Path of the Beast

[Tami]

PATH of the BEAST

There are three separate variations of this Path in the Final Nights, the two minor ones. Path of the Feral Heart and Path of Harmony will be dealt with after the core Path is covered.

Hierarchy of Sins

Rating Moral Guidelines

10…………….Hunting without using innate vampiric senses and powers.
9……………...Engaging in Political intrigue
8……………...Risking your unlife except to slay an enemy
7……………...Indulging in needless cruelty
6……………...Failing to hunt when Hunger demands
5……………...Failing to support your pack
4……………...Killing while feeding
3…...…………Denying your instincts
2……………...Killing for reasons other than survival
1……………...Refusing to kill to survive

Ethics of the Path

• The needs of the Beast are paramount
• Survival is one’s first concern. Anything that gets in the way of survival is extraneous
• Loyalty is an absolute, be it to one’s pack or one’s self. Oaths are mere words. Deeds are what count.
• Master one’s fears. Confront them to become stronger.
• Don’t shit where one eats. Keep political messes away from hunting grounds
• Maintain one’s haven and hunting grounds well, and defend them from other predators
• Each aspect of existence fulfills a role – even civilization has its place. Learn what that role is and abide by it.
• Mercy is for the weak
• Exist in the moment
• The world is uncertain. Always be prepared to adapt to new situation.
• Good and evil are mortal notions. Ignore them. They have little practical use.
• Adapt. Now environment is constant and one must be able to hunt no matter where one finds himself.

Virtues

The Path of the Beast espouses the virtues on conscious and Instinct

Common abilities

Alertness, animal Ken, Athletics (swimming), brawl, Camouflage, Dodge, Empathy, hunting, Masquerade, Medicine, Ride, and Survival (Tracking). Most harmonies (see below) also continue to develop Abilities that they possessed as mortal.

Preferred Disciplines

Animalism and Auspex are highly respected. Fortitude is valued, but not particularly respected in some quarters. They say is it “cheating”. Such grumbling aside, fortitude is valuable. The Gangrel Discipline of Protean is considered practically invaluable and some young beast actively seek an “apprenticeship” in it with elders. Obfusacte and Celerity are also useful in hunting prey.

[Tami]

Basic Beliefs

Vampires are predators. They kill to eat and draw pleasure. Human morality is a lie best forgotten. Once the night claims you, you are no longer human. To be a vampire is to belong to the Beast. Inside you, a snarling, drooling thing waits; the red fury that other vampires hate and fear. The beast is not the enemy, seeking to destroy you. The Beast is divinity, the true face of the soul. The Beast must be made strong.

But the beast must not win. A true master of this path accepts the Beast, but it does not claim him. Rather, he claims the beast for his own. No longer the other, the Beast teaches survival, violence, strength and balance. Sometimes the beast even teaches wisdom. Not the wisdom of mortals, but the primal wisdom of the hunt.

The beast tears away the trappings of the intellect such as lies, foibles and wishful thinking. To follow the Path of the Beast is to strip away falsehood and gaze unblinking at the truth. Masters of the path can rarely be manipulated by promises of what is not immediately before them. The beasts or “bestials” as some call them, are fearsome, elemental, perceptive creatures. There are few Beast outside the Sabbat, and bishops know better then to try and directly influence these creatures with their schemes.

At its heart, this path exist to sate the hunger within. Once the Beast is fed there is temporary peace. A vampire is a hunter; he hunts to exist but he also accepts that he is part of the natural order. If a hunter kills too much, then he east well within this season but starves the next. If a hunter disrupts the food chain of his prey, his prey will starve. The vampire must feed from mortal when he is hungry, but must not feed recklessly or kill randomly. The prey must be hunted, trapped and killed, and the carcass hidden from the herd. To do otherwise would disrupt other cattle and make hunting all the more difficult.

By following these dictates, followers on this path escape the angst and suffering of other vampires. By indulging their hunger when necessary, they can exist without the nagging questions of morality and degeneration. Followers learn the ways of hunger and do not waste time in idle remonstration with a distant God. Bestials simply exist. The moment is all that matters.

The path of the beast, in its oldest form, exalts the vampire as the greatest of all hunters, the pinnacle of the food chain. True predators rely on instinct, honed by experience and guided by feral cunning. It ahs always been so and it will be so until the Final Night. There have always been Cainites who have thrown off the useless trappings and petty lies of civilization to embrace the truth.

As the wilderness shrinks and the cities grow ever outward, however, the beasts’ rejection of civilization becomes an illusion in its own way. Some feral attempt to retreat, moving as far as possible from the hostile world of mortals and machines. Others, perhaps wiser creatures seek to become masters of that habitat. Nature rewards those who adapt and discard those who do not. Why should it be any different with vampires? Some wander between city and wilderness, hunting Lupines and mortal food alike, making the entire world their home. These night stalkers – figures whom student of other paths would call “paragons” – are the alphas of the path, and all ferals seek their wisdom.

By accepting one’s place as a hunter in the natural order, a beast accepts that he is subject to what mortal poets call “the law of the jungle” – that the strong survive. A hunter must subdue and slay his prey, but he must also defend his ranges from other predators. Whether those grounds are in the city or the wilderness, a hunter must know how to fight and accept that such violent struggle is part of existence. Other hostile things share the world too, and they must be driven off to protect one’s own claim to the herd.

Three separate varieties of this path exist in the Final Nights. The philosophy described above is the dominant one. Two minor interpretations described below are the path of harmony and the Path of the Feral heart.


Description of Followers

Adherents of this path (or any of its sub-paths) care little for personal appearance, fashion or ornamentation. They choose function over style. Some disdain clothing altogether and wear rags or nothing at all. Alone in the wilderness. With no one to see them save their food, there is little purpose for appearances. Some Gangrel who are adept at protean spend so much time in other forms that they consider their human shape as but one of several. Being undead means nakedness is irrelevant. Cainites do not suffer from the cold as mortal do, and modesty has no place. Human strictures about dress and appearance are just that – human – and are held in little regard.

Beast are highly territorial and seek to know of everything that happens on their turf. In the wilderness, beasts tend to make nightly patrols, wandering their claimed hunting rounds.

Few beastials actively seek the company of others of the same path. When their roads cross, they speak and exchange news, but they do not socialize or organize. While certain beast have acquired sufficient communal responsibility to work as pseudo-priests, they are far from the norm. In the rare instances when the beasts do congregate on a “long term” basis, they struggle for supremacy and operate on a pack basis. Whoever proves dominant leads the pack – until she fails or shows weakness. These packs exist for a specific purpose, and usually for only a short time. A group of followers that ranges across a common area might do so to drive out Lupines, for example. As soon as the need is gone, the pack disbands. The group may not disintegrate completely, though, as individual members may elect to keep in contact, but the pack as a coherent entity is temporary. Beasts do sometimes join established coteries only until a desired purpose has been achieved. And then, with relief, they return to the wilds and their own hunting grounds. But those are optimal accommodations against their will, particularly in tomes of war or due to the influence of the ancients.

Beastials following the more rarefied Path of the feral heart (see below) are commanded by their loyalty to their sect and by war with the Antediluvians. There are a few all-bestial packs in the Sabbat; most serve in groups with Cainites of other paths. Adherents of the Path of the Feral Heart rarely seek leadership roles, but they fight for dominance if faced with a weak leader. Beastials tend to serve as foot soldiers and scouts and rarely partake in pack or sect politics.

Relationships among adherents tend to be limited to sire and childe, teacher (one advanced on the path) and pupil (one who is less advanced on the path). Other beast are ignored or driven off.

When a beast must associate with others, he is honest and gruff. He does not deign to spare the listener’s feelings, and seeks to keep contact to a minimum.

Followers on this path are primarily Gangrel and its major Sabbat bloodlines. Some Nosferatu and Brujah also answer the call. There are a precious few of the Ravnos followers extant these nights. It is almost unheard of for Ventrue, Tzimisce, Lasombra or Toreador to stoop to the level of the beasts. The camarilla refuses to acknowledge that such a path exists. Those who follow it are considered lost to the Beast, and they best beware in case a Blood Hunt is called on them. The Sabbat sees the followers of this path as useful hunters, trackers and cannon fodder. Some young beastials who care little for politics of any kind are labeled anarchs, but the path and the Anarch Movement have little in common.

[Tami]

History

The Path of the beast is merely the latest term of an ancient phenomenon. There has always been a Path of the beast. Any vampire that struggles with hunger and seek to satiate its appetites walks this path, at least for a while. In the dark Ages, vampire elders spoke of the existence of a Via Bestialis, the so-called Road of the Beast.

The Gangrel of old codified that round – in as much as the philosophy of the Beast could be structured – and have watched over it through its many incarnations. Even now, in the Final Nights, the majority of followers are of the Gangrel clan and its antitribu offshoots.

The path has waxed and waned over the years – respected and encouraged at times, ignore and dismissed at others. Since the gangrel abandoned the camarilla, some members of the clan have cast about in search of purpose. Gangrel ancients have taught many young ones the Path of the Beast, and some have spoken to Sabbat templars to learn more of their experience with the hunger. It may seem strange for a path that appears to be so anti-intellectual to dwell on origins, but most followers of this path know that while a vampire is a predator, he is also an immortal intelligence.

Current Practices

There is no organized cult or sect philosophy surrounding the Path of the Beast. Those who walk this path do so alone. Cainites who are further along the precepts of the path choose students as initiates and slowly guide them to a sense of harmony with the Beast. A mentor rarely stays with one initiate for long, moving away and finding others to instruct. Afterward, an initiate must struggle with the philosophies of the path alone or find another teacher. A novice is also expected to help those who have just begun to walk the path.

Followers of the Path of the Beast (or Path of the Feral heart) have no real organization. They have little need for ritual, tradition or other ceremonial practices. Ferals are solitary and avoid human contact, except when hunting. Some Sabbat nomad packs follow this path and it is reported that when such Cainites gather, they follow the ancient Gangrel practices of the thing. When these packs come together, they call for all the nearby beastials to gather in an isolated part of the countryside, where – after scouting the countryside for Lupines – they feast on unlucky mortal and revel. Once the revel itself has settled, the vampires share stories and hard-earned wisdom until sunup when most use Protean to submerge into the earth.

The rejection of formal study and emphasis on student-mentor relationships means that the disciples of the Path of the beast have a wide body of instinctual and oral knowledge from which to draw. Much of the lore is contradictory. Each student must choose which aspects of the teachings work best for him.

A few Gangrel nomads act as masters and ritualist of the beast and attempt top bring some form of continuity to the path. These storytellers, whether by accident or design, have adopted some of the rites and roles the Ahrimane and Lhiannan bloodlines of times past. Such members are few and rise into their roles not due to so much to their knowledge as to their charisma and reliability. Their primary task is to ensure a legacy in a widely scattered and fractious community, not to preach or research magic.

Following the Path

Practinoners of the path must indulge their predatory natures and accept their roles as hunter. What they should not do, however, is allow their purpose to overcome them. Mindless, ravenous things are not predators; they are uncontrolled being to be destroyed. Like sick, rabid animals. They are avoided if possible, killed if not.

Followers of this path know that they are predators. They look at everyone and everything they encounter in this context. All are potential prey or potential rivals for hunting grounds. Respect is gained through hunting prowess and the capacity to defend one’s ranges. A whelp who claims too much territory is destroyed unless he can protect it. If he can, he receives a great deal of respect. There is no place for compassion or for indulging the foolish (and consequently, no place for playing politics). Pain and violence are nature’s ways and they are good teachers.

The adherents of this philosophy tend to regard other paths with a degree of contempt. Some callings, such as the Path of Redemption and Paradox, obsess over ephemeral concepts. These pursuits are wasteful to a feral. More temporal paths are understood, if not respected. In truth, followers do not even see theirs as “one path amongst many”. They see theirs as the only sane way to cope with vampirism.

[Tami]

PATH of the FERAL HEART

Hierarchy the same as above save #8 is remaining in the presence of fire or sunlight, except to kill and enemy.

Ethics of the Path

• Survival is your first concern
• Politics or technology simply get in the way of the hunt
• Learn to strike a balance with your Beast. Engage in the brutal actions necessary to survive, but retain your intelligence and cunning.
• The ‘natural world’ is an illusion. All things must live according to their form, and even civilization is natural because it is the form of humanity.
• Although fire can kill you, you must master your fear so that you can kill those who would use it against you.
• Whether running alone or with a pack, your loyalties must be absolute. You have no time for shifting allegiances.

Virtues: The path of the feral heart draw upon the virtues of conviction and instinct.

Basic beliefs:

The Path of the feral Heart is a philosophical interpretation of the tenet of the Path of the beast, aimed to serve the Sabbat’s crusade against the Antediluvians. Like other Sabbat developed callings, that of the Feral heart stresses the superiority of the vampire state – hunter (vampires) over prey (mortals)

The Path of the Feral heart developed directly out of a schism among followers of the path of Harmony. The Latter stressed a spiritual dimension to the vampiric state, which was incompatible with Sabbat ways.

Adherents to the Path of the feral heart see a violent and vital purity in their separation from the “distraction” of Sabbat politics and the subtleties of the Jyhad. By existing only as hunter, the “beast” of the Feral heart can be free of superficial loyalties and extraneous behavior and simply be vampires as Caine surely intended.

The Sabbat holds the loyalties of these adherents for the time being, because of the sect’s commitment to freedom and because such beasts feel that by banding together they can hope to survive the coming Gehenna. They do not dwell on such fatalism, but they know enough of the future to fear it and take steps against it.

The Path of the Feral Heart differs from the “mainstream” of the Path of the Beast by its focus on the pack. The pack means survival. Alone, one cannot stand against the antediluvian or their plans, but as part of a pack a Beast might survive and prosper. Enemies must be destroyed because they threaten the pack and the individual. Killing in defense of one’s self or the pack is not murder. It is necessity.

Sabbat leaders greatly appreciate the Path of the Feral Heart. Its followers make excellent cannon fodder. Since the purging of the Harmonist, the followers of the Path of the Feral heart go to extreme lengths to prove their determination. This in turn amuses some Lasombra Bishops. Once a dog is whipped, they say, her is broken.

[Tami]

PATH of HARMONY

Hierarchy of Sins

Rating Moral guidelines

10………….Attempting to alter the natural world
9………...…Indulging in the Jyhad or playing too effectively at being mortal
8…………...Failing to hunt when hungry
7…………...Pointless cruelty or Kindness
6…………...Not respecting a stronger vampires domain
5…………..Allowing gross disruption of the world
4.………….Acting too Human or too bestial
3…………..Refusing to Kill if necessary
2………..... Feeling guilty about killing when necessary
1…………..Grossly upsetting the natural world (vandalism, arson etc)

Ethics of the Path

• “Evil” and “good” are mortal attempts to codify events. They have no practical meaning, and they do not apply to your unlife
• Human beings may be fascinating to watch and even play with – the need to stave off boredom is an important one. However, you are not mortal any longer, so do not be fooled into believing you are.
• The world is in a constant state of change; we are not. Adapt to the world’s changes. It is our only means of survival
• Do not sully your haven. This means that the neighborhood in which you reside should be clean and, if necessary, defended against rival predators and decay.
• We are the highest form of predator, as we have both human instincts and superhuman hunting skills. Hone both, but let neither over develop.
• Harmony is achieved by each aspect of existence fulfilling it role. As a Cainite, your role is that of a hunter.

Virtues: The Path of harmony espouses the virtues of Conscious and Instinct

Basic Beliefs

The Path of harmony teaches that everything has a purpose, even vampire. If the Beast is an inhuman thing that threatens one’s sanity, then it must also have a purpose/ the Beast and Humanity must therefore be balanced if a vampire is to survive. Vampires are not human, but their passions, intellect and destiny set them apart from the animal kingdom. Vampires are predators, but they are not merely predators. The Beast is strong enough to wipe away all traces of the humane. So, Humanity must be treasured and indulged far more than the beast if the soul is to survive.

Followers of this path understand that vampires are not and can never be human. Being “humane” as a goal is false premise, a wasteful philosophy. Mortals are nothing more than food. A vampire is not part of the herd. But as a predator, each vampire must respect its prey.

Harmonies believe that everything has a niche in nature. Vampires are merely at the top of one food chain. Humanity is the height of a smaller one. And the fox, for example, is the pinnacle of yet a smaller one. That is merely the way of things. Harmonists respect these structures and respect their own place within them.

Unlike the core Path of the beast, the Path of Harmony suggest that the spiritual element to a vampire’s efforts to balance the Beast. All things are connected harmonist say, and by defying nature one can destroy the fragile, gossamer energies of the world. Over the centuries, the Harmonist came to take issue with the Sabbat’s treatment of mortal and its uncaring attitude toward its environment – and made the mistake of making their discontent known. Sabbat leaders saw the philosophy as a sign of weakness and those who did not recant their views were destroyed. A few survived to exist alone in the wilderness. Gangrel members found some shelter with their clan members. The rest colored sunrises in Miami, Montreal, Oslo, Mexico City and places further a field.