Paths of Enlightenment
Okay. So after a few hundred years, you begin to feel your grip on your old ethics slipping. What are you going to do? Let the Beast take over and spend the rest of your (short) unlife splattering blood all over the place? If you think so, you have a bit of work to do if you think you're ready to start playing an elder (or anyone, for that matter...). The more practical option is to develop an alternate set of morals. Below is a list of the most common Paths of Enlightenment, as well as where they are most commonly found. (Just so you know, the Camarilla frowns on almost all of these paths. If you really must have a Cam path follower, try begging your storyteller for the Path of the Honorable Accord, Path of Power and the Inner Voice, or the Path of Harmony ( in the old books). Your Storyteller will probably only let you do this if you are an experienced player and you happen to be playing an elder.) Remember: no path follower is even remotely human in terms of ethics, if it was possible for them to keep human ethics, they probably would have.
home is where the heart is
well, more specifically, the freezer...
The Paths of Enlightenment
- The Path of Bob: The elders make a cheap attempt to manipulate the neonates and Anarchs. Ends up backfiring, as said groups take it seriously.
- Humanity: Normal people ethics.
- Path of Blood: Drink lost of blood. Especially from vampires older than you are. That way, when the Antediluvia wakes up, he'll eat you first. (Assamite)
- Path of the Bones: Study dead stuff. (Giovanni, Samedi, Harbingers of Skulls, Cappadocians, Lamia)
- Path of Caine: Let's act like Caine, only ignore that rule about no diablerie. (Sabbat)
- Path of Cathari: Hedonism and immorality as an ethical code. (Sabbat)
- Path of Death and the Soul: Study death and the soul. (Sabbat)
- Path of Evil Revelations: Do what your demon boss tells you to do. (Infernalists, esp. Sabbat)
- Path of the Feral Heart: Act like an animal (Sabbat)
- Path of Harmony: Act like an animal that's in tune with nature (formerly Sabbat)
- Path of the Hive: Let's all work together and support each other as a cheery community of Infernalists working to spread the power of Satan. (Baali)
- Path of the Honorable Accord: Chivalry. (Sabbat, elders)
- Path of Lilith (Manus Nigrum): Screw Caine, let's worship Lilith. (Black Hand)
- Path of Lilith (Sabbat): Pain good. Lilith good. Gardens good. Caine bad. (Sabbat)
- Path of Metamorphosis: Evolve beyond vampirism (Tzimisce)
- Path of the Night: act like a deranged, evil frat boy/rap-metal fan (Lasombra)
- Path of Paradox: create as much chaos as possible so that you confuse the Antediluvians and they won't eat you. Main practicioners are the ones who get eaten first. (Ravnos, some Malkavians)
- Path of Power and the Inner Voice: Espoused by ambitious vampires everywhere! (Sabbat, elders)
- Path of the Scorched Heart: Feelings bad, logic good. (Black Hand, esp. True Brujah)
- Path of Self-Focus: Taoism and self-mastery. (Black Hand)
- Path of Typhon: Corrupt them all and let Set sort it out. (Followers of Set)
- Via Caeli: Jesus-freaks (Dark Ages)
- Via Diabolis: Vampires were created by the Devil to fight God. Go fight! (Dark Ages)
- Via Dolorosa: Since you are such a miserable little creature and being a vampire is so hard, create a childe and let him diablerize you. (Note: This path may not exist, and we have yet to find a heiarchy of sins. That said, look at the modern Salubri) (Salubri)
