It’s no secret that I absolutely love vampires, and if there’s a magical universe I either write or play a video game in, I will find some way to create them if there isn’t already established lore. Heck, I can pull this even if there is established lore and I simply don’t like it. It’s all about being creative, and I’m here to share with you my ideas on this matter!
Let’s establish what we need to craft our vampires. You’re going to want a universe with magic and alchemy. I suppose it could work in sci-fi, but some pieces are wonky and wouldn’t work with science. Though, much like ‘Well because of magic it works’, you could use the ‘well because of advancement in science it works’. I suppose fantasy and sci-fi aren’t so different in that sense.
Anyway, let’s go with the magical/alchemy world to make things easier. Bats or other creatures that drink blood must exist in this universe. Their diet must be contingent on the bacteria in their gut breaking down blood so they can extract nutrients from it. That, or some steal-able magical mechanism, or something right down to their DNA.
Next, we have the creator of vampires. You’ll have some sort of evil (or chaotic neutral) scientist character (give them some pizazz!) that is an expert in alchemy. In order to give the tropes you may want to your vampires, give them a form of speed or strength potion for this ‘create a vampire’ mixture. In the case of sci-fi, we could use augments or tech to emulate these powers.
The mad scientist would mess with the DNA of the vampire bats, or specifically the bacteria in their gut, mix it with the speed/strength potion, add a dash of ‘undefined magic’ (or for sci-fi, ‘this is a chemical reaction we’ve never seen before’!) and boom, the end result is a potion that messes with your character’s DNA and kills all the bacteria in their digestive system, replacing it with that of the vampire bat. Congrats on your bloodsucker!
What else? Well, the potion corrupts the very DNA of your character, so you can give them phenotypic changes required for hunting like fangs and claws, any variety, and possibly retractable. Anything is possible, really, because this is greyline and undefined. The mad scientist did a thing, messing with science and magic, resulting in a mythical monster that may not have existed before.
It’s an ala carte vampire. You can say the potion has any side effect you want, like an allergy to silver, sun sensitivity, whatever you’d like, blame it on ‘side effects of this potion’. You could have a cure, or you could say there is none at all because your character’s DNA is morphed too much. The dam’s been broken.
Basically, your vampire-izing-potion is a mix of ‘what the absolute fuck’ so it’s your own lore, as science is fucky in real life so add magic and it’s even more odd. No one is going to nail you for ‘lorebreaking’ because it’s legit the end result of your potion. As long as you don’t make your character too overpowered, it really shouldn’t be a problem.
But Des, I like undead vampires…
Oh, want your vampire undead in this build-a-vampire situation? Have necromancy exist in said universe and have the potion kill then raise them. Add a dash of necromancy to its mix and boom, you have your undeads!
Finally, how do you get more vampires without this potion? Easy, the vampire has injectable venom (controlled) to turn others, or it works via blood exchange, or whatever. Can people be immune to it? Sure! It’s up to the player character in roleplay or writer in a story.
Are you curious how I did it in Final Fantasy XIV? Well, I have lore right here. Take a look if you’re bored and need ideas! For context, ‘voidsent’ and ‘voidtouched’ are like demons and those demonically tainted.
Did this inspire some ideas? I hope so! Tag me on twitter @TheRealDesastr if you used any of this for your own lore. I want to see what you’ve come up with. Spread the vampire gospel, muhahahahaa!
Oh, and happy spooky month!
Looking for a Norse Mythology Urban Fantasy that has a twist on VAMPIRES & werewolves? Well, look no further – check out my novel Claws of Midgard, out on Halloween.
Des M. Astor 