Vampires

Basic Information

Biological Traits

Vampires are far stronger compared to the time they were alive. The most important factor is their rageneration, gained during the transformation via the immortality formula. A vampire cannot die in any way other then of thirst. When dismembered, the part chosen instinctively by the soul regenarates to form a full vampire. That happens no matter how small the parts are, were they incinerated or destroyed in any other means. Forcing the vampire to regenerate does not deplete its reserves of lifeforce. As such, the most reliable method of killing a vampire is to destroy its body, incinerate it, and keep it in flames for an appropriate amount of time. That way, it prevents the vampire from drinking blood, depleting it's reserves and killing it permanently. 

Beside that, the immortal bodies of vamires can exert far more strength then in life, more so even thanks to a heightened amount of mana, used in newly gained inherent magic. It has a variety of uses including body strengthening and mind control (possible to resist). Later in life a vampire may aquire a talent for sorcery.

The only weakness of a vampire, beside its thirst, is the curse put of them by the gods, as a punishment for the First Mistake. It takes into account the immortality of vampires and the simplest way to kill them, as all vampires touched by the light of the day shall immediately burst into flames. It can be fatal for most vampires as even though they could regenerate, for the weaker ones it will take more time, then they could have between meals. Even for stronger ones it will be a major setback to get completely incinerated. However when a vampire reaches around 900 years of age, the reganeration becomes powerful enough, to enable them to move and act, even while burning.

Genetics and Reproduction

By performing a degraded version of The Unending Life technique, known only to the few highest ranking vampires in the City of the Dead.

Growth Rate & Stages

Vampires, no matter whether in Chur Noorox or around the world, are structured acording to their age. This is due to the simple fact, that as they grow older, they also become stronger. Four ranks are distinguished in the City of the Dead.

Thrall are the weakest, as they are not truly vampires. They are mortals with whom the vampire has chosen to share some of their life force. They gain power according to the vampire's strength, but cannot grow with age. Nevertheless, their thirst does grow, which leads them to certain doom. Thralls are usually created as temporary helpers for a hunt, and as such, rarely appear in Chur Noorox, as its competitive environment would not allow the weak to survive.

Next are the so-called Lesser Vampires. Mostly younger, their age varies between 20 and 500 years. They are those who refused or were unable to create a civilization. Due to their vampiric thirst, they are the most common object of hunting by higher ranked vampires. Those are what the outsiders consider vampires to be as they are most commonly found outside of Chur Noorox or on its outskirts. Even if they are called lesser, their strength is by no means small, but is usually limited by their greatest flaw - extreme aggression, which makes it impossible to cooperate even with other vampires.

When this aggression is tamed, the result can be called a True Vampire. They live mainly in the City of the Dead, though not all of them. By creating a proper civilisation, the True Vampires are much stronger in both numbers and individual strength. This is because they have created special farms that house both the living and Lesser Vampires. This rank rarely dies of anything but thirst, and that only after 800 to 1000 years. When that time comes, they are banished from the City and become Lesser Vampires in their final struggle for food. This, however, does not rob them of their strength.

The civilization created by the True Vampires is only possible because of the Vampire Lords, the oldest and strongest of them all. Using private farms filled with vampires and with a lot of luck, a vampire can technicaly live forever. 5 Vampire Lords exist in the world, their amount bound not by any rule, but simply because it would be impossible to support more. They rule the city from the Castle Evernight. They are one of the oldest beings in Ferdlan, with 2 of them being the original reaserchers behind the The Unending Life.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Reqires constant suply of life force as well as small doses of vampiric blood. In case of abstinence, the vampire degrades in power and eventually dies. As the need becomes stronger with time, it is considered to be the natural 'death of old age' for an immortal vampire. When a vampire reaches the age of 500, their thirst for blood grows beyond any reasonable means of consumption. One would need to be drinking blood of mortals for half of every day just to survive. However blood of a vampire has far more value and lasts for longer then one taken from the living. As such, blood farms created in the City of the Dead house a few Lesser Vampires to "concentrate" the life essence. It is speculated that farms owned by the Vampire Lords raise True Vampires for consumption.

Scientific Name

Esurientem sanguine

Lifespan

Immortal (theoretically)

Average Height

as in life

Average Weight

as in life

Geographic Distribution

• Chur Noorox
• City of the Dead