[center][b]FAQs about vampires[/b][/center]

[b]Will daylight kill a vampire?[/b]

[indent]No.  But keep reading.[/indent]

[b]Can a vampire be out and about while the sun is up?[/b]

[indent]Yes, but it isn't good for them.  

During the daylight hours, a vampire loses its beyond-human [i]abilities[/I] and [i]protections[/i] (which I will explain more further below). 

Additionally, a vampire's energy is drained dramatically by extended periods of daylight activity.

While a vampire can typically survive and even thrive by simply feeding (with non-fatal effects on a "donor"), a full day out and about in the light will almost always require the rapid, complete, and life-ending draining of a human being.[/indent] 

[b]Does a vampire have to feed regularly?[/b]

[indent]Yes.  "A pint a day keeps the aging at bay."

To fully and entirely halt the aging process [i]and[/i] maintain the beyond-human abilities and protections, a vampire must ingest a pint of blood every night.  

Missing a night will add a day of mortal life to the vampire's age, as well as defeat the beyond-human abilities and protections until a proper feeding occurs.[/indent]

[b]Can a vampire feed on other animals beside humans?[/b]

[indent]No.  That's it.  Just ... no.[/indent]

[b]Is killing a human required?[/b]

[indent]No!  A vampire can live a long and fruitful life without ever taking a human life.[/indent]

[b]What beyond-human abilities and protections does a vampire have?[/b]

[indent]Length of life: a vampire who feeds regularly can dramatically slow the aging process and become almost immortal.  (Killing is not necessary, but it, too, will dramatically slow the aging process.)

Physical abilities: a vampire who feeds regularly (or has killed recently) can increase its strength, speed, endurance, senses, etc., to as much as 10 times that of a typical human.

Mental control (aka charisma): a vampire has a sort of charisma-driven mind control over human beings.  It doesn't work all the time: a vampire had to will it into use.  And it doesn't work on everyone: it works better on the less intelligent or the intoxicated; it works pretty good on those who are physically attracted to the vampire (regardless of gender similarity or difference); and it is very affective on other such vulnerable people. 

"Amnesia": as a function of the mind control (above), a vampire can make vulnerable people forget recent events.  They use this mostly to make "donors" forget the details of having been fed upon.  Oh sure, the fang wounds are still there, but how they got there can be rather fuzzy.

Invincibility: well, that's a longer subject, so read below.[/indent]

[b]Are vampires invincible, as in they cannot be killed by conventional means?[/b]

[indent]No.  But, keep reading.

If they have fed regularly (or killed recently), a vampire does not suffer many of the ills and pains that a human does.

For example, during a fight or accident, they do not feel pain.  Therefore, they are not overwhelmed with such pain and don't go into shock, allowing them to continue to battle on or endure hardship.

Also, a vampire's body heals at 100 times the rate of a humans.  If, for example, a vampire is shot, the wounds will heal so rapidly that only a small amount of blood will be lost (typically just enough to let others know that the bullet struck but not nearly enough to cause the vampire to bleed out); and the part of the body struck will often heal up so quickly that there is little if any loss of use of that body part.  (There are exceptions, however: keep reading.)

However, an injury that would be instantaneously fatal to a human will typically be so to a vampire as well.  For example, a bullet to the lung might heal so rapidly that a vampire will survive with little effect, but a bullet to the heart or brain [i]could[/i] cease its operation [i]permanently[/i], meaning death.[/indent]

[b]Do vampires turn humans into vampires?[/b]

[indent]They can, but they don't do it often.

Some vampires wish they themselves had never been turned, and as such they aren't about to turn someone else.

Other vampires, however, enjoy the vampire life because of the beyond-human abilities and protections afforded by it.  However, once again, these vampires don't typically turn a lot of humans into vampires.  Why share in these great advantages?[/indent]

[b]How does a vampire turn a human?[/b]

[indent]Wouldn't you like to know?  (In other words, I haven't decided yet.)[/indent]