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CAITIFF |
Caitiff are the clanless Kindred. For whatever reason they have not been adopted into a clan, and are not recognized as full Kindred by the Camarilla. Usually their Sire has abandoned them; they may never have been presented before a Prince, and may not be fully schooled in the ways of Kindred.
Caitiff are an increasing problem for the Camarilla. The Traditions state clearly that the Siring of Kindred is to be strictly controlled by the Elder of a city (usually interpreted to be the Prince), as controlling Kindred numbers is essential. But in the modern age there has been somewhat of a population explosion in Caitiffs - with more population to feed off, they more often go unnoticed. As they are frequently uneducated in the ways of Kindred they may Embrace further Kindred without fully understanding what they are doing, or just out of loneliness. Thus, unchecked by any authority (apart from occasional cults organized by Princes or the Camarilla) their numbers grow.
Most other kindred treat them like scum. To most of them Caitiff have no right to life, ideally shouldbe put down at the earliest opportunity, and they are little more than vermin. Caitiff frequently have pretty miserable lives. They have no clan resources to draw on, no natural friends to turn to, and may be largely unschooled in Disciplines, and otherparts of Kindred life. Survival is difficult.
Nowadays most of the larger cities of the world have a few Caitiff. They are seen as a form of environmental pollution by many Kindred, and there is increasing discussion about how to solve 'the Caitiff problem'. The Caitiff are growing in number, and as their number grows the danger they present to Kindred grows - they endanger the Masquerade, take up valuable resources of blood, and are an increasingly uncontrollable force in many cities. They also act as a recruiting ground for Sabbat infiltrators and Anarch terrorists.
There is no organization of Caitiff outside of the Sabbat (who acknowledge them as a Clan in their own right - yet another sign of their degeneration from the Camarilla perspective), and so Caitiff are pretty much on their own. Throughout most of the Camarilla killing a Caitiff is a bit like killing a mad dog - not something you want to be doing, something you'd prefer someone else did on your behalf, but no big issue really, and better in the long run for everyone.
