To Vampire\Lycanthrope or Not

OrangeTheCat

So I think I am getting pretty close to the point where I get The Quest to become either a vampire or a werewolf. I am not sure if it is a quest or what or even whether I get to choose which of the two I want. But my real question is: Do people choose not to be either? Or is not choosing to be one or the other going to hurt me? I ask because I hated being a vampire in Oblivion (I admit it was cool at first, but having to feed on a frequent basis else get burned by the sun just became really annoying; and I bring this up only because I read that ESO vamps need to feed every 30 mins or some such).

So, is it a quest?

Is there a choice as to whether you become a vamp or a wolf?

Do people choose NOT to become either a vamp or a wolf?

Is choosing not to be either just "gimping" my character?

Edit: Oh, and can we get a "cure" to reverse vampirism\lycanthropy?

Thanks

Reavan

Vampire here.
Id say 10% of the population are vamps at high level and a very low number are Ww(because they are crap).

Vampire can boost your build and playstyle but it can also hinder it.
Bat swarm is a very powerful aoe for magika stackers and mist form provides maneuverability as a stam dump with damage reduction.
For stam stackers drain essence will fill your stam bar back up once per mob while healing, as a Nb i can stack dark stalker and concealed weapon to have sprint speed while sneaking.

You take more fire damage. Alot more.
As a tank this might not be the best.thing.
In pvp you are vurnable to fighters guild abilities which are designed to counter you.

Feeding always is not required, some argie not feeding is imfact better.

Ww sucks pretty much until they change it, disadvantages with minor advantages.

Becoming one is not easy you have to be bitten by specific mobs in specific locations at certain times of night.
Or get a friend to bite you, (one week cd).
Then you get the quest.

It is curable if you dont like it after.
Search google for guides before deciding.
Personally i enjoy it alot.

gazzboydeb17_ESO

I had the same question yesterday, and the response I got was that it is not necessary to be either Vampire or Werewolf. They may add certain bonuses if that is the style of play you want to go for, but it is the same as eating certain food or drinks to increase your abilities.
Personally I have no desire to be either, I like my bosmer the way he is.

Beryl

You do have a choice. Even if you got the infection during a fight with a random NPC vampire/werewolf you still can easily cure it.

I chose to be neither of those. Partly the reason is my bad experience as a vampire in Oblivion, partly it is because of the look, partly because of the idea. I do see a lot of vampires in PvE around (V2 at the moment) and I have no idea if their number reduces at higher levels. As a healer I already had a negative experience in dungeons where vampires would be burnt in fire in a matter of two seconds and instead of trying to adapt their playstyle or gear to match their new features they would only laugh and tell "Sorry, I am a Vamp, I don't like fire". It does seem to me that now. at the start of ESO, many players choose these fancy roles mostly because of fun and novelty.