The Nature of Vampires
Introduction
Vampires exist outside the normal mystical cycle of Glorantha. Their
bodies are removed from the constraints of the mundane world. They
are immune to the effects of ageing and most forms of mundane harm.
In exchange for this physical immortality they have sacrificed their
life-force (Atman) to the Void. Instead, a vampire steals the lifeforce
of other beings and uses this to parody life.
Vampiric Immortality
When a vampire is unborn into undeath it takes on a physical form
consistent with its previous mundane form. There are differences.
Any injuries or diseases the body previously had will be gone. The
ritual imbues the body with immense physical strength. The skin
becomes cold to the touch and takes on a sickly pallor, even when
the vampire is fully gorged with blood.
The physical form is immune to the effects of the mundane.
Unenchanted weapons glance off a vampire's body without leaving so
much as a scratch.
Vampiric Life-Force - The Mystical Nature of Undeath
Below only applies to those vampires who have created themselves from arcane magic simulating Vivamort's ritual
A vampire's life energy is sourced from the energy of others, ripped
from them and stored in the Underworld. A normal being's life-force
is just that, a living energy that constantly regenerates in the
mystical cycle. Even after physical death the life-force continues
in the Otherworlds of Glorantha. Once any of this force is ripped
from the host existence it loses its connection with the cycle and
becomes a finite quantity of energy. Once a vampire uses that force
it is gone forever. Thus, a vampire must continually drain lifeforce
from living beings to replenish their own diminishing energy.
The energy that a vampire steals is stored in the Underworld as an
abstract blob of unrecognisable power. The force is linked to the
vampire's psyche by the Undead Thread, a magical link that runs from
the Underworld to the vampire's brain, via the heart and then up
through the neck. This link can be interrupted by a stake into the
heart, if Life or Death magic has blessed the stake. The vampire
cannot function while the link is disrupted. However, removal of the
stake allows the life-force to flow once more and the vampire will
rise again. Severing the link will permanently destroy the vampire.
This is achievable in several ways. The elements can be used to
permanently destroy the link (fire, water, earth).
Magical weapons can also sever the link, typically by decapitating
the vampire.
The link can also be severed by a Heroquester. Some Practices,
Orders and Cults know of rituals that will allow a hero to cross to
the Underworld at or near the spot where a Vampire's blasphemous
atman exists. The cross-over point is typically where the Vampire
was originally buried or where the Ritual of Unbirth took place.
Once on the Otherside, the Heroquester is able to sense the Undead
Thread and can attempt to sever it by whatever means are available.
Powerful Vampires will have guardian beings in the vicinity,
guarding their valuable life-force.
[note: or maybe Vivamortist vampires have their life force within them ,as opposed to on another plane. They are not of any plane, their physical existence is a sham – can they, in fact, exist in any of the planes? ]
Vampires and Magic
Vivamort's ritual of Unbirth bestows a vampire with many innate
abilities. A vampire's lack of a conventional mystical existence
prevents them learning new magical abilities. A vampire has no
spirit and is unable to interact on the spirit plane. A vampire
lacks an essence, which prevents it from transferring his psyche for
the purposes of learning sorcery. Vampires retain pre-death
connections to spell nodes, however (?). Vampires have no soul to
enter the God Plane and cannot learn feats.
However, one of the greatest innate abilities Vivamort grants is the
ability to rip not only life-force from other beings but magic too.
The magic is stored in the formless blob of energy the vampire calls
its life-force. The vampire loses this magic after they release it
into the mundane world.
Elemental Curses
As per cults of terror.
The Curse of Stagnation.
The learned writings of several scholars suggest that vampires are
cursed by stagnation. This is not entirely true. It is true that
their physical form is static. They are unable to improve their
strength, flexibility, toughness or stamina. They cannot improve
spatial awareness, muscle-memory or reflexes and therefore all
physical abilities are in stasis from the time of the vampire's
death. However, their psyche continues to function and personality
and memory continue as malleable constructs. The personality will
develop, becoming increasingly psychotic in all likelihood. Vampires
retain their memory, which is unhindered by dementia as time passes.
Thus a vampire can increase intellectual skills without limit.
Life and Death
The vampire parodies life and cheats death. It is an abomination in the eyes of those tied to the respective runes and equally they are abhorrent to the vampire. The vampire is tormented by the contradictions these runes represent to its existence when those affiliated to the runes channel their power. At best the vampire cannot use their innate abilities on the wielder, at worst they will be vanquished.
Contest: Turn Vampire
Ability: Initiate/Devotee of Death/Life God,
Major Victory: Vampire returns to coffin Marginal Victory: Vampire cannot attack Any loss: Vampire free to attack
Vulnerabilities
Chaos is cruel and unpredictable. A vampire's existence challenges
the Law of the cosmos and is inherently chaotic. When they are
unborn vampires often gain additional and unexpected chaotic
features. More often than not these manifest themselves as
vulnerabilities. Some of them seem to be less random than others,
recurring in many vampires, and strangely over-represented in
certain cultures only.
For instance, in Dragon Pass vampires are more likely to have an
aversion to garlic. In Kralorea many vampires are driven by a
compulsion to count every grain of rice they come across.
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