The Camarilla
Structure
The hierarchy is absolute. At the top we find the Prince, a creature impressive or cunning enough to be acknowledged as the absolute leader of their domain. Below them are the members of the Primogen Council – representatives of the major Camarilla factions in the area. Whether they are clan elders or a gathering of those who hold the largest hunting grounds, they speak directly to the Prince, who will do best by listening to their advice. More than one lord has been ousted by their own council. Some princes choose a seneschal, who acts as personal advisor or replacement when the Prince is unavailable.
Order in the domain at large is maintained by a sheriff, gendarme, constable or whatever law enforcement term is used locally. They are usually more hitman than cop, and summary justice tends to be the norm as the Camarilla frown on modern ideas like due process. If you get dragged before the Council to plead for mercy instead of chained beneath a sunroof, you’ve been lucky.
Culture
The Camarilla is the most widely influential organization Kindred history has ever known. It is a conspiracy to preserve the power of the elders, an undead secret society influencing global business and politics, the closest thing the Kindred have to a system of government, and an international union of cities akin to the United Nations – complete with a central inner circle and a cadre of justicars and archons traveling the world to “keep the peace,” answering to nameless masters. The sect maintains a fierce moral stance on preserving humanity in the face of the impulses of the Blood, seeing themselves as the shepherds of the blind human throng – simultaneously morally superior and inferior to their short-lived subjects.
The sheer age, power, and wealth of many Camarilla members, and the recent exclusion of the Anarchs from their ranks, makes the sect distinctly upper class. These are the monsters that hide behind $5000 cocktail dresses, meticulously tended stock portfolios, and havens guarded by blood slaves in private security uniforms. They are the one percent of the one percent and theyhunger for more. Their pawns are placed in banking and in Congress, making deals and passing bills. They are masters of disinformation, propaganda, and blackmail, never leaving a loose end untied for long. These nights, there is a lot of tying to do, but the Camarilla does not hesitate to lay ruin to human lives and Kindred unlives to protect the secrets of their influence.
To most members of the Camarilla, Caine is just a myth, a metaphor for their curse, rather than a historical individual. That said, many still cling to their Christian, Jewish, or Muslim faiths like straws in a storm, trying to find meaning and purpose in their unlives. Still, ancestor worship is a widespread and accepted practice in the Camarilla, with ancient methuselah like Mithras and the Dracon serving the function of saints. In some clans the Antediluvians have become objects of veneration – imagined as the embodied ideals of their bloodlines.
A Camarilla city is run in the fashion of a feudal court, even if their gatherings may look more like slick boardroom meetings or rough gatherings of criminal cartels. When needed, the court gather in secret sanctuaries known as Elysiums, often changing locations to maintain absolute privacy and using a myriad deceptions to hide Kindred affairs from mortal scrutiny. Elysiums accommodate feasts, ceremonies, negotiations, and heated debate, protected and directed by the Keeper and their heralds, alsoknown as harpies. One may be hidden behind the dark rooms of an upscale fetish club, another in an otherwise unused nuclear bunker, a third in the Guggenheim’s Brancusi collection at night.
Public Agenda
Its stated purpose is to preserve the Masquerade, an elaborate veil of deception pulled over the eyes of the living to hide the existence of the Kindred.
History
The Camarilla's birth was grounded in the growing threats of the Inquisition and the Anarch Revolt, both of which were threatening Cainite domains throughout Europe. Though there had been attempts to form alliances in the past, a meeting of elders to seriously consider the idea of forming a league of vampires was not held until 1394. Little came of it, however, until a bold attack was made on the castle of the elder Ventrue Hardestadt led by the famous Anarch Tyler. The Founders-to-be recognized the need for a unified front and so banded together several of their most trusted childer and servants into a joint task force to use against the Anarchs. Though meant to illustrate what could be accomplished if elders pooled their resources together, politics and rivalries would continue to divide them even as the Founders slowly made preparations for their new alliance.
The formation of the "Camarilla" (a word that denoted both that it was a convocation of peers or comrades and that it met in session secret from mortal knowledge) was announced in 1435 as the Founders began openly rallying support for a coalition to protect vampires from the dangers of roving anarchs, the invading Assamites, and the increasingly dangerous mortal mobs. After all, the very Spanish word camarilla also means to mutually scratch one another’s back, a meaning that would be given expression in the convoluted workings of prestation throughout the sect.
War continued to rage over the next several decades and the Founders, now called Justicars, fought to hold the nascent sect together. In 1486 the first national conclave was convened, during which the justicars were given broader authority to punish vampires who violated the Traditions. A new body of agents was also formed to report to the justicars and free them to further develop the sect, creating what would eventually become the position of archon.
In 1493, the Convention of Thorns marked the end of the First Anarch Revolt and the birth of the Camarilla as it is known today. The Traditions were accepted as law. Representatives for the Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere, and Ventrue clans officially joined the sect, while those speaking for the Lasombra and Tzimisce, who were majoritarily anarchs, rebelled against what they considered an offensive ultimatum and went on to form the Sabbat in opposition to everything the Founders intended. While the Convention of Thorns was a significant victory for the Camarilla, it set the stage for the next five centuries of conflict between the two sects.
The New World
Over the next two centuries those Anarchs who refused to accept the Convention of Thorns coalesced into the Sabbat and struck out against the Camarilla's power. The organization and superior numbers of the older sect gave it a distinct advantage, however, and during the 17th century the younger Sabbat vampires began migrating to the New World en masse, leaving most of Europe to the Camarilla.
For a time there was some debate as to whether to pursue their enemy to the Americas, but eventually the idea of staking out new territories was accepted as a means of placating younger Kindred. Whereas it had seemed that the Sabbat might claim all of the New World, as their enemies fell into internal conflicts over dwindling resources the Ivory Tower consolidated power in the English, Dutch, and French colonies. The War of 1812 mirrored a renewed battle for the Atlantic coast where the Camarilla gradually lost city after city throughout the first half of the 19th century. As the war expanded to the American frontier the Camarilla was barely able to hold on its domains only because of civil war within the Sabbat's ranks.
In the 20th century, the Camarilla was greatly weakened by internal disputes as Kindred took differing sides in the mortal conflicts in Europe. This was especially true during the Second World War when many elders, particularly among the Toreador, Tremere, and Ventrue, supported the Axis Powers; the Inner Circle refused to take sides, and even individual justicars ended up working against one another. However, when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, it became deadly apparent how important preserving the Masquerade and global peace was, for mortals now possessed the power to destroy both themselves and all Kindred.
Final Nights
Following the Sabbat invasion of the East Coast, the Camarilla suffered another blow with the departure of the Gangrel. The reasons for their withdrawal are unknown; it is rumored then Justicar Xaviar went before the Inner Circle, uttered a single sentence, and left. Word spread through the clan, and over the course of a month the majority of the clan abandoned the sect and became independent.
Ur-Shulgi rise from torpor led to a cleansing of all Assamites who do not follow the Path of Blood. Those that survive attempt to join the Camarilla. This includes virtually all of the Banu Haqim. They are led by Al-Ashrad and Tegyrius.
Modern Nights
Many elders succumb to the Beckoning or enter hiding, and the rise of the Second Inquisition leaves the remaining sect leadership paranoid about relying on modern technology. A ban is placed and the Anarchs are blamed, as more elitist membership policies are levied and a prohibition on clanless vampires is enforced. Retribution is taken at the Conclave of Prague, when Theo Bell slays Hardestadt and the bulk of the Brujah finally join clan Gangrel in the Anarch Movement.
A large number of Banu Haqim vampires join the Camarilla following their schism and an agreement called the Odense Pact. Then, half of clan Lasombra and all of their clan leadership begin to join on a city-by-city basis, paying for their entry in service, staked Sabbat vampires, or more arcane prices. Chicago is the first domain where such a deal is attempted.
Laws
The Six Traditions
The framework for governance among the Kindred. While they are interpreted in wildly different ways and given various attention by individual princes and councils, they are ancient customs that no initiated Camarilla Kindred is unaware of. Even if they were, ignorance is no excuse for breaking them.
The First Tradition:
The Masquerade
Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing such shall renounce thy claims of Blood.
The first tradition is the only one universally respected, but also the one that is broken most often. A sloppy feeding with witnesses, a vulgar display of undead might, a confession to a beloved mortal. These things happen, but Kindred are expected to clean up after themselves, or there will be hell to pay. The crime-world code “snitches get stitches” doesn’t even begin to describe how seriously both the Camarilla and the Anarchs take the Masquerade. In the age of clickbait, and fake news, a Masquerade breach is easily overlooked by the masses, but any transgression can
end with a black ops team kicking in a haven door. Only the craziest of Cainite superiority fanatics dream of an age where they can rule openly; the rest have faced reality – the undead fare better as parasitic powers behind the throne than as great predators or infernal lords of human dominions.
The Second Tradition:
The Domain
Thy domain is thine own concern. All others owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word while in thy domain.
A prince’s domain is the whole city, but they may grant rights to those who have served them, allowing others to rule over a district or a city block in their stead. This creates an elaborate hierarchy of liege lords and lieges, reminiscent of the feudalism of the late Middle Ages. Knowing the lay of the land and who has the claim to its use is vital to navigating the urban labyrinths
of the night.
The third tradition:
the progeny
Thou shall only Sire another with the permission of thine elder. If thou createst another without thine Elder’s leave, both thou and thy Progeny shall be slain.
Overpopulation can quickly become a serious threat to the Masquerade, and having to ask the Prince for permission to make a childe is the best way to avoid it anyone has come up with. A companion of one’s own Blood is one of the things most desired by Kindred, and a thing they cannot freely have. Thus, it is a coveted gift and a powerful tool in securing alliances.
Vampire populations used to hover around one per 100.000 mortals, but tonight – who can say? Some cities, like London, are almost empty after Second Inquisition crackdowns and others are hives of thin-blood activity.
the fourth tradition:
the accounting
Those thou create are thine own children. Until thy Progeny shall be Released, thou shall command them in all things. Their sins are thine to endure.
Tonight, release into the Camarilla is more a question of initiation than anything else. If a childe does not have what it takes to join
the elite, they are thrown to the Anarchs, to be hunted and stepped on like the rest of the unbound, if not destroyed outright. Childer who are accepted, but escape from oppressive sires are still their responsibility, so the maker better find their wayward progeny fast. And punish them.
the fifth tradition:
hospitality
Honor one another’s domain. When thou comest to a foreign city, thou shall present thyself to the one who ruleth there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing.
In an age of spy games and isolated city domains this tradition is becoming polarized in its enforcement. Keeping track of who is in your city is a daunting task in the era of the refugee and the global citizen, and some princes are actively backing harsh immigration policies, building walls, or infiltrating border controls just to keep up. Princes usually either give up on enforcing this law or do it draconically with mortal assistance.
the sixth tradition:
destruction
Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind. The right of destruction belongeth only to thine Elder. Only the Eldest among thee shall call the Blood Hunt.
The Blood Hunt is the ultimate punishment in Vampire society. Normally the destruction of another Kindred is seen as a cardinal sin, but anyone can hunt and kill those that are named the targets of lex talionis, the law of retaliation. Even the thin-blooded, the Anarchs, and the independents are invited to the murder party. Anything goes in the Blood Hunt, and if the one who kills the target drinks it dry and claims a part of their power – the terrible crime of diablerie – so be it. Helping a Blood Hunt is a good way into the Camarilla’s graces, so joining one is often frowned upon by Anarchs.
Caine grants us unlife, The Blood grants us power, The clans grant us our role, The Camarilla grants us order, And humanity grants us purpose
Founding Date
1435
Type
Secret, Government
Alternative Names
The Ivory Tower
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
