Caitiff is the name given to those vampires without a Clan, or a known lineage. Such unfortunates were usually abandoned after their Embrace, and never knew their sires. It is debated as to whether someone can truly be without a Clan, because the differences in the blood should be apparent regardless of whether one knew their sire or not. But this is only partly the case. Caitiff of Nosferatu extraction for example, are usually quite ugly, but not as monstrous as their erstwhile Clanmates. The ancestry of other Caitiff is much harder to divine, often impossible. It seems that while some of the distinctiveness of a lineage is in the blood, at least some of it has something to do with the neonate's upbringing, and especially association with his or her own kind. However, it is now beginning to seem that among the Thin Blooded (15th Generation vampires, and many of the 14th Generation who show extremely impotent blood, and are unable to create new vampires - see "Time of Thin Blood" from White Wolf) there are true Caitiff who show no blood distinctiveness whatsoever. The Book of Nod warns of the Time of Thin Blood as being a herald for Gehenna (the time when the Antediluvians will arise and devour all their childer, and Caine will come again) and it specifically states that the Clanless will grow in number, and that even Caitiff princes will rule in some cities! And so it is all coming to pass.

"You see, this is another reason why we know the Final Nights are at hand! The Caitiff have suffered enormously because of their sires' neglect. They are not welcome in many cities, and most other vampires treat them as second-class citizens. This has made many Caitiff into humble, repentant types who can make great allies, but you've got to treat them right. Remember, they've been treated like shit most of their unlives. It's worth treating them well just because they are so grateful and loyal as a result. Besides, they don't deserve the shit they cop any more than the rest of us, and you never regret treating someone well when you get a friend for unlife out of it. On the other hand many Caitiff get sick of all the shit and run around like Brujah, rebelling and causing trouble, which only makes things worse for the less assertive ones. I've heard that in the Sabbat the Caitiff are organised, they are treated equally and they have a say just like a real Clan. They don't call them Caitiff either, they call them Panders, after the guy who banded them all together I think."