Vampire: the Masquerade - Paths of Enlightenment

We have discussed at length Humanity, that fleeting trait, that ghost of a life now lost, that lingers in the soul of a Vampire.
Yet what happens to those who reject their former humanity? Who embrace the idea that they are something else, something different, something *better*? For them, there are but two options.
The eventual but inevitable loss to the Beast, the final Frenzy, and becoming a Wight, or a Path of Enlightenment.
These codes of morality, no, of philosophy, serve those Cainites who seek to ascend to greater heights than their mortal forms could have ever achieved. Are you one of those who seek to travel these paths?
Take my hand, Cainite, and walk with me to your destiny.
Lore sources:
V20 Core Rulebook
Chaining the Beast
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★ / theprimogen ★
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Music from:
Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines & Preludes
“Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved. For more information please visit white-wolf.com.”

[@ilnigromante666]

From a cam vampire's perspective the roads of enlightment are anything but that.

[@ThePrimogen]

Exactly! I really am of two minds, a lot of these Paths... I don't see the end-goal, really. Maybe that's why they're inhumane...

[@lolbots686]

​@@ThePrimogen i mean not all of them. For example the code of samiel,the salubri warriors path of enlightenment teaches those who follow it to fight for justice and slay demons and what not. And the road of heaven has some groups less inhumane. For instance Anatole of clan malkavian was so faithful he literally had prophetic visions and true faith which is impressive even for a vampire. But ye definitely a good many roads have a very strange end goal each unique,some leading to a form of golconda or some fashion of eldritch enlightenment

[@Posturtle]

I haven't really personally explored the Paths overmuch, still preferring Humanity; but I can see where Elders & those of other Sects would be in constant risk of Frenzy with because they've lost touch with their mortal selves.

[@ThePrimogen]

Yeah Paths are a mixed bag and a lot of people argue that their introduction for PCs spelled the shift from personal horror to the more meta-heavy "International politics and war with fangs."

[@Duskwalker68]

Fantastic video! Paths of Enlightenment are one of the coolest aspects of Vampire. Coping with the Beast in different ways makes for amazing roleplay.

[@ThePrimogen]

Thank you so much! That means a lot!

[@unatco1148]

The path of chivalry is truly the path of a gentleman gamer.

[@duemender9780]

Some how, you always seem to find a more interesting topic. Keep up the great work! Really excited for this video!

[@ThePrimogen]

More to come!

[@Chann223]

This helped me to understand the difference between Camarilla and Sabbat vampires more. I have a better picture in my head. Thank you.

[@ThePrimogen]

I'm so glad!

[@JohnSmith-xm4dk]

Path of the Scorched Heart is my personal favorite.

[@kobold7466]

another interesting thing i rarely hear talked about is that it says in the rule book that MECHANICALLY you can not follow or have points in both a path and humanity but you are allowed to role-play you do so following a path is not necessarily an end of your humanity

[@temple_of_set]

Have y'all ever heard of the path of Typhon?

[@ThePrimogen]

It's like the best kind of sex, drugs and rock'n roll combined!

[@CommieApe]

I like to think of the humanity meter not as a record of objective morality but as an arbitrary descriptor of your characters connection to what make a human human. Humans can grow and slaughter animals like cattle but freak out if they find they're being preyed upon too. The hypocrisy is kind of annoying actually.

[@truesalubriseraphiel8227]

Via Caeli(The Road of Heaven) is the only true path to enlightenment, but of course only us True Salubri would know this lol

[@ThePrimogen]

And that worked out so well for the Salubri, didn't it? ;)

[@truesalubriseraphiel8227]

@@ThePrimogen indeed the jealousy and pettiness of the lesser clans has cause my divine brethren sorrow, this fact can not be denied. Yet we endured and have re-emerged stronger then every before! Our eyes have been Open!

[@ThePrimogen]

@@truesalubriseraphiel8227 I really cannot wait for the Companion at this point! :D

[@truesalubriseraphiel8227]

@@ThePrimogen me either! Our resurgence is at hand

[@Marvin-ey4sq]

I'm new to VtM but I get the sense that this thing referred to as the Beast is just a metaphor for humanity; specifically how humans have a tendency to chew and spit each other out (figuratively speaking of course)

[@uselessfamiliar]

It's my believe that the beast represents the rage Caine has for God. Because vampires are his get, he has passed on this rage to his Childer. I've also hear heard that the beast is a form of protection for kindred. The "red fear" protects from fire and the sun. Frenzy protects one from others harming you.

[@Nevera476]

Canon wise its the manifestation of gods curse on Caine. Its a perpetual bloodlust that forever sets kindred apart from humans. My own modern look on it: its a hyperactive prey drive that replaces all other biological urges. You no longer crave food or sex or drugs, you crave blood. A wolf amongst sheep might be the most accurate comparison but i often encourage players to think of blood not only as food but as the subject of their addiction. Imagine a junkie desperate for a fix, surrounded by their vice but knowing they cant be caught indulging

[@naymanmod1992]

Beast is your base instincts as a predator which only wants to drink blood and kill whoever challenges it. It doesn't care for you but itself. It talks to your ears when someone humiliates you, angers you. Wants to take the control of your body to go on a blood crazed drive. It doesn't matter which sect you belong to you are a blood thirsty monster. This is what beast is your darker desires, predatory instincts.

[@ThePrimogen]

In this case, the Beast is very much not a metaphor, but an ever-present force in your mind that both is, and isn't you. It's beyond your control and cannot be explained away with psychology as it does not exist in humans. A vampire's frenzy is far beyond what humans ever experience unless they are on some extremely powerful psychoactives.

[@Serriten]

Path of Blood, or risk the ire of the Black Shepherd

[@ThePrimogen]

The Laws of Haqim must be obeyed!

[@NoadiArt]

Are you thinking of doing videos about specific Paths?

[@ThePrimogen]

I'm very much considering it! Right now I'm leaning towards going a little into Noddist lore and discussing Cainite Heresy / Path of Caine / Church of Caine a bit, and then covering Bahari and Lilith worship afterwards. I'm not sure I'd be able to produce enough content for each path, but I might put two or three per video, if people are interested.

[@Duskwalker68]

This would be awesome!

[@unatco1148]

@@ThePrimogen The road/path of heaven has been very influential in the actions of a certain malkavian named Anatole

[@paradoxtalksstuffandthings8386]

It’s great I see the discord alert for new vid before KZbins

[@ThePrimogen]

Heheh, I'm glad! :)

[@stephenbest2429]

Another fantastic video! It’s amazing to watch your content continually grow in quality. I’d love to hear your thoughts on adapting Paths of Enlightenment to V5. Do you you think they have a place in the new setting, or are the developers intentionally removing the Sabbat from the meta in favor of a revitalized Anarch movement?

[@ThePrimogen]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it and that you're seeing progress in my stuff! I'm always worried I'm getting sloppy! :D As for Paths, that is a tricky question. I have a lot of opinions on Convictions and Humanity in V5. I would personally expand upon it, or present an alternative system for older / more evil vampires, as Touchstones likewise are tough for these Kindred to have. On the other hand, I also think the Touchstone system is VITAL to younger Kindred and I always get a little bit miffed when people don't want to use it. It's core to the whole theme of the game!

[@stephenbest2429]

The Primogen You make a very good point, I feel like the V5 setting is much more focused on the loss of humanity and the effects of the beast on young kindred as opposed to the long term power plays of 20th Edition. I think touchstones and convictions are an interesting system, my only gripe being that it’s limited solely to living mortals that maintain a certain viewpoint. I read a very interesting homebrew book recently that introduced animal, ghoul, object, and ritae touchstones as well as a number of adapted Paths of Enlightenment, though each alternative touchstone comes with an associated flaw. I think the introduction of these touchstones would be fantastic for encouraging diversity of character developments and moral systems while keeping with the Via Humanitas. What do you think of that idea?

[@ThePrimogen]

@@stephenbest2429 That sounds like an awesome homebrew! If you find the link, do let me know? I agree, Touchstones could be spruced up a bit if you're having PCs who are less humane.

[@ashleighcalvert8937]

What do the Path’s consider is the point of vampirism? If Caine was made a vampire by god as punishment then what would that mean for their view of humanity as it is that what Caine was being changed from as punishment? I definitely feel you on your final thought, the Sabbat certainly interesting but I’m not sure if in the right

[@ThePrimogen]

That really varies a lot between Paths, but one thing they have in common is that they believe that they are not human, and that they exist for their own purpose. To many, vampires are to humans what wolf are to sheep; predators who weed out the weak and, I suppose, the undeserving. Others suppose they're exalted beings, the next step of evolution, and just like how humanity explores its purpose and reason to be, so too do the vampries. No Path has the answers to anything, and the belief that Caine was the first Vampire is not confirmed, it is just a commonly held belief among a lot of the Cainites and Kindred.

[@thisismyboat]

Path of honorable acord is how you get alucard from helsing

[@johngleeman8347]

Nice Tzimisce shirt!

[@ThePrimogen]

Thank you! I have one in real life too, it's awesome!

[@spartanalex9006]

Am I the only one that thinks that the Path of Honorable accord is objectively superior to Humanity?

[@truesalubriseraphiel8227]

Most the Roads were superior to Humanity, but players were lazy so they changed it lol

[@JohnSmith-xm4dk]

Legitimate question, why does the camarilla so highly discourage paths of enlightenment?

[@ThePrimogen]

By their very definition these Paths shun human values, including the need for communities, ties of loyalty through blood and relations. Camarilla neonates and ancillae are easy to manipulate because they, in a sense, are still clinging to their mortal values. It's much harder to control someone who's on, say, the Path of Metamorphosis as its a solitary journey where the end-goal is immaterial.

[@JohnSmith-xm4dk]

@@ThePrimogen Thank you for the answer

[@septymesk7721]

So, the camarilla doesn't specifically shun ALL paths (certain ones like the sabbat paths they do, but that's for obvious reasons), but they do expressly expect kindred to uphold the masquerade; well, if you read the paths section in v20, it states that vampires following a path are very clearly not human, and anyone looking at them can tell (unless they use blush of health, like, every time they interact with others). So it's more about endangering the masquerade and doing something "weird" that the "in crowd " doesn't do and thus you get the cold shoulder, you are persona non grata, etc

[@JohnSmith-xm4dk]

@@septymesk7721 I don't think it a matter of looking inhuman, I think its more of an innate sense of unease or dread when observing a kindred on a path of enlightenment. For example, if you follow the path of the scorched heart, which replaces you conscience with conviction, the V20 corebook states that people are able to recognise you for what you are: A monster. Nowhere does it state you LOOK deformed or inhuman, so it must be more a general feeling of unease. Similar to having the "beacon of the unholy" flaw but applying to everyone instead of just religious people. It'd probably be for the best to begin studying obfuscate if you'd like preserve the masquerade.

[@septymesk7721]

@@JohnSmith-xm4dk Honestly, it's a storytelling Game, so people can run it however they want (whatever makes the game fun for you is my motto). I was just specifically responding with the "rules as written in the book" answer. so by the book, when you have low or no humanity, you physically show it... your skin is sallow and looks thin over your bones, your fangs are more pronounced, you don't move or behave like a human (instead your body language is more like beast/Predator), and your eyes have a "predatory glint (I believe that's how they say it in either v20 or chaining the beast"). Mortals have a distinct feeling of unease because they can read all this unconsciously and their lizard brain starts sounding off the danger alarm. There's actually something very, very similar to an aura of unease in "Vampire: the requiem" , that's called the "Predatory aura" or "predator's taint " depending on which version, which I really love; it puts a lot of the supernatural flavor back into the story.

[@MarkATorres1989]

I'm more for the Path of Bones.

[@Noxims47314]

I could use a path these days.

[@dubuyajay9964]

09:46. How does one learn, let alone do, the Path of Metamorphosis then? Since it discourages teaching or aiding others or even asking others for mentorship and teaching? I can't help but think this make things harder for its main adherents-The Tzimisce. Due to their leadership roles (which means they have to work with others instead of being alone to focus on their personal pursuits. Especially in the post-Lasombra Exodus Sabbat and guiding their personal retinue of ghoul families) and the tradition of hospitality (where they are required to aid others-to a point).

[@matc8085]

cool video

[@ThePrimogen]

Thank you! :D

[@philknecht3598]

Saw the blm garbage in the corner. No thanks. I’m happy for the do not recommend channel option.

[@ThePrimogen]

Frail…

[@nobobonobo]

What's with the blm logo?

[@DarkAdonisVyers]

Something, something, Anarchs. I don't know.