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Can I really call them "vampires" anymore?

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LilPaladinSuzy Chaotic New Troll from 4chan Since: Jul, 2010
Chaotic New Troll
#1: Feb 25th 2011 at 4:19:13 PM

Okay, so I've been building a world where I wanted to do a new take on the whole "werewolf vs. vampire" thing. Except the "vampires" themselves are long gone, and they instead split up their consciousness among their own "clans" of ghouls. I was originally playing around with the Enemy Without/Split Personality deal, except in this case it's multiple ghouls who are the same person with a Singularity-esque consciousness. And by that, I mean it's as if there's one person who controls the different bodies like we control our different limbs.

First of all, ghouls are mortal. They are born with a tolerance for light, which will deteriorate over time until even being under street lamps can kill them. And they do not have endless amounts of money, either. They have to interact with the rest of the world and get jobs like everyone else. Vampires are immortal as long as there is one ghoul alive.

When a young ghoul is born, it actually does have a sense of self and is not a part of the Vampire's consciousness. It has to be brainwashed and beaten out of them, until the Vampire absorbs its soul and replaces it with its own self. After about the age of 9, ghouls refer to themselves as "we." Vampires are also known for having OCD-like quirks such as counting everything, arranging everything "just right", etc.

STUP FLAMMING MAH POSTS, U DUM PREPZ!!!!!!!!!!!1

Just kidding. Critiques are welcome.

Would you kindly click my dragons?
RTaco Since: Jul, 2009
#2: Feb 25th 2011 at 6:23:04 PM

The key feature of vampires is that they need to drink blood to survive. Do these guys?

Diamonnes In Riastrad from Ulster Since: Nov, 2009
In Riastrad
#3: Feb 25th 2011 at 6:28:29 PM

If they used to be Vampires, you can still call them Vampires and not be incorrect. However, it might be appropriate to have them take on another name as well, or instead.

Also, as the one above me said, do the ghouls drink blood? Do they have other defining features?

Also, I love this idea. If you get this book made and don't let me read it, I'll taze you and take you to my torture chamber. >:3

My name is Cu Chulainn. Beside the raging sea I am left to moan. Sorrow I am, for I brought down my only son.
LilPaladinSuzy Chaotic New Troll from 4chan Since: Jul, 2010
Chaotic New Troll
#4: Feb 25th 2011 at 7:04:12 PM

A little backstory:

Vampires are Humanoid Abominations created by a Mad Scientist who was Playing with Syringes with werewolves (called Shifters). Shifters are known for their pack mentality, as well as the blood frenzies that they go through when cornered. But they are also almost always Chaotic in alignment, and they loathe all attempts by what they consider to be an "intrusive civilization" to restrain them. In their own eyes, they are forces of nature. They want to follow their own instincts and do what they want. They travel in packs when convenient.

So, when a totalitarian government attempts to take over portions of the wilderness and incorporate it into their state territory, the Shifters were not too keen on that. The Mad Scientist in question saw that they were pack followers, but wanted to turn that Up To Eleven so that he could turn thousands of separate individuals into only a couple individuals with a Hive Mind. The result were the Vampires. Despite being fused into one mind, the Vampires still retain a type of bloodlust when cornered. You can definitely bet that if one of their own who is important is cornered, the others will suck the attacker dry. Vampires are able to drink blood. It can temporarily help them with their intolerance to sunlight. (Shifters, on the other hand, are fine in sunlight, but they're not exactly morning people. Quite nocturnal, in fact.)

Would you kindly click my dragons?
Anaheyla Since: Jan, 2001
#5: Feb 27th 2011 at 8:31:14 AM

If Stephenie Meyer's abominations can still be called vampires these can. Not that I'm comparing these in any way to said abominations.

This is still a signature.
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#6: Feb 28th 2011 at 12:31:17 PM

Alright, it's only tangentally related, but here's what I've come up with based on the concept you've outlined so far. The "vampire" aspects seem tacked on, so I'd revamp it (no pun intended).

Make the werewolves the ones with the Hive Mind. It's a voluntary, temporary (though usually long-term) process; upon joining or forming a pack, a werewolf subsumes itself into the Hive Mind, which then considers the entire pack to be "itself", with individual bodies as "limbs", as you mentioned earlier. If an individual wants to, however, it can leave the back, dropping out of the Hive Mind and becoming an individual again. When there aren't enough members to sustain the pack (which could be any number you like), the Hive Mind "dies" and any remaining members become individuals again.

The vampires would be a Hive Mind too, but differently. The vampire proper (with whichever standard vampire traits you'd like) would be the Hive Queen, and the people it "turned" would become members of the Hive Mind. Members gradually turn from human to vampire, gaining all of the strengths and weaknesses thereof. This would be both useful and dangerous for the Hive Queen vampire, as having more powerful servants is useful for the obvious reasons, and developing vampires act as "nodes" for the mind-control network, making it easier for the Hive Queen to control large numbers, but fully developed vampires can break away from their Hive Queen (probably "stealing" whichever members of the Hive Mind were under their command at the time in the process).

Not really very similar to your initial idea, now that I look back on it, but that's what came to mind when I read about it, so I figured I might as well share my thoughts.

edited 28th Feb '11 12:32:19 PM by NativeJovian

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Ettina Since: Apr, 2009
#7: Feb 28th 2011 at 1:43:42 PM

Call them vampires if you want, it's your story.

They sound creepy and interesting whatever they're called.

If I'm asking for advice on a story idea, don't tell me it can't be done.
Gvzbgul from Middle Earth Since: Jul, 2010
#8: Mar 1st 2011 at 12:06:49 AM

If it makes you feel better you can always hang a lampshade on it like Atomic Robo And The Revenge Of The Vampire Dimension. "Stakes, crosses, sunlight, none of that applies. But we call them vampires because they're ageless monsters that feed on the blood of the living." As long as it makes sense for your characters to call them vampires then it's fine.

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