Dhampir
Children of the Night
Do not condem it for their actions, but for the unlife it has been gven by their father. Let it find peace everlasting and be reborn in a better life.
Cursed with an Undead nature, Dhampirs are the spawn of Vampires. Beings stuck between life and death, they are deemed a sin against nature, an unholy union. Yet, many are but victims in a life they did not choose, nor wish to participate in.
Basic Information
Anatomy
All Dhampirs have their mother's race, sharing their eye, hair and skin colour to show. The thing that differentiates them from other races are their Vampiric traits.
Besides longer canines, their pulse is also weaker, making them bleed out slower as well. Such elements give them a rather uncanny look, ranging from either unsettling to downright terrifying.
Biological Traits
The Dhampir Curse
An unorthodox effect due to their heritage is the fact that their body behaves like that of an Undead. Effects of positive and negative energy are reversed. Healing spells lead to bodily harm, but some harmful spells heal them instead. While not universal, it is a rather common side-effect for most.
Heritages
Dhampirs are quite a diverse species, as specific regions have their own variants. Depending on what Vampire conceived them, their strengths and weaknesses can vary drastically.
Ajibachana
When a Vetala possesses someone's body, it sometimes ends up creating an Ajibachana. Thanks to this heritage, such Dhampirs are known to be quite creative in all forms of art. Many even find themselves becoming an author or artist, pursuing such careers.
The downside to all this is their repulsion against holy sites. While still able to walk amongst them, their magic weakens within the walls. As such, few are religious by a longshot.
Ancient-Born
Due to the ancientness of Nosferatus, a child born from them is a complicated ritual. Even so, their children are no better left off than them. Ancient-Born appear much older than their age might imply, making it hard to hide their heritage from others.
Such bloodline leaves many both looking terrifying yet being quite fragile. Bone fractures occur often and even draining spells are super effective against them.
Ru-Shi
Due to the nature of Jiang-shi, many Ru-shis are born through particular rituals. Their ancestry leaves both cold and stiff, needing to constantly stretch. Long periods of sleep alone are enough to make some struggle to get up.
The major downside is their hypersensitive nature to loud sounds. Everything from bells to roosters irritates them, sometimes to aggressive levels. Hence why they prefer to live outside buzzling cities and busy capitals.
Svetocher
Svetochers are the most common variant, a descendant of the Moroi Vampires. Gifted with an unnatural charm, they often blend in the best out of all Dhampirs. In many cases, they even live in plain sight of the public.
The only way to distinguish them from others is their reaction to positive energy. Riddled with negative energy, many react poorly against any spells that counteract such essence. As such, they stay away from positive areas.
Genetics and Reproduction
All Dhampirs are born sterile, incapable of reproducing by themselves. Even magical methods of conceiving a child lead to issues. As such, it's advised for Dhampirs to not reproduce.
The conception of a Dhampir does require a particular ritual and a mortal mother to work. No recorded examples of females Vampires birthing Dhampirs are yet to be discovered.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Dhampirs exists just about everywhere, found in even the most isolated areas of the world. However, they numbers are small, downright miniscule. As such, it's rare to encounter them at all.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Dhampirs are nocturnal, giving them an advantage in the shadows. However, like their Vampiric parents, they handle sunlight poorly, often getting blinded by it.
Civilization and Culture
Common Myths and Legends
- Anyone can become a Dhampir: Dhampirs are not created, instead they only can be born.
- Dhampirs can't worship gods: Despite their nature, Dhampirs can be religious and even use cleric spells if they meet the perquisites.
- A Dhampir's mother is cursed: There are no common curses for those who conceive Dhampirs. Most problems arise from the mobs against those unholy unions.
- Dhampirs need to feed off blood: Dhampirs actually lack the bloodlust of their fathers.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Many scholars still question to this day whether or not Dhampirs can be considered their own species. They do get classified as one anyways, as Vampirism is still not fully understood.
Dhampirs being a group stuck between two worlds lead them to be outcasts for almost anyone. Either other Vampires reject their existence or mortals see them as something unnatural. It's not uncommon for many to be hunted for merely existing.
The only race they tend to have major issues with are Duskwalkers. As Dhampirs are born from Undead beings, their kind has a vendetta against them from birth. As such, alliances between both are very rare, if not downright impossible.
Dhampir Players
Dhampirs might either be on the run or seeking to abandon their home. They might seek out adventuring parties to find company or hide amongst the public more easily. Either they might want to confront their past, or leave it behind forever more. It's for them to decide which one they choose.
1.35 m - 1.98 m
39 kg - 100 kg
Hey, don't try to bone something that is known to feed of the blood of humans like livestock. It'll save you a lot of issues :p
Humans aren't known for their brains when it comes to sex, that's for sure.