History OurVampiresAreDifferent / TableTopGames

** The same strain of the virus turns elves into psychic vampire "[[OurBansheesAreLouder banshees]]", while the variants formed from dwarves ([[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]]), orks ({{Wendigo}}), trolls (dzoo-noo-qua), and sasquatches (bandersnatches) all regain Essence by eating fresh metahuman flesh.
** A distinct strain of the virus turns humans into nosferatus, creatures largely similar to vampire but with little to no body hair, pale skin and a lower need for blood intake. They're highly solitary and coldly rational beings, and their lower dependency on feeding allows them to lay low more easily than true vampires can. They also deeply dislike spreading their condition, as they view themselves as privileged for having it and prefer to keep it an exclusive thing, but show a preference for transforming their siblings' children when they choose to make more of their kind.

* The complex zombie creation rules in ''TabletopGame/AllFleshMustBeEaten'' allow you to create highly sophisticated and intelligent undead predators with immense strength and a hunger for human blood - a truly horrific and daunting opponent for zombie survivalists (and players) accustomed to garden-variety shamblers. The ''Atlas of the Walking Dead'' supplement expands on this to introduce a full palette of vampire archetypes, including the Gothick Vampire (the classic Slavic vampire made famous by ''Dracula'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Carmilla'' ), the Vampire (the bestial, rapacious undead fiends of European myth) as well as the [[ChineseVampire Gyonshi]], Penanggalan, Shuten-Doji and Vrykolakas.

** The same strain of the virus turns elves into psychic vampire "{{Banshee}}s", while the variants formed from dwarves ([[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]]), orks ({{Wendigo}}), trolls (dzoo-noo-qua), and sasquatches (bandersnatches) all regain Essence by eating fresh metahuman flesh.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' Vampires are human sufferers of Human-Metahuman Vampiric Virus (HMHVV) class I. They require a blood-only diet, are severely allergic to sunlight due to the virus responding poorly to UV radiation, and suffer a continually depleting [[LifeEnergy Essence]], which they replenish by attacking sapient, sentient life (i.e. other metahumans). Most of the various vampire powers come from the fact that vampires are naturally magical and can use magic untrained as well as most mages. Being essentially rapists of the soul, there are no {{Friendly Neighborhood Vampire}}s in ''Shadowrun'', they will at best be [[AffablyEvil Affably]] or [[PragmaticEvil Pragmatically Evil]] -- which means they are more common as shadowrunners than you'd think.

*** Ventrue are the standard "vampires as Dark Lords of the Night" archetype, giving them access to the "controlling" Disciplines [[note]][[CompellingVoice Dominate]], to enforce the obedience of mortals, [[BeastMaster Animalism]], to show that even beasts obey them, and [[SuperToughness Resilience]], to emphasize their unfailing, unending reign[[/note]] but making their grip on humanity more tenuous [[note]]greater risk of madness from Degeneration in 1e, less value from Touchstones in 2e, and their Julii ancestors/relatives in 1e were more likely to fail Degeneration checks[[/note]].

*** Ventrue are the standard "vampires as Dark Lords of the Night" archetype, giving them access to the "controlling" Disciplines [[note]][[CharmPerson Dominate]], to enforce the obedience of mortals, [[BeastMaster Animalism]], to show that even beasts obey them, and [[SuperToughness Resilience]], to emphasize their unfailing, unending reign[[/note]] but making their grip on humanity more tenuous [[note]]greater risk of madness from Degeneration in 1e, less value from Touchstones in 2e, and their Julii ancestors/relatives in 1e were more likely to fail Degeneration checks[[/note]].

** Incidentally, both games take the rib cage into account -- taking a vampire through the heart in combat (in other words, when they're awake and your time is limited) requires a miraculous degree of luck on one's dice rolls.

*** Daeva are "VampiresAreSexGods", with powers emphasizing their sheer carnality and charisma [[note]][[CharmPerson Majesty]] to ensnare the attention & love of mortals, [[SuperSpeed Celerity]] as an encapsulement of their supernatural grace, and [[SuperStrength Vigor]] to truly render mortals into nothing but toys[[/note]] but with minds that are clouded by their own carnality [[note]]penalized for resisting their Vices in 1e, risk becoming obsessed if they drink from a person more than once in 2e[[/note]].
*** Gangrel are "vampires as alpha predators", with powers that support that role [[note]][[BeastMaster Animalism]], to support the "lord of all beasts" aspect, [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Protean]], to make them deadlier predators, and [[SuperToughness Resilience]], to show how they cannot be stopped[[/note]] but at the cost of being mentally more beast than mortal [[note]]penalty to Intelligence and Wits checks in 1e, more vulnerable to Frenzy in 2e[[/note]].
*** Mekhet are "vampires as shadowy, watching horrors", with powers that make them excellent spies [[note]][[{{ESP}} Auspex]] to learn things that no human could, [[SuperSpeed Celerity]] to get out of danger quickly, and [[MasterOfIllusion Obfuscate]] to hide in plain sight[[/note]] but bodies that are even more bound to darkness than usual for vampires [[note]]extra damage from fire & sunlight in 1e, weaker against sunlight and suffer a free Bane in 2e[[/note]].

* ''Night's Black Agents'' is a game that presupposes your characters, all veterans of the intelligence trade, learn they were not working for a specific state interest, but to further the unknowable machinations of vampires. Beyond that, however, the game is very flexible on what ''kind'' of vampire, with four base origins involved - Supernatural (mystical but not necessarily evil origin), Infernal (explicitly demonic origin), Mutant (human subspecies), or Alien (inhuman species). From there, the game offers various powers, regenerative techniques, feeding methods, and propagation methods, all with suggestions on which is best suited for which origin.

** In Ixalan vampires step into [[LightIsNotGood White mana]] besides their usual Black alignment. They formed the [[ReligiousVampire Legion of Dusk]], an monastic order of fanatical purgers aiming to rid the world of the sinful, which range from pirates to innocent natives.

** In Ixalan vampires step into [[LightIsNotGood White mana]] besides their usual Black alignment. They're fanatical purgers aiming to rid the world of the sinful, which range from pirates to innocent natives.

** Vampires are vulnerable to sunlight and fire as a whole, and various factors have led to the species diverging into a number of different "clans", each having its own additional weakness, some of which also come from the "traditional" list. (The Lasombra don't have reflections, the Ventrue have very specific feeding requirements, etc.) Vampiric powers are represented by "disciplines", with each clan specializing in certain ones. Stakes to the heart merely paralyze vampires in this setting instead of killing them. In addition to the one standard with the clan of choice, additional flaws (including other clans' weaknesses and classic ones like being repelled by garlic) can also be selected at character creation. Furthermore, vampire potency is based on "Generation", or how many stages there is between the vampire itself and the First Vampire, Caine. This trait is set in stone at siring, but a vampire can strengthen its blood and close the generational gap... by [[MonstrousCannibalism draining the blood of another vampire]] and ''[[YourSoulIsMine eating its soul]]'', an act so common that it has its own name: diablerie.

** Regular vampires are a parody of vampire cliches, and live on Dungeonworld, where they are all Counts or Countesses. They are vulnerable to all the usual things plus dance music, can transform into wolves, bats, mist or kumquats, and can only cross running water on Tuesdays. They also all have hypnosis powers, [[VampireVords funny accents]] and always wear evening dress.
** Hampires are specifically a parody of ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'''s Kindred, and live on It's a Dark World After All, where they are divided into multiple feuding clans and feed on the ''ink'' of the living. Those fed on by a hampire lose their colour and may become hampires themselves, if the hampire wishes it, through the Hug. Not only do newly-littered hampires become ink-drinking un-[[NeverSayDie Fallen Down]], they also gradually become FunnyAnimal pigs. Unless they're ''already'' funny animal pigs, obviously.

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** The Vampire Counts of the Strategy game, however, limit Vampires to five major bloodlines: Von Carsteins (classic {{Dracula}}-style vampires who live in haunted castles and plot to take over the world), Lahmians (classic Literature/{{Carmilla}}-style {{Femme Fatale}}s who secretly ''do'' run the world through spies and agents), Blood Dragons ({{Badass}} [[BloodKnight battle-loving]] {{Monster Knight}}s), Strigoi (ghoulish and savage monsters in appearance and ability but descended from intelligent, benevolent rulers) and Necrarchs (MadScientist {{necromancer}}s, to whom LooksLikeOrlok would be an improvement).

** The Vampire Counts of the Strategy game, however, limit Vampires to five major bloodlines: Von Carstein (classic {{Dracula}}-style), Lahmian (classic Literature/{{Carmilla}}-style), Blood Dragon (Fallen {{Blood Knight}}s), Strigoi (ghoulish and savage monsters in appearance and ability but descended from intelligent, benevolent rulers) and Necrarch (MadScientist {{necromancer}}s, to whom LooksLikeOrlok would be an improvement).

** On Zendikar, vampires are more common, and apparently alive and immune to sunlight. They do have a blood lust, though: Several vampires get more powerful when an opponent is at 10 life or less. Interestingly, the method for turning is a slight variation on the normal variety. On Zendikar, only specific vampires (called Bloodchiefs) can create other vampires. The rest create zombies, referred to as nulls (and a vampire family's status is apparently related to the number of Nulls it has)

* Palladium Games' ''{{Rifts}}'' and other games.

* {{Mortasheen}}
** The game's [[{{Mons}} non-humanoid]] vampires tend to be mostly based on aquatic life (WordOfGod has it that the virus originated from the sea), and the human ones are said to [[LooksLikeOrlock look like]] [[Film/{{Nosferatu}} Count Orlock]]. They're considered really powerful monsters, mainly due to their incredibly powerful MindControl abilities.
** Also, they've created quite a few servitor races for themselves, mostly different varieties of FishPeople, and hunting bats, and some may become a bacteriophage-looking creature called a [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/viviphage.htm Viviphage]] with [[BloodyMurder total control over the blood of others]], and which eventually turns into an organic rocket to spread the vampire plague to other world.

* Chaosium's supplement ''All the Worlds' Monsters'' Volume III. The Vamplock is a vampire with the innate ability to use magic as an 8th level magic user, control the weather and change itself into a wolf. [[WeakenedByTheLight It loses all of its magical powers in sunlight]].

** [[SpaceElves The Dark Eldar]] always had some vampiric characteristics, but their most recent codex update plays them up to a much greater degree, and in a manner similar to the angst-ridden Anne Rice/Masquerade fashion, to boot. Needless to say much of 40k's main fanbase, [[RatedMForManly paragons of over-the-top manliness they are]], balked at this development, fearing GW was using the Dark Eldar to try to cozy up to the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' crowd the way they used the Tau to reel in the weeaboo market. However, as one astute fellow pointed out, there is an AlternateCharacterInterpretation if you don't like seeing them as some whiny goth kid's wet dream. To wit, since the Dark Eldar are [[TheStarscream ambitious]], [[AnythingThatMoves sex-crazed]], [[GlassCannon easily shot down]], [[SpaceSailing boat]] & [[CoolPlane aeroplane]] loving [[WickedCultured pseudo-aristocrats]] haunted by a terrible curse, they are not vampires, but in fact, [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy Kennedies]].

** Another difference to ''Masquerade'' is that rather than having power set by Generation, vampire "Blood Potency" increases with age, increasing by one stage for every fifty years of unlife. [[MonstrousCannibalism Diablerie]] still allows one to accelerate the process. However, thickening blood is a case of PowerAtAPrice; the vampire can use its abilities to much higher levels and more effectively, but it also becomes [[PickyPeopleEater increasingly limited in feeding options]], eventually reaching the point where only other vampires (or at least other supernatural creatures) are nourishing. For this reason, they can choose to voluntarily enter a death-like slumber called Torpor, slowly thinning out their blood over the decades so they can wake up t a technically easier life.

*** ''Ravenloft'' is also home to the Vorlog, a cursed VampireVannabe or pseudo-{{Dhampyr}} created when a vampire is killed part of the way through transforming a human into a Bride/Groom (a special MindlinkMates version of a vampire). The result is a mad, haunted creature that burns in the sunlight, displays vampiric pallor and budding fangs, possesses SuperToughness and a mild form of HealingPower, feeds on "spiritual energy" (Wisdom) by draining it with a touch, can CharmPerson and [[AnimalsHateHim drive animals into violently insane rage]], and is obsessed with finding a replacement for its slain "mate", using its mind-leeching and controlling powers to create surrogates that it inevitably destroys due to being "not good enough".

* In [[RuneQuest Glorantha]], vampires are devouts of the cursed [[GodOfEvil chaos god]] Vivamort. Being a worshipper is almost compulsory for becoming a vampire in the first place. Apart from this detail, the vampires in the setting are actually extremely close to the traditional Victorian vampire mould. For example, sunlight does no direct harm to them, but it robs them of most of their powers, and since they must rest 12 hours every day in their coffin, it's simply more natural for them to be nocturnal.

** The vampire template from ''{{GURPS}}: Fantasy'' has the odd flaw that it cannot heal from injury unless they [[BloodBath bathe in blood]]. Wood is the ''only'' thing that can kill them and crosses won't repel them unless imbued with real divine power.