Dhampir

"I can't believe there'd be any blame in what I propose.
I have seen the Grayskins coming
The valleys and mountains are covered with them,
The hillsides, too, and all the plains.
The armies of those foreigners are huge,
We have a mighty small company."
Relan replies: "My determination is greater because of it."
- The Last Stand of Relan, an epic poem detailing the death of a Blood Knight during the Gray War.

Dhampir are the Half-Human spawns of Vampires. While they inherit little from their Human heritage, they also only get a small fraction of their parent's vampiric power. Dhampirs are mostly from Chevel, although they can pop up in any Human nation across Isan. They are created either when a Vampire reproduces with a normal Human or, more commonly, when a Vampire feeds on a pregnant human woman. Strangely, this only works on Humans and not on other Humanoids like Half-Elves or Elves. In Chevel, Vampires and Dhampirs alike are beloved for their enhanced physical abilities, such as their darkvision and ability to quickly heal from wounds. Dhampir are different from their vampiric ancestors, as they're not necessarily undead and don't have nearly as much of a hunger for blood.

Sanguine Masters

When Humanity migrated from Kretath to Isan, half of them went through the Tower of the Sun and the other half went through the Tower of the Moon. The half that used the Tower of the Moon, the Urstlagat ("First Humans") arrived in Ilunabaren. After traveling through the tower, some Humans were changed. The Urstlagat developed abilities depending on which humor (blood, yellow bile, black bile, or phlegm) was strongest in them. Those who had the strongest blood were known as "the Sanguine Masters" and could manipulate blood and air since blood is the associated element with air. When the Urstlagat settled in Isan, they became the Northlanders and developed a civilization isolated from the rest of Humanity. The Sanguine Masters developed their art over millennia, with the greatest among them becoming the first Vampires. While undead, Vampires retain most of their humanity and can permanently give up their gift to live life as normal people. Few, however, are willing to do this.

The Scarlet Pact

The first Vampires were feared and hated by all of the mortal races. In those times, there was no agreed-upon code of conduct among Vampires. This lack of an ethical code led to many Vampires feeding on mortals without any care for their wellbeing, leading to an accountable number of deaths at their hands. As Chevel entered the Age of Collapse and was nearly drowned in a horde of Shadowspawn, the more ethical Vampires made a deal with the government of Chevel: they would abide by an ethical code that forced them to only feed on those who wished it or were paid for it. In return, Chevel would accept Vampires and grant them positions in their government and clergy. With their new positions, the Vampires used the skills they had cultivated over centuries, and a small army of Warforged they had resurrected to push back the Shadowspawn alongside the Human armies.
Ever since the signing of the Scarlet Pact, the Chevelian state and people have become more and more embracing of vampirism. Vampires and Dhampirs make up almost all of the modern Chevelian government, and their military is centered around Blood Knights. While these individuals are exceptional, this has led to stagnation in Chevelian development. Most Humans in Halaran have abandoned the armored knight in favor of massed firearms. This allows them to recover quicker from battle losses, and as a force multiplier for the barely-trained soldiers that make up their armies. The loss of a musketeer means little, while the loss of a Blood Knight is a disaster. It was because of this that the Chevelians did so disastrously during the Gray War, where thousands of Blood Knights were slaughtered by the Evervictorious Army. At the battle of Gilded Spurs alone, more than five hundred Blood Knights died in one day. It was only through radical reforms of the army and navy by the Human general Zeu Gelang that Chevel and their allies were able to push the invading Grayskins back.

Adventurer Vampires

While Chevelian Vampires hold high positions that afford them much luxury and status, others are not so lucky. Whether by being exiled from Chevel, losing their status, or because they want to live outside of the restrictive Scarlet Pact, many Vampires seek their fortune in other parts of Isan. These Vampires who leave Chevel are known as "Adventurer Vampires" or "Rogue Vampires" and are no longer bound to the Scarlet Pact. Because of this, Chevelian Vampires often try to have these individuals assassinated, as their actions tend to reflect poorly on Vampires as a whole. The few who do survive these assassinations often go into hiding, either out in the wilderness or in plain sight in a city or town. These Vampires are forced to live lives of secrecy and usually prey on Humans while they sleep.
Adventurer Dhampir are even more common than Adventurer Vampires because many of them are born unintentionally or as noble bastards.

Flying too Close to the Sun

"'Watch your tongue and kneel before your rightful master, you filthy peasant, or I'll squish you like the summer ant you are! Do you have any idea how many centuries I have lived?' The Vampire chuckled, 'The sheer arrogance of thinking a mayfly like you could ever slay a perfect being like - ' he would never finish his sentence though, as Ikku's partner, Ernan, decapitated him from behind with his silver blade. The immortal being's head rolled to the floor, shock and arrogance frozen on his staring face."
- Memoir of a Vampire Hunter, 6011 2E

Vampires and Dhampirs have propagandized the Chevelian population for centuries into believing the excellence, inherent nobility, and superiority of those with vampirism. While those with vampirism have enhanced senses and strength, they are far from undefeatable. Many younger Vampires and even more Dhampirs have bought into the indoctrination of vampiric invulnerability, which leads often leads them to hubris. Even Elder Vampires can fall into hubris, as they believe that if they've survived this long, there's really nothing left that can kill them. As such, Vampires tend to overachieve, and often find themselves in trouble or even in the grave because of their overreaching. While many mortal races know their limits, Vampires often forget their own.

Creating a Dhampir Character

• Station: Dhampir come from many stations in life, from the child of a high-ranking Chevelian vampire to a woodland squatter. The majority of them are bastard children of nobility, not accepted into the highest ranks of society, but also far above the peasant class.
• Scarlet Pact: What are your thoughts on the Scarlet Pact? Do you believe that those with vampiric blood are superior to all? Do you think it's fine for your kind to take blood and the lives of mortals as they please, or do you think that they should give blood willingly?

Vampiric Misconceptions

There are many incorrect beliefs about Vampires, especially in the Southlands where they are less seen as noble protectors and more as unstoppable predators.

• Sunlight: Vampires aren't killed by sunlight, but they sunburn far easier than any Human and find day too bright due to their better darkvision.
• Garlic: Garlic works on lycanthropes, not Vampires.
• Wooden Stakes: A silver blade will kill them just as well. Chopping them into small pieces also works well, but is obviously not very easy to do unless you're in a large group due to their fast healing rate.
• Inviting Inside: Vampires are able to walk in, they don't have to be invited in.
• Salt: Vampires aren't repelled by salt, but find the taste unpleasant as their tongues are extremely sensitive to it for some reason.
• Reflections: They cannot be seen through silver-backed mirrors (which are the majority of them in Halaran), but can be seen with any other reflective surface.
• Biting: Being bitten by a vampire does not turn you into a vampire. Much like the myth about garlic, that was something that works on lycanthropes that people mistakenly thought also works on vampires.
• Blood: Vampires don't need blood to survive, but it greatly strengthens them. The reason many believe this is that most Vampires develop an addiction to blood and begin experiencing withdrawal symptoms after a period of time without it.
• Silver: Vampires aren't weak to silver, contact with it merely grounds their "magical energy" which allows them to be killed as a normal person would.
• Disease: Vampires are not completely immune to disease, but it is extremely rare to see one ever sick, and even rarer to see one die from it. This is because their immune system is far better than any other mortal race.

While you, as a Dhampir, do not have many of these traits (except for a dislike of salt, a better immune system, and maybe a dislike of the sun), you are likely the most educated about these.

Dhampir Names

Dhampir use Human names, depending on which nation they are from. Most of them are from Chevel. At the bottom of this article, you can see a list of Human names by nation: Human

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Human

Origin/Ancestry

Isanian

Lifespan

320 years

Average Height

5'10"

Average Weight

165 lbs.