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A dhampir is a being that is half- Vampire and half- Human , born from a vampire father and a human mother. In some beliefs, the vampire father is the deceased husband of the Widow ed mother. Dhampirs, in comparison with normal human beings, are unusually adept at killing vampires. The word "dhampir" is associated with Folklore of the Roma people of the Balkans . LEGENDS In the Balkans it is believed that vampires have a great desire for women, so a vampire will return to have intercourse with his wife or with a woman he was attracted to in life. Throughout the area the term ''dhampir'' refers to the offspring of a vampire and a human; terms for such a being that are used in various subregions include ''vampijerović'', ''vampirić'' ("little vampire"), and ''lampijerović''; in some regions the child is named "Vampir" if a boy and "Vampiresa" if a girl, or "Dhampir" if a boy and "Dhampiresa" if a girl. In other areas it is believed that the offspring of a vampire will "be slippery like jelly, and cannot live" (Vukanovic 1957-1959, pt. 3, p. 112). Among all Balkan peoples it is believed that the child of a vampire can see and destroy vampires. Among some groups, the ability to see vampires is considered exclusive to dhampirs. The powers of a dhampir may be inherited by the dhampir's offspring. Various means of killing or driving away vampires are recognized among peoples of the region, but the dhampir is seen as the chief agent for dealing with vampires. Methods by which a dhampir kills a vampire include shooting the vampire with a bullet, transfixing it with a hawthorn stake, and performing a ceremony that involves touching "crowns" of lead to the vampire's grave. If the dhampir cannot destroy a vampire, he may command it to leave the area. A dhampir is always paid well for his services. The amount of money varies, but there is never dickering over the price. Standard pay for a dhampir may also include a meal or a suit of clothing. Sometimes a dhampir is paid in cattle. False dhampirs Quite often, charlatans traveling the regions around the Carpathian Mountains and elsewhere in Eastern Europe would claim to be dhampirs. Operating by the original myth of '' Vampyr '' (old spelling, both singular and plural) as spirit creatures, they were the only ones who could see the spirit and would put on elaborate shows for villages, often wrestling with an invisible foe until it was then trapped in a brass vessel. Usually a dhampir would wait until there was a death in a village. As rural people tended to be more superstitious, unnatural explanations would be believed for unusual events, real or imagined (such as believing to have seen the dead walking the village at night). The belief was that the vampyr would take over the recently dead corpse, for as long as it would last, to invade villages. They fed off life force directly, not by blood, sometimes killing victims in close proximity so life leaving the body could be consumed more quickly.) Once fear, grief and superstition took hold in a village following a recent death, the dhampir would "come to the rescue". FICTION Japanese author Hideyuki Kikuchi has written seventeen novels in his '' Vampire Hunter D '' series about a dhampir called "D", who travels across a war-torn land fighting against "The Nobility" (who are actually vampires). There have been two Anime based on his books. The first is an adaptation of the original novel, while the other is an adaptation of the third novel in the series. In both anime, D is referred to, both directly and indirectly, as the son of Count Dracula . Another dhampir is , Blade is indeed a Dhampir, a son of a vampire and a woman, and the movie character is based, in part, on this version. Rayne, the main character of the '' BloodRayne '' Video Game franchise, is another dhampir. She also has many brothers and sisters (that she must slay) who are also dhampirs. Alek Knight is the dhampir anti-hero of the Slayer vampire series of novels by Karen Koehler . He is also a skilled vampire hunter. From the '' Castlevania '' series of video games, Adrian Farenheits Tepes (also known simply as ''Alucard'') is the offspring of an unnatural bond between Dracula and a human woman named Lisa . He inherits many vampiric abilities such as the power to transform into a bat, a wolf, or a cloud of mist. He also has the unnatural strength of a vampire, the ability to leap great distances, and use various forms of magic. Through the series, Alucard aids humans in fighting against his father, and in the most recent games, which take place in the 21st century, he works under the alias "Genya Arikado" to prevent the return of a new dark lord. Donovan Baine , a character in the video game series '' Darkstalkers '', is also a dhampir. The protagonist of ''Dhampire: Stillborn'', a graphic novel scripted by Nancy Collins , is a dhampir, as is Magiere, the female protagonist of the '' Saga Of The Noble Dead '' which commences with the aptly-titled novel ''Dhampir''. In the latter case, the character begins the story with no knowledge of her ancestry and earns her living as a fake vampire-hunter as above; her discovery of the true state of affairs comes as a considerable shock. Jessica Allodola from Amelia Atwater-Rhodes 's Demon In My View is a dhamphir who spent several years in suspended animation in her mother's vampiric womb. After her mother became human again, Jessica was born as a child with a direct link to Siete, the father of all vampires. Role-playing Games: Vampire: The Masquerade In the '''' Role-playing Game universe created by White Wolf Game Studios , a Dhampir is the child of a 15th generation Vampire and a Mortal (may be of either gender) or two 15th generation vampires. In 1999, White Wolf introduced an end-time scenario which affected all of their game lines; included in this was the "Vampire: The Masquerade" series. In the book ''Time of Thin Blood,'' weak-blooded Western Vampires—whose blood was sufficiently distant from that of the original Vampire, Caine—lacked many standard vampiric powers and were often incapable of creating further vampires, but became capable of conceiving and birthing dhampirs. This was considered a sign of the coming Eschaton , known to Vampires as "Gehenna." While a Dhampir is not technically a Ghoul (a human given supernatural powers by drinking vampire blood), they have biological similarities to Revenants (ghouls that are literally bred to serve vampires). The most important differences between Dhampirs and Revenants are cultural. Revenants grow up in a freakish, monstrous subculture of Vampires and Ghouls. Only quite unusual circumstances could lead to a Revenant growing up among normal, contemporary humans. A Dhampir probably spent most of their time among normal humans. They might not even know about their supernatural heritage. Learning about the secret World Of Darkness may come as a bit of a shock. All Dhampirs are young, without exception. The Thin-Blooded (weakest of all vampires, so far removed from Caine that they are nearly human) themselves have appeared only within the last 20 years (as of 1998). Role-playing Games: Kindred of the East In the '''' Role-playing Game universe created by White Wolf Game Studios , ''dhampyr'' means the offspring of an Asian vampire (also called ''Cathayan'' or '' Kuei-jin '') with a human or with another of its kind. Dhampyrs, or Shade Walkers, can function both day and night, although they find sunlight uncomfortable. They can breed with humans, but not with Kuei-jin or other dhampyrs. Dhampyrs must eat, drink, and sleep. By using Chi energy, they can perform feats not possible for humans. They can regain chi through rest or by eating flesh (usually they cannot by drinking blood). Dhampyrs are mortal but can live for centuries. Once mature, they age at roughly 1/10 the rate of humans. Severe injuries can kill them, but they can withstand far worse damage than humans. Under certain circumstances, a dhampyr who dies can return as a Kuei-jin. About half of all dhampyrs conceived are not carried to term; this apparently is true for both human and Kuei-jin mothers. Dhampyrs tend to grow up psychologically disturbed, whether raised by a human or a Kuei-jin. Their unusual abilities make them useful tools for their parents in the Kuei-jin courts; however, they are never fully accepted in Kuei-jin society. Their half-monstrous nature also prevents them from participating fully in mortal society. They are often loners and wanderers by nature. Although ''Kindred of the East'' is set in the same World of Darkness universe as '''', dhampyrs do not mix well with the Western Vampires of that universe (Cainites). Dhampyrs cannot be ghouled (made subservient to a Western vampire) or Embraced (transformed to Cainites). Conversely, in Kindred of the East source material, Cainites cannot produce dhampyr offspring. REFERENCES Legends
Vampire: The Masquerade
Kindred of the East
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