Vampires
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Vampires are more than just a blight on the world. They're a species that's cultivated their customs and traditions far from their humble beginnings. While some do keep to their murderous tendencies, they are as varied as any other race.
What counts as a Vampire is intriguing. The most common definition is a fanged humanoid that drinks the blood of its victims. Using this broad term, biologists have recognized different species belong to the vampiric subtype. To complicate things further, Vampires have three primary types and shown the ability to advance themselves depending on a few key factors. Some prominent vampire families may want to reveal the secrets of their biology.
Before explaining their differences, it's important to cover the commonalities. Vampires all share enhanced bodies and supernatural abilities, to what degree varies. While most Vampires need blood, some require other forms of sustenance. No matter the variant, sunlight and those of faith are hazardous to vampires.
Afflicted
The most common type of vampire. These are people who have been infected and couldn't find a cure. Some even die before fully transforming. If they survive, the newborn vampire becomes a thrall to the one who infected them or leaves and struggles to satisfy their new hunger. No matter what path, becoming experienced is a goal for any newborn. So they may rise the ranks or find a new way to live.Lineage
These are the vampires who were born from the other subtypes. Lineage Vampires don't have as many difficulties as others since their abilities and traits come naturally to them. Experts constantly debate if they're the strongest or weakest of the subtypes. It depends solely on their motivation. Some desire to cultivate their abilities further, while others are seemingly content with the basics. Interestingly, they're also the forerunners regarding vampiric culture. It's not surprising they don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past.Ritual
As the name implies, Ritual Vampires use esoteric methods to gain their vampirism. It's thought the first vampires originated from an infernal ritual. However, there have been multiple accounts of the "first vampire" from different species worldwide. While the ritual varies, it typically involves blood or sacrifices. These variations also produce vampires with strange abilities, making them unpredictable. The details aren't often shared since if one is successful, they can become a progenitor. Progenitors are the first to be in their lineage. They're superior to regular vampires and can make covens. Regardless, if they spread their infection or have children, a Progenitor will grow stronger with more members. Beyond losing a part of your humanity, horrific fates await those who fail the ritual. Most commonly, they will receive an inconceivable bloody death. In rarer cases, they become monsters who lose all sense of self. While some recover from this fate, the details are unknown. With Vampires thousands of years, they have integrated themselves into society. While not perfect, they are not the monsters they used to be in the past. Although, that doesn't mean you should stick your arm in their fanged mouth.Basic Information
Anatomy
The look of a vampire largely depends on their parent's race. Commonly, they're humanoids with slightly pointed ears and fangs. However, it isn't uncommon for a ritual vampire to take a monstrous form.
Biological Traits
Because any species can become a vampire, there are loads of variations among them. Vampires can be big, small, skinny, fat, and more. The actual differences come in when talking about ritual vampires.
Genetics and Reproduction
Vampires procreate in one of two ways. They can turn others into afflicted or impregnate an individual. Becoming a vampire does not mess with the productive organs. However, it is not a guarantee offspring from couples where there's only one vampire will be full-blooded.
Growth Rate & Stages
For the afflicted, it's a matter of how fast they consume blood. With enough feeding, the transformation completes itself, and they don't change unless they take meaningful steps. Lineage Vampires mature at the same rate as humans until they reach adulthood, where they physically stay the same. The rates of Ritual Vampires are unknown, and most progenitors don't like sharing.
Ecology and Habitats
Some would think caves, but vampires prefer to live in big cities. It's the easiest way to have a fresh source of blood every day. If that's too noisy, some live in forests and hunt animals for nutrition.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Vampires need blood to survive. While some can eat food, it doesn't provide nourishment. Ritual Vampires famously break this rule. Either from the terms of the ritual or because they wanted to be quirky, they require a different type of sustenance.
Biological Cycle
The passage of time doesn't affect vampires, no matter the subtype. However, none of them like the sunlight. How they deal with it varies. Some make housing where the sun doesn't get in. Some choose to be nocturnal, while others constantly move to dimmer locations. A few hibernate, but they're the odd ones out of the bunch. And sometimes the most dangerous.
Behaviour
Despite how the headway Lineage Vampires have made, they're still a predator species. They need to drain something from another being to survive. Of course, most vampires know how to ration their blood or properly communicate their hunger. But you never want to be near a vampire that's starving.
Additional Information
Social Structure
The social structure of a vampire society revolves around age and covens. Elders typically take command since they have more experience and have the strongest group. It's not uncommon for young vampires to start turning people in hopes of gaining social status. However, they get punished and sometimes killed for recklessly infecting others.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
While prejudice against vampires has always existed, vampire hunters found they could sell their blood, fangs, and hearts for profit. Alchemists have used their parts for ingredients, while mages use them for morally questionable rituals.
Facial characteristics
A vampire's facial features don't change much from their original race besides their eyes. Most of the population has crimson eyes. However, it's not uncommon to see shades of green or purple. Some have theorized that an unknown mutation causes these other colors.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Their most prominent weakness is the sun, which they can avoid easily. This means that vampires can live in just about any environment. Typically, with other people, they never want to risk running out of blood.
Average Intelligence
Vampires are terrifyingly intelligent for two different reasons. They're cunning predators with a knack for hunting and are practically immortal. Some have centuries of knowledge stored, waiting to use it to benefit them at a moment's notice.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
All vampires have enhanced senses. Most notably, their night vision and foresight. Some variants have also shown the ability to track people via blood or harness echolocation. However, these seem to be specializations.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Afflicted either their names or their masters end up giving them new names. It's a custom that's similar to welcoming someone into their family or branding a slave. Lineage Vampires will either use their original race's naming conventions or name their offspring after someone from their past. Ritual Vampires typically tend to keep their names unless their transformation is drastic.
Major Organizations
There are several vampiric guilds worldwide. They function like regular guilds beyond a few exceptions. Most only operate at night and have people take requests for them during the day. Besides formal payments, they also accept blood contracts. Blood contracts essentially let the client pay with their blood.
Beauty Ideals
Because vampires don't age, they tend to value those with a youthful appearance. However, a small minority of vampires have a fascination with older looks and people.
Courtship Ideals
Vampires rarely consider marriage. But when two vampires find themselves in love, it becomes the strongest commitment in their lives. Vampires take "to death do us part" literally. Once married, a psychic link forms between the partners, connecting them forever. Because of the bond, being unfaithful is grounds for murder in their society. Infecting others is also frowned upon since there's an expectation to have children.
It's rarer that a vampire marries a non-vampire. Immortality makes it an awkward situation, and they typically convert their lover. On the rare chance their partner stays unchanged, the vampire will treasure them and their children until the day they die. Some continue to get partners, but that's a messy affair.
Average Technological Level
With their race's prior knowledge, vampires have made advancements in the medical field and magic. Their senses and understanding of the body have helped them carry out advanced procedures. Continuing with natural abilities, they have revolutionized how mages use blood magic. It is no longer just a conduit. Casters have learned to augment and weaponize their blood.
Common Dress Code
Vampires don't have a dress code per se as much as they have preferences. Vampires born in a specific era tend to stick to that style, whereas Lineage Vampires follow whatever trends they see. Some stick to whatever their parents wear, or they branch out.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Vampire culture is interesting because it shifts depending on the family and coven. It often mixes the elder's ideals and their original race. While social hierarchy still exists, vampires live in tight-knit communities. It is easier to trust someone you have known for hundreds of years who share your thirst for blood.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
While not official covens, the Afflicted sometimes form runaway groups with each other out of necessity. However, some members see it as a new family. It's common to see Afflicted celebrate the day they became vampires or escaped their masters. A few mourn their lost lives, visit their old homes, or hold elegies for themselves.
Lineage Vampires are more joyous. They celebrate their baby fangs falling out and have a habit of trying new blood. If they have any older relatives, the parents keep their children well acquainted with their family.
Common Taboos
Despite being a primary ability, biting people can lead to several issues. Afflicted vampires themselves can lead to multiple problems if the person who bites them doesn't take responsibility. It also means another mouth to feed. While punishment is inevitable, the severity may lessen depending on the reason.
(The above information applies to those in covens)
History
While it is unclear when the first vampires were sighted, their impact on society shook the world. Scholars trace these sightings to at least a thousand years. What resulted was a war of global proportions.
Vampires were murdering and infecting everyone in sight. People did inhumane experiments to find their weaknesses. It was a mess for both parties. Especially the victims turned against their will. It took the afflicted turning against their masters and vampires who saw people more as livestock to end the war.
In time, laws, regulations, and vampire guilds slowly formed, ensuring self-destruction didn't happen. While today vampires can coexist with others, the scars of the past still run deep.
Common Myths and Legends
The vampire that feeds on other vampires, known as Kresniks. The legend begins with a starving vampire. After going without blood, they started cannibalizing their brethren. Normally, they would die. But it's said that there's a chance to turn into a Kresnik. They gain a permanent taste for vampiric blood and become radars for other vampires.
Most vampires believe this story is about greed. No one shared their blood with the starving vampire, and the Kresnik ended them. While a lot of people chalk it up as an old wives' tale, many elders still share blood reasonably to avoid uprisings
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
It is physically impossible to list all the complications. Other races that live as long as vampires tend to be cautious around them. While they don't outright hate vampires, they're not on the best terms. They always keep stock of their weaknesses, or every generation has a group of vampire hunters.
On a more positive note, many vampires have made names for themselves as adventurers. With their impossible feats under their belts, they're like living legends. But some people see their kind as any other race. It's also interesting to see regular people and vampires form various partnerships. Most commonly, donating their blood for money or services.
Bonus Facts
Now, if you fear for your safety, you can perform the ritual on a corpse. However, it won't be as strong as a progenitor, and most consider it an advanced form of necromancy. The corpse is completely subservient, but there's a chance for it to regain its consciousness. While they have achieved coexistence, some vampires actively try to ruin that. Some think they're superior because of their longer lifespans and want to turn everyone into their blood bank. Vampire settlements are rarities. Elders need to be willing to cooperate and have a dependable source of blood. With the help of trading, bastions of vampire society have blossomed. But, it has invited those who want to cheat the system.
Average Physique
Physically, vampires have a slightly above-average physique. Some can push themselves further, but most of the time, it's not needed.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
All vampires have pale skin. If they're afflicted, they resemble more of a corpse. As previously stated, Ritual Vampires are wildcards out of the three. As for markings, the afflicted have their bite mark, while some ritual vampires still have the ritual on their bodies.
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