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--- lb:wnotes:vampires [2026-02-08 11:49:34] – [Secrecy?] ninjasr
+++ lb:wnotes:vampires [2026-03-07 10:39:18] (current) – [Weaknesses] ninjasr
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 ====== Writing Notes for Vampires ======
-This article collects a number of notes on writing/worldbuilding [[lb:vampires]] (focused primarily on a contemporary fantasy setting). I spun it off from the original article due to how complicated it ended up getting.
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+{{tag>worldbuilding}}
+</div>
+This article collects a number of notes on writing/world-building [[lb:vampires]] (focused primarily on a contemporary fantasy setting). I spun it off from the original article due to how complicated it ended up getting.
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 So that's kind of what my notes are about. Assuming a generic vampire...well, what //would// generic vampires //actually// look like in real life?
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-{{tag>worldbuilding}}
 ===== General Worldbuilding =====
 This section contains notes that should apply generally in all situations.
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 ==== Abilities ====
-What abilities vampires have is something that I generally consider to be unimportant. I say this because the abilities of the average vampire make them exceptionally weak compared to the entirety of humanity. But if vampiric abilities are downright god-like...yeah, the situation changes a bit. Though in that situation I find it most likely for vampires to go extinct together with the rest of humanity (assuming they start out early). I'm defining “god-like” as having no serious drawbacks.\\
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-It also depends on what those abilities are. Turning invisible is beneficial, but is it more beneficial than mind-control? What about blood magic? And so on and so forth.\\
+I generally consider the abilities that vampires have to be unimportant. This is because, when compared to the entirety of humanity, the abilities of the average vampire makes them exceptionally weak. But if vampiric abilities are downright god-like((:fn:>I'm defining <span denote>god-like</span> as having no serious drawbacks.))...yeah, the situation changes a bit. Though then I find it most likely for vampires to go extinct together with the rest of humanity (assuming they start out early).
-I generally assume that vampires are immortal and possibly stronger than humans, but otherwise leave abilities out because there are too many to possibly speculate about.\\
-However, if you consider god-like mind-control (for example), where a single vampire can control the minds of thousands at once...then secrecy has no reason to be maintained at all and the world is just a chess board where millions of humans are constantly fighting millions of other humans because two vampires don't like each-other. But assuming any reasonable limitations (like the more you control the greater strain you're under, so you can only realistically control like 5)...then the situation shifts very much in humanity's favor. Thus, vampires maintain secrecy.\\
+It also depends on what those abilities are. Turning invisible is beneficial, but is it more beneficial than mind-control? What about blood magic? And so on and so forth.
-Even god-like abilities don't guarantee vampire supremacy, since all it takes is one person getting lucky to kill a god.
+</div>
+<div passage>
+However, if we consider god-like mind-control to allow a single vampire to control the minds of thousands at once...then secrecy is not something vampires would care about...and the world is just a chess board where millions of humans are constantly fighting other millions because two vampires don't like each-other.
+But assuming any reasonable limitations((:fn:>Like the more you control the greater strain you're under, so you can only realistically control like 5.))...then the situation shifts very much in humanity's favor. Thus: vampires maintain secrecy.
+Even god-like abilities don't guarantee vampire supremacy though, since all it takes is one person getting lucky to kill a god.
+</div>
+//Generally//, I assume that vampires are immortal and stronger than humans. Otherwise, I leave abilities out of my assumptions because there are so many possible vampire abilities.
 ==== When ====
-When vampires appear is something that I talk about in [[#Origins]], though the general rule is that the earlier they appeared the smaller the incentive to remain hidden. For example, if they appear in the Bronze Age it's very likely that they'd just become the rulers of the Bronze Age civilizations.\\
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-However, and this is key: as time goes on, the incentive to hide grows. Even if they started out as ruling openly, they'd eventually go into hiding due to various factors. This includes the explosion of the human population, technological developments and the spread of new ideas. The Enlightenment (significantly divorced from the Bronze Age aside) could conclude that vampires are bad and should be eliminated, for example.\\
+I talk about when vampires appear in [[#Origins]]. Though when it comes to secrecy, the general rule is that the earlier they appear, the smaller their incentive to remain hidden is.
-I think this rule also applies in Fantasy/Other worlds.
+For example, if their origin is in the Bronze Age, it's very likely they'd simply establish themselves as the rulers of all the Bronze Age civilizations.
+</div>
+However, and this is key: as time goes on, the incentive to hide grows.
+<div passage>
+Even if they started out by ruling openly, they'd eventually go into hiding for various reasons.
+One of those reasons being the explosion(s) of the human population...another is technological development...and another the spread of new ideas.
+Although it's far removed from the Bronze Age, the Enlightenment is a good example. Humanity could easily conclude that vampires are bad, actually, and should be eliminated.
+</div>
+I think this general rule applies even in worlds that are not our own.
 ==== How much Blood? ====
-How much blood they need to survive I talk about in the Vampire:Human Ratio. The general rule is that the more (human) blood vampires need to survive, the smaller the vampire population can be. If the vampire population is too small, they will be outnumbered by humans and are consequently in a lot of danger.\\
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-The situation does change slightly if they don't need to drink human blood specifically. I feel that, in general, vampires //can// drink non-human blood, but it isn't as filling or nutritious, making it undesirable. More could be speculated on that front, but if non-human blood is just as good as human blood, vampires have a much smaller incentive to remain hidden.
+I talk about how much blood they'd need to survive in the [[#Vampire:Human Ratio]].
+The general rule that applies is that the more (human) blood vampires need to survive, the smaller the overall vampire population can be. If the vampire population is too small, they //will// be outnumbered by humans. Consequently, they'd be in a lot of danger.
+</div>
+<div passage>
+The situation does change slightly if human blood isn't needed specifically.
+I personally just kinda assume that, in general, vampires //can// drink non-human blood, but it isn't as filling or nutritious. That would make it undesirable.
+</div>
+More could be speculated about on that front, but if non-human blood is just as good as human blood, vampires have a much smaller reason to remain hidden.
 ==== Weaknesses ====
-What harms vampires also significantly changes the situation. Though I did list it, I'm not actually sure how much this affects anything now that I think about it. I think that it depends on how common their weakness is and how deadly it is.\\
+What kind of weaknesses vampires have also significantly affect the situation...//is what I thought, until I thought about it, and realized I couldn't come up with anything concrete//.
-IE: does the Sun kill them or weaken them?
+The general rule I'd follow is that it depends on how common their weaknesses are and how deadly those weaknesses are.
+So, like, does the Sun kill them or only weaken them?
 ==== Vampire:Human Ratio ====
 It was pointed out to me that I was assuming that vampires are fewer in number than humans...but that I never explained why I assumed this, so this section exists to point that out.