In November of Year 101, succubuns became aware of the existence of vampires living in their midst after Lord Lagosi attempted to take over Burrowgatory. The whole ordeal was kept as quiet as possible, leading some to believe that it was just a hoax, but too many people were affected to be able to cover it up completely.
Even now that the secret is out, vampires keep to the shadows and try to avoid telegraphing their existence. While most mortals have either settled into an uneasy acceptance of vampires in their midst, or refuse to believe they actually exist, there are still those who hold the evil actions of some vampires against all of them, and may endanger their unlives.
Of course, for every handful of people who fear or hate vampires, there's one who's readily embraced them—or who may even wish to become vampires themselves...
Creating a Vampire
Players may turn their succubun into a vampire with the Vampiric Ichor item.
Vampiric Ichor is account-bound, and can be obtained from Calla's Sanctum. In order to unlock Calla's Sanctum, you must first complete the Vampiric Rites prompt chain in order to obtain the Sanctum Key.
Using a Vampiric Ichor on a succubun will apply the Vampire status. Succubuns who do not already possess the Fangs trait or the Bat Wings trait may be updated with the Fangs (Vampire) trait or the Bat Wings (Vampire) trait with only a Sin and Tonic item, but they must be removed if the Vampire status is removed.
The Vampire status can be removed with the Cherubun Blood item.
Vampiric Ichor cannot make a succubun into a vampire lord or vampire spawn, and player character vampires cannot become vampire lords, though that may be their eventual goal.
Vampiric ichor cannot be used on cherubuns.
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Origin of Vampires
The first vampires were created over a century ago, before the start of Burrowgatory's recorded history. It is said that the enigmatic demon Zagan shared his blood with succubuns who possessed ambition and cruelty, bestowing on them what some view as a dark blessing, and others view as a curse. These vampires have always kept themselves hidden in mortal society, building their power from the shadows and fighting amongst themselves.
A vampire may beget more vampires by draining a mortal to the point of death, then feeding them their own vampiric blood, through which the curse is carried. The vampire who turns another is referred to as their maker.
Physicality
A vampire's body is a preserved corpse, animated by the curse of Zagan's blood. They have no heartbeat, no warmth, and no breath, but their body still functions as if it were alive. A vampire can consume mortal food and drink, but derives no pleasure or sustenance from it. They are unable to carry offspring, but may still sire offspring with a mortal dam.
Vampires must consume the blood of the living in order to sustain the curse that animates them. Fortunately for their victims, vampires do not need to consume a fatal quantity of blood to be sated, and their bite contains a natural painkiller that some may even enjoy.
After a certain amount of time without fresh blood, a vampire's thirst and cravings for blood will start to become unbearable. A vampire who is newly made, who goes a month without feeding, or who is heavily injured may enter a state of frenzy, mindlessly attacking any warm-blooded victim they find. If a vampire is deprived of blood even beyond the point of frenzy, they will enter a dormant state, eventually withering and then turning to ash.
The only other ways a vampire can be killed are by beheading, burning, or removing their heart, which will turn them to ash. Any other injury can be healed with time and blood. However, piercing a vampire's heart with organic material such as wood will cause them to fall into a dormant state until it is removed, as their body cannot eject it in order to heal.
Many vampires, especially those who are newly made or otherwise weak in will or body, will also fall into a dormant state during daylight hours. As Burrowgatory possesses no sun, being outside during the day time will cause them no harm, but they may struggle to stay conscious.
Abilities
A mark of the demonic curse in their blood, all vampires gain the Fangs and Bat Wings traits if they did not have them before. They can display or hide these features as they choose—though Fangs and Bat Wings are common even among the living in Burrowgatory, and would not cause any alarm if visible.
As vampires do not sustain muscular damage, they can push themselves to greater feats of strength and speed than they were able to when they were alive—though they are still bound by the limitations of their frame, and a petite vampire will still be weaker than a musclebound mortal. They also possess slightly heightened senses of smell and hearing, honed to help them hunt the blood of the living.
With the exception of their physical durability, regular vampires possess little power that mortals do not, which may make the idea of entering bloodthirsty undeath seem like an unappealing trade-off to most. However, many vampires who chose to be turned have done so in anticipation of one day being able to become a vampire lord.
Vampire Lords
Vampire Lord Lagosi
Vampire lords are incredibly old, mysterious, and powerful vampires who possess unknown levels of supernatural ability and influence over Burrowgatory. They lack many known vampire weaknesses, such as being immobilized by daylight or a stake to the heart, and are known to have the powers to turn into mist, levitate, hypnotize mortals, dominate the minds of those they feed on, and create vampire spawn.
It is unknown how a vampire may become a vampire lord. Some believe it's a simple matter of gaining power with age, and that anyone who survives one hundred years as a vampire will become a vampire lord. Yet others believe that a vampire must drink the blood of Zagan in order to become a vampire lord, and devote themselves to occultism in order to one day contact the demon. The existing vampire lords seem uninterested in sharing the truth behind their power.
Player characters cannot become vampire lords.
Vampire Spawn
When a vampire lord drains a mortal to death, they will rise as a vampire spawn. Vampire spawn are similar to true vampires in most ways, but unlike true vampires, spawn are under the complete control of the vampire lord who created them. Only drinking the blood of a vampire lord can complete their transformation into a true vampire.
If a vampire lord is killed, all of their spawn will die as well. If a vampire lord is turned mortal by consuming cherubun blood, all of their spawn will become mortal again.
Players characters cannot become vampire spawn outside of specific events.
Cherubun Blood
The traces of heavenly influence in the blood of cherubuns can counteract the curse of Zagan's demonic blood. If a vampire drinks the blood of a cherubun, they will become mortal once more. As such, cherubuns cannot become vampires.
In the wake of this discovery, many unwillingly-turned vampires have flocked to regain their mortality. Depending on how long ago they were turned, some may face difficulty in reintegrating themselves with mortal society, or in taking care of mortal needs like eating and sleeping.
Vampiric Law
After Lord Lagosi's mass turning of vampire spawn and attempt to take over Burrowgatory, the public at large is understandably fearful of vampires. However, Lady Calla has worked hard to ensure that mortals and vampires can live in an uneasy peace by enforcing the rule of the vampire lords over Burrowgatory's vampire population.
Vampires are not allowed to turn new vampires without the permission of the vampire lords, and any vampires found to be bringing harm or death to mortals will be ruthlessly punished. Though, that's not to say that they won't turn a blind eye to unsavory behavior so long as the mortal population isn't aware of it...