While the media loves to depict vampires as romantic, suffering souls, the truth is usually far less pleasant. They only feign intimacy to lure in prey, and they only sparkle when they're on fire. Vampires are bloodthirsty undead, animated by twisted versions of the souls which once inhabited their bodies. Physically, they resemble pallid humans with sunken features; feeding temporarily flushes their systems, making them indistinguishable from the living. Their fangs, which are normally retracted, lengthen when they’re excited or about to feed; a similar phenomenon happens with their hard, yellow fingernails, which become claw-like in appearance.

When a pack of vampires moves into the area, people begin to disappear. Vampires must consume blood at least once per day; an underfed vampire will begin to starve each day it has gone without feeding.

When it comes to feeding, their victim’s gender and ethnicity are irrelevant – though they prefer fit adults over children or the elderly. In a pinch, they can feed from animals or blood bags, but they find this as appetizing as a human finds rotten garbage. Some vampires are smart enough to avoid killing, and to drain from a less-noticeable artery to keep suspicions down; there have been cases where entire neighborhoods have been slowly turned into human corrals without anyone realizing.

Vampires can be roughly divided into three groups. All newly created vampires are feral – barely intelligent (though cunning and sneaky!) and only concerned with feeding and staying undetected. The more strong-willed ones eventually mature; a mature vampire is ruthless and intelligent, and will often be found at the head of a large pack. The most ancient and deadly mature vampires are known as masters. These are not hard-and-fast categories; in particular, the transition from “mature” to “master” is one of slow growth, not a sudden jump in ability.

Most vampire packs consist of a mature vampire and its five to 10 progeny, of which most (if not all) will be feral. Feral vampires follow their sire’s word slavishly, only questioning orders which seem truly suicidal. If there is a disagreement, the mature leader’s Mind Control power can usually resolve it.

Mature vampires can blend into society, though their sociopathic tendencies (and inability to go outside during the day) make it a constant challenge to fit in. In some settings, they may have their own underworld society, but even it will be rife with paranoia and backstabbing.

A quick bite isn’t enough to turn a mortal into a vampire – all of the victim’s blood must be drained! Then the vampire feeds the victim from its own blood. Unwilling progeny must make a Will roll to resist drinking; mature and master vampires often just use Mind Control to compel it. Within a few hours of this process, the victim’s body dies and he becomes a feral vampire. There is no resistance roll, and no known way to prevent this; even killing him will not prevent the transformation unless his body is decapitated and incinerated.

Feral vampires rarely create progeny; even when their minds are focused enough to consider the option, they don’t want the competition for food. Intelligent vampires will do so selectively, trying to choose potential progeny who may someday mature.

Feral vampires are six times stronger than a normal human and almost twice as fast. As they mature, they only become stronger and faster. They don’t have to breathe, and are immune to disease, poison, and similar hazards.

Being dead makes them difficult to kill – they take little damage from bullets and arrows, are immune to shock, never make knockdown rolls, and cannot be crippled or stunned! Once a vampire falls below 0 HP, it is at half Move and can be crippled; all other immunities and tolerances still apply. Most important, a vampire will not die unless killed in a specific way – it will keep fighting, even at -5xHP and beyond!

Darkness doesn’t affect vampires unless it’s total darkness – and masters can ignore even that. They can distinguish between people by scent, and have an excellent sense of smell, especially to detect exposed blood (which includes most injured hunters). A mature vampire can sense fear, anger, and other emotions in its prey’s sweat.

Mature vampires retain a mental connection to anyone they’ve bitten, and may use their powerful will to later dominate a victim. It can only be used for simple commands. The vampire’s progeny are less resistant, as they share their sire’s blood. A master doesn’t even need a blood link, and may mesmerize anyone nearby.

While vampires can certainly use weapons, feral vampires commonly aren’t particularly well-trained in them. The only thing worse than a master vampire is one who also happens to be a master fencer!

While vampires are nearly impossible to kill through normal methods, the three methods that almost always work are sunlight, fire, or staking the heart. However, vampires commonly have to be softened up before succumbing. In addition, utter annihilation (by explosion, a freight train, or the like) would also do the job, as there's nothing left of the vampire to heal.

Vampires take significant injury from heat or fire; smart hunters will pack a flamethrower or beam weapons when facing bloodsuckers. They cannot even go out during the day safely – a mere touch of sunlight burns them immediately (bypassing any armor), while lengthy exposure causes ongoing injury. A vampire wearing a long coat, hat, and sunblock under an overcast sky would burn more slowly than a vampire wearing a bathing suit on a sunny day. A flashlight with a UV bulb is sufficient to cause burn damage based upon its intensity.

Staking a vampire calls for targeting the heart with a wooden stake or wooden bullets, generally. A successful attack inflicts massive damage and may kill the vampire! If it survives, it is always stunned temporarily, and is slowed down and unable to fight properly until the stake is removed.

A vampire’s neck is also a weak point. Any powerful cutting attack to the neck has a chance of decapitating it. This does not kill the vampire, unbelievably, but its body is paralyzed and vulnerable until the head is placed back upon the neck stump. Left to its own devices, the vampire will eventually use its tongue and facial muscles to roll to the body and rise again.

Being supernaturally evil creatures, vampires are vulnerable to holy attacks. They are also forbidden from entering a private home without permission; unfortunately, “permission” can be interpreted very liberally! Anyone who has been formally invited in may extend this invitation, and the presence of a “Welcome” mat or similar form of greeting is good enough to grant the monster access.

Most other vampire myths are mistaken: They don’t mind garlic, can cross running water, may ignore spilled seeds, and aren’t afraid of (or hurt by) crosses… unless said cross counts as a holy attack. Vampire bloodlines have branched out across the world, however; some rare variants have different weaknesses and strengths.

A cluster of feral vampires wants to feed and be left alone; while they’re not particularly bright, they are smart enough to try to stay undetected. A pack with a mature sire can make long-range plans. If possible, they’ll kidnap humans and keep them alive in a corral – usually a pit in the floor or a locked room – feeding from one victim at a time, so each has time to recover before becoming a meal again. (Any corralled humans who die are fed to the other captives.) This reduces the frequency of local disappearances, but doesn’t eliminate them.

The vast majority of the vampires in the world are feral, either because they were created recently or because their bloodlust has permanently overpowered their mind. About two feral vamps per soldier is usually a fair fight.

A few vampires are strong-willed enough to retain their minds, channeling their bloodlust into amazing speed and strength. They can cling to walls and ceilings, smell fear, and dominate the minds of those they’ve bitten. In combat, they move and attack faster than their feral kin, and can take much more of a beating from anything except their weaknesses. One such monster is a match for about two soldiers, but it will nearly always have feral progeny with it.

All vampires can eventually trace their lineage back to a master vampire. A master can move with blinding speed – whether sprinting at almost 50 mph, scrambling up walls, or leaping safely from the tallest buildings. It can dominate the mind of anyone nearby, not just those it’s bitten, and can turn a victim into a desiccated corpse in seven seconds. In a fight, it attacks viciously and swiftly, darting in and out of the darkness before its victims realize they've been bitten. A master vampire is a powerful boss monster, and is often surrounded by feral and mature vampires; a team will need serious preparation to take one out.