[RPG] Can a vampire charm a blind person

charmedconditionsdnd-5eundeadvision-and-light

Can a vampire charm a blind person?

The wording of the vampire's Charm action has me a bit confused on whether a blind person either gets no saving throw from it or can't be charmed at all like this.

Here is the exact description:

Charm. The vampire targets one humanoid it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the vampire, the target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by the vampire.

Of course, this question is also relevant in case the vampire is invisible or otherwise hidden in plain sight from a target with normal eyesight.

Best Answer

Interestingly, it does seem to be the case that a Vampire cannot charm a Blind target, or any creature that cannot see the Vampire

You have correctly quoted the Vampire Charm ability as stating:

The vampire targets one humanoid it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the vampire, the target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by the vampire [...]

Compare this to the charm person spell which has no such requirement:

You attempt to charm a humanoid you can see within range. It must make a Wisdom saving throw, and does so with advantage if you or your companions are fighting it [...]

And now compare it to the Eyes of Charming which do have this same restriction:

These crystal lenses fit over the eyes. They have 3 charges. While wearing them, you can expend 1 charge as an action to cast the charm person spell (save DC 13) on a humanoid within 30 feet of you, provided that you and the target can see each other [...]

This shows that there do at least exist charming effects that also require two-way line-of-sight.


It should be noted that being under the blinded condition does indeed make the creature unable to see:

A blinded creature can't see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight.