Dark and mysterious, the race of vampyres has been steadily growing since the decline of the Salenheimian Empire and the rise of Tiagarath. Instead of transforming adults into vampyres, these days a baby will be donated or claimed and vampyrised within a year of its birth, meaning that is now a race more than a monster. Despite the many misconceptions surrounding vampyres, they need not be evil, or even afraid of sanctified water and holy symbols, so long as the deity is not directly opposed to their alignment. Good vampyres gain fame for their beauty and aristocratic generosity and high culture, where evil vampyres gain fear for their brutality and thirst.

Personality:

As with humans, the personality of a vampyre depends more on how he or she was brought up and what her alignment is. Good vampyres are generally generous and kind, using their social skills and often power to help others survive in the world. They will ask for a volunteer to claim blood from and will never take so much as to cause a problem. Evil vampyres, however, are terrifying and loathsome beasts, claiming blood from whoever they will and exploiting other creatures for their own gain mercilessly. Despite their long life-spans, vampyres’ roots in humanity encourage constantly changing views of life.

Physical Description:

Vampyres are similar in appearance to humans, though they tend to be slightly shorter and slimmer, averaging between 1.4 to 1.9 metres tall and weighing between 50 and 110 kilograms. They are paler than humans and have either very light or black hair. Their eyes are usually light blue, green or dark brown to black, though when a vampyre feeds or is exceptionally angry or afraid his eyes will flare red. Their teeth are a very bright white, and when a vampyre smiles or opens his mouth his two fangs can be clearly seen in the position where the canine teeth belong. Their bones are usually finer and features more delicately defined than humans, however, so they are considered more attractive by nearly all races. They have a tendency towards dark and expensive clothing, though this is only a tendency and you are nearly as likely as not to find a vampyre wearing a simple apron for housework or other work.

Relations:

The vampyre race gets along well with all races aside the Tiagarathians, who are nonetheless bound by a treaty that was signed just before the Purge between the Queen of the Vampyres and the High Priest of Tiagarath, guaranteeing them respect and dealings into the future, though that treaty’s validity has been called into question many times – after all, the Queen of the Vampyres was particularly beautiful, even by her races standards. Vampyres are more familiar with the gargoyles than any other race, though still only on an individual basis, though they conduct some trade.

Alignment:

As with the humans they are borne from, vampyres may belong to any alignment, though they tend to be more extreme than humans, rarely sticking to neutrality. Good vampyres are often the epitome of good, where evil vampyres are horrific beasts, though whether each manifests this lawfully or chaotically is defined largely by their upbringing.

Vampyre Lands:

Vampyres rarely live in cities or major settlements, or if they do they are reclusive. Generally speaking they prefer to occupy some grandiose dwelling such as a castle or tower in the mountains or by the sea. These are often in the vicinity of smaller villages and hamlets. The race has no particular governor except in times of need, when one king or queen is elected democratically and forced to step down when the crisis is averted. Vampyres live throughout southern, central and northern Salenheim, though avoiding deserts and dry areas. Major areas include mountains to the east of the old barracks town of Reurin, the heartland region around the now-largely deserted Salenheim City, the Fragehorne Forests, Eastern Peaks and Eslay Coast. Generally speaking they live in one place and in relative luxury; however it is not unknown for vampyres to set out upon the road for great causes.

Religion:

Protected by their diplomatic immunity, vampyres worship whom they will, nearly always entirely shunning Tiagarath, whose lack of subtlety they deplore. Good vampyres usually worship a combination of the old gods equally, while evil vampyres worship those dark gods whose names have been long-forgotten. Some others, of course, stick to atheism – all in all vampyres are a mixed bag of worshipers.

Language:

Vampyres speak Common largely, though they also speak a language that they refer to as ‘the Night language’, which they use to converse amongst themselves and with other creatures of the night. Also, as scholars they often learn languages from all corners of the globe to converse with any number of things. Along with their far-flung languages, it is common for vampyres to speak the local dialects of the region in which he lives. The Night language bears some similarity to Elvish when heard by the inexperienced listener, but further examination reveals enormous differences between the two.

Names:

Good vampyres are usually named by their human parents before donation, and as a mark of respect they retain these names as either middle names or names they use in human lands. Upon reaching the age of 14, however, each vampyre chooses a name it feels represents itself, usually from the Night language, though occasionally in Common, Kartikan or Elvish, and it is referred to by this name amongst other vampyres. A vampyre’s family name is usually the first name of its ‘parent’, the vampyre who changed him or her.

Vampyre Racial Traits:

• Unliving Sub-type (Ex): Vampyres are no longer living, thus they are undead, but they do not gain all the benefits, nor take all the penalties for belonging to that template. Vampyres are members of the un-living sub-type. A un-living is a being, usually human, that has been killed, but maintains some aspects of the life it once held. Vampyres are un-living that combine aspects of undead and living creatures, as described below:

Features: as an un-living a vampyre has the following features:

• A vampyre derives its Hit Dice, base attack bonus progression, saving throws and skill points from the class it selects.

Traits: A vampyre possesses the following traits.

• Unlike other undead, a vampyre has a Constitution score

• Unlike other undead, a vampyre has only low-light vision.

• Unlike other undead, a vampyre is not immune to mind-affecting spells and abilities.

• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, disease, nausea and effects that cause the sickened condition.

• Unlike other undead, vampyres are subject to critical hits, non-lethal damage, stunning, ability damage, ability drain and death effects or necromancy effects.

• As un-living, vampyres are affected by negative energy in the same way that normal creatures are affected by positive energy, and vice versa. For example, a cure light wounds spell will deal damage to a vampyre as an inflict light wounds spell, and the inflict light wounds will in fact heal the vampyre’s wounds.

• A vampyre responds slightly differently from other living creatures when reduced to 0 hit points. A vampyre with 0 hit points is disabled, just like a living creature and can undertake a single move action or standard action in each round, but strenuous activity doesn’t risk further injury. When his hit points are less than 0 but greater than -10, a vampyre is inert and helpless and cannot perform any actions, though he or she doesn’t lose additional hit-points unless further damage is dealt to him, as a stable living creature.

• As an un-living, a vampyre can be raised or resurrected and will return in his or her vampyre form.

• A vampyre does not need to eat or breathe, but he can still benefit from the effects of consumable spells and magic items, such as potions.

• Un-living are required to rest for four hours in a trance-like state that helps combat the effect of their Thirst. Vampyre wizards are required to rest for 8 hours in order to prepare spells.

• Un-living’s armour, weapon and technology proficiencies are determined by their class.

• Un-living are subject to Turn Undead or Rebuke Undead as undead are

• Medium: As medium creatures, vampyres have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

• Vampyre base land speed is 10 metres.

• Beauty dice: d8 (treat rolls of 7 and 8 as 5 and 6, respectively)

• Nocturnal: Guardians of the night, vampyres, while not at risk of death from daylight, still prefer to fight and live during the night. During daytime, whether the sun is obscured by clouds or barriers or not, a vampyre takes -2 on all physical abilities (Con, Dex and Str). At night time or while underground, a vampyre has a +2 on all physical abilities. They are also able to speak the language of most normal creatures, in the form of the Night language. They also gain Sneak Attack worth 1d6 points of damage, stacking with class ranks.

• Thirst: Vampyres must feed from a living creature once per day or take 1d8 damage/level. If they feed from one person or animal two days or more in a row, that person must make a Fortitude save (DC15 + 2/previous save) or take 1 Constitution damage (regenerating every two nights). The Fortitude save DC resets to 15 if the person is not fed from for a week. To feed from an unwilling victim a vampyre must succeed in a grapple check and then a touch attack using dexterity to bite. Grapple checks must be made each following round, and the bite deals constitution damage at a rate of 1d2/turn. If the victim’s constitution reaches 0, they die. To create another vampyre, a vampyre must bite a willing creature and suck blood from it for a turn, then cut themselves and feed the creature from its own blood for a turn. The new vampyre will fade into a coma for 1d4 days, then arise as a new vampyre.

• Half-living: Vampyres are half alive, and are thus more difficult to rebuke and turn than normal undead. They gain a +5 bonus to resisting turn attacks. They also take no damage from crossing running water or garlic and do not run from or take damage by the holy symbols and trappings of gods with unopposed beliefs.

• Automatic Languages: Common and the Night language

• Favoured class: Rogue. A multi-class vampyre’s rogue class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multi-classing.