Supernatural Creature Data Files: Vampires (‘Aristocrat’ and ‘Bloodbloat’)

Supernatural Creature Data Files: Vampires (‘Aristocrat’ and ‘Bloodbloat’)

Description: The self-named ‘aristocrat’ variety of vampires see themselves as the pinnacle of vampirism. To the extent of our knowledge they are – at least, in terms of raw power. Aristocrat vampires are all superhumanly strong, fast and resilient to the same level; and this level is equal to a sliver more than the maximums observed in ordinary vampires. Additionally, they possess the ability to turn into mist.

            The aristocrats’ mist form is difficult to destroy through conventional means (as it is actually – as strange as it seems – mist). Unconventional means are, however, quite effective (as detailed later). As an aristocrat can turn into mist in about a tenth of a second (and recorporalise in the same time frame) they are – when prepared – incredible deadly in combat. Worse still, when in mist form the aristocrat is capable of moving at an incredible speed (~forty kilometres per hour) with nearly no acceleration time. This allows them to escape or flit around combat rapidly.
            Aristocrats are capable of hiding their (few) outwards signs of vampirism. Additionally, as they are not harmed by the sun (beyond being reduced to ‘human’ strength) they are almost impossible to detect if they are hiding their presence. Their relative rarity – and difficulty in creating additional members of their kind – is a stroke of luck.

Aristocrats create more of their kind (they usually refer to this as a ‘rebirth’ and have been known to celebrate such events yearly) through a different process from most vampire varieties. Over a period of three consecutive nights the aristocrat will bite their victim. The victim is usually someone the aristocrat is attracted to and considers ‘worthy’.  After the third bite the victim will die. Ten minutes later, they will return to life as a vampire.
            Only about ten percent of aristocrat ‘turnings’ are successful. Of the rest, half die, and the other half become ‘bloodbloats’.  Bloodbloats are (to the aristocrats) ‘failures’. Aristocrats insist that bloodbloats are not actually vampires as they are too dissimilar, however their creation due to a failed turning by an aristocrat (and thus frequent presence around aristocrats) has spurred their inclusion here. As they change, instead of becoming slightly pale before receiving a ‘new life’ and becoming an aristocrat, their veins and arteries bulge and become a vibrant red. Their flesh becomes highly flushed, and their body a patchwork of bright rashes and paler sections with obvious veins. During the last stage they bulk out, muscles expanding to sizes usually only achieved with steroids (the degree to which this occurs varies). This muscle mass gives them a strength far stronger even than that of the aristocrats.
            The resulting creature is in a permanent rage state, seeking only to kill and devour anything in sight that is alive. Unlike the restrained hunger of aristocrats bloodbloats seek to drink as much blood as possible, and will often consume bloody chunks of flesh in an attempt to devour more. When unable to see (or smell) a living creature they are twitchy but calm enough to be led by aristocrats or other vampires. They are no longer able to understand language, however, and are thus usually used as deadly guards to protect aristocrats from the living.

A newly ‘reborn’ aristocrat experiences a period of great personality change (much like an ordinary vampire). However, in addition to this, they also gain feelings that have been equated towards being the ‘child’ of the aristocrat who turned them.  With two weeks of massive and quick personality changes (and two years of slower changes) the newly created aristocrat will often fall into the role of a child to the creator, and follow what they are taught. As individuals are adults, a good equivalent for this effect would be someone adopting the teachings/views of a treasured and respected mentor while in their twenties (though such a change would normally occur over a longer time).

            An unusual trait of aristocrats is that they can hold the ‘blood bonds’ of ordinary vampires. Though they cannot create them, an ordinary vampire is able to transfer a blood bond to an aristocrat, allowing them to be treated as the ‘creator’ of that individual (and thus subject to the usual blind following). In addition, aristocrats are able to transfer control of a bound vampire between themselves (though not back to an ordinary vampire, or any other known cursed being). Interrogation has led to control transfer being described as a feeling of a thread being attached, or pulled out and pushed away into another.

Physiology: The curse that reanimates aristocrats has only a minor direct effect on their physiology. Detailed examination of their bodies has revealed that the only physically obvious effect is the presence of retractable fangs. Their enhanced strength, resilience, speed, and other physical qualities come directly from the curse instead of coming via alterations to their physiology. This is seen in some other cursed creatures, but only to this extent for aristocrats. Without any great changes in physiology, aristocrats are killable through normal means. Though their ability to heal wounds is greatly increased they still require (for example) a few hours to heal a deep cut fully.

            Sunlight seems to remove this supernatural boost, as if the curse has retreated and no longer supports their body. Despite this, aristocrats are still capable of assuming mist form even when entirely exposed to sunlight. They usually refrain from doing so (even if they have been ‘revealed’) as their mist form often evaporates (we assume) when exposed to sunlight.

            When in mist form, aristocrat vampires are entirely made up of water vapour. This ability is the most exceptional piece of curse magic that we have encountered; especially as the transformation is nigh instantaneous. Though made of mist – and without any obvious means of controlling movement or even retaining intelligence – an aristocrat retains their consciousness and is able to freely move at a rapid pace of their own volition (detailed experiments have shown that the water molecules are propelled by some force; we assume it comes from the curse itself).
            If part of the mist is separated from the ‘main’ mass it will try to reconnect itself. Tests have shown that the aristocrat is still in complete control of all parts of the mist, even when very complex barriers have been setup to attempt to prevent communication. Loss of part of the mist through evaporation will cause harm to the aristocrat, should they lose more than about sixty percent the remaining mist will dissipate (killing the aristocrat). Similar harm is incurred by forcing the aristocrat to reassemble when not one coherent mass – the largest part will form the aristocrat (the aristocrat cannot manage this if the largest part is not at least forty percent of the original total), and the rest will dissipate. Harm taken by the aristocrat in mist form seems to weaken them, and also speeds up their feeding cycle.

            Aristocrats need to drink about one tenth of a litre of fresh (living cells) blood about once a month to maintain their strength. If they do not feed, their power will begin to degrade until (after roughly twenty years) they are only normally as strong as a human would be. This weakness is somewhat misleading as should they desire to they can – for short bursts – utilise their full strength and speed. However, their resilience in this state is greatly reduced – they cannot heal fast enough within the burst to heal grievous wounds, and without their increased ability to live in such a state they will quickly perish. Consumption of additional blood allows them to rapidly heal wounds (if they have the wounds when they consume the blood), or to repair their strength if they have been weakened through hunger or other damage.

            Bloodbloats are only dissimilar to humans slightly. Examinations of deceased and living blood bloats have indicated that they are still ‘alive’ (or have returned from death properly), and they seem to experience no effects from the curse they have been given beyond their physical transformation. This transformation warps their body, devouring all fat and expanding all musculature to ridiculous size (including facial and internal muscles). Their teeth are replaced with a set of extremely sharp fangs (all teeth, including canines) and their mouth is stretched wider, their lips forever pulled back as far as possible. Their flesh is covered in a splotchy red rash, and all veins/arteries become bright and red.

            Though far stronger than the average human due to their grotesque muscle mass they are no more resilient, and are thus easily easy to kill through normal means (though hopefully from a distance). Bloodbloats desire to consume the blood of any living creature (not only humans, unlike other vampiric creatures). Despite this desire, they do not actually require any blood to survive, and deprivation does not increase their hunger or alter them in any other way.

Identification and Destruction: Identifying aristocrat vampires can be very difficult. Scanning of crowds or groups to identify them is impractical, as it can only be achieved by high level ESP agents capable of identifying the presence of retractable fangs in a crowd or the few capable of sensing the ‘life’ within individuals in enough detail to identify a curse. As such, ‘old fashioned’ investigative work – i.e. investigating suspicious individuals and events – is the primary means of detection. If in the presence of vampires, an aristocrat will usually be in charge – thus, look for a ‘human’ who seems to be commanding the other vampires. Identifying blood bloats is simple due to their appearance and unthinkingly violent nature.

            Killing aristocrats can be highly difficult. After one has been identified, it is advised that a specialised team be called in. If forced into a fight without specialised equipment, either withdraw into sunlight or force the aristocrat to withdraw due to injury. Keep an eye on each other’s backs if in a group, and be ready to attack a reforming aristocrat immediately. If specialised equipment is unavailable and the aristocrat must be eliminated, the ideal method of elimination is catching them off guard when in mist form with either heat (e.g. an explosion or fire) or a strong air current (preferably one that spreads the blown air out to several places immediately). Failure to catch them off-guard will result in a return to solid form, or in the case of air currents often retention of shape despite the wind. If not caught off guard, heat or fire can be used to prevent them retreating or moving about in mist form, which reduces the danger of fighting them considerably.

            Bloodbloats are single-minded in their pursuit of living beings, and as such are easy to lure into traps. Beyond repeating simple actions (such as turning a door handle or pressing a button) they have no understanding of how to follow an individual when chasing (or, possibly, no retention of the complex actions needed). If repeating the action fails, they will attempt to batter down the door for a while before searching for another route due to their impatience. The simplest and most effective method of dispatch is simply to lure them into the open and shoot them.

Other Details: The first aristocrat vampire was encountered during investigations into what was assumed to simply be an ordinary vampire nest. Though there were many ordinary vampires present, the leader of the group was an aristocrat. Several teams were lost before a larger group – totalling fifty agents – was sent in, and managed to successfully eliminate the aristocrat by surprising her with several high strength psychic powers. Even now specialised kill teams consist of around ten agents, many of whom will possess great levels of psychic strength.

            The first bloodbloats were encountered during the same operation. In the basement underneath the mansion the aristocrat had been living in seven bloodbloats were locked up, behind a door signed ‘lost children’. Several journals and other records were also recovered; these identified the vampiress as an ‘aristocrat vampire’, detailed some experiments with her powers, her personal history (see the archives for the mission if interested) and an awful lot of sadness revolving around the loss of her would-be ‘children’, which she blamed herself for.

            No encountered aristocrats have been found alone, however we suspect this to be because a single (or even several) aristocrats are barely noticeable and hard to detect; especially in comparison to one surrounded by numerous servants. Only in a handful of cases has more than one been encountered in a group, and this has always been a ‘parent’ with ‘children’.