Vampire

Origins

Vampires were noble once. Human and proud, these members of Darraknorian nobility grew fat on the endless bounty of those they profited from, partaking in increasingly frivolous and copious amounts of debauchery. This need for increasingly exotic forms of pleasure eventually starved those that worked day and night to fulfill their master’s hunger. 

When a Baron whose name was lost to time invited some of the most powerful magic users to his manor for a most exquisite banquet. Only a single guest accepted his invitation, a mage who had grown infamous for their lack of self-preservation. The deranged Baron did not care for the low attendance, he only cared for the feast that walked through his rotting palace doors. 

He took pleasure tearing through the mage’s fear with his bare teeth, the mage powerless as skin and muscle were torn from bone, their eyes gouged out, their blood drained and fermented into a most profane form. Little did the foolish baron know, the mage’s blood was tainted, cursed by the beings that lurk below. The wine was served to a slew of the baron’s peers, sending them into a bloodthirsty frenzy, tearing at each other’s throats as they attempted to acquire more of the crimson liquid that gave people life. They were no longer human, more like animals.

Millenia of evolution led to the rise of a new breed of vampires, less like beasts, more knowledgeable, more sophisticated. These beings organized themselves into clans and ruled over the wasteland that had become the Baron’s land, Ebonvale.

Traits

Vampires are immortal and gain strength from blood. They blend seamlessly into society, using their charm and cunning to manipulate others. While some Vampires have regeneration abilities that allow them to heal from wounds quickly, those that are severely hurt can sometimes heal even faster if they are able to drink fresh blood. 

Some Sires, those that create new Vampires, have some connections to those they make. While they are not able to control them without serious magical study, Sires are able to at least calm the emotional state of their creations when they become overwrought with hunger. This, however, weakens a Sire for some time.

Weaknesses

Sunlight, holy water, and wooden stakes remain their greatest vulnerabilities. While they can mask their monstrous nature, their insatiable hunger for blood is a constant threat to their carefully crafted façade. Feasting on the dead or undead is like consuming poison for vampires, causing them to become violently ill.

Culture

Vampiric culture is often quite the noble affair. With the original vampires living for upwards of six or seven thousand years, and those that have come since living for four or five thousand years, the vampire as a people tend to like the finer side of life. Finding their long existence often fraught with boredom, they find new ways of entertaining themselves, making their tastes in life wide and varied.

Those vampires who were directly descended from the Baron in the time before the rifts opened, during the madness that was wrought by the Baron’s reign, were also affected by his madness on that fateful day of the banquet. These vampires became wild, driven insane by the magical corruption of the blood that they consumed that day. This vampire clan now roam the landscape hunting for fresh prey to satiate their never ending hunger. They roam like maddened beasts, ravaging the landscape and rending their foes with sharpened talon-like fingers.

Those that escaped the bloodline’s curse rebuilt their civilization over the years, building new towns and once again going back to their ways of decadence and nobility. Though they have moved on from the dark times of the Baron, they still fear the past may well indeed come back to haunt them.

Even though not of the same bloodline, there are some that still fall to the Baron’s curse, succumbing to the madness of the blood if only for a time before regaining their senses once more. These vampires are often shunned, lest their madness spread to others around them.

Those that were recently cursed or changed within the Badlands have not found as much luxury as their predecessors. While some Sires, the creator of a new vampire, are kind and take their newly created children under their wing, there are those that are left alone and frightened with a new found hunger that they have no knowledge of how to control. It is not uncommon for newly created vampires to die quickly in the sun with no clue of how they became what they are. 

Some Vampires in the Badlands have gone on to accept their new fate and continue their lives as normal, avoiding the sun as much as they can, and feeding on animals or willing donors so they do not hurt those around them. While others embrace their new monstrous ordeal, becoming predators of the night, stalking forests and alleyways for their next meal. 

More Information

The Vampire Curse

Catalyst: In order to be changed into a Vampire, a normal human must be drained to near death. It is important that the Sire keeps them conscious, if they pass out they will not be able to complete the ritual. After such, the Sire allows the human to drink their own blood. This then allows the curse to take hold on the human’s body and spirit. 

The First Hour: While everyone reacts differently when the curse begins to take hold, it is not uncommon for the human to die for a few minutes. This allows their body to be changed. They then awaken, cold, with no heartbeat now within the vampire’s grasp. Their senses heightened to that of a keen hunter. 

The First Day: It is important for a newly created vampire to feed. Their body has been drained of blood and they must feed in order to replenish themselves. This can prove dangerous for newly created vampires, as they have not yet learned to control their hunger. It is imperative they do not allow hunger to consume them. 

The First Week: Feeding frequently is still important but after a few days, most vampires should adjust to the feelings of their new hunger and their heightened senses. With a Sire to assist them, this can come quicker than those learning alone. 

Magical Proclivity

Because of their longevity and need to fill their time, it is not rare to come across a vampire that studies magic either for fun or out of boredom. Because of their undead nature, some vampire’s find interest in necromancy. While others find a fondness for blood magic. Vampire’s are also highly connected to the people around them, some becoming empathic after decades of study or learning to manipulate the emotions of those around them. It is not uncommon for a vampire that studies magic to study many different areas of magic. They certainly have the time to learn.