About Vampires

Vampires have a lot of depth in Tamriel, their traits, characteristics, appearance, and demeanor vary greatly from bloodline to bloodline. As such the details below might not encompass everything about Vampires. This will also be due to the fact on how we intend to incorporate custom bloodlines as well.

                                             Characteristics

The most defining characteristic of vampires is their unnatural, insatiable need for blood. Blood may not be needed to stay "alive", but doing without it can cause a vampire to become extremely weak and rabid, though some types of vampires will instead become stronger. However, they will still turn rabid after going too long without blood, and in some cases, can fall into a coma.

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Consuming blood also allows vampires of some bloodlines to maintain a more inconspicuous appearance, dulling their vampiric qualities. If a vampire's bite leaves its victim alive after a feeding, the vampire risks passing its disease to the victim. A mortal's blood may not be needed to keep a vampire healthy; it is suggested that vampires are able to drain any warmblooded creature's blood instead. Many vampire clans have their own unique methods or traditions when it comes to feeding. Sometimes victims suffer a fate worse than death, such as being kept as thralls to be fed on continuously by their captors.

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Vampires are capable of eating mortal food, but won't derive the sustenance they need from it. They can still become intoxicated by partaking in alcoholic beverages.

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A writer's experiments in the hybridization of a plant and vampiric blood led to the spawning of plants with a voracious hunger for blood, similar to that of a vampire. The aforementioned plants would die when exposed to sunlight.

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Vampires look distinctly different from unaffected persons; their faces are unusually pale, and the eyes of some breeds of hungry vampires turn blood-red until their thirst is sated. Vampires have fangs; some vampires have two fangs on their upper incisors, while other vampires have four fangs, one for each incisor tooth. Vampires are unable to age and are immune to disease. Though they are impervious to death by old age, vampires may be killed by the hand of another. "Ancients" are the oldest vampires, which may be hundreds or even thousands of years old.

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Vampirism is contracted through any sort of wound inflicted by a vampire. The diseases that cause vampirism are transmitted through the disease-contaminated blood of a vampire. Vampires have been known to infect their victims through bites, scratches or by casting a spell to drain their prey's vitality. Some newly-infected vampires will exhibit no symptoms for the first 72 hours after contracting the disease. Others may experience nightmares and insomnia. The infected can be cured of the disease like any other ailment within that 72 hour period. After that time, however, the disease is said to be "incurable"; the disease causes one to "die", making a vampire literally undead. Despite this, there are many documented cases of individuals who found the means to cure themselves, as discussed further below.

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A vampire's skin is extremely susceptible to sunlight, though the degree to which they are affected varies by the specific strain. In some, it is so severe that mere contact with sunlight burns the skin. Most vampires are also especially vulnerable to fire. When they die, their dust can be collected and used as an alchemical ingredient. Documents describe vampires being turned to dust even without being slain by flame. Rumors hold that entering places of worship may cause a vampire pain. Silver is known to be an effective weapon against vampires. The exact abilities and weaknesses a vampire may possess are determined by the bloodline they are a part of or the disease with which they have been infected.

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Small amounts of vampire blood can be used to give an injured or dying mortal strength and vitality. Those whose bodies are shutting down due to the presence of poison can have vampire blood administered to them. This will work as a countering agent to the poison. Vampire blood is prized by necromancers and desperate alchemists. Vampiric infection appears to be able to cure or halt the progression of blood-borne diseases, such as Ostraekeratic Fever.

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At least one male vampire has been documented to have fathered a child with a living partner. The Journal of the Lord Lovidicus recounts how an Imperial impregnated an Orc woman, resulting in a male Orc child who was named Agronak gro-Malog. This child inherited unnatural fighting abilities, like increased speed and resistances to magical and normal weapons. He also had unnaturally grey skin. He would become known as the Gray Prince, and became Grand Champion of the Imperial City Arena.

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It's commonly believed that the soul of someone afflicted with vampirism will end up in Coldharbour following their demise. Others however believe otherwise, that it is not Daedric curses that determine where a soul goes, but instead the choices made by a mortal in life. Another example is the case of the Adoring Admirer. Despite perishing as a vampire, he was capable of remaining on Nirn as a spirit to give a final farewell to the Vestige before passing on, seemingly peacefully, to the afterlife. The Agent also encountered vampires in Aetherius during their quests, though whether these arrived in Aetherius through death or "conventional" means is unknown.