Bloodsuckers Welcome: Playing as a Vampire Within Skyrim‘s Dawnguard

As a long-time fan of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim with over 800 hours played, I was thrilled when the Dawnguard DLC released way back in 2012. This expansion delivered a fascinating new storyline pitting a group of vampire hunters against an ancient clan of powerful vampires. Plus, it lets you become a vampire lord yourself!

But many players wonder: "Can I actually join the vampire hunting Dawnguard faction if my character is already a bloodsucking creature of the night?"

The answer is yes – with some caveats. Allow me to sink my teeth into the details…

The War Between the Sun and Night Eternal

In the Dawnguard questline, the eponymous Dawnguard seek to stop the rise of the Volkihar vampire clan led by the cunning Lord Harkon. Harkon has discovered the legendary Tyranny of the Sun prophecy which could potentially blot out the sun itself – granting his kind unchecked power.

Isran, a former Vigilant of Stendarr, founded the Dawnguard to organize resistance efforts and stop Harkon from plunging the world into permanent darkness.

Throughout this conflict, you‘re forced to choose sides. Will you ally with the vampires seeking endless night? Or join the Dawnguard to protect Skyrim from their bloodthirsty agenda?

The choice seems straightforward for a virtuous dragonborn. But the promise of vampiric power complicates things…

Sweet Blood: The Rewards of Joining Harkon

You might expect membership in Clan Volkihar to grant the best vampiric rewards…and you’d be totally right my nightstalking friend! Siding with these ancient pure-blood vampires unlocks access to the ultimate vampire perk: the Vampire Lord form.

The Vampire Lord morphs you into a hellish winged beast with razor sharp claws and powerful blood magic spells. It also confers unmatched vampiric bonuses like drain life to restore magicka, supersonic movement speed, and raising slain foes to fight for you.

My first moments as a fledgling Vampire Lord felt incredible! (Source: Elder Scrolls Wiki)

You also gain access to coveted items like the Ring of The Erudite which boosts magicka and magic regeneration by a whopping 100 points. Or the Ring of The Beast granting 100 extra stamina and health.

So in terms of roleplaying an all-powerful vampire mage? The Volkihar offer you everything you need to rule the night.

But you must sacrifice the Dawnguard’s signature gear…

Tools for Undead Hunting

Despite being vampire hunters themselves, the Dawnguard welcome almost anyone willing to fight against Clan Volkihar’s tyrannical goals.

Well, almost anyone…

Their leader Isran stubbornly refuses any bloodsucking allies, as fellow member Durak explains:

"Isran‘s managing the outpost at Fort Dawnguard, southeast of Riften. He‘s still pretty worked up about it being ‘a matter of time‘ before the vampires overrun us."

Before you’re allowed to join their righteous crusade against Lord Harkon, curing your vampirism is an ironclad prerequisite.

But afterwards, the Dawnguard will hook you up with some sweet gear to bolster any vampire-hunting loadout:

• Dwarven Crossbows – these deadly contraptions dish out armor piercing bolts making even ancient vampires explode into ashes with a single head shot up to 250 feet away.
• Rune Weapons/Axes – enchanted Dawnguard gear burns vampires while restoring your health and stamina with each hit.
• Restoration Magic Tutors – the Dawguard’s best sorcerers can train you to harness the ultimate anti-vampire Sun spells.
• Ancient Dawnguard Armor – this legendary craftable armor set provides massive bonuses to health and stamina regeneration during daylight hours.

The Dawnguard’s toolkit offers an ideal way for dragonborn vampire slayers to take down bloodsuckers with ruthless efficiency. But what about playing as a creature of the night while working with them?

Mutiny Within the Dawnguard’s Ranks

While curing your vampirism remains mandatory, the game does offer a built-in method to reacquire your dark gift of vampirism even after allying with the Dawnguard early on.

The key is your vampiric follower, Serana Volkihar.

Serana seeks to stop her tyrannical father Harkon from completing the prophecy. Eventually, she asks if you’d like to gain the powers of a Vampire Lord. If you accept her blood ritual after joining Dawnguard, you‘ll unlock access to all the Volkihar’s unique perks despite technically being on the Dawnguard’s side!

Just make sure Isran doesn’t catch you shapeshifting into a hellbeast or he’ll banish you from the fort again.

Personally though? I say shove the old man’s rules and save Skyrim as a badass vampire hero!

Playing Both Sides: Creating the Ultimate Vampire Dawnguard Build

With hundreds of hours invested into vampire and Dawnguard playthroughs, I’ve theorycrafted specialized builds mixing the best elements of both factions:

The Armored Blood Mage

Perks:

• Alteration Magic for defense spells
• Heavy Armor to resist physical damage
• Enchanting to boost magic effects

Gear:

• Ancient Dawnguard Heavy Armor
• Ring of The Erudite
• Amulet of Talos

This build harnesses Alteration spells like Stoneflesh to become near-invincible. You siphon health and stamina from enemies to fuel endless strong magics wearing them down. Backed by the Dawnguard’s craftable damage resist armor (which outclasses Dragonscale), no foe can stand against you!

The Shadow Hunter

Perks:

• Sneak
• Archery
• Light Armor

Gear:

• Dawnguard Crossbow + Exploding Bolts
• Nightingale Armor
• Ring of The Beast

Embrace your inner monster by striking unseen then vanishing into the night. The Ring of The Beast feeds your hunger for souls by boosting health and stamina – key for repeated stealth attacks. Use vampire vision to stalk targets, then blast them into ashes with ultra-long range crossbow snipes before they detect you!

Blood Knight Paladin

Perks:

• Two Handed Weapons
• Heavy Armor
• Restoration

Gear:

• Rune Greatsword
• Dawnguard Heavy Armor
• Amulet of Stendarr

Is your warrior sworn to uphold righteous Dawnguard values while battling the undead plague? This build brings holy retribution against Harkon’s minions by combining vigorous Sun magic with deadly Rune-marked weapons to scour vampiric filth from Skyrim’s hallowed lands!

Conclusion: Hero of the Bloodline?!

Despite some hardline attitudes like Isran’s, even vampires can find acceptance within the Dawnguard’s ranks in the war against Lord Harkon’s apocalyptic plot. You might need to hide your bloodlusting tendencies at times, but ultimately, you choose what values you champion.

Will you crush vampire hunter and Volkihar foe alike in an endless quest for power? Or tame the inner beast to protect Skyrim’s people from falling slave to the everlasting night? Destiny awaits. Now – what’s your Dawnguard story?