Road of Bones
Sobriquet: Scholars, Executioners (derogatory)
Description: According to the precepts of the Road of Bones, Cainites are caught in a single moment in the cycle of life and death -- the moment between life and death. They are the embodiment of that moment, suspended and stretched out into infinity. That vampiric condition obsesses the followers of the Via Ossium. They seek to understand its nature, its processes, and its place within the cycle. If Cainites are caught in a long moment between life and death, then only by studying death and dying can the Scholars understand Cainites.
Followers of this road spend most of their time contemplating death. They read and write long scientific and religious treatises on the subject. They watch people and animals die, sometimes helping the process along in various ways in order to gain more information; they perform cold experiments that would horrify most mortals. They see an individual death as inconsequential -- they believe that most spirits reincarnate, and so they see no harm in speeding a single soul along on its journey. They have little interest in ghosts: Wraiths have stepped out of the cycle and so have little insight to offer regarding its mysteries.
During the Long Night, the Cappadocian Constancia served as high priestess of this road from the monastery at Mount Erciyes. There, monks, living and undead, copied scholarly works on the nature of death and carried out further experiments in underground rooms. In the modern era, most devotees of the core Road are found among the clan's survivors: Samedi and Harbingers of Skulls, as well as a handful of Giovanni and ancient Tzimisce, Malkavians and a few others. Few Cainites follow this road with any sense of passion; the road's adherents value reason and cold experimentation. This is not to say that they are without faith, however, or that this road has no religious aspect. The Road of Bones teaches that Cainites are the embodiment of the process of death, and death is a matter of huge religious significance, speculation, faith and devotion in every part of the world. The Road of Bones is simply a scholar's faith, one attended to with rationality and detail rather than superstition and myth. It is a scientific exploration of religious matters.
In the modern era, the Path of Death and the Soul is more common, having been influenced and altered to exist within the Sabbat.
Scholarly experiments are not conducted with anger or sadism, nor are they excessive or gratuitous -- except when a follower of the road begins to degenerate.
Initiation: Initiation onto the Road of Bones is a formal process. It begins with the agreement of a follower to mentor the initiate. This adherent first teaches the initiate not the road's precepts and ethics, but its preferred modes of study. The initiate learns scientific method, broader concepts of experimentation, and the rational exploration of the religious. If the initiate displays an understanding of these concepts, then the mentor teaches the basic precepts of the road itself. This instruction may seem redundant to a scientifically minded childe of the modern nights, but surprising superstitions persist even into the modern era.
Once the initiate has reached an understanding of these precepts and had her first moment of truth, she may be initiated, if her mentor deems her ready. Any Scholar may be a mentor, but long experience has determined that a priest should perform the actual initiation. Once the initiation has been completed, the new adherent of the road continues studying with her mentor, but takes formal instruction from priests and other teachers as well.
Organization: The Road of Bones was once highly structured, with a clear line of descent through the hierarchy. Even following the fall of Clan Cappadocian, its widely scattered followers attempt to respect the Road's heirarchy, retaining and using the old titles: Though none has stepped into the role of High Priest, The most respected and enlightened are still referred to as the White Bones. Every geographical region that hosts one or more Scholars has its Director, who serves as a leader and mentor to those who would spread the philosophy, called Priests and Priestesses. All adherents are referred to as students, and initiates are called supplicants.
Though the Scholarship of the Road of Bones is very similar to the modern Path of Death and the Soul, the two groups have very little formal contact. Followers of Death and the Soul exist within the Sabbat, and must conform to that sect's insular nature and profound distrust of outsiders.
Role-playing Tips: You approach the mysteries of the universe with calm expectation, knowing that eventually they will be solved. This knowledge does not detract from the wonder that such enigmas provoke, however. You enjoy spending your nights in experimentation, discussion with your peers, and contemplation. You know that your road will solve the mysteries no one else can, and this gives you a quiet confidence to which few others clans can lay claim.
Paths on the Road of Bones
Path of Death and the Soul - a version of the philosophy that has been updated to exist within the modern Sabbat. Path of the Wheel - Vampires are stuck in the cycle and must find a scientific means to move on. Primarily followed by the Nagaraja, its members are considered heretics and hunted when they are discovered.
Systems
Aura: Silence. The Scholars, accustomed as they are to long hours of quiet study and contemplation of the grave, radiate the stillness of death. The aura modifier applies to rolls involving Stealth and attempts to go unnoticed.
Scholarly Virtues: Conviction & Self-Control
Ethics of Bones
- Approach your studies with wisdom and calm - never let passion be your guide.
- Take every opportunity for understanding.
- Never fear death - it is a natural part of the cycle.
- Never lose sight of the mystery that is our condition - it eclipses all earthly matters.
- Do not needlessly sacrifice yourself - your endeavors are too important.
Hierarchy of Sins against Scholarship
| Rank | Minimum Wrongdoing | Rationale |
| 10 | Needlessly preventing a death or refusing to kill. | All things must die eventually. |
| 9 | Refusing to feed when hungry. | You must attend to the necessities before you can concentrate on your search. |
| 8 | Failing to study death when provided an opportunity to do so. | The pursuit of knowledge is your sole purpose. |
| 7 | Refusing to pursue experiments. | Knowledge is more important than any single life. |
| 6 | Succumbing to frenzy. | You must rule the Beast, not be ruled by it. |
| 5 | Allowing emotion to sway your decisions. | Wisdom and rationality are the basis of all scientific pursuit. |
| 4 | Refusing to share insight with others on the road. | Only together can we hope to unravel the greatest of mysteries. |
| 3 | Showing fear or aversion to death. | Death is a natural part of the cycle to which all things belong. |
| 2 | Risking your existence unnecessarily. | You have important work to do. |
| 1 | Giving your loyalty to anyone else above your road and clan. | Your first duties are to faith and lineage. |
