Path of Caine

The Roads

A path related to the Road of Blood

Nickname: Noddists

Basic Beliefs: The key to redemption lies within. Only by learning of Caine's ways and following his divine teachings can a vampire learn to be at peace. A Cainite must examine himself, his desires, hs weaknesses and his failings. The vampiric condition can be understood only through thorough self-examination. Pain and uncertainty must be confronted and transcended. The agonies of undead existence are mere penance.

The key to undeath, noddists say, is that by knowing the path, one can understand the present. Followers of the Path of Caine go well beyond that simple aphorism, though. Understanding Caine and the beginnings of things is an obsession beond all else. Caine is the paragon of all vampires, the Dark Father to whom all vampires should aspire. To seek such greatness, a vampire must explore all the advantages and limitations of his nature and learn about these phenomena came to be. To fully comprehend Caine's blessing, Caine himself must be comprehended and the student must understand why the dark gift was given.

Adherents of this path are the historians of the Sabbat. Noddists obsessively search through mortal histories and the shadow histories of vampires. They are expected to be scholars, both to record the epic glories of the Sabbat's struggle against the Antediluvians, and to ferret out information that might be useful to the sect's crusades. The Sabbat expects useful information, but it also allows Noddists to continue their obsucre pursuits unmolested. Followers' grails are primary sources - the fragmentary and seemingly conradictory records of Caine, the First City and the Flood. This obsession goes far beyond mere historical interest. It borders on the religious and mystical. Noddists are the theologians of the terrifying faith of Caine.

The true heart of this path is the acceptance of the curse. But acceptance is merely the start. Vampirism is considered a gift. By becoming a vampire, a mortal can come close to the truth of all things and touch divinity. The undead form and its weakness must be fully understood, even as one studies Caine's laws. One cannot comprehend vampirism without knowing th elaw. Caine's gift must also be honed, sharpened and tested, by developing Disciplines, learning new skills and by challenging oneself.

Diablerie is sanctioned and practiced by adherents of this faith - to become closer to Caine. Noddists seek to approach the Father, not the Antediluvians. Advocates seek to end the Antediluvians above all other goals. After all, these elders defied Caine and were punished.

Diablerie is not anything as base as merely stealing power. It is not merely a cheap way of learning Disciplines. By drink the heart's blood of another vampire, one can savor another's unlife, another's experience, and grow in the light of Caine's wisdom. Other vampires all have insights into the nature of the vampiric condition. By drinking their souls, Noddists receive blessings from unlife itself.

This path is not concerned with salvation or with somehow seeking redemption from God. Vampires are the result of God's curse, and so the undead should have no need or desire to seek His grace or to supplicate themselves to His power. Vampires are not "evil" - they are part of the natural order. To be a vampire and not exult in one's nature is evil. To be undead and not use the tools that the Curse provides is evil. Sanctity, if it applies to the vampires at all, can only come through learning Caine's way. Transcendence, if it is possible, will only come when Caine awakens and gathers his childer to him. On that Final Night, he will judge all and bring those who have been faithful into his mercy and grace.

The Path of Caine is demanding, rigorous and specialized. It emphasizes scholarship, eschatology, insight and harsh personal control. Followers are epxected to spend most of their time learning all they can about Gehenna, searching for fragments of the Book of Nod and other texts, and defending their theology against doubters and blasphemers. Other things, adherents are told, can wait. After all, vampires are undying.

Description of Followers: Noddists take their role as Caine's priests seriously. Followers of this path are expected to be reserved, dignified and educated. They tend to dress in somber black, and many adopt traditional Catholic trappings in mockery of that religion. Some were religious in life - usually those whose intellect or perversion attracted the attention of their sires in the first place. such origins give the priests a rather dubious repuatation outside the Sabbat, as many suspect that followers are primarily disturbed and deranged mortals given the dark gift so they may practice their sins for eternity. These accusations are not necessarily untrue, but it is usually intellect, not perversion, that a Noddist sire seeks. Those Embraced can seek Caine's truths and a way of finding redemption.

Noddists are often soft-spoken, diplomatic and scholarly, but defend their ideals with passion and sometimes violence. While many have a reputation for non-competition with others of the path, serious disagreements have arisen - rifts that have led to monomancy and murder.

Priests do not seek to play games with the universe. Caine's knowledge has been recorded; Noddists' goal is merely to find it. They are not philosophers in the truest sense of the word. Rather, they are theologians. They debate and study Caine's words and the records of ancient times to synthesize a theological framework for the Sabbat in the Final Nights.

The faithful tend to be controlled, calm and intellectual. many see them as aloof, even arrogant. Noddists deliberately make themselves unapproachable so they are not distracted by petty concerns. When they deign to communicate, they dominate conversations and seek to test other vampire's knowledge of Caine, and to find out how others view the same concepts. Adherents are interested in vampirism as a subject and fascinated by others' experiences of unlife.

Assamite antitribu are and always have been the greatest devotees of this path. Ventrue antitribu, Toreador antitribu and Serpents of the Light are also common followers. There are a few Tzimisce and Lasombra noddists, but vampires of those clans tend to be more interested with the temporal aspects of power or the occult aspects of the unknown than with mere preaching and "religious" knowledge. many of those Tzimisce and Lasombra are interested in Noddist lore, but not with the path. Practitioners treat their knowledge as sacred. Gospel and ceremonies are for public consumption, while the intracies of Noddist theology and raw research are beyond the reach of the uninitiated. For an outsider to even glimpse any truly important texts is a mark of respect and trust. For example, one of the world's foremost scholars of Noddist lore is Sascha Vykos, who is a necronomist. While the Noddists respect the necronomists for their dedication, few are granted such immense trust and respect. That Vykos has been given so much access to Noddist libraries says much about the creature's importance to the Church of Caine.

History: The Path of Caine arose among the Assamites as a heretical cult among the Children of Haqim, following the discovery of what they thought to be the original Book of Nod. Never a power or popular cult, the original Noddists remained an obscure faction amongst the viziers until the early nights of the Anarch REvolt. When the Assamites swept into Europe on their own Jyhad of murder and revenge against "Khayyin's" false childer, that obscure cult served the cause well. Anarchs, fractious, poorly organized and motivated by fear and uncertainty, were eager listeners. To worship Caine and his ways, to cast down his weak and oppressive childer and to grow close to him - those were strong words.

The Sabbat claim that the Assamites "flocked" to Gratiano's banner. The Children of haqim know better. Their Noddists united the anarchs and made them a weapon against Europe's elders. When the Convention of Thorns humiliated the Assamites, these few Noddists formed the core of the rebel antitribu.

The actual path, as it is now understood, came about as a reaction to Renaissance concepts of humanism. Humanism was a set of 16th century social mores, influenced by the rediscovery of "pagan" texts as the philosophies of the ancient Greeks. Humanism promoted secularism and represented a departure from the Catholic notion of life as a "veil of tears." Renaissance humanism was empowering to the kine, but horribly limiting for vampires. As undead moralists and philosophers debated this new concept, certain creatures reacted. Vampires are not mortals and need no theology, philosophy or dogma of the kine. The Assamite antitribu put forward their Caine philosophy as a suitable alternative. The path did not take root immediately, but formed the basis of the number of Sabbat philosophies. By the time the path was formalized in the early 16th century it was but one of a number of Sabbat doctrines. The burgeoning path was regarded highly due to its ancient pedigree and its utility in the Anarch REvolt, but it was never widely adopted.

In time, the path began to dwindle. It was too rigorous for most vampires to follow. The core Children of Haqim rebels who introduce the faith were at their peak in the 17th century, but as time passed the Curse and constant warfare took their toll. As the Assamite antitribu focused more on strengthening the Black hand and struggling with the Camarilla, they had less time and interest in promoting their small sect. Those other vampires who came to the philosophy came to it by their own means.

The Enlightenment, like the Renaissance, led to a change in the way Cainites viewed followings, and the Path of Caine fell out of favor with young vampires. The calling became an obscure philosophy, practiced only by the priests and scholars of the Sabbat, and was considered irrelevant. The few remaining truth seekers were respected, but few others were encouraged to join their ranks.

Since the 1700's, however, the Noddists have established themselves firmly as the theological and intellectual heart fo the Sabbat. Like the mortal Roman Catholic Church, they see themselves as beyond concepts of "relevance." They are not out of touch, they deal with eternal truths. They have nto lost contact with the world, the world has lost contact with them.

Covens such as the Librarians in Montreal and Las Hermanitas de Zila in Mexico City were respected for their dedication to vampiric history and Noddist scholarship. Recent years have seen more neonates join the path as the Sabbat selects fledglings rather than Embracing randomly in times of war. New Sabbat with scholarly inclinations have much to learn, and Noddist status has increased as a result.

The recent disappearance of the Librarians in Montreal (adapted for our chronicle, but a similar disaster occurred in Canon -Jamie) has caused an uproar in Noddist circles. Other scholars, normally said to be staid, quiet and academic, position themselves to claim the Librarians' status.

Heretic Links: The Path of Cain has also been linked to the survivors of the medieval Cainite Heresy. The heresy, which claimed that Christ was the Second Coming of Caine (see the Path of Divinity), was the spark that set off the Inquisition (if vampire historians are to be believed). It was, in its own way, responsible for the Anarch Revolt. There is some support for this argument. Followers of Caine believe that the vampiric form is divine and that the Father's words and teachings hold truths beyond those revealed to mortals.

The heresy, however, was a product of its time and place and has little relevance to Cainites in the Final Nights. It does, however, make for a lively, interesting and diverting discussion among Noddists in need of a distraction from more pressing issues.

The Cainite Heresy was an eschatological sect that foresaw the great winnowing of the Inquisition, the Black Plague and the Anarch Revolt. The prophets of the heresy expected these events to lead to the end of the world. There is little more useless than a prophet whose Apocalyptic declarations pass into history. yet the Cainite Heresy is said to have left a body of knowledge, prophecy and theology scattered througout the libraries of Europe, disguised as so-called "Cursed" or "Black Bibles" - books whose obvious typographical errors make them anathema to scripture. Many of these books were kept as collectors' items and curios. The Noddists of the Final Nights would dearly like to find such lore. It is rumored that some if not all of this scripture is not merely blaspheme against the Christian Church, but heretical against the teachings of th Path of Caine. If that's true, then faithful Noddists may seek to destroy these books.

Current Practices: Path members have a primary role in the Sabbat: They are the priests of Caine. All those who would follow them are expected ot know the Book of Nod by rote and be able to give spontaneous sermons on Caine's teachings.

Followers of this path tend to be quiet and reserved, and seek to spend much of their existence alone. They do gather with fellow adherents, though, to debate and socialize. A Noddist's primary loyalty is to her pack. The way of Caine is the closest thing to an official religion within the Sabbat, so Noddists are frequently called upon to speak at sect gatherings or to lead Cainites in prayer before crusades. What sets adherents of the path apart from other Sabbat is their willingness to commit their unlives to the lore of Caine.

Noddists do not Embrace randomly. They study candidates well and act only when a subject demonstrates the intelligence, commitment and single-mindedness that the priests require. Students are educated in cloisters, learning the catechism of Caine's chruch and debating points of philosophical contention with their mentors.

While most Noddists are austere and scholarly, many young followers accompany war parties on their crusades and hunts, so they may provide themselves worthy of Caine's grace and garner respect within the Sabbat. Advanced Noddists frequently indulge in sect violence to ensure that their gifts are suitably honed. Besides, after months of quiet study, random violence makes a satisfying outlet for the Beast.

Noddists can also be found traveling with Sabbat nomadic packs, acting as diplomats (all the better to approach potentially hostile Sabbat territory with one who knows sect ritual), and as preists. Many see this practice as a good way to bring muscle along while searching for Cainite artifacts. A Noddist simply has to be subtle in directing a nomadic pack's meandering.

When threatened, Noddists act quickly and violently. Killing is part of the curse of Caine. Those who do not participate in such aggression are considered weak. Even scholars must use the gifts of the Curse when called upon.

Noddists are diablerists. They believe they should take every opportunity to drink an elder's blood. War parties, crusades and hunts are all good opportunities to indulge in the practice. Elder vitae is precious, but even neonate blood is worth drinking.

All priests make a point to study history, whether the records of vampires or the legends of mortals. Thsoe with knowledge of ancient languages are particularly respected for the information they can spread and share. Noddists should always take risks to garner new information and to gather insights, but only the lore of Caine is worth risking one's very unlife for.

Following the Path: Caine is to these priests what Christ is to mortal Catholics. Caine is the heart of a vampire's existence, which must be dedicated to praising him. Noddists should always seek out information on the vampiric condition and explore every facet of t Curse. Caine's gift must be explored fully for the Father to be pleased. One must study and practice with Disciplines and always seek to improve skills and awareness.

Diablerie is encouraged. A vampire who falls to a diablerist and who is robbed of her heart's blood is obviously weak and unworthy of Caine's favor. Even some of the worthy grow tired, and taking their blood is merciful. Noddists who grow tired or appear weak can ask to be diablerized. That is an honorable end.

Noddists do not usually participate in the wider world of temporal Sabbat politics. They tend to limit their ambitions to positions such as pack priest or perhaps ductus, and do so to better preach to Cainites and to always have enforcers and protection on hand. Packs also serve as useful eyes and ears and can be sent to search for knowledge and new materials while a Noddist must study. Perhaps because of their relative isolation, Noddists can be called on to mediate sect disputes or to bring "religious" insights into a problem. Many bishops and archbishops sponsor small covens of Noddists to ensure that such wisdom as always on hand.

Priests tend to regard other path followers cooly. They respect some followers' dedication to learning, but see any deviation from the most vital of studies - the lore of Caine and the secrets of vampiric history - as trivial and distracting. Devotees of this path have found themselves in constant friction with those of the Sabbat Path of REdemption, who in turn see themselves as the moral and religious heart of the sect. Noddists are often curious about other Paths of Enlightenment, but rarely admit to such interest. They would dearly love to know more about the Path of Blood - from whence the Path of Caine perhaps developed - but the Children of Haqim refuse to reveal their secrets.

Noddists outside the Sabbat are few and those that exist in the Camarilla keep to themselves, rarely drawing attention to their faith or their practices. Many have been destroyed by Camarilla archons for "dealing with the enemy."

Systems

Ethics of Noddism: Conviction and Instinct

Common Abilities: All Noddists are knowledgeable in the least some of the following areas: Academics (particularly the specialties Archeology and Theology), History, Investigation, Linguistics and Ancient Languages, Cainite Lore and Occult. Noddists are not mere scholars, though. They are expected to be able to defend themselves. Many also believe physical perfection represents mental perfection. Athletics, Melee and survival are encouraged. While Noddists are typically divorced from Sabbat politics, more than a few are adept at leadership, Politics and Subterfuge. Those who take their roles as priests seriously tend to excel at Expression.

Noddists divide Disciplines into "natural" and "unnatural." "Natural" ones are accepted. Blood magic and Serpentis are not viewed as "natural" - Caine never spoke of such tings or encouraged their like, it is said. In fact, many Noddists regard these Disciplines as somehow blasphemous and they actively work against those who uphold these practices. Certain "unique" clan Disciplines such as Obtenebration and Vicissitude, while never mentioned by Caine, are considered acceptable. But this tolerance has more to do with a realistic understanding of Sabbat politcs than anything else. Among the other Disciplines, Celerity, Fortitude and Potence are particularly respected.

Ethics of Nod

• The way of wisdom is the way of restraint. Never go to extremes in anything. Indulgence, passion and mercy - all these things cloud the mind.
• Develop the will. One's will is his greatest tool. Learn the meaning of inner strength.
• Learn as much as possible about vampiric history, especially that which concerns Caine. Search for every clue, fragment and hint about the Dark Father. Learn well from them.
• The vitae of the unworthy should be taken. Always seek to drink the heart's blood of older generations and thereby grow closer to Caine. Take the vitae of the weak and savor the experiences and insights. Caine whispers in their blood, too.
• Adapt to the undead state. Exist as a vampire. Do not lie to one's self and be subservient to mortal laws or moral strictures.
• Meditate and spend time alone to better understand one's self.
• Do not take the curse for granted. Exult in its power and beware its weaknesses.
• Respect those on this path who have come closer to the truth than yourself.
• Recognize that vampires are of teh race of Caine and humans are of the race of Abel. It is a vampire's right to take human lives at will. It is the curse placed upon Caine and all his children.
• Fight the Beast. Master it. Be stronger. Will can overcome weakness. Never succumb to frenzy; always "ride the wave." The Beast led Caine to murder Abel. The Beast can force lesser beings to perform unplanned, foolish and depraved acts.
• Live in peace among mortals whenever possible. Do not reveal vampiric existence to them. But never forget that the undead are their betters and mortals are food.

Hierarchy of Sins Against Nod

Rating

Minimum Wrongdoing

Rationale

10

Failing to research and study at every opportunity

Understanding Caine's intention is the only thing that matters.

9

Failing to instruct other vampires on the Path of Caine