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Vampires To Be, or Not To Be

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What should we do with vampires?
  Vampires should exist as plainly as any other race
  Vampires don't fit and shouldn't exist in this world
  They should exist only as legend and not in reality
  They should exist, but as rare creatures that few know about
  We should hold them in reserve, and chose later
  Lastly we should develop them, but leave it up to the people using the world as to whether or not they want them in it
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BoredTears

PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 8:46 pm


So this is about whether or not we should use vampires, and if so to what extent.

So here is the race as I wrote them up, not that this would even be how they have to be if we use them, just my ideas, and what I have written on them.

BoredTears

Name: Vampires
Detailed Description: Vampires appear little different from what they looked like when they were alive, though often vampires loose pigment and body hair. In the case of elves, vampires tend to appear darker, having lost some of the reflective pigment of the race, in humans pale, and in dwarves they typically lose all facial hair.
One thing that is indicative of vampires is that they develop designs on their bodies, while faint and not easily noticed the black or red lines are an indication of what bloodline the vampire was made into a vampire by. These designs tend to appear more strongly when the vampires use their powers, and fade when the vampire is not using any power.

History of Origin: Vampires typically believe that they were made by a dark god of life and death. Some bloodlines believe that they were made when a necromancer attempted to turn him or herself into a powerful lich which could feed on life, and that these actions on the part of the necromancer were blessed by the dark god with the result of turning the necromancer into a vampire.
Others tend to believe that vampires are the result of spirits who refuse to leave the body after death, causing it to reanimate and feed on the life force of the living to keep moving.

Specialties: While the powers of a vampire can vary depending on the bloodline, as well as the race that they were originally, all vampires share some powers.
First of which is a life transfer, this takes two forms. The primary being that of sucking fresh life force out of a living being, usually through blood. The second is the placement of the vampires deathly life force in a being who has had their life sucked out. When feeding vampires usually only use the first of the two, only using the second when they want to create another vampire, or an undead servant. This is as natural to vampires as eating and sex are for other races, as it serves the exact same function.
Next vampires are naturally able to control the forces of life and death, though with these powers tainted by death they only truly gain power over the dead. This allows vampires to control many forms of undead, and attack with powerful necromancy. However use of these powers varies greatly. These powers are an extension of what the vampire is naturally.
Another power that all vampires gain is enhanced speed and strength, though not truly faster or stronger then when alive, vampires are able to use more of their strength, use up their bodies energy faster, and feeding on life force they have greater stores energy to use.
Beyond the ability to use all the the strength in their body, vampires can go farther and enhance their strength by direct application of their life force, granting them a tactile telekinesis. Though this ability takes years to develop.
Lastly vampires have a power of regeneration, and are able to, so long as they are able to feed, restore their bodies to perfect condition. Though the amount of restoration depends on the amount of life force the vampire has, as well as the speed depends on the vampires natural ability to control life force.
Not common to all vampires, but holding no true connection to racial origin is shadow manipulation. This itself takes two forms, first is an ability to create and control a spirit based shadow material, the second being the ability to warp reality around shadows and form the darkness into a physical material. Both forms are able to preform the same magic, the distinction between them is whether the shadows come from the vampire, or if the vampire uses existing shadows.
An example of a power which seems unique to a racial origin is that dwarven vampires are able to control and manipulate life force at a distance, often being able to feed on weakened beings at a distance of 40 feet(12m). This can also be used to enhance their tactile telekineses into real telekinesis. This is mostly because even with the speed enhancement, they are not truly fast enough to reliably prey on others.

Combat: Vampires tend to shy away from using violence to gain their food. However feeding is still the leading reason they enter combat, for the reason that their prey is not always able to be subdued without a fight.
Vampires also being almost universally hated encounter combat whenever they are discovered.
Beyond these two primary reasons, vampires are prone to fighting within their own ranks, usually one bloodline against another, or individuals who claim the same territory.
When fighting vampires tend to use their enhanced speed and strength to force individual opponents into submission so they can suck the life force out of them, as well as using there powers to weaken their opponents. Though vampires try to avoid using necromantic attacks as much as they can, as it will damage the life force they seek to feed upon.
Against groups vampires typically unleash as much necromantic power as they can on the members they view as the most dangerous, while attempting to feed on the other members through the fight.
Against other vampires they try to put a magical draw on their opponents life force, and then distract them with pain or powers so as to suck out what viable life force their opponent has. Typically leaving the loser's body reliantly unharmed, but dead none the less.

Alignment tendencies: Vampires can vary greatly depending on bloodline and their original race. However vampires are almost always indifferent to the state of the world, and care little for others, seeking only to fulfill their own desires.
Another common tendency is that of loyalty to their bloodline, and they can be fiercely loyal even to the extreme of a typically dominant powerful individual being slavishly devoted to the group, or higher ranking members.
Vampires also tend to lose reason, logic, and other aspects of themselves in the single minded pursuit of fulfilling their desires.

Climate and Terrain: Of climate vampires only need to fear the most extreme cold, however with their weakness in regards to sunlight they prefer cloudy regions when possible.
For terrain vampires care only of what cover it may provide them from the sun during the day, and thus have a preference for rocky terrain, or places where caves are plentiful.
In truth though the only environment of which they find themselves suited is that of large cities.

Family/Organizational Structure: As far as family vampires are incredibly hierarchical. With the "Sires", both male and female typically refereed to as such, almost always being higher rank then those who they sire, only exception to this being when the sired is far more powerful then the sire, even then they are typically viewed as the same rank.
When direct relation is known, whoever is farther back in linage is viewed as higher ranking. However for those who do not have direct relation ranking is determined by powers and ability, with much uncertainty and fighting when individuals are of similar ability.


In the other thread I also said this at the end of my post,

Quote:
So there vampires, not actually that important, and not even necessary to use, but I feel that we need to have our own version for our own reality. I also think that if we do put them in, we will likely have to flesh them out the most, as they can vary so greatly depending on what race they were originally.


And this is what Neotepid said in reference to them.

Neotepid
To be honest, I don't know why, but I don't think that vampires should be in this world. I'm also starting to lean towards a no dogs allowed thing as well. If we have vampires, then they should be a cryptography that is widely known. Everybody knows of the vampires. They just prefer to keep matters to themselves. I'm just saying. They can be a hectic sort to put together.

The wolves. Well. They seem like the ultimate pack animal. Other than the obvious, I can't really find much of any fault in them that'll keep them from overpowering anybody. Heck. The only thing that may be able to put a werewolf down is a dwarf. And that's if the dwarf is able to sock the mutt in the nose.

Team Jacob or Team Edward? I choose Team FU.


I think that we should do something with them, even if it is just myth.

Personally I think that they should exist as something rare, that even if people know about them they would only likely know rumors.

However if we do something with them, and in the end it just feels like we tacked vampires on, we should remove them as if anything feels as though it was tacked on, the whole world would suffer making it hard to imagine yourself in it.
PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:20 pm


I think they should exist within the world, but aren't recognized as regular player characters. I say we develop them and their society as much as we do the others so that dm/gms can run a vampire campaign/role play if they want to on this world, but for those who like to avoid the race, we should make it easy for them.

So a highly secretive race that is very structured and able, for the most part, to be self sufficient. I think we should do the same with werewolves, since they seem to go hand in hand in most cases. We don't have to make any connection between the two races. If the gm/dm decide they want a typical connection, then they can make the write up themselves.

We could even consider them a monster/beast rather than a player character which can be used as a pc...


BoredTears
Next vampires are naturally able to control the forces of life and death, though with these powers tainted by death they only truly gain power over the dead. This allows vampires to control many forms of undead, and attack with powerful necromancy. However use of these powers varies greatly. These powers are an extension of what the vampire is naturally.


I think I would lean towards changing this ability. I completely understand them being able to gain power over the dead, but at the same time, I don't really want to give a single race that much power...I'm thinking we should place limitations of sorts on them.

Feign Child


BoredTears

PostPosted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 3:08 am


Actually I am surprised that you only brought up the one power as needing to be nerfed. I was trying more to add a group of traditional powers then then a group of appropriate ones. Though I did toss out mind control of victims, mostly because that is really hard to implement appropriately.

I'm thinking shifting that one power to, necromantic ability or an improved use of necromancy. Maybe specifying that the control is only over undead, and making it a greater power only available to the really powerful vampires, meaning as a monster/beast power not player power. So what do you think?

Oh and as soon as we have our magic decided on we should come up with their weaknesses and how they work, which I could easily do. Though unlike other people I do not really want to try to balance the race through the use of weaknesses, I would like to have set weaknesses and balance them through modifying their powers.

Edit: I shall write up the werewolves soon, though I hate werewolves. I will probably have them written up in a day or two. And no I will not mess them up just because I hate them.
PostPosted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 2:51 pm


BoredTears have done quite a decent job here at depicting vampires in a general way. However, pretty much like Feign Child states, it is not wise to put such a "race" in the hands of the players as an standard choice. Actually, I am even compelled to say vampirism is rather an state/condition instead of a race properly, as it can be comprised of several "breeds" due blood-line and the subjects converted.

In the other hand, along the lines of what Feign Child said, the powers of vampires are far too great (even on real canon) for like having them to start with ALL of them. I would feel inclined to think as more natural and logic that a vampire would start with extremely few supernatural abilities that would develope an appear as it grows old and powerfull by feeding on the life essence of other creatures, making it's state far more similar to a character class progression rather than a race developement.

However, I do agree with Feign Child that adding a "vampiric sub-culture" of sorts can grant a lot of flavor to the world, as it could be used as something akin to a "high-class mafia" (since vampires being inmortal would be, most possibly, wealthy beyond imagination, as it is in most classical lore regarding them... besides, if you are an undead that needs to keep appearances, money is quite usefull, as you wouldn't have all your minions being undead creatures... that would be too suspicious).

In the other hand, vampire can be something of what most people are widely aware, even accepted, if they are part of a greater bulk of undeads, a sort of "undead faction". Most undead factions in classical fantasy are evil, like The Scourge from WarCraft III, however such does not need to be the case always. Is not hard to have undead-related factions being good or neutral as it is portrayed in novels like Ravnika, it just takes carefull handling. Is even easier to have them being neutral: after all, if you have eternity to amass money, it means you can easily become a world-power economical axis with a little of patience.

I think there is a lot of potential in an idea like this, but like I say often, it just demands to be handled with caution and care.

Diana Yantra

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