Do vampires physically need blood or is more of psychological need? Its just been eating away at me why vampires need blood

What's with all the vampire threads, recently?

It's both physical and phychological. But mostly physical. They can't produce it themselves, so they eventually run out and become mindless beasts. they don't die from blood loss because they are immortal.

its similar to how humans need food. we eventually go crazy and weak. instead they go crazy and strong. [censored] up if you think about it.

No they don't. They go weak too. See Hassildor's wife, she's in coma. The player thing is due to gameplay reasons, I bet they got scared of l33t kidz getting whiney about "being vampire is so haaaard, moooomy" so they made it more social, less of a burden (but more of a bore).

Daggerfall vampires were best IMHO, true power and damn scary to boot.

Bugger. All well took a shot now didnt i though. Cheers.

Interestingly, Lord Lovidicus has been sealed up in Crowhaven for years, and he still was up and running. Although he had been driven mad by thirst for blood.

Maybe it depends on individual fortitude? Some people are just stronger and can resist longer? I don't know, I'm just throwing a theory out there.

It's possible. Lovidicus embraced being a vampire, while Lady Hassilor couldn't cope with it.

I got the impression that Rona Hassildor went to sleep voluntarily, precisely to avoid becoming a ravening blood-maddened monster like Lovidicus.

Drinking the blood of mortals seems to tie the vampire more closely to the mortal world, to his or her own humanity (which I guess makes sense in mythic/symbolic terms), while going without returns the vampire to its 'natural' state of being a hideous undead monster.

At the risk of making everyone groan and roll their eyes, this is actually pretty similar to White Wolf's portrayal of vampires: if you feed regularly, you can quite easily pass for a mortal (by making your skin flush, remembering to blink occasionally, etc.), but once you're 'empty', you run the risk of going into a frenzy and having the Beast take over. When the thirst grows so strong that it can no longer be satisfied without wholesale slaughter (and consequent losing of one's humanity to the Beast permanently), a vampire can enter 'torpor' (i.e. go to sleep) for a few decades to let the cravings die down a bit.

However, White Wolf's vampires can't use their vampiric powers without blood, while Oblivion's vampires lose their powers when they drink blood. Not quite the same in my opinion.

The devs just made a bunch of incosistent changes to the vampires. Nothing new in TES really.

The same way the devs made a bunch of inconsistent changes to Orcs in Morrowind...

But your point still stands; nothing new in TES :foodndrink:

The typical Elderscrolls vampire doesn't drink blood. They can eat food just like anyone else, they just can't restore their blood. It's like damming a river connected to a lake, they procure water through other means then simply letting it run its natural course. The Lamae clan just has another way to restore themselves.

To the "less blood, stronger vampire" point: lore as I recall it holds that Calvicus Vile made/modified the Cyrodiil vampire breed, giving them their particular talent for blending in. If this "gift" is like most of Vile's "gifts," it would have a drawback, perhaps weakening the vampire. A vampire who wanted to utilize the true range of his or her abilities, then, would be forced to endure the agony of blood starvation and inability to blend in with mankind: nothing without a price.

Whatever the case, it's not universal, as has been established. Personally, I think that the count's wife's wasting was largely psychological.

Vampires are to complicated Not like lich's at least they stay more or less the same from province to province.

No comment on the typos but you're fairly correct, although for a vampire to walk the day is power enough.

Also lord Vovidicus had been a vampire longer before he was cut off from blood, maybe that had an effect.

/This!

EDITED: I just realized this is an 2008 thread. I am so sorry people.