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Creation of Vampires

novotose

New Member
We all know vampires have been done to death, from Christopher Lee rocking out in high winged collars to those sparkly things, but I'd like to share how vampires are created in my world and just see what improvements we can make on them.

I've been scouring folklore as well as TV/Film/novel depictions to create this.

To give context, it is set in an alternate version of our own world, where magic is prevailent. Magic usually exists in the around the four elements for humans. Mudanes exist, and regardless of birth, be they noble or not, they are classed as secondary citizens.

Demons exist as well, brought through when several dieties came to the world at various times in history although they are now considered hybrids rather than actual demons. Debates on the souls of hybrids are often had as society still struggles with how to deal with them

Vampires are peculiar in the hierarchy of demons and Gods. They were the play things of the Gods, created from humans they desired be it for good or evil. They were not called vampires either. The name for them came later.

The ritual was performed at the edge of death using the blood of a god/ess. Outcomes were defined by the human's magical trait, the god's power traits as well as whether the human was willing or not. The gods that still remain use the ritual from time to time for various reasons but rarely let their creations live too long.

Vampires are fertile, but it is a highly limited timespan, therefore once the gods withdrew, they formulated their own version of the original ritual to create more of their kind. Again, the original precursors such as human trait and the willingness factored in, although with the sire's traits instead of a gods, which got diluted over time. The diluted traits can, and have, spent some vampires mad which attributes to the blood lust stories. However, essentially, depending on their variable factors they can be anywhere from more civilised than the humans they were born from to savages.

Equally, the death of the god can send them mad, and that trickles down to others in the sireline.

In terms of appearance, again, it relates to the traits and willingness along with the general looks of the person being transformed. They are not made more appealing or graceful by transformation, although some stand out be it for good or evil.

While the human magical trait is important, a vampire loses their magical ability and it is replaced by that of their sire's blood.

They age slowly, but are considered to be immortal barring mortal injury simply because there is no record of one dying in it's bed from old age. In terms of killing them, heart wounds and decaptitations are dead certs. They can also die from internal blood loss, but it takes a long time as they can replicate blood quickly.

In terms of exposure to sunlight, it depends on the sire line, if a vampire were from Hades sireline, then he would shun the sunlight, whereas one from the sire line of Lugh would bask in it (but then, under the mordern standards of vampires, would not be considered a vampire).

So what do we think? What improvements can be made? What questions do you have?
 
Well what does the ritual consist of? Just being bitten, drinking their sire's blood, both, none of the above? I say a vampire is someone who has fangs, drinks blood, and doesn't sparkle in the sunlight. Whether it kills them or empowers them matters not, as long as they don't sparkle.
 
Vampires were typically considered to be of unholy origin, so throwing demons in the mix doesn't sound like it's too far off from what was going on before Twilight showed up.
 

Smajdalf

Scribe
If you played Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver® the vampires were created like this: There was a war between Ancients and Hylden. The Ancients sealed Hylden in other world, but Hylden laid a curse upon Ancients. The curse included bloodthirst, immortality and sterility. That was how the vampires were created.
 

WooHooMan

Auror
If you played Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver® the vampires were created like this: There was a war between Ancients and Hylden. The Ancients sealed Hylden in other world, but Hylden laid a curse upon Ancients. The curse included bloodthirst, immortality and sterility. That was how the vampires were created.

LoK is my favorite depiction of vampires in fiction.

The specifics of creating vampires is murky in the series. Simply being bitten isn't enough. Not only that but there are different ways to become a vampire: Janos was cursed by the Hylden, Vorador was turned by Janos somehow, Kain was made a vampire by having his human heart replaced with a vampire heart (which I think is a really cool and interesting idea) and Raziel became one when his corpse was imbued with a fraction of Kain's soul.

Not only that but each generation of vampires is more monstrous than the last. Janos and the Ancients were angelic looking, Vorador's generation starts human-like but eventually transforms into humanoid bat-things and Raziel's generation turned into more horrifying creatures. Though it's possible that all non-Ancient vampires would turn into monsters given enough time.
 

Smajdalf

Scribe
Thanks WooHooMan, I wasn't actually sure if my reply was 100% right but you have made me sure you played LoK. Have you played Soul Reaver, Blood Omen, both, or only Defiancy?
 

WooHooMan

Auror
Thanks WooHooMan, I wasn't actually sure if my reply was 100% right but you have made me sure you played LoK. Have you played Soul Reaver, Blood Omen, both, or only Defiancy?

I've played all five of them. I know the series backwards and front. It's one of my favorites (for the story alone).
I'd say it's one of the modern greats of vampire fiction.
 
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