Vampires

Nocturnal undead creatures that feast on the blood of the living, most Vampires have adapted quite well to modern living and are rather rich, and funding the mortal’s research into prolonging life and curing diseases. Most hospitals and banks are funded or owned, at least on a hidden level, by vampires.

Appearance:

While most of this is for RP flavor, there are some guidelines to follow when playing out how they appear, especially toward the humans.
- Flush with Life - A well-fed vampire can cause the blood in their body to rise to the surface, giving them the appearance of humanity. This also, if fed recently, raises the body temperature closer, but not up to a human range.
- Fangs - If a single set, they can be hidden, folding up against the roof of the mouth. Double sets are harder to hide, and the few that have them have learned how to smile and speak without revealing them, or simply claim them as cosmetic enhancements.
- Nails/claws - Long nails and even claw like ones are par for the course when it comes to being a vampire, though most learn to grow them at will, or file them down to more “normal” lengths.

Bloodlines:

Most of these are for flavor, gifts each bloodline has, etc. They do not give any edge in combat.

BloodMancers - Hassassins -
- Can control their own blood, sometimes into simple weapons (daggers, not swords or large complicated weapons. Size of the weapon = amount of blood lost!), and other times to make someone bleed out faster or slower by keeping in contact with the person. In some extreme situations, they can even stop, or restart a heart.
- They are better at stealth and hiding in plain sight.

Animalică - AnimalKin -
- Soon after turning they get an animal that is drawn to them and connects with them, and can control that specific animal. (Not shifters.) They cannot shift into animals and the animal that is chosen is the type of animal they have for the rest of their life. They get one more animal (of that species) to control (in a swarm) per 50 years of life.
- With meditation and concentration, they can even see through the eyes of their animal, though while doing so they are blind/deaf/nose blind as those senses are focused through their animal.

Kanyarban - Telepaths/Empaths -
- Have more of an edge on mental abilities such as reading minds, or telekinesis. Empathic abilities can include reading the emotions of a person and on a grander, more vague scope, a room.

Harcos - Brutes/Tanks/Soldiers -
- These vampires’ strength NEARLY matches that of a Shifter, however, it comes at the cost of being slower than other vampires.

Nosferatu - The Accursed -
- Thought to be what happens when a vampire regularly feeds on other vampires, the Nosferatu are simply another bloodline with fewer qualms about vampire etiquette and niceties.
  - Most have managed to retain their human appearance, though some have been less fortunate with their bodies and faces warping to a hideous disfigurement. Nails grow extremely long, their teeth become less like fangs and more similar to a lamprey eels, and their bodies withering away to skin and bones.
    - Those that do retain their human composure can wither their form into how the other Nosferatu appear, at will, to either frighten or to psychologically torture their victims.
  - Nosferatu also have the uncanny ability to cause varying degrees of pain in another whose blood they have recently tasted. (within 2 hours.) While they can cause extreme pain with this ability, it doesn’t actually cause any real harm or wounds to appear. However, most are very knowledgeable about pain sensors and anatomy and act as interrogator and torturers under the employ of others or simply just for fun.

Regalia - Royals -
- Admin approval of this line only, as it is a restricted one.
- Commanding Presence - There is a bit more to them being royal that makes vampires want to follow them. Their status alone influences other vampires into following their commands. This can of course be fought and defied, but do you really want to defy the royal line?

Siring:

The creation of another vampire from a Human or Witch. Witches’ powers, gifts, and the ability to cast spells and use rituals is gone as soon as they are risen as vampires.

Creating a vampire requires several defined steps, though how ritualized or sacred these are performed is up to the vampire and player.
- Draining the intended progeny of all blood. This can happen slowly, over several days, but once the point of blood loss goes beyond life sustaining quantities, the final drain must happen and the second step must be performed or the Progeny will die.
  - Draining doesn’t have to be by vampire bite and can be from an accident or other deadly event that causes massive blood loss.
- Once drained, at the point of death, the vampire must feed the Intended as much of their own blood as they can before death occurs.
  - If an intended has been regularly fed the vampire’s blood over several weeks, becoming blood bonded, this step requires less blood from the vampire than one that has not Blood Bonded, however, this means the vampire will also feel the death of the Intended.
- The intended must be secluded away from light so the vampiric nature can take hold fully without any hindrance.
- Between One to Five days later, the Intended will rise as a vampire already imprinted on their sire.
  - The Sire is determined by the vampire that fed them the blood in order to sire or turn them, not by who bit and drained them.

Imprinting:

When a new vampire is created, there is a bond formed with the progeny that links them together for around 100 years, after which either party can then choose to break the bond and be free of the influence and responsibility of the other.
- Influence - This is less control and more an influence of the progeny to follow the direct orders of their sire. It can still be fought and disobeyed, though there would be IC consequences of such from said sire.
- Breaking the Bond - Breaking the bond is a simple process of applying enough mental willpower to cut off the link and can happen anytime after the progeny is 100 years old. Either party can then choose to break the bond and be free of the influence and responsibility of the other, with or without the IC consent of the other. (OOC permissions need to be given of course!) When the bond breaks, both feel it like a rubber band snapping between them.

Food Sources:

The ONLY true source of nutrition for a vampire is human and witch blood, though they can feed on the following without gaining nutritional benefits, and some side effects as well.
- Blood Bags - Not as tasty. Does contain some nutritional value though it needs to be carefully monitored as it can spoil and become “dead blood”.
- Human Food - Some can, and some can’t. We are leaving this to the player's choice as it only adds to the flavor of food and appearance of acting human. The vampire must be well fed in order for them to be able to keep the food down.

Feeding on Races other than Human:

Whatever the effect is, it only lasts an hour or two before fading away.

- Drugged Humans -
  - The Vampire feels the sensations of the drugs they took, but it’s muted from the real thing.
- Beast-kin -
  - Drinking from these “beasts” brings about a more wild side to the vampire. Becoming more feral, their hunger and base instincts are heightened, as is their ferocity. Flavor reminiscent of their beast.
- Witches -
  - Sweeter than human blood, richer, like chocolate. Induces a semblance of “life” to the vampire. Heart beats, breathing resumes, and blood flows.
- Shifters -
  - Just as nutritious as a human with a gamy flavor, but also gives a boost to the five natural senses, almost to the point of being drug-like and more a distraction than bonus. This was the reason vampires held werewolves as slaves for so long, until the rebellion and subsequent treaty was signed.
- Fae -
  - Hallucinatory, drug-like.
  - Addictive over several feedings.
- Other Vampires - (MUST be PvP and not NPC’d.)
  - Heavily Taboo outside a bonding ritual, or swearing fealty. The one feeding gains a touch of the source’s abilities for a limited time (Two hours, max.) and the ability to track them as well.
- Dead Blood -
  - Drinking from the dead or of blood that has gone stagnant weakens a vampire, and in high enough amounts, can paralyze them until they recover by resting or feeding on the living.
- Animals -
  - Nowhere near as nutritious as human blood, a vampire would have to feed much more often on animals to maintain a healthy appearance with a diet solely of animals.

Abilities:

Compulsion - A vampire can compel humans and some other supernaturals to do what the vampire wishes, with eye contact, including forgetting and replacing memories. (OOC permission)
- If the vampire leaves the city for over 24 hours the compulsion can fade and dissipate should the compelled player decide so.
- Breaking the compulsion is possible by the Lead Vampire, or a Witch with mind magic and using a Competing Roll. Breaking another’s compulsion is difficult and should be discussed with the vampire that did it originally, and the use of three Dice Rolls to determine competing success and failures may be used.
Speed/Strength -
- Blurring speed, barely visible in motion. Not fast enough to dodge a bullet, though..
- Three times as strong as a human, but a Shifter would still beat them at arm wrestling without breaking a sweat.
Distracting Bite -
- The bite of a vampire usually causes a strong emotional or physical sensation, for most it is calming or sensual, others that want to inflict pain can do so with their bite, or enhance the fear of the victim. The sensation is up to the vampire and is not dependent on a specific bloodline.
Healing Saliva -
- Heals the wounds caused by a bite or other minor injuries. Does not leave a scar.
Blood Bonding -
- Feeding their blood to a human or animal regularly (weekly) can extend the human or animal’s lifespan, but does bring a bond or connection with it.
  - Vampires can track those they have given blood to (including other vampires.) for a week after feeding. This acts like a needle on a compass, not a direct location.
  - Other vampires can sense the other vampire’s claim on the bonded and if interacting with another vampire, they should let them know OOCly to avoid confusion.
  - The vampire also has the ability to influence them into doing their bidding without the requirement of eye contact with an extended range of only a mile or two. This does not allow the bonded vampire to see through eyes, or share thoughts beyond commanding and to summon. However, it does protect them from being compelled by other vampires against their will.
    - For an animal, this cannot go past the creature’s ability to perform the task commanded of them.
  - The vampire can also sense when the bonded person or animal is panicked, or dying.
  - Other Supernaturals will also be affected by this, however, they have a greater resistance to the commands and summons, and gain no benefits of a lengthened lifespan beyond their own natural one.

Weaknesses:

Invitations - Vampires cannot enter a residence without permission from the building owner or person(s) residing there. Someone spending the night or for a few days/weeks without being on the IC lease would not be able to invite into the home.
- Apartment building halls are considered public spaces. The apartments are the residences.
- Clinic rooms and offices are considered public spaces.
Dead Blood - will weaken a vampire and acts as a poison, slowing them down and dampening their abilities until they can either rest for a long while or feed on a living human.
Holy Water - blisters and burns in contact with a vampire’s skin like a severe chemical burn. Does not affect clothing or other items they may have on their person.
- Only a certain type of Holy Water affects vampires and other than some Hunters and Roman Catholic Churches, obtaining the consecrating holy water in the proper mixture and ingredients is nearly impossible.
Blood - It’s life and energy and that pick-me-up they need to get out of the coffin! Without it, Vampires start to wither and grow weaker, before turning feral at the mere sight or smell of it.
Sunlight - Causes burns and blisters, then eventual death into dust and bone if left in the light too long. Keep in mind that the sun rises at 6:00am SLT and sets at 5:00pm SLT.
- New vampires have a total of about 30 minutes to survive in the sunlight, slowly burning the whole time.
- Take 5 minutes off that time for every 100 years until there is only 5 minutes left at 500 years old.
Staking -
- Any wooden stake will put the vampire into a paralysis until it is removed. Hunger still builds while in this paralysis.
Fire - Bad. The older they are, the faster a vampire will burn!
- A new vampire can withstand about 5 minutes of fire, taking away 1 minute per 100 years until they are down to 1 minute total at 500 years old.
Age - Limited to 1000 years old. After 1000 years a vampire’s body becomes unable to process blood and nutrients as well and it gets progressively worse over the following years.
- Getting weaker and weaker, a vampire will become more feral and those that hold off until about 1500 years old, end up in a gruesome state of Mortification, when there the body shrivels up and they become a living mummy, trapped inside their own head, unable to move and feed, only to make weak noises. Any other vampire that comes across one such as this instinctively knows that to kill them is a mercy, and an honor of service to them.
Immunities - Vampires are immune to the virus that causes one to become a Shifter as well as most airborne illnesses. However, if bitten by a Shifter, the wound will heal slowly as if human. If the Vampire is well fed after being bitten by a Shifter, the wound will heal more quickly.

Vampire House Structure:

Each territory usually has at least one House that is led by a Baron or Baroness. It is up to the player’s discretion on whether or not they join the House, it is NOT required, however the perks of pledging to a House usually outweigh the cons.

Vampire Leader:

Has the ability to walk in daylight without a Sun Charm, though it has the same effect as one.
Needs to feed less often.
The ability to “call” or “pull” those bound in the House to them. This does not teleport them, but pulls on their blood, giving the sensation of needing to go toward the call.
Has the ability to break or rewrite any compulsion another lesser vampire has placed upon someone.

Sun Charming:

Some witches have been able to avert the sun’s effects on vampires by enchanting items, trinkets, and tattoos. Only a High Priest(ess) has the spell though it can be granted to the Coven members of his/her choice to be used by them at their discretion.

While in direct sunlight, the vampires wearing charms have their vampiric side suppressed, walking among the humans during the day, possibly picking out their prey for later that night.
They cannot feed or use any abilities while the Sun Charm is activated, as it does suppress all abilities. Note again, this is only true in DIRECT sunlight. Being within a shady building, cave, etc. means a vampire’s powers are not repressed.
There is a Central stone or artifact which is the keystone for the Sun Charms. If it is destroyed, then all of the charms created by the Coven will stop working immediately. Location and access to the keystone is only known to the High Priest(ess) of the Coven.
These charms need to be recharged monthly at the New Moon.

New Vampires arriving to the City have functional Sun Charms if the player wants them to, however it will stop working at the next New Moon. (or the one after if the next New Moon is under a week away.)

Falsifications:

Several of the old tropes are simply spread by vampires via books and movies. Crosses, Holy Ground, and Churches are just as sacred to them as they are to any of the living, but does not harm them in any way. They can cross running water and be seen in mirrors, pictures, and videos. Garlic is a personal preference only.