Camarilla

The Camarilla

The Camarilla is the largest of the two major vampiric Sects. It is an association of (five) clans formed in response to the Inquisition and the Anarch Revolt, with the primary purpose of maintaining the Masquerade - an elaborate veil of deception pulled over the eyes of the living to hide the existence of vampires as a means of ensuring the survival of all Kindred¹. Additionally, the Camarilla aims to maintain the status quo of Kindred society, placing it at odds with the agendas of the Sabbat and Anarchs, both of whom seek to overthrow Kindred societal norms.
The Camarilla holds the Traditions as their foremost guiding principles, a set of ancient laws to which members of the Camarilla are universally obligated to adhere, but identifies its most important role within the First Tradition: maintaining the Masquerade, but in domains with accomplished Kindred, the conflicts between them regularly bring the rest of the Traditions into consideration as well.
These Traditions are to be enforced by a powerful leader in each regional jurisdiction where the Camarilla exists - a Domain - known as a Prince (regardless of gender), who has discretion to both interpret and enforce the laws in each respective domain.
In its simplest form, the Camarilla itself is the international union of these domains (usually cities, although some domains are territorial provinces), somewhat akin to the United Nations, although invariably run in the fashion of a feudal court, even if gatherings may look more like slick boardroom meetings or rough gatherings of criminal cartels. As well as the Prince, who has utterly arbitrary entitlement to interpret the Traditions and prosecute breaches as he or she sees fit, most domains also have an inner circle of senior leaders from each Clan, and a cadre of supporters and enforcers. As such, the Camarilla itself is a loose alliance and each domain is largely autonomous, although within the domain the hierarchy is absolute.
The broader Camarilla authority usually only becomes involved when there are concerns of a large Sabbat incursion, significant breaches of the Masquerade, or conflicts between a city's leadership that could cause greater instability. In such cases one or more Archons are dispatched to look into the matter and either resolve it or report back to their respective Justicar. Whereas there may be any number of Archons enlisted to serve the sect's leaders, there is only one Justicar for each official clan in the Camarilla. These influential vampires represent the highest visible authority of the Camarilla and hold tremendous power to enforce the sect's precepts and call on its resources. They answer only to the Inner Circle, a secretive body of the Camarilla's eldest members that determines the sect's direction and policies.
But, behind the official facade, the Camarilla also has a much more fundamental purpose - it is a body to serve the conspiracy to preserve the power of the elders, a secret society of undead influencing global business and politics. These are the one percent of the one percent, and they hunger 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, and will not hesitate to lay ruin to human lives and Kindred unlives to protect the secrets of their influence.
Thus, the age, power and wealth of many members makes the Camarilla appear distinctly upper class, and it describes itself in idealistic terms by suggesting it is a well-heeled genteel society of undead peers, but it harbors a vast, complex and rigid hierarchy that breeds ancient rivalries and vicious political machinations, and vicious interpersonal politics and ancient grudges are often the day-to-day concerns of the Ivory Tower.
Nevertheless, the organisational hierarchy is the closest thing the Kindred have to a system of government.

¹ Camarilla vampires refer to themselves (and all other vampires) as "Kindred" as a means of reminding themselves of their origins in humanity. Camarilla vampires often refer to humans as "Kine", an archaic term for cattle.

Organisational Structure

A Camarilla domain is run by the Prince, a vampire impressive and cunning enough to be acknowledged as the absolute leader, who presides over the Primogen Council – members of which are the most senior 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.
When needed, the Prince's court gather in secret sanctuaries known as Elysiums, often changing locations and using myriad deceptions to maintain absolute privacy and hide Kindred affairs from mortal scrutiny. Elysiums accommodate feasts, ceremonies, negotiations and heated debate, protected and directed by the Keeper and their heralds, also known as harpies.
For more detailed information, refer to the Camarilla Hierarchy article.

The Six Traditions

The Six Traditions form the core 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. In the age of YouTube dares, 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. Thus, the Camarilla (and the Anarchs) take the Masquerade very, very seriously.
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 hiding in the shadows of the throne than standing in the light 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 or the structure of some modern criminal organisations.

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.

This tradition is becoming polarized in its enforcement. Keeping track of who is in the city is a daunting task in the era of unfettered global travel, free egress across borders, ease of people refugees smuggling and such. Princes usually either give up on enforcing this law or do it draconically, actively backing harsh immigration policies, building walls or infiltrating border controls just to keep up, often 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.

Type

Geopolitical, Principality

Subsidiary Organizations

• Domain of Melbourne

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The Camarilla

Organisational Structure
The Six Traditions

See also...
Camarilla Hierarchy