This is an example taken from The Vampire Hunter's Guide by Raphael Van Helsing (obvious pen name is obvious, but I saw no other indication of an author. It is a Barnes and Noble book if you want to look for it):
-Lord Vampyre. He is/was the first vampire and pretty much their God. He is a bat-demon-thing, and every word he speaks is law, no ifs, ands, or buts. Under Lord Vampyre are:
-Royal Vampires. They are forty-eight vampires turned by Lord Vampyre himself and his favorites. ONLY Lord Vampyre can make them, and thus are the purest of the vampire bloodline. They rule in Lord Vampyre's absence, and are so ugly they have to rely on illusion to fool prey. They seriously look like drying corpses with two front rodent teeth. Royals can create:
-Noble Vampires. Teeth aside, they can more or less pass for humans (Raphael's own words: "If it does not attempt to speak" ). There are around three hundred Nobles. After Nobles are:
-Vampires. There are countless of these around, and they are pretty much the peasant class, but can be elevated if they drink Royal blood. Also note that these are the weakest of the true vampires in the hierarchy (but no less dangerous)
-Slaves. Basically a human with enough vampire blood in it that it is bound to its vampire master. They are not allowed human blood. Unless a Noble decides to give them blood, they get an eternity of servitude and often do those petty human tasks (such as handling money, spying on other humans, etc.) that vampires cannot be bothered to do.
-Vampire Creatures. Vampire animals/pets, so to speak.
Notice how the higher you get on the hierarchy, the fewer vampires of that type there are? It works the same was a human monarchy: King, royals, their court, the servants, the peasants, etc. And also notice that the lower you are, the more restrictions you have. And this example shows some clear differences between classes: the higher you are, the more demonic you look, and the book mentioned higher classes typically have more power (a regular vampire cannot perform an illusion, for example, but a Royal can).
Maybe new fledgling vampires have to obey those who sired them (this book makes a point out of Lord Vampyre requiring all lower vampires to bow to those higher in class. This has the consequence of giving them away if a hunter is nearby). Maybe older vampires only have the powers they have because of their age, or because of a pure bloodline. Something else to think about: how do the relationships between classes work? How does one gain (or lose) respect among their vampire peers? Is it bloodline that counts? The number of humans you kill? How long you lasted? How many hunters you killed/avoided/outsmarted? Is there a way to raise your status, or are you stuck with whatever crapshoot you get based on whoever turned you?
How do powers come about? Again, is it in the blood? Do you earn it as you age? Does it come as a random happenstance when you are turned? Does drinking the blood of a specific creature enough times give you its powers (for example, draining enough bats makes one able to turn into a bat)? Did Satan give them these powers?
Also factor in: are your vampires clan vampires or generally work alone? Do they mark their territory/hunting ground? Is territory an issue among not only among your vampires, but other vampires as well? Does a higher-up vampire control who can hunt what/who and where? Can vampires simply feed whenever they want? Suppose two vampires go after a human: one is a higher-up, and one is a fledgling. Does class dictate who gets the first bite, or does the human go to whoever gets it first?
Little things, yes, and not all will make it on paper, but having an idea of your vampire hierarchy and class interactions will go a long way. It really is the little things that make or break a story.
And you need not get as complex as I just did; all I want is to get you thinking about how your world works and what its restrictions are (and the best way I know is to overthink a little, then boil it down to what you need). So even if all vampires are on the same playing playing field and hunt alone, you still need to know how they act around others of their kind, as well as what the "etiquette" is in dealing with humans.
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