Vampire (World of Darkness)
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| Vampire series |
|---|
| Vampire Settings |
| Old World of Darkness |
| Vampire: The Masquerade Clans & Bloodlines |
| New World of Darkness |
| Vampire: The Requiem |
| Other |
| Vampire: The Eternal Struggle |
- This article is about a fictional being in a game scenario. For the general folklore surrounding vampires, see Vampire.
Vampires are fictional undead creatures in the role-playing games and books based on the World of Darkness setting by White Wolf Game Studio. The concept of a Vampire in WoD takes many elements from the folklore surrounding traditional vampires in Western culture, and adds a number of specific features for the sake of game mechanics.
The Vampire that walks the World of Darkness is an undead creature. It is a former Human being that has undergone the "Embrace" of a Vampire, being completely drained of blood to the point of death and then fed some by their sire, a Vampire who has turned a mortal into a Vampire through the embrace.
Vampires need blood (which they call vitae) in order to sustain their undead bodies. It can be Human, animal or Vampiric blood (but animal blood is not as good, and Vampiric blood has potentially troublesome supernatural properties; such as the ability to create a blood bond).
Vampire bodies do not function like the bodies of living organisms. They are (more or less) preserved in a life-like state, but they do not age or die from illness.
[edit] Weaknesses and strengths
Vampires instinctively fear fire, so much so that even a candle flame can induce a state of near psychotic fear, known as Rotschreck. But as in sunlight they do not fear it as much because of their supernatural regeneration powers, they can regenerate the dead skin cells to replace the burnt skin cells faster than the sunlight burning and killing the already dead skin cells. They receive serious damage from both (sunlight can be fatal after very short exposure). Vampires are also vulnerable to so-called "True Faith", that is, the strength of a person's true religious conviction (which is, fortunately for Vampires, very rare). Such faith need not be religious per se — one of the rulebooks mentions a yuppie repelling a vampire with his credit card, thanks to his faith in the power of money[citation needed].
Driving a stake through a Vampire's heart will paralyse him/her and induce a death-like state. Damage done to other parts of the Vampire's body, with any kind of weapon, is significant: it will incapacitate the Vampire, and most Vampires are not able to heal severed limbs. Decapitation is fatal. Vampires are immune to all diseases, drugs, and poisons, but can be affected by some if present in the blood of their victims, and can be carriers and spread blood borne diseases through feeding.
World of Darkness Vampires are not normally affected by garlic, silver, iconite, or the like, and usually cannot be appeased with offerings (as in some traditions). Though players can have their characters be affected by these, they are most likely psychological fears. Some Vampire clans have specific weaknesses, such as needing some Earth from their place of birth to sleep, or not casting reflections. Certain Vampires have exhibited traditionally accepted "weaknesses," such as being unable to cross running water or an aversion to religious icons.
From dawn to dusk most Vampires tend to sleep to regenerate most limbs and skin quicker but they are not most vulnerable when they are sleeping, some Vampires even tend to have superhuman hearing in which will let them wake up when they hear an enemy coming to slay or kill them. The rumors that they are weak during day are wrong; they are just as strong during the day as they are the night.
Blood is vital for Vampires, and they can only have so much blood in their body and they must continuously spend it to heal injuries, use their powers, or even simply to make their dead body move. When a Vampire does not have any more blood in its body, it falls into torpor and cannot be reanimated unless someone feeds it with blood or a period of time has passed. This period ranges from a few days to several years, depending on the individual Vampire's Humanity - a measure of how much the Vampire has retained of his former self and how much he has given in to his "inner beast".
Vampiric powers are manifold, and include normal staples seen in movies: great strength, speed, superhuman hearing, long distance sight, charisma, and resilience to damage are commonplace. Other powers, such as shape shifting, telepathy, invisibility, control over animals and the dead, and others can be learned, though most are restricted to the Vampire's clan.
A few Vampires strive for a Nirvana-like state called Golconda. This vague concept encompasses salvation, redemption, a mastery over the Vampire's bestial urges, and a high degree of Humanity; effects might be to lose the need to drink blood or even a return to a Human state, though these are described as mythical even in in-game literature. Vampires in Golconda spend only one blood point a week, are immune to the effects of Frenzy and Rotschreck, and can raise all Traits and Disciplines up to 10, ignoring their generation limits.
[edit] Origins
In the old World of Darkness (as depicted in Vampire: The Masquerade and Vampire: The Dark Ages), Vampires descend from Caine, the first murderer, cursed by God. Caine Embraced three childer (the Second Generation), who in turn Embraced thirteen (the Third Generation, called the Antediluvians). These were the beginnings of the 13 Vampiric clans. With each subsequent Embrace, the resulted childe becomes weaker as they become further removed from Caine. The standard generation in the modern setting is the 13th (twelve steps removed from Caine).
In the new World of Darkness (from Vampire: The Requiem), the origins of the Vampire species are more mysterious. With the removal of the generation concept, the idea of single source became less certain. Common theories include that the Roman soldier Longinus became one of the first Vampires after piercing the side of Christ on the cross, or that the first Vampire was a mysterious figure called The Crone. Some have even suggested that each of the five main clans in Vampire: The Requiem had a different origin.
