Essentially, a vampire is a human being that has died and has been subsequently resurrected by either the bite of another vampire, or through some other supernatural means. Complex diabolic pacts and certain obscure black magic rites have been known to create vampires; evil sorcerers and some lycanthropes that have died may rise again to become vampires; extremely evil men (or women) who die while committing an evil act may return as vampires. The most common and sure-fire method of becoming a vampire is to die from a vampire bite. The sanguinary bite (or "kiss") of a vampire is its method of perpetuating its breed, and those rising from the dead to become  vampires are subject to the will of the vampire that originally bit him/her. The bite of the vampire is usually detected as two small but swollen puncture wounds; often referred to as "the Seal of Dracula". Most vampires prefer to attack victims of the opposite sex.

Many scholars, vampirologists, and vampire hunters alike believe that vampirism is a kind of "supernatural disease", for which there is no known cure. It has been long theorized that the vampire's bite deposits a kind of enzyme found in the vampire’s saliva into the bloodstream of its victim. If the vampire draws too much blood to cause its victim to expire, the enzyme triggers a metabolic change in the victim's body, beginning with the production of a strange dark-green liquid called "ichor" within the victim's bloodstream. In about three days, there is enough ichor to nourish the victim's body the way that blood once did. If the "host-vampire" is not properly destroyed within this three-day period, the victim will return to "life" as a vampire.

If the victim's blood loss is not significant enough to cause death, the victim will show signs of progressed anemia due to the effects of the enzyme in his/her bloodstream, but will not die. Until the enzyme has fully metabolized, the victim will be weak and sickly -as well as being susceptible to the hypnotic commands (whether conveyed verbally or telepathically) by the vampire that attacked him/her. The victim will almost always develop a perverse, often amorous attraction toward the vampire that bit him/her as well. The victim may be spared the horrible fate of becoming a vampire (and returning to normal) if the host-vampire is properly destroyed before the enzyme metabolizes itself -claiming the victim as a vampire. Likewise, should the victim suffer more attacks from the vampire-host during this time, the metabolizing process will be expedited, causing the victim to "turn" at a much quicker rate.

The body of a vampire is technically dead by human standards. It can be said that a vampire’s body is in a state of arrested decay, animated by a supernatural force or spirit residing in its corporeal form, and kept vital by the body’s production of ichor.

Although there are many instances of solitary vampires (i.e. - vampires that operate and travel alone), these creatures are also known to cohabit with one another, forming what is known among vampire hunters as a "nest". There can be any number from 2 - 20 vampires in a single nest, usually controlled by either a vampire of greater power (the eldest) or a Vampire Regent.

"Older" vampires or Vampire Regents are occasionally known to posses human thralls. Such thralls can either be willing or unwilling (i.e. - under hypnotic control) servitors charged with the safekeeping of the vampire and its lair during daylight hours. Thralls may be used to procure or otherwise lure victims for their vampire-masters as well. Willing thralls are usually recruited by the promise of immortality in exchange for their unholy service. Some thralls are made into ghouls (see: Ghoul) to better serve their vampire-masters.

The nosferatu is a rare subspecies of the common vampire whose origins are steeped in obscurity. There are some that believe the nosferatu is the next stage in the phylogenetic process of a ghoul; in other words, a ghoul that has consumed its vampire-master's blood for decades - without being drained of blood itself - may "evolve" to become a nosferatu. This is pure supposition, however, as there is no evidence to support this theory. Little is known about this strange offshoot of the common vampire. What is known, is that the nosferatu are solitary creatures, preferring to dwell in the most hidden and inaccessible locales (normally underground, e.g. - sewer systems or abandoned cellars, etc.). The nosferatu are known to be hideous in appearance; their skin is a pale, greenish-blue color, stretched over their elongated skull-like faces. Their flesh is coarse and they are commonly hairless. They have long, pointed ears, red eyes, and sharp, rodent-like teeth. Their hands are exceptionally large, with long talon-like fingers that act like claws, able to shred through wood and thin-gauge steel. They seem to revel in squalor, and they often appear as malodorous tatterdemalions; adding to their horrific mien. They seem to be inferior to most common vampires in that they are unable to shape-change. Nosferatu are slightly physically stronger than their "cousins", albeit considerably slower and less agile. They possess all the other powers and weaknesses as common vampires, being particularly adept at hypnotic control (presumably due to their inability to commingle in human society because of their appearance). Few Nosferatu have ever succeeded in becoming Vampire Regents, but it has been known to happen.