CHILDREN OF HUNGER

By Mark Reynolds (shadow@tricon.net) (23 September 1995)

Nickname

Blood Brats or Ratlings

Description

There are few bloodlines as disturbing to encounter as the Children of Hunger. The sight of a dozen bloodsplattered, giggling, feral kids as they swarm towards you is enough to make even the most insane Malkavian blanch. They are that rarest of things, an abomination to both the Camarilla and the Sabbat. Their habit of congregating in 'gangs' which are usually far too large for the local feeding grounds to support, combined with their willingness to let others clean up the frequent messes they make is the reason for this unusual harmony between such disparate sects.

The origin of these obscene creatures is unknown, although, none are reputed to have been seen before the 18th century. They seem to have developed concurrent with the inner-city slum in which they typically lair. While their origin may be in doubt, there is little disagreement over what it means if they have decided to take up residence in your city; Trouble. These vicious little creatures are difficult to discover before their 'gang' is established and even harder to root out after it is.

The Children usually range in age from five to twelve when they are first embraced. This has the dual effect of making them susceptible to the hunger and making them less human than most of the kindred. Their youth makes it easier to accept their undead existence as many of them have little frame of reference to compare their new (un)life to. When combined with the fact that they are usually integrated into a 'gang' comprised of others of their new bloodline this results in a variant of Kindred with a more twisted outlook than is usual even in the Sabbat.

The Children of Hunger organize themselves into a 'gang' that is in some ways similar to the packs found in the Sabbat. However it is rare that these 'gangs' practice the vaulderie (although it sometimes does occur). Order is maintained by a single leader who is usually signifigantly older and more powerful than the rest of the group. Often the rest of the 'gang' are all his Childer and are often blood bound to him.

It is the Children's irresponsible behavior that leads to the friction between them and most other Kindred. True to their youthful natures, they have little understanding of the consequnces of their actions. They feed as much as they like and are often responsible for a sharp rise in missing persons cases in the areas they live in. Most Children view feeding as a game and are rarely caught at it, but they are never discreet enough to satisfy the Camarilla, or for that matter even the Sabbat. Usually hunting in groups, they seldom leave their target alive to be fodder again on another day. Typically, the gang will descend on their prey like ravenous beasts and drain them dry. Generally they take the corpses as trophies or toys and keep them in their lair, but they are irresponsible enough to leave a freshly drained corpse lying around for the Kine to discover on occasion.

Usually their lair is isolated and often unreachable by anyone larger than child size. Crawl spaces, heating ducts, service conduits and such are their secret highways, allowing them a huge tactical advantage if anyone is foolish enough to enter their lairs. Littered with toys (and the corpses of their prey), and located within a twisting labyrinth, a communal haven presents a bizarre sight to those few who have seen it and survived. Even the Nosferatu are reluctant to enter a 'gang's' inner sanctum and prefer to avoid contact with them except for the minimum of spying they feel is necessary.

The key to survival for a Ratling nest is the same as their rodent namesakes: quick breeding. Most nests will have at least a half dozen members and often as many as fifteen. They will never embrace an adult and they prefer to create childer who are between the ages of six and ten. Usually they seek out children who are abused or neglected and if possible, let their get's first prey be their own tormenters. This initiation usually occurs while the newly created vampire is frenzied from bloodlust and in a fashion similar to the Sabbat's creation rites tends to strip the subject of their humanity and prepare them for their membership in the 'gang'.

The Blood Brats lives are centered around their games, a series of activities that combines the hunt with childrens play in a macabre fashion. Hide and seek, cowboys and indians, and many other pretending games are warped in the Children's hands into twisted versions of themselves that bring many of their preys' lives to an end in sheer terror and madness. Usually the 'gang' will be split into several smaller groups that will take separate sides in these nightly entertainments with the competition brutal and sometimes deadly. The Children create Childer more often to replace victims of their own excesses than the attacks of other vampires.

Through necessity, lairs must be changed more often than with most kindred and seldom are useful for more than a few years. However, over the decades many 'gangs' will return again and again to their favored havens and take up residence again. Usually this behavior is rewarded with several easy meals from those foolish enough to have thought they could move into these places safely.

Within themselves the Blood Brats have developed a society separate and complete from the rest of the damned. There is little left to connect them with mortals or Kindred and they are content in this. Within the darkened confines of their haunts, they play through the night at their grisly games ecstatic in their childlike lust for blood. It is hoped, for the sake of Kindred and Kine alike, that their power does not grow. If it does, these horrors will engulf all that they encounter. Can you hear them? Can you hear them playing in the night?

Appearance

Children of Hunger look, obviously enough, like children. They are seldom older than 10 when they are embraced and never as old as 14. They usually dress in the remnants of whatever clothes they wore when they were embraced or any cast off clothing they can find. Their priorities are usually childlike and this is reflected in their choice of clothing. They are often found in mismatched clothing, oversized adult clothing and inappropriate choices of dress (a formal dress for crawling through the sewers for example). Also they are frequently filthy, never bathing for years at a stretch in some cases.

Haven

Typically Blood Brats lair in deserted buildings deep in the inner city. They tend to honeycomb their lairs with passages, concealed doors and 'forts' constructed for their games. Woe indeed to the street person who decides to enter their home...

Background

Children of course, usually between six and ten years of age. Frequently chosen for their abused mortal lives, derangements are common even before the embrace...

Character Creation

Social attributes are primary, with physical secondary and mental least in importance. As far as abilities are concerned, talents are usually foremost with skills second and knowledges a distant third. Most backgrounds are inappropriate as the Children tend to live an existence free from the world at large. However the frequent practice of diablerie results in low generations being more common than might be expected (additionally, powerful vitae makes it more likely the much despised Children will survive....) They do have the occasional ghoul servant although these unlucky mortals are unlikely to live for long under their capricious masters. Virtues place an emphasis on courage, and humanity is typically low. Many Children of Hunger follow the Path of Play having lost all humanity in their twisted existence.

Disciplines

Obfuscate, Prescence, Protean or Childsplay (new discipline), Obfuscate, Presence

Weaknesses

All Children of Hunger possess the Child disadvantage conferring a two dice penalty on all pursuit rolls, and to rolls involving being taken seriously by adults, a plus one to difficulty to resist frenzy rolls involving hunger and an inability to enter certain 'adults only' clubs and other areas.

Stereotypes

Camarilla: Do this, do that, obey the prince, yah, yah, yah. Look just ignore them; they are adults like the rest and the never want you to play or have any fun.

"These vermin pay even less attention to the masquerade than the Sabbat do, if that's possible. If you find them in your domain give them the Final Death quickly. There is no other course of action to take."

-- Milos Prince of Nashville

Sabbat: They want to spend all their time doing dumb rituals and stuff and they want you to give them blood to drink all the time. They suck. (snicker)

"Firebomb their lair and tell the Kine it was a gas main explosion. It's the most sensible course."

-- St. Albans Tzimice Bishop

Inconnu: Who?

"These childer represent the worst our kind is possible of. There may be a shred of childlike innocence still within them, but beware, their hunger is probably stronger."

-- Deirdre 6th generation Ventrue monitor

View Path of Play Path of Enlightenment.