Road

In Vampire: the Dark Ages Roads are philosophies that serve as artificial codes of honor and morality. Their primary purpose is to suppress or control the Beast]. As with many other aspects of the game, the Roads show signs of being influenced by the Roman Catholic Church of the [[Dark Medieval.  They are equivalent in many ways to the Paths of Enlightenment found in Vampire: the Masquerade.

Basics
Every character is given a Road during character creation. While the Road of Humanity is one of the most widely practiced philosophies, it is not nearly as universal as the Humanity trait in Vampire: the Masquerade. Every Road has ten ranks, with 10 being near-perfectly attuned to the path and 1 being barely in control. These ratings tend to vary throughout a character's unlife. Each Road has a different Hierarchy of Sins, which lists what actions mandate a degeneration role for a character with a given path rating.

Roleplaying Aspect
The Roads are treated as more than just a statistic or even a philosophy. While there are not as strictly organized as some other groups, such as the Sects of V:TM, individuals known as Ashen Priests supervise the growth and maintenance of their Roads. The Priests are responsible for instructing initiates to the Road, conducting rituals, overseeing festivals and researching ancient writings on their Road and the Beast. Essentially, they share the duties of their mortal equivalents in the Church.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Roads is their diversity. While several (Viae Humanitatis, Caeli and Regalis, for example) are easy for mortal players to relate to, others offer a wide range of very inhuman thought processes for characters to embrace. Some clans, such as the Cappadocians are united by a favored Road as much as their Disciplines and blood.

The Roads
There are five Roads listed in chapter three of Dark Ages: Vampire. They are:


 * The Road of the Beast (Via Bestiae), which embraces the Beast.
 * The Road of Heaven (Via Caeli), which teaches that vampires are a apart of God's plan and must act accordingly.
 * The Road of Humanity (Via Humanitatis), which teaches that vampires are akin to humans in mind and soul.
 * The Road of Kings (Via Regalis), which focuses on the aquisition of power.
 * The Road of Sin (Via Peccati), which teaches that vampires should give into their nature as damned beings.

Six clan-specific Road as also touched upon. They are:


 * The Road of Blood (Via Sanguinus) of the Assamites.
 * The Road of Bones (Via Ossium) of the Cappadocians.
 * The Road of Metamorphosis (Via Mutantionis) of the Tzimisce.
 * The Road of Night (Via Noctis) of the Lasombra.
 * The Road of Paradox (Via Paradoxi) of the Ravnos.
 * The Road of the Serpent (Via Serpentis) of the Followers of Set.