Vampiir

(Vam-PEER)

Variantions: Vampir

The traditional European vampire with origins in Latvia, Finland, Russia, Sweden, and Ukraine. It is the creature from which the English word "Vampire" and the concept of the Gothic Vampire comes from.

Ecology

More likely to be peasant than noble, this vampire is a ghastly, bloated corpse neither attractive or horrific in appearance. Generally rising three days after death, this creature will tend to seek out its own family first, strangling or suffocating them in their sleep. Anyone killed by a Vampir will likely rise as a Vampir. Even though it appears physical at night, it is actually an astral entity that must return to its body during the day. If the body is looked at during the day, it will have the ruddy glow of the blood it has consumed rather then the pallor of death, and the body can be bloated with blood leaking from eyes, ears, nose and mouth.

GURPS Blood Types mentions that the Vampir it is talking about is an astral vampire.

Ka

While the Ancient Egyptian concept of the Ka has some similarities to the Vampir strictly speaking, it is not a vampire entity. Not only is it not predatory and does not hunt, it is bound to the location of its tomb. However, if the tomb is disturbed, then the Ka may retaliate. This final aspect has been used to form the Pharaoh's Curse cliche.

GURPS Blood Types groups Vampir, Vampiir, Vampyras, Wampir, and Wamphyr together as "Slavic states vampires" but uses the Vampiir description.