Vampire

Vampires are a playable race of supernatural creatures. It is a reanimated corpse of a human that has had its blood consumed by another vampire, then ingested the blood of the same vampire. After humans, vampires are the most prevalent race on Earth.

Overview
Vampires are quite similar to humans in many ways. For instance, the only noticeable physical differences from a normal human would be slightly sharpened canine teeth and a slightly paler complexion. In addition, many have a red color to their eyes, especially during times of excitement or bloodlust. Biologically, however, vampires are a different creature altogether. A vampire ceases to age past the point of when they were turned. In addition, vampires no longer require food and water for sustenance, being unable to consume them at all. Their only form of nourishment is blood, which their body absorbs as fuel. The most common and easiest method of feeding is through oral intake, though blood in contact with the body or in the surrounding area will eventually absorb into the body, with more powerful vampires being able to draw it in at will. While blood stored in containers or such is just as good nutritionally, fresh blood is much more filling and is often more desired by vampires.

Most vampires only require feeding a few times a week. Going for long periods without blood causes a vampire to weaken considerably, however. The length of time a vampire can survive without blood depends on their strength, but death will happen if they are unable to feed for long enough. As they starve, a vampire can become desperate for blood and go to greater lengths in order to try and find it. Their physical appearance may also begin to deteriorate into a more corpse-like state.

A vampire's means of reproduction involves reanimating humans. To create a vampire, one must first drain a victim's blood from their body to feed. After completing this, the victim must ingest some of the vampire's own blood. If this is done, the victim will awaken at some point as a Newborn vampire. If the blood is drained but none is given to ingest, the victim will instead become a Revenant - a lifeless slave under the vampire's control that also needs blood to live.

There exists an alternative origin for vampire creation, as well, which is thought to be how the creatures first came into existence. In times of hardship and extreme mental anguish, a person may be tempted by darkness and offered the chance to be reborn as a vampire. When this happens, they will be offered blood in some form or fashion. Should they choose to drink it, they will die and be reborn as a vampire instantly.

A vampire's internal organs no longer function. Even so, its heart is one of its two main weak points. The most common way to kill a vampire is to stab it through the heart. As the heart represents life, removing it will instantly kill most vampires. The other way is to remove or destroy the head. Decapitation is often easiest. Other effective methods of injuring vampires include, but are not limited to: Fire, holy objects, silver, and religious prayer. Weaker vampires are also possible to kill through large amounts of conventional damage, as well.

Abilities
Vampires possess powers far beyond what most humans are capable of. Independent of their limits as a human, a newly created vampire will instantly be cured of any ailments they may have had, with their physical abilities allowing them to perform at the level of peak human athleticism. Their strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, physical endurance, and agility are all superior to what an average human is capable of. In addition, they gain the ability to regenerate from harm at a much faster rate than a human, though more serious damage can take time to fully heal.

Vampires also have access to a number of supernatural abilities. First and foremost is their ability to produce new vampires and Revenants, mentioned previously. As vampires gain power, they add to their repertoire of skills with things like shapeshifting, hypnosis, shadow manipulation, levitation, and the power to steal memories from the blood they drink. Another useful skill - dubbed the Third Eye - is an amalgamation of their enhanced senses, allowing them to survey the area in ways impossible for humans to process, giving them increased foresight and reaction time akin to precognition.

In addition to their many strengths, vampires have several weaknesses. The most prominent is the fact that, with all their power and abilities, they are still inhabiting the body of a human. This means that anything that could damage a normal human will likely damage a vampire in the same way. This makes being shot, stabbed, or beaten much more detrimental to a vampire than to other supernatural races. In fact, without specific preparation, excessive amounts of bodily harm can be seen as the easiest way to kill a low level vampire.

Aside from that, vampires are extremely susceptible to fire. As a vampire's regeneration relies on using the souls of its victims that are contained within its body, a constant source of harm like fire can quickly destroy their many "lives" with little effort. Vampires also have a habit of disintegrating into ash when they die, relating to their inherent weakness to flames.

Running water is also of detriment to a vampire. Rivers and large bodies of standing water, such as an ocean, are completely impassable for a vampire without assistance. Mythology explains that water is a portal to Hell, and any vampires who set foot in them will be dragged into it instantly. In reality, they are just simply not buoyant, as their bodies quickly absorb water and sink. Though they do not require air, water will cause their body's cells to undergo lysis due to an extreme amount of fluid entering them in a short period of time, which will kill them in short order. They also become weaker when surrounded by large amounts of water.

Holy items and artifacts of any religion are a natural opponent of the supernatural, such as vampires. Silver, as well, causes a burning sensation when in contact with a vampire. Prayer and other such activities can make a vampire uncomfortable or weakened. Sunlight, too, is very effective at harming vampires. Lower level creatures will burst into flames in short order, while higher level will simply find it irritating or slightly damaging. Mirrors do not display a vampire's image, though they will appear on digital recording devices and in photographs. They are, however, not affected by garlic or other plant life whatsoever.

Vampires must also periodically rest during the day to regain their strength. The most effective way to accomplish this is by sleeping inside a coffin filled with the soil of their birthplace. While it is no substitute, sleeping in a coffin may be able to lengthen the duration of time a vampire able to live without consuming blood.

Revenant
A Revenant is the reanimated corpse of a human a vampire has fed from. A Revenant will only form if the vampire has fed on a person and did not force them to ingest the vampire's own blood after feeding. A Revenant takes on a similar appearance to a vampire, with pale skin and fangs. However, unlike a vampire, their eyes do not turn a crimson color and appear similar to a corpse. Revenants retain none of their personality from when they were human, lacking souls and acting as the vampire's slaves. They will follow any command, verbal or mental, a vampire makes. Revenants are much less powerful than true vampires, retaining their physical abilities as a human, and can be killed just the same. However, they do not feel pain. If the host vampire dies, all Revenants born from them will also die.

Familiars
A Familiar is the soul of some creature the vampire has consumed. In addition, souls inside the vampire may, for lack of a better word, "mutate" into a demonic beast, which can then be used for battle. Only higher level vampires have access to their pool of souls, meaning they are the only kind that can summon Familiars. A Familiar will inherently possess any natural weaponry, like claws and fangs, they would normally have when alive. In addition, the soul of a person can possess the weaponry, skills, and general "essence" of the person who it once belonged to. Familiars, being a part of the vampire itself now, can also be merged with in various ways through shapeshifting. If a Familiar is killed, they will no longer be available to summon.

Game
If deployed, all Revenants and Familiars of the vampire will be under the player's control until they are destroyed or returned. The primary way for a vampire to become stronger is by leveling up with Souls. There are six levels of vampirism available to players, each costing progressively more Souls to obtain. The various strengths and abilities of each level are listed here.

Newborn
The weakest of vampires, often seen as the beginners, and often the cannon fodder, easily killed and nothing much to hunt down. These creatures aren't really a threat to professional supernatural hunting organizations, but nonetheless, they are still deadly to most normal humans and exist in large numbers.


 * Regenerative Potential: Level 1 (15 posts for major damage)
 * Physical Abilities: Level 0 (Initial vampirism catapults any individual to the peak of human strength, agility, stamina and reflexes)
 * Durability: Level 0 (No noticeable difference compared to an average human), susceptible to unblessed damage (can still prove fatal in excessive amounts)
 * Additional Abilities: Ability to turn people into vampires like themselves by allowing a victim to ingest their blood, drain victims of blood to turn them into Revenants, required to drink blood often, large weakness to sunlight (causes burning sensation), sink in large bodies of water and cannot cross unassisted, become 1 level weaker in all appropriate abilities when surrounded by running water.

Fledgling
The bread and butter of vampires. Often, these sorts of vampires are a step up from the Newborn, having evolved from that level to be a more fit creature of the night. They are the second largest group of vampires, but still cannot match up to the numbers of Newborns.


 * Regenerative Potential: Level 2 (10 posts for major damage)
 * Physical Abilities: Level 1 (Minor supernatural strength, agility, stamina and reflexes)
 * Durability: Level 0 (No noticeable difference compared to an average human), small tolerance to sliver and blessed weapons (still killable through excessive uses of conventional force)
 * Additional Abilities: Ability to turn people into vampires like themselves by allowing a victim to ingest their blood, drain victims of blood to turn them into Revenants, the need to drink blood occasionally, large weakness to sunlight (diluted burning sensation), access to vampiric Third Eye (an amalgamation of their other four heightened senses), sink in large bodies of water and cannot cross unassisted, become 1 level weaker in all appropriate abilities when surrounded by running water.

Upyr
The race which bridges the weak vampires and the strong ones. The Upyr vampires are often considered the point where vampires begin to truly taste the power that is brought forth by the upper echelons of vampires. Although there are a large amount of them, they are not quite as numerous as the lower levels.


 * Regenerative Potential: Level 3 (7 posts for major damage)
 * Physical Abilities: Level 2 (Medium supernatural strength, agility, stamina and reflexes)
 * Durability: Level 1 (Minor supernatural durability) medium tolerance to silver and blessed weapons (pain from wounds is now bearable, no pain from conventional weapon injuries, still killable through excessive uses of conventional force (head or heart must be destroyed))
 * Additional Abilities: Ability to turn people into vampires like themselves by allowing a victim to ingest their blood, drain victims of blood to turn them into Revenants, the need to drink blood once in a week, mild weakness to sunlight (prolonged exposure causes nausea), access to vampiric Third Eye (an amalgamation of their other four heightened senses), able to absorb memories through blood, sink in large bodies of water and cannot cross unassisted, become 1 level weaker in all appropriate abilities when surrounded by running water.

Talamaur
The more powerful group of vampires, they are the evolution that would be eventual to becoming Strigoi vampires and Varacolaci.


 * Regenerative Ability: Level 4 (5 posts for major damage)
 * Physical Abilities: Level 3 (large supernatural strength, agility, stamina, and reflexes)
 * Durability: Level 1 (Minor supernatural durability) increased tolerance to silver and blessed weapons (reduced pain from holy/silver weapon wounds, no pain from conventional weapon injuries, only killable through conventional force via decapitation)
 * Additional Abilities: Ability to turn people into vampires like themselves by allowing a victim to ingest their blood, drain victims of blood to turn them into Revenants, the need to drink blood once every two weeks, able to absorb memories through blood, small weakness to sunlight (prolonged exposure causes irritability), access to vampiric Third Eye (amalgamation of their other four heightened senses), able to hypnotize those of low will power, ability to summon weak familiars, sink in large bodies of water and cannot cross unassisted, become 1 level weaker in all appropriate abilities when surrounded by running water.

Strigoi
The final stepping stone before becoming a fully-realized vampire. Strigoi's are small in number due to the difficulty in surviving long enough to reach the form. Due to their rarity, only three can exist at a time in the playerbase.


 * Regenerative Potential: Level 5 (3 posts for major damage)
 * Physical Abilities: Level 4 (huge supernatural strength, agility, stamina and reflexes)
 * Durability: Level 1 (Minor supernatural durability) further increased tolerance to silver and blessed weapons (minor pain from holy/silver weapon wounds, no pain from conventional weapon injuries, only killable through conventional force via decapitation immediately followed by destruction of the heart)
 * Additional Abilities: Ability to turn people into vampires like themselves by allowing a victim to ingest their blood, drain victims of blood to turn them into Revenants, the need to drink blood once a month, able to absorb memories through blood, minor weakness to sunlight (prolonged exposure can cause fatigue), access to vampiric Third Eye (amalgamation of their other four heightened senses), able to hypnotize competent individuals, ability to summon familiars, levitation, limited shapeshifting, minor weaponized shadow manipulation, sink in large bodies of water and cannot cross unassisted, become 1 level weaker in all appropriate abilities when surrounded by running water.

Varacolaci
The most powerful and rare form of vampirism. These vampires are perhaps invincible in all regards, able to measure up to any sort of powers, take any forms they please, and basically do whatever they desire. Often considered the forefathers of the vampires that descend in the modern times, they are essentially an army of the undead all on their own due to the amount of souls they have absorbed and the time they have spent roaming the Earth. It is currently unknown as to how a vampire would reach this level of power, as it is not available in the Soul Exchange.


 * Regenerative Ability: Level 6 (instantaneous regeneration of non-fatal wounds (contingent on number of souls consumed)
 * Physical Abilities: Level 5 (massive supernatural strength, agility, stamina, and reflexes)
 * Durability: Level 1 (minor supernatural durability) large tolerance to silver and blessed weapons (irritation from holy/silver weapon wounds, no pain from conventional weapon injuries, unkillable through conventional damage)
 * Additional Abilities: Ability to turn people into vampires like themselves by allowing a victim to ingest their blood, drain victims of blood to turn them into Revenants, the need to drink blood once a year (or longer through hibernation), able to absorb memories through blood, no noticeable weakness to sunlight, access to vampiric Third Eye (amalgamation of their other four heightened senses), able to hypnotize all but the strongest willed individuals, ability to summon Familiars, levitation, augmented shapeshifting, weaponized shadow manipulation, limited control of weather, sink in large bodies of water and cannot cross unassisted, become 1 level weaker in all appropriate abilities when surrounded by running water.