Creating and playing characters whose DNA contains the rare vampire gene

The explanation behind the vampire legends is provided in the UA rulebook (pages 312-313 in the second edition). Though there is nothing especially supernatural about vampires, they are still intriguing entities, and some GMs and players may wish to include them in their games. If this is the case, here is a new Body skill that will help you out…

VAMPIRE GENE (Body Skill)

Vampirism is a recessive genetic trait. As such, everyone has a Body skill called – rather appropriately – “Vampire Gene.” With the GM’s permission, players can purchase this skill at the time of their character creation. Here are the effects of the various skill ratings:

0% — Mere Mortal.

You are not a vampire, and never will be. Don’t even bother writing this skill down.

Example from Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula: Quincey Morris fits this skill level. He got mixed up with vampires, he fought bravely, he got stabbed, and he died. End of story.

1%-10% — Familiar.

You are a carrier of the recessive vampire gene. You may or may not be slightly paler than others of your ethnic group, and you have a chance of passing the gene on to your offspring (especially if your mate also possesses the gene), but that’s about it in terms of vampiric traits.

You are subconsciously drawn to other vampire gene carriers, because at its core every strand of DNA just wants to reproduce. Much of the goth subculture has this Vampire Gene rating, which is why one can find so many angsty, antisocial individuals going against their natures and congregating together.

On the down side, you are easily infatuated with full-blooded vampires. A real vampire automatically adds his Vampire Gene rating (which will be 50%-100%) to his Charm rating when dealing with Familiars, even if this raises his Charm above his Soul. It’s that wacky genetic instinct to reproduce again, though more often than not people in this skill range end up being pawns or food or both for full-blooded vampires.

Very rarely, continued interaction with full-blooded vampires triggers the activation of the latent vampire gene (which is to say, if you find yourself dealing with vampires a lot, and the GM okays it, you can spend experience to raise your Vampire Gene rating above 10%). Otherwise, you cannot raise your Vampire Gene rating without a really good excuse (magick, gene therapy, bursts of cosmic radiation, etc.).

This is the perfect rating for when players want to give their characters some vampiric connection, but when GMs reeeaaally don’t want to allow it. It’s the perfect excuse for a character to be pale and angsty, but otherwise provides characters no tangible abilities (other than to be easily brainwashed into being a bloodsucker’s minion or midnight snack).

Example from Dracula: Jonathan Harker fits this skill level. Though intellectually he was opposed to Count Dracula, time and time again he fell under the influence of the Count and his three vampiress brides. In the end, though, he became more powerful (i.e. raised his Vampire Gene rating due to prolonged contact with other vampires) and was able to wade through an army of gypsies and single-handedly throw Dracula’s coffin (with him still in it, along with a pile of homeland soil) from the top of a wagon.

11%-50% — Dhampir.

Your vampire gene is partially active. You skin is pale and sunburns more easily than most. Your eyes are most likely blue (blue irises are, biologically speaking, only one step away from being albino red), and are sensitive to bright lights. You love red meat and – assuming you can afford it –you probably eat steak every night. You never find yourself in the hospital because of the flu, and can expect to age well (assuming you live long enough to notice).

You also benefit from some of the legendary strength, speed, and charisma of the vampire. Add half of your current Vampire Gene rating (rounded down) to your General Athletics, Reaction, and Charm skills (up to the limit of these skills’ governing stats)…except when you are out in direct sunlight. The metabolic backlash against the ultraviolet radiation prevents you from taking advantage of your unique condition.

You are instinctively obsessed with vampires on a genetic level, though you may not actually like them. Your skill’s penumbra involves the vampire lore you have accumulated from reading books and watching movies on the subject. You may even want to work this peculiar interest into your Obsession somehow.

You are quite adept at spotting other dhampires as well as full-blooded vampires. Assume you have a Spot Vampire Gene Carrier skill that is equal to your current Vampire Gene rating. In ages past, dhampires were often recruited as vampire hunters, given their natural ability to detect them.

For street-level campaigns, and with the GM’s permission, you can create a new character with a Vampire Gene rating of up to half your Body. During game play, this rating can be increased with experience to simulate the genetic disorder getting worse.

Example from Dracula: Renfield fits this skill level. He was stronger and faster than he looked, craved fresh meat, and at least at one point – before his insanity set in – he must have been a rather charming individual, as he was apparently a gentleman associated with England’s lords and ladies at the prestigious Windham club. He also knew with precision when Count Dracula was nearby.

51%-100% — Vampire.

You are now full-blooded vampire, but you were not born that way. In order for the vampire gene to become fully active, you must first pass through puberty and then experience some trigger event. Often times, merely going through adolescence is enough to awaken the gene. Sometimes, though, some sort of trauma or stress is required. Once the gene begins to waken, the carrier appears to fall ill, often entering into a comatose state that can last for one to three days, after which he awakens as a full-blooded vampire.

You have white skin that is severely sunburned even on cloudy days, red eyes that are very sensitive to bright lights, and an overactive immune system that is allergic to garlic (you have -10% shift to all your stats for stat check purposes while out in the sun, exposed to bright lights, or are in the presence of fresh garlic).

You have new white teeth (sometimes mistaken for fangs) that are replaced every three to six years. You only age at about one tenth the normal rate, but your diet is limited to red meat and blood. You have a low sperm count (if male) or reproductive difficulties (if female), so passing on your condition to any offspring would be difficult. Full-blooded vampires usually arise from the mating of two dhampir-level carriers.

As with the previous dhampir skill range, you automatically add half of your current Vampire Gene rating (rounded down) to your General Athletics, Reaction, and Charm skills (up to the limit of these skills’ governing stats)…except when you are out in direct sunlight…and can sense other vampires and potential vampires with your Spot Vampire Gene Carrier skill. In addition, you automatically add your full Vampire Gene rating to your Charm (even if this pushes the Charm skill above your Soul stat) when dealing with vampire gene carriers – the “familiars” – who are in the 1%-10% range.

You also benefit from a very robust immune system. Though you do not regenerate damage per se, your body easily shrugs off diseases and infections, which makes the healing process easier. You automatically heal 2 points per day, as if benefiting from convalescence, even if you are out and about. And if you are faced with a particularly nasty disease, you can roll under your Vampire Gene rating to fight off the illness.

Finally, if you choose to go the stereotyped route and cannibalize humans, you can gain one minor charge every 24 hours from filling your belly with human flesh and/or blood. “The blood is the life,” after all. If you are also a student of a school of magick, you can use these charges normally. If you aren’t, you can discharge them to create minor unnatural phenomenon. You have no control over which phenomenon occur, or how, but you can expect it to be stylistically appropriate – the air around you becomes cold or foggy, the door creaks open for you before you reach it, the lights flicker when you say something ominous, etc. This probably accounts for the legendary mystical powers of the vampires.

For global-level campaigns, and with the GM’s permission, you can create a new character with a Vampire Gene rating of up to 51%. If you start with a rating of 51%, or you raise your rating to 51% during game play, you must go through some sort of trigger event to fully activate the gene before raising the skill further.

Example from Dracula: Lucy Westenra fits this skill level. Lucy was already showing signs of the vampire condition, and the arrival of Dracula only accelerated the process. Lucy became pale and anemic, craved blood (which was conveniently supplied to her via transfusion), eventually died (i.e. slipped into a coma), and awoke as a full-blooded vampiress. Count Dracula and his three brides were, of course, already vampires at the beginning of the novel.

101% and up — Nephilim.

Some scholars believe that vampires as we know them are themselves only watered-down versions of truly supernatural beings. Such scholars point to the sixth chapter of Genesis and the apocryphal Book of Enoch, which state that angelic beings mated with humans to produce a bloodline of nephilim. The Book of Enoch even says outright they the nephilim ate human flesh and blood. Such half-angel creatures – tall, pale cannibals who wielded mystical powers – nearly conquered the known world before the Flood slowed them down to a certain degree. Now their descendants walk among us, and are the carriers of the vampire gene.

Should a vampire somehow raise his Body stat and Vampire Gene skill over 100%, or if two vampires at the 100% level were to beat the odds and have a child…well, who knows what that individual might become.

Note that while the UA rulebook specifically mentions the Draculs of Wallachia as examples of vampires, there are of course other bloodlines that have arisen here and there across the world – Asia, Egypt, Central America, etc. Be creative with your origins…perhaps you are from a small family in rural Kentucky that intermarried one too many times, or you are a scientist who accidentally (or not so accidentally) activated your own dormant vampire gene through the use of science.