Vampire

A Vampire is a person who has contracted Vampirism, willingly or no, and allowed it to develop fully.

Vampirism
Vampirism is a blood plague that is spread through a vampire bite. A vampire is a type of lich who maintains immortality by channeling corruption to the blood, thus meaning that a vampire must feed on fresh blood to keep this corruption at bay or he will die. So long as a vampire feeds, the vampire will live and, if not killed through other means, can live an eternity. When a vampire feeds on a living victim, the victim will also become a vampire after about a week. Most vampires, if they cannot feed, will sleep the Vampire's Sleep (also a common expression for a deep dreamless sleep) which is a hybernation that can last from a few hours to a few centuries.

Vampires are strongest at night and weakest during the day. Sunlight dilutes their powers and drains them of energy. Vampires gain, aside from immortality, a deeper mana pool (if they're a mage) and greater strength and reflexes.

There is no known cure for vampirism, except that, after being bitten, the victim has about a week in which the plague can be stopped. This requires an extensive ritual and a lot of blood-letting. A victim can track his progression in a particularly painful manner, vampires do not bleed unless they have fed recently, therefore so long as a cut, even a minor cut, bleeds, the progression has not passed the point of no return.

Vampires are technically undead, thus they can take more of a beating than the living, but after they take enough damage, the vampire's spirit will no longer be able to cling to the wreak of the body. Like with any undead, a swift decapitating strike is the best course of action.

Vampires are almost universally hated and hunted down, but since the days of the first vampire, the plague has not been eradicated.

History
Vampirism first came into being in eastern Sladonia, which became Gulnar after the Resarian Imperium. It began with the Lich Lord Valsmir Putlat who sought a way to become a more powerful lich than the other Lich Lords of Sladonia. He conspired with Sangsmorrow, the Demon Lord of Blood and Bone and became the first vampire and in a terrible and blood thirsty ritual he converted his entire household into vampires. The ritual made him and his house very powerful and soon he controlled all of Sladonia.

His reign was brutal and did not last long. It attracted the attention of the Society of Arcanites as well as the kings and armies of the neighboring nations. An alliance was formed between Nummath, Grimweald, the dwarves of the Stonebreaker Mountains, and was headed by the Arcanites, and thus began the First Vampire War of BI 650-632, which ended with Putlat's death and the destruction of his house and regime. A new king, a man and a soldier from Sladonia, who personally slew Putlat, took the throne and rebuilt the nation.

Unfortunately, the vampire threat was not over, the plague was not eradicated. Vampire attacks, though they became increasingly rare, occured, and the plague spread across the Northern Kingdoms and beyond. Some of Putlat's fervent followers went into hybernation in hidden burrows to wake up decades and even centuries later before wreaking havoc. Sladonia, and then Gulnar, has been ravaged by twelve Vampire Wars since the first (to a total of thirteen, the sixth in FY 1189.)  The prophet Angoth decreed that the vampires will not rest until they are defeated in the thirteenth war.

The Vampire Lords
The Vampire Lords are a constant threat in Gulnar. They frequently occupy well fortified keeps that the Gulnarian armies have difficulty beseiging or taking. However, Sladonia/Gulnar has often spent its effort rooting these lords from their keeps. Generally a vampire lord will take power, take over a fort and maintain a reign of terror for a time, but then the Gulnarians respond and destroy him, but thirteen times since the first vampire lord (Putlat) this has resulted in all out war.

The last Vampire Lord was slain by Suzetta Kernohan.

The Purity of Blood
The Purity of Blood, or simply known as "The Blood," is a group that specializes in hunting down and killing vampires. They've developed the best tactics for identifying and killing vampires, as well as keeping ready to cure those who become infected before its too late, and searching for a cure once the vampirism settles.