenario where a vampire spawn is incapacitated in its resting place is when it's knocked out and you want to be sure it won't come back, so you stake it, too. Mostly, it's a fluffy thing, but a DM who wanted to make a spawn a recurring threat is well within their rights to require that to For Reals Kill It.

Other effects might incapacitate a vampire spawn that's not at 0 hp, too. For instance, eyebite can knock a creature unconscious and doesn't have that pesky "no undead" limitation that sleep does. Eyebite + a stake is a one-two punch for vampires and spawn in their lairs. Hypnotic Pattern could do it, too.

b) What happens if the vampire spawn (or true vampire, for that matter) is staked when otherwise incapacitated but not in its resting place?

The same thing that happens to anything else - it can't take actions or reactions as long as it's incapacitated, and it takes damage from the stake (assuming the stake hits them - Incapacitated doesn't = Auto-Hit, though at 0 hp you've got advantage). "Incapacitated" is a technical term in 5e, a condition that can be inflicted on creatures through a variety of means. One of those means is dropping to 0 hp, but it's not the only way.

Further confusing things, the Shapechanger ability implies that magical damage would affect the vampire in mist form, by specifically mentioning immunity to nonmagical damage except sunlight. However, while engaged in Misty Escape, it's already at 0 hp. Is this meant to imply that the alternative way to permanently destroy a vampire while it is engaged in a Misty Escape is by dealing massive damage (i.e. > max hp) to it from magic or have it enter sunlight / running water (which would preempt the Misty Escape ability)?

You can damage things at 0 hp - you fail a death save or two, and die if the damage exceeds your maximum HP. So all of those techniques work. Legendary resistance on vampires might make some of those tough, and in Curse of Strahd there's not much running water or sunlight to worry about (though a clever party might have some!). Also, escape is pretty easy - seeping through cracks in the stonework as a gas cloud lets him essentially travel through (non air-tight) walls in his drafty old castle. If he's brought to 0 hp by the wielder of the Sunsword, that's only one failed death save at the start of the turn that he uses to move 20 feet through the walls and get the heck outta dodge (or not even that if he Legendary Action's through the walls).

A vampire in a sealed chamber will have a harder time of it, but even then, three rounds to keep a cloud of gas from escaping is...enough time for something to go wrong.

Just hoping for some clarity on the conditions under which vampires and vampire spawns can be permanently destroyed.

Remember that Incapacitated has a technical definition in 5e. Being at 0 hp applies that, and so does other things.

Also remember that a monster at 0 hp doesn't have to die immediately. Your Vampire Spawn might technically require you to stake them after you've dropped 'em to make sure they're dead (relying on three failed death saves might not produce much success!). Strahd - and any true Vampire - probably should stick around at 0 hp until those three death saves are failed.

 

[Ristamar]

You can damage things at 0 hp - you fail a death save or two, and die if the damage exceeds your maximum HP. So all of those techniques work. Legendary resistance on vampires might make some of those tough, and in Curse of Strahd there's not much running water or sunlight to worry about (though a clever party might have some!). Also, escape is pretty easy - seeping through cracks in the stonework as a gas cloud lets him essentially travel through (non air-tight) walls in his drafty old castle. If he's brought to 0 hp by the wielder of the Sunsword, that's only one failed death save at the start of the turn that he uses to move 20 feet through the walls and get the heck outta dodge (or not even that if he Legendary Action's through the walls).

Going by strict RAW, I don't disagree with this interpretation. I do wonder, however, if the RAI interpretation prevents vampires from being destroyed in mist form via magical damage (and subsequent failed death saves) after dropping to 0hp. I'd be very interested to hear the opinion of Mearls or Crawford.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Going by strict RAW, I don't disagree with this interpretation. I do wonder, however, if the RAI interpretation prevents vampires from being destroyed in mist form via magical damage (and subsequent failed death saves) after dropping to 0hp. I'd be very interested to hear the opinion of Mearls or Crawford.

I could see running it that way regardless of the intent. Shapechange into mist? Wail on it. Misty escape? NO DAMAGE!

That makes knowing the location of the vampire's lair all the more important!

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Hm, the MM entry doesn't say anything about the specific conditions a vampire is subject to when resting (only that they must rest during the day). Without further elaboration in the vampire entry, I guess the assumption is that "resting" equals sleeping (as opposed to being in some sort of semi-aware trance). Since the unconscious condition includes being incapacitated, staking a resting spawn (without waking it up first) would be one sure way to destroy it, and would explain the "Stake to the Heart" entry.

What's still unclear to me is whether vampire spawn are destroyed when they reach 0 hp or if they continue regenerating until staked in their resting place. The former seems implied to me. Unlike the MM entries for the troll and revenant (which state death occurs if the creature starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate) or the oni and shield guardian (which state regeneration only occurs if it has at least 1 hp), there's no clear indication of how the vampire spawn's regeneration works when they reach 0 hp.

Even if the intent of the rules is for spawn to only regenerate at 1 hp or more, I may handle vampire spawn similarly to trolls and revenants (only destroyed if at 0 hp and prevented from regenerating), possibly also requiring staking. Most of the vampire encounters in Curse of Strahd are with spawn, and having them simply drop at 0 hp removes some of the mystique.

I'm also still not sure how magical (non-massive) damage affects a true vampire using Misty Escape, since it's already at 0 hp.

Spawn and Vampires have similar wording to Oni and Shield Guardians. They regenerate if they have at least 1 hp. Vampires unlike Spawn however have misty escape and starting heading back to their resting place upon hitting 0 hp upon which they are paralyzed for an hour. Spawn don't have this so they are defeated at 0 hp. Spawn still have to rest during the day and they are vulnerable to stake to the heart during this time.

It's not really confusing at all for me.