Long-lived, magical humanoid creatures with a taste for blood and a penchant for mesmerism.

“Vampires are powerful Dragul warriors. There is no cure for a Vampire’s bite.” - Zalic, Outbreak in Undercity (RPA-ADV3)

Their bite can spread their condition to others, growing their numbers. Though anyone can become infected, they only age into a true Vampire over the course of a thousand years. With age, Vampires develop their powers, and these powers grow stronger over time.

Vampire dust is known to have both magical and medicinal properties. - Ghost-Eaters of the Forgotten Forest (RPA-ADV8)

• Adlan (GS-ADV3)
• The Eldest
• Yuvan Rokta

“The time of Azema’s return is upon us. Gather whatever artifacts you can and bring them north into the Abandoned Lands. We will pass through the gate together and find our true home.” - Yuvan Rokta, Outbreak in Undercity (RPA-ADV3)

Vampires are embodiments of the endless hunger of Halik, god of darkness. The first Vampire was directly infused with this hunger by Halik and became known to later generations of Vampires as the Eldest. When that Vampire bit another mortal and drank their blood, the infection spread and she became his thrall. When the Eldest died, Adlan, the second born, ruled over a kingdom of Vampires for hundreds of years. Her army was slaughtered, and she was imprisoned in a mountain tomb in the southeastern end of the Serrated Mountains. That tomb was eventually rediscovered, and Vampirism once again spread through Ulos.

After the Great War, Vampires all but abandoned Nalos for the Dragul City States. Vampires are sighted again in Nalos, however, by the time of the Dragul Invasion.

Vampires generally live in hierarchical groups, with rank determined by lineage. Elder Vampires are at the top of the hierarchy, with those they infected being second in rank, and those they infected beneath them, and so on. Vampires can ascend the hierarchy their group and grow in rank and power by killing elder Vampires and assuming their role and powers.

Vampires and even infected thralls who break free from the power and influence of their elders can form new groups in which they are the eldest in rank. However, because they are younger, and their powers not as well developed, their group will never have strength equal to that of the oldest existing Vampire.

Non-hierarchical Vampire societies, usually small in number, have been known to exist. Usually, these are composed of thralls who were let loose or broke away from their elder and lived in the wilds, infecting no one else. Such societies generally unstable, for the hunger of Halik causes Vampires to be eternally discontented.

Vampires do not reproduce sexually, and so do not form family units or breeding pairs/groups. Driven by their endless hunger, Vampires tend to be antisocial, and their relationships with other Vampires are often contentious (vying for power, etc). However, friendships and love relationships do develop among Vampires.

Vampires are able to entice other beings, leaving them in a transfixed state, or even bend them to their will.

The hypnotism can persist even when a Vampire is no longer present;

Though the Vampire is now gone, one of his thralls remains in place, transfixed by the creature’s spell.

“Their bones retain some of their essence, long after death. That skull can still hypnotize.“ - Zalic, Outbreak in Undercity (RPA-ADV3)

As exhibited by Lord Yuvan Rokta, Vampires are able to hold people in place;

You find that your arms and legs will not obey you. Lord Rokta has you frozen in place. - Outbreak in Undercity (RPA-ADV3)

Vampires can turn to smoke to travel, as well as take the form of giant bats and even something in between;

The Vampire returns to mist and you regain control of your limbs.

He coalesces into a more agile bat form, his pale skin gone and replaced with a bat’s fur, fangs dripping with blood.

He coalesces into an even more terrifying visage, veiny muscles bulging from his bat-like frame. His claws scrape along the stone floor of the sepulchre as he approaches. - Outbreak in Undercity (RPA-ADV3)

They can also probe minds and revisit memories;

You feel Lord Rokta’s presence in your mind, sifting through your memories like a pair of hands searching your head for lice.

The world goes black around you as Lord Rokta pulls you into the depths of your own mind. You tumble through memories of your youth and childhood, your infancy and birth, and then beyond, further back to other lives, other existences. All the while, you feel the Vampire’s presence within you, searching your soul for its nature. - Outbreak in Undercity (RPA-ADV3)

More info

The infected are sensitive to sunlight, and that sensitivity grows with time. For the newly infected, exposure may be little more than a minor annoyance. For a full Vampire, it can be painful and possibly even lethal. For elder Vampires, who have survived several thousand years or more, the sensitivity can become so strong that they are reduced to ash the instant they are exposed to the sun;

As they race toward you through the arena, their skin burns beneath the twin suns. - Tome of Encounters (RPA-TE)

Vampires become weakened if they do not feast on mortal blood. Blood from other Vampires does not satiate their hunger.

The most effective way of defeating a Vampire is by decapitation, and then burning their bodies;

You beat the Vampire down and separate his head from his neck. Still his eyes stare deeply into your own, attempting to hypnotize you. You pour oil from your lantern and burn the creature. When nothing is left but bones, you retrieve the skull. - Outbreak in Undercity (RPA-ADV3)

Three infected are released on you at the Colosseum of Ashes:

• You take them all head-on:
  • You swiftly end them by decapitation.
  • They overpower and infect you.
• You attempt to outsmart them:
  • You lay a trap with your blood and end them all at once.
  • One is undistracted:
    • You eliminate them one by one.
    • They overpower and infect you.