Storyteller's Option: Heresies and the Curia Cruentus
We include the following hierarchical system as an option because it implies a far grander scale than is normally assumed to exist in Vampire: The Requiem. While most of our material assumes that vampire concerns function solely on a local level, some Storytellers and troupes enjoy a more overarching, conspiratorial tone. Alternatively, with a little title changing, the Curia Cruentus can be reworked to function on the local level itself, with Priests taking the titles of Cardinals and the organization existing on the local scale only.
The office of Cardinal is somewhat mysterious to outsiders, who might view a Cardinal as simply “a Sanctified more powerful than an Archbishop,” assuming they know anything at all about the existence of Cardinals. While accurate, this only tells half the story. Usually, a Cardinal is an Archbishop who has been selected for membership in a cabal within the Lancea Sanctum known as the Curia Cruentus (or “Court of Blood”), a group of powerful Sanctified elders and Archbishops from around the world. The Curia is as much a social club as it is a political body, and officially, it claims no real power within the covenant. Of course, any collection of closely allied, centuries-old Archbishops has vast power, but the Curia’s ideology is based on a strict interpretation of the Sanguineous Catechism, which forbids interference in the affairs of other domains. Thus, the group largely limits its goals to mutual support and eradication of any heresies that might threaten the covenant as a whole. Furthermore, the Curia’s view on what constitutes heresy is much more relaxed than the mortal Pope. The Masquerade makes a violent crusade against Sanctified heretics impractical, to say the least. Opposition to heresy is further undermined by the tendency of the Cardinals to enter torpor for great lengths of time and then awaken with significantly distorted memories. Thus, at any given time, two of the eldest and most respected members of the Curia might disagree vehemently on the meaning of a doctrine they co-wrote centuries earlier.
The Cardinals appointed by the Curia are all elders who have achieved the status of Archbishop and have demonstrated fidelity to Sanctified religious precepts, or at least, Sanctified religious precepts as interpreted by the Curia. Currently, fewer than 50 cardinals serve in the Curia, most from Europe, though North and South America have a growing presence. Curia members maintain frequent contact, and most also meet once a year to discuss issues facing the covenant. For the past several years, this meeting has been held in Switzerland to coincide with the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. While conspiracy theorists obsess over the implications of this detail, the Curia actually has little to no interest in the Forum. Rather, it simply takes advantage of the fact that every year a major city in a predominantly Catholic European nation temporarily becomes one of the most secure locations on the planet. Each annual meeting begins with the election of the Pontifex Maximus, whose duties include presiding over the meetings of the Curia and, for the next year, coordinating the flow of information and resources between the various Cardinals. The Pontifex’s most important but least often used power is the right to declare heresy. Only the Pontifex can call for the resources of the entire Curia to be marshaled against a particular heretic movement, though his demand must be supported by a majority vote of the other Cardinals present at the annual meeting.
While all members of the Curia are Cardinals, and virtually every prominent Cardinal is in the Curia, there are exceptions. Most notably, a number of individual Archbishops around the world have claimed the mantle of Cardinal for themselves either out of enormous personal power, hubris, or both. Divorced from the resources of the Curia’s network, however, a Cardinal is simply an Archbishop with notions of grandeur or ambition. Then again, centuries-old vampiric elders are often justified in their megalomania, and while a few unsanctioned Cardinals have met with mysterious “accidents” shortly after announcing their new title, the Curia generally ignores most such pretenders.
The office of Cardinal is somewhat mysterious to outsiders, who might view a Cardinal as simply “a Sanctified more powerful than an Archbishop,” assuming they know anything at all about the existence of Cardinals. While accurate, this only tells half the story. Usually, a Cardinal is an Archbishop who has been selected for membership in a cabal within the Lancea Sanctum known as the Curia Cruentus (or “Court of Blood”), a group of powerful Sanctified elders and Archbishops from around the world. The Curia is as much a social club as it is a political body, and officially, it claims no real power within the covenant. Of course, any collection of closely allied, centuries-old Archbishops has vast power, but the Curia’s ideology is based on a strict interpretation of the Sanguineous Catechism, which forbids interference in the affairs of other domains. Thus, the group largely limits its goals to mutual support and eradication of any heresies that might threaten the covenant as a whole. Furthermore, the Curia’s view on what constitutes heresy is much more relaxed than the mortal Pope. The Masquerade makes a violent crusade against Sanctified heretics impractical, to say the least. Opposition to heresy is further undermined by the tendency of the Cardinals to enter torpor for great lengths of time and then awaken with significantly distorted memories. Thus, at any given time, two of the eldest and most respected members of the Curia might disagree vehemently on the meaning of a doctrine they co-wrote centuries earlier.
The Cardinals appointed by the Curia are all elders who have achieved the status of Archbishop and have demonstrated fidelity to Sanctified religious precepts, or at least, Sanctified religious precepts as interpreted by the Curia. Currently, fewer than 50 cardinals serve in the Curia, most from Europe, though North and South America have a growing presence. Curia members maintain frequent contact, and most also meet once a year to discuss issues facing the covenant. For the past several years, this meeting has been held in Switzerland to coincide with the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. While conspiracy theorists obsess over the implications of this detail, the Curia actually has little to no interest in the Forum. Rather, it simply takes advantage of the fact that every year a major city in a predominantly Catholic European nation temporarily becomes one of the most secure locations on the planet. Each annual meeting begins with the election of the Pontifex Maximus, whose duties include presiding over the meetings of the Curia and, for the next year, coordinating the flow of information and resources between the various Cardinals. The Pontifex’s most important but least often used power is the right to declare heresy. Only the Pontifex can call for the resources of the entire Curia to be marshaled against a particular heretic movement, though his demand must be supported by a majority vote of the other Cardinals present at the annual meeting.
While all members of the Curia are Cardinals, and virtually every prominent Cardinal is in the Curia, there are exceptions. Most notably, a number of individual Archbishops around the world have claimed the mantle of Cardinal for themselves either out of enormous personal power, hubris, or both. Divorced from the resources of the Curia’s network, however, a Cardinal is simply an Archbishop with notions of grandeur or ambition. Then again, centuries-old vampiric elders are often justified in their megalomania, and while a few unsanctioned Cardinals have met with mysterious “accidents” shortly after announcing their new title, the Curia generally ignores most such pretenders.