Vampires: why does your character drink blood? Options

[Lady Saga]

I am having trouble with this one, and need some ideas. Why does your character drink blood? Why do they feed?

In Oblivion, becoming a Stage 4 vampire caused the majority of NPCs to be repulsed by our characters. They technically did not have to feed, but at least once the feeding was done, the NPCs stopped recognizing that our chars were vampires. This essentially gave our characters a reason to feed, at least.

But in Skyrim, this is no longer so (assuming Dawngurd is installed). The NPCs treat our characters with mild suspicion at best, but going from Stage 1 to Stage 4 does not actually cause any wanton sorts of behavior from the world.

So why does your character need to feed? What RP ideas have you all come up with?

[Acadian]

Vampiric afterlife? Not sure, except that Buffy's generally happy to help them get to wherever that is.

Seriously, I'd like to imagine it can vary. In Oblivion, five of Azura's followers killed the ancient vampire Dratik and his kin holed up in Gutted Mine. In the process though, all five were infected. Azura sealed them up in the mine until her Slayer came along to give them the freedom of death. Buffy would like to think that somehow their spirits reside eternally with Azura, just as the five candles Azura placed above her shrine in their honor burn eternally.

[Destri Melarg]

Vampiric afterlife? Not sure, except that Buffy's generally happy to help them get to wherever that is.

Seriously, I'd like to imagine it can vary. In Oblivion, five of Azura's followers killed the ancient vampire Dratik and his kin holed up in Gutted Mine. In the process though, all five were infected. Azura sealed them up in the mine until her Slayer came along to give them the freedom of death. Buffy would like to think that somehow their spirits reside eternally with Azura, just as the five candles Azura placed above her shrine in their honor burn eternally.

Interesting thought. Azura had the power to transform an entire race of elves and all of their progeny through the ages. It is not unreasonable to think that he/she/it could reclaim five souls from the fires of Coldharbour.

My opinion (and I stress that it is my opinion) on the subject comes down on the opposite end of the spectrum. I feel that a vampire gives up his/her ‘mortality’ through the act of transformation... voluntarily or otherwise. Once transformed the vampire is already undead, quite literally a reanimated corpse. ‘Afterlife‘ for such an individual begins the moment he/she awakens to his/her new form and does not end even when the vampire is claimed by Oblivion.

I admit to the glaring flaw in that argument which is the fact that even stage four vampirism can be cured. But let’s face it, Bethesda has never really been rock solid in the logic department. The lore surrounding the Nightingales, for example, makes no sense whatsoever. Why must I be bound to protect a sepulcher that is absent a corpse? The idea that I must protect the entrance to the Evergloam falls apart when one realizes just how many mortals have made the journey to steal Nocturnal’s sacred trinkets through the ages. Seriously, the place must have a revolving door by now!

[ghastley]

But let’s face it, Bethesda has never really been rock solid in the logic department. The lore surrounding the Nightingales, for example, makes no sense whatsoever. Why must I be bound to protect a sepulcher that is absent a corpse? The idea that I must protect the entrance to the Evergloam falls apart when one realizes just how many mortals have made the journey to steal Nocturnal’s sacred trinkets through the ages. Seriously, the place must have a revolving door by now!

My take is that Nocturnal is the patron of Thieves, so she wants her stuff stolen. It has to be by the right kind of thieves, though, so she needs an appropriate level of guard to test the ones who attempt it. The Cowl, the Skeleton Key, the Bow of Shadows and the Eye have all had their characteristics altered over the ages to suit the thief she's trying to lure in. Sometimes they've been given away as rewards, sometimes they've had to be stolen directly, and the case of the cowl and the curse in Oblivion, and the Skeleton Key in Skyrim, Nocturnal's plans haven't always worked, at least initially.