Vampire

The damned. The undead. The children of the night. Vampires have been with humanity since our earliest days. Across the world, one can find stories of the hungry dead, of damned souls rising up to torment the living. From adze to vetala to aswang to jiangshi to draugr, undead who feast upon the life-force of mortals lurk in the shadows of countless cultures.

But if one were to say “vampire,” the image that most commonly comes to mind is that of the strigoi, or wampyri, of Eastern Europe. They rose to dominance during the Vampire Crusades of the 17th century, and used the expansion of European colonial empires to spread their grasp across the world. Now, from Rio to Hong Kong, one can find cabals of strigoi lurking in the shadows, using their sanguine powers to manipulate their living pawns, advancing ageless schemes.

Vampirism is a curse, and can be spread to those a vampire feeds upon. Most of the time, this conversion is intentional, but there are cases of a starving vampire going to far with their prey and accidentally passing upon their curse. It is important to note that one transformed into a vampire loses their animating spirit, not their soul, and therefor they remain the same person they were before their death and rebirth. However, given the new hungers and predatory instincts, it's typical for new vampires to undergo a psychotic break: becoming incredibly depressed, developing a new personality to cope, creating a new identity, becoming irrational and violent, or just losing themselves entirely. The person who emerges from this could be incredibly different from who they were before—this has nothing to do with the curse of vampirism and everything to do with a person trying to come to terms with their new existence. And it doesn't happen to everyone, as strong willed individuals may be able to fight their way through the traumatic experience of rebirth their supernatural hunger without changing.

Vampire Bloodlines

Alukah

The oldest known bloodline of vampires, the alukah originated in the Middle East in a previous age. According to their own legends and myths, the Alukah are the descendents of Cain, and bear his mark: the curse of vampirism itself. Due to being the eldest of vampiric bloodlines, Alukah don’t have any distinguishing traits that mark them as a unique lineage. This allows them to better blend into other vampiric societies, hiding their true nature until it is too late. However, Alukah do suffer the archetypal weaknesses of vampires even more acutely than their kin—fire, sunlight and blessed relics are all incredibly harmful to members of this bloodline. In return for this, Alukah are masters of darkness and illusion, allowing them to cloak themselves from the minds and memories of others with the artes of obfuscation.

Jiangshi

The most numerous of diverse vampiric bloodlines of East Asia, legends say that jiangshi arose from those souls who, in life, absorbed to much yang qi, or negative anima. A jiangshi awakens stiff and rotting, bound by rigor mortis. It is only by regular feeding that they can retain even the veneer of the living. However, there is always something “off” about even a well-fed jiangshi that agitates animals and sets most humans on edge around them. The jiangshi can use their horrific appearance to their own advantage, striking supernatural fear into the hearts of their foes with the artes of phobia.

Strigoi

The strigoi have risen far in a short time. Indeed, there is little evidence of the existence of strigoi before the 15th century, pointing to a recent origin for their bloodline. But the strigoi have not let this slow them down, and under the leadership of individuals such as Vlad Dracula and Elizabeth Bathory they have spread across the globe. The strigoi appear supernaturally beautiful, the flaws of their lives replaced with the cold perfection of death. Indeed, the iconic arte of this bloodline is that of domination, allowing them to seize weaker minds. At the same time, the strigoi are prone to madness and derangement, falling victim to their own delusions of grandeur.

Valravn

The indigenous vampires of the Nordic countries, the first of the valravns were said to have been cursed by Odin himself into the form of beasts, only able to return to human form when they drank the blood of a valorous warrior or an innocent child. Indeed, today, the valravns are among the most skilled shapeshifters of the undead, and their bloodline’s unique arte, animalism, makes them masters of beasts. However, the hunger of a valravn burns hotter than that of other vampires, and it is easy for a valravn to fall into the throws of fury.

Vetala

The psychic vampires of India, the vetala draw sustenance not from blood but from positive emotions and memories. Vetala are hedonistic creatures, embracing their passions and desires with little regard for their undying bodies. Vetala have an unearthly air around them, their movements too perfect, their faces too symmetrical, their voices too flawless. Vetala find themselves easily enraptured by beauty, be it a work of art, a piece of music, or a particular human, losing themselves in the object of their obsession. However, they can turn this particular obsession outwards, and with the arte of esctacy, can command the attentions of others.

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