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[Wastewhile]

Hi all,

I'm a complete newb with essentially no idea what I'm doing.  I have a fortress with a population of a bit over 40, the last migrant wave was 12-15.
I thought I'd better check for vamipres, and after reading the identification techniques in the wiki I identified 7 "possible vampires" - they all had large skill sets (10+) and a history of memberships in quite a few societies/cults/fortresses(?).
Some potential vampires are married to dwarfs who don't appear to be vampires (and some are married to other potential vampires).
I've locked the 7 in their own individual burrows.

My questions (not answered by the wiki, and I googled but couldn't find answers):
1. Can vampire migrants be married when they arrive?
2. Must a dwarf married to a vampire also therefore be a vampire?
3. Must a being married to a non-vampire dwarf therefore also be a non-vampire dwarf?
4. Do vampires ever show the thirsty status symbol?  I know they "get thirsty" (for blood), and have alcohol addictions, but do they or do they not show the thirsty status symbol?
5. One of the potential vampires froze in place when I removed all her labours and assigned her to a burrow, while she was carrying wood to a stockpile.  She wouldn't move at all even when thirsty until I cancelled her burrow assignation - then she delivered the wood and went to a still and got a drink.  Does this drinking mean I can definitively classify her as not a vampire?

[Damiac]

I don't have many answers, but I do have 1.

Vampires won't go get alcohol on their own.  They can be given alcohol at a tavern, but that's not the same thing, so your citizen from #5 below isn't a vampire.
If you don't have a tavern, a good indicator of vampires is that they will have thoughts relating to going a long time without alcohol, along with some of the other indications you mentioned.

[PatrikLundell]

1. Yes, vampires can be married to off site partners on arrival, but they're said never to have any close relatives in the fortress.
2. No, the vampire can become a vampire while married (which might explain the tantrum that resulted in the curse ). I don't know if vampires can marry at all after being cursed.
3. No, see 1 and 2.
4. No they do not. They get sluggish from a lack of alcohol, though, but getting hungry or thirsty are certain signs of not being a vampire, as is eating and drinking on their own initiative, as well as sleeping (and getting sleepy).
5. Yes, she's not a vampire. The freezing in place ought to have been accompanied with cancellation spam: the dorf cannot finish the task given, but can not figure out the carried stuff should be dropped. One of the many issues with burrows.

A. Vampires out for a drink don't follow order, and that includes burrow ones...

[Wastewhile]

Thank you guys for the info!
Looks like none of these 7 are vampires, they all got thirsty.

The ones that are married migrated here together with their partners.
I kept the potential vampires in their burrows with locked doors.

[Thisfox]

I could be wrong, but "get thirsty" isn't enough, it's getting a drink that's the indicator. Vampires suffer from alcohol deprivation just like any other dorf... They just don't help themselves to an alcoholic beverage when they're thirsty. The help themselves to a dwarf.

[PatrikLundell]

I think Thisfox is incorrect, and that vampires don't get the physical reaction of being thirsty (or hungry) at all. The issue with dwaven vampires is that they suffer from alcohol deprivation, which is different from thirst. Alcohol deprivation happens to regular dwarves too if they're forced to drink water, and thus have their thirst sated, but not their need for alcoholic fuel (and non dwarven vampires don't suffer from alcohol deprivation at all).
I believe vampires starts to look for blood when a hidden blood depletion counter runs down, but that's hidden so we can't discover them that way. In addition, keeping vampires from topping up their blood supply doesn't seem to have any effect on them.

[Dunamisdeos]

Vampires don't drown.

Drown dwarves until one is a vampire.

[mikekchar]

The super cheesy way to rule out a vampire amongst your citizens is that vampires worship the god that cursed them.  All you have to do is check to see if any of your vampire candidates worship a god that cursed someone.  Since it's fairly rare, this will rule out most dwarfs.

Another thing you can do is burrow all new dwarfs away from the bedrooms.  Vampires will break burrow restrictions in order to feed. If you see them in the bedrooms, you know they are a vampire.  You only have to do this for about 2 weeks.