Vampire
Basic Information
Anatomy
Vampires can almot be mistaken for humans. They look, talk, and externally appear to be completely human most of the time. In all essence, they are simply the living-dead, they're still human, but their bodies ceased to age or change at the moment of death. Almost. Their skin color will change based on how well fed they are, with hungry vampires tending to grow extremely pale, and well fed vampires holding a warm complexion to their skin. The next most significant give away is their fangs, usually only visible when feeding, they extend slightly to become more prominent. Lastly, as essentially walking corpses, they tend to be slightly lighter than an average human of comparable size. Their bodies do not retain the same level of moisture as a normal human. The blood they take in is their sole source of moisture, consequently leaving them with slightly less mass.
More deeply, scientists and other super naturals can detect a few further differences between a vampire body and a human body. Vampires are literally living corpses. If there are no precautions taken, nothing to cover their scent, they'll smell like a corpse, killed within the past month or two. They smell of rot and death, but only to sensitive noses. Humans are unable to detect this specific scent. They also have no heartbeat. Their blood simply spreads evenly through their body. Werewolf ears, lie detectors, and any form of medical professional will easily be able to detect the lack of a heartbeat. Incidentally, this means standard lie detection techniques don't work on vampires.
Biological Traits
The key traits of a vampire are all down to their powers and how you kill them. Bullets, knives, and most common human weapons are almost useless against a vampire. When you wound one, they will bleed, and their body will immediately begin to regenerate. This regeneration requires some of their blood to be performed, so it will weaken the vampire with varying levels of effect based on the scope of the injury. More greatly injured vampires will need more blood to recover. If the vampire completely bleeds out, then they will die. This is easier said than done, most vampires contain gallons of blood, nearly every drop must be drained to guarantee that vampire will never rise again. Otherwise, no injury will do anything more than incapacitating the vampire.
Getting to the point of having injured a vampire is difficult in the first place. They have several abilities meant to hunt their prey. They can move with near imperceptible speed. They're able to move as a near cloud of darkness, making rapid, darting leaps from point to point. Their strength is above-human-average when well fed, lending them a decently mean punch on an unprepared victim. An unfed or weakened vampire however, will have significantly less physical strength than a human, but retain some of their super human speed.
Undoubtedly, the greatest strength of the vampire, is their ability to hypnotize their victims. Once eye contact is made, there nearly is nothing the victim can do. They will be in the power of the vampire. The vampire could command their victim to leap off a bridge, kill their family, or surrender completely. The trance will hold out until: the vampire has left, another vampire has counter-tranced them, the trancing-vampire has lost the focus necessary to hold control, or the victim has died. Some minds have unique abilities to fight back, but that's no guarantee of victory. A werewolf's dual-souls allows some chance of fighting back. Other minds, those of speedsters typically, can require additional effort from the vampire to overcome.
As for killing a vampire, your choices are limited. They are weak to all forms of Christian religion; crosses and similar symbols, regardless of metal/composition, will burn a hole through them as if it were molten. Holy water will burn their skin as if it were a chemical weapon. These will debilitate, but not kill them. A stake through the heart will paralyze them and leave them defenseless. Draining them of their blood will leave them weak. But they are not fully destroyed unless you dismember and burn or otherwise destroy their body such that there is no chance of recovery (a large explosive), or leave their remains in direct sunlight.
The best defense against a vampire is that they cannot enter a home without being invited in. This can extend to some forms of territory as well, that are felt by a collective to be their 'home' in aggregate. Public spaces do not need an invitation.
Genetics and Reproduction
Vampires reproduce by biting and draining a human of nearly all their blood. This process is extremely difficult, a vampire must force themselves to stop feeding near teh very end. This can be hard. There is a risk of that vampire killing their intended progeny rather than converting them. Once drained to the appropriate level, the victim will appear to die. They will have no heartbeat and no evidence of life.
Three days after after being bitten, the victim will rise, paleskinned, but a vampire. They typically feel sick mentally and physically for up to a week after being bitten. New vampires are pervaded by a sense of 'wrongness' at what's been done to them. They can tell they've been changed. There is a lingering sense that they should be dead, they shouldn't be alive, and that nature has been violated by what's been done to them. This can last for years after. That new vampire will have to feed within their first week of being turned or they will die. The fracton of blood left in them is all they have left to live on, it's not quite enough for a vampire.
Ecology and Habitats
In most cities the local vampire family will establish themselves at essential social sites. They will particularly gravitate to locations popular among the richest and healthiest of the local population. In modern cities, they tend to own a wide range of extremely successful bars, clubs, restaurants, and even high class venues like art galleries. These locations are ideal for a vampire to catch their preferred prey. They can easily lure, seduce, and keep their fingers on the pulse of the local population.
Vampires on the outs from the main family are often forced to live on the fringes of society. They'll linger in dive bars, places most vampires would not consider worthy of their presence. Low-end bars tend to have more stressed humans, humans in less ideal health. They're not ideal, the blood tastes bitter and it's not as nourishing as the blood of a more healthy human.
Dietary Needs and Habits
On average, a vampire in perfect health will need to consume 4 cups of blood a day to remain in peak condition. More blood is more power for that vampire, they're able to regenerate wounds faster, move faster, and perform stronger trances when they've consumed more blood. 2 cups of blood will suffice for general functioning. Technically a vampire can survive without blood at all, but they will be weak and extremely easy to kill, unable to do anything but the most basic of trances on the most weak-willed of humans. This is a very painful state for a vampire to be in.
Typically when feeding, a vampire will quietly seduce their victim, then create the sensation of an extremely pleasurable evening. The human will have almost no memory of what's happened. They'll finish the night remembering only a fog and having a sense of it being an utterly incredible time. This encourages those humans to return for repeat experiences, to continue feeding the vampires. Of course, undesirable humans can equally be instilled with a sense of utter dread (this sometimes happens if a human fights with a vampire over their 'prey' during a dance or the like).
Despite popular belief, vampires most frequently feed from the wrist. When biting the neck, there is an increased risk of the victim bleeding out without need. Killing their victims too often will draw unwanted attention and scare away other humans. The wrist is a much safer feeding location. A vampire going for the neck either doesn't care about the victim's survival OR they intend to kill them.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Vampires typically form a "Family" in every territory. Someone who has been turned is considered to be the progeny, the son/daughter of whoever turned them. The whole collective of the family is ruled by their Master, a figure not unlike a werewolf pack's alpha. They consider themselves the parent above all the others present. Their role is to manage, command, and protect all of those under them.
Due to their long lives, there is typically significant, long-term politics involved in vampire lives and a distinct disregard for the law or human matters. Having lives that pass into the centuries, vampires will manipulate each other, humans, anything to benefit their own gains.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Vampires have enhanced sight and moderately enhanced hearing. They're able to see in near absolute darkness and can detect the presence of humans and animals by their heartbeat. When in physical contact, a vampire can measure the absolute health of whoever they're touching. They can tell how near to death someone is. They'll sense issues such as cancer, heart defects, and so on. Being creatures caught between living and dead, they have a special connection to death and creatures very near to death.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
Vampires are undoubtedly a parasite. They are incapable of significant survival without some source of blood from another living creature. Their primary prey is humans. In times of desperation, the blood of pigs and livestock such as cows, will provide sustenance, at the cost of efficiency and taste for the vampire. They consider it a humiliation to be reduced to using such animals as their sole form of survival.
The preferred prey of vampires is werewolves and other magical creatures. A fraction of a werewolf's blood will bring great strength and power to a vampire. A few minutes sipping from a wolf will completely heal near any wound in a vampire. This is caused by the extensive magic in wolves' blood. Their connection to the moon is more than just a movie-thing. This magic is able to grant a vampire temporary, super-human strength, greater speed, and regeneration such that they could walk through a hail of bullets unharmed (if they've consumed a significant volume of werewolf blood).
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Origin/Ancestry
Ancient History
Lifespan
350
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