Vampires

http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Vampire#Clans\_of\_Vampire:\_The\_Masquerade

**Vampires** are magically reanimated human corpses which are inhabited by the spirits of the deceased person and who closely resemble the living human they were before their transformation. Vampires feed and survive on the blood of the living, typically on that of humans, and they can also transform other humans into more of their kind with their own blood.

## Creation

A human who has consumed vampire blood in some way (whether by drinking it, having it poured into an open wound, or being injected with it) and has subsequently died with the blood in their system will be magically revived as an undead vampire, just like the vampire who sired them. The exact nature of the human's death is irrelevant to this process; the only condition that must be met is that the body has to be more-or-less intact and able to function once they reawaken in transition. In order to complete the transition into a vampire, the person must then consume a significant amount of human blood, at least a sip's worth, within the next twenty-four hours, or else they will die. Vampires can only feed on human blood (which includes the blood of a witch) to successfully complete their transition-- animal blood or vampire blood is not sufficient to finish the transformation from human to vampire. A vampire in transition is neither truly living nor truly dead until they either complete their transformation by drinking human blood and becoming a vampire or choose not to feed and die for good. This puts them in a strange liminal space between the two states that can have several different effects. For example, a vampire in transition is immune to the effects of a dark object known as the Serratura, as evidenced by the fact that Cami O'Connell, while in transition, was able to activate the Serratura inside of a shipping container to trap Tristan de Martel there without being trapped herself. In a similar vein, until a person in transition drinks human blood to complete their transformation, they will be not be susceptible to the standard weaknesses of a vampire (i.e. they can still walk in sunlight and can enter homes without an invitation).

## Physiology

### Nutrition

Vampires subsist on blood as their only food source. Human blood is by far the most common source and the most appealing, and subsequently the most difficult to resist.
As blood is the only component of a vampire's diet, failing to drink blood (whether human or animal) for an extended period of time will physically and mentally weaken a vampire. The longer a vampire abstains from blood, the more likely the vampire will lose their rationality and mental faculties until they give into their thirst, because their throats are described to be in "burning pain", which will worsen the longer they do not drink blood. Although it still gives them nutrition, animal blood is less appealing to vampires.
Vampires who wish to blend in with human society are also seen to ingest human food and drinks, but, since their bodies can no longer digest this, they must cough everything up later. On occasion, the appeal of human blood can be so enticing that a "vegetarian" vampire will lose control, especially if their self-control is weak. To a "vegetarian" vampire, carnivores' blood is more appetizing than herbivores, though still not quite as good as humans.

The blood of each human has an individual taste and smell; sometimes a certain vampire finds a particular human whose blood he or she finds nearly absolutely irresistible. The Volturi call these humans "la tua cantante"—singers—as their blood "sings" to that particular vampire. To most vampires, such discovery is an experience to be savored.

### Physical Appearance

After the change, vampires' physical appearance and muscle mass is enhanced and perfected, eye color changes, and they no longer need to breathe, though they often still do so out of habit, and feel uncomfortable without their sense of smell—the first warning of an impending threat or the smell of potential prey. The ability to cut off airflow from their lungs allows them to remain submerged underwater for as long as they wish, and contributes greatly to their excellent swimming capabilities.

Vampires are extraordinarily beautiful, some more attractive than others, such as and . Their beauty is described as angelic or even god-like. This is one of the several features meant to attract their prey—more specifically, to attract, fascinate, and (if necessary) seduce, unsuspecting humans. How physically appealing their prey finds them is determined by how desirable they were as humans themselves. If an already attractive human were to be transformed, their physical beauty would be "beyond breathtaking". If they were of average interest, their attractiveness would be lower, but still stunningly beautiful. If however they were not particularly pleasing to the eye, they would become average (as shown with ), but this is a rare occurrence, as vampires normally select exceptional humans to turn.

A vampire's skin is described as "chalky", alabaster, or marble (because of its texture and feel, as well as its appearance). Regardless of original ethnicity, a vampire's skin will be exceptionally pale. The hue varies slightly, with darker-skinned humans having a barely discernible olive tone to their vampire skin, but the light shade remains the same. They owe their unnatural pale complexion to their lack of blood flow; once they reach the first anniversary of their transformation, they no longer possess blood of their own (though they still become slightly flushed after feeding).