Dhampir/Castlevania

A **dhampir** is the half-breed child of a vampire and a human, with all the strengths of a vampire and few or none of its weaknesses, save the thirst for blood.

## Background

According to lore, dhampirs were very useful to the superstitious community because, being part vampires, they could recognize another vampire, even if they were invisible or had transformed into an animal. A town could hire them for a fee to find and kill a vampire. Much of the time, the dhampir could talk to the vampire and convince them to leave. Some dhampirs resented their vampiric lineage and acted as human hunters would do, by going on campaigns to kill the vampires that were actually causing trouble. Dhampirs that followed this path in life would join gangs of hunters to track down vampires, and even their own family in some instances. Naturally, the human hunters were more than pleased for gaining an immortal member with inside information.

## Appearance, powers and abilities

Dhampirs are usually seen as "sickly" due to their evident lack of weight. No matter the color of their skin, they'll appear to be paler than normal humans. The eyes of the dhampir are usually light in color and the inner corners of the eyes can become bloodshot at sundown and sunrise. The fangs of the dhampir are longer than the canines of humans, yet shorter than those of a vampire.

The dhampir's abilities vary from one to another, but most have heightened speed, agility and strength. They also have heightened senses compared to humans, to the extent that they can deduce the identity and heritage of someone just by the scent of their blood. The aging process is also much slower than that of a human, with its lifespan varying between sources. If left to live their full life, the dhampir can live up to 200 years at least. Despite popular belief, the vampire half of the dhampir is more of an energy feeder than blood feeder, with the only real known weakness of a dhampir being precisely this ever unquenchable thirst.

The dhampir is capable of having children by either humans or vampires, given the fact that they are both. The typical pregnancy of the dhampir is the same as it is for a human, with the only difference being that labor goes very quickly. Dhampirs do heal more quickly than humans after birth, with almost no signs of ever been pregnant.

Due to the fact that a dhampir closely resembles a human, they are able to pass as one. In the 1800s, newborn dhampirs would be often abandoned outside of town by their mothers and they would never speak of their children again. Some of these infants were found by kindhearted people who raised them, never knowing about their abilities. These children could become very aggressive if provoked and they also tended to try to get as much done in as short a time as possible.

Like humans, there are good dhampirs, who stand between humans and vampires, and there are bad dhampirs; these are the ones who will hunt for the vampires by day. Even though a dhampir cannot turn a human, that doesn't mean they cannot be turned by a vampire; the only difference would be the time it would take.

## In the *Castlevania* series

Dhampirs are known to have all the strengths of vampires and few or none of their weaknesses. They also have heightened senses, particularly smell, being able to determine one's clan origin simply by the scent of their blood. These characteristics reflect in other aspects of the dhampir as well; for example, Alucard, while seen breathing, lacks a reflection and is hurt by water without the proper relics in *Castlevania: Symphony of the Night*.

Dhampirs, unlike vampires, are also shown to be at least resistant to sunlight, if not immune to it, as Alucard was shown to be present at daybreak without any apparent ill effects in the Trevor and Alucard ending of *Dracula's Curse*, in the ending of *Symphony of the Night*, and in Julius Mode of *Dawn of Sorrow*.

Certain sources indicate that the thirst for blood do not carry on to the dhampir children. However, in the *Castlevania* mythos, it is hinted that dhampirs do benefit from consuming blood. This is most evidently shown via specific means such as the Dark Metamorphosis spell or the Dainslef and Muramasa swords, where the dhampir would draw out and (presumably) consume the blood from enemies, healing themselves as a result.

A dhampir is unable to turn a human into another dhampir, due to them not possessing the proper amount of power to be able to complete the transformation process. However, in the radio drama *Castlevania: Nocturne of Recollection*, it is implied that Alucard fed on his friend Lyudmil's blood in order to save his life, turning him into a full fledged vampire as a result. This event, however, is left to ambiguity, since the whole scheme was orchestrated by the incubus Magnus, who could have as well been the real responsible of turning Lyudmil (if not directly, by alternate means). Furthermore, Alucard had no recollection of actually performing the act of drinking Lyudmil's blood (or much of what transpired that day afterward).

## Known dhampirs

* Alucard
	+ Alucard (*Castlevania Legends*)
	+ Alucard (*Castlevania* animated series)
	+ Alucard Bomber (*Super Bomberman R*)
* Sonia's child (*Castlevania Legends*)
* Simon Belmont (*Super Castlevania IV*)
* Elvis (*Castlevania: Moonlight Rhapsody*)

## Trivia

* Alucard's status as a dhampir is the result of a retcon made by *Castlevania: Symphony of the Night*. In the Japanese version of Alucard's debut game, *Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse*, Alucard had in fact been forcibly transformed into a vampire by his father, Count Dracula, due to the latter selling both his own soul and that of his son's to the Evil God in order to gain more power.
	+ On a similar note, him being unaffected by the rising sun in the Alucard/Trevor ending of *Castlevania III* was implied via the original backstory to be the result of him regaining his soul and humanity after Dracula and the Evil God were vanquished.
* Although dhampirs are technically creatures of darkness, they are sometimes known to be able to wield holy weaponry with no ill effects to them, should they hail from a holy bloodline (as seen with Alucard being able to utilize Holy Water without being harmed thanks to his mother Lisa's presumed holy bloodline).
* The Vampire Killer whip reacts to dhampirs just as well as full-blooded vampires, as revealed by comments made by both Simon and Richter Belmont in *Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls* when meeting Genya Arikado (Alucard).
* In *Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*, during Palutena's Guidance conversation regarding Richter, Alucard explains that even if he hadn't promised Lisa on her deathbed not to harm humans, he nonetheless disliked the taste of blood, when explaining to Pit that he doesn't drink blood at all, possibly implying that dhampirs, while needing blood to survive, don't necessarily like the taste of it. However, it's unclear whether this is canon to the *Castlevania* series itself.