I'm starting a new character and wanted to play him as a vampire. Probably vampire/mage. Any suggestions on the best way for a low level character to contract vampirism?

Go to Haemar's Shame, set difficulty to Novice, and let the vampires attack you until you catch it. You might want to take health potions just in case.

Take a carriage to Morthal and start asking about the burned down house. Either of the first two vampires you fight are able to give you the disease. No need to risk your head in some dungeon.

Thanks. i'll give these a shot.

If you're gonna do this, also remove your armor.

At least put a sweater on - you'll catch a cold.

But vampirism has a 50% Frost resist racial! SWEATERS ARE FOR THE MORTAL.

Well, of course, he'll take the sweater off after he contracts the desired disease.

If you're on PC:

Get a law degree.

Lmao

What exactly is the point of the "remove your armor" advice? You can only be infected when they use their absorb health spell anyway, so you should move away from them when they get into melee range anyway so that that start casting again.

The best way to get vampirism right after Unbound is indeed in Haemar's Shame, but keep running away from that first vampire you meet in the cave. Give her more opportunities to re-cast the absorb health spell.

If you have a follower, tell them to wait somewhere else while you try to get infected, by the way.


I did this just yesterday on a new character on master difficulty. I had to run away and out of the dungeon's entrance 2 times, but I got infected just fine on the 3rd attempt. Didn't even need a single healing potion that way, and since I didn't start with the starting spells, I also couldn't even cast Healing. It worked anyway.

Removes any resistance. You can contract it from melee strikes, too, the odds of contracting it are just increased when they use Absorb Health. I tried the method of having them solely use Absorb Health, and it took a loooot longer than just standing there and occasionally popping a healing potion as needed.

Are there any ways to fix the burnt skin bug for vampires? Im playing with a male breton on the 360.

Cure your vampirism via the quest with Falion, then go and contract it again. Just in case it happens again, save your game once you contract the disease a second time but before becoming a full vampire then just never overwrite it. Then just load that "clean face" save up and you should be good.

No kidding? I thought that was just in Oblivion.

Anyway ..yes the HS cave is the best place to go. I enter, kill the first Thrall and drag their body to the cave entrance. The vamp will raise them if you don't. Then go down the tunnel and get the attention of the first Vamp,

Run back to the room where you killed the Thrall. Run up the ramp and wait for the Vamp to come up there. She will start with the VD from range. It works on a per shot basis, so if it doesn't get you at the start of the cast, don't stand around. Jump down to the ground and wait for her to come down. Run around her and get back up the ramp. Wait and jump off again. Keep doing this until you get it. This cycle will keep breaking the spell and you do not have to chug a hundred potions.

Nah it still works, but Absorb Health has a higher chance of spreading it as compared to Oblivion.

I always went to http://www.uesp.net/maps/srmap/srmap.shtml?centeron=Shriekwind+Bastion. It's fairly close to Helgen so you can get there reasonably quick.

This is bad advice. Do not remove your armor. The vampire drain spell is what is contracting the disease for you, not a sword hit.

(skyrim wiki and discussion page)
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim_talk:Vampirism

Saa, seems to be a bit up in the air from the discussion, but I like to be thorough anyway and end up chucking the armor in my attempts just to be sure. ><

Yeah, UESP says you can only get it from the Drain, but Wikia says this:

"Physical attacks inflicted by a vampire causes the illness to be contracted. Being the subject of their Vampiric Drain spell augment the likelihood that the recipient becomes infected. Removing armor leaves targets exceptionally vulnerable to acquiring Sanguinare Vampiris."

Consistency!

Since we know- it gets contracted from a weak drain spell consistently, I would still recommend keeping the armor on at all times.
And thus real hesitant to give new players advice like going up against vampires (able swordsmen) while naked.

That's what potions are for, my good man/lady!

Also, the first vampire you smack into in Haemar's Shame seems to always be a low level one like a Fledgling, so that one's safe to encounter. Depending on when my characters went there, though, the second one was either a Nightblade or a Volkihar Master Vampire or an Ancient Vampire, so my advice would be to slay the thrall you see when you enter then just fudge around with the wee vampire around the corner.

Laelette and Alva never give me any trouble whatsoever, and both use Vampiric drain.

And if you are on PC download the vampire overhaul Mod , vanilla vampires are a bit meeehhh