Apostles of Doom

In order for vampires (or in theory vampyrs, but this would be very unlikely) to procreate, they need the assistance of powerful magics. They need both a necromancer and typically an incubus or succubus. Female vampires require a succubus to bear the child, and male vampires require an incubus to sire their offspring.

Dhampyrs are alive and they have both animus and antimus in their system (typically). They are the only known stable examples of antimus and animus coexisting in a living creature. Dhampyrs are typically not contagious; at least not in terms of creating dhampyrs. However, under some circumstances they can induce ghoulism.

Dhampyrs have no sensitivity to light. Dhampyrs can consume animus similar to a vampire; they have the same animus-processing capabilities as a vampire. A well-fed dhampyr is effectively immortal, similar to a vampire. Further, because they can process animus, but are not as dependent upon it for survival, they are often very powerful animus and mana users. Dhampyrs do not have to immediately consume all the animus they drink from a victim. They can store excess animus beyond what they need to survive (which is much less than a vampire); this allows them to attract and retain more mana than a normal mana wielder of the same skills and experience.

Ghast:

A ghast is a ghoul who has control of their ghoulism. Ghasts are typically individuals who have lived with ghoulism for a very long time and have come to be able to “manage” their condition. A ghast with proper access to fresh animus can live for quite some time, and even preserve their youth. Ghasts are typically very cunning and smart. Ghasts are ghouls and are thus Unlife and extremely contagious. When not feeding — and they can often go for some time between meals — a ghast appears to be a perfectly normal mortal and would only be detected by someone using Holy Sight or a similar ritual.

Ghoul:

A ghoul is a living person whose animus has been polarized into antimus. This creates considerable issues in terms of binding antimus to an animus-optimized body. In order to survive, ghouls need to consume fresh animus on a regular basis. While the individual may be quite intelligent (or not — they are just people) they are often overwhelmed by a never-ending hunger for animus. Unfortunately, unlike a vampire, vampyr or dhampyr, ghouls have no specialized mechanism to consume animus; their only option is to consume living or very recently living flesh.

Vampire:

Vampires are perhaps the most well-known and feared of the Unlife. Vampires are extremely intelligent, often centuries old and extremely powerful on multiple fronts. They are extremely strong, have remarkable senses, are able to leap great distances and scale walls (and ceilings). Their ability to live for a very long time allows them to accumulate great wealth and power. As they age, many acquire different skill sets associated with being a vampire; such skills may include flight and shapeshifting capabilities.

Vampires are Unlife who consume animus by drinking the blood of a living creature (as do dhampyrs and vampyrs). They are contagious, but the nature of the contagion depends on the vampire’s actions. An individual completely drained of animus is simply dead. One who is drained almost to death, but then receives a fresh infusion of vampire blood, will become a vampire if they survive the process. A partially drained victim may contract ghoulism from the vampire. The chance of contagion depends on the amount of blood drained from the victim and the number of times the vampire feeds.

Vampires burst into flame when exposed to daylight. Vampires can be repelled by sufficiently powerful priests and occasionally a layperson; however, this does vary from god to god. Vampires do not recoil from mirrors, and while many MISTAKENLY believe that vampires are invisible in mirrors, this is not generally true (unless the vampire is a mana user).

Vampyr:

Vampyrs are an alternate strain of vampire; one typically seen as being less efficient at consuming animus. Vampyrs typically (increasing with age) have very large mouths with extremely powerful jaws. Their mouths are filled with hundreds of flexible but sharp teeth, similar to a shark.

Vampyrs do not have the sophisticated fangs of vampires and dhampyrs, and simply swallow blood and flesh and process it in their belly. Many have compared vampires and vampyrs to ghasts and ghouls. Vampyrs tend to be much more consumed by their hunger than vampires; they certainly have less impulse control, and their eating habits can make even ghouls queasy.

In theory, old vampyrs develop additional skills similar to vampires. Such vampyrs are less common than vampires, simply due to the fact that vampyrs, unable to truly control their hunger and disguise their nature for long, are often located and put down before achieving advanced age.