Lesser Vampires

The process of becoming a vampire is a painful one. In order to be turned, the greater vampire must first feed on the victim, and then also feed it some of their blood. The victim will then feel as if their blood is on fire for hours as the transformation takes place. Once the transformation is complete, it is crucial that the new vampire feed on something within the day because they will be left weak and more vulnerable until they do so. Due to the effects of magic on the biology of mages, turning a mage into a vampire is impossible. Mages who attempt to go through the process would feel the same sort of burning sensation but the effects of vampirism will not take root.

## History

No one is entirely sure how the first vampire came to be, many suspect it was either magic gone wrong or some sort of magical disease. None of these theories have ever been proven and it is still a mystery as to how the first vampire came into being.

## Characteristics

There are two different categories of vampires; greater and lesser vampires. Greater vampires, sometimes called ‘kings’ or ‘queens’ by the vampires under them, are the only ones with the ability to turn others into vampires.

All vampires have 3 main forms; humanoid, bestial, and bat. They are a true shapeshifter, able to go between the three forms as necessary. However, if a vampire is too blood-starved, they will often revert to their bestial form. This form looks more like a cross between a bat and a human, with sharp features, dull colored eyes, and long fangs and claws. A vampire’s human form will look as it did in life, though often will be slightly paler in complexion and their eyes will become a brighter shade of the original color.

All vampires require blood to survive; however this blood can be from any number of sources- including animals. Lesser vampires can go a week at most without feeding, and often have a harder time resisting the urge to attack humans for their blood. Should a lesser vampire try to eat normal food, they would be able to, but it would taste like ash and provide no sustenance to them. Vampires will rarely kill their victims immediately, choosing instead to either kidnap them to feed over time or visit on multiple occasions to feed.

## Abilities

* Able to shift into 3 forms (Human, Bestial, and Bat)
* Need to drink blood of humanoids or animals
* Stronger and faster than an average human (especially in bestial form)
* Able to fly (bat form only)
* Age slower than humans (age every 2 years to a human’s 1)

## Weaknesses

* Prolonged exposure to sunlight weakens a vampire.
* Mirrors will always reflect a lesser vampire’s bestial form, no matter what form they are in.
* Gold burns them when they touch it and would be poisonous if ingested
* Consuming a small amount of gold (Less than a nugget’s worth) would lead to the vampire feeling lightheaded/dizzy and nauseous. Consuming larger amounts (2-3 nugget’s worth) makes breathing difficult and can lead to vomiting blood. Consuming any more than that can lead to death if the gold is not removed from the system.
* A wooden stake to the heart will paralyze them until it is removed.
* Can be killed in the same way that an average human can. If they feed after being injured they find that they can recover from the injury in half the time.
* Cannot turn into beast or bat form during the day at all and will be forced back during the day if they’re in beast/bat form at the start of it. They can use these forms if they are in a dark area for the entire time (like a cave or an enclosed room).
* Always prefer human blood find animal blood less nourishing (it takes a lot more to have them feel full). After feeding on the same human three (3) times, they’ll notice the blood starts to taste stale and will have to find fresh targets. It takes an IRL month for the staleness to wear off.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Are vampires weak from the sun's light or the UV?**

Vampires aren't specifically harmed by the UV in sunlight, but are harmed by natural sunlight itself. Other sources of light, inc

luding light magic, doesn't affect them in a specific negative way. However, if a light mage bends natural sunlight it would have the same weakening effects on Vampires.

**What are the effects of the weakness the sun causes?**

Staying out in the sun would fatigue and weaken a Vampire. If you are not covered well, you would feel exhausted and find that your strength and speed significantly weaker than an average human. If the beast form is caught in sunlight, they’d feel these effects more heavily as there is nothing to protect them from the sun.

If you are adequately covered or under shade, you would still find that your strength and agility are lessened and would feel fatigued, but more able to function “normally”, if uncomfortable.

Vampires also find that when they are in the sun, any exposed skin feels almost like it’s burning- not severely, but enough to be a painful reminder of the sun’s rays. Standing in the shade or having shade over you would reduce this sensation to feeling more like a sunburn forming. Covering the skin reduces this effect almost completely.

**How much mechanically stronger/faster are they?**

In mechanics, they can move 6 blocks in their human form, 8 in beast form during combat. As for strength, in human form they would have the strength of someone who works out and is more fit than the average person, while in beast form their strength is comparable to a small brown bear.

**Can the bats look like different species?**

Yes! This is a flavor thing so you are free to be creative. Just no massive fruit bats, please.

**How long can blood be stored?**

Blood doesn’t last long if it isn’t stored properly. For the sake of mechanics, we’ll say that a Vampire can consume any kind of blood for an OOC week before it loses its nutritious value.

**Would their bleeding be slowed/ harder to bleed?**

Their heart rate and breathing would be slower, which means they would bleed out slower as well.

**Do they get tired or otherwise physically exhausted?**

They can if they overwork themselves or haven’t fed in a long time.

**Do they sleep and/or dream? Are they normal people but night owls?**

They need less sleep than an average human but can/do sleep and can dream. Most would sleep during the day and only need 4-6 hours to function normally. (Keep in mind that most people RP without sleeping, so this is more of just a personal thing or something to explain what you’re doing when not online.)

**It says that they get stronger/faster - but in bestial form would they get extra good senses too?**

Their senses don’t increase in a noticeable way in beast form. Vampires tend to be social hunters and get personal with their prey.

**Does getting your blood sucked by a Vampire feel good?**

Maybe if you’re into that…? But uh, for the most part- no. It doesn’t feel good for the target. The vampire would enjoy it. The bite marks also heal normally and the wound tends to stop bleeding quickly after the vampire finishes because vampires have a coagulant in their saliva to ensure their prey doesn't bleed out.

**Does mage blood taste different from normal human blood?**

No, they taste exactly the same! Being a mage doesn't alter the composition of one's blood like being a Vampire does. The mage tattoo is completely separate from the blood running through someone's veins. Of course, your character may believe mage blood tastes better, but in reality, it would be a placebo effect.

**What if they run out of blood?**

If this is about hunting; they would starve to death like any other creature faces starvation. The same effects would happen to them. Being blood-starved would also make a Vampire increasingly desperate, and eventually drive them to madness.

**Do they cry blood?**

No, there is no reason why Vampires would cry vampiric blood.

**Does the human form have fangs?**

They have retractable fangs for hunting and feeding. Their canines can look a little sharper than average as well, but not always.

**Can vampires turn into a bat form the get out of bonds/chains?**

Yes, but not vice-versa. Also, they can still be trapped in closed rooms.

**How fast could their healing factor fix that [wooden stake in the chest] up?**

So as long as it isn’t driven all the way through their heart and is more like, in the torso, they could recover after a few OOC days if they feed.

**Actually, how fast is their healing factor in general?**

It depends on how serious the wounds are, but generally they would heal at roughly 3 times the rate humans do, so long as they've fed.

**They have a rapid healing factor; does that mean they don't scar as much, or are their injuries just as apt to scar, only quickly?**

Their injuries would likely scar less than wounds of regular human, resulting from more rapid healing. Scars can be more prominent if the Vampire does not feed after their injury, because this inhibits their improved healing.

**How do Vampire apps work?**

Similarly to Mage apps, except you get a turning event instead of a dream and shrine trial. Before this, you cannot RP having vampirism, just as you cannot RP having magic when you have not attuned.

**Does Lycan blood taste different?**

A Lycan’s blood would taste very different than what a Vampire would expect. It would taste like wolfblood, a clear animal sort of taste but still contain the nutrition they’d obtain from a human. An odd mixture that’s confusing and not quite revolting, but certainly not pleasant.

**How does feeding on a human feel for the human?**

When a vampire feeds on a human for food, the human will experience some negative side effects from the feeding itself. To begin with, while the bite isn’t extraordinarily painful, it is not a comfortable feeling. There would be a burning/itching sensation near the bite mark that would feel like it spreads through the inside of the limb in question (sort of like the feeling of when a needle is injected wrong or that initial feeling of fluids entering the bloodstream). This sensation would spread to other parts of the body the longer a vampire feeds and while it can be tolerated, it would be very disconcerting for those who haven’t experienced it before especially. A vampire must feed for at least 2-3 rounds to feel fully fed. If they continue to feed beyond that point, the target will experience the effects of blood loss to a greater degree. If the feeding is shorter than that, the vampire will need to feed again in sooner succession. The bite of a vampire does have natural clotting abilities so that after they finish feeding, the blood will clot which makes it so the target doesn’t bleed out from the bite.

Blood loss effects from a normal feeding will last an hour (OOC hour/based on how long as hour would be weakness/fatigue, light-headedness, minor confusion, anxiety or unease.)

If the feeding continues, these effects will feel more intense and the target could also feel cold and sweaty, drowsiness or even fall unconscious. Any character that has low iron/low sugar or anything of that sort would feel the effects heavier and faster and the vampire would be able to taste that something was off with their blood, though they likely wouldn’t understand exactly what that is.

## Concluding Remarks

Please note that in order to keep some element of surprise, details about greater vampires will remain unreleased and have to be discovered IC. The same holds true for the specifics of many of the aspects of vampirism listed above. Players can only apply for lesser vampires at this time. Also, lesser vampires are NOT automatically considered villains and villain rules still apply. Applying for a vampire does not mean your character can be killed without consent unless villain rules are broken.