Uses For A Neonate...
This document was found hidden in an archive of a Elder who currently resides in Sweden. It is thought that this elder is either Tremere or Ventrue. Given the level of manipulation, I believe it's possible that the elder was Toreador as well...difficult to say. At any rate, the price paid for this document was cheap, and has a few decent suggestions. Take heed, neonates. You just might learn something.
Fellow Elders and ancillae, here are some uses for those pesky neonates. Some of you may think they are just an annoyance and a danger to the Masquerade, but they can really have their uses:
Keep an eye on a neonate just after the he has been presented to the Prince. His Sire is no longer responsible for the actions of the neonate, and the neonate is still very young and naive. Often the neonate thinks he is an equal to everybody else. He will soon find out. As the neonate happily tries to be a good kindred, he will most probably make some mistakes. Small, trivial mistakes anybody with more experience would have avoided, like drinking too much from a vessel, small breaches of the Masquerade, feeding in somebody else's domain or getting into frenzy at inopportune moments. What luck, a friendly Elder step in, and help the poor thing out of the mess. A boon or two is always nice. Besides, you can always threaten to tell the Prince.
Sometimes young neonates have not yet understood the system of boons which pervade our society. This can be very fun, as the neonate happily walks into traps. After all, why wait until the neonate messes things up when you can help him? One ancilla I knew used young ladies as a herd, and put them in the path of a pesky neonate. The neonate drank from the already depleted vessel, and was horrified to realize she was dying. Whatever the neonate did, the ancilla could use it as a lever against him.
Another good use for neonates is to use them against their sires. Most kindred who have been given permission to sire are experienced enough to see a trap unless it is really subtle. But their neonates are easily manipulated. Why not get the progeny of somebody to owe you a lot? You could use the progeny to subtly spy and manipulate his sir (not always simple), or even better let the sire know his progeny is indebted. It is not uncommon for a sire to ask you to transfer the boon to him instead, and in exchange you will get a nice boon on him, which was what you wanted in the first place.
Another good use of neonates is as scapegoats. They are ridiculously easy to manipulate, and can easily be used to start trouble, and then take the blame. Sometimes it is a good idea to use the mayhem they create as a cover for your own actions. A Prince I know used the following elegant method: several neonates were independently contacted by kindred who appeared to be Sabbat recruiters. Those neonates who did not immediately report this to the Prince or their elders were studied. In exchange for small, innocent things the neonate received "important" information, valuable things or contacts. The little services were quite innocent, but together they made an Elder the Prince disliked look like she was a Sabbat supporter. The neonates (and to those they spread it) began to suspect Sabbat infiltration, which allowed the Prince some extra freedom in fighting Sabbat. When an Archon arrived, the Prince easily averted notice from his manipulations by revealing the Sabbat infiltration, sacrificing the Elder and the neonates who had unknowingly helped him, and thus gained a good reputation for being a strong supporter of the Camarilla and a ruthless destroyer of the evil Sabbat.
And finally the most important use of neonates: they are fun! There is nothing more amusing than self-important neonates, who believe they are the lords of the night and the equal of their superiors. Just lean back and watch their antics, as they step on the toes of Elders, try to survive the night and jockey for position in their coteries. When they come to you for advice, stroke your beard slowly, and kindly explain the world to them. They will believe almost everything you tell them, and when they ask you questions they will repeat the same questions you heard the neonates ask 50 years ago, or a 100 years ago...
The author of this document, Anders Sandberg, can be reached though his ghoul at nv91-asa@buzzcocks.nada.kth.se