Conditions: Vampirism
Dec 19, 2013 3:31:13 GMT
Post by Admin on Dec 19, 2013 3:31:13 GMT
Vampirism is a deadly virus that is most frequently found in humans, though it can be transmitted to other beings as well. Infected individuals will die, grow fangs, and become reanimated with full memories of their former life and their personality still intact. After becoming infected, vampires must rely on the regular consumption of blood in order to sustain their animation and avoid withdrawals. They have the ability to smell blood and can even track certain individuals this way, although doing so will arouse the appetite. With practice, they can also learn to sense heat signatures and heartbeats.
As undead beings, vampires produce little body heat and have poor circulation. Although not immortal, their animism remains unaffected by many things that would be lethal to other beings, such as gunshot wounds and stab wounds. They do feel pain, however, and their wounds heal relatively slowly compared to living beings.
Vampirism comes with supernatural endurance and strength (greater than that of most other beings, but not boundless or godlike) and some degree of night vision, in addition to a severe sensitivity to light that makes even artificial light, such as flashlights and streetlights, a dissuasive annoyance. Sunlight, on the other hand, is lethal. In the dark, vampires can still be kept at bay with garlic, as the smell is repulsive to them and any contact with it will cause an unpleasant allergic reaction. Vampires are also unable to enter any building inhabited by a human unless that human has invited them in. This rule does not apply to the homes of humans who are vampires themselves.
Unless a vampire has been mentored by an unusually old or adventurous elder, most are wary around churches and Christian relics, unsure if they can be harmed by them. Holy water, crosses, and the holy ground of a sanctuary have no known effect on vampires, but they tend to avoid these anyway, just to be safe. A cross that's been rubbed with garlic, on the other hand, is always an effective deterrent. Enough experience with such combinations would convince a vampire to avoid the symbols altogether.
Vampires can be slain with fire, decapitation, and wooden stakes through the heart. Aside from these methods of death, vampires cannot be terminated. Nonetheless, they tend not to exist for long and are often killed by hunters, either to collect a bounty or to harvest the fangs to be sold on the black market. The maximum number of years that a vampire can exist post-infection is twenty.
The method of transference for vampirism involves an exchange of blood between a vampiric being and a non-vampiric being. Typically, a vampire will bite someone and begin drinking their blood, then offer their victim a chance to drink from their own. Vampires have a variety of means of convincing their victims to do this, and most of them involve coercion, but victims that have been mortally wounded and are suffering severe bloodloss tend not to show resistance.
If a vampire goes without blood for too long, the symptoms of withdrawals can include hunger pangs, physical weakness, reduced ability to think clearly, tremors, and hallucinations.
Since the transference of vampirism is usually intentional, new vampires are usually commanded and looked after by the vampire who infected them, so relationships with older vampires should be included in a vampiric character's history. Being infected with vampirism will nuetralize the elemental abilities of nymphs, the glamour-casting of fey, and the fire production of drakes, along with any previously purchased modifications.
Strengths:
ability to smell blood
ability to survive most wounds
supernatural strength
Weaknesses:
bloodlust/withdrawals
slow healing
artificial light (bothersome)
garlic (bothersome)
sunlight (lethal)
fire (lethal)
decapitation (lethal)
wooden stake through the heart (lethal)
cannot enter a human home without an invitation
As undead beings, vampires produce little body heat and have poor circulation. Although not immortal, their animism remains unaffected by many things that would be lethal to other beings, such as gunshot wounds and stab wounds. They do feel pain, however, and their wounds heal relatively slowly compared to living beings.
Vampirism comes with supernatural endurance and strength (greater than that of most other beings, but not boundless or godlike) and some degree of night vision, in addition to a severe sensitivity to light that makes even artificial light, such as flashlights and streetlights, a dissuasive annoyance. Sunlight, on the other hand, is lethal. In the dark, vampires can still be kept at bay with garlic, as the smell is repulsive to them and any contact with it will cause an unpleasant allergic reaction. Vampires are also unable to enter any building inhabited by a human unless that human has invited them in. This rule does not apply to the homes of humans who are vampires themselves.
Unless a vampire has been mentored by an unusually old or adventurous elder, most are wary around churches and Christian relics, unsure if they can be harmed by them. Holy water, crosses, and the holy ground of a sanctuary have no known effect on vampires, but they tend to avoid these anyway, just to be safe. A cross that's been rubbed with garlic, on the other hand, is always an effective deterrent. Enough experience with such combinations would convince a vampire to avoid the symbols altogether.
Vampires can be slain with fire, decapitation, and wooden stakes through the heart. Aside from these methods of death, vampires cannot be terminated. Nonetheless, they tend not to exist for long and are often killed by hunters, either to collect a bounty or to harvest the fangs to be sold on the black market. The maximum number of years that a vampire can exist post-infection is twenty.
The method of transference for vampirism involves an exchange of blood between a vampiric being and a non-vampiric being. Typically, a vampire will bite someone and begin drinking their blood, then offer their victim a chance to drink from their own. Vampires have a variety of means of convincing their victims to do this, and most of them involve coercion, but victims that have been mortally wounded and are suffering severe bloodloss tend not to show resistance.
If a vampire goes without blood for too long, the symptoms of withdrawals can include hunger pangs, physical weakness, reduced ability to think clearly, tremors, and hallucinations.
Since the transference of vampirism is usually intentional, new vampires are usually commanded and looked after by the vampire who infected them, so relationships with older vampires should be included in a vampiric character's history. Being infected with vampirism will nuetralize the elemental abilities of nymphs, the glamour-casting of fey, and the fire production of drakes, along with any previously purchased modifications.
Strengths:
ability to smell blood
ability to survive most wounds
supernatural strength
Weaknesses:
bloodlust/withdrawals
slow healing
artificial light (bothersome)
garlic (bothersome)
sunlight (lethal)
fire (lethal)
decapitation (lethal)
wooden stake through the heart (lethal)
cannot enter a human home without an invitation