Post by Tami on Feb 11, 2007 22:36:27 GMT -5
The Kindred
Vampires have long been feared as rapacious monsters of the night -- terrible black forms sweeping out of the darkness to steal infants from their cribs and ravish the blood of innocents. Vampires are also creatures of deadly beauty, immense passion and predatory sensuality.
Each vampire is unique, and each has her own fascinating story to tell. The most important characteristics all vampires share, though, is their damnation. More important than any lineage, clan, sect or cause is the fact that all vampires are undead predators. Fealties and duties fall second to the inescapable urge of hunger. Without exception, vampires are parasites, cursed by fate to prey upon those from whom they originated.
Vampire emphasizes this theme over all others. Vampires are monsters. How does it feel to leave a dead, bloodless child in a dumpster? To manipulate mortals like pawns on a chessboard? To suspect that the elders wield you as an unwitting weapon against their ancient foes? To eke out an unlife of secrecy and bloodshed? To succumb to the wiles of the Beast and tear innocent victims to shreds?
In response to their environment, the Kindred have evolved a complex society that exists just out of sight of the mortals who surround them. Age, clan, sect, sire, power, influence and many other aspects of unlife make the Kindred who they are. Part of any Kindred's being is membership in a number of social castes that grace vampire society. By creating and enforcing divisions and roles for themselves, no matter how artificial, the Kindred seek to escape the Beast that roils within them. Vampire: The Masquerade is, in fact, a double entendre. Not only do vampires hide from mortals, they hide from themselves as well, pretending they are not the horrors they have truly become.
One way the Damned distinguish themselves is through a combination of age and generation, or how far removed a Kindred is from the progenitor vampire, Caine. Young vampires must prove themselves to their elders to be afforded any bit of status, and Kindred society is often as stagnant and stultifying as the immortal Damned themselves. There is a small degree of mobility, however, as elder Kindred are always looking for assets and allies who may aid them against their rivals in the Jyhad.
The greatest status is accorded to the Antediluvians, vampires of the Third Generation. Most vampires consider these Kindred to be legendary -- certainly, none has been verifiably seen in the modern nights. The lowest rung of status is held by rank neonates and the clanless Caitiff, those claimed by no clan or with blood too weak to trace a proper lineage.
*
Antediluvians: These ancient vampires, if they exist at all, are likely the most powerful creatures in the world. Members of the Third Generation, the Antediluvians are only two steps removed from the First Vampire, Caine. Antediluvians, when they choose to rise from their long sleep, affect all with whom they come in contact; according to the few fractured accounts of their doings, they possess virtually godlike power. According to Kindred legend, there were 13 original Antediluvians, though some have allegedly been destroyed. Their eternal struggle, the Jyhad, touches all Kindred, and innumerable layers of manipulation and deception make the plots of these Ancients almost imperceptible.
*
Methuselahs: If the Antediluvians are the Kindred's gods, the terrible Methuselahs are demigods and avatars. At a point between a vampire's thousandth and two thousandth year, a grave change overtakes the Kindred. Sometimes the change is physical, while at other times it is mental or emotional. Whatever the nature of the change, the end result is that the vampire no longer bears any semblance of humanity. Having truly moved from the earthly into the realm of the supernatural, the Methuselahs often retire into the earth, where they may slumber away from the thirsty fangs of younger vampires. Their powers are so great, however, that they continue to direct their inscrutable plans mentally, communicating magically or telepathically (and almost always invisibly) with their minions.
Kindred greatly fear the Methuselahs, who are accorded any number of horrifying characteristics. Rumors speak of Methuselahs whose skin has become stone, of everything from hideous disfigurements to unearthly beauty that cannot be looked upon. Some are believed to drink only vampire blood, while others control the fates of entire nations from their cold tombs.
*
Elders: Elders are Kindred who have existed for hundreds of years, and typically range from sixth to eighth generation. With centuries of accumulated cunning and a terrible thirst for power, elder Kindred are the most physically active participants in the Jyhad -- they do not suffer the long fits of torpor that hamper the Methuselahs and Antediluvians, but they are not so powerless or easily manipulated as the younger Kindred are. The term "elder" itself is a bit subjective; a Kindred who qualifies as an elder in the New World might be just another ancilla in Europe or older corners of the Earth. Elders keep a stranglehold on the Kindred power structure, preventing younger vampires from attaining positions of influence by exercising control they have maintained for decades, if not centuries.
*
Ancillae: Ancillae are relatively young vampires (between one and two hundred years of unlife) who have proved themselves as valuable members of Kindred society. Ancillae are the lackeys to greater Kindred, and -- if they're clever or lucky -- tomorrow's elders. Ancilla is the rank between neonate and elder, signifying that the Kindred has cut her teeth (so to speak), but lacks the age and experience to become a true master of the Jyhad. Because the world's population has grown so in the last two centuries, the vast majority of vampires are ancillae or neonates (see below).
*
Neonates: Neonates vary from newly released fledglings to indolent Kindred of a hundred years or more. Marked by the stigma of not yet having proved themselves to the elders, neonates are inexperienced vampires who might one night make something of themselves -- but, more likely, will fall as pawns in the schemes of the other undead.
*
Fledglings: Also known more loosely as "childer" (although every vampire except Caine is someone's childe), fledglings are newly reborn vampires still under the tutelage and protection of their sires, the vampires who created them. Fledglings are not considered full members of Kindred society and are often treated disrespectfully or as the sire's property. When her sire decides her childe is ready, the fledgling may become a neonate, subject to the prince's approval.
Other Distinctions
*
Anarchs: Anarchs are vampires who reject the Traditions of Caine and the dictates of the elders who enforce them. Ironically, elders grudgingly afford anarchs some degree of status, due to the anarchs' ability to obtain power in spite of the elders' opposition. Anarchs are also respected for their passion and drive, which few elder Kindred, mired as they are in their age and dissatisfaction, can muster. Ultimately, however, most Kindred see anarchs as jackals, scavenging their unlives from what slips through the elders' fingers.
*
Caitiff: The Caitiff are the clanless vampires, outcast by other Kindred and despised by those who bother to notice them at all. Vampires may become clanless either by having no idea of their sires' identities (and thus having no sense of lineage) or by being of such a weak generation that no identifying clan characteristics are discernible. Caitiff are almost universally regarded as bastard children and orphans, though some rise to a degree of prominence among the anarchs. Once there were few Caitiff, but the post-WWII period has seen a sharp increase in their numbers. Some elders whisper direfully of the "Time of Thin Blood" that signifies the imminence of Gehenna.
VtM core book pp29-32
Vampires have long been feared as rapacious monsters of the night -- terrible black forms sweeping out of the darkness to steal infants from their cribs and ravish the blood of innocents. Vampires are also creatures of deadly beauty, immense passion and predatory sensuality.
Each vampire is unique, and each has her own fascinating story to tell. The most important characteristics all vampires share, though, is their damnation. More important than any lineage, clan, sect or cause is the fact that all vampires are undead predators. Fealties and duties fall second to the inescapable urge of hunger. Without exception, vampires are parasites, cursed by fate to prey upon those from whom they originated.
Vampire emphasizes this theme over all others. Vampires are monsters. How does it feel to leave a dead, bloodless child in a dumpster? To manipulate mortals like pawns on a chessboard? To suspect that the elders wield you as an unwitting weapon against their ancient foes? To eke out an unlife of secrecy and bloodshed? To succumb to the wiles of the Beast and tear innocent victims to shreds?
In response to their environment, the Kindred have evolved a complex society that exists just out of sight of the mortals who surround them. Age, clan, sect, sire, power, influence and many other aspects of unlife make the Kindred who they are. Part of any Kindred's being is membership in a number of social castes that grace vampire society. By creating and enforcing divisions and roles for themselves, no matter how artificial, the Kindred seek to escape the Beast that roils within them. Vampire: The Masquerade is, in fact, a double entendre. Not only do vampires hide from mortals, they hide from themselves as well, pretending they are not the horrors they have truly become.
One way the Damned distinguish themselves is through a combination of age and generation, or how far removed a Kindred is from the progenitor vampire, Caine. Young vampires must prove themselves to their elders to be afforded any bit of status, and Kindred society is often as stagnant and stultifying as the immortal Damned themselves. There is a small degree of mobility, however, as elder Kindred are always looking for assets and allies who may aid them against their rivals in the Jyhad.
The greatest status is accorded to the Antediluvians, vampires of the Third Generation. Most vampires consider these Kindred to be legendary -- certainly, none has been verifiably seen in the modern nights. The lowest rung of status is held by rank neonates and the clanless Caitiff, those claimed by no clan or with blood too weak to trace a proper lineage.
*
Antediluvians: These ancient vampires, if they exist at all, are likely the most powerful creatures in the world. Members of the Third Generation, the Antediluvians are only two steps removed from the First Vampire, Caine. Antediluvians, when they choose to rise from their long sleep, affect all with whom they come in contact; according to the few fractured accounts of their doings, they possess virtually godlike power. According to Kindred legend, there were 13 original Antediluvians, though some have allegedly been destroyed. Their eternal struggle, the Jyhad, touches all Kindred, and innumerable layers of manipulation and deception make the plots of these Ancients almost imperceptible.
*
Methuselahs: If the Antediluvians are the Kindred's gods, the terrible Methuselahs are demigods and avatars. At a point between a vampire's thousandth and two thousandth year, a grave change overtakes the Kindred. Sometimes the change is physical, while at other times it is mental or emotional. Whatever the nature of the change, the end result is that the vampire no longer bears any semblance of humanity. Having truly moved from the earthly into the realm of the supernatural, the Methuselahs often retire into the earth, where they may slumber away from the thirsty fangs of younger vampires. Their powers are so great, however, that they continue to direct their inscrutable plans mentally, communicating magically or telepathically (and almost always invisibly) with their minions.
Kindred greatly fear the Methuselahs, who are accorded any number of horrifying characteristics. Rumors speak of Methuselahs whose skin has become stone, of everything from hideous disfigurements to unearthly beauty that cannot be looked upon. Some are believed to drink only vampire blood, while others control the fates of entire nations from their cold tombs.
*
Elders: Elders are Kindred who have existed for hundreds of years, and typically range from sixth to eighth generation. With centuries of accumulated cunning and a terrible thirst for power, elder Kindred are the most physically active participants in the Jyhad -- they do not suffer the long fits of torpor that hamper the Methuselahs and Antediluvians, but they are not so powerless or easily manipulated as the younger Kindred are. The term "elder" itself is a bit subjective; a Kindred who qualifies as an elder in the New World might be just another ancilla in Europe or older corners of the Earth. Elders keep a stranglehold on the Kindred power structure, preventing younger vampires from attaining positions of influence by exercising control they have maintained for decades, if not centuries.
*
Ancillae: Ancillae are relatively young vampires (between one and two hundred years of unlife) who have proved themselves as valuable members of Kindred society. Ancillae are the lackeys to greater Kindred, and -- if they're clever or lucky -- tomorrow's elders. Ancilla is the rank between neonate and elder, signifying that the Kindred has cut her teeth (so to speak), but lacks the age and experience to become a true master of the Jyhad. Because the world's population has grown so in the last two centuries, the vast majority of vampires are ancillae or neonates (see below).
*
Neonates: Neonates vary from newly released fledglings to indolent Kindred of a hundred years or more. Marked by the stigma of not yet having proved themselves to the elders, neonates are inexperienced vampires who might one night make something of themselves -- but, more likely, will fall as pawns in the schemes of the other undead.
*
Fledglings: Also known more loosely as "childer" (although every vampire except Caine is someone's childe), fledglings are newly reborn vampires still under the tutelage and protection of their sires, the vampires who created them. Fledglings are not considered full members of Kindred society and are often treated disrespectfully or as the sire's property. When her sire decides her childe is ready, the fledgling may become a neonate, subject to the prince's approval.
Other Distinctions
*
Anarchs: Anarchs are vampires who reject the Traditions of Caine and the dictates of the elders who enforce them. Ironically, elders grudgingly afford anarchs some degree of status, due to the anarchs' ability to obtain power in spite of the elders' opposition. Anarchs are also respected for their passion and drive, which few elder Kindred, mired as they are in their age and dissatisfaction, can muster. Ultimately, however, most Kindred see anarchs as jackals, scavenging their unlives from what slips through the elders' fingers.
*
Caitiff: The Caitiff are the clanless vampires, outcast by other Kindred and despised by those who bother to notice them at all. Vampires may become clanless either by having no idea of their sires' identities (and thus having no sense of lineage) or by being of such a weak generation that no identifying clan characteristics are discernible. Caitiff are almost universally regarded as bastard children and orphans, though some rise to a degree of prominence among the anarchs. Once there were few Caitiff, but the post-WWII period has seen a sharp increase in their numbers. Some elders whisper direfully of the "Time of Thin Blood" that signifies the imminence of Gehenna.
VtM core book pp29-32