Homebrew Bloodfiend Species Details

Bloodfiends are beings of the City that are visually reminiscent of humans, but fundamentally different. They are known to originate in three ways: turned Kindred by a higher Bloodfiend, through the Distortion Phenomenon, or by receiving blood in a "certain mansion".[1] These Bloodfiends have adopted an intense hierarchy based on the degree of separation from their original progenitor. Despite not being related in the traditional sense, they refer to each other with familial terms, and possess genuine familial bonds.[2] Those who were turned by the original Bloodfiend progenitor are considered the "First Kindreds", and have each distinguished their "Children" and "descendants" as their own Family, separate from the others. Each Family has settled into a different District (for 25 Families in total)[1] and taken it as their territory, and "culled their kin" until they were able to live quiet lives.[1] However, Bloodfiends who defy this expected lifestyle emerge on occasion, such as the Blood-red Night, whose excessive and attention-drawing actions eventually led her to become a Star of the City.

Following the White Nights and Dark Days, it became common for Bloodfiends to emerge as Distortions, labeled a "stereotyped form of Distortion".[3] These newborn, independent Bloodfiends lack any knowledge of the prior group's rules, and don't know how to control their powers. As Bloodfiends are widely ostracized by humans, enough for the City to have Fixers who specialize in hunting and killing them, these independent Bloodfiends have only increased the infamy of the race as a whole.[1]

Bloodfiends are nearly identical to ordinary people most of the time. The most obvious indicator is the black and red patterned crystalline growths that can appear during combat, usually on one half of the face. All Bloodfiends have red eyes; however, red eyes are not a surefire indicator of a Bloodfiend, as the color can be produced or modified through eye augmentations.[1] Moses also describes seeing a "well of blood" splashing inside their pupils, stating that the red of their eyes becomes deeper and clearer the greater their longing for blood is.[1] Additionally, Bloodfiends and their Bloodbags appear to be constituted mostly of blood.[4][5]

Most Bloodfiends also have an irrational fear of water, though those of an high enough generation have the ability to overcome this phobia.[6] Bloodfiends also have a tendency to keep count of things.[7]

Occasionally, people may not even be consciously aware that they are Bloodfiends: Bloodfiend behavior may only emerge at night when they are sleeping, as in the case of one Fixer, Rusk,[1] or under more specific conditions, as in the case of Don Quixote.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thirst For Blood-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bloodfiends are highly defined by a persistent desire for blood. Although Bloodfiends only require a minimal amount of blood for survival, the combined mental state of an entire Family relies heavily on a steady source of freshly-drawn human blood. Bloodfiends do not feel a craving for the blood of animals or fellow Bloodfiends, and cannot sate themselves on it. Instead, Bloodfiends crave specifically for blood "stolen" from a live human subject, which is then turned into a Bloodbag.

This makes blood drawn consensually from a human, then stored into blood packs (such as what La Manchaland tried with their system of drawing blood in exchange for visiting amusement park attractions), insufficient in satiating their thirst. Similarly, the hemobars created by The Barber, which compressed human and animal blood, were not sufficient, having the only benefit of remaining fresh for longer than blood packs.[8]

To sate the thirst of the Second Kindred Don Quixote, the LCE plans on supplying her with artificial blood packs, made up of a substitute with a similar composition to human blood; it is currently unclear whether these might present a different result compared to the blood packs previously used in La Manchaland.[9][10]

Personal willpower is a considerable—albeit imperfect—factor in how long a Bloodfiend can go without blood. Yet, even the most strong-willed of them become more on edge, if not outright insane over long periods of abstinence. Extended time without blood was enough to make the La Manchaland Bloodfiends commit filial impiety against their Father, despite Bloodfiend loyalty to their higher Kindred being imprinted into their very being.[6] This abstinence also causes weakness and withering to both their physical appearance and bodily strength.[11] However, certain Bloodfiends such as Don Quixote and Sancho are shown to completely (or at least mostly) negate the mental effects of abstinence, potentially as a result of fixating on a "purpose" to live for.

When a Bloodfiend does not have any Family, they are psychologically responsible for the bloodthirst of all non-existent lower Kindreds.[12] It is only when a Bloodfiend actually extends their Family that this burden begins to wane, as the thirst imprinted into their Familial bloodline is shared amongst them.[13] This conundrum is the source of the Bloodfiend instinct to propagate their Family with Children. It is only with this shared burden that Bloodfiends earn the power to think rationally, as the weight of an entire Family's Bloodthirst on one Kindred's back causes extreme distress and auditory hallucinations, resulting in nothing but an animalistic hunger.[12] Although the First Kindred Don Quixote seems to go against these stated rules, as he is depicted as perfectly sane and rational on the day he made Sancho his Kindred.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kindreds----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Bloodfiend may "embrace" (bite) another human to convert them into a fellow Bloodfiend of a Kindred generation. Aside from the first Bloodfiend (the "primogenitor"), Bloodfiends can only create a maximum of two Kindreds in their lifetime.[6]

Kindreds essentially behave as independent Bloodfiends while inheriting the abilities of their "Parent" to a degree. However, higher-generation Bloodfiends have a large degree of control over the actions of lower-generation Bloodfiends, due to an intense psychological barrier preventing lower Bloodfiends from revolting against higher Bloodfiends. The generation a Bloodfiend belongs to is denoted by their title: a "First Kindred" is a Bloodfiend created by the primogenitor, and serve as the Elder of their own Family in a Nest. The Elders' direct "descendants" are "Second Kindreds", their descendants "Third Kindreds", and so on.[6]

Any Kindred can form their own descendant Kindreds. However, due to the policies instated by the Bloodfiend Elders of each Nest, Bloodfiends may have to gain permission before they can convert any humans into their Kindred.[14]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Abilities----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bloodfiends, as their name implies, gain much of their power through blood. By drinking blood, their physical abilities gain a sharp increase, though this increase can be drained away by injuring the Bloodfiend. There is no known limit to this increase beyond access to blood.

In addition, Bloodfiends have a large degree of control over blood, with the ability to shape it into weapons, armor, or even architecture through crystallization. They can also draw blood directly to themselves from their Bloodbags and Kindred. Most Bloodfiends shown use physical gestures to wield their blood-based powers, whether by necessity or as a simple flourish. They are in command of both their own blood and that of humans'.

Don Quixote is an impressive example of the sheer amount of powers First Kindreds possess. In battle, he is shown to use complicated blood manipulation while barely moving a finger. Additionally, La Manchaland itself was built entirely out of human blood.[15] Rocinante was also of his creation, a pair of running shoes (and sometimes a horse) said to have taken a very large amount of his blood to create, with the inexplicable power to suppress the characteristics and powers of a Bloodfiend. However, Rocinante does not manage to suppress the desire for blood.[16]

Different families of Bloodfiends focus on different aspects of blood manipulation. For example, the P Corp. Family focuses mostly on blood crystallization and the usage of hardblood in creating weapons. Other Families would either be able to increase in size and sprout additional appendages by drinking large quantities of blood,[17][18] or have an expertise in manipulating victims through their blood vessels (as in Elena).

Humans directly bitten by Bloodfiends are inevitably transformed into Bloodbags, or, if the Bloodfiend so chooses, into a fellow Bloodfiend (a "Kindred"). When converting humans into Bloodbags, Bloodfiends have the ability to decide how much time it takes for the process to complete, with higher Kindreds being able to give a longer delay. It is also possible Bloodbags can be formed from fresh corpses by some Bloodfiends, as seen with the Blood-red Night from Library of Ruina.

Bloodfiends are able to both puppeteer victims by manipulating the blood in their veins, and through crystalline growths of blood.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bloodbags----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bloodbags are similar to Kindreds, having most of the abilities of normal Bloodfiends save that they do not display any sign of remnant sapience or personal memory. Instead, they are driven primarily by orders from the Bloodfiend who created them, or primal instincts of bloodlust. They need to "consume a minuscule amount of blood to maintain their forms."[19] However, similar to Pallidified Things, skills acquired prior to Bloodbag conversion appears to be still extant, evidenced by Bloodbag Cleanup Agents and Prosthetic Fixers still using Charge-related Skills.

Due to Bloodbags' lack of intelligence, Parent Bloodfiends have a higher degree of control over Bloodbags than their Kindred, and thus usually use them as minions or tools in collecting blood.

Bloodfiend Traits

Bloodfiends are vampire-like monsters, generally hated by humans. They feed off blood and can use this blood to; heal, strengthen team members of the same species, or create "Bloodbags", Low health minions that can do tasks they have been instructed to do by the kindred that made them.