Hello everyone! Colossal_Elk here, writing on behalf of the Elder Kings development team. I’m pleased to welcome you to the first Elder Kings 0.1.7 Developer Diary! Since our last dev diary, we’ve been working on expanding and rebuilding the systems for various cultures, religions, character traits and more! Today, I will be discussing the new systems for two types of supernatural beings that enjoy incredible powers, but face hatred and revulsion from most of the societies of Nirn: vampires and lycanthropes.
Vampires are undead beings who are completely immune to disease and to the effects of aging. Their immortality comes at a price: every vampire has an appetite for blood, and must find a source of mortal blood to satisfy that appetite. Periodically, a vampire will feel the urge to feed and will progress to a more advanced stage of vampirism, starting at Stage 1 and ending at Stage 4. Stage 1 Vampires boast no outstanding abilities to distinguish them from their mortal brethren, but subsequent stages of vampirism confer significant bonuses; Stage 4 vampires get a boost to their Martial, Intrigue and Learning scores at the cost of a little Diplomacy. Pure-Blooded Vampires (who I’ll be talking about at greater length in a future Dev Diary) get a boost to all four of these attributes. Successful feeding will return the vampire to Stage 1 vampirism.
If a vampire feels compelled to feed at Stage 4 but chooses not to do so, they risk being afflicted with a physical or mental ailment that is sometimes horribly debilitating. Pure-Blooded vampires will rarely feel an urge to feed, and for them, refusing to do so will never be lethal (stressful, perhaps, but never incapacitating).
Harkon Volkihar is, unbeknownst to most of Tamriel’s population, a Pure-Blooded Vampire.
Feeding is often dangerous for the vampire, and is of course always dangerous for prey. Vampires can pick off lone targets along the road, or can try their hand at feeding off of a local character of note (an excellent way to spread vampirism throughout a court). Characters do not take kindly to feeding attempts and will fight back. Those who are much weaker in combat than the hunting vampire are likely to get themselves killed fighting back, whereas characters of similar combat ability may deny the vampire a blood meal, but might still end up wounded and possibly infected. Do note, however, that if a vampire fails to dispatch their target, that target will reveal the vampire’s identity, in turn making them an almost unanimously-despised Known Vampire!
Some vampires do not enjoy hunting for prey; this can stem from pragmatic concerns such as their personal safety, moral and ethical objections, or a mix of each. Such vampires may out themselves as Known Benevolent Vampires, who instead depend on the blood of willing cattle to satisfy their appetites. A key advantage of being a Benevolent Vampire is that feeding is a safe and simple process, since the blood meals are provided by volunteers. Another reason to become a Benevolent Vampire is to minimize the risk of scandal associated with one’s condition. However, even Benevolent Vampires may be ostracized by their mortal peers for their peculiar and sometimes frightening traits and habits. Alternatively, a vampire may choose to become an ordinary Known Vampire and continue their traditional activities.
Count Verandis Ravenwatch, one of the more famous rulers in High Rock during the mid-Second Era, is well-known among his peers as an unapologetic yet honorable vampire.
Lycanthropes have very little in common with vampires other than a pariah status. Many lycanthropes are seemingly ordinary people and can lead relatively simple lives, and unlike vampires, are not undead and do not need to feed on other people for their own well-being. Their condition does not offer immortality, but it does provide greatly improved health and immunity to disease. Lycanthropy also does not progress in various stages. Either a person is a lycanthrope, or they are not.
Sometimes, a lycanthrope will face a spontaneous transformation that sends them into their beast form. Most lycanthropes will immediately feel the urge to hunt, which can lead the beast into a fight with a powerful foe, or may be as simple as raiding a chicken coop for an easy meal. Unlike vampires, lycanthropes in beast form are impossible for other people to identify with the human-form counterpart. Unsuccessful hunts will NOT reveal the individual as a Known Lycanthrope. Nonetheless, failed hunts are often fatal since the enraged beast will generally fight to the death, and many lycanthropes cannot stop themselves from embarking on these dangerous forays in the first place.
Fortunately for Count Glabrius, most chickens are not dangerous enemies.
However, a lycanthrope can discipline his or herself against these wild hunts, and possibly even avert spontaneous transformations altogether. This is an arduous process and can take many years to complete, but can save countless lives (including the werewolf’s own) from being destroyed. The lycanthrope will journey out into the wilderness, and attempt to master their beast form.
A sufficiently-disciplined lycanthrope ultimately poses no threat to others (unless they specifically choose to do so, of course!) and can reveal their condition. If they decide to forgo their hunts, they will henceforth be recognized as a Known Benevolent Lycanthrope, which can damage their reputation, albeit nowhere near as much as being an ordinary Known Lycanthrope would. Similarly to vampires, they can still choose to reveal themselves as standard Known Lycanthropes, which will allow them to hunt as they normally would, but will likely make them deeply unpopular.
The local liege of a character wounded (and possibly infected) by a vampire or lycanthrope will be informed of the attack, giving them the chance to take appropriate action. Imprisoning a wounded character will result in the prisoner holding a grudge, but can also save the realm from having even more subjects fall to vampirism or lycanthropy.
Count Glabrius before becoming a Lycanthrope.
Both vampires and lycanthropes are tolerated by certain religions, and belonging to that religion offers a same-faith opinion boost with other characters. For example, vampires of all types face no scrutiny from members of pro-undead religions such as Cult of Molag Bal, Worm Cult and Ideal Masters. If a vampire attacks a ruler’s court (or even the ruler) they will still draw that character’s ire. But if they continue to not harm anyone, no one of the same religion will be alarmed by their presence.
And that concludes our first Developer Diary for Elder Kings 0.1.7!
Vampires are undead beings who are completely immune to disease and to the effects of aging. Their immortality comes at a price: every vampire has an appetite for blood, and must find a source of mortal blood to satisfy that appetite. Periodically, a vampire will feel the urge to feed and will progress to a more advanced stage of vampirism, starting at Stage 1 and ending at Stage 4. Stage 1 Vampires boast no outstanding abilities to distinguish them from their mortal brethren, but subsequent stages of vampirism confer significant bonuses; Stage 4 vampires get a boost to their Martial, Intrigue and Learning scores at the cost of a little Diplomacy. Pure-Blooded Vampires (who I’ll be talking about at greater length in a future Dev Diary) get a boost to all four of these attributes. Successful feeding will return the vampire to Stage 1 vampirism.
If a vampire feels compelled to feed at Stage 4 but chooses not to do so, they risk being afflicted with a physical or mental ailment that is sometimes horribly debilitating. Pure-Blooded vampires will rarely feel an urge to feed, and for them, refusing to do so will never be lethal (stressful, perhaps, but never incapacitating).
Harkon Volkihar is, unbeknownst to most of Tamriel’s population, a Pure-Blooded Vampire.
Feeding is often dangerous for the vampire, and is of course always dangerous for prey. Vampires can pick off lone targets along the road, or can try their hand at feeding off of a local character of note (an excellent way to spread vampirism throughout a court). Characters do not take kindly to feeding attempts and will fight back. Those who are much weaker in combat than the hunting vampire are likely to get themselves killed fighting back, whereas characters of similar combat ability may deny the vampire a blood meal, but might still end up wounded and possibly infected. Do note, however, that if a vampire fails to dispatch their target, that target will reveal the vampire’s identity, in turn making them an almost unanimously-despised Known Vampire!
Some vampires do not enjoy hunting for prey; this can stem from pragmatic concerns such as their personal safety, moral and ethical objections, or a mix of each. Such vampires may out themselves as Known Benevolent Vampires, who instead depend on the blood of willing cattle to satisfy their appetites. A key advantage of being a Benevolent Vampire is that feeding is a safe and simple process, since the blood meals are provided by volunteers. Another reason to become a Benevolent Vampire is to minimize the risk of scandal associated with one’s condition. However, even Benevolent Vampires may be ostracized by their mortal peers for their peculiar and sometimes frightening traits and habits. Alternatively, a vampire may choose to become an ordinary Known Vampire and continue their traditional activities.
Count Verandis Ravenwatch, one of the more famous rulers in High Rock during the mid-Second Era, is well-known among his peers as an unapologetic yet honorable vampire.
Lycanthropes have very little in common with vampires other than a pariah status. Many lycanthropes are seemingly ordinary people and can lead relatively simple lives, and unlike vampires, are not undead and do not need to feed on other people for their own well-being. Their condition does not offer immortality, but it does provide greatly improved health and immunity to disease. Lycanthropy also does not progress in various stages. Either a person is a lycanthrope, or they are not.
Sometimes, a lycanthrope will face a spontaneous transformation that sends them into their beast form. Most lycanthropes will immediately feel the urge to hunt, which can lead the beast into a fight with a powerful foe, or may be as simple as raiding a chicken coop for an easy meal. Unlike vampires, lycanthropes in beast form are impossible for other people to identify with the human-form counterpart. Unsuccessful hunts will NOT reveal the individual as a Known Lycanthrope. Nonetheless, failed hunts are often fatal since the enraged beast will generally fight to the death, and many lycanthropes cannot stop themselves from embarking on these dangerous forays in the first place.
Fortunately for Count Glabrius, most chickens are not dangerous enemies.
However, a lycanthrope can discipline his or herself against these wild hunts, and possibly even avert spontaneous transformations altogether. This is an arduous process and can take many years to complete, but can save countless lives (including the werewolf’s own) from being destroyed. The lycanthrope will journey out into the wilderness, and attempt to master their beast form.
A sufficiently-disciplined lycanthrope ultimately poses no threat to others (unless they specifically choose to do so, of course!) and can reveal their condition. If they decide to forgo their hunts, they will henceforth be recognized as a Known Benevolent Lycanthrope, which can damage their reputation, albeit nowhere near as much as being an ordinary Known Lycanthrope would. Similarly to vampires, they can still choose to reveal themselves as standard Known Lycanthropes, which will allow them to hunt as they normally would, but will likely make them deeply unpopular.
The local liege of a character wounded (and possibly infected) by a vampire or lycanthrope will be informed of the attack, giving them the chance to take appropriate action. Imprisoning a wounded character will result in the prisoner holding a grudge, but can also save the realm from having even more subjects fall to vampirism or lycanthropy.
Count Glabrius before becoming a Lycanthrope.
Both vampires and lycanthropes are tolerated by certain religions, and belonging to that religion offers a same-faith opinion boost with other characters. For example, vampires of all types face no scrutiny from members of pro-undead religions such as Cult of Molag Bal, Worm Cult and Ideal Masters. If a vampire attacks a ruler’s court (or even the ruler) they will still draw that character’s ire. But if they continue to not harm anyone, no one of the same religion will be alarmed by their presence.
And that concludes our first Developer Diary for Elder Kings 0.1.7!
Last edited:
- 39
- 3
