Nosferatu

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The symbol of Clan Nosferatu.

Nosferatu is an alternative name for vampire that has come to have some certain special meanings on /tg/. Whilst mostly associated with the World of Darkness, it also has its associations with the Dungeons & Dragons setting of Ravenloft and Red Steel, and with Pathfinder.

Meta-Origin

Nosferatu is term for vampire in real life whose origins are unknown; it was actually used in Bram Stoker's orignal novel "Dracula". Most people claim that it's the Romanian word for "vampire", but that's actually not true. The prevailing theory is that it actually stems from a corrupted, garbled English translation of one of two words; the Romanian "Necuratu," meaning "unclean spirit," or Greek "Nosophoros," meaning "bringer of plague."

It sank into the vampire-fandom's consciousness with the 1922 German Silent Horror Film "Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror" - or, as it's more commonly called, "Nosferatu". An illegal Expressionist rendition of the Dracula story, this fairly short film depicts an unwitting English real estate agent, arranging for the transport of a Romanian "aristocrat", Count Orlock - actually a hideously deformed, rat-like vampire, to a quiet port town in England. Here, he fatally drains multiple victims before one young woman, the fiancee of the agent who sent him there, sacrifices her life to lure Count Orlock into the sun's rays, where he is destroyed.

The film is hugely popular amongst horror fans, and you can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC6jFoYm3xs

Its biggest influence was creating the idea that vampires are slain by sunlight, when in mythology, they usually just lose their powers or are rendered dormant.

Dungeons & Dragons

Ironically, in D&D, Nosferatu is actually used to refer to vampires based more directly on Dracula as he appeared in Bram Stoker's novel, most notably in being unharmed physically by sunlight.

The Mystaran Nosferatu is characterized by its immunity to sunlight and its strong resistance to clerical attacks - holy symbols, for example, don't work on them. They are all cursed to crave the blood of others, but not all of them are evil. Read more here: http://www.lomion.de/cmm/nosferat.php

The Nosferatu of the Demiplane of Dread is another beast entirely. These vampires are unharmed by sunlight, but it does strip them of access to their special attacks and supernatural qualities. They drink blood, and anyone they bite is subject to the nosferatu's mind control whenever the nosferatu wishes. They got a lot more powerful when the edition switched from 2nd to 3rd, such as gaining the ability to regenerate when exposed to moonlight. For their AD&D statblock see here: http://www.lomion.de/cmm/vampnosf.php

Pathfinder

In stark contrast to their D&D counterparts, the Golarion nosferatu is intended to resemble its film namesake, with bald scalp, rat-like hands and vaguely bat-like features. Believed to be a failed precursor to the "standard" vampire (Moroi), these ancient vampires are known for their sterility, which leaves them a dwindling, dying breed that other vampires laugh at.

World Of Darkness

The Nosferatu are a Clan of Vampires in both the Old World of Darkness and the New World of Darkness (or the World of Darkness and the Chronicles of Darkness, whichever you prefer to use).

In Vampire: The Masquerade, the Nosferatu are cursed denizens of the sewers and storm drains who mutate into deformed monsters after being Embraced, usually looking just like Count Orlock.

In Vampire: The Requiem, whilst Nosferatu are still cursed to freak people out, they are not as stereotypical as their Masquerade counterparts; their freakishness can manifest in countless different ways, and some are actually so beautiful that it's unnerving, looking more like a too-perfect mannequin than a living being.