Dhampir Preview
Gods and Icons includes a new race for the 13th Age Roleplaying game, the Dhampir.
The Dhampir is the child of a vampire and a human. Dhampir's are found in folklore of various Balkan cultures and in Romany culture. The etymology of the word dhampir comes from Albanian where it means "to drink with teeth." I'm not the first one to put them in a roleplaying game, for example you can find them in Pathfinder as a playable race and Nights Black Agents as NPCs.
I chose to add dhampirs in order to highlight one of the new icons in Gods and Icons, Baron von Vorlatch. The baron is a vampire who rules the barony of Borgostnya*, a part of Emperor Roland's Espairian Empire. So, we have the largest human dominated culture including a barony controlled by an undead. Most dhampir player characters will have some icon relationship with the baron.
Gods and Icon's Dhampirs receive two racial powers: Regeneration and Identify Vampire.
* The Borgo part in the name Borgostnya comes from the Borgo Pass, famously used by Bram Stoker in Dracula. Borgo Pass was the Hungarian name. The modern Romanian name is the Tihuţa Pass.
You can stick Borgostnya in your own world in any big human empire or kingdom where want to add a little undead adventure and intrigue.