>>>>>(Now here’s a posting that I can tell you a little bit about. Fought a group of these fraggers once and they damn near wiped out my team at the time. Nosferatus, contrary to popular belief , are not just another variation of vampires. They’re a whole different ball of wax as far as I’m concerned. This posting has been initiated by myself, and commented on by Judge Morgana. I’ve left it to an open posting discussion, so jump in where you think you can. Morgana and I will set you straight on the stuff we can.)<<<<<

--Dredd (03-12-58/11:35:59)

>>>>>(I thought that bloodsuckers were just bloodsuckers. No difference in my opinion. Both of ‘em drink metahuman blood, both of ‘em burn up if ya’ put ‘em in the sun, and both of ‘em have HMHVV.)<<<<<

--Burner (03-12-58/12:14:27)

>>>>>(At a glimpse, they are very similar. But just as there are sub-species of metahumanity (greek trolls are cyclops, arabic orks are hobgoblins) there is are at least five sub-species of HMHVV carriers, such as wendigos and dzoo-noo-quas. Vampires are only the most heard of. )<<<<<

--Judge (03-12-58/12:25:46)

>>>>>(Okay then, what’s the difference?)

--Ross (03-12-58/12:29:22)

>>>>>(Well, lets start at the basics then, shall we? Nosferatu can be differentiated from Vampires by a few physical traits. Fisrt off, Nosferatu are hairless. Most body hair disappears when they get infected with HMHVV.)<<<<<

>>>>>(And that means what to the average runner? A regular vampire could have a shaved head.)<<<<<

>>>>>(Yeah, another reason that you should listen to the rest of the post drekhead. Where was I? Oh yeah, I remember. Next way you can spot em is that they’re even paler than the average bloodsucker. Also, they’re a lot tougher to skrag in a fight. Can take a lot more punishment than vampires in general.)<<<<<

--Dredd (03-12-58/12:39:45)

>>>>>(Still say vampires are vampires. Dredd’s description is too abstract to be valid.)<<<<<

--Skeptic (03-12-58/13:03:57)

>>>>>(Dredd isn’t fooling around when he says they’re tougher. Seen him down one once while we were doin’ a job together. Chip truth. He had staked the fragger’s heart and thought the job was done. Pulled the stake out and got nailed by it when we tried to leave. Dredd got staked in the knee by the fraggin’ thing. Watched him push the thing into a wall, limping all the way, and stake it through the eye socket against a wall.)<<<<<

--Judge (03-12-58/13:10:56)

>>>>>(You pulled the stake out? That was stupid. Why don’t you tell ‘em about the Wraith?)<<<<<

--Nameless (03-12-58/13:16:19)

>>>>>(You tryin’ to tell me how to do my job? And if I see that Moraytay bastard, I"ll kill that fraggin’ necromancer and his slotting wraith if I find him again.)<<<<<

--Dredd (03-12-58/13:20:39)

>>>>>(Hey, I thought that you could only kill vampires with sunlight, fire or a stake through the heart. How’d you kill it by staking its eye?)<<<<<

--Marvyn (03-12-58/14:01:43)

>>>>>(Knew someone would ask that… You can kill an HMHVV infected being by severing its spinal cord or by quite simply blowing its brains out. The stake pierced the thing’s brain and therefore broke the connection between the mind and body.)<<<<<

--Judge (03-12-58/14:28:31)

>>>>>(Yeah, it’s true. Me an’ my team wuz up onna roof top in tha’ barrens after we cleared some buildin’ some Johnson wanted us to, uh….. vacate. Fraggin’ vamp was waitin’ for us. Apparently, the bloodsucka’ wuz usin’ the ghouls as muscle durin’ the daytime to guard his haven cuz the ghouls just get uncomforable durin’ tha’ day instead’a burnin’ up. Anyway, the thing tried ta’ jump our shaman. She couldn’t sling anything fast enough ta’ get it offa her, so I pluged it in the head wit’ my Predator. Dropped the fragger and killed him onna spot.)<<<<<

--Momma (03-12-58/14:59:51)

>>>>>(Bad English, but he just said it all. Getting back to the point of difference though, Nosferatu, or at least the Nosferatu that Morgana and I seemed to run into on that run back on Halloween in ’54, seemed to be more organized than most. They had set up in an old cathedral, using a gang called "Purity" to cover for their activities. Most of the gangers were under direct control from the Nosferatu and made for good defense during the day. When we actually got to the bloodsuckers themselves, we found out they had some serious pull. Had fraggin’ gargoyles guarding the bell tower, and when we got to their actual coven (I can’t think of a better word) we got a nasty surprise.)<<<<<

--Dredd (03-12-58/16:12:58)

>>>>>(Since Dredd here isn’t magically active, he doesn’t know the half of it. When we got to the coven, I picked up a magical vibe. I can’t properly assense since I’m a phys ad, but whatever was going on in that cathedral was not natural by a long shot. The place reeked of perversion. There was a woman, who we still haven’t been able to identify as totally human, being prepared for a ritual sacrifice in an altar in the center of their pitch black sub-basement. The magic was strong enough that even with my limited ability to sense astral space, I could feel the menace the circle presented.)<<<<<

--Judge (03-12-58/16:42:41)

>>>>>(Ritual sacrifice? Nosferatu circles? This is creepy. What in God’s name were they up to?)<<<<<

--Bunk (03-12-58/17:05:37)

>>>>>(That’s the scary part, chummer. I still don’t know. Usually when your average vampire shows up on the scene, you can guess his motives. You can see the way his mind is working. These things were incomprehensible. Never saw anything as evil when I was with the Star in New Orleans. And the thing that scares me is this: since they don’t need to refuel as often as regular vampires, they can hide longer and more efficiently that other bloodsuckers (Shoulda’ posted that earlier). This also means that they can wait a long time for their plans to come full circle. Nasty stuff.)<<<<<

--Dredd (03-12-58/17:31:56)

>>>>>(Sounds like someone’s been slotting bad chips. I think you’re full of it, Dredd.)<<<<<

-- (03-12-58/18:00:09)

>>>>>(Think what you will. If you have doubts, why don’t you go to the Barrens and find out for yourself…)<<<<<

--Judge (05-12-58/18:12:59)

Nosferatu have two important things over other vampires. One, they can wait longer than regular vampires between feedings. They do not have to risk exposure to whatever foes they may have, in order to feed their bloodlust. This ability gives them extra time to hide out if necessary and scheme against enemies with little chances of being noticed. Nosferatu only lose one point of essence once every D6 months.

Another thing that they can do is drain essence at an unlimited essence rate. They’ll drink you until you’re dry.

Two, they are tougher customers than your average HMHVV metahuman. They can resist more damage than usual (optional rule of two extra damage overflow boxes). Staking them is not enough. The stake must be left in the corpse indefinitely in order to kill it by those means. A successful headshot will more easily down a Nosferatu. And if that isn’t enough, most Nosferatu are magically active as opposed to being magically latent like Vampires.

Another aspect that you can use in a campaign involving Nosferatu is to give them a cover organization. American Nosferatu have been known to use similar scenerios as above. They can take subtle control of a street gang, giving them access to at least twenty living eyes and ears that won’t burn in the daylight and equip them with a food supply that will last them for quite some time. Imagine what a Nosferatu Circle could do with the Halloweeners…

Nosferatu rules can be found In the Awakened Creatures of Europe (Fasa TM). In sypnosis:

--Compulsion powers – Line of Sight only! Target’s essence vs. the Nosferatu’s willpower. (Target may harm him/herself, but an additional +1 is added to the target number)

--Influence powers – Line of Sight only! Target’s essence vs. Nosferatu’s willpower

If you don’t have Paranormal Animals of Europe, these stats can be added to the "Vampire" stats in the SRII Rulebook: Critters Chapter.