History VideoGame / VampiresDawn

** Ability-wise, the ''Vampires Dawn'' vampires of the first few generations are really CursedWithAwesome. Vampirism comes with {{Immortality}}, a HealingFactor, increased physical abilities (Asgar at one point [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe tears a man in half]]), sharper senses, control over lesser undead, an enormously strong affinity for learning magic spells, VoluntaryShapeshifting right [[JustForPun off the bat]], a SpiderSense for dangerous areas, [[ExposedToTheElements resistances against extreme cold and extreme (non-sunlight) heat]], and an aura which hides their fangs and cold skin from humans.

* BuildLikeAnEgyptian: The biggest BonusDungeon in the first game is a pyramid. The BonusBoss is even called Pharaoh Ustra. That very same pyramid is a storyline dungeon in the second game.

* LoveTriangle: A [[TriangRelations type 4]] with [[spoiler:Asgar, Alaine and Valnar]].

** Nyria is really popular with the (all male) Clan warriors. Her [[BareYourMidriff midriff baring]] armor probably doesn't hurt.

* WeaponOfChoice: The mercenaries and vampire companions one can pick up have weapon preferences. Mercenaries use sabers, the Vampire Warrior uses swords, the Vampire Mage uses staves, the Vampire Lord uses maces. Werewolves use their claws.

* BalefulPolymorph: The vampires have a spell that they can use to turn a human into a random useful ''object''. It counts as an evil action, obviously.

* OneHitKill: Nyria's signature move is a knife throw targeted at enemy vital spots. Unlike typical examples, it has an awfully good hit rate and no disadvantages other than that you'll have wasted a turn if it doesn't hit, since Nyria has no mana or blood points to begin with. It actually works pretty damn well in battle, so it's anything but a UselessUsefulSpell. Taken UpToEleven in the ''Everlasting Blood'' mod, where at level 70, she unlocks an [[FlechetteStorm area-of-effect version]] of the ability, trivializing most future battles against regular enemies.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: One of the main selling points is being able to act like the most sociopathic, senselessly cruel ChaoticEvil monster imaginable. However...

''Reign of Blood'' starts 400 years later with a young warrior named Valnar. His girlfriend Aysha [[StuffedIntoTheFridge gets captured and butchered by a mysterious stranger]]. Awakening from unconsciousness later, Valnar is out for revenge. This makes him an easy target for the vampire Asgar, who seeks the blood of a human who slept with a vampire in order to revive the love of his life, a woman named Alaine, as a vampire with the help of a dark ritual.

* ProlongedPrologue: ''Ancient Blood'' is right up there with ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' in terms of prologue length. Watching Valnar and Alaine starting a new life, Jaina's and Nyria's backstory, Asgar's reappearance, the WorldSundering spell, the heroes reclaiming the castle and getting acquainted with the new situation takes a while. It's even worse if you follow the traditional RPG routine of talking to everyone and searching everything, which a completionist will inevitably have to do given that all the prologue locations are [[LostForever inaccessible]] upon moving on.

** Valnar survived: [[spoiler:GoldenEnding. This plays out like a combination of the two endings above. Valnar comes out alive of the torture chamber and receives the EmptyShell treatment, but once told a lie by Asgar that his help is needed to save Alaine, [[ThePowerOfLove actually recovers his personality at a rapid rate]]. The group kill the Elras lords and Valnar kills Asgar before the Shadow Ghost can overtake him. Jayna and Valnar use the stone tablet together hoping to fix everything. Thankfully, his cynicism balances out her idealism, resulting in a mostly happy world without Elras or vampires. Jayna and Nyria and Valnar and Alaine get the same outcomes as in the second ending, except that Jayna is not a vampire and Valnar/Alaine are not murdered. Asgar is revealed to be only a harmlesss human now, who retained his memory of the previous timeline and became a bestselling novelist by [[IShouldWriteABookAboutThis telling the whole story]] in a book called ''[[TitleDrop Vampires Dawn]]''. The NarratorAllAlong is revealed to be [[UnexpectedCharacter Aysha]], of all people. She is working with Abraxas, who somehow was not only revived but also remained a vampire, and possibly became a CompositeCharacter with Vincent Weynard. He is convinced that Asgar's book is BasedOnATrueStory and seeks him out, trying to obtain the artifacts spoken of in it. Asgar had hoped for this and offers to tell him everything in exchange for vampirism, but ends up OutGambitted and subjected to ColdBloodedTorture himself for a change. As with the Alaine ending, the return of a villain from a previous game holds the potential for a SequelHook.]]