Dhampir

Dhampir

Dhampir
Pseudonyms	Daywalkers
Sect	Independents
Disciplines	Three random of Animalism, Auspex, Celerity, Dominate, Fortitude, Obfuscate, Potence, Presence
Bloodlines	None
Rarity	Legendary

Dhampir, also referred to disparagingly as half-vampires, are a rare and confusing group even to vampires themselves. Offspring of one Thin-Blooded vampire and one human parent, they are more powerful than human beings, but also lack many of the abilities of their vampiric forbears. Very few dhampir exist in any given area, and most cities have none to their name.

Dhampir are odd creatures; most of them don't even know what they are, as they tend to be abandoned at birth and raised in human society, and those who do discover their weird origins don't always know exactly what to do about them. Some seek out the world of the vampires, hoping to become part of its strange politics and perhaps gain power through them; others reject the horrors of the night, hiding among humans or even lending aid to powers such as hunters or shapeshifters who may try to rid the world of such monsters.

A dhampir is born when either a Thin-Blooded vampire of the fifteenth generation impregnates a human being who then gives birth, or in very rare cases when an already-pregnant human being is Embraced by a Thin-Blooded vampire. The first is more common than the second; even with severely diluted vitae in their veins, the trauma of the Embrace and the actual death of the parent usually results in miscarriage. Once successfully born, the dhampir appears like any other infant, although its parents are likely to know it's nothing of the kind.

Like full-blooded vampires, dhampir do have the ability to use their vitae to enhance their physical abilities and to survive hardships, although they cannot do so as much or as often as true vampires. Interestingly, because they were "born" vampires, they do not have the usual vampire problem of only being able to hold a finite amount of vitae in their bodies at once; while they can become exhausted if they spend all their vitae, they do not drop into torpor or suffer from the effects of blood loss as a result.

History

The dhampir, as a whole, only began to appear in the past fifty years or so; this is because the process of the Embrace generally destroys pre-existing pregnancies, and vampires are of course dead and unable to impregnate anyone after they have moved into the twilight of undeath. It was not until the first of the fifteenth-generation Thin-Blooded vampire began to be Embraced that the dhampir even became possible; only those vampires whose blood is so diluted by their Generation that they are scarcely more than human can create biological offspring.

The vast majority of vampire society was shocked by the appearance of dhampir; there had been folklore, of course, about vampire-human hybrids, but all such stories had always been proved to be mere rumor. Now that actual hybrid creatures have appeared, those cities that recognize them as existing (which is not all of them; some elders prefer to not believe in fairy tales unless they see them) are struggling with what their presence portends and whether or not they may be a danger to the rest of vampire society.

Advantages and Weaknesses

Advantages

The most obvious advantage for the dhampir is their ability to walk in sunlight without being harmed. Many dhampir do find the experience unpleasant, and they are prone to health complaints such as sunburn, visual overload, and porphyric rashes, but they can survive it just fine, making them much more mobile and free to move in mortal society. Similarly, the sun does not cause them any psychic distress or force them to fall asleep when it rises, and when they do sleep they awake as easily as mortals, without the need to spend blood to animate their bodies for the evening.

Dhampir can run faster and hit harder when they harness their vitae, just like any other vampire, but their ability to do so is small by comparison and very limited, allowing them to do so only now and then or else risk exhaustion. They can also heal their injuries by doing so, which if witnessed often causes others to mistake them for mages or some other mortal magic-user. Finally, dhampir are capable of resisting Frenzy more easily than true vampires, although they are still more susceptible to it than humans (much like ghouls).

The most obvious advantage for the dhampir is that they do not have to drink blood. All dhampir regenerate their own inborn vitae very slowly after time; while drinking blood from a human will return it much more quickly, they can also simply wait long enough for the power in their veins to refill itself on its own. Dhampir do still suffer from the vampiric fascination with blood, and may have trouble controlling themselves around freshly spilled gore, but they can theoretically go their entire lives without tasting a drop and suffer from no ill effects other than having to occasionally rest and recuperate naturally.

Disadvantages

Like most clanless vampires, the dhampir have no central organization, strongholds, or cohesive community; they are not a unified group but a scattered set of random by-blows, most of which will never meet another person like themselves. Some dhampir have mentioned trying to create their own society, but these forward-thinking daywalkers have a habit of disappearing without warning, which many more established vampires suspect has to do with the possible threat a unified force of daywalking malcontents might pose to the Prince or Bishop of whatever city they might dwell in. Even dhampir who mind their own business tend to be favorite targets of the Scourge; their very existence makes some elders nervous, and even when it doesn't, they represent an underclass that most vampires would consider embarrassing and useless.

Dhampir can only access common disciplines, much like other clanless vampires, and they seem to manifest them seomwhat randomly, not always matching the powers of the vampiric parent who should have handed them down. This is assumed by most vampire scholars to be a function of their weak, thin blood, which similarly is not powerful enough to allow them to create ghouls, Embrace new dhampir, or even effect a blood bond.

The Dhampir in DC

There are no known dhampir in DC at this time. They are, of course, rare and much disliked, so this is not surprising, but then again, Prince Marcus Vitel seems to have his own opinions about what strange creatures to allow to stalk his city...

Dhampir Characters

Lyla Tzigano

See Also

Thin-Blooded

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