#vampcanon

[bladekeeper]

Whenever someone calls him pale/pasty/white as a sheet he looks down at his skin and just loudly says Are you blind

[bladekeeper]

..I remember when my hair was alike to Shayne’s.

Probably about... 2100 or so years ago.

[dalamusrex]

Vampiric Visage

Where Vampire Lords have an extreme transformation which facilitate maximum damage during their attacks, other vampires might have more subtle changes.

During an attack or a sufficiently emotionally heightened state, such as a blood rage, these may happen to Dalamus:

Underneath his eyes, dark veins become prominent, seemingly draining blood from his face as his pallor becomes slightly more pronounced.

The red irises of his eyes normally glow slightly in dim or dark light, but it is more prominent when in a heightened state of emotions or during an attack. It is unknown if this is an attempt to maximize night vision or simply a reaction to this heightened state, as it is either difficult to notice in the light or nonexistent altogether. It may suggest that he is extra susceptible to bright light in this state.

His fangs, six in total, while already long and sharp (explained away as having Bosmer ancestry), shift and lengthen further.

It is uncertain where the threshold is for these changes to begin occurring, or if Dalamus has any sort of control over the changes outside of these heightened states.

[dalamusrex]

Vampcanon: Vampire Animals

Animals can become infected with vampirism under the right conditions. The variables involved include but are not limited to: the strain of vampirism, the transference method of the vampirism, the animal type, the animal's vitality after being attacked or drained, the animal's ability to survive the Turning and the physical changes it causes, and, frankly, random chance.

Though the mechanism for Turning an animal is largely the same as for man- mer- and beast-races, it tends to affect them far more extremely, which makes their survival rate plummet. It was not meant for animals, and their bodies often physically cannot handle the changes. If not killed by the vampire feeding from them, most perish before the Turning process is complete.

Smaller animals are more likely to Turn due to their small size needing a smaller amount of vampirism to begin the process, but they are also more likely to die either from the attack or from the changes caused by the vampirism taking hold. Larger animals, on the other hand, are less likely to Turn due to larger body mass requiring a larger amount of infectious material in their system to infect them. But they are also more likely to survive an attack, and possibly survive the Turning process. (ie, You're likely to kill a rabbit before you Turn it, and you're unlikely to Turn a bear unless intentional about it.)

One thing all vampiric animals have in common is their highly increased aggression triggered by the bloodthirst. Even herbivores seem to attack indiscriminately to satisfy their new, likely confusing, craving.

Presumably, they all gain the same sort of boost to their speed, strength, and senses that other vampires do.

They tend not to survive long, even if they feed successfully. Though there is an instinctual desire to remain in the dark, staying entirely out of sunlight is difficult without retreating to a cave or buildings to wait out the day.

They are hyper-sensitive to sunlight, exposure leading to near-immediate blisters and burns, often dying within minutes. When dead, they become a pile of ash, usually blown away by the wind, further hiding their extremely rare existence.

Vampirism affects their bodies, physically, in different ways. It is different not only between strains but between individuals, acting more like a random mutation than a consistent disease.

The vampire deer that Dalamus once faced had overgrown antlers which had branched and tangled, a mess of splintered bone and bloody velvet. The ends of its legs had become stilts of sharp bone, more weapons than feet. Its teeth had become sharp and overgrown, preventing its mouth from closing properly, oozing vampirism-riddled drool. Its body was cold, pale, and emaciated, its fur losing its luster. It had killed its own fawn, and attempted to eat it, before noticing Dalamus and attacking--even though Dalamus' blood would have done no good. It perished when the sun rose.

It is rumored that the Volkihar's death hounds are a result of vampirism, but this is unproven.

[dalamusrex]

Vampcanon: Dawnguard Catchers part 3: Equipment

Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Origin Part 3: Variances in Equipment

As the Catchers are still fairly new to the Dawnguard, their equipment is still being changed and improved to always stay ahead of their vampiric enemies. This results in slight variances between armors, although all are heavily-armored in steel, helmets mandatory, with their signature catchpoles and identifying surcoats.

Catchpoles were initially made with wooden handles to save cost, but such was too easily broken by a frenzied vampire or werebeast, and it was changed to solid metal.

Some have short chains around the neck of their chest plate, and upward facing hooks at the bottom of their helmets for the chains to attach to. This makes knocking the helmet off extremely difficult, adding protection to the neck from bites and incidentally protecting the identity of the Catcher.

Some have slots at their side where the catchpole can slot into, to offer stability and better hold a standing subject still and prevent the subject from rushing them.

Some have catchpoles with handles to prevent the pole from being wrenched from the grip of the Catcher.

Some have spikes adorning their armor to make grasping them more difficult, and increase their intimidation factor.

[dalamusrex]

Vampcanon: Dawnguard Catchers part 2: Origin

Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Origin Part 3: Variances in Equipment

The Catchers are a concept thought up by Isran, himself, while he still worked as a Vigilant of Stendarr. He believed having these steel-clad juggernauts walking with patrolling pairs of Vigilants would be not only a fantastic deterrent, but an extreme threat to any vampires who cause trouble nearby.

The Vigil disagreed with this idea. While they valued protecting people from Daedra worshippers and the undead, they could not tolerate potential innocents getting injured in the process of "catching" a suspected vampire. Not only that, but heavily-armored and deliberately intimidating Catchers walking around would no doubt sow fear and distrust in the same people they were trying to protect.

To Isran, the Vigilants were too cautious, too safe, too hesitant to enact any real change. They were reacting to the damage, not acting to prevent it. Isran believed his Catchers were the answer to this. So what if the occasional innocent is hurt? Better hurt than dead! Does it matter if the public fears them, as long as there are fewer vampires? Catchers would allow the non-lethal subjugation of a suspected vampire until its true nature was revealed. Win/win!

In 4E 201, after a surge in vampire attacks proved to him that the vampire threat was getting out of hand, Isran left the Vigilants to revive the Dawnguard, where he believed he could finally implement his ideas and deal with the undead scourge "properly"--without hesitation or mercy.

Only recently has Isran gained the resources and manpower to make his vampire Catchers a reality. Only the most ruthless of individuals are chosen to be trained with the new heavy armor and the catchpole, those who harbor as much hatred for vampires as Isran himself, those who will not hesitate to stop a suspected threat in its tracks, those who will not be guiled by words proclaiming good behavior.

Some in the Dawnguard relish the new, more aggressive manner of taking action--especially since it allows for more options once a vampire is caught. They can be killed on the spot, taken back to headquarters for questioning to give up their brethren, or used for research to discover more ways to dispatch vampires efficiently. Some believe, as Isran does, that a bit of collateral is acceptable in the grand scheme of removing the undead threat from Skyrim.

But not all members of the Dawnguard joined out of pure hatred for vampirekind. Many join out of a desire to protect, not a desire to kill, and believe Isran's hatred is causing him to sink deeper towards indiscriminate cruelty. Some leave, while others stay in the hopes they can continue to do good and while tempering Isran's somewhat ironic bloodlust for the blood suckers.

[dalamusrex]

Vampcanon: Dawnguard Catchers

Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Origin Part 3: Variances in Equipment

You have heard of Vampire Hunters, but the Dawnguard have recently devised a new type of soldier to combat the undead threat: Vampire Catchers.

Invoking imagery of feral dog catchers, those who carry the title of Catcher are well-versed in the behavior of dangerous beasts and do not hesitate to confront them and put them down for the Greater Good. Particularly ruthless individuals are picked for this role, those who are unwavering in their beliefs that vampires are not people, but a curse and a scourge that need to be destroyed without mercy or hesitation. They sit just above Hunters in rank, specialized skills, and brutality.

Their weapon of choice which they specialize in are entirely metal catchpoles, a type of polearm meant to immobilize an individual painfully but non-lethally. At the end of a pole is a ring with an opening, and within the ring is blunt spikes. The open space within the center of the spikes is just large enough for the average adult neck circumference. There is a hinged "door" to the opening of the ring which can be pulled shut via a chain and then "locked" via a hook on the side of the pole, effectively trapping the caught suspected vampire.

Even without a catchpole, Catchers are identifiable by their armor. They wear the typical Dawnguard armor with some embellishments--the main armor itself is enchanted to resist magic, gauntlet armor to block vampire bites or weapons, chainmail in addition to thick leather to protect joints, and most obvious of all is the surcoat worn over their armor of dark blue and the Dawnguard insignia of a golden sun and brown shield.

Being grabbed by a catchpole is usually non-lethal, but may result in bruising from the opening of the ring, bruising or bleeding from the spikes depending on their condition or the force applied, blunt force trauma to the head if pinned to the ground or another surface, and whiplash injuries from the movement. Catchers are not at all concerned about injuring a vampire, but the occasional non-vampire is injured after being falsely accused of vampirism. Unfortunately, non-vampires do not typically get much more sympathy than a vampire.

Catchers are the secondary soldier in a fight. Hunters will confront, surround, and tire out a vampire, and if the vampire is not killed in battle, the Catcher pins them with a brutally decisive thrust of the catchpole about their throat. At this point the vampire may be transported back to headquarters for interrogation, examination, experimentation, or killed on the spot while immobilized.

In the case of an unconfirmed but suspected vampire, should the suspected vampire refuse to comply with preliminary tests (fang checking, sun sensitivity, healing speed, etc, none of which are fool-proof nor necessarily reasonable to expect cooperation for) to otherwise prove their innocence, it has been known for the catchpole to be deployed against them to be certain vampirism is not involved in their defiance.

Vampires (and the occasional werebeast--although unintentionally) immediately show ferocity when pinned, a surefire way to reveal fangs while keeping the creature at a safe distance and without the leverage to escape. Those not "tainted" by such Daedric curses are absolved and sent to the nearest healers without fanfare.

Though some agents are trying to turn it around, the Dawnguard as an organization are unfortunately not known for their benevolence.

Catchers are really only useful against singular targets, and deploying multiple Catchers to a single location is not logistically reasonable nor efficient. While Hunters patrolling in pairs or threes is a fairly common sight, especially in The Rift area of Skyrim, the rare inclusion of a Catcher in the party signals that a suspected vampire is in the area, possibly even "hiding" among townsfolk, "pretending" to be one of them.

While the use of catchpoles has been recently integrated into the Dawnguard strategy for subduing, catching, and killing vampires while keeping their own agents safe at a distance, some are rightfully concerned about the innocents who occasionally get caught and left with injuries without so much as an apology. Even among the Dawnguard itself, some agents believe the catchpole is an unnecessarily cruel instrument, and that its use taints the Dawnguard's reputation, making them appear as ruthless butchers rather than peacekeepers. After all, how can they expect trust if their ruthlessness is turned, even accidentally, on those they claim to be protecting?

Few vampires have ever escaped a Catcher once caught. Of all Dawnguard Agents, vampires fear them the most, their personal Grim Reaper made into a walking metal nightmare fixated on their capture or eradication.

If you see a Catcher in or near town, and one of your friends begins getting twitchy or flighty, beware--either of them, or for them.

[dalamusrex]

Animals

People are often pretty good at telling when something is "off," including when someone is a vampire, werebeast, etc. They might not be able to pinpoint what is "off" and may dismiss it, but the senses are there.

Animals have senses which are even more.. well, sensitive. Especially domestic animals which spend time around people more often than their wild counterparts, they can sense when a person is different.

All animals are wary of vampires and tend to trust them less than they would most other people, for many reasons, but largely because they smell wrong. Though such a scent is nearly imperceptible to people and easily covered up by applied perfumes, it is almost always detectable by werebeasts and animals.

All this to say that Dalamus had to work extra hard to gain the trust of his pets--dogs, cats, bird, and horse. While this means a longer bonding and training process, it also results in an ironclad loyalty once that is established.

Other animals, however, typically give him a pretty wide berth.