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[Menacing screams and gurgling]  “Ahem, what my sibling is saying is . . . run!" — Tooth & Jaws, Nosferatu Disciplines: Animalism, Auspex, Obfuscate Rarity: Uncommon

Suffering is often relative, and while the Nosferatu have experienced their fair share, the recent discovery of the previously unknown “Creeps” bloodline has given the parent clan a new perspective. A collective of downtrodden outcasts, the Creeps were seized and embraced against their will and imprisoned in subterranean depths unknown to even the most ancient of Nosferatu Tunnel Rats. Sealed away by dark and shadowy monsters, those of this bloodline were conscripted in a plot against their parent clan. They spent the centuries being used as feeding stock, shock troops, and eventually spies – all to serve in a war they scarcely understood. The recent liberation of one of their warrens by a coterie of Nosferatu has changed the bloodline’s fortunes. The Nosferatu now recognize them as victims of their age-old enemies. The Creeps have endured centuries of endless anguish and adversity, and in these modern nights they are finally taking their place in vampiric society. 

The origin of the Creeps lies deep in the history of the Nosferatu. Clan Nosferatu traces its lineage to two divergent ancestries: one descended from the mythical Baba Yaga, and the other from the blood bound offspring of her sire and clan founder. Lore speaks of a war between Baba Yaga and her sire which spanned centuries as he hunted her throughout the world. If the stories are true, she is believed to have escaped his clutches to birth the Nosferatu Clan. For her defiance, the other offspring of the founder hunted her, but yet no tangible evidence of these hunters were ever discovered. Over time, these pursuers became little more than ghost stories and boogeymen; myths told to scare ancillae and neonates. To the Creeps, however, these horrific monsters were very real – they were their jailors and known to them only as the “Hungry”.

For centuries the Creeps sole purpose was to stalk the subterranean world for blood to feed the Hungry; monsters who could only draw sustenance from vampiric blood. This proved a difficult and dangerous task as the blood bonds the Creeps developed to the Hungry required them to hunt vampires and the rare animals that inhabited the depths. Because prey was scarce in the subterranean lairs, to ensure the survival of the Hungry the Creeps were forced to embrace generation after generation in a depraved attempt to cultivate and control a vampire herd from which to feed. These generations never saw the surface world and survived trapped in massive underground cave systems they call the Depths. Many remained in a blood-starved torpor, forgotten and ignored until they were woken to hunt, feed, or to be fed on. If a Creep ever became a risk of becoming strong enough to fight back, the Hungry would destroy her. 

As humanity spread over the globe, so too did the Nosferatu, oblivious to the vampires in the Depths. As the Nosferatu fortified their warrens, the Hungry adapted, conscripting the Creeps to a new purpose as spies and clandestine operatives. Bound by blood, the Creeps carried out their hunt even though they did not understand its purpose or intent. Whenever a Creep discovered and reported the location of a Nosferatu warren, the Hungry would awaken other Creeps in droves and drive them toward its location. The Hungry followed in their wake, finishing off any surviving Nosferatu and preventing any warning from reaching other warrens. Though effective, few Creeps survived more than one of these assaults, and those who did often fell victim to wassail.

As these tactics proved successful, the Hungry adapted further and chose a select group of Creeps to infiltrate Clan Nosferatu by posing as unaligned Sewer Rats. The Nosferatu’s loyalty to those of their blood regardless of sect made infiltration easy for these undercover agents. Such open acceptance was foreign to the Creeps and while they hid among the Nosferatu with reprehensible intentions, a small number began to remember their humanity. Though they were conditioned to hate their parent clan, once among them the Creeps were shown a kindness that they had not experienced before. Guilt brought on by centuries of acting as feeding vessels and shock troops for the Hungry began to weigh heavily on the Creeps who walked the surface world. They began to see their cousins not as prey, but as cursed individuals like themselves who were forced to hide from humanity because of their appearance. 

These experiences coupled with long periods of separation from the Hungry allowed the occasional Creep to resist her blood bonds and avoid returning to the nightmare that awaited them back in the Depths. The arrogant and inhumane Hungry simply assumed their pawns had been destroyed, failing to contemplate that their offspring could rebel against them. As time passed, and more Nosferatu warrens were uncovered, the number of infiltrations grew as did the number of Creeps who chose to quietly abandon their old masters.

Then, without warning, the Hungry inexplicably turned on the Creeps that served them in the Depths, devouring them with a ravenous and unknown purpose. Many died and those few who survived were either above ground or locked in hidden catacombs, drained of blood and helpless to escape. When those surviving Creeps emerged from hiding and returned to the Depths, they found that the Hungry had disappeared. Those who survived the horror of the culling claim to have heard whispers about a journey ahead as the screams of the fallen echoed through the dark tunnels. Where the ancient Hungry went and what event could compel the attendance of them all en masse remains unknown. 

In late 2013, a group of Nosferatu tunnel rats followed a heretofore unexplored path within the Paris sewer system which led them to the upper layer of the Depths. It was there that they discovered a dormant cell of Creeps, starved, torpid, and abandoned. Believing them to be of the same clan and recognizing their need for help, they awakened them from slumber and granted them their freedom, only to learn the horrific story of their existence.

In the ensuing years, the Creeps have exposed the truth of their origins and have been mostly accepted into the clan. However, not all Nosferatu are willing to forgive them for their role in the atrocities of the past. Many Nosferatu remember the warrens lost, and openly wonder how many of their clan fell to the fangs of these refugees. Some even suspect that this discovery is just the latest in the series of plots by the Hungry. As for the Creeps, they remain vigilant out of concern for the return of the Hungry as they work to find their remaining torpid siblings to free them from the nightmare of their past. Though riddled with guilt from the centuries of aiding the Hungry, the Creeps are grateful to Clan Nosferatu. They hope one day to fully prove themselves in gratitude for their liberation. However, some Creeps note that circumstances remain similar for them; rather than seeking to appease the Hungry with their loyalty and submission, they instead seek to ingratiate the Nosferatu with their allegiance.

Organization

Creeps are solitary and cautious creatures. They rarely organize in the modern nights and hold no inclination toward one sect or another. Though colonies of Creeps exist, their goal is always to continue to work toward the discovery and rehabilitation of those left abandoned by the Hungry. Often rescued Creeps join with their liberators, having no basis of experience to make a decision as to sect allegiance. Those who become educated about sects choose what they think is best for them. Some find the freedom of depravity in the Sabbat to be a familiar bedfellow; some find the rigid structure of the Camarilla comforting and even forgiving in comparison to their past; many exist in the Anarch Movement where they are allowed what they believe to be true freedom; some even remain Autarkis, unable to develop relationships with other vampires. 

Regardless of sect, Creeps are patient and contemplative. For some it is a necessity as they simply do not understand vampire or mortal society. Others still try to regain the humanity that was slowly, systematically, and excruciatingly torn from them by the Hungry. For others it is the fear that if they truly embrace hope the Hungry will return to destroy them; for unlike the Nosferatu who were punished for the sin of a methuselah’s disobedience, the Creeps who survive today do so only because of their own rebellion.

Alternative Weakness 

In addition to the Nosferatu clan weakness, Creeps suffer from an inability to gain sustenance from human blood. The cause of this is unknown; perhaps it is a curse from their creators or simply an evolutionary flaw caused by centuries of near total separation from humanity. If a Creep were to draw blood from a human, they would have to drain the human dry to gain a single point of Blood. This prevents Creeps from purchasing the Herd background. However, both animal and vampire vitae nourish them normally.