[Tana]

I was so very tempted to make a snarky post in response to this thread, especially knowing these threads have almost no chance of being seen for two-three months(or longer), but I'll instead make a few points that aren't snarky.

1.) Crest really doesn't give much. To make use of crest, you'll need most of the stats it buffs, while likely not using some of them. It's capped at +2, whereas a base-san kael that gets bonus stats will be getting significantly more, for literally zero drawback. Ultimately, you will likely get 1 or less actual stat point in stats you're using when using crest, in exchange for... The inability to be healed, and a 75% bonus damage multiplier being slapped on you. Great.

2.) There is no RP benefit, as per the rules, for being a vampire. If a situation would kill a human character, it will kill your vampire, and you get no special exception for vampirism. With no RP benefit, there's even less reason to have vampires as hyper-gutted with an incredibly potent weakness for using their race as intended. You cannot even point to age as a reason; Anyone can be just as old as a vampire with any number of dev-approved handwaves, or if you really must, GM approval.

3.) Base stats are skewed away from what their racial kit demands. Not necessarily the worst ever, but it's not quite spiked enough anywhere to really commit to any build well.

The best way to use a vampire right now mechanically is to take fasting, and just ignore that you are mechanically a vampire. This... Kinda sucks. And I say this as someone who did high san builds or bust back before a lot of racials were normalized. The move to GR2 has also screwed over the few ways you could do a high-SAN build, leaving it incredibly difficult to be a basic hitter with high san outside of very, very few builds. Typically, something aimed purely at skill, since it's mandatory.