"They cannot outrun me for long. The sun will see to that."
- —Anonymous Vampire Hunter
A band of Ostermark Vampire Hunter
Vampire Hunters are driven souls who seek to destroy the Undead by any means necessary. Many of them have lost friends and family members to the Restless Dead, most often to their namesake. Since any but the most cursory knowledge of the Undead is a forbidden subject in the Empire, vampire hunters are a self-made lot. They congregate quietly with others of their ilk; sharing what little knowledge they’ve gleaned from their more successful encounters with the forces of the Restless Dead in hopes of one day finding a sure method of killing vampires.[1b]
A Day in the Life
A vampire hunter’s daily life is long hours of fear, hatred, and endurance interrupted by episodes of mind-jarring terror and bloody carnage. As the sun rises the hunter sets about his work, for he knows that only during the day can he enjoy even the illusion of safety. Combining equal measures of caution and haste, he must gather clues of his prey, telltale signs all the Undead leave in their wake. This can include tracking and gathering gossip or hours of research and study on long dead families and forgotten locals.[1b]
Then, if the day is not over, the hunter will try and corner his quarry while it sleeps. More often, there will be days, weeks, or even years of pursuit as vampires are a canny, intelligent, and illusive foe. This means that at the end of each day, fearful of discovery, the hunter must find a defensible place to hole up and wait with stake and hammer for the dawn. Sleep is found only fleetingly for the vampire hunter, always by day, and usually beneath the rays of the sun. This cycle continues until the hunter is successful, or more likely, becomes the hunted.[1b]
The Hunter’s Curse
The profession of vampire hunter is not one many choose willingly. They are often driven to it because of something that happened in their life. Often this is revenge for someone slain by the vampire, though there are occasionally other reasons. Here are a couple of possible vampire hunter motivations, though they are certainly not the only ones.[1b]
- Lost Loved One - Perhaps the most common motivation is the loss of a loved one to the bloodsuckers. The death of wives and daughters especially can twist a man's soul into a dark knot and convince him to take up the hammer and stake.[1b]
- Envy - A rare, though not unknown, motivation is envy. Some who learn of the existence of vampires, and catch a glimpse of the creature's dark majesty, want it for themselves. So they turn to hunting these horrors to learn their secrets.[1b]
- Death Wish - For some, hunting vampires is a warped kind of suicide. Though they might not admit it to themselves, they push themselves harder and harder and try and tackle progressively more difficult foes in their ultimate quest to die. Many hunters starting out on their journey for other reasons, end up here.[1b]
- Glory - It is not uncommon for some, particularly warriors, to view the hunting of vampires as a measure of prowess, strength, and courage. These crazed individuals delight in the chase and the inevitable life and death struggle, proving themselves greater fighters than the lords of the night.[1b]
Notable Vampire Hunters
- Erhart - Erhart's wife was turned on the same bloody night he vowed to become a vampire hunter. Now, years later he has tracked her down, but cannot bring himself to do the deed and finish it. He needs someone with more steel in their blood to help him kill his wife.[1b]
- Klaus - After a while, many vampire hunters lose their faith and succumb to a death wish. This is the case with Klaus, and he now seeks to end his endless struggle in the bloodiest fashion. Perhaps a friendly ear can help him carry on, or aid him in his final blaze of glory against the dark masters of the night.[1b]
- Foster Braybrook - Foster is such a Vampire hunter, a Halfling field-warden whose valiant service in protecting his homeland from the Undead of Sylvania resulted in a retaliatory attack on his family by agents of the Von Carsteins. Braybrook is cold and methodical in his treatment of the Undead; the death of his family made him unable to feel pity—or much of anything else.[2b]
- Sabrina Hochstetter - Sabina was an ordinary tomb robber until her partner had his throat torn out in a Border Princes tomb that wasn’t as uninhabited as it looked. The experience changed her, and although she is a fearless Vampire killer, her greatest enemy is her own debilitating despair, which can keep her shut in her room for weeks at a time.[2b]
- Leo Schwenkfeld - An Imperial soldier, Leo Schwenkfeld served until he was caught in the explosion of a cannon misfire. He had a religious experience, a vision that told him he had been spared for a reason, to devote himself to the service of Morr. Leo was never a learned man, so he serves Morr the best way he can: as a soldier. At first he didn’t understand why the Raven Knights wanted him to learn to read and write—he already knew how to wield a halberd, and what else did he need? Now that he’s being sent to track down a Vampire, he wants all the information he can get, even if reading all those books about their history gives him a headache right where his metal plate is.[2a]
- Hertwig Teichmann - Hertwig Teichmann was a young physician with a promising career in Nuln when his fiancée was murdered by a Vampire. After dispatching the fiend, he joined the Fellowship of the Shroud. He is an expert on the detection of Vampires.[1a]