Please bear in mind that these are still early notes and are not set in stone, especially as more setting information becomes available from White Wolf. However, we do not anticipate deviating from these notes drastically when we run Dark Met.
Clan Nosferatu
“Image is everything dahling.”
They’re the ones who take what many regard as their ‘curse’ and make it a blessing. Rather than hide in the shadows they take steps to demand your attention by making the effects of their uncomfortable nature part and parcel of the show. Artists, fashion designers, architects and other creative types are very much the public face of the clan. They’re the celebrated members of the court, the social movers and shakers, but that doesn't mean there isn't a place for those who don’t quite fit that mould…
Mask: Feuding Fashionistas, Avant-garde Freakshows
Dirge: Family First, Enduring Eternally
Who Are They?
Clan Nosferatu is, and has been for as long as most can remember, very publicly in a state of schism. The Two Towers, home to the Elders Samuel Asinelli and Simone Garisenda, dominate the city sky line and the Clan as a whole. This is a rivalry whose origins are long forgotten but that doesn’t mean either side are about to forgive and forget. Given the entrenched nature of this rivalry you’d be forgiven for expecting to see open warfare on the streets of the city, with Kindred striking down Kindred and Kine caught in the crossfire.
However, as with most things they do, the Nosferatu enjoy confounding expectations and there’s a long standing agreement that there will be no violence committed by either side against the other. Instead, disagreements are settled through competitions of various kinds; dance recitals, performance art, musical compositions and the like. As far as the two elders are concerned it’s a far more interesting method of resolving things than just resorting to base physical violence.
While this might confuse members of the other clans, it all makes perfect sense to the Nosferatu. Whatever disagreements or issues might come between them they’re all still family, and love or loathe them, they’re still your family.
This idea of non-violence extends beyond the clan as well. The Nosferatu, for the most part, prefer more interesting ways to settle their disputes and problems with the other clans, Kine and anything else that turns up. That’s not to say they won’t defend themselves if they need to, they’re just unlikely to throw the first punch.
What Do They Want?
Simply put: to survive. Their current outrageous displays of cutting edge fashion are simply a means to achieve that. The clan has always taken its cue from the ruling Prince’s attitudes and this is no different.
If a new Prince arises who wants something different? They’ll simply adapt to match the new fashions and attitudes. Survival is the key, and they’ve gotten very good at it over the years.
Where Did They Come From?
The Nosferatu go out of their way to remind people that they’ve always been in the city, to the point where the lobbies of both Towers have large, elegantly designed murals depicting the lineage of their respective owners and their history in the city. Scattered throughout the buildings are the paintings, etchings, photographs and other images of the towers showing how they’ve evolved and grown as time marched on. It’s a not-so-subtle message that the Nosferatu were here long before you were, and will be here long after you’ve gone.
Pride of place is given to images dating from the Second World War. Unlike much of the city both of the towers survived the bombing raid, something of a miracle given their size. While everything around them might have been leveled, the towers endured; leaving them with something of a legendary status in the city.
Another thing that only Nosferatu understand is the fact that the Two Towers, the public face of the never-ending feud, are linked by the Necropolis that sits beneath Norwich. The Necropolis is the heart of the Nosferatu, and while tensions may still exist they all know that The Necropolis is a place of refuge and safety for the clan.
The Necropolis itself was built as the city expanded, meaning that it is a custom-made space for the Nosferatu rather than a reclaimed one. This means there’s a variety of architectural styles and construction methods. The oldest parts are the medieval catacombs, but after that there came the eccentric Victorian follies, extensive playgrounds for the rich Kindred built underground as a place where they could be themselves and do what they wanted without risking the Masquerade. Then with modernity, thoughts turned more to luxury condos, like the opposite of penthouses, with swimming pools, bars and more built deep underground.
What Do They Do?
The Nosferatu thrive in this modern era by being noticed. By being the hot topic that everyone’s talking about. And they will do whatever it takes to keep it that way. They're the ones who throw the fashionable, exclusive parties, the ones who everyone's just dying to meet, and they're the ones who can make or break someone's reputation with a word.
They’re a feature of just about every creative scene. You’ll find musicians, poets, artists, fashion designers, architects and more within the clan. They pride themselves on being the cutting edge of their chosen medium and while this has the benefit of giving them an edge when it comes to wowing their audience, that isn’t what's important. What is important is the distraction this all provides from the fact that there is something quite definitely wrong with the Nosferatu when compared to normal people. But that’s not so much of an issue when everyone's so enamoured with the fabulous hat that a member of the clan is sporting, or when they’re admiring the latest series of paintings from an ‘eccentric genius’.
Bound up in this is of course, the Feud. The Lord and Lady of the Two Towers are always striving to outdo each other, to the point where they’ve been adding extra storeys, or even just longer lightning rods, to ensure that their tower is the tallest. Most members of the clan have chosen a side in the Feud and wear symbols to mark their allegiance. The more elaborate the symbol, the higher up you are in terms of status within the clan.
However, the Feud always comes second to family. Should there be a situation that threatens the clan as a whole or something that’s of a fundamental importance to them then the Nosferatu will put their differences aside to resolve it. Although any aid given to the other side might well be used as ammunition for the Feud once the truce comes to an end.
There are of course those who don’t quite fit in with the preening, artistic, public face of the clan, and there are also those who simply don’t want to fit in either. While these members of the clan will be publicly derided and ignored, they’re certainly valued privately for their skills and are always paid appropriately for any service they might provide. It’s not uncommon for members of the clan to have a decent reputation among the family without any outward sign that that’s the case.
High Court and Low Court
Regardless of a member of the Clan’s status within the city it’s practically a certainty that they’ve joined one side of the Feud, which is in some ways the first step on the ladder. After that there are two ways for neonate Nosferatu to work their way up. Either join in the public facade, or make yourself useful to the clan. The former will give them more social cachet among members of the other clans, the latter in some ways gets them more respect from their own clan as it can be a difficult path to take.
The High Court Nosferatu are, for the most part, made up of people who took the first path. They’re celebrated artists, fashion designers and so on. They’re the acceptable public face of the clan. There are members of the High Court who took the second path, which mostly just confuses members of the other clans but that’s all to the good as far as the Nosferatu are concerned. They do make a point of having very little public presence among the Kine though, in keeping with the Prince’s attitudes.
In the Low Court the Nosferatu have something that the other clans don’t. The idea of the clan as a family, and all the benefits and responsibilities that brings, runs from the top down to the very bottom. There’s always a place for a member of the family should they want it in the Necropolis, though of course they’ll be expected to pull their weight to keep it.
Development Notes
The Nosferatu are traditionally the clan who keeps to the shadows while being tolerated rather than favoured. Mostly that’s because they’re quite clearly odd, or strange or marked by the embrace more obviously than others. So we wanted to invert that and make them the social movers and shakers in Kindred society, trying to fill the vacuum left by the disgraced Daeva with their own, unique sort of style.
Along with that, there's the tendency for the adversity of the Nosferatu Clan Flaw to make them a little closer knit than the other clans. The idea of the Clan as a big, if divided, family, was something that really appealed to us both as a feature of the Clan and for the opportunities it can provide to players who choose to play a Nosferatu.
Mixed in with all of this is the fact that the Nosferatu are pragmatists at heart. In Dark Met they're all well aware that the song and dance they put on is simply a means to an end. Of course they might take pleasure in the fact that they’re being publicly celebrated and lauded, but they know that it’ll eventually end and they’ll have to find a new method of surviving.
Questions to think about with Nosferatu characters
Are you from Norwich or elsewhere?
Why were you embraced? Was there a purpose behind it? Was there something that drew your sire’s attention?
If you're from elsewhere what drew you to the Metropolis?
Are you aiming to be part of the public face of the clan? If so how are you hiding in plain sight? Perhaps more importantly, how are you planning on getting noticed by the elders?
How do you feel about the clan and the family? Have you picked a side in the Feud? If not, why not?
No comments:
Post a Comment