Road of Heaven

The Roads

The Road of Heaven

The Damned know that they are cursed by God, and many of them curse God in return. But others accept the burden the Lord has placed upon them and seek to find purpose in it. These Faithful know that everything is a part of God's plan, even the Children of Caine. Followers of the Road of Heaven devote themselves to understanding that purpose. The answers to the question, "Why has God done this to me?" lead to the many divergent paths of this road. Like the mortal Church, the Road of Heaven is given to schisms, sects and heresies.

The road as a whole is built upon the belief that God (or the Gods) is testing the so-called Faithful, just as he tested the great heroes and saints of older times to strengthen them and their faith. Theirs is a heavy burden, but they bear it gladly, because it is the crucible in which their faith is purified and made holy before their God. Many Faithful are drawn to various Gnostic heresies that claim that the material world is Hell, a belief that fits well with the Cainite condition of damnation among the living. Others tie themselves to more Western and Eastern Christian teachings and seek salvation in rejection of truly undying temptation. Still others follow other paths - the lands of Islam support many Faithful, and others follow older gods with equal fervor. All agree that a heavenly reward is not unattainable, although it is far harder for the Damned to achieve than the living. God does not withdraw His grace from sinners.

Among all of the many sects of the Road of Heaven, the voice of the Beast is that of the enemy of the Divine, the great tempter, seeking to lure the Faithful away from righteousness and into sin. They shun all servants of evil, such as devil-worshipers, demons and followers of the Road of Sin. The Faithful continue to carry out the sacraments of the Church even in their unliving existence, and ashen priests are the most common on the Road of Heaven.

Even in the modern nights, followers gather in small congregations to worship as often as possible, guided by their priests. Some support and uphold mortal institutions, while others reject the Church in favor of their own heretical beliefs. Outwardly, most Faithful appear no different than the mortals with whom they sometimes mix, save for a fanatical gleam in the eyes and the air of holiness that surrounds them.

The Faithful are found throughout Christendom and beyond. Those in the East often follow Muslim ways and there are Jews and even pagans on the Road of Heaven as well. During the long night, Monasteries often served as particular havens for the Faithful, isolated from the outside world and permitting them a measure of solitude (and a mortal herd to feed on). The Inquisition saw many such isolated havens burned, whether they harbored the Damned or not. In modern nights, there are few such truly isolated bastions, and the faithful must usually make do with what privacy they can find inside cities.

The various paths play a much greater role int he Road of Heaven than paths do in most other vampiric beliefs. Among the Faithful, these paths form large and sometimes overtly organized religious movements. Catholic adherents of the Paths of Penitence and Retribution may worship alongside other Faithful, but they emphasize very different points of theology. The former believe that unlife is a penance they must endure in order to purify themselves and prove their worthiness to God. Many of the penitent take vows of charity and poverty, seeking the Lord's forgiveness, and they feed only on the thin and bitter vitae of animals rather than humans. Those on the Path of Retribution, meanwhile, see themselves as instruments of Divine vengeance against the sinful and the wicked - living and unliving alike. They hope to win back God's favor by acting in His name and rooting out evil.

Much more contentious, however, is the schismatic belief that Cainites are not cursed, but favored by God. These heretics say they are set above mortal men, with great powers at their command, like the saints or even the Heavenly Host. The Cainite Heresy arose from their beliefs, along with other heretical cults and sects that worship vampires as saints, angels or gods themselves. The Heresy's bishops are very often in conflict with other ashen priests of the road.

Sobriquet: The Faithful

Initiation: Many who come to the Road of Heaven were believers in life, particularly clergy and crusaders sworn to the cross. Others find God after their Embrace, seeking meaning in their unliving existence, and these converts are among the most zealous. Initiation onto the Road of Heaven is much like a initiation among mortals of the same faith. Among Christians, the initiate swears before a priest and God's alter to renounce Satan and his works on Earth and to honor the will of God. The specific trappings and rites may vary depending on the sect. Some additionally swear to battle the forces of Evil, while Cainite Heretics twist the sacraments to glorify themselves as the chosen of God.

Organization: The Faithful organize much like the mortal faiths they follow, but they are broken into even more disparate sects and teachings. Ashen priests see to the needs of their flocks and perform the sacraments. Over them are the various abbots and bishops of the road. Following any faith, including a few purely Cainite ones, the road has never united behind a single Pontiff (or Ayatollah, or any other title for high priest). Sever elders have laid claim to such titles within their own sects, but they can never have the loyalty of all the Faithful. Many Faithful take to the monastic life, influencing or even creating their own mortal centers of worship where they can serve God in their own way.

Paths of Heaven

• Path of Divinity: You are among the chosen of God and should be worshiped as such.
• Path of Penitence: Your damned existence is punishment for your sins.
• Path of Retribution: You are God's angel of vengeance and scourge of the wicked and sinful.
• Path of Tears: Your sins can only be balanced by even greater sacrifice on your part.
• Path of the Aesir: A Path unique to the leaders and mystics of the Norse culture.
• Tariq el-Sama': A Path emphasizing uniquely Arabic and Muslim aspects of Faith.

In Muslim lands, the Tariq el-Sama' is considered the "Primary" Road of Heaven.

Systems

Road Virtues: Conscience and Self-Control Though it is possible for some paths to follow Conviction rather than Conscience.

Aura: Holiness. The righteousness of the true servants of Heaven is apparent to all. The aura modifier applies to Social rolls that rely on the vampire's image as a holy and divine being.

The Ethics of Heaven:

• God laid His mark upon Caine and his childer as part of His great plan.
• The Word of God is Law. Defiance of God is sin that leads to damnation.
• No one is above God's Law.
• Love and serve God in all things.
• Deny the Devil through denial of the Beast and all creatures of Hell.

Hierarchy of Sins against Heaven

Score	Minimum Wrongdoing	Rationale
10	Violating any of the Ten Commandments, for any reason	God's word is Law
9	Failing to speak out against corruption and sin	All the Devil requires is for the faithful to do nothing
8	Acting out of pride, avarice, gluttony or some other sinful impulse	Sin is the road to the Beast
7	Theft, robbery, willful vandalism	Thou shalt not steal
6	Causing harm to a pious and virtuous person	God sees all and punishes such sins
5	Feeding from an innocent without permission	God protects the innocent
4	Blasphemous or heretical acts	Thou shalt have no other god before me. Denial of God leads only to damnation.
3	Allowing a crime or major sin to go unpunished	"Vengeance is mine", sayeth the Lord.
2	The murder of innocents	Thou shalt not kill. Do not repeat the sin of Caine.
1	Aiding a demon or other supernatural agent of evil	Serve evil and you serve the Beast.