Post by Iota on Jun 4, 2010 16:26:57 GMT -5
There are few practices common to the Nosferatu that have become known to others. One of the most spectacular and fearsome (which is perhaps why the Nosferatu let news of it leak) is the custom of creating breeding pools in order to manufacture guardian ghouls. Such pools are bodies of water that Nosferatu regularly infuse with their vitae. The results are literally hordes of twisted, massive and utterly loyal ghouled animals which serve as natural warning systems and defenses. Nosferatu also farm fungi and subterranean plants, creating gardens worthy of the finest apothecaries or the deadliest poisoners.
In the end, all Nosferatu custom among each other breaks down to respect and politeness. The Nosferatu seem genuinely to respect one another and their elders (the Sewer Rats are the only vampires who don’t regularly grumble about what evil deeds their elders are really up to), and that makes their dealings fluid, easy and fast. ‘What matters to the Nosferatu is not the order of precedence, but rather actually getting things done, and their dearth of formalized customs reflects this desire.
There is one hobby which the Nosferatu seem to enjoy, and that’s pushing the other Kindred. Every Nosferatu knows that the other clans prefer to deal with them as little as possible, and that they only do so when under great duress. Consequently, the Nosferatu take great pains to play up the worst aspects of their existence when the other clans come calling, testing to see just how far their prospective clients are willing to go. When the Toreador are willing to descend into the sewers, or the Ventrue to meet in a soup kitchen, not only do the Nosferatu get ghoulish pleasure out of seeing their visitors so discomfited, but the entire meeting becomes a gauge of exactly how desperate for help the high and mighty are.
The Embrace: Nosferatu choose their progeny from society's castoffs: derelicts, the mentally ill and the hopelessly antisocial. Occasionally, a vindictive Nosferatu chooses to embrace a beautiful, vain mortal, then watch gleefully as the Curse takes hold.
Appearance: No two Nosferatu look precisely alike, but all are hideous. Gaping fang-filled maws, discolorations, tumors, holes in place of noses, batlike ears, sloping bald heads, twisted spines, claws, wrinkled hides, pustulent sores and webbed fingers are just a few possible deformities possessed by Nosferatu. An existence in sewers and crypts tends to ensure that most Nosferatu smell about as good as they look.
Havens: Their disfigurement forces most Nosferatu to take havens far from the eyes of mortals, in graveyards, abandoned warehouses and cellars. In large cities, entire broods of Nosferatu lair in sewers and subway systems. These "kingdoms," particularly the older ones, are often much more extensive than mortals or Kindred are aware — subterranean labyrinths stretching deep into the darkness and guarded by monstrous ghouls. Even princes treat warily with the Nosferatu kingdoms.
Weaknesses: As mentioned, Nosferatu are absolutely loathsome to look at. Most social actions based on first impression, except intimidation and the like, fail automatically.
The Embrace: The Creeps are hardy survivors, and they are no strangers to derision. They draw their childer from society’s castoffs most often, though many still possess some small mean streak and Embrace beautiful or popular individu als out of spite. For some reason, most seem to be male, but what does it matter when one's gender is practically indeterminate?
Appearance: The Nosferatu antitribu, like their Camarilla counterparts, are all blighted by the Blood of Caine. They are so unsettling to look on that other considerations such as clothing and grooming habits are secondary what does it matter whether one wears a designer cocktail dress or a burlap bag if one resembles the twisted, broken bodies left behind in an automobile accident? As such, most Nosferatu antitribu dress for comfort, preferring loose shifts, broken-in casual clothes and other leisurely ensembles. Some Nosferatu antitribu go to the opposite extreme, however, and affect cutting-edge couture or the severe wardrobes of S&M subcultures, to better leave horrid impressions with those who observe them.
Haven: Nosferatu antitribu tend to congregate in nests and warrens beneath the cities, where few venture and even fewer return. Despite their great ugliness, Nosferatu antitribu do not tend to be morbid, and they eschew the grim surround ings of morgues, graveyards and the like. When Nosferatu antitribu reside at a communal pack havens, they tend to take the most isolated and inaccessible portions of it for them selves. Most of their packmates don’t mind so much.
Weaknesses:As mentioned, Nosferatu are absolutely loathsome to look at. Most social actions based on first impression, except intimidation and the like, fail automatically.
In the end, all Nosferatu custom among each other breaks down to respect and politeness. The Nosferatu seem genuinely to respect one another and their elders (the Sewer Rats are the only vampires who don’t regularly grumble about what evil deeds their elders are really up to), and that makes their dealings fluid, easy and fast. ‘What matters to the Nosferatu is not the order of precedence, but rather actually getting things done, and their dearth of formalized customs reflects this desire.
There is one hobby which the Nosferatu seem to enjoy, and that’s pushing the other Kindred. Every Nosferatu knows that the other clans prefer to deal with them as little as possible, and that they only do so when under great duress. Consequently, the Nosferatu take great pains to play up the worst aspects of their existence when the other clans come calling, testing to see just how far their prospective clients are willing to go. When the Toreador are willing to descend into the sewers, or the Ventrue to meet in a soup kitchen, not only do the Nosferatu get ghoulish pleasure out of seeing their visitors so discomfited, but the entire meeting becomes a gauge of exactly how desperate for help the high and mighty are.
The Embrace: Nosferatu choose their progeny from society's castoffs: derelicts, the mentally ill and the hopelessly antisocial. Occasionally, a vindictive Nosferatu chooses to embrace a beautiful, vain mortal, then watch gleefully as the Curse takes hold.
Appearance: No two Nosferatu look precisely alike, but all are hideous. Gaping fang-filled maws, discolorations, tumors, holes in place of noses, batlike ears, sloping bald heads, twisted spines, claws, wrinkled hides, pustulent sores and webbed fingers are just a few possible deformities possessed by Nosferatu. An existence in sewers and crypts tends to ensure that most Nosferatu smell about as good as they look.
Havens: Their disfigurement forces most Nosferatu to take havens far from the eyes of mortals, in graveyards, abandoned warehouses and cellars. In large cities, entire broods of Nosferatu lair in sewers and subway systems. These "kingdoms," particularly the older ones, are often much more extensive than mortals or Kindred are aware — subterranean labyrinths stretching deep into the darkness and guarded by monstrous ghouls. Even princes treat warily with the Nosferatu kingdoms.
Weaknesses: As mentioned, Nosferatu are absolutely loathsome to look at. Most social actions based on first impression, except intimidation and the like, fail automatically.
Antitribu
The Embrace: The Creeps are hardy survivors, and they are no strangers to derision. They draw their childer from society’s castoffs most often, though many still possess some small mean streak and Embrace beautiful or popular individu als out of spite. For some reason, most seem to be male, but what does it matter when one's gender is practically indeterminate?
Appearance: The Nosferatu antitribu, like their Camarilla counterparts, are all blighted by the Blood of Caine. They are so unsettling to look on that other considerations such as clothing and grooming habits are secondary what does it matter whether one wears a designer cocktail dress or a burlap bag if one resembles the twisted, broken bodies left behind in an automobile accident? As such, most Nosferatu antitribu dress for comfort, preferring loose shifts, broken-in casual clothes and other leisurely ensembles. Some Nosferatu antitribu go to the opposite extreme, however, and affect cutting-edge couture or the severe wardrobes of S&M subcultures, to better leave horrid impressions with those who observe them.
Haven: Nosferatu antitribu tend to congregate in nests and warrens beneath the cities, where few venture and even fewer return. Despite their great ugliness, Nosferatu antitribu do not tend to be morbid, and they eschew the grim surround ings of morgues, graveyards and the like. When Nosferatu antitribu reside at a communal pack havens, they tend to take the most isolated and inaccessible portions of it for them selves. Most of their packmates don’t mind so much.
Weaknesses:As mentioned, Nosferatu are absolutely loathsome to look at. Most social actions based on first impression, except intimidation and the like, fail automatically.
