What are your vampires like?
>>47573665
No such thing.
>>47573665
Scary, gross, and creepy. Subject to a lot of old-timey folk rules that limit their power, but you still don't want to fuck with them
Pools of blood containing the bound souls of sorcerers who wished to attain greater power and immortality through binding their essence to the most arcane humour of the body. As blood was never meant to contain a soul, their pool gradually decays and requires replenishment. Several thousand years after the original ritual, the vampire brood lords over an planet-spanning darkened city dedicated to farming humanity, their bodies an amalgam of dead flesh and hydraulic cybernetics which their blood flows into.
>>47573665
They are decadent nobles turned up to eleven. Very rigid and resistant to change. Since undeath is not simply eternal life, vampires are essentially frozen in time, ruling their lands from their comfy mansions and not bothering with any desires or ambitions beyond feeding and having the comfy aristocratic life they've had in life, relieving basically the same events, year after year. It takes something very serious to wake them from their routine - and once that something disappears or is dealt with, vampires go right back to being bored, apathatic shits.
>>47573665
In a process that would eventually create a minless were-creature. The soul of an animal is exposed to horrid tortures and cruelty essentially driving it to madness. Typically once the creature the soul was forced into died so to would the spirit dissipate.
In this instance, there was a spirit that would persist and over time grow in strength and certain levels of sentience and awareness. After a while it learned now to forcibly inhabit the bodies of those who killed and this only made it stronger and stronger and stronger until it attempted to possess a human of sufficient spiritual strength to resist loosing their mind immediately to the spirits blood-lust. This idividual would become the Progenitor of all other vampires harbouring the original spirit of Blood-Lust itself. Originally it went out and converted several others who would become powerful vampires and create their own thralls but by virtue of being the oldest is is also the most grotesque:
Imagine a human face on the snout of a horse. the jaw is lined with crooked teeth and fangs in various arrangements and the cheeks cut so the mouth can extend open fully to bite down over the torso of a large man. It's body is heavily muscled like the failed mixture of a man, a horse, and a bat but in place of wings an extra set of arms with suckers with biting teeth on the ends of the fingers.
Strangely it speaks in a calm old accent but it's immdieatly realized how mad the thing is having long abandonded any sense of humanity only to mock it as it's ervents present it's meals at a table only for it to always turn into a scene of carnage of bloodshed that results in the Progentior rampaging for several hours before calming down again.
>>47573904
I want Van Helsing to leave this board.
True vampires are evil sorcerers who sold their souls to demons for occult power
When it comes time for them to die they'll be dragged kicking and screaming into hell by the demon
So they turn themselves into vampires to prolong their existence on earth
>>47573904
It says something when leaving a hand-vac in someone's house is a credible death-threat.
>>47573784
That's pretty metal. I might steal parts of this.
A bunch of bored human nobles with way too much money and time who decide to sit around in dark parlors, drink blood and listen to some gurl play a harpsichord. In no way does their habit confer any supernatural powers other than prolonging life due to the nature of blood in the setting. Drinking blood is considered heresy as it is unnatural and all 'vampires' as local folklore labels them are ruthlessly hunted and exterminated by the predominant religious institution.
>>47573665
Thirsty.
While humans become vampires that are more or less like your standard, due to their unique biology elves, dwarves, and orcs have highly divergent transformations.
Vampire elves are known as Strigoi. Elves have their thin builds exacerbated, and their bones hollow. Their arms stretch to become quasi-wings for gliding, and their eyes become a deep black that reflects all light. Most notably, their ears appear to disappear, but this is due to them encompassing the sides of the head, subtly structured to maximize sound detection. Their hands and feet become talons, which along with their impressive and surprising strength make them quite deadly. Their elven dexterity is not lost, and whether creeping or gliding through the air, Strigoi move almost completely silently - when they aren't emanating terrifying ultrasonic screeches. Their mouths, far from the typical fangs of a human vampire, become like beaks, and Strigoi drink blood from prey after they have ripped out their throat.
Vampire dwarves are called Nosferatu. Unlike the Strigoi, which haunt the dark forests, the Nosferatu remain underground in caves or burrows. A life underground leaves them albino and thus highly sensitive to light; skin has grown over their eyes, however, leaving them blind - not that it matters in the perpetual cave darkness. To supplant their vision, dwarves have a highly developed sense of smell, with some possessing fantastical flared snouts; while their ears have regressed deep into their skull, they still possess a keen sense of sound, and produce incredibly low infrasonic calls in order to communicate and locate prey. Like the elves, their arms undergo great transformation, though instead of becoming light and flat, instead they become immensely thick and strong with massive claws at the end; this allows them both to tunnel through rock and ensnare prey. While Strigoi are solitary, Nosferatu form warrens, and burrow Nos hunt by popping out of holes in the surface and snatching.
>>47574806
Orc vampires are Varkolak. Superficially similar to werewolves, orcs become feral beasts covered in matted fur, frequently running on all fours but typically holding a bipedal stance. Varkolak are the least subtle of all vampires, and simply prowl the moors for suitable prey, upon which they disembowel and drain of blood. Varkolak are not weak to silver, and are simply nocturnal with no connection to the moon.
Essentially, elves become bat-owl-mothmen, dwarves become mole-rat-those monsters from the descent/the cave, and orcs become wolfmen.
I don't know why I should have vampires in my setting.
>>47573665
When I use them, I usually fluff them as the Lawful Evil undead type.
Physically, they're "pretty"; I like the bat-monster look as a sort of beastform but otherwise I prefer the tall, pale humanoid look much more.
They're monstrous, violent, and bloodthirsty but live in strict hierarchies and whoever's the oldest, purest vampire is typically in charge. Mostly because he/she's probably the most ruthless if they've been around this long.
Some are also prone to hedonism, especially "young" vampires because they realize all the awesome shit they can do with their powers. Some are just very likely to fuck their victims before drinking them. Older vamps are typically more restrained, but many are still total weirdos behind the Bela Lugosi act.
So I guess they're sort of like Dark Eldar, but much more toned down.This is not a magical realm
Undead servants of the oldest false god.
As their god requires the blood of the living to survive, so do they.
>>47574806
>>47574848
Not bad
An ancient vampire, perhaps alien or perhaps demonic, was jarred awake from its long lost tomb by demolitions training in a PLO camp housing Carlos the Jackal's Organization of Armed Struggle in the 70's. From there it had its pick of international terrorists, influencing some like Carlos and turning others, creating a global terrorist network including PLO, East German Stasi, Japanese Red Army, and others as the core cadre. These vampire terrorists retained their human appearances but drank blood, had incredible superhuman physical and persuasion powers, and had a nasty habit of exploding when dealt fatal damage (something that fit in quite well with the bomb-vest crowd). Today, through ex-Stasi contacts in former West Germany and influential Japanese business figures recruited through cults formed by ex-JRA vampires, the conspiracy controls the Nordstream oil rig project (exerting influence in Russia, Scandinavia, Germany, and the UK) and Japanese government and crime (through businessmen associated with Japanese nationalists). Their goal is to spread the vampiric infection and bring about the biblical apocalypse (out of which a new world order or a new species will emerge?).
>>47574806
>>47574848
B-but then they aren't charismatic ladiesmen like traditional vampires...
>>47573665
All dead except for a dozen or so. They were once the rulers of the entire continent but not sit in isolation so as not to get fucked up
In my setting there're two types of "vampires".
First there's the Nosferatu, which is a term that is used for a vast amount of creatures, it basically means immortal, nomatter the way you obtained immortality main folks are going to call you nosferatu (as long as you still maintain intelligence, so zombies don't count).
Then there's a race of long lived nocturnal humanoid creatures that usually (though not needed) drink blood and become highly addicted to it. They're very pale, have red eyes and usually red hair, long fags and nails, a part from that they aren't much different from elves. The vampire myths come from them, and they're lumped together with the nosferatu even though they aren't that hard to kill.
>>47573665
Regular vampires are pretty much just dudes.
True vampires are old demigods whose power has faded over hundreds of years, and taken with it their non-contractual immortality.
Having lost that wellspring of power to rejuvenate their body constantly, they had to find alternative. They pretty much use mortal life-force as grease to keep the gears of their own soul turning smoothly.
A mortal who is not killed by this process finds that the hole punched into their soul to get at the juicy bits doesn't heal, and in fact just makes them constantly 'hungry' (In a purely spiritual sense) because their life force is leaking out and must be replenished or they just turn to ash. Sure, having a hole in your spiritual body makes you a hell of a lot stronger due to the whole spirit -> energy conversion that under normal circumstances mortals aren't capable of, but the drawbacks kind of suck.
"Vampires" in my setting are part of the group of people who have adjusted to a completely nocturnal lifestyle
the city is so overpopulated that people have divided into "shifts" of day- and night-active people
most Turks and other Mediterranean people are active during the day, and nordic types are typically active in the night. everyone else kind of just decides based on how well they tan
"Vampires" are kind of like a street gang or revolutionary group who feel discriminated against
There was a thread some weeks ago about nice or neutral vampires, in which I posted my idea. Though I'm not any further since then, partially because I don't really know what to do with this setting.
So, in this world vampires protected humans against something way worse, because those humans were livestock for them, afterall. The humans made deals with the vampires and the vampires became their lords.
Those deals turned into laws and the vampires became the aristocracy and knights, with the duty to protect the humans, which are ordinary citizens, workers and peasants with their own rights. So the vampires are obviously based on medieval knights, with their own kind of code of conduct towards each other and the humans. They train to fight, which can be used against outside forces but also against their subjects if they start shit. Because some of them can still be assholes and see humans as nothing else but cattle. Still, some of them can be pretty nice, or are just interested in upholding a stable society.
What I didn't really figured out is what kind of powers they should have, how much daylight affects themIf it's too much it would make it really difficult for them to rule over the humansand what their origin should be.
>>47573665
Like pic related
They suck
>>47575972
scrape, an' lick
>>47576115
kek
This.
And they have all the reputation of vampires like >>47573665 despite preferring berries, nuts and tapestry weaving, culturally.
>>47573665
Very very rare, getting fewer.
Obssessive about some hobby or task.
>>47573665
>What are your vampires like?+ 0 post omitted.
A small species of bats. They mostly feed on cattle and wild animals, though they can sometimes feed on humans. They aren't particularly dangerous, but they can carry and spread diseases.
There are also legends among people about evil spirits and monsters that can suck human blood (or other fluids). Their image and nature is differs from tribe to tribe and culture to culture. They aren't real though - it's just a superstition. Unlike ghouls, which is a term for degenerated, cannibalistic human tribes that do exist in few remote spots of the world, vampire as a creature capable of actually endangering a person directly does not exist in my world.
Sex masters that the players side and sleep with at first sight.
He was set up like a potential big bad, who turned all of a small town's women into his thralls, but was so fun and charismatic the players ended up helping him kill an NPC "noble hero" that was trying to stop him.
>>47573665
several types
you have this disease that makes you really sensitive to sunlight, bloodthirsty, pale, gangly, stronger, faster, that's spread through bites. people aflicted by this don't go feral or hyper aggresive like lycantrophy would, and they don't usualy kill their victims. unless they've been afflicted for too long and they warp even further, teeth growing sharper, nose flattens, ears grow, and they become hunchbacked. you could call that a feral vampire.
you also have several gifts or curses granted by demons. they come in a wide variety from the classic vampire deal we all know, to more modern hollywood vampire powers including shapeshifting, super strength, and all kinds of crazy powers. (think clasic dracula stories and stuff like van hellsing)
and then you also have individuals who messed around with science and magic (often both) and accidentaly or purposely gave themselves or any subjects of experimentation vampire like powers.
and then you also have your random dirt farmer's superstitions that turn out to be just big bats, or a different supernatural monster that would seem like a vampire to some backwater hillbilly living in the middle of nowhere.
the demon ones are refered to as "true" vampires by vamp experts as they are the only ones who come with the weakness to holy objects. as well as the not showing up on mirrors deal.
the rest are reffered to as "false" vampires. of course these "false" vampires are still dangerous in their own right and since their discription is so similar from a "true" vampire (especialy if comming from poor dirt farmer #12432) it's usualy a good idea to prepare for the worst when it comes to vampire sightings
>>47573665
People that drink blood to stay young. The more you do it, the more you change and become dependent on it.
A cult started by a long dead druid who was turned undead in a forced and botched lich-making attempt, who embraced his new status as a glutton for life energy upon switching his domain to bats.
A sort of early try at lich-ification. It kinda worked, but the process was imperfect and the first ones to try turn into what vampires have been since then; feral, ravening undead with occasional moments of lucity.
There are two kinds; Morvoi, vampires that feed on blood or, if there's no blood available, fresh meat. They can face the sun, but makes them freak out and basically renders them extremely vulnerable.
The other kind are the Sivhoi; these are "spiritual" vampires,feeding upon souls. They're ethereal most of the time, but can turn material at will (though it consumes a lot of energy). They're dangerous,sneaky bastards, capable of hiding in any shadow of at least a certain size, though the most powerful can use even dark spaces as thin as the gap between a door and its threshold, or as small as a jewel box. Also,unlike Morvoi,they're intelligent and cunning, but their thinking gets slower if they lack nourishment (like being drunk).
They're vulnerable to silver weapons,especially if they've been blessed by a priest. The effect is even stronger if the blessing was administered by a priest of Lugh,the Sun God.
Sunlight destroys them almost instantly; the oldest,most poweful Sivhoi may stand it for a few seconds, while they reach a small shadow to hide there.
Vampires turned their victims into new vampires by killing and drainning them of all lifeforce. A few days later, the dead person turns into a new Morvoi or Shivoi; Morvoi awake as souless,seemingly decaying undead,whereas Shivoi arise as etheral beings,desintegrating their formers bodies in the process.
>>47573665
I just use WFB style vampires, with the occasional Twipire bitchvamp for the PCs to beat down for fun.
Predatory monsters with incredible physical strength and higtened senses. none of that namby-pamy glamor and n entsl influence. It's a wolf that walks like a man, not a suave playboy.
>>47573665
I like the old movie style dracula vampires. Counts and countesses with powers that completely disapear by sunlight.
Attempts by alchemists to refine the Philosopher's Stone.
Tangentially related to Ghouls/Lycanthropes as both are the descendant lines of research and tradition stolen from the ruins of the Dawn Serpent civilizations in prehistory. Vampires are the most modern development of these ancient sciences (first appearing in the post-Hellenic Mediterranean.)
As they grow older they become more powerful, and more monstrous, as their unnatural regeneration is sadly imperfect, particularly when coupled with different methods of discorperation (bats, spiders, writhing veins, mist, ect.)
Vampire clans exist due to the great difficulty in successfully kickstarting the transformation from scratch using alchemical methods, thus even knowledgeable occultists may buckle in the face of mortality and submit as part of an established bloodline rather than run the risk of failure.
Very, very patient and vengeful schemers who occasionally get involved in mortal politics. They live forever, so they literally have all the time in the world to fuck up their enemy's day. The older they get however, the more monstrous their form becomes so they end up getting more creative to blend in while they age. Intelligence stays though, grows even. Also, I totally jacked the thing from Buffy where they have to make a non-vampire drink their blood to make a new vampire. Anything else just makes spawn.
>>47573665
Cursed. Ever feel thirsty? They always feel like that. Ever feel like you don't want to get out of bed? They always feel like that. Ever suffocate? They always feel like that. It's a miserable existence.
Worst part: A vampire's soul will not go to Heaven or Hell. It simply doesn't go anywhere.
>>47573665
Over the top Requiem style, with long fangs, and tits like Wendy Whoppers.
Goblin rebels that use second-hand life magic to empower themselves and raise undead armies to fight against their elven masters. Being second-hand magic, it is incomplete and they need to feed on blood in order to keep themselves from being devoured by the magic they use.
>>47573665
Moe and Yandere at the same time :D
>>47573665
My vampires are all in a homosexual death cult where they
>SLAM METH
>and
>POZ
like the disgusting degenerates they are
>>47573665
Fey-like beings, as in they look like beautiful humans but "almost". The more you stare at them the more they sink into the uncanny valley. Pale skin with grey eyes and black hair.
They are a species that "co-evolved" with humans in north Europe with the purpose of hunting us. They aren't that much stronger than a human their size but have the ability to lock their joints, when you've got a vampire gripping on you there is no way out outside of killing the vampire.
They can "feed" on body heat using their palms until they kill their prey by hypothermia which then proceed to eat, using said heat to help digestion.
Their skin is sensitive to UV radiation and prefer dark caves as shelter during the day, hunting only at night. Won't burst into flames under the sun but the pain is unbearable
They've mostly left their predatory side behind on modern times, living alongside humans in their cities but they are still mistrusted and rightly so, because they have like 40% chance of psychopaths, of which over 60% engage in anthropophagia.
Personality wise they range from
>Well meaning and hard working ones that are distrusted by the general public but well liked by their communities or neighborhoods. The prejudice they face is bad but not THAT bad. These are the norm.
>Edgelords that vandalize and have a bone to pick with their "prey". Mostly teenagers
>Psychopaths range from Hannibal Lecter to random street thug. The reason there is a "shoot on sight" order against criminal vampires, and while some innocents had to suffer because of it, most vampires agree it's for the best.
>Feral/Tribals live as their ancestors used to, hunting, foraging, eating the ocassional human while avoiding attracting much attention. They are mostly left alone if they agree to have a subdermal tracker implant put on them.
>>47581970
Was with it up to Age 300, dropped out, and came back in at Age 1000.
>>47573665
The stronger they are, the more vulnerable they are to vampire rules.
prettyboys.
>>47573665
The middle class/lower-end nobility. The ones who run the shops and run most of the guilds. They mostly feed on the workers and keep a small group around them just in case. Cannot stand sunlight, so that's why they stay inside.
>>47573861
So... Something like this?
>>47584499
Lower end nobility doesn't run shops, that's a good way to lose your titles.
>>47584938
Yes. If I ever ran a game he would be the one the PCs encountered. He can never again assume anything that remotely resembles a human form and doesn't even try to running it's organization through proxies and selected individuals whom he's decided he won't eat for the time being.
Basically all the traits of a Bram Stoker Dracula except non of the pretty boy aspects of it. Just a giant dude the size of a semi trailer wrapped in a giant cloak and he's only one of the few Elder vampires in existence (although the oldest one thus far)
>>47573665
Vampires are ancient humans who decided to go the blood-magic route of immortality. Their corruption made them monsters, and cursed their extended families by association, leading to a rare recessive quality: Dhampirism.
>>47573665
They suck souls instead of blood.
>>47586117
>souls
>not money
>>47575939
Full plate. It protects from sunlight too, just gets warm. People in this setting would associate the term "vampire" with an imposing but ultimately faceless figure in armor that rides out against evildoers.
Alternatively, all the -really- bad monsters out there are nocturnal too.
Reclusive folks that prefer to stay in their enclaves. Don't differ from humans much, except that they have wings and fangs, but both can be hidden pretty easily using a cape and fake moustache and beard. Don't drink blood, don't burn in sunlight, don't fear garlic, silver, wooden stakes (more than humans do, that is), holy water,etc. Have huge problems with procreation, although live longer and are physically stronger and more resilient, so prefer the legends of them as blood sucking monsters to be alivve and well.
>>47584407
>>47581970
Glad I'm not the only one. Monster girls left, furries right, and genetic rejects center.
>>47573665
They're like half-rotten corpses, and they shamble around trying to eat people's brains. When the moon comes out, they grow long fangs and fur. They're amphibious, and their home is in a black lagoon. Their origin is that the first was cobbled together by a mad scientist and brought to life by a lightning bolt. If you look them in the eyes, you turn to stone. They can breathe fire. The only thing that can hurt them is kryptonite. There's a mystical puzzle box that summons them if you open it.
Mortals who've contracted an ancient blood curse that fundamentally twists their nature and soul. Seemingly better endowed in nearly every aspect over their mortal counterparts, the curse ultimately curtails their long-term potential and reduces them to deluded, broken parasites.
There are only two initial readily apparent drawbacks: the dire threat of sunlight and the necessity to feed on blood. Any blood, initially, in small amounts and constantly.
Their mind is also changed, but the abomination of their nature by their former peers also plays a part into driving many spawns into the hands of their progenitors, where they are more susceptible to developing the habits normally associated with their kind.
As they grow older the drawbacks pile up, extending into the classic weaknesses and other more esoteric restrictions. The feeding intervals grow longer and longer, but the amount and potence needed greater and greater, to degrees requiring mass carnage.
The state of the mind, meanwhile, continues to degrade.
And with the curse's potence also grows the blood's ability to spread the curse to others, such that mass spawning through water contamination, accidental or intentionally used as a weapon, is possible for an elder.
They essentially have all the advantages you'd expect a vain user of blood magic to aim for, with dashes of potential monstruous horror and an eternal rot upon their souls.
Rare outside a large but relatively isolated region.
Humanoid and very, VERY cuddly.
Love to nib at mortals and take very small amoubts of blood and patch them up with band aids and hug them.
Some of them spend the night with one warm mortals to feel the warmth again.
They are hurt by light but they are more hurt of being abandoned.
And they feel lonely when not hold by their hands.
