Noctii stand outside of time, a unique race that has watched the rise and fall of kingdoms and the continuing struggles in the domain of Man. What Noctii are, is even unkown to themselves. Undead, and surviving off the blood of the living, Noctii have haunted the Ages. Myth and legend surrounds their existance even within the secret covens that lay hidden within the cities of Man. While many Noctii have taken to stand aside and watch time flow, others have set themselves with seats of power and names of great fame. To be a Nocti is to live with power and fear.

Noctii at first seem simply a manifestation of human fear and wonder, an idea of some primal force that has overcome death and feeds on the life of mortality. A myth perhaps, but too much seems to prove otherwise.

Some of us would believe the hysteria that has come to wedge the belief that Noctii exist in our society is merely a result of a fear that some being can go into the undeath, that a loved one may one night wake up from their grave and feed upon the living. Silly as it may sound, the issue is compounded by the Churches ever growing fear of dark creatures and their will to remove such things from the world. So while the Church continues to preach out against such destructive forces, they only aid in the superstition, and thus why it is so prominent today.

There are those of us however that find the idea not all that absurd. When one sees the unspeakable possibilities of necromancy, how is it not conceivable that some twisted magician thought to go outside of time and become an immortal? To do so, what would be the price? True, not many of the rumors of encounters involve dangerous magicks, but simply family members they had buried and in turn are said to have risen again. These people had no ties to the arcane, no knowledge of what perversions it could bring, but what stops one man from rising and another from not?

For now, we can say nothing and be for certain. Perhaps it is a bit of both, but hopefully time will show the whole concept of nocturnal beasts feeding on humanity is nothing but silly.

As known to Noctii, the only way to turn a person into a Nocti is by taking the individual into death. After draining a victim’s life over a long period of time, the mortal must then die. After three days, the immortal will then rise from the dead free of scars or blemishes of their passing. It is then that they will feel the need to feed, digging themselves out of their grave (if they were buried) and prowling the night in search of something to drink. This hunger is completely subconscious and past ties do little to effect the Nocti’s desire to drink.

The life of a Nocti is not without its challenges as Noctii face many complications unknown to them as mortals. The greatest of these is their weakness to sunlight. While superstition rumors that a Nocti cannot walk in the sun, this is not entirely true. Most Noctii do prefer to rest during the day, but it is possible to face the light of the sun. While the sun is above its horizon, Noctii feel a sense of lethargy and become weak. Their ability to operate and defend themselves is severely hampered, and so rather than face these effects, many Noctii remain indoors and in hiding during the day.

As Noctii are a creature of the undead, they cannot heal by traditional means. Using bandages or potions has little effect on any wounds received in combat, so drastic healing must come from draining the blood of a victim.

Other rumors persist that Noctii are harmed by garlic and silver or that they cannot pass into holy ground or over rivers. Which of these are true and which are fable has yet to be discovered.

While commoners often tie long nails and white skin to Noctism, Noctii share no common appearance other than once they begin to feel the effects of lacking blood. When Noctii are fully fed, they look as they did in the prime of their youth free of scars or marks. Their skin is colored the same as it was in life: they are the striking image of who they were generations, or days, before.

When the effects of hunger come over a Nocti, their skin begins to pale and the youth drains from their face. As this hunger persists the color from their hair begins to fade and their skin begins to wrinkle. This process can continue until the Nocti’s face becomes a ghostly color, shriveled and deformed. Only until they feed again will their youthful complexion return.

After passing into immortality Noctii tend to become cold to humanity, guarding themselves and their secrets very closely. Companionship is few and far between unless the Nocti takes to a human they wish to turn, or simply enjoy. A smaller group of Noctii continue to live amongst the mortal lives they once lead, but in fear of being discovered by those who knew of their mortal passing.

In general, Noctii are solitary hunters who lose their human ties. The most ancient of Noctii in turn forget that they were once mortals. These creatures are quick to anger and slow to show remorse or empathy. Noctii are cautious to make friends (if ever) and rarely fall in love. However, nothing prevents them from doing any of this, it’s merely something psychological, a part of their mortal self lost in death.

From fear of destruction or weakness, some Noctii band together to form a coven in hopes of making their existence easier. For mortals that have just been turned, the security of a coven is often sought, a place where they can slowly adapt to their new selves. For older Noctii, the idea of a coven is scorned as they have learned to exist solely on their own.

Covens may often form to protect hunting grounds from other Noctii, lesser immortals banding together to defend against an ancient Nocti.

The following are a list of abilities available to Noctii when they have a blood pool great enough to expend the points.

Healing: From the blood that the Nocti has drained from mortals, the Nocti can in turn heal his or herself. The act itself requires time to concentrate, but the effects are felt immediately.

Regeneration: Using the blood that’s been drunk a Nocti can aid himself in regenerating, in turn lowering the time it takes to recover from a wound.

Resist: Hardening their skin, the Nocti can take a greater number of blows without feeling much of the effect. This does not make them immune to physical damage, but does help in the prevention of it being life-threatening.

Rage: Letting a bloodlust come over them, the Nocti’s speed and strength increase, helping them to fend off and dodge assailants.

Note that all powers other than Heal require constant concentration, thus preventing the use of other “concentration” abilities while using them.

In terms of game mechanics, the Noctii feed from other living creatures by attacking them with their bare hands. To drain from a victim:

• Type .usestyle vampire to activate the vampire combat style.
• Attack a victim with your fists. Every time you successfully drain, it will emote over your head. Therefore, be careful when draining near other people.
• Feeding will both fill your hunger meter (.hunger), as it will also fill your Blood Pool. The cap of your blood pool is dependant on your Strength value.
• It is advisable to type .usestyle none after feeding, to disable the vampire style.
• There is also a text command to feed from unconscious bodies: .feedfrom. Type it again to stop feeding from the target. The numerous details of this command are concealed and only available through IC lore.

To use the vampire abilities, using the blood pool, the command is:

• .useblood
• This command can also be followed by the name of the ability to use. For example, .useblood rage, .useblood heal, .useblood resist, .useblood regeneration