The Vampiric Undead originate from the western reaches of the Empire. Their lands were divided into a handful of counties made up of small villages scattered over the Western Steppes, beyond the Dwarven Mountains. Far from the centre of the Old Empire, these lands were undeveloped and often overlooked, raided by nomadic Ogres and other neighbours.
When the Havoc Wars began, most of the armies and nobility of the Steppes were summoned, along with the rest of the Imperial vassals, to defend the Empire’s northern borders. The Steppe was left largely unguarded, and it was soon overrun by marauding neighbours and outlaws. Desperate to defend their lands, the remaining nobles began to listen to the promises of an exiled wizard, known as the Great Necromancer. This wizard offered these nobles the armies that they needed, in exchange for an oath of loyalty to his mysterious patrons. Those nobles who accepted his offer would see their enemies driven out and their graveyards emptied, as the wizard raised the dead to fight.
The Great Necromancer introduced the nobles to his patrons, strange and lifeless beings from another plane. These patrons offered the nobility the secret of immortality if the nobles would give them a piece of Tyria to live in. The nobles eagerly accepted the pact and began using their undead armies to conquer their neighbours to carve out a new realm. Yet, when the time came to complete the deal, they betrayed the wizard and his patrons, severing the link between the planes, and stealing the knowledge for themselves.
They eagerly attempted the ritual, sacrificing the wizard in the process. However, the ritual did not result in their immortality, but instead turned them into the first generation of Tyrian Vampires. The Vampiric Nobles, lacking a clear leader, shifted the blame on each other for the ritual’s failure, and soon fought for dominance over the rest. These Vampires viewed their mortal subjects as mere cattle, useful only as nourishment and a means to create more undead.
When the Rift opened, some whispered that the Great Necromancer’s old patrons had returned, seeking revenge. Meanwhile, from the east, one of the Emperor’s own children arrived in the steppes as an undead immortal. Desperate and weary of their endless internal conflicts, many Vampires have submitted to him, hoping that they might unite together to protect themselves and expand their realms once more.
How will you harness your power over death itself?
History
The Steppes
Before Havoc Wars began, the lands that the Vampiric Undead ruled over were just a collection of counties made up of small villages scattered over the steppes beyond the Dwarven mountains. Far from the Imperial Heartland, they were underdeveloped and often forgotten, raided by Ogres and other neighbours.
Havoc Wars
When the Havoc Wars broke out, the Emperor called on all of his vassals to provide soldiers for the Empire. This left the Steppe almost unguarded, and it was soon overrun by marauding neighbours and invading outlaws.
The Great Necromancer
Desperate to defend their lands, the remaining nobles listened to the promises of an exiled wizard who promised the nobles the armies they needed in exchange for an oath of loyalty to his mysterious patrons. The Imperial nobles who agreed would see their enemies driven out and their graveyards emptied as this wizard raised the dead to fight, earning the title of “the Great Necromancer”.
Secrets Beyond the Plane
The Great Necromancer introduced the nobles who followed him to his patrons, the Ossified Undead, who had transcended death and sought to expand into Tyria. They demanded that the wizard and his noble followers create a realm for them in Tyria. In exchange, they would teach the nobles the secret of eternal life.
Conquest
Eager to claim their reward, the nobles led their armies of the dead against their neighbours. Villages were given the choice of accepting their rule and allowing the wizard to plunder their graveyard or being killed and risen to serve in his army. By the time the Havoc Wars concluded, the Empire’s army was too weakened to mount a serious campaign against them.
Betrayal
Satisfied with the realm that their mortal servants had made, the Ossified Undead revealed the secret of immortality to them, promising to complete the ritual once they arrived. The wizard began to prepare for his masters’ arrival, only to be betrayed by his servants who sacrificed him in order to perform the ritual themselves. The ritual did not turn them into true immortals, however, but rather the first generation of undead vampires in Tyria.
The Gentry
The newly Vampiric nobility did everything that they could to seal off the Ossified Undead before carving out their own realms. Without clear leadership, the Vampiric nobles began to fight among themselves, treating their mortal subjects as cattle, useful only as nourishment, and as a way to create more undead.
The Rift
With the opening of the Rift, a number of new Voidgates were revealed. The Ossified Undead had found a way into Tyria and were eager to avenge their betrayal by the Vampires. At the same time, however, one of the Emperor’s own children arrived in the Steppes as an immortal himself. Desperate, many Vampires have submitted to him, hoping that united, they might stand a chance against the Ossified Undead.
Society
The Vampiric Undead are a society led by cursed nobles from the Western Steppes, turned into Vampires after betraying the Ossified Undead to steal their secret of immortality. During the Havoc Wars, their territories were left unprotected, while the majority of the nobles’ troops were off fighting the northerners. So the nobles struck a deal to obtain help from the Ossified Undead in exchange for ceding them part of their territory. This help included helping the Ossified Undead set up a kingdom of their own, however the nobles decided to betray their allies after obtaining the steps to their ritual of immortality. Their betrayal triggered a curse. Nobles were turned into Vampires, forced to feed on the living to maintain their strength and power.
This curse only reinforced the weight of the social hierarchy. The Vampires are the absolute ruling elite in these dominions, having the right of life and death over everyone. Most major Vampire Lords are served by several lesser Vampires who may, in turn, have their own vassals.
The Beast Inside
The Curse affected all those present during the ritual, not only the nobles but the captains and the servants that were present. It instilled in all of the Vampiric Undead a constant thirst/hunger that threatens to drive them mad. Every Vampire and Werewolf has to fight this. They insist on maintaining a facade of luxury and civilization in order to avoid becoming blood-drenched, mindless monsters. Some give in to the madness and become feral, while some have managed to maintain almost perfect control over their impulses. Most of them are somewhere in between these two extremes, and combat is often the moment where they unleash the beast within them.
Hierarchy
Vampire courts are organised into ‘hunts’ that constantly travel across the Western Steppe, hunting game and enemies while feeding on their indentured population.
Directly below the Vampires are the monstrous Werewolves, their former captains and mercenaries, who are also immortal. They do not drink blood, but they do need to eat meat regularly to keep their strength. They are powerful, but are not allowed to rule by the Vampires who see them as thoughtless brutes. They are expert trackers and often act as masters of the hunt.
Necromancers are prized servants, always researching ways to fix the negative effects of the curse as well as ways to raise more undead soldiers. They are often given significant means in order to do their research, and many sorcerers are attracted to this and come from far away to seek a position in a Vampire’s court. There is a whole host of advisors, courtesans and other mortal hangers on who circle around a Vampire’s court, hoping to benefit from the wealth without losing all their blood in the process.
There are Skeleton Guard, the remains of elite soldiers eternally escorting and protecting their lord. They are not victims of the initial curse; Necromancers have developed ways to trap the souls of the best warriors within their skeletons; including both loyal retainers, warriors excavated from ancient times, or formidable enemies.
Below them are Ghouls, half-feral creatures who act as servants and hunting hounds, chasing their prey to trap it for their masters. They were originally servants of the Nobles, present during the ritual of immortality. They were affected by the ritual’s dark energy, who turned them into bat-like creatures. Most of them were driven mad by the transformation. They are driven by a constant hunger for flesh that they need to satisfy in order to survive. If they go too long without a prey, they start turning on each other in a cannibalistic frenzy. A Ghoul bite can sometimes turn someone into a Ghoul if they manage to survive the attack.
At the bottom are Drained, mortals who act as the blood reserve for the Vampires. As a reward for their service, they are regularly granted a single drop of their master’s blood, which prolongs their life while making them blindly devoted to the giver. It’s a grim existence but many desperate people accept it, hoping to escape starvation, illness or old age. The most powerful Vampires rarely even drink their Draineds’ blood, preferring fresher sources, while a destitute noble that lost its land might be draining the same 3-4 drained for weeks on end.
While they are not really people, the lowest grunts of the Vampire forces are the Stitched, stitched-together reanimated corpses created by necromancers. They are used as cannon fodders but also for very basic labour, like digging ditches or erecting crude walls.
Mortal Subjects
The peasants under the rule of the Vampiric Undead lead difficult lives, paying tribute in blood alongside of heavy taxes. Their only hope for social ascension is to make themselves useful to their masters, with the ultimate hope of being elevated into a Vampire or Werewolf, though this is exceedingly rare. Despite this, the population is overall very devoted to their masters. Most of them believe that the immortality promised by vampiric embrace put one above mortal beings, and don’t realise how much of a toll the Curse takes on one’s mind.
