Vampires and the Undead

The Legend
Even before the Cataclysm, the tales of vampires haunted the human race. The greatest of them all was Count Dracula, Vlad Tepes, “The Impaler”. He was a righteous warrior of Christendom, devoting himself whole souled to his religion. When war called against the Ottomans, he left his lands and his wife to destroy them in the name of his god. However, on his return, he learned of the castle where his wife was living was under siege. He made all haste to her, but was unable to reach it in time. As he broke the battle lines of his enemies, he found his wife’s body floating in the river surrounding the castle, having thrown herself from a tower. The priests condemned her as a suicide and would find no peace in heaven. This drove the Count into a rage. He renounced his faith and cursed god, pledging himself to darker powers that would grant him the ability to defy the terrible life he was rewarded.

Eventually, his reign of terror ended centuries before the Cataclysm. Current vampires recognize him as their Dark Saint, who strive to achieve the same fearsome greatness as he did. Some even believe that he was a real and that his remains must be brought together, to resurrect him and to bring a new age ruled by vampires.

Origins
In the ancient past, vampirism began as a simple rumor stating that the consumption of blood would increase one’s lifespan. Ingesting blood alone would not do anything; however, lacing the blood with a spell drastically did so. With continued use, the consumer would eventually transform themselves into an abomination whose lust for blood would never be sated. It is said that the transformation was a curse of the gods, those defying the natural order of things needed to be punished for their trespass. The exact origins of this practice are unclear.

To counteract such a curse, scholars and wizards alike began research into an “elixir of life”. Their reasoning was that if they used natural sources to extend one’s life, the curse would not affect them. One man eventually did and succeeded, so the stories say. The complete record of his work was never fully recovered and only bits and pieces remain. Those envious of his success gathered what they could and devised their own formula for the Elixir. All who partook of it died that very day. Such a loss of great minds spurned others to take no effort in creating another in the coming years.

The partakers of the false Elixir did succeed, to an extent. Rising from the dead, the partakers had gained a vile form of eternal life in undeath but with it came a price. They needed to drink the blood of others to keep themselves from perishing. Not only that, but another curse of the gods fell upon them: daylight would scorch their skin, children born of their females would wither and die and holy symbols pertaining to what is good and righteous would drive them away. So they hide away from the sun and isolated themselves from the world, only going forth during the night and carrying away helpless victims. They had become vampires.

Most died off in the early months of awakening, either not knowing of their curse or because of being hunted down. A rare few survived, only to resurface gradually in recent years, especially among the nobility of human cultures. They could afford the expensive fees of necromancers and other vampires so that they could extend their own life beyond their subjects. Those that were content with others having this power formed a society of undeath, a close knit group of family clans that ruled a kingdom forever bathed in eternal twilight.

Castes
Within the vampire social structure is a rigid caste system. At the top, ancient Vampire Truebloods lead their deathless servants. They are considered to be the first of their clan to be turned and are considerably powerful both in strength and magic. They are rarely seen outside their castles, much less their coffins. Much of the world disinterests them and they indulge themselves in their own affairs, waiting for a particularly enthralling event to distract them momentarily. Most of the Truebloods consist of males, but there have been reports of few female Truebloods leading a clan.

Below these are the Bluebloods, who make up the majority of the vampire population. These are the second generation vampires who have been previously been bitten by a Trueblood or have partaken in the False Elixir under a Trueblood’s permission. They range greatly in status and title: Barons, Dukes, Viceroys and the ever popular Count. Most of them manage a province or territory given to them by a Trueblood.

Knights and warriors make up the third caste. They are fiercely loyal to their liegelord and carry with them a tenacity that’s unmatched in the world of the living. They are turned by receiving the Blood Kiss, a bite to the wrist from a Vampire Lord’s mate or consort. The neck bite is reserved for only those a vampire is intimately familiar with and to give it to another of lesser class is considered uncouth. The turning is no different than if it were to the neck, it is merely a symbol of loyalty and honor to the vampire knight.

The lowest class is for the mindless servants of the vampires, be they undead or not. Boggarts and Skraelings, altered bat-creatures made to serve as familiars and minions, make up the majority of this caste. The Moroi, the lowest form of vampire, are not truly undead as they have a normal life span and death. Particularly powerful Moroi, usually females, become a Pelesit. which is physically frail or even unable to fend by itself, but with great psi-abilities. Usually kept in some container and regularly fed by other servants, they are used to torture the master vampire's enemies with madness and disease.

Outside of the caste system exists other vampires as well. The Mullo, vampiric hitmen, do the clandestine dirty work whoever hires them. While the Truebloods deny their existence, it is usually them who employ the Mullo. The Strigoi  are self-imposed exiles, powerful dark sorcerers and changelings that do not see the benefit of attaching themselves to a vampire clan. Estries are rogue vampire knights with no leigelord and are shunned by other vampires for their mingling with “lesser species”.

Finally, there is the Dhampir. They are a rare form of creature, which is a creature born of a vampire through a mortal woman. They walk a fine line between the worlds of life and death, shunned by both but affected little by each other. They have incredible strength and agility, not to mention deep ties to magic that rival even that of the Truebloods and Archmages around the world. Children conceived this way usually die, but during a time known to the vampires as the Blood Moon, a new one will enter the world.

Other Species
There is more than one type of vampire that walks the earth. The Truebloods and the Bluebloods exist within the civilized domain of the vampires and are by far the most common. However, there are far viler, wilder creatures that even the vampires look down on in disgust.

Aufhocker - Vampiric shapeshifters, usually taking on the form of bats or wolves and reverting to humans during the daylight hours. Their tactics involve tearing out their prey’s throat.

Asasabonsam - African vampires identified by dark skin and unusually long limbs with hook-like claws. Often hunt by sitting on tree branches, letting their legs dangle to ensnare passing victims.

Bloodweed - A type of plant that grows freely among the grounds of some vampire lords, growing on mounds of fresh dead. By first glance, it looks like a patch of crimson coloured leaves. With a closer look, in the center of the leaves is a tiny barbed mouth, hell bent on sucking the blood out of whatever creature steps on it. Let it get enough nourishment and it grows into a rather nasty monstrosity. Its uses can be for a blood-boiling poison (if ingested).

Orlok - Mutant vampires often found in irradiated zones. They have toothy, proboscis-like mouths.

Draugar- Corpse-like vampires with scabrous skin and pronounced potbellies. Their bodies stew with noxious, magically corrupted diseases and parasites they can spread around with “belches” of multicolored gas. Not particularly confrontational, they prefer to hunt by unleashing their pestilences as they go and feed upon those that fall victim to them.

Jiang Shi- Oriental vampires with heightened speed and agility, moving around in quick leaps. They collect themselves in small family groups or gangs, using their own caste system outside of the norm.

Penanggalan- A breed of vampire from Malaysia that looks normal at first glance, but casts off his or her body by night, becoming a disembodied head with a trailing set of viscera. They are able to squeeze through the smallest gaps and cracks, and enjoy popularity as vampiric assassins, but other vampires consider them either gross or needlessly flashy. They are understandably vulnerable to thorns and sharp implements, and deathly afraid of salt.

Vaital- Indian vampires, typically short of stature but gifted with the ability to animate corpses from the very moment of their creation. Solitary and inquisitive, they seldom if ever unify and have a fame of cruel tricksters, torturing and pranking mortals with horrifically twisted undead.

Vrykolakas - Regardless of variety, a vampire that remains unable to feed for an extended period of time or has gone too far in its regenerative madness will visibly and increasingly degenerate until they “harden” into a cocoon-like husk, from which will emerge a hideous entity known as a Vrykolakas, or “Blood Wight”. Losing all of their original personality, Vrykolakas are all feral, horrible and greatly powerful beasts, driven only by an unquenchable thirst for the blood of all other creatures,  up and including regular vampires, and leave a path of brutal murder and destruction wherever they go in their nocturnal rampages. Every vampire fears the Vrykolakas, not because of the danger they represent, but for what they are; the horrifying, very real fate that could very well happen to them.

Vrykolakas go through a “molting” process every so often, but never seem to actually change, if only growing slightly bigger in some cases. Scholars theorize this might be a glimpse into the future, or perhaps the very thesis, of the vampire:  eternal larvae, endlessly metamorphosing towards a perfect form that was never achieved and will probably never exist.

Weaknesses
There are many different methods of killing a vampire. They are as follows: Holy Objects/Symbols/Ground - These are only effective if the vampire was a devout worshipper of a particular faith at some point in their lives. The vampire will stop dead in its tracks if makes direct eye contact with a holy object or symbol. Not only that, but the wielder must have a strong faith in such a symbol.

Sunlight - Some vampires are more affected by this than others, but typically a vampires powers are weakened during the day. Others are reduced to ashes.

Water - Unless otherwise noted, vampires can be defeated after been completely submerged in water. However, when they are taken out, they will come to life again.

Garlic - While not a powerful enough poison to kill vampires, it will cause paralysis if consumed or injected by a vampire.

Silver - As will all unholy creatures of the night, vampires and their kin are susceptible to silver, as they find it toxic.

Stake - A wooden stake driven into the heart will stop a vampire from rising up from its grave. A silver stake, on the other hand, will kill it outright.

Decapitation - Unless otherwise noted, any vampires can be killed by decapitation. However, if the body and removed head are placed close enough together, they may be rejoined and the vampire will rise again.

Undead Hordes
A section for the undead critters.

Animated Skeletons - They are as their name says. Typically weak and easily dealt with. Dangerous in groups.

Banshee - Ghosts of nymphs whose wail can shatter the mind and wake the dead.

Bloody Bones - Skeletons baptized in blood and infused with sorcerous energies. Given armour and unholy weapons, they serve as elite warriors by necromancers. Vampires find them a waste of valuable food.

Blood Golem - Golems created entirely out of congealed blood. Vampires find these incredibly distasteful.

Bogles - Undead Boggarts. They are able to transfer the pain from their masters unto themselves.

Cursed Armour - Ghosts inhabiting empty armour.

Death Hydra - An entire graveyard fused into one immense being that has come to wreak havoc upon the living.

Dracolich - Dragons, unsatisfied with their own extreme lifespan, pool dark energies within themselves. While their exteriors are a shambling mess of flesh and bone, their souls remain immortal.

Drowned - Bloated zombies with fish-like features that lurk in swamps, marshes and other bodies of water.

Dullahan - Headless knights seeking the one who decapitated them.

Heaps - Lowly zombies who have been engulfed by moss and vegetation. They eventually become lumbering hulks of dirt and muck.

Gespenst - Ghostly beings whose sins were never resolved. They are barred entry into the afterlife and forever wander the world in search for a way to redeem themselves.

Ghast - Truly foul zombies, who move with remarkable speed and ferocity, the end result of those who engage in cannibalism.

Ghost - Spirits who still walk in the mortal realm, unable to find peace in eternal rest. This is usually brought on by extreme sorrow and continued thoughts of revenge.

Grave Guard - Especially favoured skeletal servants of vampires. They stand watch outside their lord’s castles and mausoleums with eternal fortitude.

Grudgers - Ghosts with immense hatred. Clad in black, tattered robes.

Flesh Golem - A mass of body parts, fused together and given unlife.

Lich - An upper class of undead, a sorcerer who has given himself completely to necromancy. Unlike vampires who use the False Elixir, Liches remove their souls from their bodies and attach it to a item of great importance to them, called a phylactery. Unless that item is destroyed, they cannot be killed.

Necrofiend - Spirits of learned men, who were sacrificed by alchemists performing forbidden rites in pursuit of eternal life. Though they retain dim memories of their former lives and knowledge, their hearts were sundered long ago, and they are without morality or honor, wholly consumed by jealousy of the living.

Necrophobe - Ghosts who refuse to believe that they have died. They assume all mean to kill them and instead strike first.

Offalings - Accidental undead, created by excess dark magic. They consist of random fleshy bits and organs.

Specter - Ghosts of dead men whose lives were lost in battle at the peak moment of fear. They embody what their beholder fears most.

Tainted Dead - Corpses of men who sought to barter with demons. Betrayed by them, they serve those they sought to control. They are awash and abstracted with warped energies from the demon realm, withered from having their lifeforce sucked out of them.

Will-o-Wisp - Mischievous undead who lead travellers astray.

Wraith - Servants of dark powers, who are summoned to seek out specific souls and to kill them. Those sought by a Wraith are marked with a black stain upon their hand.

Zombies - Animated dead with their festering flesh still attached. Slow and mindless. Like animated skeletons, they are dangerous in groups.

Zombie Dragon - Unlike Dracolichs who willingly taint themselves, Zombie Dragons are animated by exceptionally powerful necromancers and liches. They are often uncontrollable, but with certain magical wards in place, they can be tamed for a time.