What Are Vampires?

[@GargamelGold]

Esper The Bard, Actually from my understanding, sunlight didn’t harm vampires until the Nosferatu silent film. Dracula and his spawn in the original Bram Stoker novel were only weaker during the day

[@esperthebard]

That's true, good catch!

[@Rells2coolpeoplehavebadtastes.]

Pretty much completely depowered.

[@HiopX]

What are vampires? Me: miserable little piles of secrets. Dracula: You dare use my own spell against me?

[@esperthebard]

*Throws down a perfectly good glass of wine to shatter on the floor*

[@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq]

humans are miserable little piles of secrets vampires are parasites and soulless killers

[@EgoEroTergum]

Personally, I think that the Vampires in The Elder Scrolls split the difference between horror and sexiness pretty well. They worked one aspect into the other, leading to vampires that are not only more monstrous than most, but also tragic victims to some degree, perpetuating a cycle of supernatural exploitation and abuse. Not everyone's cup of tea, but personally I like the less sanitized horror; if handled respectfully, it adds a lot of extra emotional dimension to the varieties of evil the player faces.

[@SuperGamefreak18]

Agreed Elder scrolls is a great version of vampires they are still dangerous demonic creatures yet can be ver attractive. Which a good predator would use an easy route to get their meal. Being a good looking person who can lure victims so they can charm and feed on them and hide in plan sight if possible is a smart idea.

[@Rells2coolpeoplehavebadtastes.]

My personal favorite vampires are those from the Witcher games. So you know the monsters from Lovecraft right? Nightmarish beasts of pure insanity? Well vampires in there are basically that. Nightmarish aliens from another world. A lot of them are also just straight up monsters - bestial monsters - which is just awesome. I think this is genuinely the most unique take on vampires out there.

[@حَسن-م3ه9ظ]

thekwane (lightning bird) were vampiric monsters described by South African tribes, they took the form of black and white birds who served magicians to hunt their enemies, they had insatiable thirst for blood as well as the power to summon lightning (hence the name), some describe them as taking the form of beautiful men to seduce women

[@esperthebard]

Ooh I had never heard of that one before. Thanks, another beast to look into and add to my mythic repetoire.

[@DaCaldwell]

​@Esper the Bard they are called the "impundulu" as well, there are also abonsam, sasabonsam, obayifo, and adze in West Africa. You should check them out!

[@esperthebard]

​@Demetrius Caldwell thanks I will 👍👍

[@Peecamarke]

@@DaCaldwell nice African references! I’m more familiar with Impundulu more than thekwane, Adze are the most interesting concept to me tho. Wasn’t expecting anyone to bring these up 👍🏿

[@DaCaldwell]

@@Peecamarke huge African history buff, here! Lol

[@thomasbuckley7798]

This series is great! A little history and some inspiration for bigger ideas in role playing games and beyond.

[@HolyShield]

I see vampires as a type of demon, like sucubbus and incubus and such. The Akaru and Tiamat is a vampire/demon and dragon connection that I didn't know I need. Thank you so much! 🥰 I associate demons (fallen angels) and serphim with dragons, so now I am wondering if there is some connection between Tiamat and seraphim😅

[@owlthemolfar4690]

Thank you for the video! To this day the favorite depiction of the vampire in the books - is still Dracula (and as extension - Strahd von Zarovich). And in games - Kain from Legacy of Kain; the egocentric tyrant, but he is honest about itself. P.S. Random facts from Babylonian myth. Humans were created from the blood of the champion-god of the Tiamat - Quingu. And it is interesting that Sumer vampires were created by Tiamat and such blood. It may be completely unrelated, but still interesting, at least to me.

[@TabletopBob]

Perfect timing! Aside from how excited I am about the Monstrous Heroes, the extensive BG on these monsters is insightful and great for lore in your games.

[@Redrung]

I like the weird part about non human/elf vampire dragon, Orc , dinosaur , Panda humanoid etc.

[@seancorcoran1976]

What are giants? What are devils? What are goblins? What are yougoloths? What are nagas? What are werewolves? What are liches? What are ghouls? What are minotaurs? What are dragons? This is a cool new series I can’t wait to see more of.

[@shkodranmaksutaj8371]

What are fairies? What are mermaids? What are nymphs? What are witches? What are warlocks? What are wizards?

[@literatesasquatch]

Several corrections: Bram Stoker made them charismatic, but not suave (he looked like an old man which influenced Nosferatu). Vampires being suave was introduced Bela Lugosi. Between Anne Rice and the 90s (during the 80s) there was a brief period where vampires became creatures that preyed on teens (though Mina Harker may have been a teenager). Another concept introduced in the 80s was that being a vampire was an illness that a vampire had to suffer through. Somewhere slightly between the vampires of Anne Rice and the vampires of the 90s. 14:00 It may hard to believe with modern sensibilities but the origin of the sexy vampire was Bela Lugosi. Vampires being closer to Human was also introduced by Bela Lugosi. Bram's vampire could pass as human but humans did not like being near him. Being destroyed by sunlight was introduced in Nosferatu in order to allow the movie to end without depictions of violence. We do have a long tradition a vampires being destroyed by sunlight but it is not a universal. In Twilight vampires can survive on animal blood but perfer human blood and often continue to struggle to avoid drinking human blood. The ability to live alongside humans is not from drinking animal blood, it's from personal self-control. Like choosing not to eat cake. New vampires being created by being bitten was introduced by Bela Lugosi. In Bram Stoker's novel, you became a vampire by drinking vampire blood. Mina Harker has puncture wounds from having blood consumed, but when Dracula decides to turn her into a vampire he has her drinking his blood as well. In Twilight the vampires do have fangs. That is how they distribute Venom into a human to turn that human into a vampire.

[@starrr_dust]

I like how you included an image of vlad th' impaler in here. Also, vampires sparkling in th' sunshine is silly in my opinion, but not as silly as half vampires being more powerful than full vampires, which is something th' twilight series also tried to peddle.

[@jabcab4046]

It may be silly, but it apparently sold a lot of books. That has to mean something, I think. Also, I've never seen someone write the word "the" like you do. Why do you write it that way?

[@bluewizzard8843]

​​@@jabcab4046not the same fan base. It's a teenie story especially for young girls. They may be sexy for a 13 year old virgin, but they have no Style and are completely harmless, blant and boring. That's relatable for 13 year old girls, but that has zero apeal for adults who like the gothic style demonic forms of an extemely dangerous arch enemy for humans.

[@jabcab4046]

​@bluewizzard8843 you weren't wrong

[@qman5680]

My brand of creativity has always been to operate within the confines of the original lore/mechanics, and develop explanations for why things work the way they do that open up more opportunities to use them in new and interesting ways. Taking an established monster and twisting it too much can be seen as a Gocha type move (Your basically stealing the name for your own new derivative monster). A short example of my method keeping with the theme would be: "Vampires in the world spread a rumour that they must count spilled grains; to give lone travellers more courage when moving at night, so that in the long term more prey would be available. On occasion vampires would play along with this rumour to give it more credibility." I'm personally proud of this one, though others may feel differently. The merit to this style is that it holds to player expectations and deepens the lore of the world without being contrarian or saying 'Forget everything you know'.

[@alexeisenhauer5874]

The Bram Stoker is still one of my favorite books to reread. I’ve been meaning to read Carmilla (1872) it seems like an important vampire work

[@user-nz7dd3sg5c]

As usual, Esper wow, love your writing skills. Thanks for the video.

[@esperthebard]

Thank you V!

[@brianroberts783]

It's interesting to note that vampires became more human-like as we understood more about the world. This left fewer places for the supernatural to hide, until the only way for them to remain undetected was to blend in with us.

[@tmannintendo]

Fantastic speech at the end of the video. I feel like it is very relatable now with the state the world is in right now.

[@stuffstuff6932]

Great video as always.

[@jabcab4046]

This video really explains things that I've been wanting to put into words myself. I can't thank you enough Esper, and I look forward to the next "What Are" video. Please keep creating things like this.

[@dimitriturner9026]

I'm terrible at this, but I went through and liked all the "What are/is" videos. I am enjoying these and having the become a series with a playlist would be dope. Thank you for what you do Esper.

[@JeriDro]

Esper with a grand slam video!

[@DegaVertigo]

While Rice can be credited for bringing the romantic vampire to modern audiences, she didn’t originate the idea. Its roots go back at least to Byron in Polidori’s 1819 short story “The Vampyre”. Also there is so much depth to Vampire: the Masquerade you could drown in it.

[@DWSP101]

I would like you to do a story on tooth 🦷 fairys

[@jakewarman7277]

Have you read the Darren Shan Chronicles it's a very good book series on what you would call strigoi vampires

[@esperthebard]

I haven't, though the strigoi/nosferatu/feral vampire really inspires me, something more monstrous and bestial and grotesque. It's more horror, as opposed to the romanticized vampire we see so often.

[@jakewarman7277]

@@esperthebard it's a good blend of a modern concept with some vicious deadly killers mixed in. They have a rich culture, laws, and flaws. It's on audible, worth a look many book series and might be good for inspiration, there are many other interesting characters and creatures besides vampires in this world.

[@TheHornedKing]

I can expand on the blood drinking. It primarily comes down to 2 things. The first, is the simple fact that one can die from blood loss. This sparks ideas of blood being "liquid life", and so the concept of "consuming life itself", then takes the form of blood drinking. For a creature that is dead, yet acts as if alive, it sort of makes sense that it needs "pure life" to sustain it's unnatural existance, and so they drink blood. Second, and most interesting, is a facinating thing that happens as a human body decomposes. At some point, certain gasses are produced, some of which gather in the stomach and causes it to swell. Also around this time, blood starts to leak out of openings in the body, such as the mouth. Put together, and it really does look like the corpse have drank a lot of blood, even to the point it has gotten fat, and that's exactly what people back in the day believed. If you look in reports of corpses getting staked because people thought they were vampires, these things are often listed as "proof" that the corpse in questiong was indeed a vampire, along with things like the hair and nails appearing to have grown after death, which is actually just the skin that have shrunk.

[@НемањаРашевић]

Thank god Serbia at least got a mention when it comes to vampires, all these youtube videos about vampires don't even mention it. In actuality the vampires are 100% from Serbian folk lore, other eastern European countries adopted it much much later, Romania only after the book. In Serbia there was a written law and description on dealing with vampires in 12th century, but the folk tales are much much older. And btw all these other "vampire-like" creatures the only similarity they have with vampires is drinking blood and maybe sometimes they're undead, everything else about vampires comes from Serbian lore. But hey at least Serbia got a mention...

[@esperthebard]

Thanks for the great comment. Admittedly, I am not very well-versed in Serbian lore. I only have 1 Serbian friend, and we don't talk super often. If you are knowledgeable in this area and willing to spare a bit of time, I'd be glad to chat: [e-mail]

[@НемањаРашевић]

@@esperthebard thank you Esper for your interest, knowing you I'm certain it's genuine, i will gladly chat with you about this! Just give me some time as i am overworked constantly, but i will do my best to gather appropriate info! All the best to you!

[@esperthebard]

@@НемањаРашевић Excellent, let me know any time 👍

[@FromTheWombTotheGrave]

I like vampires of warhammer, they’re very diverse, some of them want to take over the world/humans while others like to be isolated, others not be a threat to humans. More like bandits

[@NyarlathotepCrawlingChaos]

I have a correction for you, for the sake of accuracy, education, and for future reference. Tiamat is Babylonian, not Sumerian. The much earlier Sumerian mythology had no Tiamat or Apsu, and their closest possible analogues within the Sumerian myths had little resemblance to the later Babylonian myths. The closest figure to Tiamat in Sumerian myth would be Nammu, but Nammu was not a malevolent or chaotic figure, nor did she birth monsters. The Sumerian version of Apsu was Abzu, and Abzu was not a character, but rather it was a primordial force and location. The Sumerians had their own unique and culturally distinct versions of chaos monsters and primordial divinities, who were enemies or rivals of the younger generations of divinities, but none of these had anything to do with the later mythic figure of Tiamat. It’s also worth mentioning that many of the monsters Tiamat was said to have birthed already existed in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology, and were merely adopted by the Babylonians before being reworked to fit their own myths. Some of these monsters were also fully fledged divinities, albeit hostile and chthonic ones, and they were even considered to be patrons of some city states. So now that I’ve said all that, the Akhakharu vampiric-spirits are specifically Akkadian, not Sumerian. The Akkadians came down into Mesopotamia from the eastern lands (what is now Iran), where they adopted, slightly modified, and eventually replaced the earlier Sumerian culture which was already in decline. It wasn’t until the Akkadians hit their own decline that the Babylonians took over, and would eventually be replaced by the Assyrians. My source is a lifetime researching various ancient civilizations and cultures, including those of Mesopotamia and surrounding regions.

[@jamesadamsfl]

Vampires are amazing in how flexible they are as monsters: so many different variations on the myth9ology yet still recognizable as the same monster. My favorite from WotC (and one I'm sad you didn't reference, Esper) are the Vampires of the Church of Dusk in the Ixalan setting. Vampires aligned with White (the color traditionally associated with light and holiness) is a bizarre concept, and the fact that they obviously represent the Spanish conquistadors is pretty on-the-nose, but in a good way. Then, is the fact that the story ends with St. Elena coming back and essentially yelling "What the BLEEP is wrong with you?!?", which is how I imagine Jesus would have reacted if the Second Coming had happened during the age of the conquistadors. Ixalan was a great setting, and I hope MTG goes back to it, so we can see St. Elena trying to clean house in the church (also, dinosaurs).

[@Nyo_Fight]

Another amazing video full of knowledge, I hope you make one about werewolf

[@CatWithAHat2HD]

About your point concerning how strict rules give proper definition to an object (in this case a monster). I pretty much agree 100% BUT: The best stories (especially myths) don't work that way. Or rather they do, but also don't, by which I mean that the logical consistency is there, but it is subservient to a (hopefully) deep theme that operates on lateral thinking rather than rational thinking. I think the reason why a lot of people dislike Twilight vampires is that they are thematically inconsistent with previously established ideas on what a vampire is. . Vampires, as we've grown to know them as a symbol, are alluring predators. They are temptation. In Stoker's novel the count goes to England to seduce and "turn" young women into a harem of ever-living brides after all... I see them kind of like succubi, but not necessarily explicitly sexual, and importantly originally human - something that gives their personality more weight as opposed to what is essentially a force of nature. Vampires represent a wider breath of temptation than just sex, or just power, or just immortality. They are people who, wittingly or not, bought into a golden bullet solution to life's problems, but it turns out that leads directly to emotional anguish, loneliness, self-debasement and parasitism on those who haven't yet "turned from the light", so to speak. That's the bit that Interview with a Vampire added, but notice that this is consistent with previously established "lore", while making the theme deeper. Twilight does not do that as far as I can tell, so it feels off. . Oh and the woke are obviously wearing DnD as a skinsuit in an effort to do what a Jehova's witness does, when they start a conversation about something random, and immediately links it to Jesus and how you should probably go to mass with them tomorrow - they pretend to be interested in the topic (in this case DnD) while using it as an excuse to preach. They don't care about the health of "the foundations" of this building 'cause they don't care about the building, and you know it. Stories matter. The continuity of narrative, even as it changes with the ages, matters. Iconoclasts gonna iconoclast though. S'a very unpopular take, but it was the Dominicans, not the Jesuits, who were right (in the context of this analogy) - sometimes the heresy is too severe to engage in debate with it, cause they just pretendin' they wanna talk.

[@jabcab4046]

That's a lot of sharp words, but I think I agree. I still think this video can be helpful for "woke" people who don't know what they're getting into. A Bard's job isn't to lecture, is it? As the man said, we rely on structures of our own making as well. Acknowledging this could help break the cycle.

[@CatWithAHat2HD]

@@jabcab4046 Far from me to tell Esper how to do his job - he does it far better than I probably could anyway. I just had a point to add about lateral thinking in myth, and a fairly obvious, but nonetheless depressing, black pill to to share about zealous liars and the people who follow them. . Aa to your point, I guess it depends on how far the brain rot has progressed in the given patient. If they can still consider things in separation from their moral beliefs, then ofc you're right - they are for all intents end purpose not the kind of person I was referring to in my post (they are still clearly very wrong, but that's besides the point). But if they cannot divorce the topic from their moral convictions they have effectively become manifestations of said convictions, rather than people, and talking to them about anything other than how to "spread the gospel", as long as they remain in this retched state, is the equivalent of trying to have a conversation with a recording on perpetually looping playback. Note: I don't mean to dehumanize anyone. If anything it is what I dubbed the "brain rot" that I think is dehumanizing its victims. who are owed our compassion on account of their sorry state. But 1) compassion doe not equal submission or even recognition of their rotten ideas 2) compassion is owed to the people, not the "rot" itself, which, on account of what it does to people, is owed annihilation.

[@squashedeyeball]

A great take Esper! Regarding Dracula. Bram Stoker pretty much plagiarized Carmilla (1872) by Sheridan Le Fanu: I mean, the characters (most notably, Van Helsing), the setting (remote, lonely castle), the whole concept of a Vampire (shapeshifts, drinks blood to exist, wooden stake, hidden grave, tragic love story. All of it). And of course, the course of events. Draculla is in my opinion, a simplistic copy of a superior story. Carmilla is more way more humanized experience, way more emphatic, real and sad. Plus it doesn't involve Bram Stoker bs ("the lair of the white worm". Yup, he wrote it).

[@watchface6836]

The best thing to listen to while playing V Rising.

[@rachdarastrix5251]

21:01 Yeah, isn't it interesting that every person who made a movie about **!!THE FUTURE!!** have always depicted it has still having their civilization in it?

[@jamespearsoniii914]

These vamyre subclasses sound amazing! Worth the price of admission

[@esperthebard]

They have been really cool in the playtest, definitely a darkly fantastic new approach to D&D 5e.

[@HenriFaust]

15:58 Humans have a crystalline component too: their bones, teeth, and both the lenses and vitreous humor within their eyes are all crystalline. Three out of four substances sparkle, so maybe there's something to Twilight vampires.

[@asimian8500]

Something not mentioned. Brian Lumley's *Necroscope* series is a great re-imagining of vampires grounded in the old and the contemporary. Lumley calls his vampires Wamphyri (pronounced vam-fear-ee). They are horrifying, powerful creatures who have their own world and society which is feudal, but sometimes travel to Earth through portals. Wamphyri are not true undead, but a hybrid of humans infected by an alien leech parasite which grants immortality, superhuman physical abilities (regeneration, strength, speed, durability), psychic powers (telepathy, mind control, astral travel, etc), superhuman intelligence, and metamorphic flesh. The weakness is that they need human blood and flesh to live. How strong are they? In one incident, a Wamphyri Lieutenant (2nd most powerful Wamphyri form) was shot thousands of times before being destroyed as it kept regenerating. The human-like vampires seen in Bram Stoker would be considered low level vampire thralls. The apex and most powerful are the true Wamphyri who are the Lords and Ladies. They are feudal lords with thralls and lieutenants, living in great skyscraper towers called aeries which are biological and made out of manipulated human flesh. Some of the humans are used as structural components for the aerie. Others are used as pumps to move water and waste. Others are used as a source of natural gas which lights the aeries. Wamphyri are masters of organic flesh manipulation and it's not just for constructing aeries. They can create flying gliders used as steads for their elite units and "warriors" which are monstrous creatures which can fly, spit acid, and armed with multiple limbs with razor-sharp claws. These warriors are used in their constant wars with humans and other Wamphyri Lords and Ladies. Some of these novels take place in their world, but many of the novels take place in our modern world which has espers and necromancers as well as secret government agencies who combat the Wamphyri, ghosts, and undead. When they travel to our world, the Wamphyri tread carefully as they understand that on Earth they cannot combat all humans as there are so many with technology and weapons that can kill Wamphyri. Some humans have psychic abilities that can detect Wamphyri.

[@efraim3364]

i remember that series, was a good read

[@Jeromy1986]

vamPYRE should have something to do with fire

[@esperthebard]

In my 2021 book (Esper's Emporium of Esoterica), I did a cycle of 4 undead elementals who each had pun names. I almost went with "vampyre" for the undead fire elemental, but ended up going with "bonefire".

[@miguelvillaruel7667]

Best lore, story telling 👏👏

[@miguelvillaruel7667]

I appreciate the time and work you put into your KZbin videos EspertheBard I like to drink fresh coffee while i watch and listen. And It's a good listen, do you have a podcast? If not it would be dope with your narrative

[@stuffstuff6932]

What is the art at 11:06? It looks stellar and I'd like to know who made it or where I could get it.

[@esperthebard]

It's a concept piece for my upcoming book Monstrous Heroes. I'm planning on developing it more.

[@unseeliesperg6130]

Esper, I love you dearly and I'm a long time fan, so I'll forgive you for not mentioning Varney the Vampire

[@ianyoder2537]

Personally I don't have that much of an issue with making vampire's sexy. It's actually a genius hunting strategy, to make you're pray come to you and willingly put themselves in a vulnerable position. But I suppose my issue is that most people don't think about this and just want vampires to be edgy goth eye candy instead of an overwhelming threat that challenges our heroes both physically, mentally. Just a spectacle instead of a metaphor for the corruption of nobility. A master of physical, magical, political, and psychological warfare who's mere presence threatens a region, that is until you peel back the curtain and see just how week, cowardly, and dependent they really are. After all, a vampire's most iconic weakness, sunlight, is a metaphor for exposing what they really are.

[@redfaux74]

If a vampire had roots and could not move..... that would make sense. They already have charming and persuasive abilities.

[@ianyoder2537]

@@redfaux74 I'm referring to aggressive mimicry. It happens quite often in the insect world, not just with angler fish and snapping turtles. There's a type of spider that disguises itself as an ant to both hide from predators as an and and to infiltrate the nest for food. And besides, even if you do already have charm powers, what's the issue with stacking the deck in your favor? Why use supernatural charm if traditional charm works just as well?

[@redfaux74]

@@ianyoder2537 - To me... it's like putting a bikini on a shark. Lipstick on a zombie. But this current generation is so dumb they'll swallow anything.

[@ianyoder2537]

@@redfaux74 Based on the existence of rule 34 you'd be disappointed and disturbed by how many people would be into that. But I can see you're going by the classical mythological walking corpse vampire. And I know it's not a satisfying argument to say that we're just using different definitions of vampires or examples from different forms of media, but that's the case here. I'm using logic to explain why it's a descent hunting strategy. You're using the original source material. There's really nothing to agree or disagree on here, we're simply not sharing a wavelength.

[@Sylentmana]

In my game world's lore a vampire is a corpse possessed by a specific type of demonic spirit. A person cannot become a vampire. They just die and a demonic spirit takes over. It needs to drink blood to maintain its connection to the corporeal world since it hasn't been summoned conventionally.

[@ReustersPlace]

Bring on the Lilith video, please

[@esbeng.s.a9761]

In the your pdf of monsters as pc on minotaur's battle vigor feature at 2 lvl "The amount of hit points you regain increases by 1d6 every two minotaur levels beyond 1st (3d6 at 3rd level, 4d6 at 5th level, etc.). Once you use this feature, you must fnish a short or long rest to regain it." Why does it go up 2 lvl after 1st, when you get it at lvl 2? Wouldn't make more sense to go up at 4 lvl?

[@JB-wc9cr]

Great video thanks Esper

[@HenriFaust]

7:48 Don't forget that blood is one of the four humors of Humorism. Humorism is where the words "sanguine" and "sanguinary" come from. Go look it up, it heavily influenced Western alchemy and mythology in general. It even answers why Vampires have certain powers, like transforming into a mist or gas. On that note, you should pull up the Wikipedia page titled "Alchemical symbol" and follow up on some of the links there. You will find it extremely informative for Western mythology videos (e.g, Why do weapons for vampires and werewolves have to be silver? Why is silver nitrate often depicted as poison? It will all become clear.)

[@ShadowWolfTJC]

If I were to make my own depictions of vampires, methinks I'd lean more towards exploring the repercussions of being a vampire, with the blessings and curses that would've come with it, on the vampires' own psyches. Perhaps some vampires would've viewed their condition as more akin to an incurable disease, like with HIV infection, where only frequent blood transfusions would've been necessary to keep themselves alive and living out a life full of normalcy? Perhaps some other vampires, who perhaps didn't have the luxury of a healthcare system full of blood transfusions, would've, maybe reluctantly, resigned themselves towards careers full of violence in order to attain the necessary blood to keep on living, perhaps pursuing careers as diverse as, say, soldiers, assassins, bounty hunters, vigilantes, freedom fighters, extremists, and/or serial killers, many of whom would've probably been willing to feast on the blood of their victims, whom they probably would've wanted to see them dead anyways, whether it's enemy soldiers, criminal scumbags, corrupt politicians, their people's oppressors, ideological enemies, people who would've had to be sacrificed for the greater good, or just a bunch of people who otherwise annoyed them? I could see these kinds of vampires possibly picking up personality traits such as bloodlust, sadism, and/or PTSD. Perhaps a handful of vampires were power-hungry psychopathic schemers, possibly even before obtaining their vampiric powers, and would've attempted to run society however they desired (perhaps in a similar loathsome manner to the popular sci-fi trope of lizardmen, which are extraterrestrial beings whom would've disguised themselves as the political elite of society in an effort to prepare humanity for whatever their would-be alien overlords have in store for them), with plans to live forever in order to keep on guiding society however they saw fit, even if they would've had to have human sacrifices in order to provide themselves with the blood that they would've needed to keep on surviving?

[@jamiemcdonough6548]

Upon rethinking my previous comment for this video. I hope my overenthusiasm didn't scare away anyone.

[@acuerdox]

19:00 it's not really about strengths, it's about meaning, tolkiens orcs are dripping with meaning, while WoW orcs are just another species of caveman, what do they mean? maybe something like primitive man.

[@miguelvillaruel7667]

I love Esper the Bard 👌

[@chrishamby1614]

I see the twilight vampires as a form of Fae, more than I see them as actual Vampires

[@isaacgraff8288]

I personally believe the Twilight vampires are nothing more than blood-fueled glitter golems.

[@nachschub4836]

Love the new series really cool

[@migueldelmazo5244]

The biggest downside to D&D as a system is the huge power gap between martial classes and spellcasters. I've seen nothing that mitigates this having been proposed so far, and a lot (like buffing cantrips) that would seem to worsen it.

[@BillyBasd]

I feel this is as it should be. What is missing is the old school mechanics making casters weaker than martials at lower levels. How can a martial compare to wishes, miracles or time stop? Without magic they just can't. It's like Star Wars. Non force users are at a significant disadvantage. There are basically three ways to counter a wizard: 1) outmagic them 2) catch them by surprise 3) turn their magic against them

[@Rells2coolpeoplehavebadtastes.]

Honestly Ann Rice is one of the best take on vampires along side the Witcher.

[@gendor5199]

The problem Vampires in games tend to fall into what players want to play, I have seen players who despise the idea of "An emo blood sucker who can't stop crying over humanity" and would rather play a Killer of No Fixed Abode. Setting up interesting stories around such a character is harder, but they are more fun and easy to pick up and play. Finding a balance between the two ideas of humane and inhumane vampires are really hard to do.

[@axelthouin4389]

love analise on vampire

[@theblazingredcomet1954]

The sexy vampire thing has been a thing since dracula, at least the films.

[@esperthebard]

Dracula was formal and aristocratic, though he did have a gaze that charmed minds. That could be considered sexy in a way (though no one would have used the word "sexy" back then). Modern vampires are really what brought in the "cool and sexy" style.

[@Michael-bn1oi]

Things can be more than one thing!

[@redcapetimetraveler7688]

i 've always seen the "vampires" as a metaphorical satire of the usurers, bankers and other corpocrates of real life that drove me to worship the character "Blade" who slays those bougy-decadent-yuppies with so much style 😁😁😁🤩

[@turkeygod6665]

I think vampires since Dracula have always been a bit sexual. Dracula has his own personal concubines in the original novel after all. Vampirism could have been used as a metaphor for indulgence and hedonism, giving in to one's basic instincts. and theres scenes that comes off as pretty risky at times. "These girls are *mine*." (Or something like that, it's been awhile.) The sexualization was definitely turned up a notch to a crazy extreme, but I think ever since Dracula anyways, there's always been a slight erotic undertones, just not in an exactly positive light.

[@MrJudeWanamaker]

Awesome

[@mattmartin3106]

I have an outside the box idea for vampires...now bare with me.. Underwater Vampire Coverns! Think about it... vampires don't need to beath so they can tie a lead belt around there wasn't and just walk around on the sea bed. Plus if they go deep enough there would be no sunlight 24/7 so it would be perfect for them. If a group of vampires set up a hidden underwater base it would be pretty hard for a group of adventurers to locate and navigate. Imagine the adventures have just taken down the vampire lord and the bang out of nowhere they discover that the real big bad is a undead Aboleth! I bet no-one saw that coming LoL. Unknown to the players you could even try all the aquatic hints from the very beginning back to the Aboleth..🧐👍

[@esperthebard]

You know, in a way I love this. There would be a few kinks to iron out, but it has potential.

[@jabcab4046]

A problem I'm seeing with this is that vampires are extremely vulnerable to running water. At least DnD vampires are.

[@internetcatfish]

The whole "sexy vampire" thing is terrible and should never have happened. Stories like twilight are abominations that have no place on any self-respecting person's bookshelf.

[@jamiemcdonough6548]

I hope I didn't put Esper or anyone on the spot with my gushing praise about the video.

[@pakstrax]

The origin pf the word is from serbian вампир (vampir). It is pronounced the same as it is written

[@6krystian]

In slavic mitology upiór meens Wright .wąpierz meens vampire

[@ForeShadow20]

No one really plays with the real Monopoly rules.

[@phizzhead53]

Why did i dream of a vampire kpop lady

[@Manwendlil]

world of warcraft has also its kind of vampyres; the venthyr

[@yungminiwheat1406]

The one thing that a vampire should be is a figurative and literal leech on a society. Because of a particularly cancerous sin that doomed them in life - lust, pride, sloth - the toxicity of their lives lingers to make others suffer. Strahd is a great example of the dire consequences of patriarchy. His obsession to be a good son to his family, a strong lord to his people, and a desirable man to women were corrupted by grief and arrogance. He broke under the shadow of expectation. He equated strength with brutality. Strahd’s essentially a sexual predator, forever chasing incarnations of the woman like some fleeting treasure.

[@Spiceodog]

Strahd time

[@jamiemcdonough6548]

Meh! "Jamie? Did you just call this video meh?" Go away! "Aren't you going to tell Esper how relieved you are he didn't use the old chestnut of bringing historical Vlad Dracula into the essay?" Alright, but I still would have respected Esper even if he had. "If that helps you sleep at night." And maybe I appreciate when he mentioned the Twilight vampire transformation process being unpleasant. That he made sure to compare it to The Anne Rice process. Because I had read Interview With The Vampire. 'And aren't you glad when you saw him project a book called Crypt Of The Vampire. Admit it, Jamie. As soon as you saw the number one above the tile. you fingured it was a gamebook. And you love gamebooks." You're loving seeing me humbled, aren't you? "I think you are just trying to be a little edgy for once instead of always praising Esper?" Is it that obvious? "What Jamie's trying to tell you, Esper is thanks for the fun informative video."

[@bovrar2nd861]

For all our True Vampire enthusiasts, I STRONGLY recommend the NECROSCOPE bookseries. Read of your own free will.. and thank me later ^,..,^

[@silverjaiden2450]

Women like to fantasize about doing vampires. I wouldn’t say that’s the current incarnation of vampires. It’s just a fantasy. Most people still use vicious vampires in campaigns and stories

[@redfaux74]

That's ridiculous. Evil forces use seduction, entering into their thoughts in the dark, to make women THINK that way. It is a game evil has always played. You seduce the wife, you get the husband. Attack the weaker.

[@driddick7361]

Excuse me mister Bard, been a while since I commented, I know I'm no one special. But you keep saying Akaru and I try to find it. But do you possibly mean Edimmu?

[@esperthebard]

Akhkharu, the spelling is tricky

[@driddick7361]

@@esperthebard Thanks.

[@driddick7361]

@@esperthebard Update, found what you were talking about. But it always leads to Akhkhasu or Akhkhazu. Sumerian is a very weird language, how you found this detail says a bit about your information gathering. Thanks again.

[@esperthebard]

@@driddick7361 It is indeed a challenge searching things from ancient languages. I remember trying to find words in Ancient Egyptian before, and it was nearly impossible.

[@driddick7361]

@@esperthebard I know right? Of all the ancient cultures we DO have the tongues written down, you'd think Ancient Egyptian, one of the first societies would be more thoroughly studied beyond some wikipedia hieroglyph lists. 🤔

min 15:00.

[@danielgriff2659]

The sexual worship of demons. Thats what the vampire tale is all about.

[@redfaux74]

Esper.... You have only 109k subs. You are way too intelligent for that. 5E is holding you back. And I think you know it. You could get WAY more cash by going out on your own. I know that's hard tho. You have every talent you need. And you see their flaws that everyone else hates. This generation needs an adult (not perverse) non politically correct, non woke version of DnD. You should attack while they are weak. Make Vampires Great Again. Make DnD great again.

[@gidofter_lukge]

Vampire: The Masquerade

[@FlawlessP401]

Por que no Los dos?

[@lsb2623]

Vampires are a lot of things to a lot of people.... to me they are an idea.

[@danielgriff2659]

There is only one Christmas.. its the Christian "Christmas"... all others are variations of "Yule".

[@MethosJK9]

You know that the early Catholic church coopted Yule to turn it into Christmas, right? There's no evidence that Jesus was born in December, and actually what sources there are point towards a birth sometime in April.

[@danielgriff2659]

@@MethosJK9 Yes, Catholics made aLL their holidays coincide with pagan solstice/equinox celebrations... as a way to entice them into Christianity.. they didnt want to deny them their holidays. Of course all the pagans had different interpretations of all those celebrations too. There were no pagan holidays that they ALL celebrated.

[@danielgriff2659]

@@MethosJK9 it doesnt matter what day was actually the day Christ was born.. I'm for making Christmas EVERY DAY since we dont know the real date.. you agree?

[@Honeyguts88]

Hey love your videos. But I gotta say man, this comes across like a PowerPoint. You should show yourself on camera talking more often. Not just images scrolling through. Just my thoughts.

[@esperthebard]

Thanks for the love! I've experimented a lot with both formats, and for whatever reason, the videos that have me on camera almost always are less viewed.

[@grifflancer2999]

I can't find anything about the accaru. EDIT: Ooohh... the Akhkharu

[@robertsmiley2207]

I think 🤔 the mystery keeps them intriguing we constantly reinvent them every generation something gets added to the lore and mythology 😎🦇🩸