Vampires of Archaea

Like so many of the troubles of Archaea, the curse of vampirism came here from somewhere else. It may have originated in the third hell, the Hell of Gluttony, but that is not known for certain. What is known, is that vampirism is a hideous, disease-like curse, that can have many different effects on its victims. Those victims can come from any of the sapient species of Archaea. Dwarves, ogres, humans, elves and brownies can all succumb. Oddly, even some of the demon races, like orcs and goatmen, can also be infected.

The disease can manifest differently for each species, but it can also be very similar from race to race. An elven vampire might be mostly the same as a human one . . . or it could be very different. It is postulated that the differences in both physiology and personality of the victim influence what vampirism does to them.

In the early stages of infection, vampirism merely causes heightened emotional responses and constant gnawing hunger. Sometimes this hunger is for flesh, sometimes just for blood, but it can be resisted. Eventually, though, the victim succumbs, and eats sapient flesh, or drinks sapient blood, and the condition worsens.

It is not certain at what point it occurs, but scholars believe that the infection renders a victim vulnerable to possession, and that in the case of fully empowered vampires, the original soul has been displaced or devoured by a demon. That is certainly the case after the victim has died, whether from the progression of the curse or another cause while infected, but some of the apparently living vampires also appear to be possessed, and have more or less free will depending on their ability to fight the demon inside. Rarely, an exorcism can save a victim, if performed well, and early, but there are difficulties with such an endeavor, not the least of which is keeping the vampire or its companions from killing you while you try it.

Regardless, it is to be understood that all the *hungry* undead of Archaea are victims of vampirism. If they eat flesh or drink blood, they are ghouls and vampires. Zombies and skeletons, and similar things, are undead servitors created by foul magic, not infected with the vampiric curse. Many ghouls and vampires possess necromantic powers, so you will still find such things in company, along with other undead, whether spectral or embodied, from time to time.

There are, apparently, several ways to become infected. The most obvious, and most common, is to be fed upon by a vampire, though the chance of the curse affecting a victim is low per bite, feeding often or for prolonged periods on a person makes their infection ever more likely. More certain is forcing the victim to eat of the flesh, or drink the blood, of someone else infected. Sometimes, this forms a bond with the new victim becoming the servant of the one whose flesh or blood they imbibed, but not always. Strains or types of vampirism *often* follow the powers and weaknesses of the one who infected them, but not always. It seems to be partially dependent on the type of demon the infected person attracts. Any fluid transfer can carry the curse, so sexual partners and children of vampires can become dhampirs while living, and eventually true ghouls or vampires when they die or succumb. Vampires who succumb fully to the curse without dying first tend to have different traits and abilities than the truly undead ones . . . and are likely to rise as undead if they are not properly put to rest.

An important note: While almost every vampiric subtype prefers dim light or darkness, and some fall into slumber during the day, *none* of them are literally burned by the sun, or can be destroyed by simple exposure to daylight.

The variety of vampires on Archaea seems boundless, dependent on the original species hosting the demonic curse, the nature of the demon that possesses them, and more factors, but here are some of the most common types and subtypes of vampires documented thus far:

Ghouls:

Atavistic ghouls are those that have been overcome by their hunger and reverted completely to bestial behavior. They can be living or dead, like other vampires. In general, they are pale and bald, with long pointed ears and mouths full of sharp fangs and tearing teeth. Their lower limbs are often digitigrade, and end in solid or cloven hooves, but not always. Their fingers end in sharp claws, and while they have no particular magic, they are fast, hard to kill, and can climb any surface as a spider might. Overwhelming force can destroy them, but silver, which inhibits their healing, makes it easier. Arsenous bronze works even more swiftly on the living versions of this strain, the poisonous metal causing their rapid healing to go wrong. Yes, a stake through the heart works, at least on the living ones, because that kills most things. Undead ghouls don’t seem to need their heart the way other vampiric varieties do, and can carry on whole fights with 3 feet of iron or wood impaling them right through that once vital organ.

Civilized ghouls have control of themselves enough to retain speech and a personality, though they are still demonic in both appearance and behavior. They look much the same as atavistic ghouls, but the features are less pronounced. With some effort, they can disguise themselves as human. In fact, some of them can take human forms . . . the forms of those whose flesh they have consumed. They also retain many of the memories of such victims, if they ate the brain, making a long term impersonation relatively easy. More of these possess various magics, as they might have been wizards in life, or the demon within them has powers it can wield. They possess the same vulnerabilities as their feral kin, but are much harder to detect, much less fight, due to their shapechanging and intellect.

Bloodcrazed Vampires:

Vampires that go too long without feeding risk loss of their intellect, regardless of strain, and can be forced by their ravenous hunger for blood into behavior similar to atavistic ghouls. They are still true vampires, however and have the full suite of abilities and weaknesses common to their strain, simply wielded by a wild and animalistic being driven by thirst, rather than a rational, if demonic, creature.

Noble Vampires:

Varying widely in weaknesses and powers, these creatures easily pretend to be living members of their original species, and retain their intellect and capabilities, as well as gaining the power of their demons. Perhaps possessed by succubi and incubi, they are actually made more beautiful and alluring by their transition into vampirism. They can be some of the hardest to destroy, as the means to do so may be unique to that specific monster, and hard to discover.

Regional Strains/

Frostmarch:

In the frozen lands of the Frostmarch, the most common form of life-stealing undead are the draugr, also known as barrow wights. While the infestation often seems to start with an ancient warrior disturbed in their tomb, beings slain by the draugr sometimes also become draugr. Unlike many other vampires, they steal life (and warmth) by touch, rather than biting. They appear either blue-black or corpse pale, sometimes rotted. They are immensely strong and tough, and some can shapeshift, growing in size, or taking the forms of large cats or bulls, fierce seals or monstrous horses who seem to have broken backs. Some can become immaterial for short periods, curse the living, enter dreams, or inflict disease. Some, it is said, cannot be injured by weapons of any sort, while others can be hurt (but not killed) by iron. Like many undead, one can be certain of their death by beheading them, burning the body, and dumping the ashes in the ocean, but beheading would seem to be quite difficult for those that weapons cannot harm.

Vozhyveld:

Here, the most common strains are the upyr and the vourdolak. The upyr is a creature that returns after death to plague its own family and community. Sometimes a child dying before the priest can bless it, it can also be someone who dies of an unexpected illness . . . or the bite of an upyr. They seem to be dark red of skin, and swollen with blood, at least after feeding. They start their depredations on livestock, then move to children, then to adults, as they gain strength. They are also known to try to return to their normal lives, other than their bloodthirsty nature and monstrousness, especially requiring conjugal duties from their understandably resistant spouses. Upyr are responsible for a higher than normal percentage of dhampirs for this reason.

Vourdalak, on the other hand, are the vampires possessed by wolf-demons. They also occur in the Frostmarch, where they are called Vargr. These vampires shapeshift into wolf forms and wolf-like humanoid forms, and have the feral intensity of the atavistic ghouls when they do, but retain their intellect when in human form. They are sometimes confused with actual living werewolves, and even with shapeshifted volkavs. That is unfortunate, as they have no particular vulnerability to silver . . .and they are particularly hard to kill, healing swiftly in their lupine forms. Only fire and the stake work, and it can be very hard to stake a struggling foe through the heart.

Richterlant:

The most common regional variant in the Rictherlant is the Nachzehrer, a bloating or rotting corpse still in its burial shroud, that like the upyr, feeds on friends and family first. It is said to have the ability to become a large savage pig, and will consume itself and its shroud if it is trapped in its grave. Killing it requires a silver coin in the mouth and beheading, and silver weapons will slow its healing.

Turscia:

The striges or stryx, are bloodsucking demons who take the form of owls. Most often, they are female, and seem completely normal during the day, whether living or dead. If you can discover them during the day, killing them is as easy as killing a normal person, but does not guarantee they will not return. As usual, beheading and burning *does*.

Okidi:

The adze is a vampire that can possess either the living or the dead, and can leave a host to atek another far more easily than most. It can also take the form of insects, such as firelies, moths, mosquitos, and tsetse flies, to enter dwellings and feed on blood. It certainly needs no invitation. Even outside a host, it can take material human form . . . but its true form is a demonic black ‘goblin-like’ creature, all fangs and claws. It can summon and control insects, and is devastating to small communities, as it can drain the life of crops, not just people and livestock. Happily, they are rare, because a means of truly killing them has not been found. The Ekun Iyaafin know rites used to drive them off.

Pindorama:

Here, indeed, the vampire is associated with bats, the only place where vampire bats are native. Pindorama has, perhaps, the most vampires (and types)of any region, and some believe it was the first place they entered Archaea. Noble vampires are common, but so are the bat-faced and enormous tzinacan and their get; the tunda, who shapeshift like ghouls but do not have to have eaten the one they mimic; and the camazotz, who normally appear as huge, demonic bat things. Almost any vampire in Pindorama might be able to take bat form, or even become a swarm of bats, and their strains have traveled the known world, explaining why so many vampires have bat forms and traits.

Karha:

In the southern regions, one might encounter Tlahuelpuchi, who can take the form of buzzards, owls, or will-o’wisp like lights, and tend to be female, while the north is remarkably low on vampires compared to the rest of the world. Karha has its own ‘native’ demons and monsters, and the infectious curse of vampirism does not seem to have spread here, even if some creatures do eat the flesh of sapients the way ghouls do.