I've been really interested in TES Vampires for a while now, and Dawnguard really upped my interest. But I see a lot of people talking about different types of vampires like 'Cyrodiil Vampires' and the 'Volkihar'. I know the Volkihar is Harkon's clan, but I saw some Volkihar vampires before in a dungeon BEFORE Dawnguard I'm pretty sure. Anyway, if someone could give me detailed descriptions of the different types of vamps, I'd be very grateful!

Because this will likely ignite a Harkon-vampires-are-not-Volkihar argument let me just be very basic in the answer.

The in-game book Immortal Blood describes different varieties of vampires in various Tamrielic provinces. Of particular interest in Oblivion (where the book first appeared) were the vampires of "the Order" who were able to appear like normal people and live among them - examples include Janus Hassildor, Count of Skingrad and Seridur who lived in the Elven Gardens district of the Imperial City. In IB there is described a type of vampire called "Volkihar" that dwells in Skyrim. There has been significant debate as to whether the vanilla (non-Dawnguard altered) vampires were Volkihar or "Order". There is also debate because Harkon's vampires, while living in Castle Volkihar, exhibit none of the traits described in IB. The debate deepens because the Volkihar vampires met at higher levels do not exhibit the traits described in IB eithr, causing many to think that the Volkihar were wiped out and all the vampires in Skyrim are Order vampires.

The Vampire Lord form, as seen in Harkon and the PC in Dawnguard, fits none of the established lore and there is considerable debate over whether or not the VL form is the heritage of the Volkihar or if it is unique to Harkon and/or Harkon's vampires (though none of the vamps in Castle V ever use VL form).

For a deeper description of the various types of vampires check UESP or the Imperial Library. There are a number of in-game books on the subject as well, which can be found via TIL (Imp. Library).

Werewolf&Vampire? You here?

Well, the different types of vampires refer to different vampire clans, certain ones that are native to different parts of Tamriel. http://www.imperial-library.info/content/immortal-blood describes some.

Just remember:

http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/vampires-dont-sparkle.jpg

All the vampires you see in the game skyrim are supposed to be "Volkihar" vampries apparently. Whether or not you believe them to be true volkihar or not.

The difference is those outside of Harkons Court are 3rd generation and beyond and are thus considered thin bloods, unable to use the VL form.

The Volkihar you find not in the Castle are thin-blooded, the rejects/mistakes.

1st generation of Volkihar are the Purebloods, they have the purest form of their clans abilities.

2nd Generation, the Mixed Bloods (Pureblood's blood mixed with your blood and the Pureblood's blood takes over fully but since it isn't your natural blood you're considered mixed and are slightly weaker than Purebloods..that doesn't mean you can't kill the Purebloods though) which includes you if are turned by a Pureblood..Harkon or Serana, Mixed Blooded Vampires like Purebloods are able to turn into the Vampire Lord form which is a Volkihar clan ability granted from Pureblood to child (I do believe anyway)

3rd generation those turned by 2nd Gen aren't able to turn into the Vampire Lord form anymore since the highly potent blood of a Pureblooded Vampire has thinned significantly and are considered accidents and are shunned from the Castle..an example is the Feral Vampire in the Volkihar undercroft who hid there since she was banished for being weak a.k.a Thin blooded.

That is how I see it anyway.

1st Gen are always the leaders, kings/queens.

2nd Gen are basically the Nobles, if you wish to think of it in a court system.

3rd Gen are the expendable peasants who tend to cause problems for the Nobles and leaders.

Seems as though the thin-bloods outnumber the Purebloods and Mixed bloods but they are both by far stronger than the thin-bloods so they don't dare attack.

Vanilla Skyrim vampires are all thin-blooded, Dawnguard added the mixed and pureblooded Volkihar...this has angered a lot of people because they don't wish to think of their character as being "naturally" weaker than another, granted personal strength as shown in Dawnguard allows even Mixed Blooded Vampires to become the alpha Vampire of their clan and allows them to put down the "naturally" stronger purebloods, granted you needed the weapon of a God to do it...but yeah.

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1412364-vampire-discussion/thread might help you.

There is no proof that the DLC vampires are Volkihar and I do not think that they are.
People should really quit calling them that, as there is absolutely no proof at all.
The one and only mention of 'Volkihar' in the DLC is the name of the castle.
It is never mentioned and never referenced.

I think they are a seperate strain of 'purebloods'.

I will refer to them as Volkihar as at high enough levels the random vampire attacks, the NPC's are called "Volkihar Vampires" "Volkihar Master" and so on.

All I need to refer to them as such.

Called it.

personally I think they are volkihar anyway. *shrug*

Called what? I'm confused

That this topic will ignite a Harkon-vampires-are-not-Volkihar argument. Personally I just think volkihar got retconned and lets not forget vampires skyrim are meant to have free frost cloak power which was removed for some strange reason.

I think that they are personally supposed to be the volkihar.

It'd be dumb to lie to us all throughout a game, give us all these ideas to point towards it, then never release a sequel that explained it.

It'd be like the creators of Tekken at the end of lets say Tekken 10 saying, by the way this entire series was a dream. We never explained that in the game and even thought of not telling you the truth, but the entire story was a dream that a 10 year old martial artists named Jin was having after obsessing over his karate.

It's just pointless to do lol

but to continue on topic, with the different types of vampires. I'm sure there's a link on google somewhere explaining it

Those NPC's are present in vanilla Skyrim. The only thing Dawnguard added was vampire armour and random vampire attacks.
The only vampires that we know are Volkihar are the ones the game explicitly names as such and Harkon's troop is not among those.
There is absolutely no indication that the vampire attacks on settlements have anything whatsoever to do with Harkon.

-There have been no 'lies'. There hasnt been any explanation either.

-What do dreams have to do with the price of fish? Tamriel has many types of vampirism and there is no indication purebloods and Volkihar are the same strain.

-There is no indication that they are supposed to be Volkihar and many things suggesting they are not.
I absolutely do not understand why people are so eager to claim they are considering the absence of any concrete proof.

The vampires of http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Tamriel are commonly grouped by their territory and "bloodline". A vampire's bloodline is determined by the vampire who infected it, which in turn affects its abilities. Some vampires have created clans according to bloodline and territory. These clans normally consist of vampires of the same bloodline, or who share the same feeding grounds. Some clans are powerful enough to have established strongholds and captured "cattle": prisoners who they feed off of without turning them into vampires.^{http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Vampire#cite_note-18}

Black Marsh

The Whet-Fang vampires of http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Black_Marsh are known to capture victims alive and keep them in a magicka-induced coma, allowing the vampires to extract blood at their own leisure.^{http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Vampire#cite_note-Manifesto-19}The Order vampires of Cyrodiil believe the Whet-Fang vampires to show "signs of enlightenments", regarding them as more intelligent than the other "barbaric" tribes. For this reason, the Order considers them a possible threat to their dominance in Cyrodiil.^{http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Vampire#cite_note-Manifesto-19}

Cyrodiil

Only one known tribe exists in http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Cyrodiil; they are experts of concealment, their true name lost in history. Much like the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Imperial, they ousted their competition. Indistinguishable from the living if well-fed, these Cyrodiilic Vampires are cultured and more civilized than vampires of other provinces, using their stealthy abilities to feed on the sleeping and unaware. Calling themselves the Order, they have made Cyrodiil their home as of the Third Era, and, in accordance with their strict tenets, these vampires follow the Daedric Princes Molag Bal and http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Clavicus_Vile. The clan is made up by upstanding members of society; politicians, nobles, aristocrats, counts. From their offices of power, they manipulate the hand of society to meet their agendas. They have a thirst for blood that matches their hunger for power.

High Rock

The Glenmoril Wyrd vampires live in the Breton cities of http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:High_Rock, though no information about their abilities or feeding habits is known. It is known, however, that they are one of tribes considered more intelligent by the Order vampires of Cyrodiil; possibly implying that, like the Order, they live among the normal population as stealthy manipulators.

Iliac Bay

The http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Iliac_Bay region hosts nine bloodlines of vampires, each with their own special abilities: the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Anthotis, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Garlythi, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Haarvenu, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Khulari, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Lyrezi, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Montalion, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Selenu, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Thrafey, and http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Vraseth. The clans inhabit their own regions, and a strong sense of rivalry is present.

Skyrim

The Volkihar vampires of eastern http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Skyrim live under haunted, frozen lakes and only leave their dens to feed. They have the power to freeze their victims with icy breath, and can reach through the ice of their frozen lake dens without breaking the ice. They are the earliest known vampire coven in Tamriel. The Volkihar vampires are relatively similar in appearance to those of Cyrodiil and they share some similar powers such as night vision, the ability to turn invisible and the ability to seduce others. Certain Volkihar vampires however appear more monstrous than their Cyrodiilic counterparts- some of them have large brow ridges, slits running through their lips, and bat-like noses. They can reanimate dead bodies and do not burn when in sunlight (although they are weakened by it). Some of the more ancient Volkihar vampires such as those of the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Volkihar_Vampire_Clan at http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Volkihar_Keep can even transform themselves into a more monstrous form: the large, winged http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Bestiary_V#Vampire_Lord form which grants them further powers such as the ability to summon http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Gargoyle.

Valenwood

In northern http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Valenwood, there are the Bonsamu vampires which are indistinguishable from normal http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Bosmer unless seen by candlelight, the Keelrlith who can disintegrate into mist, the Yekef who swallow men whole, and the Telboth who prey on children, take their place in the family, and eventually murder all of the family members.

Vvardenfell

The vampires of http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Vvardenfell are distinguished by three bloodlines, which differ in accordance to their "approach to prey". The http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Clan_Quarra are aggressive and fierce when it comes to hunting, while the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Clan_Berne clan prefer a stealthier approach. The http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Clan_Aundae bloodline consist of vampiric mages, who use the dark powers associated with vampirism to entrap prey. These vampires not only have their own strongholds, but are also dispersed amongst the Daedric shrines and abandoned Dunmer and http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dwemer strongholds.^{http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Vampire#cite_note-Blasphemous_Revenants-16} Ironically, these clans show great hostility to new-born vampires, considering them abominations as their living counterparts do.

Yes!

I agree, it was probably just a retcon. However, I justify the castle vampires, which I do in fact believe to be Volkihar, by thinking of them as a "source". The Volkihar in IB were (in my mind) simply a degenerated clan with their origins stemming from the "true" Volkihar. Over time, the blood became more and more impure, changing the "Volkihar" into the almost Cyrodiilic vampires we now see. Although this is simply a gameplay mechanic, this could indicate that only extremely "impure" vampires take sun damage, whereas the ones closer to the source are simply weakened by it. Or maybe the ones that take sun damage are from Lamae Bal? These are just theories I tell myself, BTW. Not fact.

You'd think someone would have changed it too rather living under frozen lakes, the actual clan of the Volkihar live in a haunted Castle surrounded by an ice cold/frozen lake and only the abominations of the Volkihar bloodline are found in random caves and possibly under the ice.. =P

This is fanfic.
There is absolutely nothing in lore linking Volkihar to summoning gargoyles, there is absolutely nothing in lore about Volkihar transforming themselves into another form.

There is no reason to link the Volkihar to the Purebloods, they are most likely seperate strains as the behaviour and powers of the Purebloods differs wildly from that of the Volkihar.

Please dont post fanfic and claim its proof.

I thought it was apparent that they are the Volkihar but Bethesda didn't want to have to add in all new game mechanics so they didn't make it so they can phase through the ice and drag poor Horkers down into the depths and such, if anything I can almost guarantee what they did to the Volkihar in DG is going to become official lore in the next Elder Scrolls game, granted they'll change it so the Dragonborn never interacted with them or some such nonsense.

It comes down to...Bethesda was lazy and people have been wanting Vampires to have their own DLC much like the Werewolves had theirs in Bloodmoon.

Once more, the one and only reference to Volkihar in the entire DLC is the name of the castle.
Nothing has been made apparent at all.
There is absolutely nothing that indicates Harkon's clan is Volkihar and quite a lot of things that make it plausible that they are not.

All the things that make it plausible are, if you think about it just Bethesda copping out and not wanting to put in the extra effort.

So in the end at the core its...

1 explanation why they are the Volkihar.

and 1 actual reason why they may not be the Volkihar which many say is proven in the ruined Mara statue found in the Castle....yeah

Though Harkon seems ancient though so I suspect he worshipped Mara before becoming a Vampire and after that, he destroyed the shrine due to it being an insult to his new father.

People assume because of the Statue other people lived in the Castle but Harkon is quite ancient and he was royalty so I can see he had it built when he was human so no one else EVER lived in his castle besides his court and family.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion yes but its almost blatant that they are meant to be the Volkihar but Bethesda copped out on going the extra mile to solidify it.

Better two strains than broken lore.
They behave very different from Volkihar as described and their powers are very different from Volkihar as described.
Thirdly, it doesnt make any real sense for a Pureblood vampire to be a Volihar as nothing in lore names Volkihar especially powerful, old, or talks about any engagement with any Daedra.