Misryoum breaks down how to unlock all 22 Vampire Crawlers characters, from boss defeats to card counts—plus what each unlock changes for your deck.
Vampire Crawlers hides a lot of its personality behind one clear goal: unlocking its 22 playable characters.
For players, “Vampire Crawlers” isn’t just a dungeon-crawling roguelike—it’s a deck-building character test.. The roster is designed so that unlocking different characters doesn’t simply add variety; it reshapes how your runs feel. by changing starting effects. card synergies. and win conditions.. Misryoum sees this as the game’s quiet design philosophy: progression isn’t only about power. it’s about permission—permission to try new archetypes and survive encounters in ways your previous deck never could.
What unlocking characters actually changes
Every character becomes available through a specific in-game objective: progressing through areas. beating bosses. completing hidden requirements. or meeting card-use milestones.. Once a character is unlocked. you can add them to your runs using their unique starting deck traits and effects—many of which directly influence core mechanics like Armor. Mana. Luck. Area. damage types. revival. healing. and card draw.. The variety is broad enough that two players can finish the same run and feel like they played different games.
Misryoum also notes how the game rewards different play styles.. Some characters push you toward aggressive card synergies (for example, bonuses tied to red, purple, or blue cards).. Others reward endurance or exploration through conditions like dungeon curse thresholds, coffin searches, or cumulative enemy defeats.. In a roguelike. that matters: your “best” strategy isn’t only what you can do—it’s what you keep doing long enough to unlock.
Every character and the unlock path
Below is the full roster of 22 characters, along with the objective required to unlock them, what they add, and the gold cost once they appear at the Gorton Bell Inn.
Antonio Belpaese is unlocked automatically during the tutorial. He adds 3 Armor when played, and red cards increase damage by 10%. There is no gold cost for unlocking him.
Imelda Belpaese becomes available after completing a run in Mad Forest, the first area. She adds 15 XP when played, and yellow cards grant +1 XP Growth. She costs 10 gold.
Pasqualina Belpaese requires reaching Level 20 in Inlaid Library while playing as Imelda. She adds 10 Area, and purple cards increase Hand by 1. She costs 110 gold.
Gennaro Belpaese is unlocked by defeating the Mantichana in Mad Forest. He adds 2 Amount, and red cards deal 60 damage. He costs 700 gold.
Arca Ladonna unlocks after playing Fire Wand cards 100 times. She adds 3 Mana, and purple cards grant +1 Mana. She costs 420 gold.
Poe Ratcho becomes available after playing Garlic cards 25 times. He adds 20 Area, and blue cards draw 1 card. He costs 360 gold.
Dommario unlocks by collecting 5,000 coins. He grants +2 Duration, and purple cards deal 40 damage. He costs 1,120 gold.
Lama Ladonna requires completing a dungeon with at least 10% Curse. She increases damage by 50%, and blue cards increase damage by 15%. She costs 1,300 gold.
Bianca Ramba is unlocked by defeating the Milk Elemental in Dairy Plant. She adds 3 Amount, and purple cards grant +1 Amount. She costs 1,330 gold.
Porta unlocks after playing Lightning Ring cards 100 times. He adds 25 Area, and red cards grant +1 Mana. He costs 1,000 gold.
Mortaccio is unlocked by defeating 444 Skeletons in Mad Forest. He adds 2 Amount, and blue cards grant +1 Amount. He costs 600 gold.
Pugnala Provola requires finding the coffin in Berserk Wood and defeating its guardians. She increases damage by 20%, and yellow cards draw 1 card. She costs 1,440 gold.
Yatta Cavallo unlocks after defeating 250 Lion Heads in Inlaid Library. He adds 2 Amount, and yellow cards grant +1 Amount. He costs 600 gold.
Giovanna Grana is unlocked by finding the coffin in Library Sanctum. She adds 20 Luck, and purple cards draw 1 card. She costs 1,360 gold.
Krochi Freetto requires defeating 6,666 enemies in total. He adds 10 Revival, and Wild W cards grant +5 Revival. He costs 3,000 gold.
Suor Clerici unlocks by recovering a total of 1,000 HP. She heals 3 when played, and blue cards heal 1 after encounters. She costs 1,760 gold.
O’Sole Meeo is unlocked by defeating 50 Dragon Shrimps in Gallo Tower. He adds 3 Amount, and red cards grant +5 Luck. He costs 2,400 gold.
Concetta Caciotta unlocks by finding the coffin in Gallo Tower. She adds 10 Area, and red cards grant +5 Area. She costs 1,920 gold.
Iguana Gallo Valletto is unlocked by defeating Gallo in Gallo Tower. He increases coin gain by 25%, and Wild W cards increase coin gain by another 10%. He costs 4,800 gold.
Christine Davian unlocks after finding and playing the Pentagram card, which becomes available at Level 35 in any run. She reduces the Mana cost of the next card by 1, and purple cards prevent one enemy attack. She costs 2,800 gold.
Poppea is unlocked by finding the coffin in Milk Factory. She increases Hand by 1, and yellow cards grant +1 Duration. She costs 2,200 gold.
MissingN0 is unlocked by defeating Red Death. He adds 4 Armor, and red cards draw 2 cards. He costs 6,666 gold.
That’s the full list of every character and how to unlock each one—an intentionally wide spread of objectives that pushes players to experiment with how they play rather than only how long they survive.
Why this roster feels like cultural “game literacy”
Roguelikes often teach you by repetition, but Vampire Crawlers teaches you by mapping your habits to character identity.. Someone who grinds for card counts will feel rewarded differently than someone who explores coffins. chases bosses. or leans into curse thresholds.. Misryoum reads this as a form of player literacy: you start to recognize what a deck “wants” because each character filters your run through a specific lens—Mana economy. healing windows. luck scaling. revival chances. or area control.
The gold costs, too, underline that unlocking is meant to be gradual and intentional. Early names like Imelda come in cheaply, while later unlocks like MissingN0 ask for both time and a steep price—turning the roster into a progression story rather than a simple checklist.
Choosing your next unlock with intention
If you want faster momentum, card milestone characters (like Arca Ladonna or Porta) reward consistent repetition across runs.. If you prefer strategy over grinding. coffin-based objectives and boss routes (like Pugnala Provola. Giovanni Grana. or MissingN0) force you to learn specific areas and encounters rather than only farm a mechanic.
Misryoum’s practical takeaway is simple: don’t unlock characters in isolation.. Pick objectives that match the deck you already understand. then let the new character effects steer you toward the next style.. In a roguelike. that’s how progression stops feeling like chores and starts feeling like discovery—one run at a time. with a roster that keeps rewriting the rules of your deck.