Half-Breeds

~*~*~*~ ABOUT HALF-BREEDS ~*~*~*~
HALF-BREED ORIGIN
HALF-BREED PROPERTIES
HALF-BREED GIFTS
HALF-BREED AGE
HALF-BREED PROCREATION
HALF-BREED LIFESTYLE
HALF-BREED RULES
HALF-BREED INJURIES
HALF-BREED DEATH
LORE OWNERSHIP

HALF-BREED ORIGIN
Half-breeds are half-human and half-vampire.  They are created when a vampire attempts to turn a human woman that is pregnant with child. Since the transforming ends in mortal death, the unborn child must be far enough along to survive the spontaneous birth that would occur at the death of its mother.

The mother becomes a vampire, the vampire that turned her becomes her sire, and the child also has a mortal father — essentially three parents — with the characteristics of all three.  Most vampire sires that have a half-bred child often kill off the infant to avoid the stress of raising such a being. However, often the infants’ mothers bargain for their lives.  In such instance, it is customary to leave the child with its mortal family, having the father raise the infant.  The lifestyle of the now-vampiric mother would not be conducive to raising a baby, especially one that would not age like mortals do.  Once the child is able to fend for itself, he or she is usually either given up for adoption or returned to the mother and sire, since their mortal fathers usually die before the child reaches adolescence.

Our laws would condemn a vampire that would knowingly create a half-breed.  It would be considered creating a vampire that cannot essentially fend for itself.

HALF-BREED PROPERTIES
Half-breed vampires are not much unlike full vampires.  Their properties are almost identical to VAMPIRIC PROPERTIES, but differ slightly in the following ways.

Like vampires they are not affected by garlic, holy water, crosses, and they cannot be killed with wooden stakes.  Their complexions, although never as pale as vampires, is very light almost luminescent and their fingernails can seem almost glass-like. Their facial features are softened and their physical beauty is enhanced, just like vampires.  And just like vampires, they have fangs although they cannot transform mortals into vampires; their vampiric blood is too weak to do the job. Their fangs extend and retract like that of vampires’ but are not as big in size.

Unlike vampires, however, they have no need for a secluded, dark place to sleep as they can sleep like most mortals do.  They have no aversion to sunlight either and thus can socialize among mortals quite well during daylight hours.  They can still eat mortal food and drink mortal drinks, which vampires at best can grow accustomed to the discomfort of wines and liquors as they age. Their bodies have no physical need for blood, although they can feed like vampires if desired, whereas a vampire can only feed on blood. This allows for a more complete submersion into the mortal world, keeping their vampiric natures well hidden.

While they have one of the two basic Dark Gifts that come to all vampires, heightened physicality, they are not completely immortal. Half-breeds will eventually succumb to a mortal death, however their aging process is so absurdly slowed that they are considered to be immortal by most. Other vampiric gifts are either also limited or just not available to them at all, not even with age.  And even further, there are a few Dark Gifts that are only offered to those with mortal blood.

Half-breeds retain a sire, in the form of the vampire that bit their mothers.  As such it is possible that a bond could form or rise should they encounter each other that would be similar to the bond between sire and progeny.  Since a half-breed is already half-vampire, a transformation attempt is impossible.  Any attempts at such would insta-kill the half-breed.

HALF-BREED GIFTS
Half-breeds have the following Dark Gifts in common with their vampire sires, but at a lowered maximum capacity.

Mind Gift (4) This is the ability to communicate and read thoughts, especially of humans or other mortals. In half-breeds this could be explained as a 6th sense.  While vampires have this gift innately through the magic in their blood, half-breeds must first learn to awaken the gift before training it.

Spell Gift (0). This is also sometimes referred to as “Glamour”. Like vampires, all half-breeds are able to glamour human or other mortal beings which allows them to cloud the mind, bending the mortal to his or her will. While a vampire can replace certain memories, a half-breed can only erase them.

Heightened Physicality Gift (4). All half-breeds have enhanced senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, feel) and strength, and are able do things many times faster than mere mortals can, with little effort. They can move faster than humans, see more in the darkest of nighttime, hear a conversation that is happening many feet away, and raise the volume of their voice past a shout.  A half-breed can only train this gift to a level 4, where a full vampire has 8 levels.

Regeneration Gift (4). Vampires are immune to most attacks other than their known weakness and even then are apparently able to heal quickly, especially if they feed or are placed underground. All vampires can potentially heal from any non-fatal wound, but time and blood are needed. For half-bred vampires, this process is slower however much faster than mortals. Unlike full vampires, they do not gain strength from their injuries.

Daywalker Gift (0). Half-breeds can not only tolerate the sun, but are not in the slightest bit affected by it. All half-breeds are able to walk among the daylight hours from the time of their creation and birth.

Savagery Gift (8). Half-breeds have the ability to call upon the blood spirit to enhance their combat skills for a brief period of time, usually not lasting more than 15 seconds.  This ability is known as “berserk” in some circles.  It can be used to thwart an enemy that may have the upper hand, or to break him/herself free from entrapment spells.

Runic Gift (3). Half-breeds are born with an innate understanding of runic powers.  As such they are able to carve runic marks into their skin that invoke new powers or enhance powers they already have. These marks cannot be “read” by those without training, thus only another vampire (full or half) would know what they are. To mortals, they may seem like tattoos.  Only the most well trained and elder of the half-breeds would be able to acquire this gift.  Full vampires may be able to teach the gift, but they themselves do not posses it.

Warding Gift (3). By the chanting of the warding gift, a half-breed may turn to stone to ward off an incoming attack.  Only the most well trained and elder of the half-breeds would be able to acquire this gift.  Full vampires may be able to teach the gift, but they themselves do not posses it.

Mixology Gift (3). Half-breeds with an affinity for alchemical science are able to produce significantly enhanced potions and even some new potions with the use of their half-vampiric blood. Only the most well trained and elder of the half-breeds would be able to acquire this gift.  Full vampires may be able to teach the gift, but they themselves do not posses it.

HALF-BREED AGE
Half-breeds, while not immortal, age in such a slowed capacity, that overall they are considered and accepted to be immortal.  It usually takes anywhere from 50 to well over 140 years for a newborn baby to grow into an adolescent adult of 18.  Every year a half-breed ages is the equivalent of approximately anywhere from three to eight human years, which depends on the amount of vampiric blood transferred to the fetus in the transformation before abrupt birth. Half-breeds often do not live into the “thousand era” but it can be done; the oldest living half-breed known to our history was over 1,200 years of age. Half-breeds are also prone to aging illnesses as with any elderly human,  thus half-breeds will eventually suffer a mortal death. Often in appearance, at the time of their deaths, they look to be quite elderly.

As with vampires, with age comes knowledge.  Some gifts are granted at rebirth, while others have prerequisites. Some may even be forbidden to be used. Every 100 years grants the vampire 1 point to spend on enhancing their gifts or acquiring new ones. Each gift has a limit, max amount of points.

Basic Gifts — the two basic level gifts that all half-breeds are born with are Heightened Physicality and Daywalker. denoted in BLUE above. If a half-breed chooses to spend additional points into the Physicality gift, their powers in that gift are increased.  The Daywalker gift  maintains at a singular level; you either have it or you don’t and all half-breeds do.

Prerequisites — in order to develop either the Runic, Warding, or Mixology Gifts denoted in RED in the above section, a half-breed must at least be at least 100 years of age. You can only spend a max total of 3 points into any of these gifts.

Forbidden Gifts — the Body Snatching Gift is a vampire only ability, thus no half-breed could ever learn it.

HALF-BREED PROCREATION
Unlike vampires, half-breeds can procreate through normal mortal mating.  There is of course, a catch.  Half-breeds loose a huge portion of their living sperm/eggs as an effect of their birth state. Most half-breeds would have severe difficulties in conception, so much so that most consider themselves sterile. Half-breeds that do conceive find that their average gestation period is roughly 24 weeks (6 months), rather than the full 40 weeks (9 months) it normally is for humans. Most mothers would consider this pregnancy a premature delivery, however they find the baby is fully developed.  It is however an extremely difficult pregnancy for the mother as the child drains the her almost completely to support its rapid development. Blood ingestion or transfusion may be deemed necessary to dampen the effects, but bed rest is required.  Mortality rates of pregnant mothers of quarter-breeds is very high, around 70% die during the process.

A child born to a half-breed and a human would be more human than anything else.  They would adopt some of the vampiric elements, such as heightened speed, strength, and dexterity but none of their gifts.  They would be above average humans, most become exceptionally astute in combat; going into military units or hired as mercenaries or as security guards.

Quarter-breeds,  the children of half-breeds, do not posses any other significant abilities and while aging is hindered it is not absurdly slowed.  They will usually live their lives to roughly 110-120 or so mortal years.  Most grow up independently of their origin, choosing to live as mortals instead of vampires. Quarter-breeds procreate normally, like humans, and their children become fully human.

HALF-BREED LIFESTYLE
Because of their nature, half-breeds have options: they can live among their mortal family, often taking a mortal mate and attempting to live as normal life as possible — or — they can choose to live their lives as vampires learning new gifts and growing their powers.  Most covens would not accept half-breeds into their ranks, however the Children of Darkness places equal value on all Kindred, be it full or half.

Life as a vampire…
Since it is against the law to knowingly create a half-breed, that vampire would loose all their belongings passing it onto the half-bred child upon sufficient age.  The mortal parent would be in charge of the upbringing for that child during its infancy and young adulthood. The mortal parent often dies of old age before the half-breed reaches maturity, thus they are then returned to their vampire parents.  The vampire that dared to turn the pregnant mother is then bound to that child as their sire, thus teachings and way of life will be passed on.  In the rare instance that both mortal parents are turned, the child will be presented to Akasha and Enkil in the Culling of that year.  If the divine parents choose for it to live, it will be the sole responsibility of the entire coven to bring that child up.

As a vampire, half-breeds are integrated into society better than full vampires would be. They often serve as our eyes and ears during daylight hours,  increasing the powers and learning new gifts.  They drink blood almost as often as a full vampire would, yet can still enjoy mortal food should the need arise. Though most prefer to live on a diet of fresh blood. The blood increases their vampiric properties, allowing for more teachings and the acquisition of new gifts.

Life as a mortal…
Most half-breeds start their lives by living among their mortal families. The father will often take the child and raise it until his passing. The severely hindered aging process is either explained as some sort of syndromatic effect or deformity. Rarely does the father tell his extended family what happened to the mother of the child, other than dying in child birth, nor does he tell the child what he or she truly is.  Most mortal fathers do not allow the mother to be part of the child’s life, even if she requests it, and sires often do not wish to have such sort of attachments either. It is often by necessity, because the father has aged so and is close to death, that the child becomes aware that it’s mother is a vampire and how they came to be as a result of her turning.

Half-way through their adolescence, they are either forced to live with extended families — should they take defective children — or are shoved around until they eventually either grow up enough to earn their own living or are returned to their mother’s care, if their sire allows it.

HALF-BREED RULES
Rules for half-breeds only apply to those that are living within our vampiric coven.  Those rules are the same for all vampires and are reflected under VAMPIRIC RULES.

HALF-BREED INJURIES
While half-breeds so have increased regenerative powers, these are often not as strong as that of  a full vampire.  Recovering from injuries would take a significantly longer time than it would a vampire.  However, it is considerably faster than humans and large amounts of a sire’s blood to increase it as well.

HALF-BREED DEATH
Half-breeds die easier than vampire, but are harder to kill than humans. Because they still retain their mortality, they can be killed just like any human would be killed.  Where as to kill a vampire, you must decapitate their heads, burn their bodies, and scatter the ashes, half-breeds require no concrete severance in their death.

If a vampire tries to turn a half-breed, because of the fact they are already half-vampire, the half-breed would suffer a quick death. They are immune to the Dark Gift and cannot be BONDED to any vampire.

All of this must be worked into the storyline for killing off your half-breed character. NO PLAYER HAS THE RIGHT TO KILL OFF YOUR CHARACTER WITHOUT PRIOR CONSENT AND A BEFITTING STORYLINE.

LORE OWNERSHIP

This lore was created by Sue Patterson (Bianca and Maharet & Mekare), loremaster. Any updates and changes to it are reviewed by the lorekeepers, Maria Espino (Pandora and Marius) and Adam Carter (Armand).