Vampirism

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Vampirism is an ancient blood curse spread from corpse to corpse. An Unholy Commmunion resurrects man into monster, person into parasite. They shun the sun, but come out at night to feast upon mankind.

— From Curses and the Cursed

The vampire is a figure obscured by myth, fantasy, and folklore. This much is true, the vampire is a walking corpse returned to leech on friends and foes alike. In undeath it is effectively immortal, capable of surviving wounds that would kill anything that could be killed. A vampire simply doesn't need their body the way humans do.
The vampire is understood to originate from Europe, with some scholars and loremasters tracing their origin back to the Carpathian Mountains. It has since spread worldwide, following their herds and prey across the world.

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The Blood reanimates bodies, and in turn, those bodies nourish it. The Blood is undiscerning; it will reanimate a thousand year old corpse as easily as it will a body that just lost the blush of life.
Only by marriage of Blood and Soul is the vampire borne. Without a soul, a vampire becomes a mindless ghoul, incapable of speech or reason. A ghoul lacks any of the refinement that makes a vampire, and is a beast in human skin.

— From Vampirium, the Nature of our Blood

Parasitic Hunger

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The Blood hungers. The Blood and the vampire alike crave blood, and persist through blood. Each night, the vampire must feed to sustain their unlife. A vampire is never sated, never full. As much is true for the Blood as well, indeed, the Blood hungers for more than just blood: the Soul.

— From Vampirium, The Nature of our Blood

Every night, a vampire spends approximately a pint of blood maintaining their unlife. Should they chose to do more than the bare minimum, such as walking around, using their powers, or returning a bit of warmth to their cheeks, the vampire must drink more.
Nothing nourishes a vampire but blood. Some younger vampires can and do still eat, but find all flavours pale in comparasion. The most exquisite thing a vampire can do is to drink blood straight from the vein. It is their purpose, what their existence drives them to do above all else. Inexperienced or starving vampires easily lose themselves to the experience, drinking deep enough to cause harm or even death. Experienced vampires naturally drink no more than most humans can tolerate losing. It is second nature to a vampire to recognize a human who has been recently fed upon. Many find the smell of another vampires feast revolting.
Most vampires are opportunists, taking meals when they arrive. However, opportunity is a hardly something to rely upon. All vampires find their own preferred way to secure the meals of the night, be it seducing a lover, running a cult, or ordering takeout.

Vampiric Society

Euphemistically called Polite Society, Vampiric society is an machivellian web of secrets, grudges and favours. Polite Society is no misnomer. Without strict rules of social conduct, Vampiric society is impossible. When your senior cannot keep himself from tearing out your throat if you displease him, it is, indeed, best to avoid such displeasure.
Polite Society is archaic, maintaining traditions long past their time of glory among humans. In Europe, vampiric Queens and Kings still reign supreme over their courts.

Affiliations

While most vampires consider the social season a necessary part of business rather than pleasure, others thrive in the vampiric social scenes. Known as Socialites, these vampires congregate even outside of the social season, and often make it their business to know who's who and what's going on with everyone.

Secret Societies

Secret societies are rife within Polite Society, where hidden ingroups are always trying to get the better of the rest. Some secret societies open enough about their existence, but secretive about their practices and exclusive in who they allow to join.

The Insiders

The Insiders have always followed the powerplayers. In the days of yore, they ruled the Church, then the Kings, and now, the Corporations. Today they're also known as Philanthropists or the 1%.

The Order

The Order are masters of the dark arts: capable of blood magic far beyond that of any other vampire. Distrusted and disliked, many still find themselves bargaining with the Witches of the Order to protect their interests.

The Unaffiliated

Unaffiliated Vampires are only tenously accepted by Polite Society, either because they are not powerful enough to be significant in the larger scheme, or because they are too powerful to deny. Neither are trusted, of course, but both prove useful to those who scheme or play in the markets of favours.
Those who stand outside of Polite Society altogether are known as feral vampires. Most of them are animalistic

Flaws and drawbacks

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The Blood transforms. As a corpse is brought to life, the Blood grants it fangs to feed with, supernatural strength and senses, and a capacity for dark powers beyond mortal ken. Each time the Soul deteriorates, the Blood blooms again, futher cursing the vampire.

— From Vampirium, The Nature of our Blood

The vampire is not a static being. Unlike other curses, the curse of the vampire is ever evolving. Part of the nature of the curse that each individual vampire develops their own idiosyncracies, their own unique set of flaws and drawbacks. It is not mere myth that vampires are harmed by silver, invisible in mirrors, and incapable of leaving rice uncounted, some vampires truly are cursed in such ways.
Some curses are true for all vampires. All vampires are creatures of the night, who naturally sleep during the day. Vampiric powers are weakened during the day, or do not function at all. A ray of direct sunlight is harmful to all vampires, and even indirect sunlight will cause sunburns within minutes. Fire, too, is a natural foe of the vampire. Vampires find themselves naturally averse to it, and it takes a great fortitude of will to remain calm in the presence of a sweltering fireplace.
Fire and sunlight are thus the only surefire methods to make sure a vampire is dead.
A vampire is a creature of instinct and desire, they find it harder to resist temptation. Emotions can quickly swelter into a frenzy, a state of mind where the vampire cannot resist immediate gratification, be it the destruction of someone who affronted them, or taking whatever it is they desire. Resisting takes its toll.

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Sacrifice

When a vampire is on the verge of frenzy, a player can chose to resist by taking a new drawback or advancing an existing one. They can chose a drawback from the provided list, from the drawbacks suggested for their affiliation or suggest their own custom flaw.
Everyone participating in the story should agree that the drawback is appropriate for the character and the wider narrative, whether it is from a list or not.

Powers

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The Blood remembers. It is trivial for the well-fed vampire to restore their body to the state they were in during their resurrection. This is the only facsimile vampires have of "natural" healing. However, the Blood will not undo alterations made by the Blood itself.

— From Vampirium, The Nature of our Blood

An experienced vampire has fine, almost perfect control over the blood in their body. They do not bleed or blush unless they want to. Futher, vampires can enhance their strength by redistributing their blood, becoming unaturally strong. Their senses, already sharpened by their ressurection, can be pushed further in the same way. A well fed vampire is a dangerous vampire.
The truth is that a vampire is not one of flesh: it is the Blood. Vampires who truly understand this can even transcend their bodies, reaching out beyond their touch to control others from afar, transmute their flesh into the shapes of lesser beasts, or even evaporate into mist. Yet the vampire who seeks transcendance is not long for the world. As a vampire loses touch with their humanity, the curse blooms and evolves.
Learning these powers is no easy feat. All power comes at a price, and for the vampire, it will cost more than just blood.

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To be added