This pale-skinned thin humanoid has sunken eyes, sallow cheeks, and slightly protruding canine fangs. It moves with alacrity and purpose, but it drew its last breath long, long ago.

XP 1,200

Combat (Soldier)

LE Medium undead

Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7

AC 17, touch 11, flat-footed 16 (+1 Dex, +6 natural)

hp 42 (5d10+15)

Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +3

Immune undead traits

Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)

Melee

scimitar +8 (1d6+3/18-20) and death touch +3 melee touch (1d3 Con damage) or

Power Attack scimitar +6 (1d6+7/18-20) or

death touch +8 melee touch (1d3 Con damage)

Ranged

light crossbow +6 (1d8/19-20; increments 10; range 80 ft.)

Special Attacks create spawn, death touch (Fort DC 17 negates)

Str 16, Dex 12, Con —, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 16

Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 19

Feats Ability Focus (death touch), Improved Initiative, Power Attack

Skills Acrobatics +7, Craft (carpentry) +5, Intimidate +11, Perception +7, Profession (spacehand) +7

Languages Common

SQ death throes, spider climb

Environment any (space)

Organization solitary, gang (2-4 plus 1-2 shadows), or crew (11-20 plus 2-8 shadows plus first mate of 3rd-5th level, pilot of 4th-6th level, and captain of 5th-9th level)

Treasure standard (scimitar, light crossbow with 10 bolts, other treasure)

Create Spawn (Su) A humanoid victim slain by a vampirate death touch rises from death as a shadow in 1d4 rounds. The shadow is not under the control of its creator and is free-willed but is not inherently hostile to the vampirate.

Death Throes (Su) When killed, a vampirate explodes in a cloud of ash that deals 2d6 points of negative energy damage (Reflex DC 15 halves) to the creature that killed it, if adjacent. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Death Touch (Su) As a melee touch, the vampirate can cause a living creature to suffer 1d3 Con damage (Fort DC 17 negates). This ability only triggers once per round, regardless of the number of attacks a vampirate makes. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Power Attack Take -2 penalty on all melee attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to gain +4 bonus on all melee damage rolls. Bonus increased by half (+50%) if attacking with a two-handed weapon or a one-handed weapon using two hands. Bonus halved (-50%) if attacking with an off-hand weapon. You must choose to use this feat before making an attack roll, and its effects last until your next turn. Bonus damage does not apply to touch attacks or effects that do not deal hit point damage.

Spider Climb (Ex) A vampirate can climb sheer surfaces as though under the effects of a spider climb spell.

Converted by Charles W. Plemons III from Spelljammer, Adventures in Space.

Vampirates are the walking, talking husks of dead pirates who refused to go quietly into the afterlife. They ply the void in their ships, plundering unsuspecting vessels and feeding on the life energy of those unlucky enough to cross their path.

A vampirate appears as a gaunt figure with milky-white eyes and skin as dry as parchment. Some have a peg leg or a hook in place of a hand-mementos of a life of misadventure. A vampirate has fangs like a vampire's but doesn't use them to draw vital fluids from prey, which vampirates consider an unsavory act. Rather, a vampirate drains life energy from another creature by touching it or by siphoning off its energy from a short distance away. As it feeds on the energy of other creatures, its appearance becomes more robust, although it never truly looks alive.

Vampirates eat, drink, and sleep because they like to, not because they must. They rest in wooden coffins or crates full of grave dirt. In the absence of such containers, they can treat their ship's hold as one big coffin and sleep amid their cargo. When they're not sleeping or marauding, a crew of vampirates whiles away the hours by drinking rum and singing grim chanteys.

A ship crewed by vampirates usually has one or more shadows aboard-the undead remains of some of the vampirates' victims.

Advancement

Exceptional vampirates advance with class levels. They gravitate toward physical and violent classes such as fighter, rogue, and even monk. Captains are often swashbucklers or bards, and spellcasters are most frequently sorcerers and oracles.

Design Notes

This is a conversion from the vampirate monster in Dungeons & Dragons 5E Spelljammer campaign. The conversion was done using The Genius Guide to the Talented Bestiary which makes some slight monster design changes based upon role (in this case "Combat (Soldier)") over monster type. I love the idea of an intelligent, but not incredibly deadly undead. They have a few features similar to vampires but not so many that are overwhelming. With a create spawn that makes a lesser, and uncontrolled, undead you get an interesting mix of creatures. They feel to me akin to Buffy: The Vampire Slayer vampires compared to Dracula. Quirky, dangerous, but mostly fodder.