
To clarify, the upcoming 2025 edition of the “Monster Manual” significantly broadens the variety of vampires that role-players may encounter in their journeys through all regions of Toril. In contrast, the 2014 “Monster Manual” presented rather basic vampires, with the most advanced options being limited to the Vampire Spellcaster, Vampire Warrior, and Strahd von Zarovich at CR 15. However, these higher CR vampires were perceived as underwhelming in numerous aspects, considering their immense power and impact they could have in campaigns. The new “Monster Manual” offers a more extensive array of vampiric horrors for Dungeon Masters to manipulate, thereby enabling a vampire-focused campaign setting to progressively challenge players with escalating threats over time and effectively instill the feeling of being tormented by these iconic nocturnal beings.