I mostly stick to the Fanfiction and Role playing section of the forum but occasionally I come over here to ask questions.

I have been searching around for some in depth lore about the different vampire and lycan clans of The Elder Scrolls, but all I can really find is bits and pieces that doesn't really tell me anything that I didn't already know. So I have a few questions:

- Could anyone tell me the names of some in game books which I can read to educate myself?

- What are the origins of the vampires and were-creatures? (as far as I know, Hircine is responsible for starting the were creatures and I read somewhere that the blood matron, who I assumed to be the night mother, was the first vampire. But I don't know if thats accurate)

- Is it only Altmers who can join the Aundae clan? (on the UESP wiki is says that there are only altmer vampires with Dunmer and redgaurds for cattle, does that mean they wont accept anyone who isn't an atlmer?)

- Do vampires have to have one of the clans in their bloodline, and if not who are these other vampires and where did they come from?

- Do were-creatures have clans? (I was so convinced that they did, but I think thats because I am so used to the werewolf clans for blood moon)

- If an argonian become a vampire, are they called whet fangs? Or is the term whet fang slightly different to a normal vampire?

I do have other questions but as I have so many I can't remember the others right now, I'll add them when I think of them.
I am making a vampire and were-creature Role Play and I don't want my RP to be compleely saturdated with lore but I would like to base it off some accurate lore. And I would like to know as much about vampires and were-creatures as possible. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Alright, time to get cracking!

If you want to educate yourself in general, http://imperial-library.info/ is the best source for all things TES lore related. Never use the wiki for lore related things, it's a bad source (great for hints and gameplay though). As for some specifics, http://www.imperial-library.info/dfbooks/b036_lycanthropy.shtml is the best, and pretty much, only source about the hounds and hunters of Hiricine. I believe this is a good general source for the general information of DF and MW vampires http://www.imperial-library.info/fsg/xanarticle1.shtml. To note, that looks like a fan-made compilation of things related to vampires, but it does provide some reading material. http://www.imperial-library.info/mwbooks/legions_of_dead.shtml provides a small snippet about vampires, but it's more of MW's cultural outlook towards them, which is pretty genocidal. http://www.imperial-library.info/mwbooks/incident_necrom.shtml gives an idea of how the Quarra clan fights. http://www.imperial-library.info/obbooks/immortal_blood.shtml gives a good description of a good number of vampire types across Tamriel. And then there's http://www.imperial-library.info/obbooks/lairvilevampiremanifesto.shtml, which explains the Cyrodiilic vampires pretty well.


werecreatures were born from the daedric curse/disease created by Hiricine. As for vampires, it is commonly thought that Molag Bal was the one who 'created' the first vampire. The first vampire is also commonly known as the blood matron. The most widely known and thought to believed true tale of the first vampire comes from this http://www.imperial-library.info/obbooks/lairvileopusculuslamae.shtml. In Morrowind, however, they believed Molag Bal created the first vampire by defiling a corpse of a fallen enemy, as told by http://www.imperial-library.info/mwbooks/vampires.shtml. However, there is some speculation that Vaermina may have some hand in the creation of vampires, because she had its cure, as told by Molag Bal in Morrowind:


I think it happens to be a coincidence.

The clan = the bloodline. Note, that not all clans have to hate each other, no. In Daggerfall, there were lots of clans, and a bunch of them did have enemies and alliances with other vampire clans. However, the relationship between alliances are most likely tenuous at best. I have a feeling it's more of a "don't encroach on our feeding territory, and we won't encroach on yours" or a "An enemy of my enemy is a friend."

None that we know of. Werecreatures seems to work alone, and hunt alone. While in the state of being a werewolf, the person's mind is not their own. They are completely an animal, driven by an unquenchable bloodlust, as Hiricne intended. The only time a werewolf will remain aware is when the Ring of Hiricine is in possession of that werewolf or uninfected person (allows them to shapeshift at will, without the disease). In Daggerfall, a person could shift in and out whenever they feel like it, but during the full moon, an infected person is forced into being a werewolf. In Bloodmoon, I'm going to go out of my way and say that the reason why someone transformed ever night was because of the Bloodmoon. Also, the only reason why the werewolves got together in Bloodmoon was because their master Hiricine call for his hounds (the werewolves). As to why someone can continue to transform into a werewolf after BM, I'm going to say game mechanics.

They appear to be just a clan. Remember, clan = bloodline

One other piece of information; the cultist at the statue of Molag Bal at Bal Ur, the statue that you get the vampirism cure from, states that Molag Bal did not create Vampires.

I believe he said that he had to pry the secret of the cure from Vaermina, he never said that he didn't create the vampires. Also lore does point to Bal as the father of the abominations.

http://www.imperial-library.info/obbooks/lairvileopusculuslamae.shtml
http://www.imperial-library.info/obbooks/lairvilevampiremanifesto.shtml

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

He himself didn't say it, the cultist at the statue did. Not concrete evidence, but more solid that the old creation myths that state the contrary.

Although the stories of [censored] and defilement surround most vampire origin myths definitely point towards Molag Bal, they're very inconsistent. It seems as if everybody has their own first vampire myth. They're also not in accordance with what Vampires themselves are.

Vampires are very much creatures of nightmares. They (before Oblivion at least) can only come out at night and act on peoples subconscious fears, but when ever they try to sleep they suffer from nightmares themselves. They're living nightmares living a nightmare. Very much Vearnima.

Then there also is that hint at Clavicus Vile.

So they might not belong to a single Daedra, infact I wouldn't be surprised if Vearnima and Molag Bal liked to get into threesomes with random Daedra. She always struck me as that kind of kinky.

If you're into spoilers, http://www.imperial-library.info/tsomw/bm_1.shtml is also helpful and relevant.

As far as Vile goes, he only applies to Cyrodilic Vampires, and why if they are well fed, they become MORE Human/life like. Some sort of pact their progienator made. I'm looking for the source book now.

Edit



From Manifesto Cyrodil Vampyrum.




From Immortal Blood

Wow, thank you all! You've been really really helpful. I'm just a little confused though, which daedra is responsible for Vampires? Is it Molag Bal, but for cyrodilic vampires it's also Clavicus Vile?

Personally I find the vampire creation story to be really stupid, because in folklore it's always been questionable as to whether they were damned or not and they weren't really sided on good or evil but in the elder scolls they're just bad because of how they were created.I think they should have left it a bit more vague, having the blood matron as the first vampire is interesting and mysterious but then finding out it's because she was [censored] is just horrible.

That's Molag Bal for ya. The sick bastard.

Most likely a group of Cyrodiilic vampires wanted to remain like their former selves, so they made a deal with Clavicus Vile. In the deal, he gave them back their former appearances, with the price of having to dine on blood every day, and they lose a significant portion of their strength when they do look like their former selves.


You could easily say that about the myths; they conflict and confirm each other all the freaking time and at the same time! Also, Molag Bal is the king of [censored] and corruption. But I really see Vaernima to be the real creator, or at least a significant contributor more-so than Molag Bal. As proweler has pointed out, vampires are entirely creatures of nightmares, and they themselves experience nightmares all the time. They can't walk out into the sun either.

So, what's the story with Vaermina and Molag Bal? Did he steal her idea or something? How is she the true creator if it was Molag Bal who actually did it.
I'm just want to know the nitty gritty of it all because it might be important for my role play, and I'd rather know who my vampires should allythemselves with.

Read what proweler wrote. However, I have an inclination that vampires are more likely going to be drawn to Molag Bal as their creator, most likely do to what is currently in books. Vaermina always seems to be tossed to the side of things.

Vampires, like most creatures, have free will. They can worship whomever they want to, even if they didn't make them. While it seems to be true that Molag Bal created them, that doesn't mean that all Vampires owe their undying allegiance to him.

Additionally, I'm much more in favor of the idea that while Vampires were created by Bal, they've been tweaked and added to by many different Daedra lords over the years. Hence why clans are so different from each other. For instance, Bal may've done the whole 'feeding on the essence of humanity and by doing so make more monsters' bit, but Vaernima aligned them to the realm of nightmares and horrors, Meridia may've scorned them, giving them their sun-damage, and so on.

Nope... folkloric vampires are damned bloodsvcking abominations. You're thinking of modern vampire stories.

Sparkly vampire romance hooray!

It's not gothic unless it's got pink bubbles everywhere.

The actual ancient Vampire stories on Earth exist in almost every culture, and originally referred more to demons or spirits than corporeal beings. Even my Cherokee ancestors had tales of a being who fed on small children and animals, draining them of their blood and life force during their sleep.

It's possible that in the Elder Scrolls universe, Vampires originally started out as "bad spirits" (Daedra perhaps) and later learned to inhabit humanoid forms through the spread of a disease.

I also believe that Lycanthropes were originally servants of Hircine, and were likely lesser Daedra since his Champions from Bloodmoon are very old, encased in ice and never appear in human form. This leads me to believe that the modern, humanoid were-beasts are an imitation or progeny of the originals.

I'm sorry I didn't explain what I really meant. I'm going to just speak as though vampires are real because it makes explaining things easier.

In real life we don't know how vampires would have been created, and even though their existance is always portrayed as horrible it's mostly from a human point of a veiw, so the human recounting the story or rumour can only imagine what it's like for a human to be in that state and not what it would actually be like for the vampire, so they might make it seem far more terrible than it actually is.
But my point is lost, my point is that we don't know how vampires would have been created therefore we can't say if they really were damned or not. They're existance is vague and mysterious and everyone can just make up their own minds however in the elder scrolls they have given us a clear picture of how vampires came to exist meaning the mystery is taken away and we can't make up our own minds because there is only one creation story.


Is there a creation story at all for were-creatures? or do we just assume that Hircine created them at some point, some way, somehow, for the glory of the hunt?

Hairdo Galosh Jam: I like the idea of bad spirits It's ambiguous and although they are called 'bad' spirits it still makes them interesting

Mehrunes Dagon: I guess that makes sense that although the first vampire was created out of [censored] they have been changed by each daedra... that opens up a lot of ideas really

^
But we don't know that for sure. There are sources stating that Vampirsim might have originated from Akavir. I happen to prefer the Molag Bal vampire myth myself.

Where? If it's because of immortal.vampire.snakemen, you one era too late.

No. If the player isn't Altmer, it still accepted in clan. Moreover, the Berne Clan has only Imperial as member (with Nord and Khajiit cattles), and the Quarra Clan has almost all members Nord, but the leader (Volrina Quarra) is Imperial, with Argonian, Bosmer and Orc cattles, and the player still is accepted in all clans.



Strange that Hircine is is represented with the face of a deer, not from a wolf.



Some say that they was created by God, when Judas, betraying Jesus, was condemned to live forever on Earth, and thus Judas became the first vampire.

Some say that the legend originated in Hungary, when when there was an epidemic of rabies: the disease made people biting each other, keep blood in mouth, be sensitive to mirror reflections and garlic aroma.

What about pestillence and Peryite? He might have built the disease, as a means for transmiting the (?) from body to body. Also, vampires seem like mockeries of the high elves. Where altmer will kill to retain the purity of their blood line, a vampire actually consumes the blood/essence of others. The tsaesci keep the beneficial(?) memes from their victims' race, but you, for the sake of your fiction, could establish that ordinary vampires keep the defects of a victim, or, better yet, identity traits. Maybe faces begin to ripple across the patriarch's body, and his corporeal form shatters into the miasma of victims he's amassed. I'm just brainstorming.

It was just speculation I believe. Over at the thread on the Akaviri Snakemen (I think, I don't really remember), though it made alot of sense. And with Vampirisim, Speculation is what we have.

I don't believe on it, because wold be the same as say that the Japanese have created the Vampire legend in Earth.