Nosferatu

WHO ARE THE NOSFERATU?

Clan of the Hidden | Sewer Rats | Lepers | Scabs | Orloks

For the Nosferatu the Embrace is a journey through abjection, as the Blood of the horror gradually deforms the struggling tissues of the human body into grotesque abominations. Weeks of pain result in deformities similar to terrible birth defects, cancer growths, crippling injuries, and leper-like sores. Those who endure it find themselves as monstrous echoes of Murnau’s silver-screen vision. But perhaps pain and humiliation teaches compassion. The Nosferatu, as they jokingly call themselves, are the most humane of the Kindred, wearing their curse on the outside rather than the inside. To blend in, some call on the Blood to wear the borrowed faces of their victims or disappear from sight, while others rely on prosthetics and heavy make-up.

Nosferatu are generally organized into broods; communities centrally located around a sewer system and serving as underground cities which may house dozens of their kind. Nosferatu are stereotyped as ugly on the outside, humane on the inside — this is not entirely true. There are many Nosferatu who never leave the sewers, the Nosferatu make a habit of sending their friendliest to communicate with the rest of the Camarilla.

Nosferatu strongly stress clan loyalty over almost everything else. Given their hideous appearance, they depend heavily on clan support structures for everything from havens to food. Broods are generally gerontocratic, with the eldest Nosferatu setting policy and guiding the youngest. Most Nosferatu can acquire jobs within their clan, including assisting on construction or other survival projects. Most Nosferatu are inculcated with a survivalist mentality and increasing the strength of their havens is a constant preoccupation. The Nosferatu also use ghouled animals as defenses and have created Spawning pools, which are tainted by their vitae and turn, over the course of many years, every animal that drinks from them into a monstrous creature loyal only to the brood.

In Kindred soceity, the Nosferatu are famous information brokers and spymasters. While this is partly supported by their use of the Obfuscate and Animalism disciplines, the Nosferatu also emphasize information interchange as part of clan culture. Nosferatu invest an awful lot in teaching their childer with riddle games, memorization exercises and other activities which emphasize sharing and hiding information. Most Nosferatu tend to present themselves as antisocial creatures and as they seldom play the games of Elysium, instead focusing on the acquisition of knowledge to make themselves irreplaceable for vampiric society.

DISCIPLINES

Animalism: The Nosferatu treasure the Discipline of Animalism for its utility in increasing their spy network, gaining familiars, allowing the delivery of messages, and granting the ability to suddenly swarm an opponent with a horde of rats, bugs, or birds. Animalism also assists the Nosferatu who wishes to feed from animals — it is often easier, and arguably more moral, to summon a pigeon and drain it than to stalk a mortal and feed from their neck.

Obfuscate: The Nosferatu have mixed opinions on Obfuscate, as the Discipline enables them to blend in with others, but also masquerades that which defines their clan — some Nosferatu are proud of their unconcealed monstrosity, while others take every effort to hide it. Regardless of the controversies, Obfuscate is an excellent tool for hunting and feeding, as few other methods allow a sewer rat to interact with the kine.

Potence: Nosferatu use Potence to rapidly neutralize foes. The Nosferatu understand the merit of hit and run, incapacitating a vessel before feeding and fleeing, or breaking the Anarch Baron’s head before vaulting away from their hangout. Many Sewer Rats hesitate to use Potence before the kine, as its unfiltered might opposes their deceptions.

BANE

Hideous and vile, all Nosferatu count as having the Repulsive Flaw -2 and can never increase their rating in the Looks Merit. In addition, any attempt to disguise themselves as non-deformed incur a penalty to the dice pool equal to the character’s Bane Severity. This includes Discipline powers like Mask of a Thousand Faces and Impostor’s Guise. Most Nosferatu do not breach the Masquerade by just being seen. They are perceived by mortals to be grotesque and often terrifying, but not always supernaturally so.

Clan Bane Variant

Infestation: No matter where they go or try to hide, swarms of vermin follow the Nosferatu. Some are plagued by swarms of rats, others act as a beacon to roaches, while still others cannot get rid of the damn pigeons or their leavings. In many cases all of the above and more. No matter where they make their haven, they soon drive all other inhabitants away. Even a quick stop can provide unwelcome guests that stay long after the Sewer Rat leaves.

A Nosferatu Haven is always infested with vermin, causing a penalty equal to two plus their Bane Severity to any attempt at an activity (by anyone) that requires concentration, as well as social tests at the Storyteller’s discretion. In addition, any time a Nosferatu vampire spends a scene at an enclosed location, the vermin infestation yields a similar effect, though the penalty is equal only to the vampire’s Bane Severity. Any attempt to (temporarily) control the vermin with Animalism is done at a penalty equal to Bane Severity.

Note that with this Bane, Nosferatu are not necessarily deformed, though they can still be weirdlooking, if desired.

_{Players Guide, pg. 58}

COMPULSION

Cryptophilia

The need to know permeates the vampire. They become consumed with a hunger for secrets, to know that which few or no one knows, almost as strong as that for blood. They also refuse to share secrets with others, except in strict trade for greater ones.

All actions not spent working toward learning a secret, no matter how big or small, receive a twodice penalty. The Compulsion ends when the vampire learns a secret big enough to be considered useful. Sharing this secret is optional.

ARCHETYPES

Information Hub

When the Second Inquisition found SchreckNET, many of the Toreador secretly proposed a toast to the collapse of Clan Nosferatu. The clan lost credibility and many members, but those who endured and flourished had mastered the arts of secure archiving, physically and online. They bolstered their existing bonds with contacts and clients, and steadily regained the trust of Kindred who value a central information hub for research and the exchange of secret messages. In an era when contact and movement between domains grow more precarious by each night, Nosferatu like these have become invaluable. If they can guarantee privacy, they can name their price.

More Animal Than Man

This Nosferatu identifies more closely with the creatures scurrying beneath the city or flying through the suburbs at night than with the kine wandering the streets. Maybe a former pest controller, vet, or simply an antisocial individual this Kindred speaks to animals, controls them, and likely acts like one. Some Nosferatu do not limit their animalistic urges to behavior but become literal hives for bugs and nests for rats. They reason that their stomach and lower abdominal cavities were being used for little before, and at least the infestation benefits from the vitae.

Domain Gumshoe

Nosferatu make superb investigators as long as they stick to the shadows and wear plenty of layers. The gumshoe is comfortable stalking the streets, darting from doorway to doorway in the rain, and shows no qualms about breaking into homes, havens, or vaults for that precious last piece of the puzzle. Sometimes recruited as domain sheriffs, this Nosferatu emphasizes research and investigation, preferring to take the thinker’s route to most answers over violent means. The domain gumshoe likely comes from law enforcement, was an amateur sleuth, or has an academic background.

Rat

The comparison of Nosferatu to rats goes further than sewerdwelling and extended incisors. History reveals repeated instances when horrors turned on their masters for their own preservation, betrayed their own for a little extra, or attempted to play both sides of a conflict. The rat may be involved in corporate espionage or claim to be Anarch but scurry to their Camarilla prince at the first sign of trouble. Some rats do what they do just to stay alive and are not beyond sympathy.