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toaarcan · 7 months

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My Take on Vampires

Alright I got inspired by some earlier posts I saw about how weaksauce vampires are in modern pop culture, so I thought I'd write down my own take on the standard sexy monster.

This is mainly for use in the D&D setting I'm very slowly putting together, so I'll refer to things like non-human mortals, wizards, divine magic, etcetera.

Vampires have ashen, dull skin, piercing eyes, and sharpened teeth and claws. Their eyes glow blood red while using their powers, or when they're in states of heightened emotion. Their teeth can grow longer and sharper during feeding, and their jaws can open unnaturally wide.

Vampires are capable of shapeshifting (more on this later), with bats being among their usual forms. They can also sprout their bat wings while in humanoid form.

The only ways a vampire can die are being burned to ash by light, or by being staked through the heart with sanctified oak wood and decapitated afterwards.

If a vampire is not decapitated after being staked, it will merely pin them in place, paralyzing them. While in this state, the vampire will remain fully conscious.

While in direct sunlight, a vampire will not immediately die. They will first lose all of their powers, and experience extreme physical discomfort. Eventually, their skin will begin to burn, blister, and peel, before igniting and burning away to ash. The exact length of time this takes depends on the individual.

A vampire's powers and weaknesses are tied directly to each other. As a vampire's power grows, so too does their susceptibility to their weaknesses. For example, a freshly-made vampire who has yet to drink blood from another person would be almost indistinguishable from a mortal. They would be able to walk in the sunlight with ease, and would be unbothered by holy symbols, but they also wouldn't be much faster or stronger than a mortal, and would have no extra powers. However, a vampire lord who had devoured thousands of people would be much, much stronger, but would light up like a Christmas tree in a matter of minutes of being exposed to the sun.

Concentrated beams and blasts of light kill vampires much faster.

Vampires are somewhat vulnerable to silver, albeit less so than werewolves. The most curious way this manifests is that silver-backed mirrors won't reflect a vampire's image. Mirrors that use no silver in their construction can reflect a vampire, however.

Vampires feed exclusively on the blood of the living. Mortal food and drink always taste vile to them, and give them no nutrition.

Different blood types taste different to a vampire. Which tastes better depends on the individual.

Different species also taste different. Tieflings are spicy, and dwarves have a more metallic taste. Elven blood is akin to alcohol, but Drow specifically are toxic to vampires, and will make them sick.

Vampires can feed on non-sapient life, but it's not good for them. It weakens them, and will eventually reduce them to a withered, bestial state.

Vampires gain no actual nutrition from their meals, as they are not alive anymore. Instead, the blood is a means to transfer and consume the soul of their victim. This soul then fuels the unholy magic that keeps the vampire animate.

A vampire turned before reaching their physical prime will continue to grow until they reach that level.

If a victim were to freely offer their blood and soul to the vampire, then the vampire would become significantly more powerful.

As long as they keep drinking, they will remain at that state.

A vampire that doesn't drink will weaken, and age at an accelerated rate. Resuming feeding will gradually restore their youth and vitality.

Someone drained by a vampire doesn't automatically become one. The soul-drained remains will typically become a shambling husk, like a zombie. The corpse must be fed the blood of a vampire to rise as one.

Because the victim's soul is devoured by their killer, and then replaced with a part of them, it takes enormous mental strength to retain one's sense of self after vampirisation. A freshly-made vampire will usually be a completely different person to who they were before.

If a victim is fed vampire blood before dying, they will become a vampire without dying, and retain their normal self. They will be mentally linked to the vampire until the vampire is killed, however.

As is expected, vampires are supernaturally strong, fast, and have enhanced senses, including superior smell and hearing, night vision, and a sort of X-ray vision that allows them to see another person's circulatory system specifically.

As mentioned above, vampires can shapeshift. The most common alternate form is a bat, but they can also become wolves, rats, and other animals perceived as frightening by the society they were part of before death. So if someone from a culture that viewed hamsters as terrifying became a vampire, they'd be able to turn into a hamster.

They can also become swarms of small animals, though this is risky, as this swarm being separated or partially destroyed can leave the vampire's mind incomplete, missing memories or personality traits.

Mist forms are also common, typically red, black, or green in colouration.

Vampires are fully capable of casting aside all semblance of humanity and assuming the form of a humanoid bat monster.

Perhaps the most sinister aspect of a vampire's shapeshifting ability is the capacity to take the form of any of their previous victims, using the soul they consumed as a disguise.

As stated above, only light and the stake/decapitation combo can kill a vampire. In other cases, they will simply regenerate their form from any injury, growing back limbs and even their head.

Silver weapons can hinder a vampire's ability to heal, but won't stop it entirely.

Of course, vampires are also capable of hypnotising their prey.

As far as weaknesses go, light, oak, and silver have already been mentioned. The other most famous one is holy symbols, which prevent vampires from approaching any who wield them. However, the holy symbol of a god that likes vampires won't do anything to them.

More esoteric weaknesses like being unable to cross running water only apply to the more powerful vampires.

Requiring an invite to enter someone's place of residence only applies to those of equal or greater social standing to the vampire. They are, after all, an aristrocratic monster.

Vampires that don't feed as much can struggle with intimacy, ironically enough. After all, if you feed on blood, and have enhanced senses, then someone blushing is just going to make you hungry.

Lacking a true soul of their own, vampires aren't particularly inclined with normal mortal magic forms. However, they are by far the best practitioners of blood magic, appropriately enough.

So yeah that's basically how they work. I've probably forgotten some stuff or skipped things over, so feel free to ask about more details.

Also have some vampires.