In spirit of the new Nosferatu Movie coming out this month, I've been holding onto a vampire plot with a western twist. The vampires in question have both the typical abilities and vulnerabilities one would expect, with a twist. In addition to their typical boons, vampires have what is called 'blood magic' which is a broad category of various supernatural powers fueled by blood. Some are what you'd expect of a traditional vampire. Turning into a wolf or bat, or hypnosis. Others borrow inspiration from other mythical beasts, werewolves, gorgons, etc (To sort of hook onto the idea that vampires are the center of most monster folklore and such.) Others still may implement powers like traditional spells, divinations or conjuring fire and the like. Thus, vampires will be able to pick and choose various blood magic abilities to tailor their powers how they see fit.

Aside from vampires themselves, you also have Dhampyrs. Unlike what you'd expect of the name, Dhampyrs are not directly related to vampires. They go by other names too, such as the 'branded', 'witches', shamans and so fourth. In essence, a Dhampyr is simply a human that is capable of doing blood magic. In addition to being able to use their own blood, they have a spiritual energy 'also goes with different names based on culture'.

Some dhampyrs may not necessarily have any noteworthy blood magic, but all dhampyrs have whats called 'dark sight', which lets them be able to see supernatural things normally invisible to the naked eye, trace sources of undeath and otherworldly phenomena, and of course, blood remnants. Dhampyrs have a 'brand', a tattoo-like pigmentation over a part of their body which acts as the source of their power. Brands are always a pentacle, but can appear on different parts of the body like over an eye, tongue, the palm of a hand, etc. They are also, of course, cursed in some ways and are minorly inconvenienced or weakened by holy objects. Despite their seemingly infernal blessings, they are often recruited as vampire hunters due to their unique skills.

There will be some other supernatural phenomena in the rp(Mostly some on theme gothic stuff, ghosts and demons come to mind.) Most if not all that will be covered will revolve around vampires, blood magic, holy effects, and dhampyrs.

While Christianity is the de-facto 'vampire repellent' holy stuff in the region the rp takes place in, broadly speaking, other spiritual and or religious purposes meant to ward away demons/the undead are more-or-less effective too. For vampire hunters with a foreign background this might be relevant.

There will be a full list of selectable blood magic for vampires/dhampyrs to pick from with the OOC. Though its a set list I have a *lot* of options planned. While I might allow custom powers to be submitted too, I will note that in the spirit of keeping generally on the lower end of fantasy and gothic, I want to avoid any complicated powers or abilities that don't fit the theme, so naturally if I am open to power submissions they will be under harsh scrutiny.


The ratio of the cast can influence how the story will go exactly. Whether its a one-sided romp of hunters or vampires against the opposition, or a mixed cast that delves into lives/unlives of both. While there is a initial story hook, the setting does allow for freedom of various other stories and interactions. Have a vampire PC terrorize a human PC? Sure. A hunter hunting a vampire pc? Yeah. Just make sure interactions are consented OOC and you have a mutual understanding of where you want that interaction to go. If you aren't willing to have your PC die in the interaction, make sure you let that be known naturally especially for PVP scenarios. Vampires are generally >>> humans, though they, of course, have exploitable weaknesses.

Humans: You can just be an ordinary guy. Priests and human hunters might get a little something special. Faith goes a long way. But you can also just be 'average joe silver miner.' or another functioning member of this town's small society.

Dhampyrs: A vampire hunter, a hunted witch looking for refuge in somewhere far away from persecution, a rogue wizard seeking power, just a random hermit. There's a lot of directions you can take this concept.

Vampires: Mostly straightforward. Vampires aren't automatically 'evil' but they do need to feed off of blood, and centuries of conflict between man and vampires have more or less cemented the fact its a kill or be killed kind of scenario. There's nothing against trying to fight against that though, in the classical themes of a freshly turned vampire trying to keep their humanity as an example. Sympathy from mortals range from rare to non-existent and it would certainly be easier to just embrace the monster within.