(hAPCER.CHREE: Che MAN WITHIN ChE BEAST As for you, Gilgameshffillyaur belly with good things: day and night, nd day, danice and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothiesbbe fresh, bathe yourselfin water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the lot of man. — Anonymous, The Epic of Gilgamesh Some players are inclined tosee the Via Humanitats asa road for weak-willed vampires who want nothi than to spend their cerernal nights drinking blood from rats and rescuing orphans. This is flatly untrue, Consider that humans perp he overwhelming majority of the world’s evils. A cutpurse Embraced into one of the (Clans of Caine does not usually abandon his cimin nor does, a greedy merchant often suddenly turn charitable. The Road of for both good and evil, of which human bein important to remember, though, is that you are not playing a hhuman who happens to hav A Prodigal isa creature inher ently more monstrous tl s ‘ously ot otherwise tbe less, The erie ai‘outside of the Beast must. by extension, inch cof what remains of the individual who was Icis easy to lose oneself to delusions of grandeur pretensions of divine favor orsimple brute lusts ishard to try to do what is right when the monster within is thrashing about inside its cage, longing to be allowed to rend, destroy, steal, feed and kill with absolute abandon and without even a modicum of respect for civilized behavior. As Prodigals see things, other roads exist to either pardon the reprehensible actions endorse by the Beast or else to fois responsibility forthe vampire’s state (and the acts engendered by chat state) off on someone els. Itis, to their thinking, weakness on par with that which followers ofevery other road see fit to attribute to the Via Huomaniats Walking theRoad Prodigals, like only they and Ferals might, come to their road in one of two ways: intentionally or instinc tavely. Both of these approaches have their distinct advantages and disadvantages. Both choices will prob ably make asignificantimpacton the way yourcharacter unfoldsduringits creation and on the way in which you play the character when the game begins. Thus, bef you ereate your Prodigal character, you should probe ably decide whether ornot she was trained to the Road of Humanity Characters who are formally educated in the tenets of the Via Humaniats often have a more consciously philosophical bent to their attitudes regarding the Beast and vampiric existence in general, and some even em- brace completely secular views of the evil within them Those who find the road on their own, on the other hand, may have been abandoned by a sire (perhaps in disgust when the neonate could not or would not grasp the ethics ofthe site's road), or may have struck out on his own early into is unhife. Perhaps he fled an abusive sire or failed to comprehend the lessons of a teachor in another road's ethics. Every other road of Caine is, in some way, contradictory towhat normal people consider to be morally comect Insome circles, it actually makes quite a difference as to whether your character was initiated into the Via Huumanitatis by a respected teacher, a remorseful sire ot her own intuition and ight and wrong. S scom self-taught Prodigals as weak, and some t CCainites educated in the road as coy logical in their morals. Every choice can make an ally oran enemy, and thechoiceof how aCainitefound the Road of Humanity should be no exception. Indeed, itis likely to have some impacton how your character seesand responds tomany of the situations of her existence. Of course, the other option i to just begin creating the character and let the chips fall where they may, Jrawingthe logical conclusions, based upon what youend upwithastowhethershe found theroad on herown, with help or through some combination of the two extremes Character Creation Prodigals are as varied alot as the mortals they stk to emulate. They are drawn from the ranks of rough laborers, erudite scholars, humble priests andl da of noble privilege. There is no such thing as an *archerypical Prodigal.” While iis often convenientlat walkers upon the Road of Humanity to allow otherst0 believe them to motley, blood-starved penitents ceaseless tion tothe ¢ mewliny xemoaning their dam night, the ruth of the marter is much Many Prodigals don't even find their state particularly abhorrent, or rather, are fully aware of che fuiity of seeking to unmake the Curse of Caine and so leam (figuratively speaking) to live with it ed for Nature and Demeanor in Dark Ages: Vampire are appropriate fo a Prodigal, and there's really n way to spend points on’ Attnbutes in character creation for one Among formally trained walkers upon the Vig Humanitais, Mental Attributes might be appropriateta make primary, but this is really just a polite suggestion rather All of the archetypes pres an any kind of mandate As to Abilities, Prodigals are, again, a vatied lot ill,afew emengeas particularly useful forsuch Cainites Empathy may well be one of the most quintessentially Prodigal of Abilities, for it represents an awarenes (whether schooled or intuitive) of the moods and mo tives of others: a boon for those who would seek to blend in among the kine and who wish to see themselves reflected in the thoughts and actions of others and so draw strength from community ain] vouuuonnity. Ade ditionally, many Prodigals are drawn from the middle and lower ranks of society, making such Abilities (Commerce, Craftsand Hearth Wisdom somewhat come mon to walkers upon the road. Inthe marterof Backgrounds, Disciplines andlang a somewhat more involved discussion is warranted Backgrounds Iris difficult at best to define what Backgrounds a Prodigal should have, buta few stand out as particularly ideal for the walker upon the Road of Humanity. Alles, Contacts, Herd and Influence are probably the four pillars on which the interactions of adherents to the Via Hunanitais stand. While any Backgrounds are, nati rally, valuable and to be esteemed, these four are s0 integral to the nig warrant a more detailed look at each of them with respect to those who walk the Road of Humanity ly existence of Prodigals as tos automatically filter their int orld of the kine thro ad demands; despite what many Cainites might about their vampiric ass know thetruth of theCaini nally useful to them, eeing them not on Through normal and healthy interac: inreaffirmherfaith, from theit relationshi urpursesandheretic, the Prodigal, ith interactions among the kine, i acts literally anywhere in any stratum of mortal society. As those Cainites most with just about an information and rum Prodigals are the Cainit ved by casual acqu or deference unt kine feel « em (through the manifestations of their auras) in. the average Prodigal forms more practical relationships normaley gvestheman The Prodigal aura of asextensively and on, such friendly and familiar terms with kine in Fave useful interactions with them. well be the mostimportantB ultivate, Having a bevy of willing vessels fantruly make the difference between sanity and the: ompletely. While th sels to the Cainite’s Kissis notacure for the shame that the activity can engender in a good Prodigal, tis certainly a balm for such feeling digals who cannot ot will not, for what reason, cultivate a herd often find themselves feeding from animals or the recently deceased, or else usin Disciplines to sample carefully from gullible or sleepin, vesels. Some unfortunate few must make d ng to reconcile their beliefs with the necessity of a profound nightly sin against chem, often by drink from unrepentant criminals and other detractors from the common good. pete necetn Gentes eerie | Payee rw net fee Er the social unit (beyond purely mercenary int SB ct lorcoi l ete eer shared resourcegofacotee witha sple dedi Serer eee i er etn other roads may not deign to devote to s Reentry fener meetin ont isape to blindly rust another not to seek advan a epee ne eee pears ae se i enn ee Deed Sina crete Rasman en anol nietetia ee SC rato reer eerelceeniid ane working closely with her Contacts and the Feral petrireen camer tna ori reaking his Retainers to the leash, virtually ev eee er ae emer Oh Sirah ns Se lctharie, whee ae ei ee tte Fat dee oles pot, ewe Prodigal ae happy Se tare ere ener te eens use era tr ean CUE inl ah ae ai Per omer ee er es ites Sates hcl lrg cao cc Backgrounds of their compatriots with a atura Teer seen Pe Sa ciegouyeteg is prensa LT ae enn rere ca eee baie seen toward his Retainers and minister 10 the bruise SS Ue esc teenint aie, tee one rah amen iat See een a ae Paneer ac ene Cre een cera meee evan ania