✦ The Vampire Chronicles as a D&D AU ✦
This is based specifically on the characters’ AMC universe versions.
My experience with D&D consists of online sessions, around 1,500 hours in Baldur’s Gate 3, Pathfinder, the first Vampire: The Masquerade, and one enormous rulebook that my brain still refuses to process in its entirety. This is not an expert analysis of D&D mechanics—just a character-based AU.
Former species: Water Genasi
Lineage: Reborn
Class: Warlock
Patron: The Undead
Party role: negotiation, ranged damage, battlefield control
Louis’s water genasi origin connects him to New Orleans, the Mississippi, and the force hidden beneath his composure, while the Reborn lineage reflects his existence between life and death. He is observant, intelligent, stubborn, and far more controlling than he admits. Louis would refuse to use his most destructive spell for several sessions, then destroy half the location when someone he loves is threatened—and afterward calmly explain why he had no other choice.
Species: Aasimar
Class: Bard
Subclass: College of Swords
Party role: party face, mobile fighter, primary source of narrative catastrophes
The radiance, beauty, and potential fall of an aasimar suit someone who sees himself as an angel, a monster, and the protagonist of every story. Lestat turns every attack into a performance and every emotional crisis into a public event. He can be affectionate and genuinely encouraging, but fear of abandonment quickly becomes jealousy, control, and a decision the party will spend five sessions trying to repair.
Species: Shadar-kai
Class: Bard
Subclass: College of Tragedy¹
Party role: control, psychic damage, emotionally questionable support
¹College of Tragedy is a third-party bard subclass from Critical Role’s Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, published by Darrington Press.
Shadar-kai reflects Nicki’s movement between unbearable emotional intensity and complete numbness. His music does not comfort people; it forces them to confront whatever they have tried to bury. Nicki is sensitive, proud, jealous, sharp-tongued, and deliberately cruel when he feels exposed. He provokes, resents, loves fiercely, and would rather destroy a situation than admit how vulnerable he feels.
Nicki’s Bardic Inspiration sounds more like a bad omen, but somehow still grants the bonus.
Species: Changeling
Class: Sorcerer
Subclass: Aberrant Mind
Party role: telepathy, mental control, manipulation from within
Armand usually keeps the same face; his real shapeshifting happens at the level of identity. He becomes the student, leader, companion, or lover another person wants him to be. Aberrant Mind gives him telepathy and nearly invisible control magic. He rarely forces anyone openly—he edits the facts and circumstances until someone else makes the choice he wanted. The angrier he becomes, the calmer he sounds.
Species: Human
Class: Rogue
Subclass: Inquisitive²
Party role: investigation, Insight checks, destroying convenient narratives
²Inquisitive is a Rogue subclass from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything for D&D 5e.
Daniel has no supernatural lineage, only a notebook, professional distrust, and the ability to notice one wrong word in a story spanning centuries. He interrupts evasive answers and refuses to let ancient creatures hide behind beautiful monologues.
Species: Deep Gnome
Class: Rogue
Subclass: Assassin, later Phantom
Party role: scouting, burst damage, tactical planning
Claudia is small, brilliant, practical, and furious at anyone who mistakes her size for a lack of age, intelligence, or authority. She would know everyone’s armor class, remaining spell slots, and emotional weaknesses—and have a separate contingency plan for killing each of them. Assassin fits her patience and decisiveness; Phantom reflects the later Claudia, haunted by death and all the lives she will never be allowed to have.
Species: Rock Gnome
Class: Artificer
Subclass: Battle Smith
Party role: equipment, protection, practical support
Madeleine is practical, stubborn, guarded, and accustomed to being judged. She expresses affection by repairing clothes, reinforcing armor, and preparing exactly what Claudia will need before she asks. Her Steel Defender would be a beautifully crafted mechanical doll that everyone finds unsettling except Claudia.
I still have a few more fairly obvious ideas—Raglan James as a Doppelganger, Akasha as a Fallen Aasimar, Gabriella as a Wood Elf Horizon Walker, and Santiago as a Satyr Bard—but those may have to wait for part two.
