Here There Be Monsters

Mayport is a city in the Northwestern United States, near Willapa Bay in the state of Washington. It has an estimated population of just over 500,000, which makes it the second most populous city in Washington, and the fourth largest in the Pacific Northwest. Approximately 1.8 million people live in the Mayport metropolitan area.

The city has traditionally been known for its shipping industry, which has been its greatest employer since the mid-1800s. Today, however, it is gaining a new reputation as the birthplace of the vampire rights movement. What San Francisco was to the counter-culture of the sixties and the gay rights movement, Mayport is quickly becoming for vampires. This in enabled by an extensive network of underground passageways and basements in the downtown area and near the waterfront. At one point, this underground labyrinth was ground level at the city’s origin.

After the streets were rebuilt and elevated following a fire, these spaces fell into disuse until the early 1990s when Mayport’s growing vampire population began to restore them and turn them into a sort of city beneath the city, complete with residences and businesses existing out of the sun’s reach. This underground is commonly known as “Shanghai” (from the rumored history that the passages from the waterfront were once used to abduct or “Shanghai” men and sell them to waiting ships at the waterfront that needed additional manpower).

Most vampires just use Shanghai to move around during the day, because even with almost two decades of improvements, most of the tunnels and basements are dirty and unsafe, with no amenities, little ventilation, spotty electricity, and only occasional running water. There’s also no cell phone service in most of the tunnels. This means that most of the vampires who live or work in Shanghai do so because they have no better options, making it almost a vampire ghetto, a place with a thriving illegal trade in blood and other crimes. That’s beginning to change in a few places, but those are the exceptions to the rule right now and just about any vampire with the resources to do so tries to find work and housing aboveground. For humans it’s a dangerous place to go, especially alone or without a vampire to escort them. Even many police officers hesitate to go down below. However, that makes it a perfect place for illegal black markets and businesses catering to both humans and vampires.

Q. How does one become a vampire?

A. Human beings become vampires by ingesting the blood of a vampire when they are already in a near-death state. The human is then essentially dead for about three days while their bodies transition to becoming a vampire.

Powers
Q. What kinds of powers can I have?

A. Vampires are about 2-3 times stronger and faster than the average human. Their senses are enhanced so they can see far better in the dark, much like a cat. Their hearing and sense of smell would be more comparable to a dog. You can leap from a 5 to 6 story building and land fairly safely, but it’s usually best to take the stairs.

Vampires are not telepathic nor can they simple bend any human to their will automatically. Eye contact is required and a subtle form of hypnosis can sometimes help a Vampire convince some suggestible humans to go along with the Vampire’s wishes.

Vampires generally heal twice as quickly as humans, unless a wound is caused by sunlight, fire or silver, then they heal at less than half the rate of a human being. Otherwise they can heal just about any wound within a day or two.

Vampires cannot shapeshift or fly.

Weaknesses
Q. How are Vampires effected by sunlight?

A. Vampires do NOT sparkle. Unless you count going up in a small bright explosion and ash fall. Younger vampires are actually more tolerant of sunlight than older ones, since they're still closer to being human. Their ability to tolerate sunlight decreases with age, although even newly turned vampires can only stand about an hour of daylight on a cloudy day and a few minutes on a sunny day before getting 2nd to 3rd degree burns. Older vampires (100+) cannot tolerate any sunlight and even a minute or two of exposure can fatally burn them.

Q. What about silver?

A. Vampires are very sensitive to silver. If it touches their skin it causes irritation and chemical burns, and if it gets into their bloodstream it will poison them if not removed VERY quickly. Older vampires (100+) have some resistance to touching silver, so handling it for short periods of time will usually only result in mild skin irritation. However, it is still fatal if it gets through the skin. Younger vampires are deathly allergic to silver and even skin contact can result in fatal burns.

Q. Will a stake through the heart kill a Vampire?

A. A wooden stake or anything sharp that penetrates a vampire’s heart will paralyze it until the offending object is removed. Even after it is removed, such wounds are incredibly painful and will take several days to fully heal, even with fresh blood. (If the stake or weapon piercing a vampire’s heart is silver it’s almost instantly fatal.)

Age
Q. What age ranges can we play?

A. All characters must be over 21, which means a vampire must have been at least 21 at the time he or she was turned. (Because important stuff happens in bars!) As for vampires specifically, 500 is considered incredibly old for a vampire, but we are capping any vampire at 200 years of age for this RP—unless you PM both Lyonesse and Digital Muse with an exceptionally brilliant plan for your character that absolutely requires your character to be older than 200.


Feeding
Q. What are the options for feeding as a vampire?

A. Vampires can drink human blood, animal blood, or artificial plasma. However, human blood is the ideal, but it is universally illegal for vampires to feed on humans, even willing donors. Feeding on animal blood or artificial plasma is legal (although there are restrictions on animal blood), but it’s not as healthy for vampires and it’s still uncertain if it’s a viable option for long periods of time. Basically, trying to live solely off of animal blood or artificial plasma is like a human trying to live entirely off of processed foods, you can do it for a while at least, but it will have ill effects on your health and might eventually kill you. Animal blood and artificial plasma also tend to taste horrible to all vampires. Artificial blood is also strongly regulated by the government, so getting it basically requires registering with the government as a vampire.

Q. What about willing human donors?

A. Human donors are treated like prostitutes by authorities if they are caught. They can be charged and prosecuted by the law, as are vampires who are caught soliciting human blood. There’s still quite a market for human donors though.

Q. Is blood bank blood an alternative?

A. Yes, but it’s also illegal for vampires to possess. However, there’s an active black market for it.

Q. Can vampires consume human food and drink?

A. Younger vampires (from the newly turned to those who've been turned for about 25-30 years) can still handle eating some food if they so desire. They don't get any real nutritional benefits from it and their sense of taste isn't as strong as a human. No vampire can handle eating as much as a human regularly does. So a sandwich or a slice of cake every other day is fine, but three square meals a day will make a vampire very sick. Vampires slowly lose their ability to properly digest things other than blood. So after about 25-30 years they can only handle smaller and smaller amounts of food until about 75, when they stop being able to digest just about any food without becoming violently ill. Liquids are easier, so vampires can usually partake of other liquids for about 150-200 years or so, but eventually they even lose the ability to process anything beyond blood and maybe a little bit of water.


Important Other Notes

Inability to Enter a Dwelling without Being First Invited In—this only applies to the private homes of humans.

Fangs - Vampires actually do grow a new set of fang-like teeth to replace their upper human canine teeth. These are not retractable and can actually cause some problems for newly turned vampires, from temporary speech impediments and lisps to making the first few weeks of feeding difficult as their new teeth grow in. Most vampires become adept at hiding their fangs when they speak or smile though.