Post by The Game Master on Mar 27, 2013 18:51:28 GMT -8
Vampires
Infamous creatures associated with a trail of bloodless corpses. It is unknown how many there currently are, as vampires are usually not distinguishable appearance-wise from normal humans with the exception of sharpened canine teeth; however, their number is thought to be few due to widespread extermination. This species subsists on the blood of living beings for survival, and although murder is typically a way of life for the majority, this condition does not necessarily preclude moral judgment on the part of the individual. Nevertheless, vampires are widely detested, and it isn’t uncommon for some poor sop to be staked to death on suspicion of belonging to the children of the night.
While vampires are superior to the average human being in almost all physical areas (such as in speed, strength, and agility), they are also subject to certain limitations. Sunlight, although not fatal, is a weakening agent, and direct exposure to the light of dawn causes certain death. A great amount of blood is also required to keep their bodies active, and the more actions they undertake, the quicker their supply is depleted, leading to anemia-like symptoms. In the extreme case when they overexert themselves, they will fall into a comatose state, which they can be revived from with a fresh supply of blood. Vampires also tend to be weak against relics of religious importance; however, they are completely immune to magic (this includes healing magic and potions). They are physically incapable of entering private residence without an invitation.
Vampirism is sometimes spread through the bite of an afflicted individual—conversion is only possible if the entire body is drained of blood, and even then, it is not an assured event. It is unknown how this process occurs, and as of yet there has been no cure discovered. The first seven weeks of an afflicted individual is their most vulnerable period. They lose all semblance of rational thought and typically feed their blood-lust by attacking the people who were once closest to them. In this time period, they are completely inactive during the day and must return to their coffins or their final resting place to recuperate. This is the prime moment to kill them via decapitation, immolation, or, if you prefer to be barbaric and totally metal, ripping their hearts out of their fucking chests. Staking one of these creatures will largely immobilize them and give a human the opportunity to carry out any of the above actions. A vampire can only be killed in one other way, and they are essentially ageless.
The most frequent targets of feedings are usually animals, though humans are always preferred, as their blood tastes the best and gives vampires the most strength. Sadly, hunting humans is going to more than often lead to a swift and painful death. Human blood smells normal to vampires, while most animal blood smells rather foul, but are at least decent in taste. Dragons and dragon tamers smell heavenly—dragon blood is an attractive scent to vampires. Unfortunately, if blood is taken from a dragon, it has the same effect of burning off the tongue and tastes worse than animals. Dragon tamers’ dragon blood is diluted due to their human blood, but it still doesn’t taste nice. Werewolf blood is the worst of them all. Vampires avoid werewolves as much as possible, as the sheer scent of them is enough to make a vampire cringe in disgust.
Contrary to popular belief, vampires are perfectly capable of ingesting and tasting “normal” food; however, that food is in no way a substitute for blood feedings. It is not necessary for vampires to eat normal food, but many still choose to do so and consider it a luxury. The same cannot be said for sleep. Also contrary to popular belief, vampires do require sleep (regardless of whether it is during the day or night), albeit the time spent asleep is less and spaced out over a longer period of time than humans. In other words, this species can function unimpaired on a much smaller amount of sleep.
Vampires also possess accelerated rates of healing and can recover from usually serious wounds in a span of a few days to about a week. Lost limbs can be reattached if it is done within three days. Extensive healing, however, requires a lot of energy and usually leads to an increased need to feed. In the case that they are wounded in a manner that is normally fatal to humans or requires regeneration, they will fall into an incredibly weakened state, even into a comatose state if the damage is exceedingly severe. Afterwards, they will immediately require a supply of blood, and it is considered dangerous to approach them before they have fed, even the ones who are normally sympathetic to other species. However, it must be noted that the ability to regenerate is terminated if the heart is absent, and they become susceptible to all damage.
Vampires can experience attraction and sexual arousal, though the latter may also be heavily linked to blood-lust. There have been cases in which a vampire has reproduced with a human and had offspring that were completely human or half-afflicted with vampirism. No one actually knows how this happens.
