I have a lot of vampires and a lot of story twists associated with them since I began playing, but they cross four generations now, and I don't know that I can include all of it here without it being a really long post. Instead I guess I'll give some biographical highlights of my main dynasties.
My vampire families are (coincidentally) descended from either the Montgomery family or the Goth family as a rule. Along with the Vatore family and the Duval family (who I created), they are the 'old blood' vampires in my game. Obviously Goth and Montgomery are human families, but it kind of worked out this way thanks to woohoo on vampire ley lines and the subsequent discovery my game has a glitch whereby all children following the birth of a vampire sim are automatically vampires, even if they shouldn't be...so in my game, the Montgomery and Goth families both have a recessive vampire gene trait going on which comes out in a child born when the family is in danger of destruction.
So yeah. My families.
The Goth Lineage
- The vampire gene emerged in the Goth line after the rest of the family died and Alex was left as the lone survivor. He never married, instead having an illict affair with the daughter of my original CAS sim, Hermione. They had two children, Cameron and Colby. Cameron was deliberately conceived on a ley line, and should have been the vampire heir. Colby had no vampire involvement in his conception or birth, yet turned out a vampire anyway. Cameron was bright, confident, friendly - Colby dark, jealous and antisocial. When Cameron's powers manifested, he was sent to learn about his new skills with the Montgomery (Thwaite) lineage, but Colby was basically ignored. Cameron was meant to be the heir to the Goth estate, but he died from sunlight exposure unexpectedly. His only son was born hours later, but in the space of those hours Colby saw his opportunity, and took possession of the Goth manor. He changed his name from Guthrie to Guthrie Goth, and thus assumed the mantle of the Goth inheritance and legacy. Cameron's son Cameron Eli (Cameron Jr) was thus left to be raised by the Montgomery (Thwaite) dynasty. Colby tried to gain custody of his nephew, but sensing danger, his guardians refused. A rift has existed between the two families ever since.
Colby has one son, Kane. Kane's mother got fed up with Colby's rage fits and petulant behaviour and left, leaving him to raise Kane on his own. In spite of his father's warped personality, Kane grew up friendly, warm and absolutely not interested in the Goth inheritance. In spite of this, he cannot escape his father. Colby wanted Kane to marry a pure blooded vampire from a high ranked dynasty, but instead Kane fell in love with a lowborn Vampire of hybrid human vampire stock, Eliannah, and married her behind Colby's back. Colby and Eliannah don't get along, but Colby knows he needs Kane's bloodline to continue in order to keep hold of the Goth estate, and so tolerates the relationship in front of his son. Kane is the only one who doesn't see the dark side of Colby, and sees no problem with making friends with vampires from the other dynastic lines.
The Montgomery/Thwaite Lineage
Juliet Montgomery was more than a bit rebellious, after having one child as the product of an affair with a married man (Sarah Anne), she married against her parents' wishes (taking the name Thwaite). After birthing a child conceived on a ley line, she and her husband abandoned the children, afraid that the Montgomery vampire legacy would ultimately destroy them. In their place, Juliet's brother Braydon raised the two children, but his heart was weak and he died of overexertion playing chess (I am not kidding. Sigh), leaving the teenage Sarah Anne to raise the child Aubrey. Sarah Anne had been rejected by her real father, abandoned by her mother, had seen her grandmother die moments after first meeting her, and had now lost her beloved uncle. When Aubrey came of age and his vampire traits became clear, Sarah Anne begged him to turn her. He did so, and Sarah Anne believed she had entered a world where she would not only evade death, but so would those she loved. Sarah Anne is cousin by blood to Cameron and Colby, and so she invited Cameron to come live with them when his powers manifested. Cameron and Aubrey did not get along, but after his death, Aubrey took custody and care of Cameron's only son, Cameron Eli, raising him as his own. Losing Cameron hurt Sarah Anne deeply. Although the oldest surviving vampire in my game and the last surviving individual carrying the Montgomery name, she still hasn't found anyone to put trust in outside of Aubrey and Cameron Jr.
Aubrey, on the other hand, took on the destiny to become Grand Master, in order to protect both Cameron Jr and the Sim world from the threat posed by Colby's ambitions. He forged strong bonds with the Vatore, intending to sire an heir with Lilith of good old vampire blood. Although he and Lilith have two children, the eldest, Xavier, chose love over legacy and ultimately decided to be cured of vampirism. He and his wife are now elders and will soon be lost from my game. The other child, a daughter, was a rebel from the start, and had an affair with a human who hated Aubrey and wanted to kill him. Aubrey no longer has a relationship with this child. Aubrey found, though, that he enjoyed being a parent and teaching his children about the world, creating an increasingly more powerful dynastic line. Ultimately, his sixth son, Marlowe, became his chosen heir. Marlowe, whose mother was a Duval vampire, is also a detective in the town, and very much believes in law, order, and justice. He and his brother Solomon, an active athlete, share property with Marlowe's heiress, Allison, and Solomon's son, Gregor. Gregor is a kleptomaniac and struggles to hide this from his serious and dedicated uncle.
Cameron Jr, meanwhile, has turned his back on the Goth bloodline and fell in love with one of Aubrey's daughters, Karlie, generally renowned for her beauty. Her mother was a human, and Colby has used this impure bloodline as a reason to justify keeping his brother's lineage out of the Goth inheritance. Cameron has two sons, Cameron III and Misael, and three grandchildren - Corona, Norah, and Cameron IV. Misael is an entrepreneur, running a shop in the town.
The original Cameron's ghost still regularly visits the lot where he died (Aubrey's home), and so he and his son have a close bond beyond the grave (although he and Aubrey still fight). In spite of their bad relationship, Aubrey is currently engaged in trying to resurrect Cameron (also partly because I worry about ghost culling O.O) in order to challenge Colby for the Goth inheritance and remove the threat once and for all.
The Vatore Family
Caleb and Lilith are peaceable vampires who have established strong bonds with Aubrey and his family. Caleb has one son, Giuseppe, and a single grandson, Gustav. Gustav is a scientist, and has forged a close friendship with a human colleague called Keitarou. Keitarou recently asked Gustav to bring him across, and Gustav agreed, wanting to prolong their working partnership. Together they are exploring the secrets of vampire DNA, but Gustav's recent abduction means that he now has an alien son, Oleander. Gustav has one other child, also an alien, born of a fling with an alien woman who came visiting his house following use of the satellite to send out signals. Gustav is not overly interested in vampire life, except what he can learn from it about the world and everything in it. He and his father live together and are very close. Giuseppe is prone to fits of depression and melancholy, especially having been jilted by Gustav's mother, but he has recently fallen in love again.
Lilith has the two children from Aubrey, and a grandaughter who Aubrey does not acknowledge. The granddaughter, Scheherezade, was born between her daughter and the human who wanted to kill Aubrey. Although Aubrey initially took custody of her, Scheherezade's character was too wild to be easily managed, and ultimately she ended up living with Lilith and Caleb. Now she lives on her own, resentful about her birth, and her rejection from the main vampire family to which she belongs. Colby sees her as a potential future ally in the ongoing power struggle between the two main families.
Aubrey is the Grand Master of vampires in my sim game, and he currently has eight children, twelve grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Marlowe also recently attained Grand Master status. Colby still has a long way to go to compete...
The Duval family have now died out (because I cured them all >.>) except for the bloodline that runs through Aubrey's sons Marlowe and Solomon, making them also heirs to that legacy.
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Rules for my vampires in general...
Marriage is not encouraged. It is fine for both male and female vampires to have more than one relationship and to have children by more than one partner. This helps to increase the bloodline of a family, as well as creating a family hierarchy.
Children can be born from humans and from other vampires, but only vampires born of two vampire parents can inherit the name of the family.
I did originally have the rule that only Grand Masters can obtain sun immunity, then my game decided to randomly give sun immunity to four lesser vampires, so I gave up on that one.
Vampire children, where possible, take the names of both parents, to denote their bloodline. For example, Colby Guthrie Goth, Marlowe Duval Thwaite, etc. Children born of vampires and humans only take the vampire surname. I don't have instances in my game where vampire human encounters produce human babies. I know it is meant to happen, but it never ever has in my game. I am at present wondering what to do about Gustav's alien children, as they're not vampires...
