Brujah
Contents
If you put any three Brujah in the room, you’ll come up with five different political arguments, but in a broad sense, Brujah ideologies tend in the directions: the Idealistic, the Iconoclastic and the Individualistic. Within that broad framework, Brujah tend to align themselves around a political problem or a charismatic clanmate who can sway with the power of their personality, a savage beatdown, or more commonly both.
Idealists are those Brujah who espouse the idea of creating a better system in which to exist, either philosophically, socially or both. An Idealist who sways others to their banner can change the face of the Jyhad; Jeremy MacNeil tore down a Camarilla domain in Los Angeles, created the Anarch Free State and inspired Kindred in domains across the world to attempt the same thing. An Idealist may have ostensibly selfless ambitions, or they may be out to advance themselves; perhaps things would be better with them in charge. This doesn’t necessarily make them the “good Brujah” - a firebrand Brujah Antitribu priest would see the Sabbat as the ideal society for vampires and work to spread its dominion to all corners of the land.
Iconoclasts are Brujah who focus their attention on tearing down systems of thought and society which they believe are outmoded or destructive. An Iconoclast may have ostensibly noble motivations, such as tearing down an abusive Camarilla Prince or driving out a destructive Sabbat presence. But they might also have selfish motivations, such as trying to expose the hypocrisy of an individual or organization without a care for the consequence or chaos that might spring up in their wake. Or they might simply want to seize power for themselves in the vacuum. Salvador Garcia sold Jeremy MacNeil out to the Wan Kuei to topple a Free State he no longer believed in. Tara Kearney seized the Princedom of San Diego because she believed the idealism of the Free State was a destructive lie, and also because she likes having power and wanted more of it. This cynical choice wasn’t popular with the rest of her clan, but she stands by it.
Individualists aren’t as invested in systems. They’re the sort of Brujah who’re all about personal philosophy, who seek to elevate their Humanitas or test the ethics of the Paths of Enlightenment. But they’re generally not out to change the world, only themselves. This is traditionally the loneliest path for a Brujah to walk, but not always. A paradoxical faction of Brujah Individualists who’re delving into the ethics of the Path of Entelechy are on the rise. They’re not about tearing down the Camarilla or raising up a perfected state; they’re all about perfecting themselves.
Of course, no one says a Brujah has to give a damn about any of this; but they don’t usually embrace cynics (though sometimes, like with Tara, cynicism is thrust upon a Brujah). Or a Brujah might have a little bit of all three viewpoints in them. People aren’t simple, and vampires usually aren’t either.
Among The Sects
The Camarilla
The Brujah of the Camarilla are viewed by others as sell-outs; they’re starting to see themselves that way, too. People don’t like to talk about it, but at the time of its inception the clans that founded the Camarilla saw it as a massive reform in Kindred society. Before the Burning Times, the Long Night had been a swirling stew of grim cults and monstrous aristocracies that held the Estate of Caine in a shadowy grip of steel. The Ivory Tower had been predicated on a new model of more delicate predation where the Kindred would build great cities in which the Kine could flourish, and the Kindred themselves would live in a society predicated on the principles of the via Humanitas, the Road of Humanity.
Instead, what the Brujah got was a Tremere-designed pyramid scheme under the thumb of Ventrue autocrats where the Clan of Philosophers serve as enforcers and thugs and philosophical discourse on the via Humanitas was repressed so everyone’s understanding of the ethics of the path are hopelessly debased. TL;DR, it sucks. So now the Camarilla Brujah have one massive question that dominates their debates; do they stay and try and force reforms on the Ivory Tower? That would require a unity of purpose and action the Brujah have seldom been able to manage. Or do they join the Gangrel and walk out? What kind of chaos might erupt in the wake of that decision? How many Kindred and Kine might die? It isn’t an easy choice to make, but sooner or later, they’ll have to.
The Anarchs
The Brujah of the Anarch Movement like to think they are the Anarch Movement. They skew younger, and as a group they aren’t really good at thinking long term. When they succeed at tearing down a Camarilla or Sabbat domain they all too often lack the follow-through to start building a new system to take its place. They’re, well, anarchic. A Brujah who rises above the fray and starts developing some real ideas might lead the Anarchs someplace, but more often they get pulled right back down into the bucket of crabs that the Anarch Brujah all too often are. Even those Anarch Brujah who do have the charisma and influence to lead tend to hamstring themselves, because they’re no good with the c-word: compromise. Jeremy MacNeil was so afraid of becoming a tyrant and compromising his vision that he let the Free State collapse into feudal squalor, which poisoned influential clanmates like Salvador Garcia and Tara Kearney against it. Ultimately Anarch Brujah are usually their own worst enemies. But still, a Brujah who’s a true believer in the Anarch cause can really make it sing.
The Sabbat
Brujah Antitribu are scariest of all, because they’re filled with purpose, and that purpose is the Sabbat. There are Brujah in every faction of the Sabbat, espousing every political ideology, and each one of them’s a firebrand for the Sabbat in whatever way they deem appropriate. One Brujah might be a ravening Loyalist street-brawler; his two childer might be a grim and serious Orthodox Paladin and a cleaner for the Order of St. Blaise with a list of contacts as long as your arm. These three Brujah might each see the Sabbat in a different way, but the Sabbat is the cause they embrace, the perfected vampire society they want to make more perfect and bring to all other Kindred. Whether they want it or not
Gatherings
Brujah aren’t an organized clan, but they are social, and a number of different types of sanctioned gatherings have insinuated themselves into the clan culture. Generally being egalitarian sorts, Brujah don’t restrict most of these gatherings to their own kind; anyone who can hang is welcome. These gatherings can even cross sect lines, and most Brujah Antitribu who attend or host a gathering play by the traditional rules, though their conduct is often tinged with Sabbat violence.
Rants are a gathering where a Brujah calls a meeting to address a problem and Brujah show up and argue, sometimes about things entirely unrelated to the reason for the assembly. Think of them as the ugly love child of a cocktail party and a street fight, and Dorothy Parker brought her scathing wit and a pair of knucks in her purse.
Raves are Brujah parties, wild and frenetic and in a variety of styles (Ska’s no longer popular).
Debates are more formal discussions in the classical style, where contenders are expected to present honed arguments, and argue them well. Brujah rhetoricians of all shapes, sizes and ages will attend a debate, even if they are seen as a little old-fashioned.
Bashes are gatherings where Brujah come to fight. They generally come in two types: common bashes where Brujah put Kine in the ring to duke it out like the vampire equivalent of cockfighting, while their masters shoot the breeze and take bets, and elite bashes, where Brujah fight amongst themselves, other vampires willing to get in the ring, and sometimes other, weirder creatures somebody’s managed to coerce or capture.
Gauntlets are gatherings where Brujah meet to determine if somebody needs to be punished for screwing up, and to determine what that punishment might be, if they do.
Status
Gaining Status
- When called for, stomp a mudhole in ‘em and walk it dry
- Sway others with your persuasive argument and fiery rhetoric, not just brute force
- Develop yourself physically, socially and intellectually
- Never be satisfied with the status quo
- Adopt a cause; fight for it
- Participate in Brujah gatherings and excel
- Be seen as sticking it to The Man
Losing Status
- Be seen as backing down from The Man
- Be seen as The Man
- Be seen as cynical and self-serving
- Espouse a really rotten cause or ideology such as Nazism or Neo-Confederism
- Be seen as ‘lopsided’; an intellectual who can’t fight or defend their stance in a debate, a uncharismatic, unintelligent brute, a mouth who’s all talk and no action or brains
- Invest too deeply in the status quo; things can always be better
- Participate in Brujah gatherings and make a poor showing
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is in many ways the new heart of the Brujah domains. The Free State is the burning heart of the Anarch Movement, a sect defined by Brujah zeal and upheld by Brujah might. The Anarch Brujah have chosen the City of Angels as a place to make their stand and build a new, better sect. ...But what form that new, better sect will take? That the Anarch Brujah can’t agree on, and so they argue and brawl, only uniting to put down a clear and present threat before it all falls to pieces and they’re back to fighting in the streets.
The problem is, the wisest heads can see the toll this is starting to take on the L.A. Domains. The Masquerade is stressed. Hunting, once easy, is now getting more and more difficult as Anarch gangs stake out their turf and hold it against all comers - if you’re not jumped in, you starve, and this Balkanization violates the heart of the Status Perfectus and leads to desperate, hungry Kindred; who’re then prey for the Camarilla, Sabbat, and Independents. Jeremy MacNeil and Nines Rodriguez refused to unite the city under their leadership for fear of becoming despots… but that refusal to lead might have imperiled everything they fought so hard to build. And there doesn’t seem to be anyone forthcoming from the ranks of the Brujah who has their charisma and influence who might hold it all together.
Los Angeles was supposed to be the Brujah’s New Carthage; but it seems to be headed for a collapse.
