Nachzehrer

You burn with fever, and the screams grow ever closer.

Written by Francesco Lanza

General Information

The Nachzehrer is a Coven Model, and belongs to the Creature type. Creatures are always Summoned, but each is unique and cannot return on the Game Board after being Removed. This forlorn undead is a Plague carrier, and the Coven can use it to great advantage if the plan is to bust a Region (disabling a Sanctuary and calling the Judas Goat). The Nachzehrer is a very good fighter, although quite slow moving. If already in a Defiled region, the Nachzerer actually gets STRONGER, but is unable to further spread Plague, so the Coven player must choose wisely how to employ its service.

His powers give him the passive abilities of driving nearby Hunters insane and can even heal him from the brink of destruction, making its presence very difficult to ignore. In fact, the tactical weight of this Model on the Gaming Board is massive, and is great for setting traps or distracting the Hunters from their plans.

The Legend

Folk tales insist on the importance of dying "well" and getting a proper burial. They also seem rather keen to convince the listener that the unquiet dead are rather hungry for the blood of the living. The Nachzehrer shares these abhorrent tastes, and thus falls in the mythological category of the Vampire and Lamia, but the German twist to the ancient legend is that a Nachzehrer is supposed to choose its own original family as the initial victims. Tellings about the Nachzehrer are many and varied, and fail to agree on the details. Some say that suicide is the main cause for a man or woman to turn into such a monster, or a tragic accident. Plague-death is also considered a very good candidate, but while being VERY contagious with the pestilence that killed it, a Nachzehrer wouldn't pass on its condition of unquiet death. As one might find while reading up the traditions regarding the Werwolf, the continuing "curse" of lycanthropy or vampirism seem to be extraneous to German folklore. Personal unhappiness or wilful choice feature much more prominently. This also fits quite nicely with times of war and religious turmoil.
It is said that finding a Nachzehrer to destroy it is not difficult: one has only to follow its wails or the disgusting sounds of it munching at its own shroud. Witch Hunters in the world of Hexerei should be a bit more careful about traipsing around following insanity-inducing screams.

Portrait

by Igor Krstic

by Alessandro Depaoli

Gifts

The Devil's boon manifests according to the nature of each minion.

Contagion

This model spreads Plague. The Hunters would be wise to address the problem in a timely manner. The Coven should be careful of using this to the utmost.

Unearthly Keening

The Nachzehrer screams at night-- every Hunter in the region loses Sanity. Quite straightforward, and also another good reason for this undead not to be left alone doing its filthy job.

Tactics

A Coven Model is always frightening and useful in a fight.

Necrophagy

Gorging on bloated corpses, the Nachzehrer grows obscenely powerful. When found on a Defiled Region, this monster is harder to kill.

Critical Hit

Each time the Nachzehrer hits for Critical damage, it heals completely. It just won't stay dead.

Dead, But Not Forgotten

“You can still hear Herman, you know?” said the old woman. “But only at night. His village stands silent and dead, but still my Herman screams like a madman. You can hear him well from here, mark my words, the screams reach even inside the church."

“Your son died in a state of sin, woman.” Kazimir’s voice was thick with disbelief. “No man can hear him from where he dwells now.”

The old woman snapped her head upwards, her hands wringing her dirty apron in distress. “Why do you torment me so? Oh, the boldness of it!”

Yet Kazimir kept picking at it, merciless. “Your son committed suicide, and is set forever apart from his wife and children, which were found in his home, slain by the plague. I am not tormenting you, rather I’m reconciling you with reality: Herman is now in Hell, right where his desperation led him. Nobody hears his screams and gnashing of teeth, save for the Devil.”

The farmwoman smiled, a crooked, toothless grimace that sent a shiver along Kazimir’s spine. “You do not understand me. I was but asking you why do you torment me with tricks, with such a pretence of disbelief. What kind of confession do you hope to wring out of me? I saw Herman very well, hanging from the rafters. I saw him in the ditch, with his twisted neck and the dirt being flung on his face. I saw him this night, in the parson’s very backyard. And I can also see this in your eyes: that you believe it all, and I know you will leave your window ajar this night, because you are so very curious to hear the hellish screams my Herman makes.”