Quote from: Grognard GM on April 21, 2023, 01:17:36 PM

Quote from: Chris24601 on April 21, 2023, 01:14:16 PM

Quote from: Zelen on April 21, 2023, 12:35:13 PM

Quote from: Chris24601 on April 21, 2023, 10:49:32 AM
And similarly, if you have other things that go bump in the night, try to not have their creation myths overtly contradict each other (see WoD Vampire, Werewolf and Mage whose cosmologies are fundamentally incompatible).

I disagree with this advice, simply because I like the mystery that having these contradictory accounts creates. Reality is messy, and historical accounts are always filled with half-truth and propaganda.

Reality IS messy. That's why people prefer stories... things have to make sense there.

I don't mean that the origins have to be widely known, merely that, at whatever level of unknown you set "the truth" the elements at the level of "the truth" shouldn't contradict themselves or people will find it unsatisfying.

Real Life dangles, fiction shouldn't.

It's Mythology and legend within that fiction though, it is in fact OK to be murky, perhaps even contradictory. People do actually have different tastes.

When I'm dealing with Mythology I know not to take it seriously: Zeus became a swan to seduce a woman? Sure, why not?

But the game world HAS TO have an internal logic, you're borrowing from myth to build a different reality, because magic can't only go so far before it starts pulling you out of the world, which is fine for a beer & pretzels one shot. Even Toon has it's own internal logic.

It doesn't need to adhere to IRL logic, science or such, but it HAS TO adhere to itself.

Take the write up, different bloodlines CLAIM to descend from different original vampires. Unless you're borrowing from Underworld (the movies) claiming that werewolves share the same origin could be world breaking.

Claiming that X is true (vampires & Weres share the same origin) and then claiming they don't is valid only if neither of those has been established as the Truth in the world. So you publish a splat book that establishes something IS true in the game world, you shouldn't then publish a new splat book that contradicts the first UNLESS you're dealing with stuff like RIFTS or GURPS Alternate Earths.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 21, 2023, 12:19:29 PM

Quote from: Chris24601 on April 21, 2023, 07:31:10 AM
I think one thing worth noting in devising vampires is that Dracula was a literal wizard in the novel; having learned black magic at the hidden school Scholomance, supposedly from Satan himself (the poser Caine only learned from the lesser demoness Lilith).

It's worth noting because, in an urban fantasy RPG, a LOT of Dracula's "traditional vampire powers" are actually black magic from his ton of levels in wizard.

That also means he's NOT a typical vampire so the first thing you need to decide is which of his powers you want to also be available to black magic users in your setting and whatever is left should be the template for your average vampire.

Now it could be that the vampiric state makes them all natural conduits for black magic (basically making wizard a "favored class" for vampires) and blood sacrifice a natural source of mana, but that would still make learning to use the magic a part of their development and lead to different "types" of vampire simply by spell selection.

ETA: if it were me, I'd give the base vampire template the raw physical abilities; strength, speed, sharp senses, unnatural resilience/healing; and leave the rest to magic they have natural affinities for.

The idea is to brainstorm ALL the powers (and then weaknesses, and so on) a Vampire can have.

Then, using BoxCrayonTales' write up, divide those between universal and bloodline specific. So you choose your bloodline and it makes your Vampire different from mine or from the one you played last year.

Echoing Jhkim, you may find this free RPG a useful resource: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byiv9hddS-1aQnluNEk1N0FWRzQ/view?usp=share_link&resourcekey=0-DvS1eYTdc3zCFp-k4Z-fdQ

It provides detailed guidelines for designing vampire strains and settings built around particular themes, with four sample settings and a chapter on general trends in vampire fiction over the last century or so.

Quote from: GhostNinja on April 21, 2023, 12:12:12 PM

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on April 21, 2023, 10:48:34 AM
In the indie ttrpg Blood, a vampire's bite causes paralysis and short term memory loss but the exact sensation felt depends on the environment and current feelings: alone in a scary alley the victim experiences terror, while in a hedonistic nightclub the victim experiences ecstasy.

Those are good ideas.  I may use them. 

I know that there are other games out there but looking at the ones that were listed they were very small, short games.  I want to create something really fleshed out that can be played for awhile with possible random encounters, seed ideas, etc.

I am looking to create something really fleshed out.

That's probably due to budgets and time investment. Making a detailed RPG is time consuming.

Do you want to make up your own rules too, or would you like to use one of the existing toolkit games as a basis?

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 21, 2023, 01:29:29 PM

Quote from: Grognard GM on April 21, 2023, 01:17:36 PM

Quote from: Chris24601 on April 21, 2023, 01:14:16 PM

Quote from: Zelen on April 21, 2023, 12:35:13 PM

Quote from: Chris24601 on April 21, 2023, 10:49:32 AM
And similarly, if you have other things that go bump in the night, try to not have their creation myths overtly contradict each other (see WoD Vampire, Werewolf and Mage whose cosmologies are fundamentally incompatible).

I disagree with this advice, simply because I like the mystery that having these contradictory accounts creates. Reality is messy, and historical accounts are always filled with half-truth and propaganda.

Reality IS messy. That's why people prefer stories... things have to make sense there.

I don't mean that the origins have to be widely known, merely that, at whatever level of unknown you set "the truth" the elements at the level of "the truth" shouldn't contradict themselves or people will find it unsatisfying.

Real Life dangles, fiction shouldn't.

It's Mythology and legend within that fiction though, it is in fact OK to be murky, perhaps even contradictory. People do actually have different tastes.

When I'm dealing with Mythology I know not to take it seriously: Zeus became a swan to seduce a woman? Sure, why not?

But the game world HAS TO have an internal logic, you're borrowing from myth to build a different reality, because magic can't only go so far before it starts pulling you out of the world, which is fine for a beer & pretzels one shot. Even Toon has it's own internal logic.

It doesn't need to adhere to IRL logic, science or such, but it HAS TO adhere to itself.

Take the write up, different bloodlines CLAIM to descend from different original vampires. Unless you're borrowing from Underworld (the movies) claiming that werewolves share the same origin could be world breaking.

Claiming that X is true (vampires & Weres share the same origin) and then claiming they don't is valid only if neither of those has been established as the Truth in the world. So you publish a splat book that establishes something IS true in the game world, you shouldn't then publish a new splat book that contradicts the first UNLESS you're dealing with stuff like RIFTS or GURPS Alternate Earths.

Whenever I get to that bridge, an origin that I commonly use is that these monsters are drawn from the realm of nightmares. Since nightmares can take endless forms, so too do the monsters spawned from it.

---

As far as my own attempts go, there are multiple avenues I could explore. For example:

No strains: Every monster, or at least every PC, is unique. There are few to no recurring strains with consistent traits. This is the approach taken by Actual Fucking Monsters.

Single strain: The setting only has a single strain of vampirism. At most, there may be a handful of substrains with minor variations. This is how WitchCraft and Nephilim goes about it. This has the benefit of simplicity, as you don't have much to keep track of.

Multiple sub-strains: The setting has a single strain of vampirism, but there are multiple substrains with variant powers and weaknesses. The divergence from the baseline strain is generally small. The substrains don't necessarily have a singular origin, each one may have a separate origin in time and space, but they follow the same template regardless. VTM and its heartbreakers take this approach. This has the benefit of adding additional customizability and unpredictability while retaining a fair amount of simplicity.

Multiple strains: The setting has multiple strains of vampirism with wildly different properties from one another. Strains may not even resemble what we stereotypically associate with vampires. Substrains are rare or absent. Nightlife uses this approach, representing werewolves, demons, wights and so forth within the same framework as stereotypical vampires. This adds more options while keeping some amount of simplicity.

Multiple strains and substrains: An extension of the above, the setting has a plethora of strains and substrains. To my knowledge, the few examples of this are limited to movies or prose fiction like Captain Kronos, Blackcoat Press' Vampire Almanac books, or the American Vampire comics. This approach is very complicated and I'm not surprised nobody has tried it in the ttrpg scene aside from relatively short toolkits like GURPS Blood Types, Feed or Vampire City.

Each choice will have different pros and cons, requiring different approaches to the worldbuilding and game design. In any case, this choice needs to be made before you do any detailed worldbuilding.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on April 21, 2023, 01:32:37 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 21, 2023, 12:19:29 PM

Quote from: Chris24601 on April 21, 2023, 07:31:10 AM
I think one thing worth noting in devising vampires is that Dracula was a literal wizard in the novel; having learned black magic at the hidden school Scholomance, supposedly from Satan himself (the poser Caine only learned from the lesser demoness Lilith).

It's worth noting because, in an urban fantasy RPG, a LOT of Dracula's "traditional vampire powers" are actually black magic from his ton of levels in wizard.

That also means he's NOT a typical vampire so the first thing you need to decide is which of his powers you want to also be available to black magic users in your setting and whatever is left should be the template for your average vampire.

Now it could be that the vampiric state makes them all natural conduits for black magic (basically making wizard a "favored class" for vampires) and blood sacrifice a natural source of mana, but that would still make learning to use the magic a part of their development and lead to different "types" of vampire simply by spell selection.

ETA: if it were me, I'd give the base vampire template the raw physical abilities; strength, speed, sharp senses, unnatural resilience/healing; and leave the rest to magic they have natural affinities for.

The idea is to brainstorm ALL the powers (and then weaknesses, and so on) a Vampire can have.

Then, using BoxCrayonTales' write up, divide those between universal and bloodline specific. So you choose your bloodline and it makes your Vampire different from mine or from the one you played last year.

Echoing Jhkim, you may find this free RPG a useful resource: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byiv9hddS-1aQnluNEk1N0FWRzQ/view?usp=share_link&resourcekey=0-DvS1eYTdc3zCFp-k4Z-fdQ

It provides detailed guidelines for designing vampire strains and settings built around particular themes, with four sample settings and a chapter on general trends in vampire fiction over the last century or so.

Quote from: GhostNinja on April 21, 2023, 12:12:12 PM

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on April 21, 2023, 10:48:34 AM
In the indie ttrpg Blood, a vampire's bite causes paralysis and short term memory loss but the exact sensation felt depends on the environment and current feelings: alone in a scary alley the victim experiences terror, while in a hedonistic nightclub the victim experiences ecstasy.

Those are good ideas.  I may use them. 

I know that there are other games out there but looking at the ones that were listed they were very small, short games.  I want to create something really fleshed out that can be played for awhile with possible random encounters, seed ideas, etc.

I am looking to create something really fleshed out.

That's probably due to budgets and time investment. Making a detailed RPG is time consuming.

Do you want to make up your own rules too, or would you like to use one of the existing toolkit games as a basis?

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 21, 2023, 01:29:29 PM

Quote from: Grognard GM on April 21, 2023, 01:17:36 PM

Quote from: Chris24601 on April 21, 2023, 01:14:16 PM

Quote from: Zelen on April 21, 2023, 12:35:13 PM

Quote from: Chris24601 on April 21, 2023, 10:49:32 AM
And similarly, if you have other things that go bump in the night, try to not have their creation myths overtly contradict each other (see WoD Vampire, Werewolf and Mage whose cosmologies are fundamentally incompatible).

I disagree with this advice, simply because I like the mystery that having these contradictory accounts creates. Reality is messy, and historical accounts are always filled with half-truth and propaganda.

Reality IS messy. That's why people prefer stories... things have to make sense there.

I don't mean that the origins have to be widely known, merely that, at whatever level of unknown you set "the truth" the elements at the level of "the truth" shouldn't contradict themselves or people will find it unsatisfying.

Real Life dangles, fiction shouldn't.

It's Mythology and legend within that fiction though, it is in fact OK to be murky, perhaps even contradictory. People do actually have different tastes.

When I'm dealing with Mythology I know not to take it seriously: Zeus became a swan to seduce a woman? Sure, why not?

But the game world HAS TO have an internal logic, you're borrowing from myth to build a different reality, because magic can't only go so far before it starts pulling you out of the world, which is fine for a beer & pretzels one shot. Even Toon has it's own internal logic.

It doesn't need to adhere to IRL logic, science or such, but it HAS TO adhere to itself.

Take the write up, different bloodlines CLAIM to descend from different original vampires. Unless you're borrowing from Underworld (the movies) claiming that werewolves share the same origin could be world breaking.

Claiming that X is true (vampires & Weres share the same origin) and then claiming they don't is valid only if neither of those has been established as the Truth in the world. So you publish a splat book that establishes something IS true in the game world, you shouldn't then publish a new splat book that contradicts the first UNLESS you're dealing with stuff like RIFTS or GURPS Alternate Earths.

Whenever I get to that bridge, an origin that I commonly use is that these monsters are drawn from the realm of nightmares. Since nightmares can take endless forms, so too do the monsters spawned from it.

---

As far as my own attempts go, there are multiple avenues I could explore. For example:

No strains: Every monster, or at least every PC, is unique. There are few to no recurring strains with consistent traits. This is the approach taken by Actual Fucking Monsters.

Single strain: The setting only has a single strain of vampirism. At most, there may be a handful of substrains with minor variations. This is how WitchCraft and Nephilim goes about it. This has the benefit of simplicity, as you don't have much to keep track of.

Multiple sub-strains: The setting has a single strain of vampirism, but there are multiple substrains with variant powers and weaknesses. The divergence from the baseline strain is generally small. The substrains don't necessarily have a singular origin, each one may have a separate origin in time and space, but they follow the same template regardless. VTM and its heartbreakers take this approach. This has the benefit of adding additional customizability and unpredictability while retaining a fair amount of simplicity.

Multiple strains: The setting has multiple strains of vampirism with wildly different properties from one another. Strains may not even resemble what we stereotypically associate with vampires. Substrains are rare or absent. Nightlife uses this approach, representing werewolves, demons, wights and so forth within the same framework as stereotypical vampires. This adds more options while keeping some amount of simplicity.

Multiple strains and substrains: An extension of the above, the setting has a plethora of strains and substrains. To my knowledge, the few examples of this are limited to movies or prose fiction like Captain Kronos, Blackcoat Press' Vampire Almanac books, or the American Vampire comics. This approach is very complicated and I'm not surprised nobody has tried it in the ttrpg scene aside from relatively short toolkits like GURPS Blood Types, Feed or Vampire City.

Each choice will have different pros and cons, requiring different approaches to the worldbuilding and game design. In any case, this choice needs to be made before you do any detailed worldbuilding.

Nightmares, yes, that solves the problem if you can buy into it.

Strains... IF I understood correctly these are like the different types of vampires from different parts of the world myths, they all share some characteristics but not many.

I like better, for this type of game, a single strain if you will, all vampires share the basic characteristics, but their different bloodlines give them some unique characteristics in the form of boons/drawbacks.

As for weres, instead of having multiple different types of werewolves why not introduce other types of theriantrope? Werejaguars, werebears... That instantly makes them different enough mechanically.

Fae, like with Vampires, have them share the basic characteristics : "Immortal", glamour, iron weakness. Then give them something to make them unique so the player can choose beyond the basic type: Troll, Gremlin, whatever.

Wizards, here's where the real trouble starts, you need to design different spell lists and maybe magic systems to make it possible to have different types of MU that FEEL and PLAY different.

The way Feed defines a strain is that its rules are built around exploring a particular theme. The sample strains/settings the book provides are Dance Macabre (minimal divergences from human aside from hunger for blood and being not quite superhuman), Hush (you made a pact with demons to get wishes granted, but the demons inhabit your body and demand blood in exchange), Los Satanicos (stereotypical b-movie vampires), and Nod (I'm not really sure how to describe these guys).

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on April 21, 2023, 01:32:37 PM
Echoing Jhkim, you may find this free RPG a useful resource: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byiv9hddS-1aQnluNEk1N0FWRzQ/view?usp=share_link&resourcekey=0-DvS1eYTdc3zCFp-k4Z-fdQ

Very cool.  I am going to check it out after work.

Do you think if you were doing a vampire game that maybe making new weaknesses would be a good idea instead of using the common ones everyone knows?

Quote from: GhostNinja on April 21, 2023, 03:12:42 PM

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on April 21, 2023, 01:32:37 PM
Echoing Jhkim, you may find this free RPG a useful resource: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byiv9hddS-1aQnluNEk1N0FWRzQ/view?usp=share_link&resourcekey=0-DvS1eYTdc3zCFp-k4Z-fdQ

Very cool.  I am going to check it out after work.

Do you think if you were doing a vampire game that maybe making new weaknesses would be a good idea instead of using the common ones everyone knows?

Sure! Here's some random tables:
https://www.blogofholding.com/?p=7171
https://www.blogofholding.com/?p=7111

In my brainstorming doc, I like to tailor powers and weaknesses to the sub/strain's overall theme so these don't feel completely arbitrary. One idea I had is that vampires develop new weaknesses over time based on the powers they accumulate. You can observe and research a vampire or strain to get hints about their capabilities and vulnerabilities.

For example, vampire initiates of the Cult of Seth aren't burned by sunlight because they're servants of Ra the sun god, but Ra's gaze forces them to sleep until he needs them during the night. Whereas vampire initiates of the Cult of Apophis are actively burned by sunlight because they're enemies of Ra.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on April 21, 2023, 03:26:34 PM

Quote from: GhostNinja on April 21, 2023, 03:12:42 PM

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on April 21, 2023, 01:32:37 PM
Echoing Jhkim, you may find this free RPG a useful resource: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byiv9hddS-1aQnluNEk1N0FWRzQ/view?usp=share_link&resourcekey=0-DvS1eYTdc3zCFp-k4Z-fdQ

Very cool.  I am going to check it out after work.

Do you think if you were doing a vampire game that maybe making new weaknesses would be a good idea instead of using the common ones everyone knows?

Sure! Here's some random tables:
https://www.blogofholding.com/?p=7171
https://www.blogofholding.com/?p=7111

In my brainstorming doc, I like to tailor powers and weaknesses to the sub/strain's overall theme so these don't feel completely arbitrary. One idea I had is that vampires develop new weaknesses over time based on the powers they accumulate. You can observe and research a vampire or strain to get hints about their capabilities and vulnerabilities.

For example, vampire initiates of the Cult of Seth aren't burned by sunlight because they're servants of Ra the sun god, but Ra's gaze forces them to sleep until he needs them during the night. Whereas vampire initiates of the Cult of Apophis are actively burned by sunlight because they're enemies of Ra.

Wait, what? The Cult OF freaking SET are servants of Ra?

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on April 21, 2023, 03:26:34 PM
Sure! Here's some random tables:
https://www.blogofholding.com/?p=7171
https://www.blogofholding.com/?p=7111

Thank you for the links.  I will check them out after work.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on April 21, 2023, 03:26:34 PMIn my brainstorming doc, I like to tailor powers and weaknesses to the sub/strain's overall theme so these don't feel completely arbitrary. One idea I had is that vampires develop new weaknesses over time based on the powers they accumulate. You can observe and research a vampire or strain to get hints about their capabilities and vulnerabilities.

For example, vampire initiates of the Cult of Seth aren't burned by sunlight because they're servants of Ra the sun god, but Ra's gaze forces them to sleep until he needs them during the night. Whereas vampire initiates of the Cult of Apophis are actively burned by sunlight because they're enemies of Ra.

This is a great idea.  It also helps make it so not all of the vampires are cookie cutter and the same.  One vampire can be killed by Method X and that wont work on another vampire because they can only be killed by Method Y.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 21, 2023, 03:42:43 PM
Wait, what? The Cult OF freaking SET are servants of Ra?

https://desertofset.com/2020/06/15/set-is-a-savior-not-a-devil/

Years ago I read the Khaibit entry in Bloodlines: The Hidden. Following up on the mythology, I was surprised to learn that Set was originally a positive figure in Egyptian myth. He was the protector of Ra who fought Apophis every night to ensure the sun rose. He was the patron deity of the Hyksos dynasty and identified with a Canaanite precursor to the Abrahamic God. It was only later that he was demonized. The inaccurate snake symbolism may be traced back to Robert E. Howard's Conan stories.

Tl;dr he's Egyptian Loki.

Quote from: GhostNinja on April 21, 2023, 04:02:51 PM
This is a great idea.  It also helps make it so not all of the vampires are cookie cutter and the same.  One vampire can be killed by Method X and that wont work on another vampire because they can only be killed by Method Y.

Some of the short stories in Black Coat Press' Vampire Almanac books make this a plot point, referencing Captain Kronos. There's at least two scenes were somebody tries to figure out to kill a particular type of vampire, using stakes, cutting out the heart, chopping off the head, etc.

Discworld makes jokes about it, like vampires from one region only being vanquished by hammering carrots into their ears, filling their mouths with salt, and chopping off their head. If you want a more comedic tone then you can lean into that by giving your vampires similarly absurd weaknesses. It's not like the stereotypical weaknesses aren't arbitrary and bizarre: we just take them for granted and don't think about how they might be construed as silly.

Vampire Thrall, these are the human cattle the vampire keeps to feed from.

Vampire Spawn (Nosferatu): Nosferatu are created when, after several feedings (no less than 3, but the longer the Vampyr manages to keep the victim alive increases the chances of it rising as an undead Nosferatu 50% after 3 feedings, + 5% per 10 extra days) the victim dies. If the transformation is successful it will rise on the night of the 3rd day as an undead Nosferatu Spawn (Mindless and dominated by The Hunger, with no control over it and unable to use the powers that belong to it), often it will head straight to it's home and if the family lets it in it will drain everybody in the household. If the transformation isn't successful or the Thrall dies before time it will rise as a Revenant with the INT, WIS & CHA of the Spawn but the STR, CON & DEX of the Lesser (or Master?) and isn't under it's maker's control.

As the Nosferatu "ages" it regains the use of it's mind and human memories, at this point it can make some use of the most basic Vampyr powers being called a Fledgling.

Vampire Fledgling

Vampire Lesser

Vampire Bride/Groom: With "age" all Vampyrs gain power except the Vampire Bride/Groom, these are created when a Vampire Lord/Lady receives virgins as tribute from the human townsfolk he keeps as cattle in the neighboring towns. These never will be anything but Lesser Vampires, but have some powers other Vampires don't:
Enthralling song.- All those, withing hearing distance, who would be sexually attracted to the Vampire Bride/Groom from either gender must make a save vs spell or fall victims of an effect similar to the Charm Person spell. 60 feet and a -1 penalty to the ST per Bride/Groom singing.

Vampire Lord

Vampire Master

I also have some ideas for different types of vampire's servants. These descriptions are very general and assume you're using something very customizable like GURPS Blood Types to fine tune it.

Familiars: familiars are mortals, animals, and/or other things (plants, demons, zombies, etc) that serve a vampire, either unknowingly, willingly or under mind control. Some vampires with advanced mind control can turn people into Manchurian agents who may not even be aware that they're serving that vampire.

Drone, thrall, etc: a drone, thrall or whatever other name you want to use, is a mortal who has had their willpower sucked out by a vampire's bite (as vampires suck lives, not the base matter composing blood), causing them to become nocturnal, uninterested in mundane life, and infatuated with the vampire who sucked them. This form of mind control is not subtle and can alert witch-hunters who know the signs. Their willpower recovers over time, so their master must periodically refresh the mind control by sucking out the willpower again. This sucking creates a sympathetic magical tie between the vampire and the drone that the vampire can exploit, even without any training in magical theory, because vampires are inherently magical creatures. Vampires can learn to send their drones simple telepathic messages, such as summoning drones to the master's location. Even possessing the drone remotely for particularly assertive masters. Vampires that can create and commune with drones don't necessarily know other forms of mind control or telepathy. Some vampires with advanced mind control can brainwash mortals into drones with eye mojo, and this brainwashing doesn't weaken over time. The movie Vampira displays this sort of servant being employed.

Empowered familiar: an empowered familiar is an originally non-magical familiar who has been granted limited magical powers by their master. This often involves a gift of the master's blood (or "ichor", a magic-impregnated blood analogue) or raw magical energy, depending on the diet of the vampire. Bloodsuckers usually have to refresh the magic by giving their familiar routine "blood gifts". Emotional vampires or those using spells can refresh their familiars at will, regardless of the intervening distance. An empowered familiar may gain the ability to learn a limited amount of magical powers of their own, or their master can use powers through them (such as feeding remotely) or tattoo spells/powers onto their aura for their personal use. The recently released movie Renfield is about this kind of servant.

Living vampire aka half-vampire aka dhampir: this category is usually only found in relation to demonic/undead bloodsuckers. The dhampir has certain key vampiric traits (bloodsucking, magical powers, being able to transmit vampirism) while lacking others (vulnerability to sunlight, being undead, soullessness). Some strains have the ability to create them as servants instead of or in addition to empowered familiars. Others only create them as an unintended byproduct of their existence, and these dhampirs will often be tormented by their half-human status and be driven to kill all vampires in revenge. Half-vampires might be a transitional stage between mortal and vampire, caused by an exchange of blood, and only cured by vanquishing their vampire master before the transformation becomes permanent. This may be seen in movies like My Best Friend Is a Vampire, Blade, Vampire Hunter D, or The Lost Boys.

Feral ghouls aka feral vampires aka zompires: the feral vampire or zompire, sometimes called a feral ghoul (although the name "ghoul" technically encompasses a number of different monsters descended from the same nightmare archetype, closely related to the vampire), is a reanimated corpse driven entirely by animal instinct and hunger for human blood/flesh. In addition to a generally corpsey appearance it often displays physical mutation from the human norm, such as large pointed ears, claws, fangs, hooves, a canine muzzle, etc. Some vampires may create these creatures as familiars, or they're the unintended product of a failed turning, overdosing on vampiric ichor, going too long without vampiric ichor, brain damage inflicted on a vampire due to starvation, the end result of a vampire giving into their hunger, etc. Zompires have the intelligence of a predatory mammal at most, but they might have situationally useful powers like mimicking the appearance of a person they've recently eaten. Zompires will resort to eating corpses (reanimated or otherwise) if they have no other food source, although whether they can actually derive any sustenance from this is variable. Some actually prefer corpses over live prey, and will kill living people they encounter and let their corpses putrefy a bit before eating them. Zompires can form packs, with or without a vampire master to lead them. At least when confronting them during the day, zompires will be far easier for mortal witch-hunters to handle because they generally aren't smart enough to set traps or other defenses while they're sleeping the daytime hours away.

Vampire mook: a vampire mook has the typical vampiric traits, but their autonomy is severely limited compared to a human being. They'll obey any command from their master that isn't obviously suicidal, but they're quite stupid and will rush into dangerous situations without a second thought. Their masters create them and keep them around for menial labor and entertainment. Mooks are permanently stunted mentally, physically, and magically. They cannot learn new skills, cannot gain new powers, don't learn from experience, and their memories of their own existence are vague. They can hold casual conversations, but prolonged interaction reveals that their personalities and critical thinking capacity are actually quite vapid. A mook could survive for a millennium, but be taken out with ease by an experienced witch-hunter. Mooks may or may not even be able to turn victims into vampires.

Middling servant: (at this point I'm running out of snappy names) a middling servant vampire retains the same autonomy they had in life and can continue to grow and change psychologically, but their magical abilities are permanently stunted. They have all the standard weaknesses of their strain, but only limited magical abilities that they cannot enhance or increase with experience or raw age. Their powers are often limited to physical augmentation, with maybe limited amounts of mind control or shapeshifting. They usually cannot turn mortals into vampires or empower familiars. If their master gives them the privilege, they can command mooks and familiars. Unlike a mook, however, they can be promoted to full vampire status by the grace of their master or by a magical ritual that may be found in certain rare books of vampire lore. The movies Blood Angels and Vamps are about this rank.

Bond to the master: some undead servants will be reliant on special bonds with their master to continue existing. If their master is vanquished, then they will either perish immediately or have only a limited amount of time to find a new master before they perish. The movie Zoltan: Hound of Dracula is about this situation.

Non-human vampires: In some cases animals, plants or even inanimate objects can be turned into quasi-vampires or full-fledged vampires. Animals become stronger, bigger, vicious and bloodthirsty. Plants develop sentience, the ability to move, increased size and bloodthirstiness. Inanimate objects turn into something out of a bad Stephen King movie.

This is some of my older work on a V:TM heartbreaker. Basically some stuff from V:TM, minus the copyrighted terms, plus B/X. It's a class and level based thing. I wanted the classes to reflect how the different vampires feed, but it didn't quite work for the last two.

Ruler
You are a natural leader, commanding from the throne, or perhaps the one in the shadows pulling the leader's strings. You have vast resources, possibly amassed over centuries, as well as status in vampire society and influence over mortal institutions. You feed by ruling over a group of mortals who are your thralls.

Warrior
You are skilled in all manner of physical combat, perfected over lifetimes of training and conflict.  You might focus on a single weapon or style, or prefer an arsenal of weapons. You might dedicate yourself to a code of honor or prefer unrefined rage and fury. Regardless, when it comes to combat you have no equal. You feed by violently assaulting your victims.

Hunter
You are the ultimate predator, either relentlessly stalking your prey, or waiting in the shadows for the moment to strike. Unlike the warrior, you prefer ambushing your prey rather than direct conflict. Hunters often feel a connection to the natural world and animal behavior, and are the least likely to follow the rules of vampire society. You feed by ambushing your victims by surprise.

Deceiver
You see the hunt through the lens of social interactions, albeit the darker and more exploitative aspects. Deception, manipulation, and seduction are your weapons; secrets and favors owed are your armor. Of all the vampires, the Seducers are the most likely to be a part of mortal society and develop personal relationships with mortals. You feed by tricking or seducing mortals.

Outcast
You were reborn with some sort of deformity that mars your appearance, and casts you out from both mortal and vampire society. As the years progress, things get worse, until you finally can no longer pass as a human. Ultimately you find refuge in the sewers, tunnels, and forgotten places beneath the city where you form a culture with other outcasts. You feed on the weak and lost-- those that fall through the cracks.

Sorcerer
Many other classes have abilities that mortals would consider supernatural, but you command powers beyond comprehension. Magic is the mastery of the energy contained in shadow, dreams, and blood.

Necromancer
The Necromancers are a scholarly cult that is devoted to studying Death. They are experts on vampire lore, possessing the most knowledge of how vampirism actually works. Their research grants access to secrets and rituals that provide supernatural powers, usually focused on the nature of vampirism, death, and prophecy.

Ah, necromancers. One thing I did with my necromancers was make them a secret society that any vampire could join. I included an Anita Blake-inspired provision where vampires could join other bloodlines by swearing a magical oath to a patron of that bloodline.

Watching Only Lovers Left Alive. One plot point from this film is that many humans have polluted their own blood and rendered it undrinkable, so vampires go to great lengths to get clean blood.

Let's interrogate that. What pollutes blood and makes it undrinkable? Drugs? Hepatitis? Venereal disease?

I had ideas for vampires who interact with that in different ways. Some have strong stomachs that don't worry about the toxicity of their food, but they often have a reputation as scavengers, corpse eaters, bottom feeders, even cannibals. Some actually have no choice but to consume "tainted" blood, and thus are seen as "unclean" by other vampires. One bloodline can only derive nourishment from victims infected with pathogens. Another must drink blood from those currently intoxicated by recreational drugs. Some can only drink from corpses, which initially seems like a blessing until they realize it means they have to kill their victims first.

Others have so-called "refined" palates. Some can only drink blood from above a certain social class (I have no idea how much sense this makes, but magic!). Some have an almost sentient palate that drives them to seek a different "vintage" every time they feel hungry, and it's always a vintage that is difficult to acquire at that moment.

On the other hand, what about people with blood disorders or abnormally delicious blood? In Kiss of the Damned, a vampire employs a woman with a hereditary blood disorder as a familiar because she isn't a temptation. In another story I don't remember the title of, a vampire keeps around a "boyfriend" with unusually delicious blood who becomes readily addicted to the bite.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on April 21, 2023, 10:48:20 PM
Watching Only Lovers Left Alive. One plot point from this film is that many humans have polluted their own blood and rendered it undrinkable, so vampires go to great lengths to get clean blood.

Let's interrogate that. What pollutes blood and makes it undrinkable? Drugs? Hepatitis? Venereal disease?

I had ideas for vampires who interact with that in different ways. Some have strong stomachs that don't worry about the toxicity of their food, but they often have a reputation as scavengers, corpse eaters, bottom feeders, even cannibals. Some actually have no choice but to consume "tainted" blood, and thus are seen as "unclean" by other vampires. One bloodline can only derive nourishment from victims infected with pathogens. Another must drink blood from those currently intoxicated by recreational drugs. Some can only drink from corpses, which initially seems like a blessing until they realize it means they have to kill their victims first.

Others have so-called "refined" palates. Some can only drink blood from above a certain social class (I have no idea how much sense this makes, but magic!). Some have an almost sentient palate that drives them to seek a different "vintage" every time they feel hungry, and it's always a vintage that is difficult to acquire at that moment.

On the other hand, what about people with blood disorders or abnormally delicious blood? In Kiss of the Damned, a vampire employs a woman with a hereditary blood disorder as a familiar because she isn't a temptation. In another story I don't remember the title of, a vampire keeps around a "boyfriend" with unusually delicious blood who becomes readily addicted to the bite.

Porphyria
Silver nitrate
Leprosy
Leukemia
Radiation?
Recent consumption of holy water/consecration wine or the holy wafer
Prions?
Sun allergy