Homo Wampyrus
The eaters of blood
Psychic Vampires
The energy drainers
Sanguinarians
The Human blood drinkers
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Homo Wampyrus
This family is split into 'types', each type has it's distinct and separated physiology, anatomy, life-style and feeding pattern.
Of the thirty-six documented types, these four are more common than the rest put together.
Homo Wampyrus Draco
The classic 'Dracula' Vampire
Homo Wampyrus Nosferatu
aka wampyrus rattus The 'Rat' Vampire
Homo Wampyrus Sauria
The 'Reptile' Vampire
Homo Wampyrus Chiroptera
The 'Bat' Vampire
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Homo Wampyrus Draco
The classic 'Dracula' vampire. Made famous by Bram Stoker in his novel over one hundred years ago, this vampire is very much like the notorious Count. This is the most common type of True Vampire and occurrences are spread the world over with concentrations in North America, Britain and western europe. Wampyrus Draco is human in appearance but with sharp retractable canine teeth in their upper jaws.
The Draco Vampire has a medium to poor tolerance to sunlight and will perish if caught in the sun for more than a few hours. Because of the outwardly human appearance, they are able to integrate easily into human society often acquiring honest jobs as night watchmen, club bouncers or similar in order to make ends meet.
They most often acquire blood through human friends acting as donors in the belief that the Vampire is actually a Sanguinarius human although as with humans there are those who would rather take what they want by force. Unfortunately it is these violent few that have set up the stereotype for the whole Homo Wampyrus species. In recent years movies like 'The lost boys', and 'Blade' have made the Draco Vampire 'Cool' and encouraged tolerance among humans even to the extent of seeking out Vampires in order to become one themselves.
Homo Wampyrus Nosferatu
The deformed Vampire. Also known as the 'rat' Vampire because of it's teeth. Named after the Vampire in the 1922 movie 'Nosferatu' who's Vampire design they strongly resemble.
They are less common than Wampyrus draco but are still surprisingly numerous.
With the Nosferatu, the change from human to Vampire has not been easy. The individual's immune system has fought the infection every step of the way forcing the virus to mutate in order to survive. The result is a Vampire who is disfigured and twisted in appearance. The typical example has a high domed head which is usually bald and criss-crossed by a network of livid veins, the face is long, thin and drawn with deep creases and deeply sunken eyes. The ears are often large and pointed or membranous and the nose upturned revealing the nostrils. The hands too show the signs of the Nosferatu with long tapering fingers, often with an extra joint, and sharply pointed and discoloured nails.
The Vampire will stand with a stoop or hunch as to stand upright pains the Vampire's twisted spine and can cause a slipped disc or worse.
Because of their looks, Wampyrus nosferatu are secretive and loners, rarely mixing with humans or even other Vampires.
They obtain blood through stealth, often from sleeping humans or even from farm animals. Like Wampyrus draco, Wampyrus nosferatu's distribution is world wide with concentrations in Africa, South America, The Caribbean and Japan. (it is thought that the Puerto Rican 'goat sucker,' El Chupracabra is an excessively deformed Nosferatu Vampire with a chip on it's shoulder.)
Nosferatu Vampires are moderately sensitive to sunlight and can tolerate it for hours at a time on a dull day, they are capable of a small range of shape-shifting capabilities the extent of which varies from individual to individual.
Homo Wampyrus Sauria
The 'reptile' or 'lizard' Vampire. Not actually reptilian at all, the reptile Vampire is so called because it's teeth are all pointed and resemble those of a reptile such as a large lizard.
Wampyrus sauria is the most social of the four main Vampire types, mixing freely with humans and able to withstand sunlight for extended periods on an overcast day or indefinitely with the aid of sunscreen and sunglasses. (you see, Hollywood gets it right sometimes!)
With the exception of the teeth this Vampire has no other visible Vampiric traits enabling it to go undetected among humans. (as long as it keeps it's mouth closed! see dental anatomy in the main menu.)
They tend to be flamboyant and outgoing and are often skilled business men leading to a vast wealth amassed over their extended life span. However, they are also prone to depression and are the Vampire I most commonly see as victims of suicide.
The Saurian Vampires are rare in Europe but relatively common in the Americas and Australasia with concentration in China, Japan and certain parts of the former eastern USSR.
In contrast to their social habits, the instinctive feeding habits of Wampyrus saurian are the most brutal of all the Vampires. The attacker will rip large pieces of flesh from the victim, usually from the thigh, upper arm or throat and devour it after which the blood is drank from the wound until the victim dies. In modern times this rarely happens as like other Vampires, Sauria prefers to buy it's blood or obtain it from willing donors which are cut with a razor rather than teeth.
Homo Wampyrus Chiroptera
The 'bat' Vampire. The rarest of the four main Vampires, the bat Vampire (not to be confused with the Vampire Bat) is found mainly in Africa, New Zealand and south America with slightly larger populations in China and India.
Outwardly this Vampire is quite human in appearance other than a slight point to the ears and a tendancy towards a lantern jaw.
Socially they mix well with humans but dislike crowds preferring small groups of friends, sometimes including other Vampires although often not.
Of all the Vampires, Chiroptera is the most sensitive to sunlight, experiencing blistering and intense pain after even momentary exposure.
They are the only Vampire able to fully shape-shift into another form, a large bat-like creature.
Their ability to do this is governed by racial origin, lenghth of time as a Vampire and availabilty of food.
