I understand that in the Warhammer 40,000 universe the Necron race fulfills the role of undead menace rather nicely, but what about more standard forms of undead? The Necron strike me as an incredibly interesting take on the "Mummy's Curse" idea (or the Tomb Kings of Khemri from Warhammer Fantasy), but what about the other common undead, what I'm thinking of in particular is Vampires. Outerspace vampires just seems cool to me. Any ideas about canon applications?

Just another type of warp spawn, haemovore as a type of mutation.

I believe there's a GM kicking around here somewhere that had a player as some kind of vampire. Unsure if he had any kind of canon backing for it.

And besides, FourtyK was originally just Warhammer in space, there's bound to be an old Rogue Trader reference somewhere.

On the other hand, the C'Tan are probably the vampires here.

Blood angels Duh.

Things that drink blood are pretty common in fourtyK, heck plenty of death cultists do!

The whole near invulrability with a few weaknesses, screams DARK PACT to me. Sort of like a certain adventure...

How about Psy Rating 4, 30+ Corruption, and a damage dealing psy power? Then take Psychic Vampire from DotDG Page 26. Then you have a vampire without having to get too off-canon... there may be a quicker method.

The Vampires in the original Rogue Trader game are alien shapeshifters, draining WP and psi-points from victims. Perhaps something could be done to create a critter... I think I'll give it a try when I'm more awake...

If you tweak it a bit, you could very easily have a Halo Device transform the user into something similar to a vampire. As it progresses, he'll get less and less human - perhaps something like a WFRP Strigoi (spelling?)?

Another thing you could use to make a Vampire-esque creature would be the Necrophage mutation but with a slight tweak. Instead of having to eat copious amounts of raw flesh to sustain itself, make it so that it have to drink fresh blood.

With the proper combination of mutations and creature traits you could make a rather undeadish/vampiric mutant. Also there are a few descrpitions of the common undead in Disciples of the Dark Gods (The Night Cult, The Fydae Strain and the Vile Savants etc.), might be worth checking out.

Besides the Xenos and the Warp, the Techno-Arcane can offer up "Vampires" as well. [My house Sagaia]

Think along the "old aristrocat vampire" line and imagine a familiy (perhaps "void born" with there own vessel to travell from system to system) whom were granted the gift of near immortality by some archeotech treatments deemed forbidden and Heretek by Mars. The treatments conserve there bodies but the blood needs renewal from time to time since the alchymical agents wears (washes) it out/eats it up. So, the member of this noble "bloodline" got further assistence from the Hereteks they give shelter to: implants where added to there bodies to actually drain blood from a humans. These acient and partly insane (it is 40K! There HAS to be insanity!!) nobles now only leave there holdings (or there ship) at night (so that it is easier to hide from preying eyes what they really are) and hunt for humans like they used to hunt game for sport in the days back.

If you chose the "shipborn solution", you can have legends spread across a number of systems in a subsector or along whatever route this takes. Primitive/Feudal worlds and Hive worlds would be most likely. Among the worlds with high superstitiions and lack of techo-knowledge, the populace (or local authorities beyound the reaches of the highest and mighty) might not link the "vampire tales" to the appearance of "t he kingdom-ship of House Sagaia ". On a hive world, many ships are in orbit and and there is an abundance of people. Perhaps the "House Sagaia" will press-gang "fresh blood" for the time spend in travell in which there is no chance to hunt... or for the odd banquett with victims strapped to affulent tables, linked to machinery and tubes which allow the nobles to dine while sitting in richly ornamented chairs and having well-mannered conversations with each other...

You can have a whole investigation with system hoping about this... with a twist in the end, since if a players hears "vampire" he will think about "Xenos" and "Chaos" instead of "Technology".

[Edit: Name Typo undone]

How about this shot at the old Rogue Trader Vampires:

Vampires have traveled with humanity across the stars to the Calixis Sector. No one knows how long these aliens have lived with humans, but the legends of their existance go back many thousands of years. They go by many names, vampire being the most common, but the Holy Inquisition refers to them as Haemovores.

In their natural state, a haemovore is a two-meter tall bestial, winged, humanoid with long fangs and wicked clawed hands and feet. They are covered in dark fur and give off a smell like a butchershop. They can shapeshift to cancel these traits. The rotten meat smell lingers for a few minutes after they shift.

They live as humans do, setting themselves up on a world and consuming the blood of its neighbors for a while before moving on. If discovered, they make use of their victims, many of whom will have developed an unnatural loyalty to the creature, fighting to preserve the beast that fed upon them.

In combat, they will rely on their victims to screen attackers while they flee, but should they be cornered, they will fight by biting and clawing at the most obvious threat, seeking to incapacitate rather than kill. They do not seek to engage directly, and so would rather slow a pursuer and return to finish them off when they are at a disadvantage.

All Haemovores have the traits listed below, but almost certainly acquire extra skills and talents required to live in a given culture. The few vampires of Hive Sibellus conform to the Hive World origin, for example.

Vampires reproduce by genetic replication. Rarely, they will implant a specialized virus into a victim via their bite. Over time, they acquire haemovore traits, one by one as the virus reworks their system. Each day, the victim gains 1d10 Corruption points. At 31 corruption, they acquire Improved Natural Weapons, at 61 corruption, they develop Haemovore, at 91 corruption, they develop Void Resistant. At 100 points, they acquire the vampire's remaining characteristics and are removed from play. The GM takes over.

Haemovore
WS BS S T Ag Int Per WP Fel
45 28 38 (4)29 43 41 35 20 42
Movement : 4/8/13/24 Wounds : 10
Skills : Acrobatics (Ag), Awareness (Per), Blather (Fel) +10, Charm (Fel) +20, Concealment (Ag), Deceive (Fel) +10, Disguise (Fel) +20, Forbidden Lore (Xenos, Warp) +10, Dodge (Ag)+10, Intimidate (S)+10, Literacy (Int), Silent Move (Ag) +10, Survival (Int), Tracking (Int),
Talents : Ambidextrous, Catfall, Decadence, Hard Target, Jaded, Leap Up, Lightning Reflexes, Sprint, Sure Strike, Total Recall,
Traits : Dark Sight, Fear 1, Flier 6, Haemovore, Improved Natural Weapons (Bite, Claws), Natural Armour 2, Shapeshifting, Unnatural Toughness, Void Resistant
Weapons : Bite (1d10+3 R), Claws (1d10+3 R)
Armour : AP2 (all)
Gear : As required.
Threat Rating : Xenos Minoris
Improved Natural Weapons : The Haemovore’s bite attack is not a Primitive attack.
Haemovore : By consuming the blood of a victim, the Haemovore drains the target of vitality and the will to resist its machinations. Each time they feed, they can transfer 1d5+1 wounds, Strength, or Willpower to themselves from their target, who must pass a Challenging (+0) Toughness test or loose those points permanently. Regardless of success, the victim is considered to have lost Willpower where the Haemovore is concerned, using the new value when dealing with the Haemovore’s demands or influence. Long term control can be maintained in this fashion. A creature reduced to 0 WP by this method is a thrall of the vampire, and will obey its every command, even unto death.
Shapeshifting : Haemovores can alter their appearance to resemble the species they have chosen to live among. They can copy any form that they have fed from in the past flawlessly, and often use old victims forms to pass unnoticed in Imperial Society. Acquaintence of the imitated victims can succeed at a Hard (-10) Awareness test to determine that something is “off” about their friend. When stressed (cornered, interrogated or in combat) they must pass a Challenging (+0) Willpower test or lose control, causing one or more features to revert to their normal state. Hands might become claws, their wings might furl forth, or the face might take on its characteristic bestial seeming. The quality of the Haemovore’s imitation is a function of its Disguise skill.

Vampire Virus: Haemovores reproduce via a specialized retrovirus, described above.
Void Resistant : Haemovores can withstand the touch of the void without harm. They do not suffer damage or other ill effects from exposure to vacuum. More than a few ship's crews have suffered from opened airlocks during battles with vampires.

Ideas for using Haemovores:

Decadent Hive Noble: That old Count living in the Lonely Spire might be more than he seems.

Bounty Hunter: A vampire has been hunting the Hive for decades, bringing justice and feeding upon his prey.

Rogue Trader: By impersonating a long-lost scion of an ancient line, a haemovore is now commanding a vast trade empire of her own. How many of her crew has she feasted upon? How many are also vampires?

Father Claret: This fiery cleric leads a group of followers through the tough times in the Hive, but what secrets do those robes conceal?

Death Cult Assassin : Would anyone even notice?

The Necromunda novel Blood Royal deals with a vampire of sorts.

these are all fantastic ideas. I can't thank you all enough for the help. I'm hoping my troupe enjoys the ways in which I have incorporated one of their favourite antagonists.

I'm a proud owner of the original Warhammer 40 000: Rogue Trader (1st edition) and it does indeed have rules for a creature type called Vampyres. These creatures are shapeshifting warp-spawn that feed by sucking willpower from their victims. Psykers are especially tasty targets to them. Vampyres are not 'undead' but simply another form of demonic warpspawns having several unique abilties:

Psychic (Psi rating 1+)

Shapeshifter (can assume the likeness of any creature type ever witnessed, shapeshifting takes about half a minute)

Drain Willpower (equal to 2D10 WP damage each round, requires touch contact. If victim is drained to 0 WP it becomes a "zombie", a mindless, semi-living creature under the command of the Vampyre. This condition is permanent and inreversible, but zombies are usually incapable of taking care of their own basic needs and die of hunger quite soon after their "master" leaves them)

So yes, you can make a really nasty form of Vampires (psychic, shapeshifters which can assume any form they wish in a few dozen seconds) while being strictly canon about it, too. The only thing you need to remember is that they are not undead in any way, but rather a lifeform native to warp and thus very unlike humans. That being said there are also willpower sucking warp "ghosts" called Spectres in the canon