The world of the Castlevania series is sometimes invaded by Dracula's castle, which contains all kinds of monsters that have sworn fealty to the lord of the undead. Fortunately, there is an entire family of vampire hunters that have trained specifically to stamp out the undead whenever they rear their ugly head, in the form of the Belmont clan. The Dungeons & Dragons multiverse is teeming with undead that are ༒all asking to be whipped into dust, and it's easy enough to create a character in the same vein as a Belmont.
There have been many Belmonts throughout the Castlevania series and most follow a sim💫ilar theme when it comes to their abilities and character. They dedicate their life to defeating Dﷺracula and any other undead that threaten the lives of innocent people. Once their task is completed, they move onto training the next generation of warriors. They specialize in fighting the undead, but Dracula allies with many different types of monster, so they must be ready to battle all kinds of enemies on their quest. We have created a character based on Simon Belmont, but these specifications could easily be adapted to someone like Richter or Trevor.
The version of Simon Belmont that we have created uses material from the Player's Handbook. Simon is a human (non-variant) paladin, who will take on the Oath of Devotion at level 3. Unlike most paladins, the Belmonts specialize in their agility and using a finesse weapon, rather than armor and shields. As a paladin, Simon will also need a high Charisma score to power his spells. Using the basic stat spread listed on page 13 of the Player's Handbook an💞d taking his race into cons♑ideration, Simon's starting stats would be STR 13, DEX 16, CON 14, INT 9, WIS 11, and CHA 15.
When Simon selects his Fighting Style at level 2, he should select Dueling to deal extra damage with the whip. If the variant Feat rules are used, then the best choices for Simon would be Athlete, Duᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚngeon Delver, Mobile, Tough, or War Caster. Mobile is especially useful for a Belmont build, as it helps them move across the battlefield and avoiding AoE from enemies.
As someone who trained his entire life for battling undead, Simon's background would be Soldier. His version of the Military Rank Feature should be related to the Belmont clan and its reputation for slaying monsters, which means most people would defer to them when evil creatures show up, but not for other matters. His skills would be Athletics, Intimidation, Insight, and Religion. His starting gear would be studded leather armor, a whip, and a Priest's Pack. Simon needs a ton of ranged weapons, so he should have as many handaxes and vials of holy water that he can afford/carry. Boomerangs don't exist in the Player's Handbook, but a version exists on the DnD Beyond website that is based on one that appears in Princes of the Apocalypse ♚campaign if you'd like to incorporate it. Check with your DM first, as they might want to appro🌊ve it before allowing it into their game.
Like the paladins from the earlier editions of Dungeons & Dragons, Simon would be Lawful Good. The Belmonts usually give up the chance to lead a normal life in order to save the lives of innocent people. They commonly face hordes of monsters without any expectation of reward, and their spirit is so pure that holy implem⛄ents respond to their touch and let themselves be used as weapons against evil. They represent the ideals of both paladins and the LG alignment better than most.
In terms of magic, Simon's abilities are centered around empowering his whip with spells in order to make deal even more damage against undead. He also should possess a number of protection spells in order to replicate the effects of the Bible item from the game. The only weapon commonly used by the Belmonts that can't be replicated is the Watch, which is the power to stop time. This is a power reserved for high-level spellcasters with the time stop spell. In terms of the spells available to paladins in the Player's Handbook, Simon's list would benefit from searing smite, heroism, protection from evil and good, compelled dual, magic weapon, daylight, elemental weapon, magic circle, flame strike, death ward, circle of power, dispel evil and good, and flame strike.
In terms of playstyle, Simon would be an unusual paladin. Rather than relying on bulky defensive armor, the Belmonts rely on swiftness, agility, and ranged weapons to take down foes. The whip isn't that strong of a weapon on its own, but the mixture of finesse and reach properties mean that Simon would still be dealing a lot of damage through bonuses, rather than dice rolls. The benefits of a high dex, plus his weapon enchantment spells/class abilities mean that his whip would still pack a punch. The reach property also means he covers more ground for AoO. The focus on Dexterity means that Simon also covers the major weakness of paladins that have been present throughout the history of Dungeons & Dragons. Paladins are generally immune to most status effects, have high saves, and can don armor to give them a high AC stat, but they always had Dexterity as a dump stat. This meant that paladins were susceptible to magical effects that had DEX saves like fireball and web. The Belmonts might be easier to hit than paladins who we♑ar heavy armor, but their focus on agility means that they are unparalleled when it comes to resisting certain kinds of spells.
There are many powerful undead beings in Dungeons & Dragons that stand unopposed. The Belmonts might not be teeming with personality compared to other characters, but that leaves plenty of room for players to fill in the gaps themselves. Creatures like Strahd von Zarovich might feel invincible behind their tall stone walls and legions of followers, but this wouldn't be the first time that a Belmont has laid siege to a castle on their own, so a D&D version of Simon Belmont might be the perfect choice for a hero to play in Curse of Strahd.