If your players want to cure a vampire during your campaign, you may wonder if it is possible.
Can you cure vampirism in D&D?
Players can cure vampirism in D&D. A player can kill a vampire and then use a spell, such as True Ressurection, to bring the person back to life as a mortal. Players can also use a Wish spell. These are the only official ways to cure vampirism in D&D. Dungeon Masters can create their own methods.
In this article, I’ll answer the most common questions I get about curing vampirism in D&D.
Can You Cure Vampirism in D&D? (6 Good Ways)
There are a few ways to cure vampirism in dungeons and dragons.
The most common way to cure vampirism in dungeons and dragons is to use a Wish spell or True Resurrection spell.
Other possible ways include:
- Magical items
- Temple of the gods
- The intervention of a deity
- Succubus
Can You Cure Vampirism in D&D with a Wish Spell?
The easiest way to cure vampirism in Dungeons and Dragons is to use a wish spell on the vampire.
Easy, though, is a relative term.
Your player needs to be a 9th level wizard or sorcerer to cast this spell. The wish spell is known as the most powerful magic accessible to a mortal wizard.
The “rules as written” or RAW do not explicitly state that wish can cure a vampire.
However, any Dungeon Master (DM) can homebrew their own rules and guidelines. Therefore, if your DM allows it, a wish spell can easily cure vampirism.
The biggest pitfall here is that adventurers have a limited number of wishes.
Wish spells can (and often do) backfire.
Without meaning to, a wish spell can lead to disastrous consequences for the player and the former vampire. For example, a wish spell could turn the vampire into something even worse, warp the adventurer’s mind, or create another bizarre side-effect.
For the best results, players should be as specific as possible when using wishes.
Leaving room for misinterpretation is a dangerous and often deadly risk.
Can You Cure Vampirism in D&D with a True Resurrection Spell
One of the most common ways to cure vampirism in Dungeons and Dragons is with a True Resurrection spell.
To properly use this approach, you’ll need to:
- Kill the vampire (no simple task)
- Possess a player with the level and ability to cast True Resurrection
True Resurrection requires that you touch a vampire that has been dead no longer than 200 years.
Also, only druids and clerics can cast this 9th level spell.
Using the reincarnate spell to move the person’s soul to an entirely different mortal (and non-vampire) body is another option.
Although reincarnate does not necessarily lift any curses.
Here is an excellent video that goes into finer points about death and resurrection in D&D:
How To Cure Vampirism in D&D with a Magical Item
A DM can create a magical item with the ability to cure vampirism.
For example, the gauntlet of the pure soul could cure any mortal of vampirism.
Wondrous items are generally difficult to obtain, require high levels to use, and mandate precise conditions to work.
I suggest DMs create entire adventures around these artifacts.
Curing vampirism and obtaining powerful items should be (in my opinion) very difficult and time-consuming.
How To Cure Vampirism in Dungeons and Dragons with the Temple of the Gods
Temple of the Gods is a spell that creates a virtually unpassable and unbreakable temporary temple dedicated to a deity.
If a magical player character casts the spell every day for an entire year, the temple becomes a permanent fixture. That said, the temple could be used to beseech the deity to cure vampirism.
A DM will determine whether or not this method works in your campaign.
Curing Vampirism in D&D with Deities
Speaking of deities and supernatural beings, some of them can cure vampirism.
You can try seeking help from a:
- Demigod
- Greater god
- Angel
- Sphynx
Gods in D&D wield unimaginable power to shift time, space, and reality.
A god can easily cure vampirism.
The hard part is getting them to want to cure a particular person.
An optional (and much more difficult) route is for a player to become a god in D&D him or herself. Then, once ascended to godhood status, they could cure vampirism.
How To Cure a Vampire with a Succubus
This out-of-the-box approach might cure vampirism because, according to D&D lore, succubi created some of the first vampires.
A succubus feeds on life force.
Therefore, theoretically (and at the DM’s discretion), a succubus could possibly drain a vampire of its life force and reverse vampirism.
Does Lay on Hands Cure Vampirism?
Lay on Hands is a paladin ability to heal wounds and cure diseases.
The ability is intended to heal damage. The rules (and the general consensus) is that it does nothing for the undread.
It does not heal vampire bites either, as those fall under the category of “necrotic” damage.
Therefore, Lay on Hands will not cure vampirism.
Does the Polymorph Spell Cure Vampirism?
The polymorph spell does not cure vampirism in D&D.
Polymorph magic does not work on any creatures with shapeshifter abilities.
Since a vampire is a shapechanger, a polymorph spell will not cure them. However, any creature without a shapechanger tag can be affected.
Does Remove Disease Cure Vampirism in D&D?
The Remove Disease spell does not cure vampirism.
In D&D, vampirism is not a curse or a disease. It is a state of being undead, usually brought on by the bite of a True Vampire.
Therefore, a remove disease spell will have no effect on a player’s status as a vampire.
Does Killing a Vampire Cure Vampire Spawn?
One final question—if you kill a True Vampire, does that reverse vampirism for all of the vampire’s spawn?
There is no official rule here, and opinions vary widely.
In my opinion, a DM could allow killing the True vampire to revert any spawn back to mortals.
Or, at least, make curing vampire spawns somewhat easier than curing a True Vampire.
With that said, the official D&D books clearly call vampire spawn actual vampires.
Meaning, they are undead and might require the same cures as a True Vampire.
Final Thoughts: Can You Cure Vampirism in D&D?
A funny but true cure for vampirism is to kill the vampire. Rueful players call it “stake and bake.”
Stake the vampire in the heart, then drag them out into full daylight.
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