Path of Blood (Assamite)

Path of Blood
Nickname	Dervishes, Assassins
Faction	Loyalist Assamites
Bearing	Resolve
Virtues	Conviction, Self-Control

The Path of Blood is a Path of Enlightenment common among the Assamites. Its followers fight the Beast with rigorous devotion to the cause of Haqim.

Adherents are called Dervishes or Assassins.

Overview

The Path of Blood is founded on the ancient dictates of Haqim. First and foremost, the Clan seeks to convince other Kindred of their flawed, cursed nature, and thus convert them to the service of those on the Path. Kindred as a whole are a blight upon the earth, existing only to fuel the righteous among the Clan, and only by upholding Haqim's righteous code can they redeem themselves. Should vampires resist attempts at conversion, the Assamites kill them. Only those among the Assamites who have shown their devotion to the cause of the Clan are allowed to tread on the Path.

More enlightened Kindred on the Path of Blood also seek to uncover lore and knowledge that may lead them to foes possessed of ancient and powerful blood, so that they can diablerize them. As such, vampires who follow the Path of Blood are not mindless monsters gorging on Kindred vitae, but would-be saviors of the entire world. All Kindred on the Path of Blood strive to attain "Oneness" with the mythical Haqim, though few who have reached this lofty goal deign to explain its nature; most Dervishes believe that Oneness resembles Golconda, or another state wherein vampires can cast off their curse and revel in their Cainite natures, using the metaphor of climbing the mountain of Alamut to reach the summit. By taking the cursed blood of the Antediluvians and their spawn, the followers of the Path hope to concentrate the curse of Khayyin in the hands of those who will use it responsibly.

Over the years, the Path had to be restructured several times. With the advent of Zoroastrianism and Islam, many theistic elements were incorporated into the Path, such as the element of divine grace that forgave the Assamites their own cursed existence if they would dedicate themselves to fight against Caine's get. When the Baali cursed the Warrior Caste, the Assamites incorporated the diablerie as a means to rise in Haqim's favor. Under the blood curse of the Tremere, the Clan instead collected blood from vampires as payment, using that to follow Haqim's directives until the night when the curse upon them would be lifted. When Ur-Shulgi rose and purged the curse, he also restored the original Path of Blood, although many subtle influences of Middle Eastern religions are tolerated.

Ethics

• Follow the teachings of Haqim
• Do not concern yourself with mortals, for they are not yours to be judged
• Lose no opportunity to sate the Beast with the vitae of other Kindred
• Fight against the rage of the Beast, let it never gain the upper hand
• Seek knowledge that may aid the Clan in its war on the cursed spawn of Khayyin
• Extend the glory of Haqim's cause to other Kindred. Should they refuse, use them to further your own journey back to Khayyin's grace (The atonement for the righteous curse on Caine can be obtained by killing his accursed spawn via diablerie, lowering your own generation and reaching Golconda).

Quotations

An empire founded by war has to maintain itself by war.

- Montesquieu

Hierarchy of Sins

Path of Blood
Rating	Moral Guideline	Rationale
10	Killing a mortal during feeding.	Human blood is nourishing to the body, but the murder of lesser is poison to the soul.
9	Breaking your word of honor to a fellow on the Path.	Solidarity is important to the Haqim's holy cause.
8	Not teaching others about Haqim and his teachings.	The childer of Khayyin are a curse and must be saved.
7	Failing to destroy an infidel.	Those who do not accept Haqim's teaching forfeit their unlives.
6	Frenzying.	Haqim teaches ascendance, not indulgence.
5	Not trying to learn everything you can about an enemy and his tactics.	To oppose one's enemies successfully, one must learn all about them.
4	Failing to slay and gain substance from a foe.	Other members of the clan may benefit from such vitae, no matter how diluted.
3	Refusing to answer the summons of another Path follower.	To act selfishly is to fall into the snares of Khayyin's spawn.
2	Failing to diablerize an enemy.	Haqim has decreed this as paramount to his childer's cause.
1	Acting against another follower of the Path.	This is treason to the Path and Haqim.

Version Differences

The above version represents the Path as its followers envisioned it. During the time of the Blood Curse, however, Assamites were unable to fulfill their thirst for diablerie. As a result, the Path of Blood during this time period had different sins. Instead of demanding diablerie, this Path demanded tithings of blood to the Clan.

Gallery

The Path of Blood VTES Ancient Hearts card. Art by Drew Tucker

The Path of Blood VTES Lords of the Night card. Art by Jeff Holt

References

• VTM: Clanbook: Assamite, p. 24-25
• VTM: Chaining the Beast, p. 35-39
• VTM/cMET: Laws of Elysium, p. 50-52
• VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 316-318