I mentioned this on the other thread about the possiblity of Meridia being the big bad. How they could maybe tie the Dawnguard into it.
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/504358/next-chapter-involves-volkihar-vampire-clans-formation/p5

But I do hope we do get something vampire related but I do hope they will not be the big bad. Hopefully we will get Dawnguard, but I would really like to see them reverse the roles as them being the central villians along with a plot from the Daedric Prince of Living Energies Meridia. Maybe attempting to Purify the World with the Temple of Meridia.

I didn't buy a bunch of gold Vamp Lord rings for no reason

Do not trust meridia.

I hope l, we get to see Serena

I'm up for blackreach for several reasons, one being mentioned in both latest chapter and dlc, datamines etc. Plus I really just trust quest npc's on things like that, all previous years it was painfully obvious.

Well she is a deadric lord, she may seen like an ally but its because it suit her agenda. She will be an antagonist when her goal wont go un the same dirrection as ours

I am almost sertain there will be something related to vampires, probably Dungeon DLC. Because in july of 2019 were datamined some vampire related stuff, some of it appeared at witchers festival event, but some still didn't apeared in the game, such as:

• Long-winged bat pet
  
• Thrall's arterial map face marks
  
• Thrall's arterial map body marks
  

But, i think, most of the year will be about Falmers and their underground dungeons.

Olauron wrote: »

Thevampirenight wrote: »

What Meridia hates is False Life, Dead Moving around. Maybe Dwemer Constructs and Robot people. But Vampires are not False Life, they are the opposite False Dead and this can be seen in the way they can still eat, still be healed by living healing magic and can even drown.

Vampires are considered as False Life by any sources. Vampires can't be healed by common healing spells, they need special Necromantic Healing spell (includes Restore Health to Undead effect and Heals the undead target description). Souls of vampires can't be seen by using Detect Life spell, they are visible only to Detect Dead spell. Also you can learn much from Serana: 1) Vampires aren't counted among the living. 2) (about Valerica in Soul Cairn) I can't imagine living here. Or... being dead here. 3) (about Valerica) I can't believe we found my mother alive... well, you know what I mean.

Some Strains might be resistant to healing, but yet vampires could heal themselves, and be effected by healing magic normal healing magic in Oblivon and Skyrm and Online. They can eat and drink. Detect Living worked on Forsworn briarhearts in Skyrim for example but were also effected by Turn undead. Vampires were not even classed as undead in Morrowind or Oblivon. Were not even on the list for undead. Plus were not effected by Turn undead in either of those games as I recall. They changed that in Skryim I think mainly for the Detect Dead Spell. But also to make Turn Undead more useful. But the idea that they are not false life I explained above but I will go more in depth.

Vampirism works like this, when the disease is passed on through bites or drain magic, if the vampire extended its fangs down fast in thirst. It can accidentally bite into the lip and get vampire blood onto the fangs which I do think its a requirement of infection maybe that is my own head canon but I think it makes sense otherwise every person fed on would become vampires. When the vampire bites the victim. The vampire blood spreads like an infection or in the case of SKyrim vampires the vampiric drain magic drains health while some of the magic transfers some vampiric essence and that causes the infection either way. It works like this I think because without the accident blood transfer or essence transfer the condition can't be passed on. Plus biting someone and drinking their blood isn't enough to make one a vampire there would have to be some cross process with some the vampires blood to make it work.

Vampirism doesn't kill the victim its transitionary. As the definition of that change or passage from one state or stage to another. the period of time during which something changes from one state or stage to another.That is what vampirism does. So when the vampire infection spreads throughout the body what it does is starts to transition it, the incubation takes at least three to four days as the blood is altered the bloody starts transitioning to be less life like including growth or bone alterations that add in retractable fangs and heart beat likely going down to until the point it stops beating once the process is complete it can't be cured by cure disease potion and you have to find another means of undoing it at that point . Even Lamae Bal herself wasn't killed but actually was still alive as shown in Eso when she transitioned into a vampire. So Vampirism does not kill and reanimate the body as the body is transitioned into an altered state but not reanimated. Process can be reversed if you have the right materials and alchemy skill or a soul gem to bargain with the powers of oblivion to remove it. Or have purge salts which I can imagine are very very rare.

Another reason why the vampires disease does not kill the victim and reanimate them in elder scrolls thus undead false life unless its the Strain we have in the game that has that weird ability to do that and create blood fiends which are basically vampiric zombies and not actual vampires. Is because once your truly dead, you stay dead in Elder Scrolls reality unless you are special somehow. This is a side effect of the process that made mortals. Even Aedra work this way. WIthout the ability for normal mortals to be resurrected vampirism cure cannot work to resurrect someone. But they can be reanmated corpses in the form of a necromancer useing necromancy on a slain vampire then making a reanimated corpse vampire. Even though vampires can't age do to their death like state they are still mortal so killing them will not cause them to go to a coffin and reform they are not d&d vampires. So death to a vampire is permanent too and also they are still subject to having their bodies enslaved just like anyone else. So they are not immune to the resurrection rules of the reality either.

Still on the topic of resurrection Daedra can respawn or be revived. This is how Soul Shriven and vestiges work. Unless A mortal like The wolf queen for example has some form of Daedric animus tied to them along with their soul to make the resurrection possible. I think it was mentioned or implied that she became some sort of daedra in Skyrim that is why we had to stop her from getting to her remains as she could really come back. Without the daedric aspect only thing close to Resurrection in a way is Necromancy but it can only bring one back into an undead state. The forsworn rite that turns some into briarhearts is another way but they are undead and mirror vampires but are granted a new life like heart that makes them appear to be alive. This also is the same for the heart stones in dragonborn dlc they make the person appear to be alive. Like the Fort captain and that one experiment of the telvani wizard.

The reason why vampires can't be classified as False life because they are not dead but altered life in the same way briarhearts are altered dead or undead. This appearance of being dead prevents the normal ageing process. But they don't decay at all, even when very very thirsty and trapped for a long time. They are not immune to drowning, and can handle food and normal healing. Plus they were not classed as undead in either Morrowind or Oblivion but made that way in Skyrim and Eso Oblivion vampire uesp page use to mention this as well that they are not undead but diseased humaniods. Are they undead I would say no. Are they false dead yes. Dead beings can't process food or normal healing. But Vampires are not dead but appear to be dead. So can eat and drink food if they want but they don't get much benefit from it.
What it is is a disease that alters the body. So false dead is the proper classification for them. For the reasons listed. Another term for it could be called deathlike. But death like does not mean false life.

I was also thinking Blackreach with the name, but the hints at Meridia being an antagonist and recent vampiric items make me think that this is also likely. Maybe both will be in store for 2020.

If we do get vampires, I really hope some faces from Rivenspire make an appearance. I'd love to know what they've been up to (and Melina Cassel *did* go to Skyrim at the end of her hireling letters so there is an easy link!)

I expect there will be Vampires. They may be our allies. Volkihar are not the only vampires around at this time. For example, there is also Movarth Piquine. He might be an interesting character to encounter at this stage in his career.

There's always more than one antagonist in a Chapter, so we may get Meridia's new Golden Knight, Vampires, Reachmen, Hagravens, bad Nords and Falmer all at the same time. Maybe one or two daedric cults as well, like Namiira for instance.

Dark Heart sounds more like twisted nature magic to me. Maybe something to do with the Glenmoril Wyrd.

Not sure why people are fixating on Blackreach. There is also a place called Gloomreach that seems to fit the datamine stuff better, as well as having the advantage of not figuring greatly in TES V.