Vampire

Contrary to popular belief, monsters are not all alike. Like people, individual members of the same species can each have their own unique traits, preferences and weaknesses. A good example of this is the many species of vampires, some very different from the others, and only connected by their mandatory diet: fresh blood. Vampires are often referred as of the lower or higher variant. There seem to be some disagreement in the academic world as to what makes a vampire belong to either category. Most scholar qualifies a vampire of higher ascendancy when they show the ability to shapechange into a humanoid, but other base their assumption on their intelligence and capacity to use magical abilities. Other deny entirely the aforementioned classifications and state that higher vampires are an entirely different species, immortal and human looking.

Blood Addiction

When a vampire loses control of itself because of its Blood Addiction weakness the vampire enters a state called blood frenzy. In order to control itself near a source of blood, the vampire must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw, on a failed save it loses control and enters blood frenzy. The blood frenzy ends when the vampire use its bite attack successfully and inflicts necrotic damage to a target, unless noted otherwise in its individual description. If a vampire's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the vampire is immune to the blood frenzy for the next 24 hours. While under the blood frenzy the vampire gains the following:

• The vampire shapeshifts back to its vampire form and cannot use its shapechanger feature until the frenzy ends.
• The vampire has advantage on melee weapon attack rolls, but attack rolls against it have advantage until the frenzy ends.
• The vampire cannot use its Innate Spellcasting or Spellcasting feature until the frenzy ends.
• The vampire becomes immune to the charmed and frightened condition until the frenzy ends.

Higher Vampire

Vampires Superiores. Unlike most vampires, higher vampires, also called “pure-blood” or “true vampire”, are incredibly rare and often mistaken with other vampires, especially katakans and bruxae. Specialists in supernatural species of various academies gave the name “Vampires Superiores” to such beings, and while many tomes and books were written about their existence, their true nature changes greatly between varied individuals. However, most of the higher vampires do share some traits that make them truly higher vampires: incredible intelligence, immortality, immunity to steel and most mainstream ways of extermination, as well as astounding regeneration.

Hidden in Plain Sight. Only a mutual thirst for blood links higher vampires to their distant and much more primitive cousins. They long for their kind, as they are the only ones that can truly relate with their unique view of the world and understand them. They not only resemble humanoids in appearance, but also share their behavioral patterns. This means they do not hide in distant forest or lurk in the shadows. On the contrary, they are particularly fond of cities, where they live out deceivingly public life. Only the fact that they have no reflections in mirrors or reflective surfaces can reveal their true nature, for divination and common means to detect the undead have no sway on them.

Unique Individuals. While they are feared and shunned in most cultures, not all higher vampires are dangerous to humans, as some live life that may help humanoids, or evade them in general. As intelligent beings their morality depends entirely of their personality and beliefs, although many higher vampires do drink blood. While not forced to drink blood to survive, many look down on humans as an alcoholic looks at a good bottle. The infamous treaty “Human Husbandry and Care”, a volume describing the herding of humans, shaped the vision of the public against higher vampires. It is unfortunately true that some higher vampires cultivate herds of enslaved human to feed their blood addiction, refining the taste of their blood through selective breeding and diet.

Founding Tribes. Few know that higher vampires gather in tribes, united by a mystical blood bound between members. Tribes are mostly scattered, with a few unseen elders at the top that call for gatherings when needed. Three of them are commonly known as the founding tribes, Garasham, Ammurun and Tdet and date back from when the higher vampire race first became stranded on the Prime Material Plane. It is believed that the tribes first emerged long ago from tunnels of the Underdark during an event recalled as the “Night of the Long Fangs”. The exact location of their arrival remains hidden, locked behind secret markings, powerful wards, that can only be opened by higher vampire blood. Still, every hundred years anniversary of the Night of the Long Fangs, pilgrimages are made by higher vampires wishing to remember where they hail from.

Immortal Might. Higher vampires are certainly among the fiercest creatures recorded in history, furthermore one which is impossible to kill through normal means. They are master shapechangers, capable of turning into mist or a monstrous war form effortlessly. Their strength and speed cannot be matched by mortals, and most attacks will only graze them. Their regenerative abilities significantly outpace those of anything else encountered or that can be possibly imagined. Adding to the grim picture, all have unique abilities that make it impossible to predict their behavior or exact capacities in a fight. In other words, even an experienced monster slayer should think twice before accepting a contract on one of these creatures, even if half a kingdom and a princess' hand is in the balance.

Stranger to Death. Defeating a higher vampire in combat does not guarantee it will stay dead. Higher vampires cannot be truly killed by just anyone. Most suffered several deaths over the ages, each time regenerating over a period of decades. Only a higher vampire can truly kill another of its kind, without the risk of regeneration, although some rare volume hint that they might be vulnerable during a total solar eclipse. This weakness built the most important law of their society: killing another higher vampire is punished by permanent exile, and eternity is a long time to spend alone. This law holds special significance, for the number of higher vampire is finite, with no means known to create another.

Eternal Body and Mind. Higher Vampires are incredibly intelligent, but for all their intellect they cannot grasp the concept of mortality, a thought utterly alien to them. They see existence as a cycle, with no beginning or end, as they do not need a physical body to exist. Their experience and viewpoint on life and death is hard to envision for anyone else. “Death” for them means lingering in a state of nothingness, best described by few as “drowning in an infinite sea of perpetual icy terror”, unable to differentiate reality from dream, time from space. This maddening state lasts until they can return to their physical form, weakened, and recovering for months.

Death Weaver

If one type of higher vampire had to be blamed for the awful reputation of their entire race, fingers would certainly point at the Death Weavers. These beings have a higher understanding of life and death, its endless cycle and the place of undeath in-between. The worst of them become the vilain that everybody expect them to be, lording over a sea of animated corpses. On the other hand, many altruistic Death Weavers attempt to redeem their kind, wandering the earth and practicing “miracle raising”, bringing back to life the unfortunate they cross path with.

The Night of the Long Fangs

The Night of the Long Fangs, a solar eclipse of unprecedented scale, is believed by scholars to be the event that brought the higher vampires from an unknown plane (many believe it to be a Domain of Dread or the Deep Ethereal, but no definite proof was ever found), into the Prime Material Plane. The transpiring events have taken root in many cultures as a fearful night, when evil comes out to feed on humanity and needs to be repelled with loud and boastful celebrations. Mankind might not remember the day of the higher vampire’s arrival, for it happened long ago and mortals are so quick to forget. However, the carnivals, masquerades and ceremonies that are held on that night most likely find their roots in this dreadful and bloody event.

Optional: Fog of Ages

Higher Vampire cannot be permanently killed, unless very specific circumstances are met, which makes it quite rare for one to meet its true final death. This immortality in no way means that death is pleasant for them. In fact, it is one of the most traumatic event they can experience, destroying their mind and memories and driving them to insanity. This phenomenon is named the Fog of Ages:

• When a higher vampire is killed and its body is destroyed, its Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma ability score are permanently reduced by 2. Additionally, it loses 1d10 decades of memory, replaced by incoherent and terrifying visions or alternatively a false, twisted, version of past events.
• If a higher vampire Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma ability score reaches 1 due to the Fog of Ages it gains an incurable indefinite madness.