The Curses of the Gods
Each of the other gods, in a vain attempt to limit Chaos’ creations, placed a curse on the vampires. Irotana even turned their hunters’ tendencies against them, turning their ritual of drinking the blood of their prey into a hunger that could only be sated with blood.
Tyrea, the most conservative of the lot, decided to give her children a weapon against the vampires. She made wood, easily found and crafted, fatal to vampires. Chaos was able to limit the curse, so that only wood that pierced the heart would paralyze her children. Tyrea, bound within the curse, could only make it so wood from her sacred grove would be fatal, and again, only if it pierced the heart.
In game terms, it means that wood from Tyrea’s sacred grove will actually disintegrate a vampire heart the minute it penetrates the organ. Of course, getting some of this kind of wood would require a great sacrifice from the supplicant. Normal woods will just paralyze the vampire, making it unable to do anything that requires the muscles to move.
Aeryon was disgusted with the creation of the vampires, and wished to never see them again. Since he could not destroy them, he chose to make it nearly impossible to hunt in the day. He made it so they could not go into the sun without burning away. Chaos was able to twist this as well, although not as much as she’d have liked. Sunlight will burn away the eyes of a vampire, leaving them unable to see.
In game terms, this means that sunlight will cause the vampire's eyes to ignite into flame. If not careful, the eyes will burn completely out, leaving the vampire blind for two days while they grow their eyes back. Even if they are covered with a substance that allows the vampire to see while out in the sunlight, the eyes will still smoke and the skin around them crisp black, making identification as a vampire fairly easy. This does not keep them asleep during the day. As long as they are in a place the sunlight can’t reach, they are unaffected.)
Laugar sought a way to protect his mers, who were being less affected than the others because they lived mostly underwater. He took a substance his people had created, bright water, and gave it corrosive properties. It would dissolve the flesh of a vampire on contact. Chaos laughed at her brother’s attempts, and concentrated on countering their siblings’ and mother’s curses. Unimpressed, Laugar modified his sacred pool so that the holy water would do enough damage to kill them.
Holy water from Laugar’s scared pool is very rare, and a drop will leave a hole the size of a fist in the flesh. Obviously, this could also dissolve the heart of a vampire. Getting this water requires a sacrifice made at the pool, as supplies are limited. Much more common is bright water, now called holy water, made by the druids of Laugar, which acts more like an acid, leaving permanent scars only where it touches. Holy water has a slight glow to it, and does not disperse in regular water, rather floating on it unless it is in a closed jar.)
Of all her siblings, Claeryn was the most deeply angered at his favorite sibling’s creation. He made it so that fire would burn vampires almost instantly, feeding off their flesh like dry leaves. Chaos was able to modify it, but again, not as well as she had hoped. Vampires wouldn’t die as quickly, but they would burn far easier than the other races.
In game terms, vampires burn at a lower temperature than the other races, and more quickly as well. The won’t be putting out candles with their fingers any time soon; their likely to have to regrow the hand.)
Irotana’s curse was the one thing Chaos couldn’t make weaker. Irotana put a virus into the vampires that fed off their own blood. When she did this, the virus made it impossible to digest other food. It made the conception of pureblood children a bad idea. It also made the use of their abilities far more taxing. This was the blow that weakened Chaos’ first attempt at creation the most.
Chaos did the one thing she could, she made it so the virus could be transferred to another in the vampire’s saliva. She then told her children that if they could give the victim enough of their own blood, they could make the virus attack the victim and make them a vampire as well.
In game terms, this means that vampires are living, breathing beings. Their hearts still beat, and their lungs still work, moving the blood and air to the stomach catalyze the blood burning. These functions are not necessary for a vampire to survive, but he won‘t be moving too fast or far without them. It also makes draining another vampire dry without magic involved impossible, as it would send the vampire that did the draining into anaphaltic shock, much the same way mixing blood types in normal transfusions on other races would.
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