By Adam Schroeder (dek@ix.netcom.com) (21 Feb 1995)
History: The Nosferatu antitribu looked nervous, more nervous, I imagine, than he would have been had he known that I wasn't in the Sabbat. He unfolded the parchment I handed him and read it quickly. He looked up and nodded at me.
"It is good. You want to know of..." The nosferatu visibly shivered. "Nictuku?"
"Yes. All I have heard are rumours. Most others I have asked only told me to get out, or just left."
"That is understandable, Master Rowan. Sit..."
I did as I was told, finding a spot to sit on one of the boxes that wasn't covered in sewer slime. He then unfolded a most wonderful tale...
There was a time quite a long time ago, where the Nosferatu were the most beautiful of clans. Even the insufferable Toreador were nothing compared to the members of my clan. And the most beautiful of all was the leader, Nosferat himself. Not only was he handsome, he was proud of it. He was arrogant as hell, and this was before he became a kindred! And not only was he these two things, but he was also the finest hunter there was. He was also proud of this.
As the story goes, one of Caine's progeny, Zillah I think, found him strolling along some picturesque beach, I'm sure, when he saw her. For some reason or another, they got in a fight. As it turned out, Zillah scratched Nosferat across the face, and embraced him. The wound was permenant, and marred Nosferat's perfect face. Knowing of his arrogance, I think you can imagine that he was quite upset about this.
After many years, Nosferat sired many childer of his own. All of them he blood bound to him. After Caine told all of his progeny to stop embracing more Children of Seth, Nosferat stopped. Well, not really. One day, while on one of his many nature walks (or some crap like that) he happened upon a beautiful woman bathing in a lake. He was overcome by lust and embraced her, afterwards he remembered Caine's words, and left her there. He ran back to his own lair, leaving her unbound.
Many years later, Nosferatu's hatred of Zillah for what she had done had not abated. Using the arts of hiding that he had developed he tricked the other antediluvians into destroying the kindred of the second generation. When Caine had left for a day and a night, the Antediluvians attacked and destroyed the second generation. (Hard to imagine the Antediluvians acting like such brats, no?)
After the slaughter, Caine returned home. He found each of the third generation responsable for the destruction of his progeny, and cursed each of them. Some of the curses are obvious, Malkav lost his sanity, Brujah lost his passion and Gangrel lost his humanity. Nosferat lost his looks, and so did all of his children. He gathered them all, and immediately ran into hiding. They have not been heard from again.
Now you wonder how I stand here. Remember the woman in the lake? She was not bound to Nosferat, and while she did lose her beauty, she did not go into hiding with Nosferat. She is the mother of all Nosferatu, she sired our sires.
Our Antediluvian lies hiding somewhere, though where we know not, and would like to keep it that way. It is said that he has the notion in his head that if he can kill all of his childer and his childer's childer and so on, that Caine will forgive him and give him back his looks. He has all of the bound kindred who went into hiding with him seek and destroy any Nosferatu that they can find. These are the Nictuku.
"Now, Master Rowan. Do you understand why we fear the Nictuku?"
I nodded, "But did you not say it was just a rumour. How can you fear a rumour."
The Nosferatu grunted. "To others it is a rumour, to us it is our greatest fear. Entire warrens have vanished without a trace. Even more rumours suggest that a Nictuku has reawakened in Russia and has devoured all of the kindred there. It is advisable for you to worry too, Nosferat does not want everyone knowing of his activities, and I doubt he would trust a Tremere to keep a secret." The Nosferatu glared up at me, "I certainly don't."
"Yes, thank you. This information is invaluable. Of course, no one will know of where I found it out, and no one will know where you found those rituals."
The Nosferatu grinned before he disappeared.
Nosferat is the name that I will use for the Nosferatu Antediluvian, there are no doubt many other names. The Antediluvians made up many, for in true names, there is the power to control.
The Nictuku do not want only to destroy the Nosferatu, they will destroy any and all kindred as possible. Nosferat knows that Caine disapproved of all childer beyond the second generation.
The Nictuku share the same curse as the Nosferatu, but they go beyond. The grotesqueness of the Nictuku goes into every pore of their existence. The smell of a Nictuku provokes fear in a mortal, the sound of their voice will make one scream and their faces are so hideous that kine have been known to die of heart attacks when they are seen.
The Nictuku have free will, but are so dominated by Nosferat that every idea of his, when planted into their heads, will seem like their own. With this, Nosferatu manipulates events in the world even more than most of the other sleeping Antediluvians.
The Nictuku are so horrid and evil that humanity is meaningless to them. They instead have an ability known as rage. (Any Nictuku who try to stay as human as possible may follow a Path of Enlightenment. Those who do lose both the pros and the cons of rage and are played mainly as one might play a truly evil Nosferatu antitribu.) Thanks to their supreme monsterousness, only those Nictuku who follow a Path of Enlightenment can fit into vampiric society, and even those must claim to be Nosferatu who have been maimed by the sun and refuse to heal.
It is said that the Nictuku are the true clan, and that the Nosferatu are a bloodline of the Nictuku. Fortunately for the person who said this, he didn't say it around a Nosferatu.
Nickname: (To the few who even know of the Nictuku) Grendel
Appearance: The Nictuku, like the Nosferatu, have a monstrous appearance, but even moreso. They are inhuman in the extreme. Those who bother to wear clothes at all wear dark lose robes.
Haven: Anywhere where they cannot be found, on accident or purpose.
Background: The Nictuku embrace those who already hate enough to kill without thought, though they avoid the sociopathically insane. The Nictuku prefer their childers to kill and know what they are doing. They also like to embrace those who have discovered the existence of vampires, and who are so repulsed that they hunt them.
Character creation: All are ruthless killing machines. Most have a deviant nature on a new level, though there are many who are loners or even conformists. The Primary Attribute is generally physical and the Primary Ability is usually Talents. The Nictuku, thanks to their evil auras, cannot have any contacts, allies, retainers, or fame among humans. They cannot garner status amoung vampiric society as Nictuku. The Virtues of the Nictuku are as the Sabbat virtues.
Clan Disciplines: Obfuscate, Quietus, Grotequous
Weaknesses: Like the Nosferatu, the Nictuku have an appearance of 0 and automatically fail any rolls having to do with appearance. Actually, thanks to their horrible aura, they cannot interract with humans at all. Their appearance sends the children of Seth screaming, like the delerium of the Garou. The Kine can sense when they are near a Nictuku, and their stomaches lurch when they talk to one, even over the phone. Also, because of this, Nictuku cannot blood bond humans, or make human ghouls. The mortal in question would be so terrified that he would most likely end up killing himself trying to get away from the Nictuku. Charisma also costs twice as much to purchase with experience. The daymares the Nosferat sends to his children makes their rest less helpful, they recover d10 willpower when they sleep. (All of these weaknesses are balanced off in the section designated rage, trust me. Also, none but the appearance and charisma weaknesses apply to Nictuku on a Path of Enlightenment.)
Preferred Paths: Those who follow one generally follow the Path of the Scorched heart or the Path of Caine, though a much more violent version of the Path of Caine is followed.
Organization: All Nictuku are ruled by Nosferat. Period. Because of this, they rarely fight amongst themselves.
Gaining Clan Prestige: Killing off fellow kindred, especially Nosferatu.
Quote: "Perhaps we can make a deal. You tell me where your warren is, and I kill you fast. Or I will strap you to a table and let the sun take you slowly, and then you will tell me where your warren is."
The Camarilla: The Camarilla is only useful for finding out where the warrens of the Nosferatu are most likely to be. Otherwise, we gain little by mixing with them.
If you even find a hint that one of the monsters has entered your domain, you have two choices. You can gather together all of your warren, and fight it. Or you can run. I myself will be running, while you all die. - Thames, Houston Nosferatu
The Sabbat: They are a force to fear. Their goal is to destroy the Antediluvians, something we cannot allow, but we will battle this sect only to save our master.
Who? -Trask, Tzimisce Cardinal of St. Louis
The Iconnu: The only sect that we truly have to worry about. They know of the crime committed by our father, and they know the why and what of what we do. Watch them, and prepare for the time that we must destroy them.
While we try to maintain nonintervention, stop at nothing to destroy any of these vile creatures. Their very nature breaches the masquerade, and threatens all that we work for. -Vlad Tepes, Tzmisce elder
Rage makes up for the limitations of the Nictuku tenfold. Rage can be spent by a Nictuku, like a Garou, to do an extra action in one turn without splitting up the dice pool. It can also be used on a 2/1 basis to increase physical attributes to above the max level for one scene.
Rage is also what gives the Nictuku to aura that they posess. Thanks to rage, any who see a Nictuku will run screaming and rationalize it later, just as they would a garou. Unfortunately, this is worse than the garou. This Delerium is in effect even when the Nictuku is only near a mortal. It will also work when a mortal can only hear the Nictuku's voice, even over a telephone.
Rage costs four freebies a point, and current rating x2 in experience points.
The Cannibal Hag, Baba Yaga: Baba Yaga makes her home in Russia, and has recently awakened. Rumour has it that she destroyed the Brujah Communism project, and then proceeded to devour every kindred in Russia, and is now working on the Garou. (Check out World of Darkness for more info.)
Some Nosferatu claim that Set is a Nictuku, and that his vileness is all on the inside. This could explain some of the powers of corruption that his childer are said to have.
So? Any questions? Comments? Flames? Attacks? Love notes? Write to Dek@ix.netcom.com ! I would be happy to laugh at what you wr- I mean to look them over seriously! Really! Thanks for reading...
Dek View Grotesquous discipline.