I know that the vampire system in Oblivion belongs to teh Cyrodilic vampire clan, and it was common knowledge back then that the most powerful tribe in Skyrim was that of the Volkihar, but like the province of Valenwood, there were indeed other tribes of vampires. So in Skyrim is it an error to call oneself a Volkihar?

Additionally, there seems to be a good chance that the vampires in Dawnguard are those belonging to the Volkihar tribe, so would that at least be considered a retconn since they seem to live in a castle? Unless of course, Harkon just prefers a castle but his subordinates live in the ice? Is there any confirmation that there are vampires in the ice?

I am a huge vampire fan and Oblivion just sent me sky high on vampires, plus Immortal Blood was my favoritest book evar. Thanks for the replies in advance!

P.S. When I read about the Volkihar I became terrified because I hate it when things grab my legs. When I go swimming and something seems to grab my leg I panic, think it's a sea monster and start splashing like a mad man. When Movarth got grabbed I totally thought he was going to get bitten and drown as a result! I hate the prospect of drowning, especially in cold water!

Movarth's appearance in game certainly tells us that the Cyrodiilic vampire have a presence in Skyrim, and that these Vampire Lords are the true Volkihar.

We only have one single reference to Volkihar, and no true knowledge on the credebility of the source.

Are Volkihar vampires mentioned anywhere but Immortal Blood? Because a narrative book that may only take the name of Movarth as fact doesn't seem like a credible source to me.

You do see some Volkihar in Skyrim as you roam around and they are extremely powerful.

I don't like this "Cyrodiilic vampires are in Skyrim" theory.

For starters, the disease has a different name (there's your retcon). The only reason vamps work the way they do, IMHO, is because gameplay trumps a single line in one book, and vampirism in Oblivion was kind of fun.

Phasing would be fun, but there's a reason they got rid of Passwall as a spell effect. It's not really viable when you consider how Beth's maps work.

First of off, blending in is a unique power to Cyrodiilic vampires. And the gameplay is similar to that of Oblivion. Secondly, the disease itself could be many names that changed over the years. Porphyric Hemophilia could of been an ancient name for the vampiric disease. Thirdly, Movarth Piquine was bitten by a Cyrodiilic vampire. He is in Skyrim.

The main reason I've never played a vampire in Oblivion or Skyrim is because they aren't fun. They're backwards, and discourage acting like a vampire because you're constantly gaining and losing your vampiric abilities. You can't even keep yourself as a level 3 vampire because one feeding would put you right back to level 1, where you have to wait two days to get back to level 3, which itself only lasts a day (then you have to feed which puts you back at level 1, repeat ad-nauseum). Plus there's next to no repercussions for feeding on people. It doesn't harm them or risk infection, and if you get caught, it's merely counted as an assault and doesn't expose you as being a vampire.

No need for a passwall-like effect. They're described as being able to reach through ice without breaking it, so it would be more than possible to make it so you could activate those floating sheets of ice to teleport above or below it. They could've even made it so activating walls of ice would temporarily turn you invisible and force enemies to lose track of you (as if you were hiding just inside the ice).

Considering the book was completely correct on all the other vampire clans, there's no reason to doubt his credibility on the Volkihar.

And if it wasn't in they'd have to spend time and money making a way to play the game without everybody killing you on site. I dunno if you remember how vampirism was in Morrowind, but not being able to do anything other than Vampire quests, wasn't exactly fun. Yeah, it was cool that the vamp quests were there, but being shunned everywhere else? Not so much.


So because Movarth is in the game, that means every other vampire has to be the same as him? Making multiple strains of vampirism, while cool, would be a massive waste of time and money for Bethesda, when it's only one NPC.

Show me a book, piece of dialogue or a dev quote that says that the Cyrodiilic vamps and Skyrim vamps are the same, and I'll be inclined to believe you.

I mean, for crying out loud, what are you gonna do when TES VI: Valenwood comes around, and the Yekef can't swallow NPCs whole?

And here's something to consider: Skyrim vamps can tolerate sunlight. Cyrodiil vamps die in the sun. Skyrim vamps look the same as they did while alive. Cyrodiil vamps age about 100 years. The diseases have different names. Skyrim vamps are resistant to cold. Cyrodiil vamps are resistant to unenchanted weapons.

They're not the same.

Looks are irrelevant. Werewolves are black. In other games they were brown and grey. Mudcrabs look different, yet they are the same. Here is something to consider: Vampires can change. With a 200 year gap, there could of been a great change in their biology. Nords being bitten can develop a great resistance to frost. Movarth has the same powers as the others. Sorry man, but your Volkihar was butchered.

I agree that looks are irrelevent, but what about allllllllllll those other differences?

Skyrim vamps and Cyrodiil vamps are not the same. Period.

Do you read lore? No. Back up your claim. Period.

I suspect it was mainly a mechanic. Movarth's presence, however, does seem to suggest that there are vampires of the Cyrodiilic strain in Skyrim. He's had over 200 years to establish them in the province.

Which would normally not explain the complete destruction of other clans. Unless they are suddenly incredibly powerful, but who knows what will happen in the DLC. Maybe the Volkies (I hate typing their complete name) have been pushed to the brink of destruction and are now hiding somewhere while the Cyrodiil clan has taken over most of the mainland. With a vampire DLC coming up it seems like a lot of speculation with only 10% of the available data known to us right now.

What lore? There's literally nothing anywhere that says they're Cyrodiilic vampires.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Immortal_Blood

The only thing Skyrim vamps have in common with Cyrodiil's vamps, is that they can both pass undetected among people. Their faces are different. Their eyes are different. Their abilities are different. They're not the same.

Movarth wasn't a vampire in Immortal Blood, not yet. But the author, presumably the one that turned Movarth into a vampire, was of of the Cyrodiilic strain.

The visual differences and gameplay differences can probably be chalked up to the same reasons that elves look different, racial abilities are different, and some of the gameplay is different.

If you're gonna say that, then I can use the gameplay and visual differences to say the opposite.
Just because Movarth is a Cyrodiilic vamp doesn't mean squat. Why would they waste time making a second strain of vampirism for a grand total of one quest?

The Volikhar were described as one of the vampire clans of Skyrim, implying there are several. They were described as the most powerful but living in remote frozen over lakes. My take on this, the Volikhar are the physically most powerful of the vampires in Skyrim but they aren't the most widespread variant. The volikhar present in Skyrim the game are possibly cyrodiilic vampire elders that have decided to capitalize on the name to make themselves seem more fearsome.

The game is not the world.

It is a mistake to assume that gameplay mechanics mean anything.

In Morrowind vampires could not drink blood.
Morrowind, Oblivion as well as Skyrim have far too little farmland to feed the population.
Cities are a lot smaller than they are 'in real life'.

These things are so because it is a game and merely a representation of the actual world.

Fair enough. I agree that the case of Morvath is somewhat confusing and opens up for this discussion, but still. The vampirism in Skyrim and Oblivion have different names, very different effects and in my opinion different appearances (but that could be wrong or just difference in graphics). So why would Beth change all these effects AND the name? Don't say they changed the name just for gameplay purposes... And just to add that, we know there are different types of vampirism as well.

And as for Morvath, wasn't he a vampire before the things that happened in Immortal blood? These sentences in the book at least hints of it:
"I came to learn that Movarth Piquine could see in the dark almost as well as the light - an excellent talent, considering his interests were exclusively nocturnal."
"One of my acolytes brought him to me, and from the look of him, I at first thought he was in need of healing. He was pale to the point of opalescence with a face that looked like it had once been very handsome before some unspeakable suffering. The dark circles under his eyes bespoke exhaustion, but the eyes themselves were alert, intense, almost insane."
And of course:

"Vampirism," he said, and then paused at my quizzical look. "I was told that you were someone I should seek out for help understanding it."
"Who told you that?" I asked with a smile.
"Tissina Gray."
I immediately remembered her. A brave, beautiful knight who had needed my assistance separating fact from fiction on the subject of the vampire. It had been two years, and I had never heard whether my advice had proved effective.
"You've spoken to her? How is her ladyship?" I asked.
"Dead," Movarth replied coldly, and then, responding to my shock, he added to perhaps soften the blow. "She said your advice was invaluable, at least for the one vampire. When last I talked to her, she was tracking another. It killed her."
Maybe he was the one who killed her?
And at the end of the book:
"He did not land the first blow or the last."
And btw, I do read lore.

And change the name of the diseas as well as the powers/weaknesses of it?

They changed gameplay purposes because they might be lazy .

As for the story, you must understand that those features were meant to initially confused the reader to believing Movarth was a vampire. From the start, people were convinced he was a creature of the night until the very end, where it was revealed that the man in the chapel was a vampire and not Movarth. The priest starved himself for 72 hours and revealed his true nature to Movarth, who was stunned by the deception. When he "did not land the first blow or the last" it meant that the vampire defeated him. We thought he died, but his appearance in Skyrim meant he is dead, but just as a vampire