Vampire (Skyrim) – Elder Scrolls – Wikia

For other uses, see Vampire. For information on becoming a vampire, see Vampirism (Skyrim).

Vampires are one of the enemies featured in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and its plug-in, Dawnguard. They are individuals afflicted with the disease Sanguinare Vampiris. The disease causes drastic physical and biological changes that are permanent if not cured within three days. Among these changes include a heightened vulnerability to sunlight and fire and an increased resistance to frost. All benefits and inhibitions are sustained by the consumption of blood.

Lord Harkon, the progenitor of the Volkihar Clan.

Vampires can be traced back to the Daedric Prince Molag Bal, the Lord of Domination, who created the first vampire sometime around the First Era. Lamae Beolfag was a Nedic virgin who was raped by Molag Bal. It is recorded that after the ordeal, Molag Bal shed a droplet of blood on her brow and left her to die. During the night she died, but as her funeral pyre was still burning she emerged as the first pure-blood vampire.[1][2]

Molag Bal has since been known to confer Pure Vampirism to other individuals directly via a ritual that granted them great power over "lesser" vampires. One such case wasLord Harkon, who claims to have slaughtered a thousand innocents in order to gain this power, though this might be an exaggeration due to contradictory evidence.[3]

Females seeking to gain the pure-blood vampirism are required to undergo a ritual with Molag Bal. Such confluences are called Daughters of Coldharbour. A tradition developed among Molag Bal worshipping cults which dictated that females be offered to him on his summoning day. Few survive the ordeal and those who do emerge as pure-blooded vampires. Being selected as an offering was considered to be an honor that is not rejected lightly.[4]

Due to their predatory nature, vampires are widely viewed as evil and violent creatures. Citizens and Hold Guards consider vampires open threats and attack anyone who reveals themselves to be a vampire (or if it can obviously be seen). In some cases, vampires are actively hunted down and destroyed by certain people, namely the Vigilants of Stendarr and the Dawnguard.

The vampires who inhabit the wilds of Skyrim are largely considered to stem from the powerful Volkihar Clan that began with Harkon. These vampires are not considered to be of pure blood like Harkon and his family, as their vampirism was contracted from other lesser vampires. As such they are often looked down upon by members of Harkon's court.[5]

They are said to live under haunted, frozen lakes and only leave their dens to feed, however more often than not they are encountered in remote caves and ruins. It's unknown if any Volkihar Vampires possess the ability to reach through the ice of frozen lakes as described in books, or if it's just folklore.

In addition, the Volkihar share many of the same traits as their Cyrodilic counterparts. A few are known to be more cultured and civilized than the vampires of other provinces and as such can seamlessly blend into society. Many also prefer to feed on victims while they are asleep and unaware. One difference, however, is they do not burn in direct sunlight, rather they are just weakened by it.

In the Dawnguard plug-in, the Volkihar Clan becomes a joinable faction.

An example of the facial distortions in Dawnguard.

Vampires can be of any race but the majority of them are easily distinguishable from uninfected persons. As a result of the hemophiliac virus, Sanguinare Vampiris, the infected slowly grow a pallid complexion. Fangs protrude from their gums, allowing for easier feeding and eye color changes from the spectrum of average hues to red. Bosmer and Dunmer, which typically already possess red eyes, may pass unnoticed as vampires.

When infected, the fur of the Khajiit alters as the skin of a human or elf would. Long-toothed by nature, the incisors of the Khajiit grow exceptionally long, so that they protrude below the lip. However, their pupils become thinner and more blade-like. The scales of Argonians grows greyer as the infection worsens.

With the addition of The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard, the facial features for some humanvampires was slightly re-designed to be noticeably more twisted.

The most apparent is the eyes which have changed from red to an golden-orange hue. The cheeks are prominently narrowed and folds of skin that run from the nose to the corners of the mouth are also significantly deeper. The bridge of the nose features several ridges and is shortened, much like a bat. Prominent ridges also appear around the forehead and eyes and a deep crimson line runs down from the bottom of the nose to the chin. The only exception to most of these drastic physical changes seems to be Serana, Valerica, Sybille Stentor and Lord Harkon.

Vampires come in two variants: regular and master. The specific type that is encountered is typically level-dependent, however lower leveled vampires can still be encountered at higher levels. The race and gender is radiant.

The combat style of both types doesn't vary much. Both are primarily spellcasters and one-handed melee fighters and wear either assorted pieces of armor or standard Mage Robes. They also have a unique version of Vampiric Drain spell that is much more powerful than the version available to the Dragonborn. At higher levels it can drain health, stamina and magicka. All vampires past level 6 also gain a bonus to Unarmed Damage.

Both types also exhibit the symptoms of stage two of Vampirism, namely:

The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard introduces two new sub-types of vampire. The Nightlord Vampire, the highest standard vampire type and the Nightmaster Vampire, the highest boss level variety, replacing the Volkihar Master Vampire.

In addition, vampires now wear a selection of vampire specific clothing and armor, rather than generic mage robes. These include vampire armor, vampire boots and vampire robes.

Standard vampires range from level 1 to 48. With the addition of The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard, the level 60 Nightlord Vampire is added.

Master Vampires are the highest possible level of vampires encountered and typically serve as the boss of a vampire lair.

The standard Master Vampires are level dependant and range from level 14 to 42, whereas the Volkihar Master Vampire is fixed at level 53 but can be encountered when the Dragonborn is level 39+. The Nightmaster Vampire can only be encountered at level 65 or higher.

Redwater Spring found deep within Redwater Den

13 messages

but hert and sybille are also supposed to have orange eyes, maybe its because i killed piquine and then he respawned 2016-06-14T12:51:34Z

YYYYEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH, they finally look like vampires. probably because of the unofficial dawnguard patch 2016-06-17T17:20:08Z

4 messages

68.112.30.237 wrote:My sister just told me that she found a vampire in the wilderness. But, when she looked up its name, she couldn't f... 2016-06-12T22:37:42Z

Hadebrand The Bard wrote:68.112.30.237 wrote:My sister just told me that she found a vampire in the wilderness. But, when she looked up its na... 2016-06-13T18:06:00Z

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Vampire (Skyrim) - Elder Scrolls - Wikia

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