Vampires

In the world of the Veil, three different types of undead call themselves vampires. The three share similarities such as a need for blood, vulnerability to sunlight, and an inability to enter a private residence without an invitation but also increased strength and speed thrice that of a normal human. But each group has its own unique abilities as well their own unique weakness & way of reproducing.

Strength is measured in comparison to that of a human in peak physical condition.

Moroia are 20x stronger than a human and are the strongest in physical strength and endurance among the three types of vampire.

Nosfernus are 10x stronger than a human and are seen as the most frail in the physical department among the three types of vampires.

Verum Immortui are 15x stronger than a human and possess most vampiric feats of strength seen in movies. Leaping large distances, bending metal with their bare hands and tearing off car doors.

As long as they have access to blood both the Nosfernus and Verum Immortui can regenerate their wounds, with the Verum vampire being far more adept at this, taking mere minutes whereas the Nosfernus requires hours. The Moroia vampires are incapable of regenerating their wounds and tend to be far more cautious when it comes to battles.

All Undead are incapable of casting spells from Healing and Light Schools. Undead practitioners of magic have a deadened connection to the Ether that affects their ability to sense ripples and detect when someone is using magic around them.

Moroia

Also called Revenants or Ghouls, the Moroia strain of vampires are more akin to a disease than a magical curse like the Nosfernus or seen as a religious blessing like with the Verum Immortui. Created by ten greedy alchemists seeking eternal life each worked together to create an elixir of life. They drank their brew but nothing happened, believing they had failed they continued their research. Unbeknownst to them the potion they all ingested never left their system. Eventually all ten died years later only to rise again as the first generation of Moroia. As the first generation, their minds and memories were intact upon their rebirth. But with each new generation the minds of the new Moroia to come into being would begin to fracture, creating new memories, personalities or complete amnesia.

• As nothing more but intelligent corpses shambling about, a Moroia requires both blood and flesh to prolong their unlife usually consuming 12-20 pints of blood and 30 pounds of flesh a month.
• The unique powers of the Moroia is their ability to turn into mist at will. The hands of a Moroia vampire are coated in a special poison that induces hallucinations; that the vampire has complete control over. This poison is so potent, it can even affect other undead who lack a working circulatory system, unsurprisingly a Moroia is immune to his own poisonous touch. The body of a Moroia vampire also serves as a portable cauldron and lab, as after ingesting any alchemical ingredients, a Moroia is capable of inducing the intended magical effects immediately without the normal brew time needed.
• They reproduce by ingesting a secretive number of herbs, spices and a specially prepared solution that is consumed and regurgitated over a pile of corpses which reanimate into the next generation of Moroia. Unless you are a first generation Moroia, those who created the reanimation brew you do not retain your memories upon reanimation keeping only brief glimpses and fragments of your previous life. Garlic is a prominent weakness for Moroia due to the chemical compound allicin inside it, a powerful antibiotic. If destroyed, a Moroia is reduced to a pile of black sludge with the consistency of tar. If destroyed by sunlight they are turned to stone and immediately crumble at the slightest touch.

Nosfernus

Also called Nosferatu are a strain of vampirism created by the dark necromancer Kratic seeking the coveted lichdom and mistakenly using the blood of a Verum Immortui vampire in their ritual. Possessing the weakest of the three in vampiric strength, endurance and a weakened regenerative trait that requires hours instead of minutes. A Nosferatu is a twisted bestial creature that lacks the Verum Immortui’s beauty but has the weakest craving of blood among the three able to go years without blood. When they do feed, they often feed on outcasts or their own acolytes they surround themselves with. However, some Nosfernus glut themselves when they feed, bringing along servants to help them gain access to abodes of the living, wherein they slay entire families in mad bloodlusts before returning to their homes to pass away the next few years in quiet study before they must feed again.

A Nosfernus’ magical abilities are second only to Liches when it comes to using dark magics like Necromancy & Shadow. As it was a ritual that birthed the first, so too is it how these vampires continue to procreate. The fewest in number among the three and typically gifting The Change only to their greatest of students and apprentices. Newly turned Nosfernus do not gain their twisted bestial appearance immediately, but it does not take long. Within a month their bodies have been reduced to skeletal figures of nightmare. In these early days of their existence, they hunger for blood as much as a normal vampire, drinking large quantities to power the second transformation from monster to abomination. The unique powers of the Nosfernus are Life Detection; you see a red silhouette of anything with a heartbeat, even through obstacles that should otherwise make it impossible and Hemokinesis; the ability to control and manipulate spilled blood. The unique weakness of the Nosfernus is Faith, the concept of holy is dangerous to them. Be it reciting holy scripture, sacred objects or blessed land. If held by a true believer, an object of faith can even be as dangerous as the sun. When destroyed the body of a Nosfernus explodes in a burst of dark energies. If destroyed by sunlight, the Nosfernus’ body fades away into nothingness.

Verum Immortui

Or True Undead if you don’t speak or read Latin are what we know as Vampire today. They are beautiful, elegant, strong and elitists when it comes to making another ‘Of the Blood’. What the books and movies don’t tell you is that their faith in the god Lokt has turned many of them into sociopathic narcissists who view everyone as a tool for their own use and gain.

Verum Immortui culture takes several notes of Maya ancestor worship and Aztec ritualistic sacrifice. Who you know isn’t as important as who you are related to. Bloodlines and lineage is pivotal in their society as it was one's ancestors who built what you now have. Whether those ancestors are with you to this day isn’t as important. Idols, portraits and sacrifices are given to the ancestors, the greater the offers and sacrifices the higher the standings your family is.

Verum Immortui vampires are organized into families with their mortal servants acting as branch families. Attacking the mortals of a branch family is typically seen as attacking the vampire family and is treated as an act of war. The highest station a mortal can have within a Immortui family is being of the priesthood of Lokt. Treated on equal foot with members of the family, a priest of Lokt also grants prestige to that family for affiliation alone.

The Verum Immortui types of vampires have two ways of reproduction, one being the natural way of draining the blood of a human through a bite and letting the victim drink of the vampire. The second being a natural birth through intercourse between two vampires or a vampire and a human. The birth of a vampire is an exceedingly rare thing, only happening once or twice a century.

These birthed vampires are considered royalty and are destined to be the next Monarch of their kind taking up the title of Dracula upon ascension to the throne. The rate of which the birthed vampires age varies but they cease aging physically in their mid twenties to thirties.

Each family is unique with their own powers such as telepathy, mesmerizing gaze/charm, telekinesis, shapeshifting, illusions, flight and wall crawling and many more. But at every heart of a great family there is a Progenitor, the building blocks of which the foundation of a family is formed. Should this progenitor be slain, every vampire sired from that lineage turns to dust instantly. This is due to the Progenitor unleashing a **** curse which drags their lineage down to Lokt’s domain, but keeps the Progenitor soul and remains anchored to the mortal realm in exchange though that little fact isn't shared outside of Progenitor circles.

Typically it is customary to seek the Progenitor’s permission when 'bringing someone into the family'.

Becoming a Progenitor is a physical and spiritual undertaking that requires conviction and strength as you bleed yourself to **** all the while mentally removing yourself from your past bloodline which simultaneously frees you and weakens you until you have sired a vampire into your newly formed lineage.

A Progenitor has a few unique drawbacks such as not having a reflection and must slumber during daytime hours to rejuvenate their strength. For each vampire within their lineage, the Progenitor’s strength and speed grows. A Progenitor is aware of each vampire in their lineage, should one be killed they will feel it.

Silver is the bane of a True Undead, the purer the greater the effect. The **** of a Verum Immortui results in the vampire turning into ashes. These ashes carry metaphysical weight and attraction to themselves, keeping them from blowing away and largely grouped together in a pile. Gradually pouring blood onto the ashes causes the ashes to begin reviving the deceased vampire. This is only possible while the progenitor of that vampiric line exists. Should the progenitor perish only they can be resurrected, the rest of the lineage is lost forever due to a **** curse all progenitors unleash upon ****.

This process of resurrection and rebirth can not be overcome unless the ashes are placed in a silver container at which they become inert unless removed. Sunlight does destroy the vampire, but the ashes remain unaffected afterward.

A Birth Born vampire is immune to the progenitor’s **** curse and sunlight.

Should a Progenitor prove weak or fail in their undertakings become detrimental to the family. A change in leadership can be issued, in which typically the eldest of the Progenitor’s children may duel their sire for leadership. Using a secret ritual held only the Lokt’s priesthood, the Progentior’s enhanced speed & strength is suspended until such a time either combatant is defeated.

If the challenger is victorious, they devour their sire, absorbing all their power and abilities and assume their new role as Progenitor. If the current Progenitor is successful in protecting his station the challenger is typically killed.