Covenants
in OrganizationsIf the clans represent family and perhaps culture among the Kindred, and cities are their domains, then the various covenants represent the closest vampiric equivalent to nations, political parties and even religions. The covenants form a cornerstone of undead society and — as far as is possible to determine given the Kindred’s rather hazy view of their own history — are ancient traditions that have been part of the vampiric world for hundreds of years. The covenants that are (supposedly) oldest hold a more respected “pedigree” than others, but none is truly modern. Even those young vampires who believe that Kindred society as it exists tonight is a relatively recent development admit that the covenants almost certainly predate the Industrial Revolution in some form or another.
The covenants serve as nations, for they provide the Kindred with a sense of community that they can find nowhere else. Kindred are Embraced into a clan, with no say of their own. Like many mortals, even if they feel a loyalty to their blood and their family, they often differ with one another in their opinions and beliefs. They are, for the most part, trapped in their home domains, and their loyalty toward the local regime is usually purchased with fear and enforced by ambition. Covenant allegiance, however, is something over which Kindred have personal control. They are drawn toward factions that espouse doctrines in which they can believe (or at least to which they don’t object). Here, more than anywhere else, they are likely to encounter other Kindred who share at least some of their ideas and objectives.
The covenants serve as political parties, for they provide ambitious Kindred with built-in support. Most covenants seek as much influence in the local Kindred power structure as possible, either to advance their own goals or to simply prevent rivals from gaining power. For the most part, politically active Kindred would rather have a fellow covenant member in power than any other rival (though many would certainly rather hold the power themselves, when at all possible). A vampire with many elder allies working to aid his ascendance has an undeniable advantage over rivals with less support.
Perhaps most strangely, the covenants even serve as a religious body for some members. While some of the covenants— the Lancea Sanctum and the Circle of the Crone specifically — are overtly religious in their makeup, all of the factions have strongly held beliefs and attitudes that often reach the level of dogma. While some young Kindred flit from ideology to ideology, either in search of a place to belong or trying to figure out their own attitudes, many other vampires cling so completely to the doctrines of their chosen covenants that they are unable to comprehend any other viewpoints. While only a few covenants declare outright that their way is mandated by Longinus, God or some other higher power, most of them claim zealots who certainly seem to act that way.
Further distinguishing them from clans, covenants have a fluid membership. A Kindred’s clan never changes, but a Kindred’s covenant may. Certainly, it is difficult to forswear one’s covenant and join a new one, but doing so is not impossible. An expected lack of trust often accompanies such behavior, but only the most severe members of either the renounced or the new covenant stoop to leveling (unsubstantiated) claims of treachery against a convert. In many cases, a Kindred’s philosophies simply change over the course of the Requiem. Most covenant members would rather lose a dilettante whose heart doesn’t truly belong to the cause any longer than have her lack of faith undermine the rest. Granted, those who repudiate all covenants usually lose significant esteem in the eyes of erstwhile peers, but sometimes a Kindred just grows… away.
Such being the case, it is with raised eyebrows that the Damned allow others of their kind to move from one covenant to another. Oddly, neonates and under-accomplished ancillae have the easiest time of it, as their lack of tangible ties to covenants at low levels occasionally allow them to escape notice. Some Kindred even count themselves as members of multiple covenants — but only until they’re found out and forced to stop playing all sides against the middle. More accomplished Kindred have difficulty changing sides, usually because of the contacts they’ve made or secret knowledge they’ve accumulated as a member of their original covenant. Highly visible “defections” are usually the source of much gossip, and more than once have been the foundation for ill will or even bloody vendetta.
The covenants are not necessarily in constant conflict. Most cities contain members of all of the major groups (or at least a few), and Kindred governments operate effectively with officers and advisors from multiple factions. Like rival churches in ages past or political parties in modern mortal government, the covenants often manage to coexist, yet they rarely agree on any salient points.
Still, the simple fact that these covenants exist at all inevitably leads to discord. Even those few Kindred who don’t want power for themselves understand why it’s in their best interests to make sure that fellow covenant members hold as much authority as possible. Every faction wants to be in control, and every covenant has different views on how the Kindred should rule (and even behave). In most cities, this conflict is covert, taking the form of political maneuvering, espionage, sabotage, bribery, blackmail and the occasional assassination. In select domains, this ongoing cold war heats up and covenants engage in open conflict (as open as possible for the Kindred). Much like mortal gang warfare, these conflicts are usually short — the longer a war rages, the harder it becomes to protect the Masquerade — but exceedingly bloody. Such conflicts usually do not end so much as they simply fade out as one or all parties involved grows too exhausted to continue. The shaky peace that appears to result, as the covenants are forced through attrition to coexist once more, often lasts only until one of them regains sufficient strength to begin the process anew.
The covenants serve as nations, for they provide the Kindred with a sense of community that they can find nowhere else. Kindred are Embraced into a clan, with no say of their own. Like many mortals, even if they feel a loyalty to their blood and their family, they often differ with one another in their opinions and beliefs. They are, for the most part, trapped in their home domains, and their loyalty toward the local regime is usually purchased with fear and enforced by ambition. Covenant allegiance, however, is something over which Kindred have personal control. They are drawn toward factions that espouse doctrines in which they can believe (or at least to which they don’t object). Here, more than anywhere else, they are likely to encounter other Kindred who share at least some of their ideas and objectives.
The covenants serve as political parties, for they provide ambitious Kindred with built-in support. Most covenants seek as much influence in the local Kindred power structure as possible, either to advance their own goals or to simply prevent rivals from gaining power. For the most part, politically active Kindred would rather have a fellow covenant member in power than any other rival (though many would certainly rather hold the power themselves, when at all possible). A vampire with many elder allies working to aid his ascendance has an undeniable advantage over rivals with less support.
Perhaps most strangely, the covenants even serve as a religious body for some members. While some of the covenants— the Lancea Sanctum and the Circle of the Crone specifically — are overtly religious in their makeup, all of the factions have strongly held beliefs and attitudes that often reach the level of dogma. While some young Kindred flit from ideology to ideology, either in search of a place to belong or trying to figure out their own attitudes, many other vampires cling so completely to the doctrines of their chosen covenants that they are unable to comprehend any other viewpoints. While only a few covenants declare outright that their way is mandated by Longinus, God or some other higher power, most of them claim zealots who certainly seem to act that way.
Further distinguishing them from clans, covenants have a fluid membership. A Kindred’s clan never changes, but a Kindred’s covenant may. Certainly, it is difficult to forswear one’s covenant and join a new one, but doing so is not impossible. An expected lack of trust often accompanies such behavior, but only the most severe members of either the renounced or the new covenant stoop to leveling (unsubstantiated) claims of treachery against a convert. In many cases, a Kindred’s philosophies simply change over the course of the Requiem. Most covenant members would rather lose a dilettante whose heart doesn’t truly belong to the cause any longer than have her lack of faith undermine the rest. Granted, those who repudiate all covenants usually lose significant esteem in the eyes of erstwhile peers, but sometimes a Kindred just grows… away.
Such being the case, it is with raised eyebrows that the Damned allow others of their kind to move from one covenant to another. Oddly, neonates and under-accomplished ancillae have the easiest time of it, as their lack of tangible ties to covenants at low levels occasionally allow them to escape notice. Some Kindred even count themselves as members of multiple covenants — but only until they’re found out and forced to stop playing all sides against the middle. More accomplished Kindred have difficulty changing sides, usually because of the contacts they’ve made or secret knowledge they’ve accumulated as a member of their original covenant. Highly visible “defections” are usually the source of much gossip, and more than once have been the foundation for ill will or even bloody vendetta.
The covenants are not necessarily in constant conflict. Most cities contain members of all of the major groups (or at least a few), and Kindred governments operate effectively with officers and advisors from multiple factions. Like rival churches in ages past or political parties in modern mortal government, the covenants often manage to coexist, yet they rarely agree on any salient points.
Still, the simple fact that these covenants exist at all inevitably leads to discord. Even those few Kindred who don’t want power for themselves understand why it’s in their best interests to make sure that fellow covenant members hold as much authority as possible. Every faction wants to be in control, and every covenant has different views on how the Kindred should rule (and even behave). In most cities, this conflict is covert, taking the form of political maneuvering, espionage, sabotage, bribery, blackmail and the occasional assassination. In select domains, this ongoing cold war heats up and covenants engage in open conflict (as open as possible for the Kindred). Much like mortal gang warfare, these conflicts are usually short — the longer a war rages, the harder it becomes to protect the Masquerade — but exceedingly bloody. Such conflicts usually do not end so much as they simply fade out as one or all parties involved grows too exhausted to continue. The shaky peace that appears to result, as the covenants are forced through attrition to coexist once more, often lasts only until one of them regains sufficient strength to begin the process anew.
Covenants Around the Globe
The Kindred exist everywhere humanity builds cities and extends cultures. Vampires cover the globe, and while their numbers are few in comparison to those on whom they feed, their population is not so small that it can easily be regimented into neat factions. The covenants described here differ somewhat — and potentially significantly — from domain to domain. That is, a member of the Invictus in London probably shares most of the primary attitudes of a fellow Invictus in Detroit, but they likely differ on a great many of the details.More importantly, other covenants beyond the major ones exist in various regions throughout the world. The factions described here are the largest or most powerful, at least in the West, but others exist in other cultures, in smaller communities and in Third-World nations. The covenants here represent the majority of Kindred, and the greater portion of Kindred power, but they do not account for the entirety of either.
It’s important to note that, while members of a given covenant tend to agree on certain basic principles, and often ally with one another against outside rivals, plenty of tension and enmity exists between members of a single covenant. In fact, in those cities where any given covenant dominates, intra-covenant rivalry is actually more common than inter-covenant rivalry. Invictus Kindred compete with others in the Invictus, Carthians struggle with rival Carthians, and so forth. A vampire’s covenant allegiance is a good indicator of certain political and philosophical beliefs, but anything else is questionable.
World Codex
(c) Whitewolf Publishing