Camarilla
Contents
Introduction
The Camarilla of San Francisco are many, and they share in a tense co-existence with the Anarchs and Sabbat. The centuries-old rivalries remain, but remain corseted and careful with the proliferation of mobile phones and live streaming to the Internet. We are on the precipice of just one final fuckup that blows the whole shit open. The most populous clan has traditionally been Ventrue, and the rarest specimens have been Gangrel, especially since the desertion of Mirko Mirkonen. This Praxis has had no Gangrel primogen since the late 90s, as is the case with the Camarilla at large. The Schismatics have taken their political seat.
Van Nuys was Prince of San Francisco before Winder, having taken the position in a 1996 coup to dethrone the ineffective (and late) Vannevar Thomas, but for all his aspirations, his four year reign was marked as chaotic, disorganized, and flooded with recalcitrant Anarch refugees from the bloody quagmire in Los Angeles.
After the creation of the Mandarinate in 2000, several esteemed members deserted for more competent and cooperative pastures nearby like Palo Alto and San Jose, some announcing their departure. Three elders staunchly opposed to the Cathayan regime simply disappeared, not affording their constituents the decency of a farewell. In 2001, things changed: a formal party was announced, and before the Court Van Nuys announced his abdication and his acquiescence to the authority of Miss Sarah Anne Winder. In 2010, the Mandarinate was brought down.
Theme
Vampire as a sphere on Modern Nights is intended to be a street-level game, about the struggle to the top.
The Camarilla on Modern Nights is intended to be an outlet for players who thrive in an environment where their IC lives are cloak and dagger conspiracies in a Machiavellian world, navigating the confidence games and long cons of those in power both real and perceived. It is intended to be an environment where nothing is for free, and boons are a currency integral to buying one another's loyalty, which cannot be otherwise guaranteed. Think West Wing, Designated Survivor, and House of Cards.
While we allow you to play in whichever sect you please, you should expect your experience in the Camarilla to involve courtly life, navigating the boon economy, Camarilla structure and hierarchy, and veiled threats and double-talk. If you, as a player, do not thrive in this kind of backstabbing genre, then we suggest that you consider the Anarchs or the Sabbat instead!
Staff Info
- Wizard: Batty
- Main Storytellers: Batty
- Helpers: Overdose-PRP, Carrie-PRP
- Clerical Staff: Wintermute, Cylon
Common Clans
| Banu Haqim | Open |
| Gangrel | Open |
| Nosferatu | Open |
| Malkavian | Open |
| Toreador | Open |
| Tremere | Open |
| Ventrue | Open |
Uncommon Clans
Uncommon clans are ones that are considered oddities to have within the sect. You may play one of the following as a Camarilla character, but you will find yourself mostly disenfranchised politically.
| Caitiff | Open |
| Followers of Set | Open |
| Gangrel | Open |
Rare Clans
Rare clans are limited. If there already is one on +census, then the sphere is closed until that character goes inactive. Please check +census for accurate information about availability.
- Lasombra Antitribu
- Carpathians (Old Clan Tzimisce)
- Samedi
Feeding
On the game, you can spend Downtime points in exchange for blood or you can use the +hunt system by rolling up to a grid square, typing "+hunt", and following the on-screen prompts.
Prince Winder has designated the following racks:
- The Tenderloin: The entire strip of Turk street from Van Ness on the west to Taylor on the east is saturated with drugs and people nobody will notice disappear.
- The Folsom District: Folsom and 8th - 13th street are blocks sanctioned for hunting, as well as the flanking streets Harrison and Howard (so this covers places like AsiaSF, Wicked Grounds, Cat Club).
Progeny
To petition permission to embrace, send in a +request. You can generally expect a 'no' unless you have earned significant status, but you may send in a +request. If this is about inviting someone into the sphere to turn their character into a vampire, staff can arrange for an IC circumstance that works, but it might not translate directly into you being the sire.
Winder requires permission to ghoul. Without permission to ghoul, it is still possible to ask (or pay) the Court for permission to ghoul if you are in good standing (no negative status). You can ask (or pay) for a general pass to ghoul someone (nobody in particular, but "Hey, I want a ghoul. When I find one, I want to be able to seize the opportunity. One free one-use pass, please). You can also ask (or pay) the Court for permission ghoul a specific person you have your eye on. Lastly, you can claim dibs on a specific mortal regardless of permission or intent to ghoul. Maybe you are still grooming this person into a role and haven't wanted to ghoul them yet, but want to pre-emptively call dibs.
When it comes to acquiring permission to ghoul, only the Prince or her Seneschal may authorize a Vampire to ghoul someone. When it comes to simply claiming dibs on a person to potentially ghoul later, you only need a few witnesses of some official capacity: the Harpy will do, for example. You'd be wise to ensure there's more than one witness if you suspect that the Harpy (or whoever) may conveniently forget later.
Court
Court is an event where all Camarilla are supposed to be present, but we are not our characters and cannot all show up at once, especially not across the timezones we share. When it comes to events where IC presence of everybody is mandatory, staff will execute court through a BBpost. It's not our intention to turn the game into a play-by-post, so these posts are expected to be kept to mostly a narrative summary, like a DM telling you about stuff at the table. They also are reserved for specifically events where attendance is required IC by people in significantly different time zones.
Staff assumes your character showed up to Court unless you have explicitly stated you don't show up to Court in a +request.
Court posts are open to IC +bbreplies for 5 OOC days. After the 5th day, your window to designate that your character did something notable at court for all to witness is closed and whatever was discussed becomes the official IC continuity. If you don't post anything in response to the IC court post(s), then that just means your character attended Court and didn't do anything notable.
If you want your character to do something that is in response to the events at Court, you are entirely welcome to do so the following ways:
1. A +bbreply within the 5 day window. This reflects something IC everyone witnesses. 2. A +request to staff describing your character's response, during or after the 5 day window. This reflects whatever we discuss in the +request.
For continuity purposes, we will consider Court to have been held on the last day of the 5 day window.
If you are excited about something and want to RP about it now, not 5 days later, that's cool! But please do not RP about anything that is in limbo during the 5 day period, such as a verdict not yet actually reached.
If you want to send in a time-sensitive +request to be resolved a.) in reaction to a court development and b.) before the end of Court, do so on days 1-4 so there is at least a day to reasonably process that request. If staff doesn't process it by day 5, that's staff's fault, not yours: the window will be extended if necessary.
Leadership
You can angle your character toward assuming a certain office of the court! While we do not allow people to create a character who holds a position from the start, we intend for players to take up court positions. This is intended to be done through RP, and you are encouraged to reach out to staff and be transparent about your goals with your character so that we can coordinate a narrative.
The position of Prince is not available to players at this time for the purposes of making sure that the execution we want for the Camarilla is enforced, but if someone is able to continue in that theme they may assume the position. The way we'll figure that out is through play. If you'd like to be Prince eventually, gun for positions of responsibility leading up to it, such as Primogen or Seneschal. Kick ass at the role, and we'll talk about it.
Status
We use the Mind's Eye Theater Status System. Its intent is to promote and inform the way that the sect social rules work. While you can read about the rules in detail in the official material, here is a simplified run-down that contains enough to play. Please note that this is not actually a 1:1 explanation of the Status System.
You have Titles (called Abiding and Innate status in MET) and you have Fleeting Status. Titles are things like "Prince" and "Elder" and they apply to you so long as you are that thing. Those titles come with privileges, such as descriptions of what is within your authority, which is what you're probably used to ("A primogen represents his clan, yaddah"). But it also talks about giving people badges like "Favored" and "Honorable."
These monikers are called Fleeting Status. They are little badges you get for certain rewardable RP behavior. For example, Triumphant is a Fleeting Status awarded to people who do something risky and come out victorious. These badges give you some thematically appropriate benefit. Triumphant, for example, gives you the ability to feed wherever you like instead of at designated grounds, because you're known as Billy Badass.
Some badges are negative: Warned, Disgraced, and Forsaken. These you get for being insubordinate, breaking sect law, and so on. When you get Negative Status, this comes with some kind of attached punishment (determined by the status trait itself) and it lasts for either 30 days or until the person who administered it (or someone over their head) forgives you.
Fleeting Status traits last until either you spend them, or you get Warned. Continuing with our Triumphant example, Triumphant can be spent on auto-succeeding on a Rotschreck roll (it would not do for Billy Badass to lose his shit). Once you've spent your Fleeting Status, it's gone forever, but you can earn the same kind of status again.
You can collect up to five Fleeting Status points. You can collect multiple instances of the same kind of Fleeting Status, too. So, at any given time, you have up to 5 Fleeting Status traits, and whatever special rules go along with your title if you have a title.
Learn more on the Status page.
Boons
Anybody can use Prestation commands even if they didn't pick Camarilla in character generation. Prestation commands reflect the IC act of informing the people ICly present of the nature and status of a boon. Boons show up to you from your IC perspective: some boons may exist without your knowledge.
Creating And Managing Boons
- +Boon/Offer <Name>/<Type>=<Reason> : This initiates a boon from your PC with all PCs present in the room as IC witnesses. Applicable types: Trivial, Minor, Major, Blood, & Life.
- +Boon/Tell <Names>/Offer <Name>=<Type> for <Reason> : This initiates a boon and specifies the IC witnesses. This command is for use outside of scenes. Example: "+Boon/Tell Jim Bob Dan/Offer James=trivial for the gift James gave me."
- +Boons : This lists the boons you are ICly aware of.
- +Boon # : This lists a particular boon, very similar to +jobs.
- +Boon/Spread # to <Name> : This informs <Name> of the boon from your IC POV.
- +Boon/Acknowledge # : This will acknowledge the boon to your IC witnesses.
- +Boon/Release # : This will release that boon's debtor to your IC witnesses.
- +Boon/Broker <Name> owes <Name>/<Type>=<Reason> : This proposes a boon on someone else's behalf. Example: +Boon/Broker Jim owes Tom/Major=If Jim has any integrity, he should acknowledge Tom's astounding generosity.
Types of Boons
Prestation is quite simply the process of trading, repaying and incurring favors (Boons) among vampires. Among more formal sects (the Camarilla and the Sabbat), prestation debts can be called in at literally any time, so it’s wise policy to make sure that one has the capacity to honor a boon, regardless of circumstance.
As a general rule there are 5 types of Boon. We have explained them below.
Trivial Boon
A mortal says 'thank you' when he is pleased with a small favor. A courteous vampire offers a trivial boon. Trivial boons are the vampire's 'thank you' and 'my bad': they're for minor favors and conveniences at little to no personal risk and for compensating for the occasional faux pas.
The basis for a trivial boon can be as simple as having given them some useful information that you simply overheard. If someone did something for you that came to no personal risk to them but still was helpful to you, then, if you are a courteous vampire, you should offer them a trivial boon. If you yourself did something that came at no personal risk to you, then, they should offer you a trivial boon if they have a scrap of etiquette: what sort of ingrate is not willing to offer so tiny a token?
So, as a rule of thumb: if you yourself would have said 'thank you', offer a trivial boon as your gratitude. If you yourself would have felt a little embarrassed, offer a trivial boon as your apology. If you feel like someone should have said 'thank you' or apologized, then they owe you a trivial boon at -least-. It is the "I'll buy the next round" of vampiric gratitude.
Examples
- Arranging an introduction
- Letting someone borrow equipment, items, or access to a place
- Providing a one-time safe supply of blood (e.g. 1-3 blood points)
- Giving reliable info or passing info on for them (e.g. tips, warnings)
- Giving someone something worth maybe $50 or less.
- General favors that take an hour or less and cost little to nothing.
Minor Boon
A mortal promises that he owes you one -- whether as a thank you for a considerable favor or to compensate for a failure their friend helped patch up. A courteous vampire offers a minor boon. Minor Boons are for actions that took significant amounts of effort time or resources but don't incur any personal risk or loss (monetarily, socially, physically or otherwise).
While trivial boons are no-risk, minor boons take either a significant chunk of time or investment out of the vampire who earned it, puts them at a minor risk or saddles them with a moderate inconvenience, like passing up an opportunity for potential personal/political gain.
Although each vampire has their own idea of 'minor risk' and 'moderate inconvenience', here are some guidelines: if it involves risk of injury, they should be extremely likely to emerge victorious and they should be able to heal completely that very night. If it involves social, financial, or other consequences, they should be something that the vampire can resolve and recover from within two weeks or less. If it's passing up personal gain, this should be of a nature where the opportunity may reasonably present itself again in a few months.
So, as a rule of thumb: offer a minor boon to pay for or thank actions that either are no-risk but take a few nights/weeks to pull off, or actions that, while they have some risk, should be reasonably easy to bounce back from. Lastly, if it costs Downtime, it should at least be a Minor Boon.
Examples
- Helping someone else achieve a position of authority or influence
- Helping someone else obtain Domain
- Undergoing damage to your property (ghouls are your property too)
- Using Influence on someone else's behalf
- Taking any action that takes multiple hours or even weeks to accomplish
- Tutoring someone (but not Disciplines/Magic, unless you share clans).
- Medium to long-term (1 week or more) rental of resources/herd/ghouls/money
- Providing 3-5 (safe!) meals of human blood
- Teaching the first 3 levels of Animalism, Auspex, Celerity, Dominate, Obfuscate, Potence, Presence, or Fortitude.
Major Boon
A Major boon is the territory of sincere, serious debt. Be careful not to incur them: this is the level of debt where someone can reasonably expect -- or demand -- for you to actively act against your best interests. They arise as a result of incurring significant risk, investing significant amounts of time and resources at one's own expense, and as currency for paying for serious transgressions and grievances.
Although each vampire has their own idea of 'significant' when it comes to risk, time and resources, here are the guidelines: risk of injury can guarantee death or maiming for ghouls and significant injury for the vampire, but the risk of death for the vampire should merely be acknowledgement that there is a "nonzero" chance. If death is likely for the vampire, that is Life boon territory. Social, financial, and other consequences such as loss of status should be reasonably recoverable within a year. If a vampire is to loose access to some resource or opportunity permanently, they may also make a case for a Major Boon even if they don't currently use that resource due to the potential that is lost.
Examples
- Continued/extended use of Influence on someone else's behalf
- Taking any action that takes over two months to accomplish
- Supplanting your own political goals to helping someone achieve theirs
- Suppressing or participating in political sect scandals
- Taking a fall for someone
- Actions that are high risk, including death, but reasonably concealable
- Teaching the 4th and 5th levels of Animalism, Auspex, Celerity, Dominate, Obfuscate, Potence, Presence, or Fortitude
- Teaching the first 3 levels of clan-proprietary disciplines (Chimerstry, Dementation, Obtenebration, Protean, Queitus, Serpentis, Vicissitude)
Blood Boon
Woe to the kindred who owes a blood boon. Although there are more delicate ways to put it, let's be clear: if you owe someone a blood boon, you're their bitch. Probably forever: don't you forget that debts can be savored over time through a string of insufferable tasks that maddeningly are never quite enough. And so you suffer on in silence, because keeping the debt between us and the Harpy is better than facing the court of opinion: what the hell did you do -- what tradition did you break, what sensational mistake did you commit, just what kind of fuckup are you -- to wind up in such a debt?
Blood boons are a big deal: you are covering for someone and you'll both go down in flames if your conspiracy is discovered. You are indulging secrets and selling someone out at the expense of your clan or your contemporaries who will eat you alive--maybe literally--for your betrayal. You've faced death for your debtor -- literal or political -- and won't let them forget. Or perhaps you've helped an impatient vampire skip the years and twists and turns of political maneuvering despite his immortality because his impatience is your profit, not your problem.
Examples
- Infiltrate another sect
- Hide a Breach of a Tradition
- Gifting social capital that would take someone years to build (status, influence, etc.)
- Face an extreme risk of severe physical injury, death not unlikely
- Inherit someone's ghouls and -not- old yeller them
- Teaching the 4th and 5th levels of proprietary disciplines
- Teaching the first 3 levels of blood magic
Life Boon
A Life Boon that is offered voluntarily is either from an idiot or not voluntary at all. It's easy for a human to say "I owe you my life" when it's over in just a few short years, but this commitment is forever. A vampire who absolves another of a Life Boon -- especially expediently -- is perhaps just as much of a fool as the vampire who actually had to offer one. Again: vampires can ration out hefty debts into a string of series and favors, so consider yourself, for all intents and purposes, this vampire's ghoul for the rest of your damnation. Up to and including being expected to take all three drinks. Why, you owe them your life, after all.
Examples
- Once-in-a-lifetime actions: sacrificing your life's work, for example.
- Anything that basically amounts to auditioning for the goddamn red list
- Pissing off a Justicar or worse
- Doing anything that will spell your permanent political suicide
- Violating the Tradition of Progeny
- Teaching 4th and 5th level Blood Magics
- Generally being a big dumb idiot.
