From the Compendium of Monstrous Peoples: Vampires & "Ghouls" (Patreon)

Please, come inside! My lady would love nothing more than to play hostess to an inquisitive human.

...I thought that vampires were afraid of vampire hunters and the like.

Oh, she's more amused by attempts on her life than anything else.

Isabella Redcap, Unseelie Ghoul, and Vendric Wilstead, Human Journeyman

There exists no monstrous people more tragically misunderstood than the vampire. For centuries, they have been the subject of countless rumors -- often unsubstantiated -- and portrayed as villains. Whereas other monstrous peoples may find themselves begrudgingly accepted or welcomed with open arms, the stigma against the vampire is not so easily dispelled...save, perhaps ironically, by a firsthand encounter with one affected by vampirism.

To begin, it is important to note that there is no such thing as a "pure" vampire. Indeed, vampirism as it is understood by those who have studied it is more akin to a disease or an affliction than a proper race of monstrous people.

It is believed by those who have studied it that the vampiric plague originates from a type of poisonous lichen found in caves. The lichen's spores are either inhaled or directly ingested by its victims. When this occurs, there are only two possibilities: in the case of a monstrous person possessing some form of natural venom or poison, the spores' poison is counteracted by the host's, and the infection fails. However, if the host's body does not produce any venomous or poisonous agents normally, the spores are free to infect the host's body with their poison. In the latter cases, the victim will become a vampire.

Though the description of a vampire's initial infection -- and, indeed, the word "infection" itself -- would imply that this is a change for the worse, that could not be further from the truth. It is true that the spores often bloom and spread within the host's body, permanently infecting them, but it is also true that the "poison" carries potent and oftentimes desirable side effects.

The most profound is a sharp boost to the host's metabolism. The vampire's body is exceedingly efficient at processing nutrients, and it is not uncommon for those infected with vampirism to quickly lose body fat -- and gain muscle -- shortly after their exposure to and integration of the spores. With the exception of vampires with unusually high-calorie diets, it is trivial to maintain a slender figure.

Furthermore, the host's body itself becomes capable of recovery from all but the most grievous injuries with speed and ease yet unseen in the uninfected. This incredible regenerative ability is where one finds the origin of the "only" means to kill a vampire: a stake through the heart. Vampires are not technically immortal, but it is generally only possible to kill a vampire decisively by targeting their heart or brain.

Along with these changes come slow but noticeable improvements to the host's faculties, physical and mental. Their skin becomes clearer, their stamina improves, their intellect sharpens, and their senses become keener. This change in the sense of taste in particular means that the vampire finds otherwise subtle flavors very satisfying. It is for this reason that vampires frequently drink the blood of other races. They can find sustenance in nearly anything, but there is a specific flavor found in blood that is otherwise difficult to replicate.

In short, exposure to the vampiric "disease" will eventually transform the host into the pinnacle of its race's abilities in nearly every possible way.

Why, then, are vampires so often reviled and shunned? The answer is not petty jealousy, as one would perhaps assume. Such fears can be traced to the two methods the vampire has to control non-vampires: its gaze and its blood.

As previously mentioned, the vampire's senses are improved by its condition, though this is a double-edged sword in the case of its vision. Its eyes become markedly sensitive to light, allowing the vampire to see in everything but total darkness. However, this sensitivity often causes the vampire pain or at least irritation during the day when the sun shines brightly. It is for this reason that the vampire often lives nocturnally.

However, the vampire's eyes take on a secondary quality in addition to their newfound sensitivity. Whether by design or coincidence, the vampire's gaze carries an almost mesmerizing gravity. The vampire merely has to establish eye contact with its potential "victim" and open its eyes wide to ensnare them. The sight is compelling on its own. Paired with a vampire's tempting words, it is simple to induce a hypnotic trance in the victim.

The second method by which a vampire can control -- or at the very least influence -- is found in its blood. During the initial incubation, the newly infected vampire experiences a type of euphoria brought about by the sudden exposure of the spores' poison to the brain. Though this pleasure fades as the vampire gains tolerance to it, the uninfected are often unused to the chemical high brought on by the poison.

Given that the poison alone is most commonly found in a vampire's bloodstream, it is common for vampires to reward the uninfected by allowing them to drink their blood. This carries only short-term benefits, as a vampire's blood carries only the spores' poison, not the spores itself. There is no chance of infection from drinking a vampire's blood, but that is not to say it is entirely risk free.

It is a common occurrence for a vampire to purposefully foster addiction to its blood and use this dependence as a method of control over others. Those who become addicted to a vampire's blood are commonly referred to as "ghouls," though they can be members of any race. This includes true Ghouls -- or "Ghuls" -- native to some desert regions.

Over time, the "ghoul" may take on additional characteristics depending on how frequently or deeply they feed upon their vampiric master's blood. If feeding is performed rarely, this will often result in a better memory and little else. If it is performed frequently, it isn't unusual for the ghoul to take on some traditionally vampiric qualities thanks to the frequent presence of the vampiric poison in its body. Ghouls may exhibit the strength and stamina of a vampire, but it is the ghoul's eagerness to defend their vampiric master -- or carry out their implicit "will" -- that makes the ghoul more dangerous than the vampire proper.

In fact, it is the ghoul -- not the vampire -- that is the source of many misconceptions on the supposed cruelty of vampires. Unless instructed otherwise, the ghoul is likely to use its enhanced strength to carry out the commands its master makes, simply owing to the ease and efficacy of brute force in completing most tasks.

One final note is a curious interaction that provides the origin for an otherwise odd weakness the vampire possesses. Given that the vampire's altered physiology finds its metaphorical roots in the lichen infecting its system, substances that compromise these colonies in turn affect the vampire's superhuman abilities. Only a few are known to exist, and all but one are far beyond the reach of the common man: aqua regia, quicksilver, ferrus vulcanis, and, as it turns out, garlic.

Garlic's pungency, for whatever reason, repels the lichen's growth with startling ease. The mere scent is enough to induce nausea in most vampires. In fact, if one consumes enough garlic following their initial infection with the vampiric lichen, they are extremely unlikely to actually "turn" into a vampire.