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fluids, such as fruit juices, bouillon, etc. These other fluids
have little, if any nutritional value to the vampire, and may be
consumed more out of social politeness than hunger.
While vampires can survive by feeding from dead creatures,
stored blood, or from animals, this diet lacks the proper psychic
energies they require to survive. Stored blood is as bad, or worse
than, animal's blood as the possibility for anti-coagulant
poisoning also exists.
It is possible for vampires to become effected by chemicals,
such as alcohol or cocaine, that exists in their victim's blood.
This tends to indicate the possibility that poisoned or diseased
blood might have some long term effects, such as madness, on the
vampire.
The vampiric virus is transmitted when a vampire feeds from a
victim, or engages in sexual activities, etc. The microbes are
transmitted through saliva, or other bodily fluids, thereby enter
the victim's bloodstream. The virus will remain inert in the
victim's bloodstream until there have been six or so exposures, or
more than 90% of the victim's blood has been removed by the
vampire. After this point the virus enters its first vigorous
stage, and takes an active hold on victim's system. Assuming the
victim is still alive, the virus becomes a part of the victim's
genetic code, and cannot be easily removed.
After the virus has completed the genetic work in the first
vigorous stage, it becomes dormant once more until conditions
become more favorable for the change into the vampiric form.
Therefore, the virus will not enter this first vigorous stage
unless there is a large amount of the virus present. This usually
happens only if the victim was the primary source of food for a
vampire for an extended period of time. If a person feeds off the
blood of a vampire, then the change can be brought about
immediately. While it is possible for a person to become a vampire
when killed by a single vampiric bite, this is unlikely because
there is also a chance that the vampire who is draining a victim
unto death will be dragged along into death by the psychic
connection. If this doesn't kill the vampire, it could destroy
their mind.
Due to the magical nature of the mutation, it is possible for
a person who is killed by a magical vampire, even though in
barehanded combat, to be transformed.
While the virus is highly active and potentially dangerous,
neither the basic virus, nor the magical form is really able to
defend itself against the body's immune system. It is only after
that immune system has stopped working, can the virus begin the
transformation.
If none of the things mentioned above occur, and there is
insufficent virus present to enter the first vigorous stage, the
virus can't become part of the genetic code, the virus can be
metabolized out of the victim's system in a matter of 2-6 weeks.
Although, during this time the victim can still be controlled by
the vampire who infected them.
When an infected victim dies, the virus once more becomes
active as the second vigorous stage begins the metamorphosis to
vampiric form. The virus becomes a stimulus that revivifies the
non-living host while simultaneously causing major modifications to
the host's body.
The virus first rewrites the body's genetic structure.
Assuming that there is no extensive internal damage, the corpse
undergoes a major metamorphosis. Minor damage will either be
repaired, or else healed around, possibly leaving the vampire
permanently mutilated. However, if the body had been extensively
damaged before death, or immediately after death, particularly if
there had been damage to the nervous system, then the
transformation will not occur.
After the genetic code has begun to be rewritten, all waste
materials are forcefully eliminated, and all body fats are either
converted into regenerative raw material or else is ejected with
the bodily wastes. This often leaves the vampire with an
appearance of gauntness and elongation. Then the flesh begins its
gradual conversion to the `pseudoflesh' of the vampiric form. This
pseudoflesh contains the vampire's cellular chakratic system. The
total conversion from flesh to pseudoflesh takes centuries, and is
similar to petrification of fossils. The older the vampire is, the
more pseudoflesh it is. Pseudoflesh toughens against the allergens
that effect vampires with time, as the vampire's control over its
bodily energy increases. When exposed to the sun, the pseudoflesh
of older vampires burns slowly and more completely while that of
the younger vampires burns hotter and faster.
Other changes that occur are an enhancement of the senses to
a preternatural level that can allow the vampire to count the
people in a building from outside, merely by the sound of their
breathing, or to detect a lie by the trembling of the speaker's
voice. The changes to the senses also allow the vampire to see at
great distances and further into the ultraviolet bands of the
spectrum. The digestive tract is redesigned to allow the
absorption of necessary enzymes and amino acids for the body's
continued existence from the circulatory fluids of other creatures,
or, if necessary, to build those nutrients from whatever it can
glean from the fluids the vampire consumes.
The creature's musculature and skeletal systems are rebuilt
and strengthened to grant a strength that is 10-20 time what it had
been in life, as well as increased speed, reflexes, dexterity and
agility. Finally, there is an alteration to the neurological
systems, triggering the vampire's psionic powers, as well as
increasing the speed at which a vampire can think, its reaction
times, and improving its memory.
Other, more cosmetic, changes to the magical vampire can
include an increase in hirsuteness, a lengthening of the face into
a muzzle or snoutish appearance, pointed ears, etc.
The change to vampiric form may, but not necessarily, cause
insanity, or other personality change. For some magical vampires,
such a personality change might be part of the magical effect, but,
in general, these personality changes have less to do with what
happens during the transformation, than with how the person being
transformed reacts to the changes.
It is possible that the virus might fail, and create a
Vrykolakas or `ghoul,' or perhaps a mindless or insane vampire. A
vrykolakas or mindless vampire might also occur if the vampiric
virus is introduced into a corpse. Vrykolaki are more fully
discussed elsewhere
The change generally takes twelve to twenty-four hours,
although transformations taking up to three days aren't unknown.
The transformation requires the expenditure of a great deal of
energy, so that once transformed, the vampire will either become
active and very hungry, or else sleep for a number of days. The
response is fairly individual and unpredictable.
The primary powers of vampires are their psionic powers. Of
the vampiric powers, the Coercive powers are of the greatest
importance. These are exemplified by the vampiric abilities to
charm and seduce their victims, to exert great mental control over
other beings, and to control vampires of lesser strength and power.
Vampires can control and manipulate the powers of other vampires
nearby, by a special exertion of their coercive will, becasue of
the similarity between the vampiric forms. The more powerful
vampire can overide the lesser vampire's control over itself, and
its mental and physical sytems. Vampires can also mesmerize or
hypnotize those around them. By extending this ability into an
aura, or field, of Avoidance, or psionic Invisibility, the vampire
can disapear from sight, as the minds of those around the vampire
refuse to acknowledge its presence. If the vampire should desire,
it can generate an aura of Fear to terify those around it, or cause
other beings to fall into a deep sleep. The vampire can force its
victim's mind to go blank, or into a trance-like state, prior to,
or during, feeding.
Helping their enhanced senses, vampires also have extensive
farsenses, and can even taste or feel the minds of others. The
process of feeding creates a psychic link between victim and
vampire. This link may last well after the virus has been
metabolized from the victim's system. This communication may be
either one way, with the vampire able to communicate with the
victim from a distance, or two way, the vampire able to receive
impressions from the victim.
Some vampires develop the PK ability to levitate, then to fly
as they get older.
The magical vampire may possess a wide range of supernatural
powers. These powers are limited only by the strength and power of
the vampire's will. For example, magical vampires can summon and
control a variety of animals, they can shapeshift, even assuming a
gaseous form at will. The strongest vampires, however, can control
the weather, and many have even more unique powers.
If a sleeping vampire is disturbed, it will attack as if
awake, without necessarily waking up.
Some magical vampires have the ability to temporarily drain
life energy merely by a soul chilling touch. A person drained to
unconsciousness in this fashion will fall into a coma, remaining
unconscious until all the energy has been regenerated. There are
no other ill effects from this touch.
Potentially, the most dangerous power of the vampire is the
toughness of the pseudoflesh and the immunities that result from
that toughness. A nonmagical vampire can absorb a tremendous
amount of damage from any physical attack aimed at them, as though
they were wearing armor. Even without that, they regenerate at a
sufficiently great speed that weapons made from certain types of
materials, the allergens, can harm them badly enough to wear them
down.
A magical vampire, on the other hand can only be damaged at
all by weapons made from allergen materials, or that are magical in
some way can even harm them. Kinetic energy damage is shrugged
off, bullets, knives, etc. either pass through them as though they
were mist, or bounce off their skin, depending on the bloodline of
the vampire.
Vampires, and the virus, have a number of `allergies.'
Different `bloodlines' of vampires, including different types of
vampires, having slightly different mutations of the virus,
immunities to one or two of these allergins, but for the reasons
explained below, these allergens will at least strike and damage
all forms of vampire. If they are not immune to these substances,
these allergic reactions can easily be lethal to the vampire. And
so these things could be used to kill the vampire.
The term allergen is used only in its definition of `a
substance that produces and altered body reactivity.' The
allergens are the Sun, as mentioned before, silver, certain
specific herbs such as Garlic and Wolvesbane (also called Monkshood
or Aconite), as well as Hawthorne, Whitethorn, or Blackthorn woods.
Some other woods, such as Oak, Ash, Alder, Willow, Aspen, Maple,
Yew, etc. can be used to damage the vampire, but will not trigger
an allergic reaction in the vampire.
Certain organic materials, such as the woods mentioned above,
and metals, silver, have the ability to disrupt the vampire's
chakratic systems, even if they aren't allergens, because those
materials interfere with the natural
