Question about Vampires for Warhammer fans

[oneshotkyle2k]

Hey guys so I am wondering, how do Vampire settlements work? What if anything, populates them. Do they basically have humans enslaved there? Are there a bunch of vampires living standard lives there? I don't understand and for someone that does, could you please enlighten me? Thank you.

[SleepyNarwhalz]

They basically have a bunch of peasants that are worse off then brettonian ones.

[Perfect Femcell]

the humans just live there silvania is nicer that some empire provinces for a pesant

[Longtoke]

Its like a town having farms of cattle to support its population, but the farmers are the vamps and people are the cattle.

Vamps are the aristocracy controlling the town to ensure they have an adaquate food supply.

[Khan]

Vampire's in traditional Warhammer rule from the shadows, hiding their true nature from the general populace, ususally through intermediaries like enforcers paid enough to ignore their masters or that have recieved part of the immortality and power a vampire possess. The Templehof, Swartzhafen, Carstein, and Mousillion are examples of a manipulated or lied to population where they live in oppressed fear of their overlords. Eventually the theory in-game is that a city becomes so oppressed Vampire's rule openly in a grand aristocracy of the Undead, albeit a human-mimicking one.

It's important to note that the Vampires we see in-game are very different than the original creations of Nagash. The current ones are merely their decendents, and Carstein is in fact obsessed wtih claiming his 'rightful' succession to become Emperor, as he was once the Elector Count of Stirland. Thus his real goal is to create essentially an undead version of the existing Empire, with Vampire's and those powerful enough to compete, ruling over humans. But still mainting those human populations for more than just fodder. They are obsessed with being a 'legitimate' aristocracy, not a new kind of one based around the Undead.

Historically the Vampire's lived openly in select places after the Fall of Nagash, and some still live openly in Old Nehkara. The Strigoi Kingdoms being the prime example of post-Nagash era vampire kingdoms. They were ruled by Vampires, or those close to reaching full Vampire status, for centuries. The Strigoi kingdoms produced many of the original versions of Varghiests as well under the direction of W'soran, using one of Nagash's stolen grimoire's, as an aside.

In the current timeline, the land where the Tomb Kings army is based, Old Nehekara, would have some Vampire ruled 'duchies' of the undead. But these are cities literally of the undead, not with human populations that are not feed stock or necromancers raw materials. Thus totally different than the Vampire Counts as they rule solely as the Undead over other Undead.

But as a whole the Vampire's have lived hidden as Nobles, or beggars, as suited their plans long term, as they could plan in terms of centuries instead of decades like humans.

A pirme example of this being the Lahmian Sisterhood. The former Queen of Lahmia, Neferata, and one of the original vampire's, decided it was better to infiltrate the various kingdoms of the Old World rather than fight open wars. They have hid as courtesans, wives, mistresses, and so on, to enveigle and manipulate whole kingdoms to their will. The extent of their success at this method is debatable...

Hope that explains some of it.

Oh and lower ranking Vampire's would live 'more' openly in settlements like Drakenhof, as minor Nobles. But not as a significant percentage of the population.

[oneshotkyle2k]

So are the vampires able to disguise themselves with spells to appear human?

[DeathHead]

http://warhammerfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Sylvania

There's a section called ' inhabitants' if you're up for a quick read.

[Khan]

Vampire's traditionally can make themselves appear many ways depending on their magic. Their bloodline also changes their appearance. Lahmian's look much more human, the Strigoi, far more monstrous. So yes they can look like 'normal' humans, but are usually unnaturally beautiful or beguiling typically.

Their habits set them apart from normal humans, and their innate hunger to feed does as well. In the transformation to a Vampire, one's world view is shifted dramatically. One is never sated no matter the amount of blood or elixir, and one begins to plan and think differently.

But in the conext of Sylvania, multiple Vampire's lived as Count's and various lower level nobles without anyone really noticing for quite some time. Hence the original Vampire Wars and the loss of the Duchy of Stirland for the Carstein line. I'll admit, there were paranoid Witch Hunters and priests of various faiths who were concerned prior to that uprising, but short of magical detection, the vampires manged to hide very well for many years.

[Magnus]

Sounds like the EU

[Hex]

Even in Vampire contorlled territories, there's ever only very few of them. There's maybe one or 2 vampires per town, maybe half a dozen in bigger cities. The people are arguably better off than in pretty much any human kingdom simply because they don't have to go to war as the Vampires have no living soldiers apart from monsters and craetures they control.

They're not some altruistic guys, mind you, but they also don't keep humans in pens or some nonsense like that and a city run by a Vampire noble isn't some haunted city with undead and ghosts wandering the streets.

[Khan]

While there are indeed few full fledged vampires per territory, there are many that are thralls with some vampiric blood in their bodies, giving them abnormal vigor and youth. So the population is higher than you think. Minor Noble Houses take up alot of room, and the Midnight Arisitocracy is trying to mimic the human one, thus the multiple vampiric factions.

The populations Are the undead soldiers... It clearly states in the lore and even in the flavor text in-game that peasants are food for Vargulfs/Vargheists/etc., and fodder for Necromancers to raise. It's essentially a human farming operation.

And yes, they totally keep humans in pens in the fully vampirically corrupted towns. And undead and ghosts commonly populate Sylvanian woods, but only enter the hamlets at night as a generality due to sun exposure.