History Characters / TheElderScrollsCreatures

* FindTheCure: While it is widely believed throughout Tamriel that there is no cure for Vampirism, there are recorded cases of individuals being cured. Knowledge of how to be cured is typically suppressed for two major reasons: One, because the cure is often extremely unsavory (such as currying favor with Molag Bal, convening with witches, or using sapient souls). Two, in order to discourage wannabe Vampires from intentionally infecting themselves with the disease.

** ''Morrowind'' and ''Oblivion'' both use the disease name Porphyic Hemophilia for vampirism. There are three clans in Morrowind (the Aundaes are mages, the Berne are rogues, and the Quarra are warriors), and one in ''Oblivion''. Both have enhanced skills and attributes, are weak to fire, and take damage from sunlight, but while ''Morrowind'' vampires get a health draining spell, ''Oblivion'' vampires instead get the ability to see in the dark, detect life, charm others, silence others, and turn invisible. ''Morrowind'' vampires cannot pass as human, but ''Oblivion'' ones can as long as they stay fed. ''Morrowind'' vampires have pale eyes, while ''Oblivion'' vampires have reddish eyes and wrinkled faces. ''Morrowind'' vampirism is essentially limited to 'on' and 'off', but ''Oblivion'' adds stages of vampirism depending on how recently you've fed; if you've fed recently, you look human but are at your weakest, while if you go without feeding, you'll get stronger but also more obvious. Curing oneself in ''Morrowind'' involves completing a quest for Molag Bal (killing his 'daughter' Molag Grunda and her Frost Atronach lover) and can only be done after [[YouShouldntKnowThisAlready reading a book that says it's possible]], while curing oneself in ''Oblivion'' involves talking to the witch Melisande (who also asks for 5 Grand Soul Gems for her help) and creating a potion from bloodgrass, garlic, nightshade, Argonian blood, and the ashes of a powerful vampire (only one will count, named Hindaril; regular vampire dust isn't enough).
** Vampirism in ''Skyrim'' is called Sanguinare Vampiris, and these vampires have red eyes (or glowing gold with ''Dawnguard'' installed), have multiple magical abilities, and are weakened in sunlight but don't take damage. They are presumably descended from the purebood vampire Lord Harkon, but not all are affiliated with the Volkihar Clan he leads. To be cured, one can go to the wizard Falion and have him perform a ritual involving a filled black soul gem, or become a werewolf, which can be done through the Companions questline.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Played with, as this is the opinion of many in-universe in regards to Vampires. For example, the [[CorruptChurch Tribunal Temple]] of Morrowind considered that, because it is easy to tell when you have been infected and that infection can easily be cured within the first few days of contracting it, those who become Vampires ''allowed'' themselves to become Vampires, and were thus already irredeemably evil. This attitude is shared by many other groups throughout Tamriel, including numerous other religious groups and the Vigilants of Stendarr. Player encounters with vampires make it clear that the situation isn't so black-and-white; some people can't, for whatever reason, access cures in time, some [[HeelFaceTurn initially become vampires willingly but later regret their choice]], or have vampirism forced on them (like [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Serana]], whose father got Molag Bal to transform her against her own will). [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Friendly vampires]] (like [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOblivion Janus Hassildor]] and Serana) are possible, if not all that common, as vampires do not necessarily kill those they feed on, and many of them hate Molag Bal as much as everyone else.

* BlackEyesOfEvil: A trait of several Vampire bloodlines. Others instead of pale and blank EmptyEyes, lacking pupils or an irises.

** Lamae Bal's strain is known as Noxiphilic Sanguivoria. These vampires aren't weakened in the day, but strengthened at night, and become more powerful the more they feed.

** ''Morrowind'' and ''Oblivion'' both use the disease name Porphyic Hemophilia for vampirism. There are three clans in Morrowind (the Aundaes are mages, the Berne are rogues, and the Quarra are warriors), and one in ''Oblivion''. Both have enhanced skills and attributes, are weak to fire, and take damage from sunlight, but while ''Morrowind'' vampires get a health draining spell, ''Oblivion'' vampires instead get the ability to see in the dark, detect life, charm others, silence others, and turn invisible. ''Morrowind'' vampires cannot pass as human, but ''Oblivion'' ones can as long as they stay fed. ''Morrowind'' vampires have pale eyes, while ''Oblivion'' vampires have reddish eyes and wrinkled faces. ''Morrowind'' vampirism is essentially limited to 'on' and 'off', but ''Oblivion'' adds stages of vampirism depending on how recently you've fed; if you've fed recently you look human but are at your weakest, while if you go without feeding you'll get stronger but also more obvious. Curing oneself in ''Morrowind'' involves completing a quest for Molag Bal (killing his 'daughter' Molag Grunda and her Frost Atronach lover) and can only be done after [[YouShouldntKnowThisAlready reading a book that says it's possible]], while curing oneself in ''Oblivion'' involves talking to the witch Melisande (who also asks for 5 Grand Soul Gems for her help) and creating a potion from bloodgrass, garlic, nightshade, Argonian blood, and the ashes of a powerful vampire (only one will count, named Hindaril; regular vampire dust isn't enough).
** Vampirism in ''Skyrim'' is called Sanguinare Vampiris, and these vampires have red eyes (or glowing gold with ''Dawnguard'' installed), have multiple magical abilities, and are weakened in sunlight but don't take damage. They are presumably descended from the purebood vampire Lord Harkon, but not all are affiliated with the Volkihar Clan he leads.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Played with, as this is the opinion of many in-universe in regards to Vampires. For example, the [[CorruptChurch Tribunal Temple]] of Morrowind considered that, because it is easy to tell when you have been infected and that infection can easily be cured within the first few days of contracting it, those who become Vampires ''allowed'' themselves to become Vampires, and were thus already irredeemably evil. This attitude is shared by many other groups throughout Tamriel, including numerous other religious groups and the Vigilants of Stendarr. As several incidents make clear (Galur Rithari, Janus Hassildor, etc.) this can be subverted depending on the individual.

* FateWorseThanDeath: What many consider Vampirism to be, particularly the Tribunal Temple of Morrowind. They see a swift MercyKill as the only "cure" for the disease. (Facts to the contrary be damned.)

* FurAgainstFang: Generally averted. Vampires and Were-creatures are not known to have any specific animosity toward one another, though individual instances have occurred. This is more enforced thematically, however, as they are the blessings of different Daedric Princes; as a result lycanthropy and vampirism are mutually exclusive, and vampirism is often about totally dominating and crushing lesser, while lycanthropy is about the duality of the hunt, with the hunter becoming the hunted and vice versa.

* NonindicativeName: Ash Vampires, high ranking servants of [[PhysicalGod Dagoth Ur]], are not actually Vampires. Some sources refer to them instead by the much more accurate term "Heart Wights".

* VampireVannabe: There have been many cases of mortals who wish to become Vampires, often entering the service of Vampires in hopes of being rewarded with the disease. Though being cured is possible, the knowledge of how to do so is often suppressed to prevent these types of people from intentionally infecting themselves.
* VampireVarietyPack: Due to the many different vampire bloodlines with differing appearances and abilities, this trope is in full effect.

* OurLichesAreDifferent: Undead wizards who have sacrificed their lives and humanity in exchange for magical powers. One variation on the standard fantasy lich is that a soul jar does not seem to be required, though soul jars are mentioned in lore. Instead, the most popular means for becoming a lich is said to be the consumption of a potion made up of powerful magical ingredients.

* VampiricDraining: A common trait of the majority of Vampire bloodlines. Some exceptions are known to magically absorb the health of their prey or consume their prey whole instead.

* DaywalkingVampire: Generally averted by most bloodlines, bit some clans have been known to attack during the day, sending the message that not even sunlight will protect their enemies. Even for those who aren't outright harmed by sunlight, Vampires are typically far weaker during the day, downplaying it.

* DaylightHorror: Most forms of were-creature undergo an involuntary transformation at night, but some, especially those with a voluntary transformation, can transform during the day.

* DaylightHorror: Some Vampire clans have been known to attack during the day, sending the message that not even sunlight will protect their enemies.
* DaywalkingVampire: Generally averted by most bloodlines. Even for those who aren't outright harmed by sunlight, Vampires are typically far weaker during the day, downplaying it.

* PteroSoarer: The Cliff Racers resemble pteradactyls.

'''Note:''' ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' lore is generally not clear-cut. Reasons for this range from [[UnreliableNarrator biased]] in-universe sources intentionally only giving you only one side of a story, to sources [[CriticalResearchFailure lacking critical information]] or working from [[BlatantLies false information]], to the implication that AllMythsAreTrue, despite the contradictions, or that at least all myths are MetaphoricallyTrue. [[WordOfGod Out-of-game developer supplemental texts]] (frequently referred to as "Obscure Texts" by the lore community) are more trustworthy, but are frequently left [[LooseCanon unofficial]] and sometimes later contradicted. Because of this, it is entirely possible for two contradictory statements in the below examples to ''both'' be true. (And due to frequent events in-universe that [[TimeCrash alter the timeline]], both may ''literally'' be true in-universe.)

* IdealIllnessImmunity: All known Vampire bloodlines come with the advantage of being immune to all other diseases. (This also makes for a OneCurseLimit and HybridOverkillAvoidance with Lycanthropy, as each makes a person immune to the other.)

** In the opinion of most mortal denizens of Tamriel, at least. Known were-creatures are ostracized and frequently hunted down as monsters. Within the Imperial Legion, if a soldier is infected by lycanthrophy they are required to immediately report it and then be euthanized. In ''Skyrim'' if one is witnessed transforming, then they are immediately given a bounty large enough to be killed on sight.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: In the opinion of most mortal denizens of Tamriel, at least. Known were-creatures are ostracized and frequently hunted down as monsters. Played with in different instances, as many were-creatures do give into their bestial urges and kill indiscriminately, sometimes going completely insane (even in their mortal forms). Others, like the Companions of Skyrim, avert it outright. (It likely helps that their particular form of the disease allows for ''voluntary'' transformations.)

* AdultFear: In addition to the usual "being preyed upon while you sleep" fear inherent to all vampires, the Telboth vampire bloodline of Valenwood is known to [[ChildEater prey upon children]]. The Telboth are then said to [[{{Shapeshifting}} take the place of those children]], eventually killing the entire family.

* FantasticLivestock: The Dunmer raise guar as mounts and beasts of burden similar to horses and donkeys, but also for their meat. There's a smaller breed known as bantam guar that serves as an equivalent to chickens, being used for their meat and eggs, and are even called "ugly chickens" in-universe due to their similarity.