Book of Races III: Vampires

**Lady Leth** · by **Lady Leth** on Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:02 pm

Vampires

Also known as: Strigoi, Vrykolakas, Shimulo, Vampyres, Vampirs

General Facts
• They are ectothermic, & their body looses warmth too quickly for their body's temperature to increase
• Blood: contains hormone that prolongs life and prevents aging. Clear, but with a milk-white shimmer. Extremely smooth texture.
• They need a host's blood to survive because their bodies are unable to break food down, and they need proteins just like any other living organism
• They have a slower pulse then humans. Their heart is much stronger, and beats in a slower, but more violent rhythm
• They are much superior to therians in strength and senses
• The vampires can be either nocturnal or diurnal. The nocturnal ones have superior night vision. Sunlight can permanently blind them.

Origin
There are essentially three separate ways that a vampire could come into being. It is important to note a couple things: first and foremost, vampires are not undead or immortal - they can die just as anything else (discussed in section below). Also, vampires' fertility is very low - they can have a child a decade from the previous one's birth. Lastly, therians cannot become vampires. They are far too different.

I. Mutation | They are referred to as the Vampire Elders (or simply the Elders)
A mutation occurs that causes a human fetus to develop into a vampire one. Then the child is born just as anyone else. This is an extremely rare occurrence and no one is sure what triggers it, but this is also how the very first vampires were created.

IIa. Breeding with a human | They are referred to as the Human Firstborns (or simply the Firstborns)
The first vampire in existence, known as Lilith, gave birth to the first generation of the Lilitu clan, human male being the father. Vampire genes seem to be dominant, that's why when one of the parents is a human, the child will have not have any of their features. This way is considered to lead to the creation of purest vampires that are the vampire's genuine offspring. They are referred to as the Vampire Firstborns (or simply Firstborns), as they are individuals born a vampire.

IIb. Breeding with a vampire | They are referred to as the Vampire Firstborns (or simply the Firstborns)
Vampires can breed together. But because their genes are equal, the offspring will have features of both parents. It is a highly undesired effect when it comes to competitive clans.

III. Turning a human | They are referred to as the Waifs
To turn a human into a vampire, the human must be injected with a considerable amount of the vampire's blood. Afterwards, it takes a month for the human to fully become a vampire. The transformation is painful, seeing as their whole body is changing, but vampires created this way have much bigger tolerance to pain, even though they still feel it with the same sensitivity as the ones born.

The vampires created this way are often unrightfully referred to as "artificial". While the method is artificial, they become no less real then any other vampire. Except, there are a few major differences. They will have their human past. Transformation into a vampire will have severe consequences to their mentality. Why? First of all, they will see that vampires, something no one really believed in, are real. Secondly, they will undergo great pain along with the transformation, and they might not want to be transformed in the first place - coping with the physical pain from the transformation, and the emotional pain that the need to adjust to their new lifestyle (stepping away from the humanity) will inflict may result in mental instability or hatred for their kind. Of course, this is not always the case. Some of the artificially created vampires will be proud of who have they become.

Vampire clans often look down on them and see them as inferior, and do not recognize them as part of the clan. However, that is mainly the case with the oldest generations - the newer ones are willing to accept them into their family. Those vampires often become closely associated with the clan that their creator belongs to, and are willing to serve them to prove themselves as their equal. They are referred to as the

Appearance
Physically, vampires don't differ from humans much. They tend to be taller and more athletic then an average human, but it can vary. Like in humans, their blood affects their skin colour - and so, although they can still be dark-skinned, their skin will look different (as if illuminated from the inside) due to the colour of their blood - that also makes the fair-skinned individuals appear very pale. Their haircolour varies much as in humans. The notable things are their canine teeth - they are sharp and hollow. While usually hidden (to the point that they look much like human canines), they can be exposed fully at any time.

The notable thing is that descendants of each clan, the regular vampires, usually share a specific eye color, while the artificially created vampires (through biting a human) would keep their eye colour.

Strengths
I. Senses
The vampire's five senses are enhanced. They have better sight, hearing, taste, smell, and more sensitive touch. But how much better? Vampires are unarguably on top of the food chain. They are the best suited predators, but a real threat primarily to humans.

• Sight. Their vision is much like the human one, except more then four times sharper - which means that it slightly exceeds that of an eagle. They cannot see in the dark, but they can distinguish things better, plus their other senses help them here.
• Hearing. Their hearing is more sensitive then that of a human, but its range isn't much bigger. They are able to distinguish the tone or pitch of the sounds better, and easily locate the source, but can hear only on the same frequencies as humans.
• Smell. Their sense of smell is much sharper which helps in a hunt - in the right conditions, they could smell their prey from a mile away. Normally, this distance is halved.
• Taste. Their taste is a bit more sensitive then a humans, allowing them to distinguish the contents of the blood better.
• Touch. Their sense of touch is significantly more sensitive then human - the texture of their skin is much smaller (in other words their skin is very smooth), allowing them to feel different textures exceptionally well. However, along with that, their sensitivity to pain is increased greatly.

II. Strength & Speed
In three seconds, an average vampire can accelerate to up to 50 mph, and run on that constant speed during a chase. That means that they could outrun a wolf, but not catch up to a lion running at the same speed. Thanks to their speed, they also have very good balance. Vampire strength allows them to lift things that weight 300 kg, but with sufficient training, they can lift more then half a ton.

III. Lifespan & Aging
Vampires are not immortal, but no vampire has been known to die from old age. They age naturally until they reach physical maturity. Afterwards it depends on their diet - if a vampire feeds on humans of certain age for a long period of time, his or her body may begin resembling that of their victims.

IV. Regeneration
Vampires are able to re-grow certain types of tissues, but not organs, entire bones or limbs. This means that if a vampire's heart would be torn out, he or she would die, as there would be nothing that could keep their blood circulating. If they would be decapitated, they would bleed to death within minutes. However, if for example, their finger would be cut off, but reattached quickly enough, the wound would close and their hand would function normally.

Minor wounds such as piercings heal within seconds. However, if one would be to remove the jewelry, it would close up equally fast, leaving no scar tissue. All scars from the human life disappear, and no injuries leave a permanent scar in the afterlife*.

A vampire feasting on therian blood would regenerate the fastest, as they would absorb their hormones. However, the taste is said to be revolting, and many vampires simply refuse to drink their blood. Human blood is the second best to help with regeneration, and the best kind to satiate a vampire's hunger.

*the exception is when the injury was inflicted by a therian, and the vampire did not feed in 7 days.

Weaknesses
I. Pain
Due to their extra-sensitive sense of touch and nervous system, they register pain with a much more immediate and powerful force. There are however vampires that have much bigger tolerance to pain. It works pretty much as the "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger" principle - the individuals that survived huge amounts of pain are able to withstand it. They are usually either the artificially created ones, but in the right conditions, the ordinary vampires can develop this tolerance too.

II. Humanity
This is a major weakness for the artificially created vampires and the ones that have been living in close relationships with humans. While it's a mental, not physical condition, it can have large consequences. Vampires choosing to live in as 'morally acceptable' way as possible often decline their abilities and instincts, which may easily lead to their destruction.

III. Instincts
This is a reverse of the above - vampires which live their lives recklessly, and/or only guided by their instincts are more likely to be targeted and eliminated.

IV. Dependance on blood
They need blood to survive, but their hunger (i.e. craving, thirst) is very hard to satiate. They need an awfully large amounts of blood, and usually feed at least once every three days. Death from starvation occurs within two weeks, varying depending on the individual.

Further reading...
Vampire Firstborns display a variety of remarkable abilities. For a detailed guide read [url=]The Vampyre Talents[/url].
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