FVZA researchers restrain a vampire being kept under observation in 1932

The Newly Transformed
The first few days after coming out of a vampiric coma are especially difficult for a vampire. A newly transformed vampire awakens disoriented, its judgment clouded by competing impulses and memories of its previous life. But all those are drowned out by a fierce, intense desire for blood. This urge for blood eventually snaps a vampire into focus, and it sets about finding a way to fill that urge.

The Hunting Pack
Though lone vampires are not uncommon, most vampires find it advantageous to either join an existing hunting pack or create one of their own. Each path has its own advantages. Joining an existing pack offers security, access to blood and protection from other packs. However, new members are low in the pecking order and are often forced to put themselves in dangerous positions, such as on advance scouting missions. In addition, new members of a pack are the last to feed, if they get to feed at all. Vampires possessing natural leadership skills may find it better to hunt on their own and eventually bring some of their victims into the fold.

With vampires unable to reproduce, the hunting pack is the family unit of their life. In a successful pack, each vampire has its role, and there is little dissension. A typical pack is made up of four vampires, with one Alpha Vampire and three underlings. Four seems to be the ideal number for a hunting pack: any more than that, not everyone always gets a chance to feed; any less and the hunting becomes appreciably riskier. Of course, in the distant past, when vampire control was in a more primitive state, large vampire armies rose up and spread by overwhelming entire towns.

Are vampires sentimental? Do they love? In a limited sense, yes. Vampires are capable of developing loyalties and behaving selflessly in the name of the pack. However, the pack is the only area of their lives in which they are not mercenary.

Alpha Vampires Vampires packs are meritocracies, not democracies. There are no elections, no "show of hands" in a vampire pack. The most capable hunter and leader runs the show, and the others follow. The Alpha Vampire coordinates hunting strategy, gives assignments and makes all final decisions. There are perks to the job. During hunting, the Alpha generally hangs back in a less risky position. yet when a victim is seized, the Alpha drinks first. But the job has its perils too. For one, the Alpha has the difficult task of choosing replacements for fallen packmates. In this, it must walk a fine line. While the Alpha must be stronger than its fellow pack-mates, it cannot afford to carry weak, ineffectual hunters in the pack. But stronger pack mates can rise up and become a threat to its position.

Like virtually all mammals, vampires assert their dominance through display behavior and fighting. Vampires hiss, bare their fangs and claws and showcase their prodigious leaping ability to try and intimidate rivals. Physical size and power are important but by no means the only determinant of Alpha status. In fact, intellectual capacity is more important than physical prowess in determining success and longevity as a vampire.

"Eventually the Alpha succumbs to... the weapons of vampire hunters."

While Alpha Vampires would seem to be in an enviable position, they actually have a higher mortality rate than non-Alphas. Each new challenge to an Alpha Vampire from within the pack takes its toll. Injuries pile up, including many of the permanently disabling variety. Vampires can lose an eye, have flesh torn off and break bones. Older vampires are far from the dashing, handsome types so often seen in movies. An older vampire is likely to be heavily scarred, with parts of its face missing. The ultimate fate of the Alpha Vampire is a grim one: cast out of the safety of the pack, no longer able to fight, the once powerful vampire is reduced to a solitary existence, subsisting on the blood of whatever cat or dog it can win the confidence of. Eventually, the Alpha succumbs to malnourishment or the weapons of vampire hunters.

Fledglings When a recently transformed vampire joins a pack, it is usually taken under the wing of an elder, who helps the fledgling learn how to hunt. While some packs have no patience with slow learners, most fledglings are given a little bit of time to get up to speed. However, an unusually quick-learner is perceived as a threat and may be destroyed by the Alpha. Fledglings with ambition learn to keep a low profile and hide their agenda until the time is right.

Hunting Vampires will utilize all at their disposal to hunt while avoiding detection. They will have female pack members pose as prostitutes to lure male victims. They will haunt the shadows around nightclubs, sporting and concert venues and all-night diners. Prostitutes and homeless always make up a disproportionate number of victims.

A given swath of real estate can only support so many vampires. While an urban area may offer more hunting opportunities for vampires, it also increases their chances of running afoul of another pack. The country is safer, but hunting opportunities may be few and far between. Therefore, vampire packs must be ruthless in defending their territory. Battles between vampire packs are almost unimaginably vicious. It is not enough to merely win the confrontation. To have a future, a vampire pack must show their rivals how ruthless they are.

Treatment of Victims Vampire treatment of victims can range from indifferent to barbaric. If a pack finds a suitable new member, it will keep that person in their midst until transformation is complete. Once a pack size is set, vampires will usually tear their victims apart after feeding. Some consider this behavior as proof that vampires are cruel, but in fact it is more a question of pragmatism than cruelty. Left intact, today's bite victim could become tomorrow's rival. More sophisticated packs hide the corpses of their victims so as to avoid alerting authorities to their presence.

Agents clean up after a battle with vampires in an abandoned New York City subway station

It wasn't always this way. In the Middle Ages, when vampire packs roamed the countryside without fear of extermination, they enjoyed occupying lavish digs. Once set up in these palaces, Alpha Vampires would conspicuously display symbols of their success with all the windy self-importance of today's ruling classes.

Hygiene A vampire is generally uninterested in personal hygiene. They dislike washing and will wear the same clothes as long as possible. However, because their hunting missions may require them to hide in plain sight, vampires have no choice but to wash themselves and put on new clothes (usually stolen from stores or taken off of victims) from time to time.

Shiva the Destroyer

Despite the fact that they do not age on a cellular level, vampire mortality rates have always been high. In 1800, a newly transformed vampire could expect to live 10 years on average. By 1900, that number had dropped to 5 years. In 1960, that number was only 2 years. The leading causes of death have also changed with the times. In the Middle Ages, vampiricide, or murder by other vampires, was the leading cause of death. By 1930, vampire hunters had become the number one killer.