This week's entry comes courtesy of Marie de Garis' Folklore of Guernsey. I don't recall seeing anything similar in any other folklore collection. The story goes something like this:
There are people who can spread vermin by touch. Often referred to as i'une de chs-s-la (One of Them, and spelling is as it appears in the book) these people are usually cold to the touch and are regarded with fear, as one who is in close contact with Satan. Their curse is always the same: the target is infected, overrun with lice and vermin. This cannot be countered by any normal means, and lasts for three days. After that, the insects vanish as mysteriously as they arrived.
How is it contrived? asks de Garis. Inquiry does not lead us very far. Some people say it is by touch … others by incantations and/or prayers; most blame the 'bad books.' By which de Garis means the Alberts, Grand and Peitit, those well-known grimoires which feature so prominently in Brittany folklore. The most recent incident de Garis was aware of happened during the German occupation, so at some point in the 1940s.
The Vermin Curse is an embarrassment rather than something dangerous, but it could become dangerous in the right circumstances. Body lice act as vectors for spreading human pathogens, after all. Fleas have been known to carry all manner of horrible plagues. However in the instances quoted by de Garis the attack is always the result of some kind of grudge or spite, and never does long-term harm.
OK, so where is this going? Here we have a person, a suspected Satanist or at the very least with bad blood running in their veins, who likes to spitefully annoy their neighbors. It's the kind of curse you'd use to bully people, which suggests the person using it is a natural bully, someone who doesn't think twice before taking a swing at whoever they dislike. They're not naturally powerful people, but they sound like the kind who'd really like to have power.
I'd assume a Civilian base, possibly with a Gym Rat bump. They're not directly linked to the Conspiracy nor are they vampires or Renfields. They're what's left over after centuries of biological tinkering, the bye-blow of countless examples of vampire blood getting into the population. They don't know anything and they don't have any real power, but they're the type who might really get interested in, say, a Satanic Cult of Dracula. Or in a non-NBA setting they could be natural Esoterrorists, would-be witches who never got very far in the craft. Or in Trail they could be some remnants of long-forgotten Elder Thing experimentation.
They all have Aberrance 4, and one Ability (cost 1 per use): Summon Vermin Swarm. Like NBA's Heat Drain, the possessor is cold to the touch, but where heat drain does +0 damage this does -3 damage (minimum 0) and the vermin effect lasts for 3 days. The vermin cannot be counteracted by any ordinary means.
So using the NBA categories of Mutant, Supernatural, Damned and Alien:
Mutant: One of Them is what happens when Renfields breed. It's something in that swamp-like bloodline; they just don't behave like ordinary folks. Often they band together in clans or groups, for self-protection. When that happens only one or two in the group are genuinely One of Them, but they all behave as if they were.
Supernatural: One of Them can be created in several ways, but one of the more common (or it used to be more common, anyway) is to fall asleep inside a fairy ring. The spirits take notice of you then, and sometimes give you a gift.
Damned: One of Them is a descendant of witches, those who pledged their tainted blood to the service of Satan. Or perhaps One of Them read one of the forbidden books, and is now cursed. These debased creatures are well aware of their situation, and use it to their advantage so far as they can, by terrorizing others into feeding and caring for them.
Alien: This is what happens when you drink water tainted by the Color Out Of Space. Or perhaps get too close to a dolmen, or spend a night in a pyramid. You're just far away enough from the tainted source to not be completely annihilated - but it changed you forever.
Enjoy!
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