Valenth

The archetypal undead, vampires are mysterious creatures who feed upon the living and, on occasion, grant them the questionable gift of eternal unlife.

Any humanoid can become a vampire, though humans and elves are most common. Appearancewise, vampires change little from their original selves; skin becomes pale, fingernails grow into claws, fangs form and eyes begin to glow.
Particularly old vampires might also learn to disguise themselves as other people or take the form of wolves and bats.

Vampires rise from their lairs and coffins as the sun sets, and return to them before it rises. A vampire kept from shelter as dawn breaks becomes frenzied and desperate; the light of the sun sears their skin, and full exposure reduces the creatures to ash and sets their souls loose. Some believe that this kills a vampire outright, while others believe the soul may go on to possess people and seek vengeance if left unchecked.

Elder vampires are extremely powerful, well known as the most dangerous of all undead; however, every vampire has a viadante master, and these demons are greater still.
A vampire may not necessarily be "evil", but their way of life dictates that they must kill to survive.

Like their masters, vampires have the ability to turn a victim into a new vampire. Also like their masters, this act grants the new vampire a piece of the master's power--but in return, the new vampire is bound to its creator as well as their viadante master.

There are countless old legends of ways to kill or repel a vampire, but most of them are complete nonsense. Silver is very effective against them in any form, however, as are weapons and trinkets enchanted by the flames of Kelan Flarion and his dragons, who see all undead as a blight upon the world.