**  Elrick “Stake” LeStrahd was born Melving Snailspit in Mosbottom Marsh, a small farming village near Neverwinter. Unhappy with his life as the son of a snail farmer, Melving always longed to create a new life of adventure and financial success.  When he came of age, Melving took the name Elrick from an adventure novel, and left Mossbottom to go to Neverwinter to reinvent himself and find his fortune. Elrick was strong and relatively handsome but not especially bright, and unwilling to wait (or work) for success. He became a petty criminal and con artist for a while, and eventually joined the navy to escape arrest by the Neverwinter City Guard for his many minor misdeeds. Elrick’s career as a sailor was cut short by serious motion sensitivity, and he disembarked in Waterdeep. Elrick had some alchemical knowledge he learned related to snail-husbandry and he travelled in the area for a while as a snake oil salesman and smuggler. When Elrick was robbed by a gang of highwaymen, he managed to convince them he was interested in joining them. He traveled with them and learned to use firearms and make ammunition from the gang leader “Grit”. When Elrick realized there was not much opportunity for long-term success in the bandito business, he used a powerful sleeping potion to incapacitate his whole crew and turned them in to the local castellan for a reward. Elrick took Grit’s guns and ammunition and the bounty hunter Blaze was born. If Grit is out of jail, he may be looking for revenge (and to recover his pistols.) Success was slow in the making, even for a gunslinger. Blaze realized the bounty hunting field was highly competitive and he decided he needed a gimmick to stand out. When Blaze was hired to conduct an investigation into exsanguinated livestock, he found the culprit was an elderly and somewhat senile vampire, known as Nana.  Nana had been “preserved” as a vampire by her doting vampire grandson Svärn, and while Svärn was away on Vampire business, Nana had begun thirsting for blood. Nana didn’t seem to realize she was a vampire; Elrick saw his chance for greatness and trapped Nana, using a goat as bait. He drank her blood. Elrick didn’t intend to kill Nana, but she was old and her blood was taken “unwillingly”, and she died in the process.  Elrick did not become a Full Vampire, but a Dhampir, and he was cursed with the dark ‘gift’ Deadly Touch. Now, Elrick is haunted by Nana, hearing her voice when he hungers, demanding that he Feed, and then hearing her horror and disappointment when he does. Small plants wither and insects die in Elrick’s presence, and anyone touching Elrick’s bare skin is damaged. Elrick took the last name “LeStrahd” to capitalize on the notoriety of the Count of Barovia, and abandoned the name “Blaze” out of concern that Svärn may be seeking revenge. “Stake” seemed like a suitably tough name for a Vampire Bounty Hunter. Although Stake is not a vampire, he works to maintain the illusion that he is, carrying an umbrella to keep off the sun, and he wears an iron plate under a vest when he sleeps, out of concern that someone will try to stake him. Stake works hard to craft a compelling bounty hunting brand, using lessons he learned from Grit, like setting things ablaze in order to stand in front of them, silhouetted by the flames. Punching anyone who calls him Elrick (no one knows his really real name is Melving). ### AC: 14 ### Init: +3 ### Speed: 35 ### HP: 27 Hit Dice: 3 ### Attacks | | | | |---|---|---| |Dagger|+5|1d4+3 Piercing| |Pistol|+5|1d10+3 Piercing| |Shotgun|+5|2d8+3 Piercing| |Vampire Bite|+5|1d4+3 Piercing| |Crossbow/Short Bow|+5|1d6+3 Piercing| |Death Touch|(+) Damage|1d10 Necrotic (on unarmed strike)| |Withering Contact|(+) Damage|1d10 Necrotic ( at start of turn on grapple)| |Sneak Attack|(+) Damage|1d6| ### Skills | | | | | |---|---|---|---| |Strength:|8|Save:|-1| |||Athletics:|-1| |Dexterity:|17|Save:|+5| |||Acrobatics:|+5| |||Sleight of Hand:|+5| |||Stealth:|+7| |Constitution:|16|Save:|+3| |Intelligence:|8|Save:|+1| |||Arcana:|-1| |||History:|-1| |||Investigation:|-1| |||Nature:|-1| |||Religion:|-1| |Wisdom:|8|Save:|-1| |||Animal Handling:|-1| |||Insight:|-1| |||Medicine:|-1| |||Perception:|+1| |||Survival:|-1| |Charisma:|15|Save:|+2| |||Deception:|+4| |||Intimidation:|+4| |||Performance:|+2| |||Persuasion:|+6| ### [Rogue](http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/rogue) (Level 3): Sneak Attack: Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe's distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon. You don't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll. Cunning Action: Starting at 2nd level, your quick thinking and agility allow you to move and act quickly. You can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action. ### Swashbuckler Fancy Footwork -  if you make a melee attack against a creature, that creature can't make opportunity attacks against you for the rest of your turn Rakish Audacity -  bonus to your initiative rolls equal to your Charisma modifier Rakish Audacity -  you don't need advantage on an attack roll to use your Sneak Attack against a creature if: - you are within 5 feet of it,  - no other creatures are within 5 feet of you,  - you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll Steady Aim - As a bonus action, you give yourself advantage on your next attack roll on the current turn. You can use this bonus action only if you haven't moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is 0 until the end of the current turn. ### Charlatan Scam: Playing both sides to raise the stakes. Forging Warrants and blackmailing victims not to “arrest” them in exchange for money or information. False Identity: You have created a second identity that includes documentation, established acquaintances, and disguises that allow you to assume that persona. You can forge documents including official papers and personal letters, as long as you have seen an example of the kind of document or the handwriting you are trying to copy. ### Gunner Firearms Proficiency, ignore the loading property of firearms Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls. ### Dhampir: Humanoid, Undead Speed: 35’ Darkvision (60’) Deathless Nature. You don't need to breathe. Spider Climb. You have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed. In addition, at 3rd level, you can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving your hands free. Vampiric Bite. Your fanged bite is a natural weapon, which counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. You add your Constitution modifier, instead of your Strength modifier, to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with this bite. It deals 1d4 piercing damage on a hit. While you are missing half or more of your hit points, you have advantage on attack rolls you make with this bite. - When you attack with this bite and hit a creature that isn’t a Construct or an Undead, you can empower yourself in one of the following ways of your choice: - You regain hit points equal to the piercing damage dealt by the bite. - You gain a bonus to the next ability check or attack roll you make; the bonus equals the piercing damage dealt by the bite. - You can empower yourself with this bite a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. ### Dark Gift Death Touch: You can focus your deadly touch against your foes. As an action, make one unarmed strike. On a hit, the target takes an additional 1d10 necrotic damage. This damage increases by 1d10 when you reach 5th level (2d 10), 11th level (3d 10) and 17th level (4d 10). Inescapable Death: When you hit a target with an attack roll and deal necrotic damage, you ignore the target's resistance to that damage. Withering Contact: When you start your turn grappling a creature or grappled by it, the creature takes 1d10 necrotic damage. ### Rogue Table 1st +2 1d6 Skills, Expertise, Sneak Attack, Thieves' Cant 2nd +2 1d6 [Cunning Action](http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/rogue) 3rd +2 2d6 [Swashbuckler](http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/rogue:swashbuckler),  Fancy Footwork, Rakish Audacity, Steady Aim 4th +2 2d6 Ability Score Improvement 5th +3 3d6 Uncanny Dodge 6th +3 3d6 Expertise 7th +3 4d6 Evasion 8th +3 4d6 Ability Score Improvement 9th +4 5d6 [Panache](http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/rogue:swashbuckler) 10th +4 5d6 Ability Score Improvement 11th +4 6d6 Reliable Talent 12th +4 6d6 Ability Score Improvement 13th +5 7d6 [Elegant Maneuver](http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/rogue:swashbuckler) 14th +5 7d6 Blindsense 15th +5 8d6 Slippery Mind 16th +5 8d6 Ability Score Improvement 17th +6 9d6 [Master Duelist](http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/rogue:swashbuckler) 18th +6 9d6 Elusive 19th +6 10d6 Ability Score Improvement 20th +6 10d6 Stroke of Luck **