Vampires

Vampires are a relatively common supernatural entity on Earth Q. They often call other Vampires Kindred, though this is most common amongst Cainites and Kudlak. There are five major categories of Vampire; Abhartach, who are connected to the Dreaming and hail from northern Europe and Scandinavia, Cainites, who trace their ancestry to the Middle East and (typically) the biblical figure Caine, the Laibon, who trace their ancestries to Africa and a great many different spirits, the Rakshasa, who come from Asia and are said to have come from an underworld curse, and Kudlak, from northern Europe, who are tied to the Coil. Other forms of Vampires exist, such as the Blood Servants, whom are people whose souls have been tainted by Black Blood Spirits, but are considerably rarer. Regardless of type, modern vampires arrange themselves into a variety of Sects, which are basically political parties where voting is replaced by blood and sunlight.

Vampires are defined by their use of Hunger or Blood to fuel their supernatural abilities. Hunger, in the case of Kindred who see their power as temptation, or rather, to use their power they must tempt something within, or Blood, in the case of Kindred who see their power as more objective and measurable. Subjective versus Objective, essentially. Kindred who use Hunger must tempt or Rouse their hunger, with only a chance of paying a price for it, while Blood is objective and is a true resource that is spent directly.

A Vampire's blood may be used for their variety of supernatural powers, but Vampires may also spend Blood or roll Hunger, as appropriate, to Rouse the Blood (Gaining additional dice on any roll), heal from wounds (Self-explanatory), gain the Blush of Life (To appear as a mostly-living being), or to create Ghouls, mortals which gain a fraction of the vampire's power.

## Abhartach

Abhartach are vampires native to Europe, and often interacted with the Kudlak, who could typically be found to the southeast. Despite being well within Rome's sphere of influence, they don't get along with most other vampires and didn't spread like the Kudlak and Cainites. They kept Cainites and Kudlak out of Gaul and Britain for a very long time, and completely out of Scandinavia until the modern day. They were also the first vampires to make it to the Americas and stay there, and still dominate vampire culture in modern day Canada, with limited presence throughout north america.

Abhartach divide themselves into Houses, which follow by bloodline. Unlike the bloodlines of the Cainites, Houses can be inherited and changed overnight, and can be shared within an individual Abhartach. A vampire could be a Knight of one House but a Duke in another and a Princess of another! Politics usually stop Houses from being united, but that can also happen.

Abhartach are Artful Immortals, as such subject to the Fey Realm rather than Actor, and each House has a Favoured Art.

## Cainites

Cainites are the most widespread vampires. Cainites and Kudlak were the Kindred which spread throughout Rome during it's lifetime, and from around the Mediterranean spread to the rest of the world. Cainites had long-before spread along most of the Med, into Africa, and into India, and now Cainites can be found just about anywhere. Of course, nowadays there are also planes and the like, but they had spread like this centuries ago. There is... An odd case. One of the oldest Cainites somehow got to central america more than 2.000 years ago, and there remains a Cainite population there.

The Cainites divide themselves into Clans and Bloodlines; Their curse mutates, for lack of a better word, with sufficient pressure and power, and these mutations can pass through the generations. Thereby the "Clans" of the Cainites define the specific abilities and curses of an individual Cainite, for the most part.

Cainites are Disciplined Immortals, and each Clan or Bloodline has 3 Disciplines which they are naturally proficient in.

## Laibon

The Laibon are vampires native to sub-Saharan Africa. They interacted with many Cainites who were in Egypt (And later Ashirra and others), as well as those which had journeyed further (Of which there were few, with most being near Ethiopia), but otherwise had little interaction or spread until the 1600's, after which time a large number were sent to the Americas and Europe for... Obvious reasons, where they flourished to varying degrees. Some Laibon, of course, journeyed outward, but due to the manner of creating more vampires, there was little spread. That said, some of the oldest Court vampires are Laibon.

The Laibon categorize themselves in Legacies. The Legacies are defined by the type of Spirit which enacts the process of revival into a vampire, and have profound impact on the Vampire raised. Because of this, when Laibon travel far afield, they either couldn't spread without massive effort (The spiritual landscape is different everywhere, and finding the right spirits even in Egypt was a challenge) or they convinced or bound spirits into objects and travelled with them.

The Laibon are Spiritual Immortals and have a natural affinity for spirits of Blood and Death, and another type of spirit based on their Legacy. The Gifts from these spirits are much more natural to the Laibon, and these are able to be taught between them, not only from the spirits.

## Kudlak

The Kudlak are vampires native to western Europe, the Balkans, and Russia. They often worked as an intermediary between Cainites and Abhartach, but they also had contact with the Rakshasae and Laibon on occasion. Kudlak spread around the Mediterranean and Europe along with the Roman Empire and Cainites, but also throughout Europe alongside the Abhartach. They also spread aggressively alongside the Huns and the Mongols at various times.

The Kudlak are not grouped by bloodline but by death; Kudlak are marked while they live, often through a complex process of feeding and magic by an older Kudlak, and typically becoming a Ghoul or Revenant in life. Their manner of death then transforms them fully into a true Kudlak by connecting them with the Coil.

Kudlak are Arcane Immortals, with each Kudlak possessing an affinity for one Arcanos from death, and following normal naming conventions for those impacted by the Coil.

## Rakshasa

The Rakshasa are native to India, but spread through China, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Japan. They were almost always at odds with the Cainites in the middle east, especially the Ravnos and Tzimisce who pushed into India. Later in their spread they also interacted greatly with the Kudlak, who were to the north and northwest. They didn't make it to the Americas until much later, the 1900's, but they made it to Hawai'i nearly a thousand years prior.

Rakshasa group into three great courts, the Wuji, Yang, and Yin Courts, with the Yin and Yang separated into nine lesser Courts each. When the Rakshasa are embraced, their soul naturally chooses the Court appropriate to them based on their personality and attributes.

Rakshasa are Energetic Immortals, with each possessing three favoured Qiao; All Rakshasa are talented in the use of Feng Shui, with their major Court determining a Prana, and their lesser Court granting a third specialty.

## Others

### Blood Servants

Blood Servants are a rare sort of vampire-like creature that often oppose various Spiritual and Energetic immortals. They are mindless drones for the Wyrm, the corrupted Spirit of Destruction, and there are five forms, modelled after the five normal Kindred.

### Kresnik

Kresnik are semi-unique entities whom gain the ability to wield Dynamic Magic. They are often revered as gods, and/or gain the power of the gods, and/or were gods turned into vampires. Their massive power overrides normal vampiric abilities, though they can be influenced by them, depending on the process to which one becomes a Kresnik.