Category:Archived-Nelapsi

Nelapsi
Parent Clan:	Daeva
Nickname:	Locust, Gluttons
Reference:	Bloodlines: The Hidden Pg 88-95
Disciplines:	Celerity
	Majesty
	Nightmare
	Vigor

Please refer to the Requiem Addendum to determine whether there are any restrictions on this bloodline.

“You’ll find that stake isn’t so effective as you planned ...for you. I’ll be sure to make good use of it.”
“I'm so Hungry, So Very Very Hungry. You look as Delicious as the Rest of the City.”

Introduction

Spawned in Czechoslovakia, the Nelapsi are an odd breed. Their appetites are legendary, as are their tendencies toward obsessive and quirkish personalities. Indeed, given their extreme thirst, it’s probably fortunate that few have spread beyond the Zemplin region, where they first emerged. Even other Kindred consider the Nelapsi something of a plague. This impression, and their moniker, relates to line members’ monstrous hunger, which is sufficient to depopulate a small community in short order. Despite their proclivity for charming personality and political savvy — no doubt due to their Daeva lineage — “Gluttons” often find themselves accused of endangering the delicate blood supply for all undead. And matters aren’t helped by rumors of the Nelapsi taking pleasure in “haunting” areas that they frequent, primarily by inspiring feelings of dread in the mortals whom they stalk. Records of the Gluttons stretch back to folktales of the Dark Ages, many of which may be the result of just a few of the brood who hunted and thrived in and around eastern Europe. According to the stories, the Nelapsi mixed their tremendous appetites with cunning and charm. Superstitious locals ascribed all manner of hauntings to the vampires, and it’s sure that at least some of those assertions are true. Unlike certain other Kindred (such as the early Invictus) who sometimes took up a mantle of authority among humans, the Nelapsi often indulged in curiously anarchic behavior. Many a tale relates how one decided to prey on a particular village, but instead of exercising authority through the powers of undeath, he let strange sightings and ghostly sounds work the villagers into a pall of fear. By influencing the minds of the herd with nightmares and hallucinations, the Nelapsi sowed confusion, distrust and misdirection, thereby hiding his own part in the chaos. A Nelapsi who does the same in modern nights could seem like an unflagging, stoic individual in the midst of widespread terror, drawing mortals to himself through his stability and apparent dauntlessness. Tonight’s Nelapsi have spread somewhat from their ancestral home. Still, they’re uncommon in the Americas, and this situation is unlikely to change. Thus far their predation has not drawn the full wrath of other Kindred upon them, but the Gluttons do make convenient scapegoats when feeding problems or conflicts over herds arise. Nelapsi are not widespread as a result, and groups of them are particularly unusual. While in earlier nights, line members would have inhabited towns with a reasonably large populace, the better to slake their tremendous thirst, there’s too much danger of running into another Kindred in tonight’s major cities. Many Nelapsi take residence in outlying towns and villages where they can be sure to avoid running afoul of competition. Old World line members take some pleasure in cowing mortals into submission through use of indirect fear, triggered through their special Devotions. Modern Nelapsi usually avoid confrontation altogether if possible, but still keep a territorial watch over their own small fiefdoms. The presence of even one other vampire in an area can be a serious problem, since the Gluttons have enough trouble dealing with the difficulties of their own feeding. A few young members establish residence in suburban areas and occasionally drive into larger cities, but they don’t receive a warm reception from resident Kindred and rarely make their way into the society of the undead. Modern Nelapsi often exhibit skittish behavior around other vampires, which isn’t surprising given their inherent tendency to threaten the Masquerade. Choices of childer (when the Embrace is granted at all) reinforce this manner. While siring is a dangerous proposition for straining an already stretched blood supply, Nelapsi can sire for any of the reasons that motivate other Kindred: jealousy, loneliness, anger, remorse. As a Daeva bloodline, they sometimes pick childer who resonate with a sire’s own vices. Old Gluttons often exert a powerful influence over their neonates, repeatedly hammering home the necessity of caution in dealing with other Kindred. Those rare vampires who align themselves to the bloodline out of personal predilection soon discover that other Nelapsi are quick to watch and slow to trust newcomers. All of these conditions combine to make new Nelapsi uncommon. The lineage has little more than suspicion to offer outsiders who join, and no compelling reason for a young Daeva to seek the blood out. A few would-be Nelapsi childer resist their sires’ influence and go their own way or even join a different bloodline, but such rebellious youth are scorned by their progenitors and former cousins.

Covenant

Nelapsi relations with covenants tend to be extreme, based primarily on how a vampire society views Gluttons’ insatiable hunger. Most Nelapsi gravitate toward the Invictus, whose feudal model appeals to the old European sensibilities of the line’s origins (which are also passed from sire to childe). While Nelapsi don’t seek out positions of authority in the First Estate (it draws too much attention), they usually have the social graces, appreciation of authority, and sense of decorum that helps them to integrate well into that stratified group. Elder Nelapsi who make their peace with other Kindred (uncommon though such a thing may be) also gravitate toward the Invictus. They find a certain comfort in Invictus attitudes toward hierarchical control, which mirrors the Nelapsi tendency to exist as secretive monsters presiding over whole villages through a combination of terror and awe. The Carthian Movement, by contrast, is a subject of bitter divide for the bloodline. Old Nelapsi consider the Carthians little more than peasant rabble, not worthy of their own Vitae. Age, cunning and strength, elders proclaim, should be the basis of rulership. Some young line members aren’t so sure. Since gathering a herd poses special difficulties for Gluttons, modern converts assert that blending in with mortal institutions and adopting their policies is the best way to avoid drawing unwanted attention. More importantly, quite a few young Nelapsi chafe at the bonds imposed by their sires. Constant communication and over-the-shoulder interference by distant masters causes more than a few neonates to seek a more egalitarian society. The Ordo Dracul and the Nelapsi have ties stemming from mutual geography, but the transmutative practices of the covenant have a limited benefit to the bloodline. Nelapsi have a cordial relationship with the Order, but rarely work their way up its ranks or delve into its affairs. There’s just not enough reward for the Gluttons, compared to the gains that other Kindred make. Young Nelapsi can try to honor the tenets of the Ordo for several years, but often give up in frustration when the Coils of the Dragon cannot slake their thirst. The Circle of the Crone doesn’t overtly recruit Nelapsi, who for their part usually consider the covenant archaic and absorbed in ridiculous pagan idolatry. Nelapsi with memories of the pre-Christian days of eastern Europe are the most likely to deal with Acolytes, but even they consider the covenant needlessly brutal and steeped in self-mortification. The Circle’s magic, for all that it works with blood, does little good for the Nelapsi, whose hunger costs them too much Vitae to waste any. Some members of the Circle believe that the lineage’s feeding problem has metaphysical significance, but are split on its meaning. Some say the Nelapsi should consider it another challenge of vampirism to overcome and thus treat it as a valuable lesson. Others argue that the line’s hunger simply wastes precious blood, and is evidence that the Nelapsi are little more than sieves who should be destroyed for the sake of preserving the herd. The Lancea Sanctum often views the Nelapsi as frivolous tricksters and troublemakers, but does not overtly turn them away. After all, God’s righteous judgment afflicts all Kindred, and all should bow to His grace. Nelapsi who lived during the religious Middle Ages and early Renaissance tend to gravitate toward the Spear, finding the message of penance and holy retribution appealing in light of their curse. Sanctified Gluttons consider their condition a double curse. One erudite Nelapsi claims that every member of the bloodline houses a demonic soul as well as a former human one, and that the lineage’s thirst is a burden handed down by God to scourge the demonic soul for its pride in coming to Earth. Young Nelapsi tend to scoff at these fables, but the unusual Devotions common to the line lend at some credence to such claims.

Appearance

Like the Daeva stock from which they come, the Nelapsi often have a refined, genteel bearing. To better avoid notice among their prey, Gluttons tend to suffuse themselves with Vitae in order to maintain the appearance of mortality. After all, since they have to acquire large amounts of blood to survive, a little bit more won’t hurt when it helps them blend in. Eastern European styles of apparel are most common, with old members wearing finery reminiscent of ancient nobility. More recent arrivals appear in anything from tailcoats to the faded jeans that sell so well in former Soviet Bloc countries. Jewelry, especially silver, is a staple of Nelapsi wardrobe. Abstract or pattern designs predominate, and sires are quick to dictate appropriate choices to childer who seek to style themselves in garish or “low-class” garb.

Haven

Many Nelapsi relish their immortality and surround themselves with art, fine furnishings and sumptuous apparel. Security is always a concern, of course, but so is comfort. Perhaps because they’re used to being feared by mortals, Nelapsi tend to feel that they deserve a fine existence. Line members have a tendency to adapt the places where they lived as mortals, turning them into acceptable havens. This trend stems from their old habit of remaining cloistered away in a familiar area where they can hunt with relative safety, away from other Kindred. Poor neighborhoods rank low on their list of possible haven locales, despite the presence of humans who won’t be missed, because Gluttons tend to have an aversion to “slumming.” To avoid running into other Kindred, Nelapsi pick an odd assortment of havens. Some find comfort in isolated communities, especially areas where residents are suspicious of outsiders. With their Majesty powers, Gluttons can easily make themselves fit the “accepted though eccentric neighbor” stereotype. These parasites slowly sink their influence into local families through a stick-and-carrot combination of Majesty and Nightmare, causing people to fear change and the outside world while simultaneously making themselves out to be a comforting, familiar (if cold) presence. A few Nelapsi, as befits the quirky nature of the lineage, take up residence in abandoned places where their Nightmare powers can make full use of the surroundings. That includes haunted manors, decaying amusement parks and old, worn-down or abandoned strip malls. They cause outsiders to shun such places as haunted (or at least unwholesome), while they cruise nearby neighborhoods for prey, sometimes even setting up local groups of ghouls who reside in these same decrepit pits to intensify to the unwholesome décor. Nelapsi familiar with modern business are extremely likely to finance or otherwise have a hand in any local Rack, both for personal use and to watch for potential competitors.

Background

Nelapsi take care to Embrace individuals who show enough raw ingenuity in life to turn that innovation to the problem of excessive feeding. Even then, the Embrace is rare. Too many gluttonous vampires around is simply too dangerous for all. Those chosen therefore possess high social acumen and similarly high intelligence. All the better to be creative and to be able to match wits with belligerent vampires. Or so it goes in theory. In practice, the challenges that Nelapsi sires face are passed down to their progeny. The oldest tend toward various obsessive neuroses, and pick would-be childer with similar quirks. The tight bond of training between sire and childe means that many elders pass on their peculiarities, habits, mannerisms and prejudices. This inheritance puts pressure on new Nelapsi to conform to the line’s long-held curiosities. Indeed, some Gluttons don’t even realize that their fears of “magic herbs” or their terror of being nailed into their coffins are purely psychological, not mystical. Old Nelapsi come almost exclusively from Slavic stock. The lineage branched out only in the 19th century, so non-Europeans are rare.

Character Creation

As a Daeva bloodline, Nelapsi usually have high Social Attributes and Skills. Some cling to attachments with mortals they knew in life in order to find shelter from the abuses they inflict. Others rely on sophistication to convince mortals that they couldn’t possibly be the root of local troubles and fears. Wits is prized by the breed, while Resolve tends to lag, if only because line members don’t bother fighting their bloodlust after a few years. Physical Attributes and Skills aren’t very important to most Gluttons, who rely on their powers of misdirection and preternatural speed and might to carry them through. Members tend manifest supernatural oddities, even for Kindred. Legends tell of a vulnerability to blessed herbs or an inability to cross a line of poppy seeds. Such foibles of the psyche are not isolated; Nelapsi sires tend to reinforce their own psychoses in their childer. (A derangement could be taken as a Mental Flaw at character creation, or mental ailments acquired in play could reinforce existing peculiarities.) Merits usually focus on Resources, a secure Haven with a good location, and a large Herd. Recently Embraced members tend toward influence and meddling in mortal affairs, so Contacts, Allies and Retainers are helpful. Status is less important to Nelapsi than it is to other Kindred, although they certainly scrutinize members of their own narrow lineage.

Weakness

The thirst for blood that plagues all Kindred is especially strong in the Nelapsi. The more potent a Glutton’s Vitae, the greater his thirst. Any Nelapsi of age invariably becomes a severe strain on the local supply of mortals, and any elder rightly fears a Nelapsi who becomes so potent as to require Kindred sustenance. When a Nelapsi rises for the evening, an amount of Vitae equal to his Blood Potency must be expended, instead of the usual one. Spending this Vitae to awaken is subject to the usual limits on points spent per turn, which can make it difficult for a Nelapsi of high Blood Potency to awaken quickly. If a character lacks sufficient Vitae to rise, he falls into torpor as usual. Due to the tremendous Nelapsi hunger, line members are unwelcome in many domains. After all, one can never be sure if a Glutton is a Vitae-addict who watches hungrily for another vampire to satisfy his cravings. Some Princes who are aware of the bloodline make a standing declaration that they will not suffer its presence in their domains. Even Nelapsi who study the Coils of the Dragon have difficulty moderating their blood intake. If a character would normally lower his consumption of blood to every few nights, Vitae equal to his Blood Potency must be expended over the increased span of time. The character may do so in any combination of Vitae spent per night that results in the appropriate amount by the end of the period. Say, two Vitae one night, and a single point the next for a total of three Vitae spent (Blood Potency 3) across two nights (2 Resolve). As a Daeva bloodline, the Nelapsi still suffer from the usual tendency to indulge their Vices, and lose two Willpower points whenever they fail to do so.

Organization

For a bloodline that strains feeding capacity and relies on tricks and illusions, the Nelapsi have a curiously rigorous hierarchy. That may stem from the fact that creation of new members is rare. Any Glutton potent enough to create others is unlikely to want competition for blood, so he seeks standing by presiding over his lessers rather than actually creating them. As a result, the Nelapsi didn’t expand from Czechoslovakia until the 19th century, when the introduction of railroads and ironclads made long-range travel feasible. Even with such transportation, though, rumors of Gluttons rarely surface outside of eastern Europe. While it’s possible that Nelapsi have gone anywhere in the modern world, it seems unlikely. There’s little incentive to travel outside one’s domain and risk insufficient blood, insufficient security and insufficient space to avoid other Kindred. The founder of the line presumably still resides in the Zemplin region. His brood has spread, but they typically remain in contact through letters or occasional telephone conversations, sharing information about their travels. Nelapsi sires realize that they will be blamed if a line member imposes too much strain on an area’s blood supply, so they take pains to ensure that lessers are cautious and astute. That means frequent checkups in twisted parent-child relationships, with all the turmoil that one would expect from an archaic parent trying to control an undying child who’s already left home and grown up. Yet, frequent contact does help the Nelapsi avoid some trouble. They address their own before other vampires do, and Gluttons use their information network to alert kin to tyrannical Princes, trouble spots or blood hunts that could be problematic for all.

Concepts

Club owner, charlatan, corporate financier, eccentric millionaire, Old World noble, prestidigitator, socialite

Bloodline Devotions

• Churchtower Gaze [Nightmare •• Majesty ••] - The Nelapsi are credited with a countenance that can terrify or awe onlookers, driving them off or rallying them to a vampire for the protection he seems to offer in an otherwise terrifying world. Doubtless, the church tower part of the legend stems from Nelapsi seeking a high point from which to use this power.
  
• Quickening the Slumbering Vitae [Celerity •• Vigor ••] - Given their need for excessive amounts of blood, Nelapsi have mastered a trick of storing Vitae and reawakening its dormant potential at a later date. While perhaps similar to the magic of Theban Sorcery, this Devotion has the advantage of being less well known. Thus, a Nelapsi can easily hide caches of blood in or around his haven or in likely traveling spots for quick use in times of need. A few Nelapsi keep odd bits of statuary in their havens that are actually objects of stored Vitae.
  
• Shadow Heart [Nightmare •• Vigor •••] - One of the more unusual Nelapsi legends refers to line members as creatures with two hearts. On at least one occasion, a Nelapsi has shrugged off a hawthorn stake thrust squarely into his chest, removed the offending implement himself, and chastised his startled attacker before destroying her. Shadow Heart relies as much on misdirection as it does on sheer toughness. By creating a momentary distraction at the moment of impact, the Nelapsi causes the attacker’s blow to land slightly askew, missing the vital target while harm is diminished by undead sinew and bone. Nelapsi never teach this Devotion to an unproven operit. By tradition, only a predek can teach this trick and only to his own childer.
  
• Witch Lights [Majesty • Nightmare ••] - common manifestations of a Nelapsi’s haunting — or so stories tell. By creating an aura of looming dread and focusing attention on tricks of the mind, a Nelapsi can cause various sensory manifestations that unsettle mortals or make Kindred wonder if a place is inhabited by more than just vampires. Although Nelapsi refer to these manifestations simply as “witch lights,” the effects aren’t limited to light alone. They can include a sudden stench, a brief moment of cold, the sound of creaking floorboards or a colored illumination equivalent to a candle — a veritable cornucopia of ghostly effects.

Knows Nelapsi in Australia