Vampires
Vampirism is one of the most enticing and dangerous forms of undeath, a scourge upon the living and an eternally beckoning lure for the desperate and power-hungry.
Vampirism is infamous for both its power and how easily it is obtained and spread.
Blood Thirst:
Vampires crave and require Blood like living creatures require food. All of their abilities are fueled by the blood they consume. Only the fresh blood of sentient mortal species will do, preferrably of the same species the vampire originates from.
Physical Power
A Vampire's speed and strength is increased drastically from what they were before. They also rapidly heal any wound sustained. Vampires have night-vision, able to see even in total darkness. With some training they can even make use of their smell or hearing to mimic echolocation.
Sunlight Weakness
Vampires fear sunlight, as it burns them and drains their blood reservoirs. This is their primary weakness, forcing them to live primarily at night or underground, but even mild cloud-cover or cloth is enough to mostly protect them from the sun, though it isn't excactly pleasant. The more powerful the vampire, the more pronounced their weakness to sunlight.
Blood Frenzy:
If a vampire begins to run out of blood, their abilities weaken and eventually stop. Their regeneration stops, their movements become jerky and uncoordinated, they become mindless and frantically charge towards the nearest source of blood, ignoring anything but the most available and direct source. If the blood frenzy lasts for too long, the vampire will starve and become seemingly a mundane corpse until it is fed blood.
Torpor:
To avoid starvation, a vampire can voluntarily enter a state of deep sleep, lasting for centuries. During this sleep the Vampire becomes nearly indisinguishable from a normal corpse, is unconcious and does not require any blood, but is greatly weakened and hungry after awakening.
Immortality:
Vampires are undead. They do not need air, sleep or food and do not age and are thus immortal. Vampires are one of the rare kinds of undead that retain their intelligence in undeath, as well as their ability to blend in with society.
Vampires have been known to unlock other abilities due to their nature, such as calling on the animals of the nights, reanimating their victims with necromancy or using blood magic. However, these are not universal Vampire abilities.
Lesser vampires are forced to obey every command given to them by their progenitor, and feel a sense of loyalty and twisted love towards them. Lesser vampires are bound to their progenitor until they drink their blood. If they cannot drink their progenitor's blood they remain a lesser vampire forever.
Lesser vampires also cannot sire other vampires.
Master vampires are despicable, old monsters. They have delved deep into the depths of blood magic and unlocked special abilities such as transformation magic or truly monstrous martial strength.
Sometimes also called 'Vampire Nobles' master vampires are exceptionally dangerous creatures. They tend to be very experienced and smart, having survived for a long time. As such they are unlikely to be inebriated with their own power and instead they are careful, surrounding themselves with disposable lesser vampires and keeping their operations hidden.
Fledgeling vampires are likely to be unable to control their thirst and are the most overconfident of all vampires while being the weakest. A prepared ambush seeded with a good bit of bait will be enough to kill them.
Mature vampires have to be found first, but once that is done a dedicated team of vampire hunters or priests should be sent to deal with this foe.
Master Vampires are great threats. They are likely to stay hidden if at all possible and are the least likely to rock the boat, but they are also the most powerful so if they make moves they are the most impactful. Special plans will need to be drafted on a case-by-case basis, but they are all supremely dangerous.
In any case, any vampire hunter should be well-prepared with holy-water, weapons of blessed silver and a safe refuge such as a church or other hallowed ground. Vampires are very proactive and as such a hunter can easily find themselves the hunted. Sunlight is your friend but one should not rely on it exclusively.
Vampires are often unwilling to commit to a fight until they have nowhere else to run. Thus to properly confront a vampire often requires burning down multiple safe-houses and dealing with its disposable minions first.
Additionally, with their inhuman speed and strength as well as magical ability, nobody should fight a vampire alone, not even a fledgeling. However one should choose their allies carefully as vampires have a supernatural ability to sway the loyalties of humans.
Fortunately a soul cannot be destroyed by the vampire curse, only severely damaged.
The damage to a vampire's soul is also the reason why they drink blood. Traces of the soul suffuse any part of a creature, including their blood. Vampires do not drink the blood for its nutritional benefits but to absorb traces of their victim's souls and use them to repair the continually ongoing damage to their own soul.
Vampirism is infamous for both its power and how easily it is obtained and spread.
Description
Vampires exhibit a diverse set of poweful abilities:Blood Thirst:
Vampires crave and require Blood like living creatures require food. All of their abilities are fueled by the blood they consume. Only the fresh blood of sentient mortal species will do, preferrably of the same species the vampire originates from.
Physical Power
A Vampire's speed and strength is increased drastically from what they were before. They also rapidly heal any wound sustained. Vampires have night-vision, able to see even in total darkness. With some training they can even make use of their smell or hearing to mimic echolocation.
Sunlight Weakness
Vampires fear sunlight, as it burns them and drains their blood reservoirs. This is their primary weakness, forcing them to live primarily at night or underground, but even mild cloud-cover or cloth is enough to mostly protect them from the sun, though it isn't excactly pleasant. The more powerful the vampire, the more pronounced their weakness to sunlight.
Blood Frenzy:
If a vampire begins to run out of blood, their abilities weaken and eventually stop. Their regeneration stops, their movements become jerky and uncoordinated, they become mindless and frantically charge towards the nearest source of blood, ignoring anything but the most available and direct source. If the blood frenzy lasts for too long, the vampire will starve and become seemingly a mundane corpse until it is fed blood.
Torpor:
To avoid starvation, a vampire can voluntarily enter a state of deep sleep, lasting for centuries. During this sleep the Vampire becomes nearly indisinguishable from a normal corpse, is unconcious and does not require any blood, but is greatly weakened and hungry after awakening.
Immortality:
Vampires are undead. They do not need air, sleep or food and do not age and are thus immortal. Vampires are one of the rare kinds of undead that retain their intelligence in undeath, as well as their ability to blend in with society.
Vampires have been known to unlock other abilities due to their nature, such as calling on the animals of the nights, reanimating their victims with necromancy or using blood magic. However, these are not universal Vampire abilities.
Lesser Vampires
Lesser Vampires are the weakest form of vampires known. They are created by vampires feeding on, and then deliberately raising the corpse of one of their victims as a vampire.Lesser vampires are forced to obey every command given to them by their progenitor, and feel a sense of loyalty and twisted love towards them. Lesser vampires are bound to their progenitor until they drink their blood. If they cannot drink their progenitor's blood they remain a lesser vampire forever.
Lesser vampires also cannot sire other vampires.
Master Vampires
Taboo: Vampirism breaks the Taboo.Master vampires are despicable, old monsters. They have delved deep into the depths of blood magic and unlocked special abilities such as transformation magic or truly monstrous martial strength.
Sometimes also called 'Vampire Nobles' master vampires are exceptionally dangerous creatures. They tend to be very experienced and smart, having survived for a long time. As such they are unlikely to be inebriated with their own power and instead they are careful, surrounding themselves with disposable lesser vampires and keeping their operations hidden.
Infection and transmission:
A vampire is a creature that has contracted the curse of vampirism, died and risen as an undead. This can occur due to a variety of reasons:- Blood drinking. If a creature willingly and knowingly drinks the blood of a Vampire, they become afflicted with the curse and die in short order. The creature rises as a vampire on the next sunset.
- The Sanguinary Ritual. A Foul rite that involves the sacrifice of an innocent child, the Sanguinary ritual immediately transforms the Caster of this ritual into a Vampire.
- Forceful conversion. A creature drained empty by a Vampire can be awakened by that Vampire as a Lesser vampire, if it so chooses. If the Lesser Vampire is able to drink the blood of its progenitor, it is freed of the domination of its master and becomes a full-fledged vampire.
History
The scourge of vampirism was created by Ketior Fulgur and is exclusive to Humans.Hunting strategy
Vampires have to be treated diofferently based on how old they are.Fledgeling vampires are likely to be unable to control their thirst and are the most overconfident of all vampires while being the weakest. A prepared ambush seeded with a good bit of bait will be enough to kill them.
Mature vampires have to be found first, but once that is done a dedicated team of vampire hunters or priests should be sent to deal with this foe.
Master Vampires are great threats. They are likely to stay hidden if at all possible and are the least likely to rock the boat, but they are also the most powerful so if they make moves they are the most impactful. Special plans will need to be drafted on a case-by-case basis, but they are all supremely dangerous.
In any case, any vampire hunter should be well-prepared with holy-water, weapons of blessed silver and a safe refuge such as a church or other hallowed ground. Vampires are very proactive and as such a hunter can easily find themselves the hunted. Sunlight is your friend but one should not rely on it exclusively.
Vampires are often unwilling to commit to a fight until they have nowhere else to run. Thus to properly confront a vampire often requires burning down multiple safe-houses and dealing with its disposable minions first.
Additionally, with their inhuman speed and strength as well as magical ability, nobody should fight a vampire alone, not even a fledgeling. However one should choose their allies carefully as vampires have a supernatural ability to sway the loyalties of humans.
Trivia
Metaphysically vampires have no soul, in a sense. The soul of the human that they were originally is locked away and used as a power source for the vampire's supernatural abilities, being slowly consumed over time. With their minds and bodies unable to access their souls, they become unable to properly judge and regulate their own actions. This, in addition to the damage their soul acuumulates is why their personalities change and degrade.Fortunately a soul cannot be destroyed by the vampire curse, only severely damaged.
The damage to a vampire's soul is also the reason why they drink blood. Traces of the soul suffuse any part of a creature, including their blood. Vampires do not drink the blood for its nutritional benefits but to absorb traces of their victim's souls and use them to repair the continually ongoing damage to their own soul.
Appearance
Vampires can look like mundane humans if they make the attempt, but mostly they look like pale humans with fangs and sharp claws.Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
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