[Vampire Myths Uncovered]

Ageing/changing appearance
Vampires stay the same physical age and looks they had when they were turned. They don't grow to look older. They can of course cut their hair, shave and dye the hair, but cut/shaven hair will naturally grow back into the old length. They also can't have tattoos made, these will heal.

Children
Vampires on this board can't have living children. Even if they try out the "cure" that's supposed to cure vampirism, it won't last and the baby would die even before being born.

Coffins
They do not have to sleep in coffins. Though some may do so, it's entirely up to the player. A vampire generally sleeps wherever he/she feels safe, usually underground.

Daylight
Vampires can't stand daylight on this board. Only ancient vampires may go out during the daytime when the sun is shining, but they only do it rarely. Younger vampires will burn up in the sun if they go outside during the day.

Diet
Vampires can only survive by drinking blood. They can't eat or drink what a normal human drinks. They can drink blood from humans, animals and other vampires - they can survive on little blood each night, but are strongest if they feed until they're completely full.

Dracula
This is a myth that's always lived well, but the real human Dracula... was just that, a human being. There may have been vampires behind him, inspiring him or something like it, but Dracula the historical person was a human being and no immortal vampire.

Entering Mortal's Homes
Vampires need permission to enter a dwelling or a home. They need to be invited in first. This refers to your home, whether its a house, apartment or a trailer. This does not include hotel or motel rooms as they are public domains. It only goes for vampires wanting to enter mortal dwellings. One vampire does not need to invite another vampire in for them to be able to get inside.

Once a vampire is invited into the dwelling of a human being, the human can take the invitation back. Once the invitation is revoked, the vampire must leave the dwelling immediately due to some unknown force that causes severe pain if they do not.

The resident of a dwelling does not have to give the same vampire permission every time they want to enter said dwelling. The resident only has to give his/her permission once, and the vampire will be able to enter/leave the dwelling at will until said invitation has been revoked.

Flying
Vampires can't fly. If they can shapeshift into a bird, of course they can fly then, and also in an air-plane. But not besides that, unless the vampire has gained a special ability for this.

Garlic
It has no affect on vampires at all.

Healing
Vampire blood is healing blood, meaning that vampires who are injured somehow will heal and regenerate quickly. They need new human blood in order to heal perfectly though - if they haven't fed in awhile, they won't heal so easily. Their blood will also heal human wounds, both external and internal wounds. It won't give the human any other special powers though.

Heartbeat
Vampires do not have a heartbeat. When vampires die, their bodily functions change. For more information, read about the Medical Definitions for vampires on CotN.

Holy Objects
Holy water, crosses, churches and the likes will not harm a vampire. For generations fanatical religious groups have hunted vampires, believing them to be wicked and thus the equivalent of 'old wives' tales' were born in order to keep young vampires well clear of churches. They are however not true, and vampires can indeed enter churches and graveyards and touch holy objects without being hurt in any way - unless of course it's made from silver.

Human 'Pets'
A vampire can take a human as their 'pet'. If a human belongs to a vampire, the vampire can sense the human's emotions from afar and be able to easily seek them out, should the vampire want to. The human may also sometimes be able to feel the vampire within, but it will never be as strongly as the vampire feels the human, and most humans never feel anything at all. When a human belongs to a vampire, it means no other vampires should feed on that human - and other vampires will be able to smell the owner's blood on the human. The vampire will often make additional rules too for the human, but not always.

To be made a vampire's pet, the following must happen: The vampire drinks a little of the human's blood, but not enough to kill the human or even turn them. Then the vampire must drink a little of the vampire's blood. A mouthful of it will be plenty for at least a month of belonging, then the process will have to be repeated. It will not make the human stronger/faster or have vampire powers, to receive that small amount of vampire blood.

Killing Vampires
+ Sunlight will kill vampires in the long run, even ancient ones must eventually seek shelter from it. Ancients can however stand more than young ones.
+ Decapitation, meaning cutting off the vampire’s head will also kill them. Make sure the head is removed entirely from the body.
+ Fire is quite harmful for vampires. If he/she does not get out of said source of fire, they can burn to death literally. Large amounts of third degree burns will take months or a large amount of living blood to heal.
+ Bloodloss, since vampires need blood to live, they can die if all blood is drained entirely from their bodies. It has to be it all though.

Stakes through the heart do not work, they only hurt but the wound will heal. Silver will hurt like hell and may leave a scar until the vampire had enough new blood to heal, but it will not cause the vampire to die on its own.

Mirrors
Vampires show up in mirrors, movies and on pictures. Their body may be ‘dead’, but they are still physical beings.

Prey Killing
Vampires don’t always kill their prey, it is not necessary to kill to feed. But they are predators, who grow less human as they grow older. Meaning even if they don't want to, they often attack to kill, and some vampires even find satisfaction in doing it.

Silver
Silver does not kill a vampire, but it will hurt them badly. Silver leaves marks life after burning, on vampire skin, and there will always be a scar if a vampire has touched something silver. So it does not kill them, but it can keep the vampires in check if needed.

Speed
Vampires can move extremely fast, and the older a vampire gets, the faster they will be able to move. A young and newly turned vampire will be able to move with about double the speed of the fastest a human can be; meaning about 80-90 km/h. The fastest older vampires will be able to move with 400-500 km/h, a speed where you may see them as just a blur when they move.

Sunlight
As mentioned, sunlight is not good for vampires. Young ones will burn and die if left outside in clear sunlight. Ancient ones can stand it better, but after a few hours, even they must seek shadow. Some vampires can go outside on cloudy days, or if they wear a cloak and their skin is covered, they can stand it too.

Telepathy
No vampires can reach another's mind unless it's a Special Ability of theirs - and only Elders and Ancients can have such. Some vampires can communicate with telepathy though, however not reach each other's mind. This works mostly between sires and their fledglings. They can communicate through their minds, without speaking out loud. All vampires have this ability with their sire/fledgling, and some have it with other vampires if they have shared blood with them at least 5 times.