Sanguivorus duodecim
The Veinbound are twelve blood-drinking lineages descended from ordinary humanoid peoples, each transformed by an ancient spirit's curse.
At a glance
Darkvision 60 ft.
Languages Common, One language you knew in your former life
Height 5 to 6 ft., varying with the ancestry they had before the curse
Weight 90 to 190 lb., varying with former ancestry and build
Lifespan The curse halts ordinary aging after transformation
At the table
You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
You can make an unarmed strike with your incisors. On a hit, it deals piercing damage equal to plus your Strength modifier. Once on each of your turns when you hit a willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by you, incapacitated, or restrained, with this bite, you can draw blood and gain Temporary Hit Points equal to your Proficiency Bonus. You can gain these Temporary Hit Points only once per turn.
You carry the venom of your lineage. Once per Long Rest, when you hit a creature with your bite, you can force it to make a Constitution saving throw ( plus your Constitution modifier and Proficiency Bonus). On a failed save, it takes Poison damage and has the Poisoned condition until the start of your next turn. This venom does not transform a creature through this game trait. A lasting transformation is a serious story event requiring the DM's agreement and the affected character's consent.
Blood alone sustains you. You do not need ordinary food or drink, but you must consume blood to remain nourished. This has no additional mechanical penalty unless the DM and player agree that deprivation is an important part of the story.
These people often cultivate patience, keen perception, and physical resilience, tending toward Constitution and Wisdom, though players assign ability score increases as they wish.
Their eyes gleam like polished glass, and they are famed for a venom that leaves a brief, cold numbness.
Descendants of a spirit associated with reflection and remembrance, Glasswake preserve names, portraits, and genealogies with unusual care.
The Veinbound are twelve blood-drinking lineages descended from ordinary humanoid peoples, each transformed by an ancient spirit's curse. Their venom can spread that curse, making every encounter a question of consent, restraint, and consequence. They are not born monsters, but their survival depends on blood, and a society that refuses them safe ways to feed can turn fear into tragedy.
The Veinbound were once members of many humanoid peoples, and traces of those origins remain in their height, ears, skin, hair, and build.
The curse lends them a shared pallor or coolness of flesh, unusually clear eyes that may reflect light in dimness, and narrow incisors suited to drawing blood. Their veins can darken visibly when hunger rises. They breathe, think, and move like other humanoids, but ordinary food cannot nourish them: only blood sustains their bodies. The exact appearance differs among the twelve lineages, and no single feature reliably reveals a person's former ancestry.
Found wherever people live, especially in old cities, remote refuges, and communities with reliable, consensual blood-donor arrangements.
Newly changed people learn to manage hunger and venom under the watch of a mentor. Their former lives remain vivid, and many keep their birth names.
Most reach adult judgment within a few years of transformation. Their bodies cease ordinary aging, though experience and temperament continue to change.
After centuries, an elder may become a keeper of lineage histories or a source of dangerous political influence. Long life does not guarantee wisdom.
There are twelve recognized lineages, each associated with one of the spirits blamed for the curse.
Their traits vary, but all share the same dependence on blood and the capacity to pass the curse through venom. They often preserve customs, crafts, and kinship ties from the peoples they came from, even as generations of exile create new traditions. Many maintain careful feeding ledgers, donor agreements, and mentors for the newly turned. Turning another person is treated as a grave act: venom alone may transmit the curse, but a transformation is not considered complete until the victim survives the change, and responsible communities insist on consent wherever circumstances allow.
The twelve ancient spirits are remembered in prayers, curses, and arguments, but worship is far from universal.
Some Veinbound seek forgiveness from the spirits, some honor them as stern ancestors, and some regard them as jailers to be resisted. Their need for blood does not dictate alignment. Communities that teach restraint tend to prize consent and mutual obligation, while isolated groups may develop harsher customs.
Many communities fear the Veinbound because their venom can transform others, while others have learned to live alongside them through agreed donor networks and strict laws.
The twelve lineages disagree about whether turning someone is ever justifiable. Some see it as a last resort to save a dying person; others consider it an act that must never be taken without informed consent. The Veinbound can form families and friendships with any people, but the curse's spread makes trust a practical concern as well as a moral one.
The twelve lineages have no single homeland, since their members spread from the peoples they once belonged to.
Their homes favor shutters, shaded courtyards, private sleeping rooms, and cool cellars for storing sealed blood. In settlements where trust has been earned, communal donor halls are built as clean clinics rather than secretive dens.
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