Vampire
Vampires are a difficult species to define in the Warhammer Universe and the official lore on the species is both inconsistent and illogical. It also varies enormously from text to text being driven largely by the authors personal inspiration and the needs of the plot or story they are trying to tell.
So, trying to come up with a universal description of what a vampire is and where it comes from is difficult and what follows is my personal best attempt at defining a metaphysical explanation for the species that will be tolerant of all the numerous variations that exist in the official lore.
As you can see from the credit section above a lot of reading has been involved and it has taken me years to finally get to a point where I think I have exhausted all the different explanations of what a Vampire is, where it comes from, and how it survives and can begin to consider a meta-physical truth that will incorporate all the variations.
Basic Information
Genetics and Reproduction
What is a Vampire?
In the world of WFRP Fragile Alliances a vampire is a form of alien parasitic life form that has taken possession of a human host. Exactly how this is achieved is still a bit of a mystery, but based upon the official story behind the birth of the first vampire Queen Neferata it would appear that the first vampires must have been some form of alien energy based lifeform that could take possession of a mortal being and thus give itself a physical existence.The 'Half-Dead' Sub-Species Option
Another complexity in the Vampire Metaphysic is the 'Half-Dead' versus 'Truly-Dead' concept introduced by Jack Yeovil in the 'Genevieve' novels. This distinction appears to significantly influence the motivations and powers of a vampire. 'Genevieve' and her fellow 'Half-Dead' vampires benefit greatly from limiting their control over their hosts, notably maintaining their status and acceptance in mortal society. In contrast, their 'Truly-Dead' counterparts are consigned to a life of isolation and confinement within the convent of 'The Order of Eternal Night and Solace' near the River Talabec. This reminds me a lot of the concept of the goa'uld in the Stargate Universe, but without the eye toggle switch. The 'Truly-Dead' are portrayed as the archetypal vampires, enduring all the curses of their kind while possessing great power and strength, including the ability to propagate their species through the 'Blood-Kiss'. However, it is unclear whether this choice is available to all vampires or exclusive to the Lahmian Bloodline to which 'Genevieve' belongs. So far, it seems to be a Lahmian characteristic, a choice made by the individual vampire upon entering its host, either erasing the psyche of the host completely or preserving it to retain its knowledge and memories. It is also questionable whether the Von Carsteins, 'Blood Dragons', and 'Necrarchs' are considered 'Half-Deads' or even have that as an option, although they do still exhibit mortal motivations despite their vampiric nature.Reproduction
Reproduction is undoubtedly parasitic in nature and not dissimilar to the way Tyranids reproduce in Warhammer 40k. The Vampire will exchance part of it's living essence with a mortal being as part of its feeding process drinking the mortals blood whilst sharing part of its own essence with the victim. The result is that the mortal dies (but not always) but is then reborn as a 'Get', a sort of inferior form of Vampire and is really just an extension of its parent. These extended familes of Vampires are referred to as 'Blood Lines' and one vampire can be the founder of a whole heirarchy of 'Gets' which all share the original form and qualities of their founder.However, based upon Jack Yeovil's Genevieve Novel's it's clear that some vampires, specifically those of the Lahmian Bllodline choose not to completely erase their victims pyche and so as well as the five primary bloodlines there are also a clear distinction between those vampires that are 'Truly Dead' and have retained none of their victims psyche and those like Genevieve who are considered 'Half-Dead' and still have access to their victims memories, emotions and personality. 'Half-Dead' Vampires are less powerful than their 'Truly Dead' kin but have the advantage of being at least partial immune to the traditional bane of the vampire namely the touch of silver, hawthorn and rowan wood, garlic, bloodwort, witchbane, running water and sunlight. This gives 'Half-Dead; vampires much more freedom than their 'Truly Dead' cousins and enables Genevieve to mix quite freely with the human members of society and even socialise and fratenize with them. Gorden Rennie also includes a 'Half-Dead' Lahmian Vampire called 'Contessa Eleanora Daria di Argentisso' with whom Zavant Konniger had an interview whilst investigating 'The Case of the Tilean Widow.' )page 115). One must assume that she was 'Half-Dead' like Genevieve Dieudonne because we have Genevieve's own tesimony that the 'Truly Dead' cannot enter Altdorf because they are unable to cross the water in the rivers and ditches that protect the city, and so 'Eleanora' and 'Genevieve' are amongst a privileged few amongst their species who can walk the streets of the city and mix with its mortal inhabitants. It is not clear at this point where vampires from the other four bloodlines have the 'Half-Dead' option. In 'The Case of the Tilean Widow', Countess Eleanora does confront and kill a vampire from the Strigoi Bloodline in the Altdorf sewers. But whether that vampire was also 'Half-Dead' or whther it had simply made its way into the city via the sewers to avoid crossing pure water was not explained. One possible shortcoming of 'Half=Dead' vampires is that they may not be able to reproduce. I have certainly yet to read of 'Genevieve' giving the 'Blood Kiss' to anyone and she appears to have no 'Gets'. So, its possible that the act of procreation is reserved for the 'Truly Dead' who have the life energy to spare in order to possess another.
Vampire Bloodlines
The form, behaviour and nature of a vampire bloodline can vary enormously and is entirely depndant upon its origins and the nature of its founder. At this time there are five dominant Vampire Bloodlines recorded in Warhammer Lore suggesting that to date there have been five pure blood Vampiric Founders that have visited the Warhammer World.These five distinct Bloodlines are each descended from one of the "first vampires" or original ones which according to legend were created by Queen Neferata. However, it is more likely that Queen Neferata was merely the first victim of the first of the Vampiric entities to arrive or be summoned to the planet. These families were called "Bloodlines", each having different characteristics that affect the way they operate, and although the more powerful members of any vampire bloodline can cast spells, they are all formidable in combat. This first Vampire became the founder of the first vampire bloodline known as the Lahmian Blood Line. Logic would then suggest that this First Vampire was followed by four others, each with its own particular traits and preferences who choose their own hosts and founded their own Bloodline on the planet. It goes without saying therefore, that there could be more following and that each may vary significantly form those who have already established their Bloodline. The five known and existing Bloodlines are:
Von Carsteins
The Von Carsteins are the descendants of a vampire that infected, Neferata's husband. A man called Vashanesh. However, most of the history of the bloodline is lost: specifically, everything between Vashanesh becoming a vampire and the resurgence of Vlad. Some claim that Vlad and Vashanesh are one and the same, but none can confirm this. Vampires of the Von Carstein Bloodline take largely human form but tend to have strong pyschic links to certain animals and often seem to form close bonds with animals such as wolves and bats. They are hereditary rulers of Sylvania.Blood Dragons
Founded by a 'First Vampire' called Abhorash The Blood Dragon Bloodline tend to choose their gets from amongst the ranks of mortal Knights, usually from the realm of Bretonnia; they are typically portrayed as souls in suffering, neither good nor evil. They are obsessed with perfecting their skill in military combat, but do not particularly wish to become rulers or land owners, thus making them undead Knights Errant. Their goal is to not to seek the Grail as most living Bretonnian Knights would, but rather to succeed in mastering combat, whilst trying like their founder to suppress their natural urge to drink human blood.Lahmians
Founded by Queen Neferata this bloodline is (almost) entirely female. They were the first known Bloodline to establish itself on the planet closely followed by the 'Von Carsteins' founded by her husband. Though it would be wrong to assume that Neferata and Vashanesh are related. The evidence suggests that these were two distinct vampires.The Lahmians emphasise the seductive nature of vampires and many of their bloodline powers centre around influencing the behaviour of enemy heroes. Their founder Neferata was the queen of the city-state of Lahmia and after the city was destroyed by the Kings of Nehekara, she fled with her minions to the mountain known as 'The Silver Pinnacle'. After driving out the mountain's Dwarf inhabitants, Neferata established a new court and she now rules as the leader of a Sisterhood of enchantingly beautiful vampires who use secrecy, cunning and intrigue where others would use brute strength, to sway the political powers of the human kingdoms to do their will.
Necrarch
The Necrarch vampires appear monstrous and wizened, thus they are weaker in combat but have much greater magical potential than the other vampire bloodlines. Overall they are still vastly more dangerous than an equivalent level wizard in close combat, and on par with the more dangerous of melee fighters. They are described as solitary researchers, working on ever more terrible spells as they live out their undying centuries. Because of their studies the Necrarch armies field large numbers of necromantic constructs, spell casters, and zombie dragons.Strigoi
The Strigoi are even more monstrous than the Necrarchs and are huge and heavily built. They are the descendants of a vampire called Ushoran who fled north with his followers to what is now known as the Badlands and built a great mortal empire called Strigos where the Strigoi vampires were worships as both rulers and gods. When it was destroyed by Orcs the Strigoi were scattered and eventually degenerated to what they are today. The Strigoi are animalistic, half-mad and barely intelligent. They have similar combat ability to the Blood Dragons, but in terms of strength and bestial fury rather than skill-at-arms.Civilization and Culture
Common Myths and Legends
There is a wide range of accepted myths and legends associated with vampires in the Warhammer World many of which are contradictory and inconsistent with each other and so much of the published lore tends to fall into the category of Myth and Legend. What I thought I would do here is try to document as many of the published explanations as possible at least in summary if only as a useful reference for myself and other GMs who may wish to use these in their games as academic theories or superstitions.
Described as a cult of lunatic scholars who use their extended lives to study the dark arts in secluded hidden citadels and hone their skills as necromancers.
A bestial cult of monsters who have lost allsemblance of humanity and spend their miserable lives lurking in tombs and graveyards with their ghoulish acolytes. There is an added warning that these creatures were once worshipped as Lord in the Kingdom of Strigos and that the Strigany may still be acting in league with their foul ambitions.
The Handbook then goes on to describe various weapons and tools that can be used to combat vampires. Which mat or may not actually be effective as one of the aspects of vampirism is that every vampire seems to have its own strengths and vunerablilities.
The Sigmarite View
The Sigmarite explanation and view of vampires is best summarised in 'The Witch Hunter's Handbook, anofficial publication issued to Templar's Of Sigmar as a guide on how to identify and eradicate the minions of 'The Ruinous Powers'. Chapter III of this handbook concerns the undead including amongst other things Vampires. It blames the existence of Vampires on the ancient civilisation of Nehekhara whose kings were misled by the lies and deciets of 'The Elder Races'. It is not particularly clear who The Elder Races were, but the book describes them as 'strange fey creatures' who began to encouage the Nehekharan Kings and Nagash in particular to begin dabbling in The Dark Arts. The logical implication seems to be that these 'Fey Creatures' were probably Druchi (Dark Elves) but that is not explicitly stated. According to the text these 'Elder Races encourage the Nehekharan Kings to begin to dabble in necromancy. which seems somewhat odd given that the Dark Elves have never been described as experts in the raising of the dead.The Lahmian Sisterhood
Nevertheless the handbook goes on to describe the threat posed by Queen Neferata and her Lahmian Sisterhood as 'The Cult of Blood' that has inflitrated every city of the Empire and seduce the social elite of Imperial society with their beauty and seductive abilities.The Lords of Abhorash
It then proceeds to mention 'The Lords of Abhorash' who present themselves as knights of great skill and power and call themselves Blood Dragons pointing out that whilst they may appear to be honourable and couragious warriors they are still tainted by corruption and the lust for blood.The Scholars of W'soran
Described as a cult of lunatic scholars who use their extended lives to study the dark arts in secluded hidden citadels and hone their skills as necromancers.
The Ghoul Kings
A bestial cult of monsters who have lost allsemblance of humanity and spend their miserable lives lurking in tombs and graveyards with their ghoulish acolytes. There is an added warning that these creatures were once worshipped as Lord in the Kingdom of Strigos and that the Strigany may still be acting in league with their foul ambitions.
The Von Carsteins
The former Lords of Sylvannia whose undead hordes invaded the Empire in 2010 IC and were only finally defeated by great courage, heroism and sacrifice by the sons of Sigmar. Yet, the region of Sylvannia is still considered acursed land and the Von Carstein may yet rise again from their graves and march again against the Empire.The Mark Of A Vampire
The handbook then goes into more detail about how to identify a vampire.- By the indentification of of ritual markings in obscure places,
- The possession of forbidden scrolls and tomes.
- The existence of blasphemous sigils in unexpected places usch as the underside of their beds.
How to kill a Vampire
The Handbook then goes on to describe various weapons and tools that can be used to combat vampires. Which mat or may not actually be effective as one of the aspects of vampirism is that every vampire seems to have its own strengths and vunerablilities.
- Rowan Wood is said to be proof against vampires and is mentioned many time in the Deux Sigmar and is the reason that the Great Temple of Sigmar in Altdorf is surrounded by Rowan Tree's.
- The Rowan Stake and Hammer is mentioned as the certain way to kill a vampire
- Icons of Faith such as 'The Twin Tailed Comet' and 'The Hammer of Sigmar'are said to repell vampires
- Mirrors and reflective surfaces can be used to identify a vampire as they cast no reflection.
- Garlic repells vampires and can be used as protection.
- Silver due to purity is an anathema to the corrupt of a vampire and manywitch hunters carry silvered swords and silver bulletsfor their pistols.
- Beheading: The only sure way to kill a vampire is to behead it.
- Sunlight: None but the most powerful vampires can stand the rays of the sun.
- Blessed Water and Weaponms:
- Running Water: Genevieve mentions that the 'Truly Dead'cannot cross rivers ior streams.
- Thresholds: Vampires may not cross a threshold without being invited to do so.
- The Black Roses of Morr: The scent of these flowers repells vampires.
Hawthorn bound and sharpened true,
Silvered blade the neck must hew,
Garlic, bloodwort, witchbane too,
Keeps thine flesh yet fair to view.
Blessed lance speared through and through
Holy verse will fiend undo.
If thou wouldst see dawn anew,
Harken well these lessons few."
—Stirland proverb, as cackled by Ingrid One-Tooth.
Silvered blade the neck must hew,
Garlic, bloodwort, witchbane too,
Keeps thine flesh yet fair to view.
Blessed lance speared through and through
Holy verse will fiend undo.
If thou wouldst see dawn anew,
Harken well these lessons few."
—Stirland proverb, as cackled by Ingrid One-Tooth.
Origin/Ancestry
Alien Parasitic Lifeform
Related Organizations
Comments