Angels are a race of celestials, beings that live on the good-aligned realms. They positively drip with goodness-every fiber of their bodies and souls is suffused with it. They are the natural enemies of demons and devils.
Regardless of their alignment, angels never lie, cheat, or steal. They are impeccably honorable in all their dealings and often prove the most trustworthy and diplomatic of all the races. The appearance of an angel varies from one to the next, and rarely do you find two that look exactly identical.
Angels are the livers of life. These benevolent creatures are close to the well of springs of life than mere mortals and, as such, revel in their existences. They are prone to more pronounced emotions than humans and can experience godlike fits of rage. They are, however, basically good and benevolent, so they tend not to take life. They are very powerful creatures and will fight with ferocity if necessary.
Ecology:
Angels are basically identical to humans, except they have wings. What makes them immortal is unknown. Perhaps it is their enchanted existence in the Astral Plane. These angels are commonly known to experience the ame range of emotions as humans do. They develop idiosyncrasies as humans do, also. In fact, angel mannerisms emulate those of humans, or vice versa.
Combat:
Though they are honorable and good, angels will not hesitate to back up their arguments with their weapons and powers, especially if the opponent is a demon. Though they do not relish in combat, they will not hesitate to come to their enemy full force. Arch Angels use weapons and Guardian Angels though rarely will fight using powers. High level guardian angels do somtimes use blades, but not often.
Demons are a race of creatures native to the Abyss, a plane of endless evil. They are the natural enemy of the Angel, and will often war with any they come in contact with. They are ferocity personified and will attack any creature just for the sheer fun of it-even other demons. They enjoy terrifying their victims before slaying them and often devour the slain. Many demons, not satisfied with their own iniquity, take pleasure in tempting humans to become as depraved as they are.
Habitat:
Demons are the quintessential "evil" of the world. They derive great pleasure from the suffering of others and go out of thier way to torment lesser beings and cause them pain. Demons are repulsive and loathsome to behold. The most common appearance of demons are towering humanoids with deep, dark red skin. They have huge wings that propel them with unnatural speed and agility. They have long, wicked claws and grotesque fangs that dripw ith venom. Demons are commonly surrounded by searing flames.
Demons live upon the flesh and suffering of others, and will go out of their way to attack, torment, and kill anyone and anything-including their own kind. They are evil personified and take great pleasure in descimating anything that represents rightousness and good.
Combat:
The demon is a spawn of the Underworld, and their power reflects it. Because of their great strength and power, they are skilled with weapons though tend to use thir bodies and have some mental powers.
of all the chaotic evil undead creatures that stalk the world, none is more dreadful than the vampire. Moving silently through the night, vampires prey upon the living without mercy or compassion. Unless deep underground they must return t the coffins in which they pass the daylight hours. One aspect that makes the vampire far more fearful than many of it's undead kindred is it's appearance. Unlike other undead creatures, the vampire can easily pass among normal men without drawing attention to itself for, although it's facial features are sharp and feral, they do not seem inhumans. In many cases, a vampire's true nature is revealed only when it attacks.
There are ways in which a vampire may be detected by the careful observer, however. Vampies cast little to no reflection in glass, cast no shadows, and move in complete silence. They use their auras to sense and detect each other, other beings, or get a sense of someone from the aura imprint left in an area. They can also use these auras in combat to knock foes around.
Habitat:
Vampires usally live in areas of death and desolation. Ruined castles or chapels and large cemeteries are popular lairs for them, as are sites of great tragedies or batles because most do not dare tread there even in daylight.
When deciding on a course of action or planning a campaign, vampires move very slowly and meticulously. It is not uncommon for a vampire to undertake some scheme which may take decades or even centuries to reach it's conclusion. Because of the cures of immortality that has fallen upon them, they feel that time is always on their side and will defeat foes that would otherwise overcome them by simply going into hiding for a few decades until the passing of the years brings down it's enemies.
Vampires are normally solitary creatures. When they are found int he company of others of their kind, the group will certainly consist of a single vampire lord and a small group of vampires which it has created to do its bidding. In this way, the vampire can exert its power over a greater range without running the risk of exposing itself to attack byw ouldbe heroes.
Vampires will create another of it's kind by draining the life force of a living creature, and replacing it with that of it's own. The creatures body will die, only to be reanimated as one of the undead soon after.
Ecology:
The vampire has no place in the world of the living creatures. It is a thing of darkness that exists only to bring about evil and chaos yet they can be found in the world among those they so hate. Almost without exception, the vampire is feared and hated by those who dwell int he regions in which it chooses to make its home. The vampire's unnatural presence is all-pervasive and will cause dogs and similar animals to raise a cry of alarm at the presense of the creature.
Vampires sustain themselves by draining the life force from living creatures. Unless they have a specific need to create additional "dark children", however, they are careful to avoid killing those they attack. in the cases where the death of a victim is desired, the vampire will take care to see that the body is destroyed and this will not rise as an undead.
Combat:
Defeating a vampire can be a difficult challenge, but not an impossible one. A vampire can be slain by impaling the heart or decapitating it's head will also destory the creature. Unfortunately, it's enhanced skills in combat make the task of killing a vampire nearly impossible. Silver-based weapons will leave wounds and scars beyond the vampire's abilities to heal, but the wounds are not fatal.
Lycanthropes are humans who can transform themselves to resemble normal animals or monsters. The term "lycanthrope" is actually a misnomer, coming from the roots "lycos" (wolf), and anthropos (man). The two subspecies of werewolf differing in their secondary form: one has fangs, a furred body, a tail, wolf-like legs, and lupine features (but without a snout); the other form is a secondary form that is that of a huge wolf, as big as a bear.
The conditions of being a lycanthrope, often referred to as a curse, is called lycanthropy. A distinction must be made between true lycanthropes and infected lycanthropes. "rue lycanthropes" are those to whom lycanthropy is a genetic trait; they greed with other lycanthropes and produce baby lycanthropes. Only true lycanthropes can infect others with lycanthropy. "Infected lycanthropes" are those whose lycanthropy results from being wounded by a true lycanthrope.
Habitat:
"True lycanthropes" can change shape at will, regardless of the time of day or phases of the moon. "Infected lycanthropes", if exposed to light, will usually be in humanoid form. When darkness falls on the night of the full moon, or on the night immediately preceding or immeditaely following a full moon, the infected lycanthropes unwillingly change shape and is overcome by blood-lust.
Each type of lycanthrope has it's own language as well as it's humanoid language; some may be able to speak the languages used by the aniamls they imitate.
True lycanthropes tend to avoid human society unless attacking or on an errand. Lycanthropes travel alone or in packs. The packs are usually of similar lycanthropes, but may also include normal animals or monsters whom the lycanthropes resemble.
Ecology:
Lycanthropes fit a variety of roles, depending on the type of creatures they become.
Combat:
A lycanthrope can be killed only by a fatal blow with a weapons that is silver-based or by decapitating the head.
Compared to the evolution of other races, the human race is till very primitive, but has existed for hundreds of thousands of years. Through those years, many things have changed, but the endurance of the human spirit ha snot.
Unlike many of the other races which are almost always "molded from the same clay", the human race is perhaps the most diverse of all the races. Every human, male and female, is different in their own unique way. A human has a free wll and is able to choose the life it will lead, unlike many races that are bound by culture or instinct.
The human race can range from farmers who till the land, to pirtaes who rule the seas. They can be kingsa nd queens, or the knights who serve them. They can be lofty businessmen, or captive slaves. There is truly no limit to the human race.
The habitat and society of the human varies from one human to the next.
Ecology:
Like the habitat and society, the ecology of the human varies from one to the next.
Combat:
Because of the unique differences that separates one human from the next, it is nearly impossible to prepare for a fight against any human. Some are weak, but intelligent, while others are strong and powerful.
A mortal offspring resulting from a union between a mortal oman and a vampiric male is called the Dhampyr, between a vampiric woman and a mortal male is called the Vampeal. Most people believe that vampires cannot procreate this way, that is false. It is rare, but occsionally a child can result from such a union.
Habitat:
Depending on which parent influences the offspring will dpend greatly upon where the dhampyr ot vampeal will be found. A mortal parent raising its child alone will most often try to keep the nature of its child hidden from others much the same as a vampiric parent will keep its offspring hidden from those of its kind. Most vampiric half breed children rarely reach adulthood as they are seen as abominations in both parental societies and ultimately a threat in some vampiric cultures.
Natures does not ignore the fact that one parent is vampiric. The medling of these two worlds of living and undead gives the dhampyr and the vampeal many strange abilities given by nature as a defense against vampiric influence. These abilities include quick movements, enhanced senses, longevity, unnatural charisma, the ability to resist the vampiric nature that is ultimately a part of them, the ability to recognize those of vampiric blood, and the ability to withstand other vampires.
Upon reaching adulthood, if the vampiric parent has been absent, the childrenw ill begin to have dreams. in these dreams, they will see images of their vampiric parent. These dreams serve to bring the parent and chold closer together. The child will be drawn to find the vampiric parent and will eventually seek him or her, at times to kill them.
Ecology:
These secial abilities are what amkes dhampyr and vampeal naturally effective vampire hunters, and can make their lives dangerous. Not all dhampyr or vampeal become hunters, they may just as easily assume the life of the mortal parent. By adulthood the dhampyr and the vampeal have become proficient at masking their natures and "blending in" with the moral world around them.
The vampiric powers of these offspring are most often powered b blood, just as the vampiric parent's. There are some however that are able to use their vampiric powers without relying on blood. These are a rare form; they are not hampered by the need to feed when the bloodlust calls them. The ability to withstand the call does not weaken this form of dhampyr or vampeal in any way; they are still as dangerous and effective with their inherited abilities from their vampiric parent. If a dhampyr or vampeal feeds completely, a full meal, then the vampire part of its heritage will ceom to the surface and take over, they will suffer from bloodlust. This does not make them vampire, they remain mortal.
Since dhampyr and vampeal are mortal, they are affected by the sun only slightly more than any other mortal. If they have tasted blood, the brightness of the sun will kill them. Without tasting blood the sun will not kill them instantly as it would a full blood, but instead they must hid ein the shadows or slowly burn to death as if being cooked. Due to being half blooded, niether the dhampyr nor the vampeal can embrace or "turn" another unless they themselves have been fully embraced and made vampiric at which time thier "chosen" also become vampiric. Dhampyr or Vampeal who are embraced lose all the inherited traits they had before the embrace, including the ability to withstand the sun and become a true vampire.
Combat:
The enhanced skills inherited from it's vampiric parent makes the task of defeating a dhampyr or vampeal a bit of a challenge. Although it does inherit these skills, the dhampyr and the vampeal can be killed through decapitation. Silver-based weapons can leave scars beyond the dhampyr or vampeal's healing abilities, but the wounds are not fatal.
A creature created through intermingling of vampire and lycanthrope by means of mating or vampiric embrace. It's a creature which will spend its life most often hunted and hated by members of both vampire and lycanthrope societies; in many of these cultures such creatures are called "Abominations", freaks which must be destroyed.
Habitat:
Rarely do many Lampyre survive their first night of life. Those that want to survive have learned to keep themselves "hidden" by remaining in their human form and rarely dislpay their heritage openly. Drawn to others of it's kind, the Lampyre are known to develop packs, gangs, or syndicates. Many others pass themselves off as eccentrics or hermits, which helps to explain some of the oddities they exhibit; because of thos self-isolation, sometimes the chance of companionship is strong enough to turn a desperate and lonely Lampyre into a willing servant. Lampyre also in some cases have strong enough auras to be able to shield themselves from detection and be seen as a vampire in human form or a full lycanthrope, but this power is an extreme rarety.
Ecology:
It is a being that exists only to bring about chaos. Almost without exceptions, the Lampyre is hated byt hose of certain vampire and lycanthrope societies as well as those who dweel in the regions in which it chooses to make its home.
Combat:
When a Lampyre strikes, it will do so from cover and only when sure it can win, unleaching pent up frustration against foes quickly and visciously. When things slide out of favor for a Lampyre they tend to "fade" into the shadows, seemingly to flee but in reality to circle around and ambush their foes from behind. When faced with up front combat the Lampyre can be far deadlier than most creatures living or dead due to the powers combined form both sides of it's heritage.
Lampyre can be killed by a fatal blow dealt by impaling its heart or by decapitating its head. Silver-based weapons will inflict wounds strong enough to leave scars beyond it's natural healing abilities, but it is not fatal as it would be to a pure Lycanthrope.