Vampires

**Vampires** (also called Children of The Night) are 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 by sharing their own blood with them.

## Physiology

Blood is the main component of a vampire's diet, be it human, animal or vampire blood. If a vampire fails to regularly drink blood, their body will become severely weakened, and will ultimately desiccate into mummification until they are able to get blood into their system

Blood (especially human blood) does not only satisfy a vampire’s thirst, but it also heightens their supernatural abilities, making them stronger, faster, and able to heal much more quickly than they would after not eating for a significant period of time. The longer a vampire abstains from blood, the more likely the vampire will become feral until they are eventually unable to resist feeding on whomever they come upon. In many cases, a vampire who has been starved for a long period and is risking desiccation will eventually become so overwhelmed with a hunger that they lose all sense of their humanity and rationality altogether and finally give into their bloodlust. It has been demonstrated that vampire blood, just as with human and animal blood, can be used to revive a vampire who has been desiccated (even if they ordinarily do not partake in the consumption of vampire blood), and it can also help a badly injured vampire heal more quickly if human or animal blood is not available. However, human blood is most compatible with a vampire's dietary needs, and because of this, the majority of vampires rely on it as their sole food source.

Due to their acute senses, a vampire can detect whether or not a human has recently consumed alcohol or drugs because their blood tastes unclean and can leave a vampire with a chemical aftertaste. Also, a vampire's amplified senses and feelings, their hunger cravings are much stronger and harder to control than the mundane hunger for food that they felt when they were humans, and this hunger will often be connected to an amplified by powerful emotions

Vampires are magically preserved in the physical state that they were in when they died, therefore making a vampires body a freshly dead corpse, though it is reanimated and protected from decay with dark magic. Vampire's bodies remain in the exact same state as they were just prior to their deaths as humans (aside from the injuries or effects of most illnesses that caused their death) from an anatomical standpoint, except when it comes to their supernaturally-enhanced abilities and the addition of vampire's true face. Their true face is a slightly transformed version of their human face, which includes red, blood-shot sclera around the eyes, as well as elongated fangs. The bite of a vampire is so powerful that it can sever the limbs of both animals and humans, as vampires are known for having extremely sharp and strong teeth.

Similarly, a vampire has human-like physiology, and their bodies continue to function normally as long as they have a steady diet of human blood; for example, their heart still beats to pump the blood they've consumed through their system to maintain their vitality. Because of this, vampires can eat human food, though it doesn't sustain their life or provide any nutrition like blood does, and their digestive system will continue to process it and produce wastes just as a healthy human does. Regardless, many vampires continue to eat regular food for several reasons, including out of human habit, to maintain human appearances in order to prevent their exposure and to help sublimate their eternal hunger for blood and thereby keep their bloodlust at a manageable level.

Vampires can also become intoxicated by drugs such as alcohol and marijuana just as humans can, although they do have much higher tolerances due to their accelerated healing, which rapidly regenerates the cells damaged by these drugs which cause the sensation of being drunk or high. In fact, most vampires frequently drink alcohol throughout the day to help them deal with their perpetual hunger, much in the way that some vampires eat human food to help curb their cravings. Also, Vampires are immune to the majority of human diseases and illnesses.

## Nature

Vampires have the capacity to be extremely feral, predatory creatures, and can be more beast-like and savage than their human appearance suggests. They growl, hiss, snarl, and curl their lips back when provoked, baring their fangs as a sign of aggression when faced with a threat.

Despite their nature, vampires are also capable of human emotions, such as compassion, love, and self-control. However, it's in a vampire's nature to be violent, and no matter what their morality or kindness, they will almost always resort to such acts if it's necessary for their survival. While vampires typically maintain their human personalities after their transformations (though magnified by the magical properties of vampirism), they are usually dehumanized to some degree, and violence, tragedy, and death of the aforementioned groups and humans caught in the crossfire seem to follow vampires wherever they go, even despite their best efforts to avoid it. Many (though not all) vampires are inherently selfish and consider other beings, especially humans, to be inferior to themselves, as they see themselves as the top of the proverbial food chain. Even the most compassionate of their kind will often resort to cruelty and torture if it means protecting themselves and their loved ones from danger.

However, vampires experience sensations and feelings much more intensely than humans, and as a result, they have a much more difficult time controlling their emotions, all of which are tied to their hunger in some way. Whenever a vampire is overwhelmed by powerful feelings (such as extreme hunger, fear, anger, happiness, love, etc.) their faces become pale, and blood rushes into the veins surrounding their eyes, darkening them tremendously. Their canine teeth will lengthen into fangs, giving them a more predatory look to scare off or threaten their prey and to aid them in feeding on humans and animals.

## Vampire Stages

Vampires are immortal and live a life without end and, if given the chance, can survive for millions of years or more. It is known that a vampire grows stronger as they age.

* **Newblood** - Newblood are newly transitioned vampires. They become unstable because of their heightened senses and emotions.
* **Fledgling** - Fledglings are junior vampires. They begin to learn to control their thirst and only feed when necessary, as well as not kill the victim while feeding. A Fledgling remains so until the age of 50. Upon death they turn to a charred or desiccated corpse and in the sun they burst into flames and turn into ashes.
* **Dhampirs** - Dhampirs are hybrid species between Humans and Vampires. They share most of the vampire's abilities and hardly any of the vampire's weaknesses. But Dhampirs are by vampiric rule forbidden to create because of the fear of exposure.
* **Elder** - Elders are vampires between the age of 300-700 years. They are much more powerful than other vampires and all clans consist of one elder. Elders cannot be slain in easy ways, because they burn in sunlight much slower than ascendant vampires and they are a lot quicker and stronger.

## Powers and Abilities

The supernatural forces that sustain vampires also endow them with superhuman physical abilities as well as powers of mind control. Their physical abilities such as strength, speed, agility, durability, healing and senses all grow stronger with age and experience. Vampires who feed on animal blood will not be as powerful as those who feed on human blood. Human blood is also known to increase the speed of healing when ingested by a vampire after being seriously wounded.

* **Superhuman Strength**
* **Superhuman Speed**
* **Superhuman Agility**
* **Heighten Senses**
* **Superhuman Durability**
* **Immortality**
* **Healing Factor**
* **Mind Persuading**
* **Vampirism**
* **True Face**

## Weaknesses

* **Wood:** Wounding a vampire with a wooden weapon such as wooden bullets will incapacitate them, and it will take longer for them to heal their injuries than if the wounds were caused by any other substance. Stabbing a vampire through the heart with a wooden stake will result in instantaneous and permanent death.
* **Sunlight**: Sunlight and UV rays burn vampires on contact, and prolonged exposure will cause them to burst into flames and die.
* **Physical Trauma:** Minor physical injuries such as gunshots, stab wounds and broken bones will cause a pain and also slow them down. However, this is momentary as they will heal completely within seconds so long as they haven't been weakened by other means.
* **Invitation:** Vampires cannot enter a home without an invitation by the owner.
* **Magic****:** Vampires are susceptible to the powers of witchcraft, Sorcery, and Wizardry.
* **Heart Extraction:** Removing the heart of a vampire will result in permanent death.
* **Fire:** Vampires are highly flammable and sensitive to fire, and will quickly burn and die from it if the flames are not extinguished in time.
* **Desiccation:** Vampires who abstain from blood for extended amounts of time will eventually desiccate and mummify.
* **Decapitation:** Dismembering or manually removing the head of a vampire will result in instant and permanent death.
* **Broken Neck:** Breaking a vampire's neck will not kill them, but it will render in a death like state for varying amounts of time, depending on the diet and age of the person in question.
* **Animal Blood:** Animal blood, while somewhat satisfying a vampire's hunger and sustaining their undead life, will make the vampire considerably weaker than they would be if they had drank human blood, causing their physical abilities to be inferior to a human-blood-consuming vampire, making them heal much more slowly, and making their mind control less effective.