Vampyres

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Hey, all. Got a couple of questions:

1. I know vampyres supposedly have a mandate to keep humanity's numbers in check, but do we know who gave it to them / created them?
2. Have any racial deities ever been established for vampyres?
3. I know vampyres get up to nasty stuff in the feeding houses in Falkovnia, but does anything ever come of it? By which I mean to ask: can vampyres and humans interbreed?
4. If they can, are the children purebred vampyres or hybrids of some sort?
5. If they can, does interspecies offspring face any stigma among the vampyres?
6. Any clues as to what the gestation period of a vampyre might be?

7. And just for fun: what do you guys think would happen if Vladimir Lupzig and Tristen ApBlanc became aware of one another?

[The Lesser Evil]

To my knowledge, most of those issues have yet to been touched upon. On their origins, it seems like we have instances of vampyres existing independently of each other in three separate places (Tristen in his homeworld coming about b/c of his lineage and/or curse, the vampyres living throughout Ravenloft, and the ones that dominate the society of Lupzig's homeland of Vladantilan.) So we might infer that they may not have a central origin, or perhaps they came to Ravenloft from elsewhere originally. If we took Tristen's origins as typical of the the first of the vampyre race (probably unlikely), it's possible that they originated as cursed undead descended beings that became numerous enough to consider themselves a race apart (again, highly unlikely).

No vampyre racial deity has been explicitly established, although the 3e Ravenloft monster books says vampyre clerics have access to the Chaos, Evil, Strength, and Trickery domains. So we could infer something about a racial deity from those cleric domains. It's also interesting to note that, in addition to domain languages, Abyssal is a tongue commonly known by vampyres. So we could infer that a vampyre racial deity (and also the race's origins) may have connections to that horrible place, if so desired.

The 2e Ravenloft monstrous compendium 1 and 2 says that vampyres normally have a gestation period of six months, but nothing for a vampyre-human child.

Of Lupzig and ApBlanc, I could see Tristen being the more interested of the pair in interaction. If he considers himself one of their number, he might seek out aid against the druids from others of his kind. Or he might want to learn from/about them as a way of understanding his condition- it's unclear how common vampyres were on his homeworld. Tristen's problem is that he is in a fairly hard to reach spot and mostly consumed with local matters. Most of his agents are repulsive and unsubtle as goblyns. He may want to seek out a human agent/agents to discover more about the vampyres. Rodjan Dilisnya (from Legacy of Blood) might, if his ego/goals would permit it. A deal between Dilisnya and ApBlanc could provide an explanation for how Dilisnya got all of those goblyns under his control.

On the other hand, Lupzig would perhaps have more capability but less interest than establishing a line of communication. Forlorn is way out of the way and henceforth, Lupzig may not have a reason to seek Tristen out without somebody majorly deceiving or manipulating him.

[Mistmaster]

Canonically speaking, no answer about deity and origin. In my take of Forlorn I give them a dualistic religion I use for Vampires and Dhampyrs, D'Vla and Kanchelsis. Forlorn Ian Vampires were created by a curse Morrigan bestowed on a Clan who betrayed Forlorn in a war against Barovia.

[Cromstar]

I was going to say that while not explicitly listed as a deity for vampyres, Kanchelsis is a canonical deity of vampires and can have priests, and from what I remember about vampyres, his domain would and could cover them as well.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Thanks for the insight, all.

Sooo... no hard rules about whether vampyres and humans can interbreed. Innnteresting.
(Yes, I am plotting something. It'll take a while to complete, though.)

[Mistmaster]

Well, storywise Tristen should have been a Dhampyr, howevere, as a Vanpyre, he had children by a human.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

I completely forgot about them... And none of the kids were vampyres, were they?

[EDIT] Whoop, hold on: Brangain is noted in the Mistipedia as struggling with her 'half-vampyre nature'.

So, new questions: Can vampyres eat food in addition to drinking blood, and do they gain any nutrition from it, or are they stuck with a completely liquid diet? And does the blood absolutely have to be human, or can vampyres sustain themselves on animal blood as well?

[Mistmaster]

In canon I think they weren't, I have made them so.

[Garudos Celestar]

I completely forgot about them... And none of the kids were vampyres, were they?

[EDIT] Whoop, hold on: Brangain is noted in the Mistipedia as struggling with her 'half-vampyre nature'.

In Castles Forlorn, she was a regular human; however, to quote The Weeping Land, pg 65: "Brangain is not a vampyre herself, but she will bear vampyre children."

So perhaps in Forfar, the vampyre trait is born through the mother and will skip a generation if the vampyre is the sire?

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Tristen was born in 1594 FC ( Forfarian Calendar) from a human mother and human father but then his father bit his mother and vampirism was tranferred to the unborn child. Although born as human he would eventually be turned by his blood into a vampire (that's what Forlorn box set had written) then again I don't think he would have been a Dhampir since he wasn't conceived by a human and a vampire. Then when he attacked Rual in 1609 FC he was burned by the holy water she had previously drunk and so his transformation was halted as written in The Purification of the Corrupt Flesh. He thought he was dyingbut in truth he was slowly and painfully cured by vampirism, but then he killed his adoptive mother and she cursed him.

Then in 1839 FC his daughter disappears without a trace, In the adventures in Castles Forlorn box set there is the option that the PCs are the ones who helped her escape and there is this kind of early Dread Possibility (as mentioned before) "As an interesting aside, Brangain is the living child of a vampyre_perharps the first one! If and when the PCs help her escape Castle Tristenoira, they will unwittibgly unleash a scourge upon the world. Brangain is not a vampyre herself, but she will bear children. Interested DM's may use this idea in a future adventure to create a scenario in which the PCs learn that Bragain ApBlanc is the mother of that evil race, either within Ravenloft or without".

So then in 1934 FC (547 BC) Forlorn appears... but as we know time in the multiverse is relevant, so what if time in the Prime Material Forlorn passed faster than in the Demiplane of Dread or there was a time disturbance while it was transferred to Ravenloft, we know that the Mists can bend time. That could mean that Tristen is their patriarch, at least in Ravenloft. Then again the Ravenloft monstrous compedium I, writes "Long ago, before man was an intelligent and social animal, they (vampyres) had their place. Now, they are nightmarish creatures that stalk the weak and innocent, fulfilling a task no longer needed". So it could be an ancient race as in Lupzig's world that is extinct or semi-extinct in most other worlds.

If we take time passing at the same rate in Ravenloft and Prime Material Forfar then it's 300 years since Brangains escape. Since vampires grow faster than humans, as they are considered fully grown at the age of 10, that means around a maximum of 30 generations of Brangain's descendants. If you consider that vampyres are highly sexualy active and also pregnancy last for only 6 months, it means that probably all Ravenloft vampyres except Lupzig are of ApBlanc ancestry (some if not all descendants of Brangain being brought by the Dark Powers to Ravenloft). And since Tristen and Isold conceived four human children it is possible for vampyres to conceive human children as well although probably they are consumed at birth. But also there is the possibility for vampyres to conceive vampyre children with humans, keeping vampyre children as their own and draining dry the rest.

So imagine if the feeding houses of Lekar are also breeding houses for even more vampyres except for food supply. If that is the case then it is most likely that vampyres born that way are seen as lesser because of vampyres Chaotic Evil alignment. But being treated that way would make enemies within vampyre society, something that would be considered stupid by Ludzig after his experience in his home world with revolts. So it is possible to breed with humans but it is banned and any baby born that way is killed. I would say that due to their nature they would think it is lesser of them to breed that way wanting only full vampyre blooded descendants , I guess Ludzig for sure thinks that way, especially if we consider that Falkovnia is partly inspired by Nazi attrocities. But then again a pregnant woman could have been saved from the feeding houses giving birth to a vampyre baby before dying, the vampyre child is raised by an adventurer named Abraham Whistler and grows up to become a "daywalker" (...I know all vampyres are) similar to Blade.

It is probable that vampyres know of their ApBlanc lineage but not that Tristen lives, in Realm of Terror (Black Box) it writes "A ghost in castle Tristenoira rules the land. The creatures name is unknown". Also consider that the castle's name isn't derived from Tristen but is pure coincidence, as it was named by the first Barovian explorer's Tristenoira which in Barovian language means "eve of sorrows". So if the vampyres of Lekar found out that their patriarch still exists, maybe a cult would be created within Falkovnian vampyre society, something that Lupzig wouldn't be so happy about...

As a diety I would choose Erlin, since the most openly vampire dominated domain in the Core was Gundarak and using dialectical the connection of isprirations for Falkovnia and Gundarak. Vlad of Falkovnia being inspired by the historic Vlad Tepes Dracula, while Gundar is more inspired as the fantasy representation of a vampire lord (vampire Dracula in B-movies) both are tyrants. Then if we take in account that Gundarak borders Forlorn and lands that are bordered in Ravenloft usually have some kind of connection, the connection could be that the two countries could be from the same Prime material world, since there is no Erlin in the Celtic Pantheon of Forfar. Just a suggestion... So Erlin who is a death god could be to those who have knowledge of the occult also a vampire god (similar to La Magra) for some in the Demiplane of Dread. Erlins Domains are Chaos, Death, Evil, Trickery.