Ventrue

Throughout history, while the other Clans have skulked about their petty intrigues, the Ventrue have curried favor with Caesar, whispered into the ear of Charlemagne, bankrolled the Age of Exploration, and even swayed policy in the Holy See. Theirs is a legacy of rulership, from Ventrue fledglings starting their climb to the top to the mightiest elders whose influence spans the world. Long have they played kingmaker in the shadows in the mortal world, and long have they been the Clan of Kings among the Kindred.   Other Clans, of course, find all this insufferably pompous at best, punishably tedious at worst. Someone has to lead, surely, but why does it always have to be some long-winded, self-aggrandizing Ventrue? The Blue Bloods try to bear the criticism of their lessers with a sense of noblesse oblige — ever heavy hangs that head that wears the crown — but even the most munificent of Kindred leaders occasionally succumbs to tyranny and bloody rage.   Tonight, the Ventrue are a synthesis of the modern and the ancient, often in stark contrast within the Clan and among one another. Theirs is money of old, from the vaults of Croesus, but their young manipulate stock markets and influence currencies. Elders may command armies or even whole governments, while neonates conjure their assets from a website or smartphone app. But for all their wealth, their distinguished history, and their status among the Damned, each and every Ventrue must still seek that one resource that makes Kindred society egalitarian: precious blood.