Vampyr advantages

PHYSICAL ABILITIES

It is important to separate fact from fiction when assessing the physical abilities of vampyrs. While popular mythology may depict vampyrs as creatures that can fly, turn into mist, transform into animals, and hypnotize, these attributes are simply not present. A vampyr's abilities include the following:

1. Regeneration - A vampyr can regenerate organic material at astounding rates. While this ability differs from vampyr to vampyr, a large gash (9-12 in. long, 2-3 in. deep) can typically heal within 3 hours. However, a vampyr's healing ability is much like that of a human: vampyrs cannot re-grow lost limbs.


2. Immortality - As long as the head and heart remain intact and connected, a vampyr will continue to live. Refer to the section entitled "Killing the Undead" for more information:


3. Sight - Vampyrs have night vision roughly equal in accuity to that of a feline. Their vision seems to be perfect, regardless of what their vision was in human life. Vampyrs have not, however, demonstrated an ability to see any further, or with any more detail, than a human in bright conditions.


4. Hearing - Vampyrs have acute hearing; field tests have shown their auditory sensors to be 3 times as sharp as that of a human.


5. Smell - Vampyrs demonstrate a powerful olfactory sense, and have been known to track pedestrian prey for miles. General rule of thumb: if a German Shepard can smell it, so can a vamp.


6. Taste - Vampyrs seem to have a peculiar sensory awareness of blood. They appear to be able to taste emotive hormones in blood, and can distiguish the blood of previously tasted victims.


7. Psychic phenomena - While popular novels have depicted vampyrs who can read minds and mesmerize people, this is simply not the case in dealing with common vampyrs (there is not enough evidence as yet to draw conclusions about the telepathic characteristics of vrykolakas - see below). Vampyrs do, however, appear to be able to pick up on certain strong emotions through taste and smell.


8. Strength - vampyr strength is roughly approximate to that of 3 men.


9. Agility - A vampyr's crowning attribute is its agility. Capable of incredible acrobatic stunts, it is no wonder that the vampyr has gained a reputation for being able to fly. A vampyr can jump twice as far as an athletic human and land without sound. This makes them particularly dangerous in buildings with rafters or beams.


10. Climbing - A vampyr's creepiest trick its its ability to climb - a vampyr can crawl around on the walls and ceiling, in defiance of gravity. No one has, as yet, determined how they do this.


11. Transmission - Vampirism must be transmitted intentionally by a vampyr; most victims simply die. The transmission of vampirism involves forcing a victim to drink a vampyr's own blood. This leaves the vampyr incredibly weakened; as such, vampyrs do not do this often.