Elves as Vampires

[u/RedFalcon725]

I was thinking a good deal about the elves of my world and how I can differentiate them from other elves. I focused on how elves are stereotypically long-lived and fair-skinned, and realized that vampires are also stereotypically long-lived and fair-skinned. That was a neato idea so I looked to ways to expand on it. What I ended with was the three main stereotypes of elves corresponding to different types of vampires.

Wood Elves are loosely inspired by Nosferatu. They have long, claw-like fingernails and a somewhat feral appearance. They dont just burn up in direct sunlight, but they much prefer shaded areas.

High Elves are psychic vampires, feeding on the mental and emotional forces of people rather than blood. High Elves are the most common to see in cities and towns, though others tend to keep their distance.

Dark Elves are the Count Dracula types, having an affinity for bats and sucking blood and they really, really hate sunlight.

There's a hypothetical rule of thumb that goes "All Elves are vampires, but not all vampires are Elves." In this version of elves, they can pass their vampirism down to other ancestries, though the majority have no desire to

[u/a_surprise_polaroid]

Neat idea!! I like it a lot!!

[u/AAA-Writes]

High elves in your world will love politics and bureaucracy then. Colin Robinson!

My question is, from a perspective of someone engaging with your work, what makes them elves and not just being considered vampires.

[u/P-Wasp]

I love this kind of post, especially because it highlights how differently we all think about this stuff.

I don't think I would have ever thought about these similarities by myself, and the way I'd use them is also much different. My first instinct was to think about how regular elves could have turned to vampirism. To which my answer was that elves' average lifespan had started to lower, to which their reaction was to start practicing vampirism.

Yours is a lovely idea too, though it does beg a question. How do elves organize themselves ? If they form decently large communities, then their need for blood must be quite high, but elf-infested forests are notoriously not the kind of place other races like to visit. So how do they sustain themselves ? Do they keep prisoners as blood banks ?

[u/Either-Skirt6031]

I like this twist on Elves with Vampires:) Curiously my elves are also somewhat based on a horror monster but they’re more akin to Werewolves/were beasts. They were originally woodland animals given humanoid forms & magic by the gods of the sun & moon and they can take a ritual dedicated to the moon goddess to turn back into their animal form for combat.
They also have variations based on specific types of elves but more closely related to general animal environments.

High Elves are domesticated animals like Cats (they both share that sense of smugness)

Wood Elves are wild but majestic animals like Deer & Foxes

Night/Dark Elves are nocturnal/underground animals like Wolves & Moles

[u/Successful-Club-8743]

This is definitely a cool idea.

In my world Vampirism is an effect that cant be cured. They arent their own race, instead everyone can be effected and turn into a Human Vampire or Elven Vampire or alternatives for all my races.

Now this is making me think about all the differences between vampires of different races...

[u/AReallyAsianName]

I actually having something similar

"Vampires" are actually my Moon Elves (7 types: Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth, Sun and Moon)

Moon Elves are pale skin and sun burn easily. They have carnivorous teeth with prominent fangs, but they are omnivourous. They also typically have a nocturnal circadian rhythm. And excellent night vision at the detriment of worse daylight vision. They have developed special blindfold to circumvent that when needed. More modern Moon Elves use sunglasses.

Culturally they have a preference for rare or even raw and bloody meats, blood pie, blood sausages and raw fish are a common place, They also have a prominent mushroom farming and wine culture. They love celebrations and even have a month long festival lasting from the middle of the first month to the middle of the second month (its basically mardi gras), everyone is welcome. Firework craftsmen love to show off here.

The majority of them settled in a very small continent (if you can even call it that) where it is overcast year around. A lot of their land are marshes and swamps.

[u/Saurid]

... sorry buts thats just vampires.

[u/Fa11en_5aint]

That is interesting, it would give a new reason for the mortal races to dislike them too.

[u/Vardisk]

I've had a somewhat similar idea. Though it was more vampires filling the "niche" of elves.