From: capslock@ix.netcom.com (Lori L. Bloomer) Subject: Caitiff guidelines, part I Date: 22 Oct 1994 16:23:52 GMT CHRONICLE: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE CAITIF.WTJ: The Clanless, Explained "Dancing with tears in my eyes Thinking on the memory of a life gone by..." --Ultravox, "Dancing With Tears in My Eyes" "'Cause I know what it means To walk along the lonely street of dreams..." --Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// WHAT IS A CAITIFF? \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Caitiff are defined as Kindred who are not affiliated with a sect (the Camarilla, the Anarchs, or the Sabbat). Moreover, in addition to being independent, they are often unaware of these groups. The Caitiff are mentioned throughout all the Vampire source materials as being the clanless Kindred; further, it is said that they are of weak blood. The former assumption holds true in my games, but the latter does not. So, then, you ask, what is a Caitiff? A Caitiff is: 1) A childe of a vampire of no clan; 2) A childe of more than two vampires, Embraced with mixed blood; 3) A childe who is abandoned by his sire, at least until he finds his true clan; 4) A childe created by a Sabbat ritual, who managed to dig his way out the grave too late (this childe can be either of a single bloodline or of several, see Sabbat section below); 5) A childe who is Embraced by one Kindred, given only enough vitae to survive the process, abandoned, and then found and given the life boon of blood by another Kindred of a different clan; 6) A childe of late enough generation that his blood cannot produce more Kindred; 7) A neonate who renounces his clan. As you can see, there are many, many ways to become a Caitiff. There are probably more that I'm overlooking, but these should serve as a good basic idea. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// CAITIFF DISCIPLINES: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Caitiff should have disciplines appropriate to their lineage, but if they are descended of more than one bloodline (see the examples above) they can choose from among any of the disciplines of the siring bloodlines. Example: a Caitiff is created of mixed Malkavian/Brujah blood. He can choose from the following disciplines: Auspex, Celerity, Dominate, Obfuscate, Potence, Presence. He will still only have three disciplines to start, but they can be any three of those six. Caitiff who are of a single clan bloodline should choose the disciplines of that clan. Caitiff who are of Sabbat descendence should see the Sabbat section, below. Caitiff descended of other Caitiff can also choose any disciplines they like, with one caveat: those disciplines should be chosen from among the disciplines of the Caitiff's sire. As you can see from this, I treat disciplines as a blood-inherited talent more than a skill. This does not mean you can never learn disciplines outside your own blood lineage, it simply means that there are some disciplines that come naturally. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// CAITIFF WEAKNESSES: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ The mixed-blood Caitiff, unfortunately, also develops the weaknesses of each of his bloodlines. The mixed-blood Caitiff mentioned as an example above would have both the Brujah's tendency to Frenzy easily, and the Malkavian dementiae. However, each of these tendencies would be slightly weakened, to the point where they are about half as strong in the mixed-blood Caitiff as they would be in a pure-blood Brujah or Malkavian. This means that a Caitiff will often have several small, manageable flaws, rather than one overweening one. Another example: Ventrue crossbreeds still have the selective vessel limitation, but the category of vessel can be broader. Sabbat Caitiff limitations are detailed below. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// SABBAT CAITIFF: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Sabbat-created Caitiff are a bit of a special case, as I mentioned before. Each pack of Sabbat has its own variation on the creation ritual. Some use single sires for childer. In this case, your Caitiff would be of the sire's bloodline. The sire might be of a single antitribu Camarilla bloodline, of one of the unaffiliated bloodlines (Ravnos, Assamite), of one of the traditionally Sabbat bloodlines (Tzimisce, Lasombra), or a Pander (Sabbat-affiliated Caitiff). In these cases, the childe should choose disciplines from among those of his sire. Single-bloodline Sabbat-descended Caitiff also inherit the limitations of that clan. Some Sabbat packs use mingled blood of all the pack members to create childer, using mass creation rites by taking a big trough and each adding their own vitae into it, and then shoving the faces of the new "recruits" into the trough. In a case like this, the childe has lineage of so many different types that it become impossible to sort out. Childer created by this means can choose any disciplines they like. A childe created by a Sabbat ritual who managed to dig his way out the grave too late has generally been assumed dead by the Sabbat pack that created him. The packs don't generally wait too long before giving up on the childer; if it took an extra day or two, the childe thus created becomes a Caitiff. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// THE CAITIFF MINDSET \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ "Now the world is gone, I'm just one Oh, God help me... Hold my breath as I wish for death..." --Metallica, "One" You will notice one common thread through most of the above descriptions of how a Caitiff is created: almost every one of them implies that the Caitiff was abandoned. As a result, most Caitiff become loners, living in a solitary, twilight world, not knowing how to use their powers, not knowing how to control their hungers. Many, in fact, try to retain as much of their normal lives as they can, living secret or double lives. Others wind up living on the streets as derelicts, due to their inability to earn a living because of their aversion to the light of day. As a result, most Caitiff wind up suspicious, untrusting, lonely, and desperate. A Caitiff's unlife often winds up being short, as they make good targets for Sabbat and Camarilla diabolists, werewolves with a grudge, mages who want or need Kindred blood, vampire hunters... you get the picture. A Caitiff's life is not an easy one. Most rely on their wits to stay one step ahead of whatever hostile forces might bring them to their Final Death. The few Caitiff who discover one another's presence either become hostile, fighting for territory, or they band together for support and protection. The whole premise of "Welcome To The Jungle" is that a group of Caitiff have joined together for both survival and companionship of their own kind. Again, the most important part of a Caitiff's life is survival. Having to rely on the survivor instinct turns some into cruel, inhuman monsters. It drives some insane. Some feel incessant guilt for their actions. Some try to divorce their actions from themselves. Whatever the result, a Caitiff has to be tougher both mentally and physically than a Camarilla counterpart in order to just survive from day to day. Some, in fact, use their new-found Kindred need for blood as a form of vigilanteism, killing only those who they feel are criminal, amoral, or worthless. Some use it as a form of revenge, feeding on their enemies from their mortal lives. Others feed only on sleeping or unconscious individuals, and take only as much blood as will not be noticed. How a Caitiff feeds tells much about his personality. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ROLEPLAYING CAITIFF \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ The hardest part about playing a Caitiff character, for an experienced gamer, is not acting on the knowledge the character could not possibly possess. Take disciplines, for example. How did your Caitiff character discover he could do things after being Embraced that he could not do before? How did he refine those talents and learn how to use them efficiently? Another area of difficulty: how does your Caitiff character deal with his first blood frenzy? How does he deal with the discovery that he now has to feed on blood to survive? How does your Caitiff character learn about lineage and bloodline, about the Camarilla and the Sabbat, about blood-healing and blood bonds? The ignorance that a typical Caitiff possesses is the most important factor in his existence, as that lack of knowledge could lead to Final Death. This gives a real incentive for Caitiff to band together--survival. LEGAL WEASEL: Any questions about the material herein can be addressed directly to me at capslock@ix.netcom.com, or at CIS 72056,1034. All materials herein are copyright 1994 by Lori L. Bloomer, also known as Rune Darkfire, except where mention is made of trademarks owned by White Wolf Game Studio. No infringement on said trademarks is intended with this copyright notice. All rights are reserved by the author, and permission is granted by the author to freely distribute all text herein as long as the copyright notice appears along with it. ============================================================================== CapsLock capslock@ix.netcom.com 72056.1034@compuserve.com