Followers of Athtar’s way trace the origins of their current beliefs to a small fortress at the base of Mont Blanc in the French Alps. The basic principles of the Athtari were most likely formulated by an insulated group of heretical Lancea Sanctum scholars in the early Middle Ages. Their spiritual forebears only spread beyond those lands due to the persecution of their mortal herd and the destruction of their ‘monastery’ during the late Renaissance. Athtari, sometimes called Purists, believe that all of the blood gods are but representations of Athtar and that greater division came about by the intrusion of local beliefs. The true believer must return to the fundamentals of the faith, and all of the many names must be revealed as masks worn by the one Creator. According to the Purists, Athtar cast off his own flesh and transcended to the spiritual world. Seven tribes of men were given the god’s sinful skin in seven portions to safeguard it against Athtar’s many enemies. But each tribe was in turn overwhelmed by their own vices and devoured the god flesh.

After their feast, they were forever changed. They lusted for living blood, and each tribe bore their sin as a mark on their soul. When Athtar returned to the physical world, he chided them for their misdeeds, for those who ate of his flesh and blood would forever be denied entrance into the living world of spirits. Instead they would be trapped on the corpse world of material things, at best a prison constructed to test the virtuous. Now the tribes were as Athtar, dying every morning only to awake at sunset hungry for red blood.

Trapped in the land of misery, the tribes formed a pact in the name of Athtar to become the guardians of the spiritual world and safeguard their god from the unworthy. Only the virtuous would transcend beyond this world and the tribes would test the living with the transient temptations of the rotting world. Purists aspire to gratify their every impulse and overindulge their every vain whim, hoping their avarice and gluttony will tempt or provoke others into similarly condemning themselves to the physical world. Since the damned tribes are forever locked out of the spiritual world, they must make their paradise on Earth.

Initiation (•): If a Purist’s action or inaction while fulfilling his Vice causes him to make a degeneration check, the Purist receives a +1 die bonus on the roll. Acting modestly, altruistically or otherwise giving of himself without gain during a scene costs a Purist one Willpower point.

Acquiescence (••): No matter how cruel or callous a believer becomes, her intimate knowledge of human weakness gives her leverage when manipulating mortals. Athtari Social dice pools involving mortals are limited to a number of dice equal to the vampire’s Humanity plus two.

Glorification (•••): Athtari regain Willpower as if they had the Vice of Greed in addition to their own Vices. If this is already the vampire’s Vice, then he regains two Willpower when he fulfills it instead of one.

Liberation (••••): A Purist requires only six experience points to buy back a Willpower dot expended to Embrace a mortal.