Through divine intervention, a vampire is forced to be given a soul again. Distraught, he undergoes the lich ritual to rip the soul from his body. Sensing the gods want to try to return his soul, he makes deals with individuals asking for “a fraction of their soul to belong to him.” After accumulating enough devotees, his lack of a soul is, in a way, masked. So he “Has a soul,” but technically just owns many parts of souls housed within his devotees.

In return, he offers devotees his power. Since his devotees are only mortal, he must continually seek out desperate souls willing to make a deal to sustain his immortality.

He leaves with his devotees a creature to watch over them and communicate any notable information. This is often in the form of an imp. They are not mere servants but have their own personalities and quirks. Thus, devotees may get along well with the imps forming a sort of friendship, while others may despise each other.