Vampirism ( Skyrim ) Vampirism is a syndrome that is acquired after the disease Sanguinare Vampiris has infected the body longer than three in - game day s . Harmed by sunlight , stigmatized by mortal s , and infamous for their thirst for blood , vampires go to extreme lengths to hide their ailment or entire presence from mortals . In , Vampires acquire special magical spells as their level of infection increases . To offset this advantage , vulnerabilities to fire and sunlight are also acquired . Vampirism can be contracted and cured an unlimited number of times . If the infection has rooted before three days have passed , a Potion of Cure Disease can be ingested to cure Sanguinare Vampiris , which , as previously mentioned , is the disease that eventually leads to Vampirism . Alternatively , praying at a shrine cures it . After that , the only method for removing the disease is to speak to Falion , the thaumaturge of Morthal . He requires a filled Black Soul Gem to cure vampirism . Vampirism comes in four stages of severity . The severity of the infection increases the longer the vampire goes without drinking blood . Sleeping humans can be fed on to keep the curse at bay . Spectators of a feeding become hostile and report the crime to Hold Guard s . Feeding accrues a bounty of 40 in the corresponding Hold . The crime cannot be paid off with or jail time . Upon reaching stage four of vampirism , mortals can detect the vampire more easily , attacking or fleeing almost upon sight . The plug - in adds a Vampire Lord ability with eleven perks to unlock through leveling up . The Dragonborn opens up the skill tree by siding with Lord Harkon and the Volkihar Clan to help actuate the Tyranny of the Sun prophecy foretold in the Elder Scrolls . Unlocking all eleven perks garners players an achievement . In addition , characters no longer turn hostile when the Dragonborn is at stage four vampirism , but they will if they are in Vampire Lord form . Sanguinare Vampiris . Sanguinare Vampiris is the disease that eventually culminates in vampirism and is typically contracted when attacked by a vampire , either with physical attacks or being subject to their Vampiric Drain spell . If one is attacked by Vampiric Drain , there is 10 % chance of infection . If the disease has not been cured ( via a Cure Disease potion or praying at a shrine ) within three days , the infection mutates into full vampirism , causing a series of maladaptive and beneficial traits to emerge in the subject . Drinking blood can stay the infection and lessen the deficits of the disease . In " Dawnguard " , drinking from the bloodspring in Redwater Den also allows the disease to be contracted . Using console commands . In PC versions of " Skyrim " , the console can be used to contract Vampirism without being bitten or waiting for the stages of the infection to progress . It can be done with the codice _ 1 command ; for example , to change into a Bosmer vampire , codice _ 2 must be entered . If a race other than the one that was selected at character creation is chosen , the rendered Dragonborn will become bald . However , this method can lead to acquiring " broken " vampirism with most abilities and active effects missing . This can be fixed by feeding . An alternative method to doing so is to type in the command codice _ 3 . This will infect the player with the vanilla version of Sanguinare Vampiris . If one wants to be infected with the same disease , but wants the version , they should instead type in the command , codice _ 4 . Obviously , this will only work if the " Dawnguard " add - on has been installed . Immunity to vampirism . While infected with Lycanthropy as a result of getting involved in the Companions questline , or when otherwise engaged in Beast Form as a result of a bug related to Hircine ' s Ring , player characters effectively become fully immune to vampirism , as they cannot contract the pre - requisite Sanguinare Vampiris disease . Argonians and Bosmer are naturally resistant to disease , being 50 % less likely than Men or Mer to contract vampirism , and all characters may additionally equip enchantments or drink resist disease potions to avoid infection . Note that , regardless of any other preventative measures taken , opting to become a Vampire Lord will inflict the status instantly , removing Lycanthropy if already present . It ' s also possible to become a vampire while retaining Lycanthropy via console commands . Appearance . Vampires are easily distinguishable from uninfected persons . As a result of the , the infected slowly grow paler . Fangs protrude from their gums , allowing for easier feeding of blood . Eye color changes from the spectrum of average hues to red . When infected , the fur of the Khajiit alters as the skin of a human or elf would . Long - toothed by nature , the incisors of the Khajiit grow exceptionally long , so that they protrude below the lip . Their pupils also become slit - like . Similarly with the Argonians ; they grow pairs of double fangs which protrude from the upper jaw at the front of the mouth , the eyes ( if not already slitted ) will become pale and slit - like , and the color of the scales grow grayer as the infection worsens . Stages of vampirism and their effects . After approximately twenty - four hours without feeding , a vampire progresses a stage . Feeding always brings the vampire back to stage one . In order to feed , one must stand or crouch next to a sleeping person and attempt to either talk to or pickpocket them . An option box appears , giving the options to either " feed " or " pickpocket / talk . " Without " Dawnguard " installed , characters become hostile toward the vampire as the infection worsens , attacking them on sight . " Dawnguard " removes this penalty and people will treat a blood - starved vampire like any other person . Effects across all stages . These effects exist across all stages of infection and are perpetually active : Weakness to sunlight . Sunlight , encountered outside during the day between 5am and 7pm , is extremely harmful to vampires . Because of this , vampires move more easily at night . Equipping Apparel that grants a faster regeneration percentage on any of the three main stats , using the Lady Standing Stones , or taking a perk that grants faster regeneration allows stat recovery regardless of one ' s weakness to sunlight . Hostility . If the Dragonborn is at stage four of vampirism without the " Dawnguard " add - on , to avoid hostile persons , they must travel by night and avoid places where a vampiric infection would be noticed . Because vampirism bolsters Illusion spells , casting Pacify on characters can prevent them from attacking a vampire . Perks such as " Kindred Mage " may need to be unlocked first , before certain expert - level persons are affected by the spell . Effects at each stage . Unlike the perpetual effects , which exist across all stages of infection , these effects alter as the infection worsens or is rescinded , due to feeding or lack of feeding . Necromage . Since becoming a Vampire classifies the Dragonborn as undead , they will gain the effect of the Necromage perk ( if chosen as a Restoration skill ) . Necromage enhances all buffs and debuffs by 25 % . A basic Vampire character at stage four raises its Resist Frost to 62 . 5 % ; likewise with its Weakness to Fire to 62 . 5 % . The interesting feature of this perk is that all Enchantments count as buffs and will be increased by 25 % . Basically , everything in Active Effect s is enhanced by this perk . Vampire Lord . , the first official plug - in for redesigned the vampire game mechanic , adding a perk skill tree and renovating the physical appearance . During the quest called " Bloodline " , the Dragonborn must decide whether to continue assisting the Dawnguard or join Harkon and the Volkihar Clan . Choosing the path of Harkon grants the ability to become a Vampire Lord , unlocking the potential to utilize eleven unique perk abilities . It should be noted that siding with Dawnguard does not cancel possibility of becoming Vampire Lord . Serena can make you one after the quest line ( unless cured ) . Among the newly added spells is the ability to drain life to vitalize the Vampire Lord and the ability to summon Gargoyles the way atronach s are summoned via the use of Conjuration magic . The power bite attack adds unique cinematics in which the Vampire Lord wraps its wings around the victim and bites them on the neck . Curing vampirism . Lycanthropy . Becoming a Werewolf cures vampirism . Aela the Huntress turns the Dragonborn into a werewolf should they decide to join the Companions and become a member of the circle . Console Commands . Another way of curing vampirism is via Console Commands ; one must open the console and type codice _ 6 . By using the Console Command code codice _ 7 to change the Dragonborn ' s race , vampirism is immediately removed . This is also true of the codice _ 8 command . If one is having trouble curing one ' s vampirism , or having trouble getting Rising at Dawn quest to start ( to clear it ) , a fix is to type in codice _ 9 instead . It is important to note that this will clear complete the Rising at Dawn quest . Feeding . Drinking the blood of the uninfected stays the vampiric infection . Levels of vampirism can be reversed simply by drinking blood . Feeding accrues a bounty of 40 in the corresponding holds , if caught . Sneak , Muffle , and invisibility do nothing to decrease the chances of detection . There are two methods for feeding available to vampires : Types of feeding . Sleeping . To feed , one must approach a sleeping humanoid and press the interaction button . If successful , a black message box pops up with the options of " Feed " or " Talk to < character ' s name > " . One must select feed to execute the feeding command . During the session , the vampire bends over the slumbering victim and the screen flashes a light magenta color . A message reading " Your vampiric powers recede as you feed . " is also displayed . The same person can be fed from multiple times in one night , or across nights , and they are never killed as a result of the feeding unless the Vampire Lord power is active at the time . As with pickpocket ing , incessant interaction with a target increases the chances that they will awaken . Conscious . With the addition of , conscious humanoids can be fed upon . It works similarly to the sleeping method , but requires the Dragonborn to cast the Vampire ' s Seduction spell on a person first . This spell is only available at stage two of vampirism and can only be used once per day . It only affects characters up to a certain level , so choose the target carefully before casting the spell . The dungeon in Castle Volkihar has some cattle that appear to be permanently affected by Vampire ' s Seduction and can be fed on while conscious . Comparisons with other games . Vampire factions . Sociologically , vampires in previous games have a stronger presence , both in regards to how they are interacted with and the niche their demographic plays in the microcosms of the setting . Similar to the Volkihar Clan in " Dawnguard " , there are vampire factions and that can be joined . In " Morrowind " , joining a Vampire Clan allocates additional attributes bonuses and fortifications for skills . " Skyrim " excludes this feature , as does . A re - invented version of this game mechanic returned with " Dawnguard " , but it was more closely integrated with the main storyline and the bonuses granted are based on perks given upon leveling up . Vampires grouped together in clans in " Daggerfall " and " Morrowind " ; members consisting solely of vampires from the same bloodline . This translates to " Skyrim " in form of Laelette and Alva ' s interactions with Movarth and his coven . Otherwise , most vampires encountered in " Skyrim " are uncivilized , wild , and virtually solitary , minus their thralls and slaves . Bonuses and unique spells . In both " Morrowind " and " Oblivion " , vampires gained bonuses to attributes and skills simply upon becoming vampires . The eradication of the attribute system in " Skyrim " made garnering such bonuses obsolete . Vampire - specific spells and abilities such as Vampiric Drain and Embrace of Shadows replaced these attribute bonuses . In " Oblivion " , a Night - Eye - based spell similar to Vampire ' s Sight did appear ; however , the unique Charm spell , Enthralling Presence , was given at stage three vampirism . Again , " Skyrim " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s omission of Charm , as a castable spell , lends explanation to its exclusion . Disadvantages . In regards to the disadvantages of vampirism , " Oblivion " has more differences from those in the vampires of " Skyrim " . Instead of increasing Weakness to Fire by 25 % at each stage of infection , " Oblivion " added 10 % , with a minimum weakness of 20 % and a maximum of 50 % . Both " Oblivion " and " Morrowind " were without automatic health , magicka , and stamina regeneration , so being in sunlight did not stunt it . Instead , vampires in those titles sustained constant damage per second at an accelerated scale , as infection augmented . Fast - traveling as a vampire in " Oblivion " could not take place during the day for this reason . While those caught feeding are still violently reproached , townsfolk and city guards are less inclined to notice a vampire by physical appearance alone , even during broad daylight while sustaining Sun Damage in other games . Curing vampirism . In " Oblivion " , the cure for vampirism is also given by a mage , in the form of a sequestered hedgewitch , and involves Grand Soul Gems and various alchemical ingredients . " Morrowind " requires the fetching of a book and direct interaction with Molag Bal , the princely patron of vampirism . In both games , vampirism can also be cured via console commands .