Custom Path of Enlightenment

PATH OF HUMANITY (COLD)

“People fake a lot of human interactions, but I feel like I fake them all, and I fake them very well. That’s my burden, I guess.”

Pain and death are a fact of existence. Knowing who deserves which lies at the center of this version of Humanity. The nights are long and dark in the modern world, and even the uninitiated mortals are beginning to realize that tough choices must be made. For those who survive the Embrace and are already walking the lonely road of sociopathy, it became necessary for a less jarring exchange of ethics be available. Its adherents were mortal, and already had the ability to detach from the societal norm, to make the ‘hard call’ that so many find offensive or even sickening.

Those who follow the colder side of Humanity espouse the virtues Conviction and Self-Control.

ETHICS OF THE PATH

·        Innocence is to be tested

·        Never act in haste

·        Control the Beast, it cannot control you

·        Walk among the cattle not with them, you are their superior

·        Enjoy the power, but remember it is merely a tool. Rely on yourself.

FOLLOWING THE PATH

Channel your need to kill, direct your Beast at those deserving. Let no innocent be the focus of your rage, but do not be afraid to test the innocence of a worthy subject. You are after all, still a monster. Now so, more than ever however you know what being a ‘monster’ really means.

CONVICTION

Conviction is not an entirely foreign Trait to us. Most boot camps instill a certain level of Conviction – the idea that it’s acceptable to harm, kill, or otherwise abuse ‘the enemy.’ Vampiric Conviction runs on an entirely different order of magnitude, however. It represents the capacity to overcome or ignore every previous teaching or urge, whether from any remaining human superego or the Beast.

At low levels of Conviction, a vampire still retains a modicum of basic human nature. She might still perceive a human baby as ‘cute’ because as a (former) Homo sapien, she retains a primal biological drive to protect the helpless who perpetuate the species. A vampire with high levels of Conviction doesn’t feel any such empathy, though. The baby is simply a squawling piece of tissue.

“Blood. Sometimes it sets my teeth on edge, other times it helps me control the chaos.”

HIERARCHY OF SINS

5 - Succumbing to Frenzy. Allowing an offense to a pack mate go unanswered.