[Phantasm]

This isn't exactly something old, but it is a hole I realized I needed to fill, particularly when I started working on a character who has been active for a while...

VAMPIRES

Vampires are creatures formed by ancient sorcery who exist in a state between life and death, a state commonly called "undeath". Vampires live a parasitic existence, subsisting on the blood of the living. The exact origins of the vampire are lost to antiquity, although the most prominent vampire, Vlad Dracula, has claimed the ancient text called the Darkhold holds the key to both the creation and the permanent destruction of vampires (see Dracula). To become a vampire, a person has to be bitten by a vampire, made to drink some of the vampire's own blood, and killed. Three nights later, the victim of this turning rises as a new vampire. All new vampires are driven to feed immediately upon rising; only a select few of extraordinary will retain their senses upon rising to resist killing their initial prey.

Physically, vampires appear almost as they did in life. Their features tend to be a bit more gaunt and their skin slightly paler, with a predatory look about them, but the most notable changes are the growth of their canines into sharp fangs and the irises of the eyes turning red. They are roughly ten times stronger they were in life; for the average vampire, this means being able to bench press roughly 1,000 pounds (454 kg). Vampires have the ability to hypnotize their prey, transform into a thick mist, or take the form of a bat, wolf, or a half-man, half-bat figure. A select few are able to master their shapeshifting ability to adopt other forms. They are able to see clearly in pitch darkness. They also heal quickly from even the most serious injuries; a vampire can regrow a lost limb in a matter of minutes. They are able to exert mental control over anyone they bite and don't kill.

Despite these powers, they have many severe weaknesses. A vampire cannot enter a domicile unless invited by someone who lives there, after which the vampire is free to come and go as he pleases unless a magical ritual to reestablish the barrier is performed. Furthermore, he is able to be held at bay with religious symbols (crucifix, Star of David, etc), provided the one wielding the symbol is a believer in the significance of the symbol, and pressing a holy symbol against them causes them to burn in that spot. Holy water is like acid to them. Sunlight burns them, though other light sources don't harm them. Most are forced to sleep during the day, though some vampires are able to move about during the day provided they avoid direct sunlight. They are almost immune to most damage, but weapons made of silver (silver-coating works, but alloys must possess at least 60% or more of silver to be effective) or wood harm them the most.

Vampires rely on blood taken from living beings to maintain their existence. The majority of them prefer human blood taken straight from the living, but it is possible for a vampire to feed off animal blood and blood taken from medical facilities. It is possible for a vampire to live on a single pint of blood every week without suffering adverse effects, though most prefer to drink more often.

The most surefire means to kill a vampire is to pierce the heart with a wooden stake or silver blade, then remove the head and burn both the body and head in two different locations. If a vampire is staked but the head is not removed, the removal of the stake will return the vampire to a semblance of life. Forcing a vampire outside during the day to be burned by the sun will also kill him. A third method, probably the most risky, is the recitation of a series of spells found in the Darkhold known as the Montesi Formula, named after the medieval monk who first recognized its significance.

Game-Mechanic Details:
While the template includes "Injury Tolerance: No Blood", this merely means that the vampire is immune to effects that rely on the flow of blood through the body; the vampire can still bleed (in fact, the blood of a vampire is contagious), though blood loss does not adversely affect the vampire.

757 points
Attribute Modifiers: ST +15 [150].
Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: Per +2 [10].
Advantages: Alternate Form (Bat; Mist; Were-Bat) (Reduced Time 4, +80%; Magical, -10%) [77]; Dark Vision (Color Vision, +20%; Magical, -10%) [28]; Discriminatory Hearing [15]; Discriminatory Smell [15]; Discriminatory Taste [10]; Doesn't Breathe [20]; Doesn't Eat or Drink [10]; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards [30]; Injury Tolerance (No Blood; Unliving) [25]; Mind Control (Alternative Limitations (Accessibility: Only On Bite Victims, -10%; Sense-Based (Vision and Hearing), -15%), -17%; Conditioning, +50%; Independent, +70%; Slow-and-Sure (Speed: 1 minute), +125%; Magical, -10%) [159]; Regeneration (Very Fast: 1 HP/sec) (Magical, -10%) [90]; Regrowth (Magical, -10%) [36]; Supernatural Durability [150]; Telecommunications (Telesend) (Accessibility: Only On Bite Victims, -10%; Magical, -10%) [24]; Temperature Tolerance 5 [5]; Unaging [15]; Unkillable 2 (Achilles Heel: Beheading, -50%; Hindrance: Silver or Wooden Stake in the Heart, -5%; Magical, -10%) [35]; Vampiric Bite (1 HP/sec) [30].
Perks: Racial Gifts (Increased Vampiric Traits) [1].
Disadvantages: Dependency (Blood; Weekly, Illegal) [-20]; Dread (Holy Symbols) (Accessibility: Wielder Must Believe, -10%) [-9]; Dread (Unable To Enter Homes) (Accessibility: Except When Invited, -10%) [-9]; Social Stigma (Dead) [-20]; Supernatural Feature (No Body Heat; No Reflection; Pallor (Can Gain Flush of Life Temporarily) [-20]; Uncontrollable Appetite (Blood) (12) [-15]; Vulnerability to Silver (×3) [-15]; Weakness to Holy Symbols or Holy Water) (1d per 5 minutes) [-10]; Weakness to Sunlight (1d per minute) [-60].
Features: Affected By True Faith, Pentagram, etc [0]; Sterile [0].



A note: I'm going to ignore the "pureblood vampires" of the Blade movies/TV series, which were then put into Blade's Marvel MAX imprint title. The general consensus is that that particular title is set in its own continuity, as it flies in the face of everything about vampires and Blade published prior to it. The Reboot vampires are supernatural, not a biological STD.

Edit: Updated with a few traits and price adjustments, spurred on by the fact I couldn't get my numbers to add up right; I had to redo them in GCA to be sure.