Path of Chivalry
A Path of the Road of Kings
Sobrequiet: Paladins
Although the age of Chivalry has long past in the mortal world, some elders still hold its ideals in their long-dead hearts. These Paladins see chivlary as the salvation of their kind. A Medieval innovation of the Road of Kings, the Via Equitum spread rapidly throughout the Cainite courts of Europe and its principles are largely the same everywhere.
The philosophy of the path is the Code of Chivalry. A Paladin strives to act with honor in all things. Oaths are sacred, and one's duty comes before all other considerations, even personal safety and ambition. Paladins are deferent to their betters and kind and courteous to their inferiors. Naturally, some followers of other Paths seized on this devotion to conscience as a way to manipulate Paladins, but they found such insults repaid harshly and in full measure.
This path was the first variant of Kings to emphasize service and duty more than power. Canities are spurerior, yes, but that means their responsibilities are that much greater than those of ordinary mortals. The fore-runners of the Camarilla encouraged the growth of this path either because they supported its ideals or they appreciated how it channels and leashes the ambitions of hot-blooded neonates, bunding them more strongly to the service of their Prince. Some even sponsored orders of knighthood to encourage the path among their vassals.
Practices: In its heyday, the Path of Chivalry is probably the most organized branch of the Road of Kings. Initiates nearly always petitioned to become squires of one of the knightly orders, where they learned the principles of the path along with the skills to become knights. Cainites who were knights before teh Embrace were usually inducted into an order without the need to spend much time in service to a senior knight, although it was still required to learn the essentials of the path. Initiates who could not serve were deemed unsuited for the demands of the path and expelled.
Paladins carry out their duties with as much pomp as possible. They are fond of tournaments and contests where they can win glory and recognition for themselves and their patrons, and their rites are carried out with great ceremony. Naturally, the path holds the greatest appeal for Toreador and Ventrue, who were also the most common patrons of the chivalrous orders.
In modern nights, those few Paladins who try to spread the path must court their squires carefully. Warfare, ideals, and even the meaning of "honor" have changed over the years, yet ancient values and practices still have a place in modern hearts.
Centuries ago, a faction of Paladins whose lieges had fallen to their rivals - and often to the lances of their fellow Paladins - banded together under the banner of the Sabbat. Their collaboration altered the path into a ethic more suited to the modern era: the Path of Honorable Accord.
Virtues of Chivalry: Conscience and Self-Control
Aditional Ethics of Chivalry
- The blood of Caine makes you superior to mortals. Therefore you have a duty to protect and aid your inferiors.
- Duty comes before all else.
Honor is everything. Without your honor, you are no more than a beast.
Hierarchy of Sins against Chivalry
| Score | Minimum Wrongdoing | Rationale |
| 10 | Neglecting your duty for any reason. | Your duty comes before all else. |
| 9 | Dishonorable acts (ambush, deceit,etc). | Your honor is everything. |
| 8 | Treating another with disrespect | A knight earns respect by behaving respectfully |
| 7 | Behaving in an unjust manner. | It is your sworn duty to uphold justice. |
| 6 | Behaving shamefully before your peers. | Honor and reputation are everything. |
| 5 | Failing to come to the aid of those in need. | It is your duty to protect the weak. |
| 4 | Treating a superior with disrespect. | Superiors must be given the respect they are due. |
| 3 | Failing to answer a challenge to your honor. | Honor is everything; challenges cannot go unanswered. |
| 2 | Breaking your word. | Your word is your bond. If your word is worthless, then so are you. |
| 1 | Breaking a sworn oath. | Oaths of fealty hold the world together. |
