Lore: Nosferatu

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This Lore represents knowledge of the social structure, traditions and myths of Clan Nosferatu. It also represents how well a character might be able to recognize the names of famous Nosferatu and know the trends of the Clan within given regions.

Generally Possessed By: Nosferatu, Nosferatu antitribu

Potential Specializations: Fossori Lore, Lazarene Lore, Nictuku Lore, Nosferatu History, Nosferatu Physiology, Nosferatu Psychology, Parisi Lore,

Sources Consulted for this List: Berlin by Night [WW2214], Children of the Night [WW2023], Children of the Inquisition: Who's Who Among Vampires [WW2250], Clanbook: Brujah (Revised Edition) [WW2351], Clanbook: Nosferatu [WW2054], Clanbook: Nosferatu (Revised Edition) [WW2354], Constantinople by Night [WW2803], Giovanni Chronicles I: The Last Supper [WW2090], Giovanni Chronicles II: Blood and Fire [WW2091], Giovanni Chronicles III: The Sun Has Set [WW2096], The Kindred's Most Wanted [WW2230], Libellus Sanguinis IV: Theives in the Night [WW2830], New York by Night [WW2411], Nights of Prophecy [WW2265], Dark Ages: Players Guide to the Low Clans [WW20006], Rage Across Russia [WW3015]

Lore: Nosferatu *

You know that the primary Nosferatu Disciplines are Animalism, Potence, and Obfuscate. (LotN [Rev]: 35; VtM [Rev]: 75)

You know that all Nosferatu are rendered hideously deformed and ugly by their Embrace - which is said to be horrendously painful, with the process of transformation taking several days to complete. (LotN [Rev]: 35; VtM [Rev]: 75; CbN: 12, 19; CbN: 13-16; CbN [Rev]: 43-44; LS: 54)

You know that the blood of a Nosferatu carries some of their curse and that ghouls and thralls of Nosferatu often become less attractive and somehow "wrong" looking. (CbN [Rev]: 57-58)

You have heard of the Nosferatu progenitor, called either Absimilliard or simply Nosferatu (coming from the Greek nosphoros - plague bearer). You know that the legends regarding him often mention that he was a great hunter. (CbN [Rev]: 13-14, 16-19; PGttLC: 43-44)

You have heard tales that all Nosferatu live in fear of something called the Nictuku, which wishes to hunt them down and destroy them. (CbN [Rev]: 13-14, 17-19)

You know that Nosferatu are renowned as reputable sources for information, rumors and lore. (CbN [Rev]: 62-63)

You know that Nosferatu tend to dwell in the sewers in large defended regions known as warrens, and that they maintain vast subterranean holdings that few Kindred ever see or interact with. (LotN [Rev]: 34; CbN [Rev]: 59-61)

You have heard that, all things considered, the Nosferatu have a fairly egalitarian and close knit society and that the Clan Elders do not hold terrible sway over their childer. You further know that a large number of Nosferatu consider themselves Autarkis, claiming allegiance to no Sect. (LotN [Rev]: 34; CbN [Rev]: 50-51)

You have heard rumors of a Nosferatu-controlled computer information network. (LotN [Rev]: 35; CbN: 32; CbN [Rev]: 64)

Lore: Nosferatu **

You have heard that Absimilliard was Embraced by Zillah the Beautiful, of the Second Generation, and that his Embrace ocurred after he attempted to track her to her lair and destroy her. The battle apparently left a scar across his face, marring his beauty. You have further heard that later he attempted to take her life again, laying siege to the First City with his collected brood and the aid of other Antediluvians, and that for this affront he and his childer were cursed by Caine with the hideousness now inherent to the bloodline. (CbN: 14-16; CbN [Rev]: 13-14, 16-19; PGttLC: 43)

You have heard that Absimilliard created for himself a great brood of childer who were all loyal to him through the blood bond, but that one night he was said to have raped a woman he came upon bathing at a stream and Embraced her in a fit of passion. You know that it is said that all Nosferatu descend from this one woman - often titled "The Matriarch"- and that it is Nosferatu's original brood that form the enigmatic Nictuku. You know that it is said that the Nictuku hunt down all of their "cousins" at Absimilliard's behest. (CbN: 13-17; CbN [Rev]: 13-16, 17-19; PGttLC: 43)

You have heard that in his attempts to kill Zillah, Absimilliard attempted to distract Caine by claiming that he had been attacked by a Lycanthrope, and set him out on a task to destroy them for the offense. You have heard that it is for this reason that the werewolves hate all Kindred. (CbN: 15)

You have heard a story of how Absimilliard apparently was the lover of Arikel (the Toreador Antediluvian), although few of the Clan will affirm this, and this is, oddly enough, a legend mostly perpetuated by the Toreador. (CbN [Rev]: 20)

You know that the Nosferatu had a large presence in ancient Rome and that they helped to orchestrate and maintain the building of the Cloaca Maxima there, as well as the Christian catacombs that followed it. (CbN [Rev]: 22; PGttLC: 45; LS: 53)

You are aware that many Nosferatu do not survive their Embrace, and that several others emerge as simplistic brutes, malformed to the point that they are incapable of higher thought or basic survival skills. You've heard rumors that some Nosferatu who beget such abominations hide their childer deep underground and attempt to feed and care for them, in spite of their vegetative state. (CbN: 19; CbN [Rev]: 43-44, 46)

You have heard that there is allegedly a tendency for Camarilla Nosferatu to dwell below ground in sewage drains and subways, whereas their Sabbat counterparts are more frequently found above ground in blighted urban areas. You are furthermore aware that Sabbat, Camarilla and Autarkis Nosferatu will often speak with one another on Clan matters when removed from the sight of their respective Sects. (CbN [Rev]: 24, 54-55)

You know the basic stereotypical social classifications given to Nosferatu. These include: Bestials, who are obsessed with the Animalism Discipline and who tend to develop large clusters of ghouled beasts; Cleopatras, who were beautiful and vain as mortals and have been Embraced as a form of punishment; Fagins, who tend to head crime rings and use blood cults to network in poverty-stricken areas; Leatherfaces, who have degenerated into maddened serial killers; Loremasters, who study and trade in knowledge and obscure information; Martyrs, who see their curse as a divine punishment and strive to retain their Humanity and moral high ground; and Skins, who compulsively use Obfuscate to sttempt to blend in with human society. (CbN: 22, 28-29; CbN [Rev]: 44-50)

You know that a Brood is a collective of Nosferatu working together, and that it differs from a Coterie (Broods tend to be more familial and have a greater sense of interdependence). You also know that a gathering of Nosferatu for discussion, barter or socializing is referred to as a Hosting. (CbN: 28; CbN [Rev]: 52-54)

You know some of the traditional games that Nosferatu broods play, such as round-robin (a large circular gossip session in which all present attempt to tell the story of the city's current events), and the aranta-shadur, or scavenger hunt, in which Nosferatu are given a list of items in the city to be obtained through theft and subterfuge by the end of the night. (CbN: 30-31; CbN [Rev]: 64)

You are aware of the general layout of a Nosferatu warren. You know that there is traditionally an labyrinthine antechamber through which visitors must navigate to gain an audience, and that the central room of the warren (often referred to as the "Chamber of Horrors") is generally the most defensible place in the structure. You further know that almost all warrens are elaborately booby-trapped and are very hard to penetrate without foreknowledge of their defenses. (CbN: 36-37; CbN [Rev]: 59-60)

You are familiar with spawning pools (waterways tainted with Nosferatu blood) and know that they are used to create massive broods of mutated animal thralls. (CbN [Rev]: 37-28; 60-61)

You know that some Nosferatu who dwell underground can develop a penchant bizarre forms of art, in particular: music, gardening and sculpture. You have heard of the development of acoustic subterranean chambers -some of which employ channeled water, and of fantastical gardens with fungi the size of trees. You are also aware of the "Escalera", a giant sculpture of twisted metal and piping that spans an underground chasm in Lima - and that is a popular tourist spot for Nosferatu who are aware of it. (CbN: 34; CbN [Rev]: 64-65)

You have heard of Schrek-NET, a Nosferatu-created information network that extends globally and is said to be accessible only to the Clan. (CbN: 32; CbN [Rev]: 64)

You have heard that the Nosferatu formerly held a roughly codified set of ethics of hospitality throughout Europe, but that these practices are generally only now adhered to by elders of the Clan. (LS4: 56)

You know that Cock Robin is the current Nosferatu Justicar of the Camarilla. (CoTN: 45-56)

You are aware that the first Prince of New York after it's reclamation in 1999 was Calebros, a Nosferatu, and that he has since abdicated and vanished from the city's political spotlight. (NYbN: 73-74)

You have at least heard, in passing, of legendary Nosferatu such as Baba Yaga, the infamous witch hag who is said to have ruled the entirety of Russia from the shadows. (CbN [Rev]: 100; NoP: 100-102; RaR: 89-91)

Lore: Nosferatu ***

You have heard versions of the story of Absimilliard which claim that Zillah was smitten with Absimilliard's handsome appearance, and that it was she that hunted him that she might Embrace him. You have further heard that in his siege against the First City, he was not quite able to drink all of Zillah's blood, and that as a result he did not inherit her power. (CbN: 13, 16)

You have heard that Absimilliard believes that once all of his childer are slain, he can offer up his dead brood in sacrifice to Caine, whom he believes will then remove his curse. (CbN: 16-17)

You know that some believe that Absimilliard is relatively uninvolved in the quest of the Niktuku, and that they took their quest for revenge upon themselves, believing that Zillah would have fallen had the Matriarch and her childer stood with them. (PGttLC: 44)

You are aware that elders often use the threat of the Nictuku to force the decisions of their childer through fear, and that many accounts of Nictuku are, in fact, falsified. (LS4: 49)

You have claims that "the Matriarch" was but one of three childer responsible for the current Nosferatu bloodline, and that the other two were a figure known as the "Old Crone" or "Little Grandmother", and a third childe yet unnamed. You know that rumors of these other two figures circulated in the middle ages, and that there were connections made to the classical Pagan motif of the Maiden, Mother and Crone. You are further aware that many Kindred originating in non-European regions do not claim lineage from the Matriarch and, in fact, have even gone so far as to title themselves "Niktuku" because of this, in spite of bearing no resemblance to the creatures of legend. (LS4: 51-52)

You have heard that the Nosferatu apparently had large populations in Egypt and Africa at one point in time, and that these Kindred supposedly dwelt for the most part above ground, unlike their European counterparts. You know that Kindred explorers were also befuddled to find native Nosferatu already on the American continents during the Age of Exploration, and have heard that these indigenous Nosferatu are said to have given rise to the Algonquin legends of manitou (spirits) that ate the essence of other beings. (CbN [Rev]: 21, 24-25; 30-37)

You know that the Nosferatu of Rome (the Fossori) were at one time engaged in a lengthy feud with the now extinct Clan of Death (the Cappadocians) regarding possession of the Catacombs beneath the city. (PGttLC: 46-47)

You've heard of the War of Omens, and you know that the Nosferatu at the time allied themselves with Clan Tzimisce against the nascent Tremere. (LS4: 72)

You are familiar with some of the trends in the Nosferatu deformity, and are aware that the appearance of a Nosferatu can occasionally be traced to old regional communities. You know that the Parisii (Parisian Nosferatu) tend to have nearly translucent skin revealing their veins beneath and that the Lazarenes (Istanbul Nosferatu - formerly associated with the hospitaler knight order of St. Lazarus) have deformities consistent with very late stage leprosy. You have also heard that there were formerly some other "breeds" of Nosferatu, whose deformities had vastly different appearances than those common today - although nobody has heard recent tell of them. (LS4: 59-61, 78; PGttLC: 47-48)

You have heard the cosmological mythology perpetuated by some theologically inclined neonate Nosferatu , who claim that the surface world is, in fact, the manifest hell, and that all people who walk upon it are cleverly disguise devils. The Nosferatu, they claim, by shedding their disguise, may now burrow downward in search of paradise. (CbN: 39)

You know several of the more archaic traditions of the Nosferatu. You have heard that it once was held as common etiquette that any Nosferatu must give shelter to a clanmate for three nights without payment; that broods of Portuguese Nosferatu would adopt orphaned neonates by "re-Embracing" them (draining them and collectively feeding the foundling their blood); that brood alliances in Northern Europe were once cemented by exchanging two broodmates as hostages; and that in a few remote areas Nosferatu would conduct mock "marriages" of leaders to join broods together as one. (LS4: 56)

You have heard of the ancient institution known as the Warrener's Guild, which was founded by Zelios as an architectural school for the Clan. You also know that the largely discontinued profession of being a warrener involved traveling to various urban broods to aid them in making appropriate accommodations. (PGttLC: 46, 220)

You have heard that some elders in Europe previously were known to hire out Nosferatu to administer the Embrace upon their ghouls as a form of torture before they were disposed of. (LS4: 54)

You have heard of "living paths" - generations of trained animals in Nosferatu-held regions who can recognize members of the Clan and lead them through spans of wilderness. (LS4: 55)

You have heard that Rasputin was a Nosferatu, although this is disputed by other Clans. (BbN: 52-53)

You are aware that the Nosferatu have been credited with Embracing such historical figures as: Yima, the great king of Zoroastrian scripture. (LS4: 52)

You have heard a few tall tales regarding Nosferatu culture influence. You have been told that the original Dickinsonian character of Fagin, was, in fact inspired by Nosferatu blood cults similar to the fictional organization in Oliver Twist. You further have heard that the infamous Bat Boy of Weekly World News fame was an escaped Nosferatu childe. (CbN: 57; CbN [Rev]: 27)

You are aware that Baba Yaga's influence over Russia was considerable, even for an elder of her age, and have heard that from the time of her reawakening in the mid-1980s through her alleged demise in 1998, communications with Russian Kindred came to an absolute standstill due to some effect known only as the "Shadow Curtain." You are also aware that the Iron Hag is said to have a long-standing feud with the Ravnos elder Durga Syn, and that she is responsible for the death of the entire Brujah Council that formerly governed Soviet Russia. (CbB [Rev]: 30-33; CbN [Rev]: 100; CotI: 55-57; NoP: 100-102; RaR: 89-91)

You know that Josef von Bauren was the Nosferatu representative amongst the founding members of the Camarilla, and that he sat on the original Inner Council. (CbN [Rev]: 26; GC1: 51-61; GC2 17-20; GC3 15-16)

You have at least heard, in passing, of famous Nosferatu such as: Alonso Cristo Petradon de Seville, the former Nosferatu Justicar of the Camarilla, whose assassination in 1997 still remains a mystery; Ferderico DiPadua, the famous Camarilla archon who is said to have preempted an Anarch attack at the Convention of Thorns; Khalid, the former Nosferatu Primogen of Chicago; Rabbat, an anathema hunted for her ability to spread a plague contractable by Cainites; and Zelios, a famous architect and geomancer who is said to be responsible for everything from the Tzimisce citadels of the old world to the Tremere chantry of Ceoris. (CbN [Rev]: 26, 98-99; CotN: 53-54; LS4: 57; KmW: 20-25; VtM [Rev]: 66)

Lore: Nosferatu ****

You know that there are claims of several Methusalehs who were not enthralled to Absimiliard, and know that the legendary Baba Yaga is sometimes claimed among them, along with Yima and the elders Melachoate, Gayomart and Illuyankas. (PGttLC: 43)

You know that the Tremere at some point performed experimentations upon Nosferatu to produce the Gargoyle bloodline, and that the Nosferatu were allied with the Tzimisce in the War of Omens in part because of this. (LS4: 73; PGttLC: 48)

You have heard of some of the rarer "breeds" of the Nosferatu. You know of the Larvae, who were found in the volcanic mountain area in the Rhodosi region of Greece, and who were said burrow through soft rock with their teeth and to feed on their victims through strange serrated proboscises. You have also heard of the Volsi, a bog-dwelling group native to the area of the Rhine, who were reportedly of a grotesque size and cannibalistic temperament. You have heard that rumors abound that the Tzimisce may have had a hand in "furthering the development" of these strange Kindred. (LS4: 59-61)

You have heard that some ghouls fed on Nosferatu blood have abandoned their masters and fled even farther into the sewers, creating colonies of subhuman scavengers similar to popular urban legends of "mole men." (CbN [Rev]: 62)

You have heard rumors that the Nosferatu attempted to stir up Cold War paranoia back in the 1950s in the hopes of gaining more territory through underground bomb shelters. (CbN: 30)

You have heard tales of the great Yima, who supposedly was somehow favored amongst the Methusalehs of the Clan by Caine, and who retreated under the earth before the great Flood, having had visions of the great deluge. You have heard rumors that he hence escaped Caine's curse, and that during the Dark Ages he and his abode were quested after as a sort of Nosferatu ideal - imilar to the holy grail. (LS4: 52)

You have heard wondrous tales of Baba Yaga's reign over Russia, and know that she commanded seven terrible dragons known as the Zmei and six vast armies of supernatural recruits. You have heard rumors to the effect that she also consorted with demons, and have heard that there is some connection between her and the legend of Koschei the Deathless. (CbB [Rev]: 30-33; CbN [Rev]: 100; NoP: 100-102; RaR: 84-89, 91-99)

You ahave heard that Calebros' reclusion is said to have something to do with reports of active Niktuku in the NYC sewer system. (NYbN: 73-74, 119-122; LS4: 83)

You've heard of some of the fairly obscure Nosferatu of note, such as: Cicatriz, the Sabbat Bishop of Tijuana; "El Diablo Verde," a famous luche libre Mexican wrestler; Fra' Raymond, the famous leader of the Knights of St. Ladre; Gerald "Uncle Smelly" Rafkin, the original creator of SchrekNET; Malachite, a prominent figure in Michael's Constantinople; and Sergei Voshkov, an infamous KGB spy who was apparently taken into the service of Baba Yaga after her reawakening. (CbN: 55; CbN [Rev]: 99-100; CoBN: 100-101; CotN: 72-73; NoP: 90; NYbN: 74-75; PGttLC: 47-48)

Lore: Nosferatu *****

You know the names of as many Niktuku as it is possible to hear tell of. You have heard of Abraxes, Lord of Mists; Nuckalavee the Skinless; Gorgo; She Who Screams in Darkness; and Echnida, the Mother of Foulness. (CbN: 17)

You know that Baba Yaga resisted her Embrace at the hands of Absimilliard and has long sought the death of the Antediluvian. You are aware that she summoned the seven Zmei (Goluko, Gregornous, Illyana, Rustarin, Shazear and Trevero) and Koschei the Deathless (a demon who is said to have formed when one of the five claws of the devil dragged across the earth on his way to hell) in her battle against him. You have heard rumors that Absimilliard made a pact with these forces to avoid his own destruction. (CbN [Rev]: 100; RaR: 84-89, 91-99)

You know that Baba Yaga did not die at the hands of lycanthropes (as some rumors say), but that she was killed by one of the Nictuku, who was active in Russia at the time. You have heard that the creature took the form of a small girl with a mark of a crescent moon on her neck, and that it went by the name of "Vassalisa." (NoP: 93-100)

You know that Cock Robin is the childe of former Justicar Alonso Cristo Petradon de Seville - although this is a close guarded secret, given the nepotism it betrays as present amongst the Camarilla's upper echelons. (CoTN: 45-56)