Caitiff
Not all Kindred inherit the curse of one of the 13. Some don’t care what their lineage is. Certain bloodlines of kindred have always been clanless, and sometimes childer of the clans are just born different.
They’re often discarded, exiled, or choose to distance themselves from the clans that despise them. Pure vampires, the Caitiff make up for what they lose in respect and pedigree by flexible blood and the absence of a crippling bane. Proud or ashamed of their clanless nature as they may be, these creatures have no family and represents vampirism at its purest and most individualistic.
Who Are the Caitiff?
Many Kindred incorrectly assume all Caitiff are created accidentally, that the clanless target no mortals the caitiff for the Embrace. This view is outdated and ignorant. These nights, the clanless are increasingly becoming a force to be reckoned with. Though more disparate, individualistic, and chaotic than their cousins, they are all survivors, and they have begun to gather, build alliances, and make childer of their own.
The Caitiff who seek out mortals to perform the Embrace generally target the strong-willed and those used to uncommon hardship. A Caitiff’s position in the hierarchy of Kindred is at the bottom, just above the thin-blooded who should not have been born at all, and they are forced to fight for their place or fall and be forgotten. The Caitiff see little point in Embracing mortals unlikely to make it through the night on their own.
While the Caitiff have begun to purposefully increase their numbers, most are still created when a fledgling Embraced into one of the clans does not form an attachment with their ancestral Blood and does not exhibit the tell-tale signs of their clan’s curse. When other Kindred talk of the Caitiff, they tell tales of Nosferatu abandoned for weeks on end without ever developing any hideousness, painfully sane Malkavians, and young Ventrue able to feed from whomever they want. Unwilling to accept such a childe as one of their own, the clan abandon them. Or the childe senses in their Blood that they do not belong, despite their sire’s protests. The creation of a Caitiff is not an exact science, and many abandoned childer still manifest some of the characteristics of their parent clan despite the absence of their bane.
Caitiff Archetypes
Raised on the streets
This Caitiff is was brought up in the worst part of their city by parents who either did not care or were not able to protect them – if they had parents at all. It is likely they never had hope for a meaningful, prosperous life. For them, the Embrace was an escape, and their sire performed it out of respect for their perseverance against the odds.
Abuse survivor
Caitiff habitually target abuse victims for the Embrace. The survivor caught the attention of their sire by attending a support group, appearing in the papers as the prosecuting victim in an aggravated assault case, or perhaps by writing a particularly striking blog post on the subject of their experiences. As the street kid, the survivor was “rewarded” with immortality and a chance to fight back against their abusers. Having been through terrible experiences already, they are judged to make a fine member of the clanless.
Helplessly overestimated
This Caitiff was Embraced by the clanless for all the wrong reasons. Perhaps they threw off a cruel boss’ yoke once, or dumped an abusive partner, but this behavior was an exception in their life. They were chosen for their perceived strength, and now they are hopelessly lost and overwhelmed by their existence as one of the Kindred.
Secret caitiff
This Kindred awoke as a Caitiff, but they managed to hide it from their sire. They are now a full member of their ancestral clan, attending the rituals and obeying the traditions of their kin in return for the protection of their elders. They have no desire to go through eternity alone, and they will do whatever it takes to keep their secret hidden.
Unwanted childe
The unwanted childe was Embraced into one of the clans, but cannot remember their sire and never bonded to the Blood. As the curse of their ancestors never manifested in their body, they avoided the bane of their clan. Without this marker, the Blood of their brothers and sisters rejects them – and they, it.
Disciplines
Bane
Untouched by the Antediluvians, the Caitiff share no common bane.
Caitiff characters begin with the Suspect (•) Flaw and you may not purchase positive Status for them during character creation. The Storyteller may always impose a one or two dice penalty on Social tests against fellow Kindred who know they are Caitiff, regardless of their eventual Status.
Further, to improve one of the Disciplines of a Caitiff costs six times the level purchased in experience points