Alternate Paths of Enlightenment
Not all vampires cling to Humanity or remain dedicated to the ethics they embraced as mortals. On occasion, a vampire is able to rationalize a new set of beliefs and actions so strongly that they bind their Beast to a constructed set of ethics. This process is called “following a road,” or in more modern times, “taking on a Path of Enlightenment.”
Paths may be purchased as a merit either at character creation or after the character has entered play, but getting a character onto a path should be far more difficult than just spending XP. A character who changes her ethics to adopt those of a path has become something other-than-human, something alien and supernatural, and now rejects human attitudes, activities, or reasoning. The vampire’s entire existence is absorbed by following the ethics of her path, lest the Beast break free of its newly forged chains and destroy her.
Taking on a Path of Enlightenment is a dangerous, torturous, and cruel process. It strips away the character’s personality and flays the psyche, revealing every weakness and personal flaw. There is no torment that the human mind could invent worse than losing one’s Humanity; it has taken centuries of jaded, cruel vampire culture to develop an appropriate process. Further, it cannot be done alone. The vampire who wishes to take on a Path of Enlightenment must have mentors, qualified individuals who have long mastered the path the vampire wishes to adopt.
Vampires who have successfully dedicated themselves to a path have let go of all human concepts and rationales. The very core of their ethical systems have changed. They revel in their monstrosity and refuse to act like humans or appear human in any way. Such vampires see Humanity as something as beneath them, as far away as worms from astronauts. These monsters are proud of their accomplishment, seeing the claiming of a path as a mark of true vampiric power; they have mastered the fires of immortality.
Those on paths often shock conventional moralities. The moral codes that constitute Paths of Enlightenment emphasize such deviant ethics that characters on Humanity should be horrified by their companions’ ideals. Further, characters on paths are dangerous fanatics. They are only loyal to their sect, their clan, or their companions, so long as those things do not interfere in any way with the ethics of their path.
Although certain clans have unlocked the secrets of specific Paths of Enlightenment, they do not teach these paths to anyone who asks, or even to fellow members of their clan — unless that individual is truly exceptional. Being on a path turns an individual into an absolute fanatic, uncompromising and unable to bend her new ethical rules even a little. This makes her more stable than vampires on Humanity, but also more dangerous to be around and more difficult to work with. The decision to allow a member of a clan to take on a Path of Enlightenment means that individual will become a different person. She will be subsumed by the path almost utterly, placing its ethics before all other goals or priorities. The elders of the clan consider this carefully before they risk a promising member of their blood.
Paths are extremely rare. Few vampires are initiated into the secrets of enlightenment, and fewer still are capable of rejecting human nature at such a fundamental level. Less than 10% of vampires are on Paths of Enlightenment. Most of those who attempt to take on a path do not successfully achieve the conversion. Those who fail are destroyed — if not by the process, then certainly by their mentors, who consider such a failure unforgivable. Once a vampire achieves conversion to a path, it is incredibly difficult to return to the ethics of Humanity. To do so would require another process of torment and internal dismantling in order to attempt the conversion back to normal ethics — ethics that the vampire has already rejected once and is almost certain to reject again, thus causing the vampire’s immediate wassail. While returning to Humanity is possible, very few vampires have succeeded to do so.
Storytellers should note:
• Paths are utterly inhuman. Players wishing their characters to adopt Paths of Enlightenment should expect extremely demanding roleplaying experiences. These are alien codes of immortal ethics; it should be obvious to players, as well as characters, when a vampire is on a path. Players whose characters are on a path must wear a sticker to denote this, utilize heavy makeup, or otherwise be obvious about their character’s state of existence; others should be able to easily discern this fact about the character.
• Powers such as Obfuscate and Vicissitude cannot hide the fact that a character is on a path. Nothing, not mundane makeup, latex masks, nor even heavy, hooded clothing, can allow a character on a Path of Enlightenment to obscure her nature. Being on a path is more than simply having a mean streak or looking a little pale; it is a true physical and spiritual alteration. The character radiates inhumanity, and the predatory fight-or-flight instinct of anyone nearby (mortal or undead) will instinctively react to her presence. While certain levels of Obfuscate can hide such a monstrosity entirely (turning her invisible), powers of disguise cannot obscure the nature of the Beast.
• Those who achieve a Path of Enlightenment must be ever-vigilant against degradation of their path; even more so than those on Humanity. These individuals have undergone innumerable horrors and stripped away their past lives and instinctive ethics. Unlike Humanity, which is natural to the mortal soul (and taught from the moment a child could breathe), the Paths of Enlightenment are constructed, elaborate, and wholly manufactured. They are not instinctive, even to experienced practitioners, and it is all too easy to fail. Storytellers should keep a close eye on these players, and ensure that they are playing their Path of Enlightenment consistently, both when it benefits the character and when it is a detriment.
• The fact that a character has degenerated to a low Humanity does not mean the player should be allowed to buy a merit and put that character on a path. The fall of a vampire to her Beast is a fundamental tragedy in the Vampire setting, and a Storyteller should ensure that her players do not see paths as a way out of that tragic end. A Path of Enlightenment allows your character to avoid gaining Beast traits when she commits sins, as long as those sins fall in line with the tenants of her path. If she fails to follow the ethics of her path, she’ll find herself accruing Beast traits.
Converting to a Path
To follow a Path of Enlightenment, you must purchase one of the path merits. If you purchase one of these merits during character creation, lower your Morality rating to 4 (instead of the standard 5).
Characters who follow a path may spend XP to raise their Morality in the same way that a normal character would raise her Humanity, with one exception. Characters who follow a Path of Enlightenment cannot raise their Morality above 4.
