Unwanted and abandoned, the Caitiff have swelled the ranks of Kindred society in the past few decades. They are the results of mistakes, regrets, frenzies, and poor choices. Many are lucky to have even a vague recollection of their sire and the Embrace, while most stumble around with no understanding of what they are. Those that find a way to survive are the exception instead of the rule, and some of these Trash grow to become notorious Kindred in their own right.
The only thing that the Caitiff have in common is what they lack — the marks that identify a vampire as being part of a particular clan. Kindred scholars speculate that some sort of connection between sire and childe occurs after the Embrace, an “imprinting” that gives a Brujah his rage, a Nosferatu her disfigurement, or a Lasombra his propensity to manipulate shadows.
For whatever reason, though, the Caitiff has none of these. They may be angry, ugly, or prefer the darkness, but at best, they’re a pale shadow of their sire’s clan. While this tabula rasa keeps them from finding solace in the clan hierarchies of Kindred society, it also means they have no barriers to overcome — learning the intricate nuances of Dominating a mortal mind comes just as easily to a Caitiff as preternatural strength or manipulating insanity.
Nickname: Trash
Sect: The Camarilla considers the Caitiff to be nothing more than expendable foot soldiers — second- class citizens to throw at their enemies when the time is right. Some Caitiff cling to any sort of protection and acceptance, while others rebel at being treated as disposable and look to the Anarch Movement or even the Sabbat as alternatives. Still others dismiss politics as unimportant, eking out unlife in the fringes of the Ivory Tower or even becoming Autarkis. But it seems like every night more and more clanless vampires are made, and some have even unified as a “clan” within the Sabbat.
At some point, they’re going to make the Kindred listen to them.
Appearance: As befits their checkered origins, a put-upon look often accompanies the Caitiff, who often have to devote much of their attention to simply surviving in a Kindred society that would prefer to sweep them away. Many are visually similar to the Brujah, Gangrel, and other “street clans,” though this is more of an ethnographic characteristic than it is a clan attitude. For those Caitiff who are able to divert attention from their clanlessness, their appearance may well reflect the success or failure of their efforts to make a place for themselves in the world of the Damned.
Haven: As with their Appearance, Caitiff havens are diverse; many Caitiff have to make do with whatever haven they can find, or with whatever haven they can cajole another Kindred into letting them occupy. Few Caitiff are able to maintain anything more than a minor domain, and many Caitiff are transient or simply do without havens.
Background: Caitiff can come from any background, most of which reflect as much about their absentee sires as it does about themselves. Indeed, when among the more formal societies of the sects, some Trash take great pains to obscure the details of their backgrounds.
Character Creation: Any of the three Attribute categories are appropriate for Caitiff to choose as primary, according to their background or what their sire saw in them. Talents are often primary Abilities, reflecting what the Caitiff has to do to protect herself.
Few Caitiff have much in the way of Backgrounds, preferring the immediate, practical value of bolstering Willpower or having picked up a smattering of lowlevel Disciplines.
Clan Disciplines: Caitiff are able to purchase any Discipline at character creation, pending Storyteller approval. However, the cost to increase all Disciplines with experience points is six times the current rating, rather than the usual five for in-Clan Disciplines or seven for out-of-Clan Disciplines.
Weaknesses: Because of their social stigma, Caitiff are unable to take the Status Background at character creation. In addition to being a “clan,” Caitiff is also a negative title (Titles). Until the Caitiff establishes herself in a domain or social group, she is at +2 difficulty on all Social rolls with non-Caitiff vampires.
When Caitiff Embrace, their childer are also Caitiff.
Organization: None to speak of. In some domains, Caitiff who fall through the cracks may establish themselves as the lords of broods of their own illicit It’s no surprise that these unbound rogues continue to give the rest of their ill-sired ilk a bad name.
Stereotypes
Assamite: They normally leave us alone. Something about “dirty blood.” No argument from me.
Brujah: Common enemies don’t make us friends.
Followers of Set: The Kindred equivalent of driving a white van with “Free Candy!” spray-painted on the side.
Gangrel: If you can convince them not to gut you on sight, they can be pretty tolerant.
Giovanni: Never heard of it.
Lasombra: Meet the new fucking asshole, same as the old fucking asshole.
Malkavian: They’ve either got a sickness or they see every secret. Problem is, you can’t tell one kind from the other.
Nosferatu: Misery loves company. Especially company it can blackmail.
Ravnos: They seem to want us to trust them, and that raises my hackles.
Toreador: They’re usually the first ones to take us to task for not having been asked if we wanted to be vampires. As if they’re such a great bunch of Licks.
Tremere: I gotta get back to my haven to, uh, turn off the oven or something.
Tzimisce: The bats have left the bell tower. The victims have been bled. Undead, undead, undead.
Ventrue: Occupy Elysium! I am the 99 percent!
Camarilla: Fuck you, milord.
Sabbat: Fuck you, Dracula.
Anarchs: Fine, why not? Embrace.