Races

[xoCharm]

Vampires
Traditional:
The basic bloodsucker. They will not show up in mirrors or videos or pictures; the intake of a sufficient amount of human blood every few days is essential to survival. Traditional vampires are confined to nighttime as UV rays from the sun degrade their skin very quickly. A few minutes will make them burn and steam, but too much more than that and the vampire will be burned to a pile of ash. Additionally, vampires have an icy touch and are as pale as the moon they walk under. Some vampires have the ability to turn into a bat or other nighttime creature. In order to become a vampire, you must have been born this way or have been bitten and then allowed to drink vampire blood (aka, been 'turned'). However, there are extremely few born vampires and most are royalty. This is not owed to bloodlines, but the fact that fertile vamps are incredibly rare, and most royal males are confined by custom to only marry a vampire who can carry his child. Traditionally, the older a vampire is, the more pure its bloodline and the stronger its power. There are very few extremely old vampires left, but of those, some can walk in sunlight, some can get by on animal blood, some have learned various magics, etc. Vampires are said to be the descendants of Cain, and are one of the five First Races, which include angels, demons, humans, vampires and shapeshifters.
(This is the basic template for vampires. If you want to change some of these properties, that's fine, but this outlines what most vamps should be like.)

Psychic:
Instead of blood, these vampires feed off the energy and vitality of those around them (think the Dementors of Harry Potter, only less fucking creepy). They may walk in the daylight, but it is uncomfortable and unpleasant; some say it itches, or that they find themselves getting bad sunburns very quickly. The way a psychic vampire feeds is fairly specific to the person. Some get their sustenance from sex, crowds, sporting events, or just by provoking people to anger only to drain them. Psychic vampires are created as mutations of humans or traditional vampires, the children of psychic vampires (again, rare), or by having been turned somehow. Psychic vampires are very allergic to fire, especially holy flame, or any other variety of holy light. Other traits are left to your judgment.

Humans
While most humans are normal folks like you and I, there are a few whose family lines possess a trace of nonhuman blood. They are still humans, but they have certain very interesting family traits…

Demons
Demons are not the small, red, fork-tailed imps you may have seen in fairytales. They generally possess both a human and a demonic form; in the human form, they are hot-blooded, ruddy-faced people with a tendency toward darker natures, though there are exceptions to every rule. A demon’s truer form, their demonic form, is a humanoid shape with various changes based on latent personality traits or ties. Some have various types of horns or tails, some are scaled, a small few are winged, some have hooves or claws, strangely shaped eyes or oddly colored skin. They tend to smell of sulfur, especially soon after a transformation between shapes. Many demons exist mainly in one shape or the other. Generally, those more in touch with their darker natures can be found in their demonic forms, while the more moderate or humane of demonkind generally stay in their human shapes. They have mild animal-controlling powers and most can manipulate fire and brimstone. Occult magic is popular among them, though not all have the aptitude for it. Demons are created only through birth; they are one of the five First Races, which includes angels, demons, humans, vampires and shapeshifters, and tend to be proud of the long line of their heritage. Demons tend to live for a very, very long time, but there are not too many of them…on earth, anyway. Most demons that live on earth have a reason for leaving Hell, their homeland. Holy or blessed items will burn demons.

Angels
White:
White angels come in two varieties; those that are the Elder angels, created at the Beginning of the world, immortal and beautiful but extremely rare to find on earth, and ‘created’ or ‘once-mortal’ angels, humans who led exceptional lives and were exalted to angelhood after death. The created angels are much more common, existing as a sort of guardian angel for whomever they come across who they think needs their help. They are also much more human, and much easier for people to relate to. Those elder angels who walk the earth are generally very alien beings, which tend to seem almost autistic in their inability to understand social cues and the factors of life that motivate people to do the things they do. They are, however, more powerful in their god-given abilities, and generally are the angel of something (i.e. angel of death, angel of music, angel of compassion, etc ad nauseum). All of the angels, whether created or elder, have certain traits in common. All white angels possess white wings which cannot be hidden from any but human eyes. White angels are virtuous beings by necessity, as those who are sinful will fall from grace and become black angels, or Fallen. Most white angels possess some healing talent, or some other various power, but most of the powers angels have are defensive. They are rare creatures, especially the earthbound Elders, most of whom prefer to live in Heaven, their homeland. Most once-mortal angels feel more at home on earth, and spend most of their time there. Angels are always aligned Good, and while they will help anyone who needs them, their primary focus is on humans. Angels sometimes refer to themselves as bene ha'Elohim (bene elim, for short) meaning 'sons of God.' Black angels tend to use this name for themselves less often than white angels.
(If you're going to create a white angel character, I'd recommend refraining from trying to be Archangel Michael or something. There are archangels who are not so integral to heaven's hierarchy for you to play with!)

Black:
Black angels, or Fallen angels, are those white angels which have fallen from grace by one method or another. At the time of their Fall, their wings shrivel and turn black, and they lose the ability to fly. Their holy power is lost, sometimes switched to a darker inverse, sometimes erased altogether. They are a beautiful, tragic, and often bitter race. Though they can fall for many reasons, there tends to be one insurmountable sin that is their downfall and can end up defining them. Some Fallen embrace their new darkness, and some are revolted by it. Many are afflicted with a neverending urge to repent...after all, these black angels were all at one time some of the most holy, good and kind creatures around. Those Fallen who are able to repent and overcome their sins are able to regain their status as white angels, but when their wings regrow white they will possess at least one black feather per wing as a reminder of their past. Even still, there are those black angels who feel they have been so wronged by Heaven that they actively seek out and hunt down white angels.

*As a sidenote, neither black nor white angels can reproduce.

Werewolves
The ancient cousins of lycans and oldest rivals of vampires, werewolves are a species of those who are beasts by light of the moon...and the light of the moon only. They cannot change when they want to, nor can they stop a change. Typically, only the older werewolves can control themselves when shifted, and old for a werewolf is around 200 years. Unfortunately, due to their uncontrollable nature and the high levels of fear regarding their race, they are often hunted and are a dying breed. Werewolves have exceptional strength, speed and senses even when in human form, and heal more quickly than most species. Werewolves are created by being bitten or being born to werewolf parents. Werewolves are highly allergic to silver.

Lycans
Lycans are a newer species, evolved from the werewolves within the past millennium. They possess the enhanced speed, strength and senses of their werewolf predecessors, as well as their regenerative abilities, in both human and lycan form. Lycans also tend to be excellent trackers and have inherited the werewolves' rivalry and hatred of vampires. The difference between a lycan and a werewolf is that lycans have a more wolfish form and can change their shape at will (with the exception of newly changed lycans, who often need the aid of moonlight to help them learn how to shift). The moon still has an effect on lycans, but it does not necessitate a shift for them as it does their werewolf brethren. Lycans are created by being bitten by a lycan in it's wolf form, or being born to a lycan. Like werewolves, lycans are also highly allergic to silver.

Neko
Neko are a race of animal-people. Said to be the descendants of interbreeding between humans, shifters and fae, Neko traditionally are a race of humans with cat-ears, tails, delicate boning and brilliantly colored eyes. They tend to be sleek, sly people, fond of tricks and treats, whose moral code glosses over theft as, more or less, a survival instinct. However, due to ever-increasing interbreeding between species, other variety of neko are slowly becoming more prevalent. There are fox-neko, for example, and sheep-neko. Still, the normal neko, with the traits of housecats, remain most prevalent. Neko are the newest species on earth, and some of the most high-strung, flighty and unreliable.


Hybrids
While in the past, it has been more than a little taboo to interbreed with races outside of your own, the modern world has become quite a bit more diverse, both in it’s peoples and their modes of thinking. Thus, hybrids are becoming ever more populous. There are still not a ton of them, but those hybrids that do exist are never more than a mix of two species, and the powers/traits they inherit from their parents often behave strangely and are always weaker. That is a child of a werewolf and a vampire will still transform into the beast, but may be able to stand sunlight better and need less blood to survive…but some blood intake now and then will still be very necessary. Their enhanced senses and reflexes will not be as powerful as that of a true vampire or werewolf. The hybrid tends to be a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none, having a wider range of abilities but not the power of a pure beast. (As hybrids are rare, please no more than 2 hybrid characters per person!)

Hunters
While not a species persay, Hunters are a very prevalent group of people. They may be any race but their sole purpose is to hunt the Supernatural. They are well trained in the weaknesses of their targets and they usually make their own weapons. Hunters may form groups but they are usually solitary workers. Some Hunters have been successful Bounty Hunters and only kill for profit.