One of the most prolific supernatural creatures in The Elder Scrolls series, as well as in fiction in general, are the bloodsucking vampires. These undead nightmares that roam the wilds of Tamriel, stealing away their victims in a flash or feeding on them while they sleep, are some of the most powerful mages and warriors in the game, making them a difficult battle for low-level characters.
While vampires in The Elder Scrolls take a lot of lore from their real-world counterparts, both ancient and Hollywood created, they are also blended well into the established lore of the world, being creations of the Daedric Prince Molag Bal. This does mean, however, that some aspects of their character make less sense than they should.
10 Their Ability To Hide Among Mortals
After being transformed into a vampire, one of the first noticeable physiological changes is that a victim's eyes will turn a bright, glowing orange. While further, more obvious transformations can be staved off by feeding on mortal blood, these eyes persist no matter how much a vampire feeds. Since these eyes don't occur naturally unless someone is infected with vampirism, it raises the question of how a vampire can pass off as a normal human when the most defining characteristic of their infection is so easy to spot.
9 The Numerous Strains Of Vampirism
Across the many iterations of vampires in The Elder Scrolls, there are said to be numerous different strains of the vampire virus. Since vampires originated from divine intervention in the Merethic Era, there have been several thousand years for the effects to change over time, but the breadth of difference between strains is questionable. In particular, there is a strain of vampirism in The Elder Scrolls Online, Chaotica Vampiris, which can only affect people who are already vampires that enhances their already impressive physical capabilities.
8 The Many Different Cures
Just as there are multiple strains of the vampire virus, there are also apparently multiple different ways in which someone who is infected can remove the infection. Falion in Skyrim performs some sort of ritual that involves using a filled Black Soul Gem, notable for being the only soul gem able to capture human souls, though there are several other cures, including a permanent one.
In The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, the Nereverine can complete a side quest for Molag Bal that will not only cure their vampirism, but will prevent them from contracting the disease ever again. Strangely, a witch in Oblivion, a former member of the Glenmoril coven, will grant the player a cure for vampirism, though Glenmoril witches are notable for starting the werewolf trend among the Companions in Skyrim.
7 Molag Bal's Hatred Of Arkay
According to legends, Molag Bal created the first vampire to spite the Divine Arkay by corrupting one of his worshippers, Lamae Beolfag, but no real reason is given as to why. Molag Bal isn't exactly known for being a logical thinker, but there are a handful of the other Divines that could have angered Molag Bal just as equally. Even Meridia, a fellow Daedric Prince, would have made a lot more sense than Arkay, since she is adamantly against undead of any kind.
6 Molag Bal's Hatred Of Everyone Else
Daedric Princes, while often seen as evil by many of the citizens of Tamriel, are a lot more complicated than being simply an Elder Scrolls replacement for demons and devils. For the most part, the Daedric Princes don't care much for one another, but also don't actively try to spite each other, which makes Molag Bal's hatred of so many other cosmic beings stand out from the rest. Particularly, why does he take the time to create an entire race of undead beings because of his hatred of one Divine, when they also show just as much hatred for Boethiah in Skyrim, yet doesn't take the time to do much more than order one of their worshippers to be killed by The Dragonborn.
5 Vampire Lord Powers
Vampire Lords are said to be the purest form of vampirism that can only be bestowed by Molag Bal himself or by being bitten by a Vampire Lord. These vampires are much more powerful than their regular brethren, but the enormous difference in their power doesn't make much sense. Vampires are able to enthrall their victims and cast the drain life spell, but the versions that can be cast by Vampire Lords are so much more powerful and they might as well be two different species. This isn't accounting for the plethora of other powers that Vampire Lords have that other vampires don't, such as a unique Paralysis spell and a Telekinesis spell that works on living things, which is significantly more powerful than the standard version.
4 Vampire Lord Physiology
When a Vampire Lord transforms into its Vampire Lord form, it gains something of a likeness to Molag Bal mixed with features that are normally attributed to vampires, such as the flattened, bat-like nose and elongated ears, but the addition of wings is something that makes a bit less sense. The father of vampires, while somewhat vampiric in design, draws more inspiration from classic demons than vampires.
Molag Bal is usually shown to be a humanoid, built very similarly to a Vampire Lord with the signature horns that are common on his altars, but there is no indication that he ever had wings. While Daedric Princes are able to appear to mortals in whatever form they want, they usually stay pretty consistent with the form they chose, so this is one aspect that is a little confusing.
3 The Lack Of Vampire Lords
The clear difference in power between base vampires and Vampire Lords makes the fact that there are so few of them around questionable. While they aren't very common, they do seem particularly easy to create, since all Harkon had to do was bite The Dragonborn to turn them, meaning that, theoretically, the same could be done with any other Vampire Lord out there. Since many vampires long for world domination, including Harkon himself, it doesn't make sense to not turn his entire coven and create an army of Vampire Lords.
2 The Eyes
The change is eye color is the most easily noticeable change that comes from vampirism, with each race in Tamriel having a slightly different version of these eyes. Khajiiit's eyes, for example, become more pronounced and their iris becomes more cat-like, but there is also a difference between genders of the same race, which makes less sense. In males Nords, their eyes turn completely golden and glow brightly, while female Nords retain their pupils.
1 Changes Effects Between Games
The most consistent side effects of vampirism in The Elder Scrolls is their aversion to sunlight, their weakness to fire, and resistance to cold. When it comes to how the sun affects gameplay, however, it differs wildly between games. In earlier games, the player character would take constant damage when outside during the day, but in later games, such as Skyrim, the player will simply not regenerate health naturally.