Vampire Lord (2008 Edition)

Vampires are incredibly powerful Undead creatures. Unlike most of the Undead, Vampires retain all of their intelligence and will, and hence all of their ambition and desire. This makes them very dangerous indeed, for they can continue to grow and learn, spending eternity perfecting their skills and honing their plans and schemes. A Vampire is ultimately a selfish creature, which retains much of the traits and drives it possessed when a mortal. Whilst the crudest of their kind exist only to feed, some lust after temporal power, whilst others strive to attain unparalleled Necromantic skills or possession of immense wealth.

Vampires have no set appearance, other than being basically humanoid. Most can pass as human at a distance. Some are even more convincing mimics of mankind, and hide their evil nature behind a veneer of aristocratic nobility. Sometimes they are darkly handsome or disturbingly beautiful. Only those that feed well and regularly can maintain the masquerade of the living for any length of time. Yet for all of their guile and glamour, a Vampire is a dead thing, possessed of no heartbeat and no breath. It is a rotting corpse kept animated by its immortal will and Dark Magic. The strain of retaining their appearance is a drain on a Vampire's energies, and when it is stressed or angered, particularly in the heat of battle, its true face may be revealed. Some Vampires make no attempt to hide their unholy nature. These creatures revel in the crapulence and decay that has become their existence. Their skin has sloughed off, their fangs are prominent and their fingernails have become curling talons. The scent of gravedust hangs around them, mixed with the stench of rotted meat and stale blood.

As a Vampire ages, its powers increase. Its Necromantic abilities expand, both naturally and through study. Along with its spellcasting abilities growing, an older Vampire becomes more in tune with Dark Magic, and is able to call upon creatures such as wolves and bats, and sometimes even learn how to change into these forms. As the years pass into decades Vampires become physically stronger and their willpower increases, although many also lose their sanity as the decades become centuries.

Vampires are incredibly ancient beings and the vaults of their Sylvanian keeps hide great stores of magical artifacts, as well as armor, swords, axes, lances and other wargear. Some of these treasure troves contain items dating back to the wars with Nehekhara, trophies taken in battle, magical tomes, the works of thrall Necromancers and such. When a Vampire goes to war, it is often clad in the finest suit of armor and armed to the teeth (so to speak...).

For all the ignorance and speculation that surrounds Vampires, one thing is known for sure few warriors face a Vampire and survive.