>>5681933>All I have glean from these threads is that they are essentially Dr. Frankenstein's monsters. What makes them stand out from the other supernaturals?Frankenstein's Monster is the most well known Promethean, it's where the name comes from after all, and represents one of the major Lineages of the game. That's one of the 4 major ways I would say Prometheans stand out from other splats conceptually. They're just as diverse mechanically, with unique strengths, weakness, and powers and I might touch on parts of that if I have space, if I don't I can tell you about them if you care. The whole Torment and Disquiet thing I mentioned previously is one of these ways, so I won't retread that ground.
So Lineages are like a Promethean's Clan/Auspice/Path/etc. it is something immutable about their supernatural existence and speaks to how they came to be. Unlike the others though these Lineages are separated by both origin and method. All Werewolves come from Wolf-Blooded, all Vampires come from being embraced, and so on. The Lineages of a Promethean can vary vastly, the Frankensteins are stitched together out of various corpses, Unfleshed are robots, statues and sculptures, the Ulgan are torn apart by spirits and put back again, etc. They govern less than the other splats equivalents too, it only effects Torment and each gets a special trait, as well as being linked to an element. This element restores their Pyros (mana) when they sleep near it. Each of these Lineages also has a sole creator, Victor Frankenstein made the first Frankenstein Promethean and basically anyone could do the same. Lineages are also far more transient than a Clan is, they die out and new ones appear far more regularly. So the Frankenstein Lineage isn't the first to represent fire, it's just the latest one.
Next up is their Refinements, these are like Covenant/Tribe/Order/etc. It's not something you are but something you believe in. Prometheans are exceptionally unique in this respect. While It's typical for this part of a character to grant some of abilities you're characters will gain access to, Refinements fully govern this and Lineage doesn't impact that at all. Next while other splats can change political factions, or belong to multiple ones, Prometheans are expected to change Refinement multiple times. Refinements don't represent politics, they're roles of humanity. As it is a Promethean's ultimate goal to become human they consistently reforge themselves through these Refinements to understand how to be human. Even further than just this it breaks away from the typical 5 faction system of the others and has two sets of 5 instead. 5 basic Refinements that are instinctual accessible, and then 5 complex Refinements that are so esoteric they require a teacher. A basic Refinement is Aurum (Gold) and focuses on mimicry and integration with humans, representing roles like Follower, Companion, and Leader. An advanced refinement would be Phosphorum (Phosphorus) which deals with death as that is the ultimate destination of humans, with Daredevils, Psychopomps, and Whips being their roles. To fully learn what it is to be human you have to take on these roles and immerse yourself in them, and you need to see life from many different angles. So you'll be moving through a variety of these Refinements as part of your life, which means your powers will be constantly cycling too. Although you can spend experience to make these powers permanent.
The next thing that sets them apart is the Pilgrimage. Unlike a vampire whose end goal might be the accumulation of great power, a Promethean seeks to shed it all and become human. They do this through the Pilgrimage. This is a predetermined path through the Refinements, and other Milestones, that they must walk to reach mortality. It is unknown to the character, but known to the player. Each Promethean must fully absorb the lessons of at least 8 of the roles Refinements represent, although they have a set of 10 to complete, each has to complete the attached Universal Milestones. When all of these criteria have been fulfilled they attempt "The Great Work". If this is successful then you are a mortal, your body is transmuted to flesh and blood, you gain a soul, and depending on the amount of Refinements you might end up with patchy memories of your new mortal life the Divine Fire has spun for you or a vivid fully detailed one, or you might remember your life as a Promethean and set out to forge a new life for yourself.
To touch briefly on their powers. They have incredibly resilience, lightning super charges them, they don't age, can eat anything, and a few other neat tricks. Their main powers are called Transmutations, with each being split into a 4 sets of 4 powers (1 passive 3 active), and access to these is based on your Refinement. You get one set when you start a new Refinement and then get new sets as you complete Roles.
Brief explanations here
http://wodcodex.com/wiki/Transmutations 