Aswid
Fierce night stalker. Strong and resilient, transforms into a bat.
The Aswid is the mod's vampire, and the race with the most moving parts. It has its own food system, its own magic economy, a day/night rhythm that doubles half its stat sheet after dark, and four separate ability keys by the endgame.
Base kit (tier 1)
Benedictus et Afflictus — the Aswid's passive suite, all of it active from tier 1:
| Stat | Per tier | At night |
|---|---|---|
| Armour | +1 | ×2 |
| Damage | +2 | ×2 |
| Movement speed | +1% | ×2 |
| Jump height | +1% | ×2 |
| Lifesteal on physical damage | +2% (up to 14%) | ×2 |
Plus:
- Undead vigor — infinite stamina, exactly like the Skeleton.
- Blood Magic Mastery — blood magic items cost no eitr at all. You pay their health cost and nothing else.
- Blood Magic XP is doubled.
- Vae Victis — physical kills automatically consume edible enemies, feeding you and granting Blood Magic XP.
Progression
| Boss | Unlock |
|---|---|
| Base | Benedictus et Afflictus · infinite stamina · free blood magic · Vae Victis |
| Eikthyr | Bat Form (G, night only) · Vampiric Aura heals 20% of magic AoE damage |
| The Elder | Bat Form usable day and night |
| Bonemass | Auspex — the aura reveals untamed creatures |
| Moder | Freezing Blood — permanent immunity to Freezing and Poison |
| Yagluth | Dominate (K) · Eclipse (J) |
| The Queen | Weight of Shadows (H) — mist form |
| Fader | Asmund — abyss-black hair and beard, +10% height, flat +30 physical damage |
Controls
| Key | Ability | Available from |
|---|---|---|
| G | Bat Form | Eikthyr (night only until The Elder) |
| H | Weight of Shadows — mist form | The Queen |
| J | Eclipse | Yagluth |
| K | Dominate | Yagluth |
| I | Toggle automatic devour on/off | Base |
| Right Mouse (block) | Channel the Vampiric Aura | Eikthyr — bat or mist form only |
Mechanics worth knowing
Blood magic without eitr
This is the race's defining trick. Blood magic items normally cost eitr and health; as an Aswid they cost only health. Combined with doubled Blood Magic XP and the lifesteal passive, blood magic goes from a niche late-game school to your primary weapon from very early on.
The Vampiric Aura
Block with your shield while in bat or mist form to channel a draining aura around you.
- Deals AoE magic damage to nearby enemies on a tick.
- Heals you for 20% of the damage dealt (from the Eikthyr tier).
- Doubled radius at night.
- Doubled damage while in mist form (Weight of Shadows).
- At the Bonemass tier it also acts as Auspex, wreathing untamed creatures in ethereal flame so you can see them.
Execution: non-boss enemies that drop below 20% health inside the aura are killed instantly and devoured automatically.
:::caution It only works in a form The aura does nothing in your normal body. You must be in Bat Form or Mist Form and blocking. Its base damage is deliberately low — the healing and the execution are the point. :::
Eating
The Aswid does not cook. It consumes the lifeforce of what it kills.
- Physical kills auto-devour edible enemies. Press
Ito toggle this off if it is eating things you wanted to loot or skin. - Undead and inorganic creatures — skeletons, draugr, golems, charred, morgen — are not edible.
- Food values are scaled from each creature's health, so a lox is worth far more than a neck.
- You get a 4th stomach slot, usable exclusively for Aswid prey.
- If all your slots are full, devouring an enemy you are already digesting silently refreshes that buff instead of failing.
Dominate (K, Yagluth)
Look at a non-tameable, non-boss enemy and press K to enslave it for 60 seconds, on a
15-minute cooldown. The thrall fights alongside you and drops its normal loot on death.
Edible thralls are automatically consumed when they die, once you reach the Fader tier.
:::note It used to be E Dominate was originally bound to the interact key, which meant accidentally enslaving things while trying to open doors. It now has its own key. :::
Eclipse (J, Yagluth)
Casts an eclipse: a roughly 2-second cast, after which it becomes night for 60 seconds.
- Daytime only — pressing
Jat night does nothing. - 15-minute cooldown, reported on screen if you press it early.
- The effect is local to you. It turns on all your night bonuses — doubled passives, doubled aura radius, night-gated forms — on demand, in the middle of the day.
Weight of Shadows (H, The Queen)
You dissolve into mist.
| Immune to | Physical damage, poison |
| Weak to | Fire, frost, spirit |
| Aura | Deals double damage |
| Cannot | Attack, run |
| Ends | At sunrise, automatically |
It is a survival and drain tool, not an offensive one — you trade all your weapons for immunity and a stronger aura.
Day and night
Half the Aswid's kit keys off the clock. The mod announces the transition with a thematic message when day flips to night and back — "what a horrible night to have a curse".