Clanbook Nosferatu
By Robert Hatch
1993,
68 pages
Too few players want to take on the
burden of playing the hideous and disfigured Nosferatu. Why play an ugly outcast when the beauty of
the Toreador or the exotic allure of the Assamites await? Clanbook Nosferatu offers plenty of great
reasons to play a member of this much maligned clan, namely clan unity. Unlike the Ventrue who claim unity or the
Tremere who enforce unity through blood bonds, the Nosferatu band together
because no one else will wants them.
Even in the ranks of the damned and undead, the Nosferatu are all but
pariahs, only accepted because they act as information brokers and spies. The Nosferatu loyalty to their clan even
transcends their allegiances to the Sects.
Clanbook Nosferatu presents an intriguing but shallow examination of the
clan of Sewer Rats.
Like the other original clanbooks,
Clanbook Nosferatu is divided into four chapters with an Appendix which
includes some notable Nosferatu.
However, rather than having a singular narrator like Clanbook Ravnos or
an outsider viewpoint like Clanbook Ventrue or Clanbook Toreador, the author uses
a variety of sources and inworld documents along with the typical outsider,
third person viewpoint to explore the culture of the Nosferatu clan. These documents such as a research journal of
a Tremere who has been experimenting on Nosferatu and the memos of a Nosferatu
named Jameson to his sire/mentor/patron detailing his adventures break up the
usual monotony of textbook style writing that can plague Clanbooks and other
RPG supplements. These inworld documents
along with the purposefully fingerprint-smudged pages and images of trash along
the page borders give the reader the sense of holding an actual document
written by the Nosferatu without interfering with the readability of the book.
Clanbook Nosferatu begins with the
story of a Nosferatu who refers to himself/herself (the gender is unclear) as
Demon or Demon Lover stalking a victim.
Using Obfuscate to change its appearance, the monstrous and deformed Demon
becomes the handsome, Goth pretty boy Demon Lover who rises from the sewers to
seek a victim at a clichéd Goth club. Demon
Lover isn’t looking for a meal; he wants to find a mortal to Embrace. Rather than chose a worthy addition to the
clan, Demon Lover wants to punish a Goth-wannabe who lives a normal life and
puts on the guise of a Goth girl to escape from her humdrum life. After seducing its target, Demon Lover leads
her away from the club where it reveals its true nature and Embraces the woman
damning her to the same miserable eternity of grotesque unlife. Demon cataclysmically destroys the woman’s
fantasies of the beautiful, undying vampires of Anne Rice’s Interview with a
Vampire replacing that mirage with the truth and horror of real vampires at
their worst, physically deformed and mentally and spiritually perverse. One can’t help but wonder if this is also a
strike against the pretentious tourists of Goth culture. A reaction to the growing Goth culture of the
90s with its increasing number of hangers on similar to the way “real Goths”
feel about Twilight fans.
Even the damned have their standards! |
Beginning with a treatise written by
a Renaissance era Tremere researcher who wants to understand if certain
Nosferatu deformities are passed along from Sire to childe, Chapter two focuses
on the Nosferatu’s weakness, its origins, and how it defines the clan’s
culture. The Tremere researcher
concludes that a Nosferatu’s appearance and deformity is entirely idiosyncratic
and most likely caused by some unspeakable act of incest or bestiality done by
the Nosferatu Antediluvian. However the
treatise is incomplete since the Nosferatu clan did not take kindly to a
Tremere capturing and vivisecting its members or his opinions on their clan’s
origins. The researcher was found vivisected
by his own tools.
The
next section is a transcript of a Nosferatu telling a gathering of his
clanmates the oral history of the clan’s progenitor. Rather than imagining Caine and his childer
as the rulers of a grand city in the Fertile Crescent, the Nosferatu claim that
Caine and his brood were living in caves.
The Nosferatu Antediluvian, Absimiliard, was the greatest hunter of his
tribe of hunters and gatherers. He (most
likely a he) was both beautiful and prideful.
One of the Second Generation ambushed Absimiliard and Embraced him, but
during the fight, Absimiliard was wounded and the wound left a scar on his
face. From that day forward, Absimiliard
hated his Sire and planned his sire’s destruction. Absimiliard Embraced many others and blood
bound them; of the many who Absimiliard Embraced only one, a woman escaped the
blood bond. When Caine left behind his
growing brood, Absimiliard gathered together all of the Third Generation and
led them in a revolt against their sires.
Absimiliard diablerized his Sire in the ensuing battle and when Caine
saw this he cursed Absimiliard and all of brood with deformities. Those Absimiliard had blood bound became the
Niktuku, and the childer of the woman who escaped sired the Nosferatu
clan.
Whether or not the Niktuku exist is
a matter of debate amongst the Nosferatu in game and the players out of
game. Supposedly, Caine’s curse drove
Absimiliard insane, and he decided that the only way to have the curse removed
was to destroy all of his descendents, Nosferatu and Niktuku alike. Supposedly, the Niktuku became Absimiliard’s
assassins tracking the Nosferatu back to their homes and wiping out entire
warrens. They are the Nosferatu’s
bogeymen, much the same as the True Brujah or the Ventrue’s Secret Masters, but
the Nosferatu are so afraid of them that they band together for protection
ensuring their survival and improving their clan unity. The only thing known about the Niktuku is
that they want to destroy the Nosferatu clan, and they are hideously deformed,
more so than even the Nosferatu.
Chapter Three, appropriately titled
“Subculture,” explores the society that the Nosferatu have built beneath the
streets. Beginning with a description of
the slow and agonizing process of transformation for the recently Embraced,
this chapter meanders through a variety of topics. The most interesting is the methods of
selection that leads to the selection of a new Nosferatu. The “Fortunate Few” describes those who are
outsiders and loners or mentally ill that are selected because they can cope
and survive the change into a deformed monster. Others may be chosen because of their skill in
engineering, necessary for expanding the underground warrens. “Leatherfaces” are Nosferatu who have had a
psychotic break and fixate on images of murderers from movies like Freddy
Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street or Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre which is where the name comes from. These murderous Nosferatu act out scenes from
slasher films, recreating the murders or expanding on them. Finally there are the “Cleopatras” who are
beautiful or prideful people that the Nosferatu Embrace to punish them or teach
them a lesson in humility. Those Cleopatras
who survive the Embrace and don’t go insane frequently become clan leaders and
protectors of the innocent.
Leatherface is NOT a role model! |
According to Clanbook Nosferatu,
because the clan is physically repugnant, they are more honest. The Nosferatu are still monsters and commit
atrocious acts, but they don’t try to conceal their actions under a veneer of
civility. Unlike those members of the
beautiful clans, such as the Toreador or the Ventrue, who whisper a kind word
before they stab a rival in the back, a Nosferatu will just stab their rival. A Nosferatu is supposedly more honest with
his or her intentions. The author wants
this to be a redeeming and clan wide quality rather than an idiosyncrasy that
some players may have their characters adopt.
Not every Nosferatu should be the “honest monster,” but this does offer
a starting point for players who are looking to add a little depth to their
portrayals of Nosferatu characters.
For players looking to add some
variation on their Nosferatu characters’ deformities, the Merits and Flaws
section offers a selection of beneficial deformities. Merits such as Lizard Limbs turn a deformity
into a benefit because like a lizard that can shed its tail a Nosferatu with
this Merit can shed a limb to escape its bonds.
Tough Hide gives the Nosferatu more dice to soak Bashing or Lethal
Damage, and Patagia allows the Nosferatu to use flaps of loose skin to glide
like a flying squirrel. The Flaws are
also focused on physical deformities or other gross aspects of the Nosferatu’s
weakness. Stench and Parasitic
Infestation need very little description other than their name. These Merits and Flaws are not necessarily
useful and are intended to mitigate some of the negatives of the Nosferatu’s
clan weakness by turning it into a semi-beneficial ability. Individual Storytellers may or may not allow
these in V20 Chronicles, but they do provide the player with a few interesting
ideas when describing their Nosferatu’s weakness.
Flying Nosferatu...like a flying squirrel only minus the cuteness |
The most beneficial section to
Storytellers is also the section that should have been expanded. Clanbook Nosferatu is one of the few sources
for information on the sprawling underground labyrinths that the Nosferatu call
home. Comprised of sewers, abandoned
subway stations, fallout shelters, and Nosferatu carved tunnels, these warrens
are a great setting for adventures for players and Storytellers who want to explore
underground caverns. However, Clanbook
Nosferatu only details three areas: the
Antechamber, the Chamber of Horrors, and the Spawning Pool. The Antechamber is obviously where Nosferatu
meet guests that they wouldn’t allow deeper into their domain. The Chamber of Horrors is the central area
where meetings are held and the most defensive spot in the warren. The Spawning Pool is a small pool of clear
water where the eldest Nosferatu drips some blood to create guardians for the
warrens. Giant sewer rats and other
animals up to and including sewer gators are drawn to the water and become
protectors of the warren. Beyond these
three zones, the rest is left to the Storyteller’s imagination. By increasing the number of rooms detailed,
this section of the book would have been indispensible to Storytellers looking
to add a dungeon crawl style adventure to his or her Chronicle. As it is, the information in this section is extraneous
because most of it can be found in any of the Vampire the Masquerade core books
or extrapolated by a creative Storyteller.
What is surprising is the focus on
the ecology and strangeness of the Nosferatu warrens, and some of these
elements become fantastical. As with
other books in the Clanbook series, the author offers information that can be
useful for any style of Chronicle whether it is a realistic campaign or
something more like a pulp adventure.
Some of the elements included for pulp style games are details like
giant forests of tree sized mushrooms nourished by the blood of Nosferatu and
fed with dead mortals as compost. Also
useful for World of Darkness players who enjoy crossover games is the use of
Black Spiral Dancers (from Werewolf the Apocalypse) as competitors for living
space in the underground tunnels. Some
Nosferatu have even encountered Wyrmholes where Black Spiral Dancers have
recruited them; these Wyrm-infested Nosferatu terrify other Nosferatu. Other monstrous creatures lurk beneath the
earth, and Nosferatu warrens are digging deeper every day, and like the Dwarves
of Moria may have awakened evils better left buried. A new Level 6 option for Animalism, called Song in the Dark, has been
included to allow Nosferatu to communicate with these subterranean horrors and
eldritch beings. However, if not everyone’s
World of Darkness includes towering fungus or Cthulhu-esque beings living in
the earth; so, these elements might be better left aside in order to focus on
core themes of the Vampire the Masquerade setting.
The Balrog is the least of your problems if you're prank calling horrors of the deep! |
Chapter Four has a selection of Nosferatu
character templates that can be used either as Player Characters or as
Storyteller Characters. Most will need
to be updated to comply with the V20 rules, but conversion should be simple
affair. None of the templates are awful,
but some do stand out from the rest as excellent examples of how to create
three dimensional characters, but any of them could be great beginning points
for a new character. The best character
template is the Equalizer who is a gay male character that was attacked by
bigots and nearly killed. After being
saved by a Nosferatu via the Embrace, the Equalizer has turned his rage against
the system’s injustice and has become a protector of the oppressed. This is a great concept for a modern
character, especially considering that Clanbook Nosferatu was published in
1993. The Cleopatra, a beautiful
character turned into a Nosferatu, and the Leatherface, a psychopathic
Nosferatu who imitates movie monsters such as Freddy Krueger, are also
detailed. The most fun character is the
Luchador, a masked professional wrestler, who continues to battle in the
squared circle after his Embrace, but now his matches only take place at night
adding to the mystery of this masked man.
Known as El Diablo Verde, the Luchador is a popular and well known
figure in professional wrestling, but any slip could be a Masquerade
violation. Players looking to inject a
little humor into their Vampire the Masquerade game will love the chance to
pose and speak in a pseudo Macho Man Randy Savage voice as they play this
character archetype.
The Appendix describes four famous
Nosferatu characters that could be either NPCs or plot hooks for a
Chronicle. Sergei Voshkov is a former
KGB spy master who was Embraced by Baba Yaga and now serves the crone in
post-Soviet Russia. Prudence Stone was a
child gifted with prescience in Puritan Plymouth. Her uncanny insights led the rest of the
community to execute her for witchcraft, but a Nosferatu who she had befriended
saved her. Now she leads an enclave of
Nosferatu in the Boston area and acts as an undead oracle. Pusfinger was a Seattle Nosferatu of little
renown until he saved the life of a powerful Toreador Elder. Now the Elder owes Pusfinger a life boon and
Pusfinger has become famous for this deed.
Lastly, the “Bat Child” is a mysterious Nosferatu that hides in the
caves of Appalachia. Based on the
infamous “Bat Boy” images from the Weekly World News, this character is more
myth than real and has only two paragraphs of information neither of which does
more than try to wedge a 90’s fringe pop culture reference into the World of
Darkness.
Seriously! This was totally a thing in the 90's. |
None of these famous Nosferatu are
useful characters in terms of gameplay.
Sergei Voshkov and Prudence Stone offer some insight into the happenings
in the rest of the World of Darkness.
Only Chronicles that involve the schemes of Baba Yaga could make use of
Sergei, and Prudence Stone could be useful as an oracle for characters needing
guidance. Pusfinger’s story is too
centered on the 90’s, but his description does offer some ideas as to how
characters might gain leverage over more powerful elders. Bat Boy just isn’t a very interesting
character beyond being completely mysterious and a silly article from a now
defunct tabloid.
Clanbook Nosferatu covers a lot of
material, but unfortunately its breadth of information lacks the necessary
depth to make the book truly worth buying.
The highlight of this book is the Nosferatu retelling of their Antediluvian’s
origin. This story has a unique setting where
Caine lives in caves rather than early Mesopotamian city states. Because the Nosferatu hate and fear their
progenitor, the general theme of the story is different from the other clans
who revere their founder and want him or her to be the center of vampire
myths. The details of Nosferatu warrens could
be useful for Storytellers who want to set their adventures in sewers or subterranean
areas; however, the details necessary to inspire Storytellers to create
memorable adventures is missing. This
book offers a lot of starting points for players and Storytellers but lacks the
inspiring tone and excitement that other clanbooks brought to their respective
clans. Nosferatu players may enjoy
reading about their favorite clan, and some players will certainly find the
templates section helpful when they need inspiration during character creation,
but otherwise, Clanbook Nosferatu isn’t necessary.
Clanbook Nosferatu is available for purchase
from DriveThruRPG as a PDF or you can purchase an original
printing from Amazon.
Nosferatu were actually pretty popular in the circles i used to play - lots of kids into it for the eerie or grotesque i guess. :P
ReplyDeleteOr how one player put entertainingly in game - "Woohh, so pretty are you little bird! Can you do anything actually useful arm-candy? Thought so...."
Yeah, I guess I always like to play one of the beautiful people. If I had the chance to play more VtM games, I'd make it a point to try out every clan, but as it is, I rarely play.
DeleteI am a Nosferatu supporter!
ReplyDeleteReallly, i think than the style of the book is really, really modern! I mean, the book has a tone or taste very near to the Revised Clanbooks, with some differences of course. Just like you said, the more pulp/fantastic stories, you can see how different stories. But if you prefer the personal horror, beings like "Cleopatra" or "Leatherface" are usefull to represent different ways on the Moral path, with the Equilizer like one very potent character in the middle.
That's a really good way to look at this book Mario! I guess my problem is that I wanted a lot more than just that. The tone is great and I like how it is arranged, but the information lacks depth.
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