Editing Camarilla

[[File:camarilla.png|100px|thumb|right|The symbol of the Camarilla.]]
The '''Camarilla''' is the largest sect of Vampires, a rather loose organisation that tries to enforce the concept of "The Masquerade". Think more or less a Vampire government.
 
In [[Vampire: The Masquerade]], it is composed of six (Or seven, if you ignore the End Times books.) Clans. (<strike>[[Brujah]]</strike>, [[Ventrue]], [[Malkavian]], [[Nosferatu]], [[Toreador]], [[Tremere]], and the <strike>[[Gangrel]]</strike>). Their main goal is to make sure the Masquerade is kept intact, and there's at least SOME semblance of law and order in Kindred society. Or at least, that's what they claim. 

The Camarilla makes an appearance in the lore of [[Vampire: The Requiem]], existing during the time of the Roman Republic and dying out around the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Some of the modern-night Covenants draw inspiration from the factions of the Camarilla or, in the case of the Lancea et Sanctum, claim direct descent from it. It's ancient history unless you're playing ''Requiem for Rome'', which takes place during its heyday.

The term "Camarilla" refers to the various courtiers which are close to a king and while they don't have formal positions they still can wield a lot of informal power and influence.

==Culture==
Overall, the Camarilla basically follow "Traditions". The laws/guidelines that were supposedly handed down from the Big C ([[Cain]]) himself. 
A Brief breakdown of said Traditions is as follows.

1. Masquerade - Keep the existence of Vampires a secret from mortals.

2. Domain - A kindred's hunting ground is their own territory, and they rule it 110%. Don't disrespect the owner, and wipe your feet when you come in.

3. Progeny: Sire ''only'' with permission of one's elders. No going around making anyone and everyone you want a Childe. 

4. Accounting: Until childer are released, their actions are the responsibility of their sire. Their fuck-ups are your fuck-ups.

5. Hospitality: Honor the domains of others, and present oneself to the ruler of any domain you visit. Don't just waltz in, make yourself known to the Big Cheese first.

6. Destruction: The right to kill Kindred is reserved for the Elder of a community. Only an elder may call a Blood Hunt. I'm sure you can work out what that is.

These traditions more or less form the backbone of Camarilla society, although in Modern Nights the "Elder" is generally interpreted to mean "the local Prince<sup>1</sup>." They care deeply about keeping the whole Masquerade in place, stopping Kindred from going around Embracing every single person they see and making sure that when someone IS Embraced, their sire takes care of 'em. Camarilla aren't interested in deadbeat parents, basically. Similarly going exponential is also a very good way of blowing the whole Masquerade. And finally, keeping vampire society more feudal. The last point is more taken to mean that the older the Kindred, the more respect and authority they should have. This, of course, has pissed off many a young babby Kindred, helping to drive plenty to the [[Anarch]] movement instead. Older vampires, of course, support these ideals as it far more benefits them. Especially if they find it harder to interact with the mortal world.
*<small><sup>1</sup>The head of Camarilla activity in a specific city or other such region. The title's gender neutral, as elder vampires consider one's physical sex to be largely irrelevant.</small>

==Humanity== 
The Camarilla's attitude towards humanity could probably be best described as "pragmatic." More or less dealing with them as sensibly and practically as they physically can. In the Dark Ages, the Inquisition and other mortal forces smoked untold countless numbers of Kindred. Now, humanity's numbers have grown from millions to billions, and they've created weapons that easily overpower vampire powers. If mortals were to find out about the existence of the Kindred, it wouldn't be a difficult task to wipe 'em out. Because of this, the Camarilla has opted for "Let's not let them find out." They also try to make sure humanity isn't harmed by Kindred business (so preferably no mortal casualties when fighting the Sabbat) not because they want to protect the fleshy little mortals, but to keep the Masquerade intact. Kindred are also encouraged to blend in as best they can, to basically hide in plain sight. Not to mention the added bonus of hanging on to their humanity, something the Camarilla, and most Kindred, consider to be important.

==History==
The Camarilla was born out of growing threats from the Inquisition and the Anarch Revolt, both of which were causing trouble for Cainite domains in Europe. There had been some attempts at organizing a group of vampires in the past, but not much came of it. The idea of a league of vampires was only taken more seriously in 1394, but a group of elders. However, a bold attack was made by the Anarchs on a castle belonging to Hardestadt of the Ventrue, ending in Hardestadt's diablerie at the Anarch leader's hands.

Fear is a helluva motivator, and fear of getting your soul sucked out then eaten even moreso; after this happened, the founders-to-be of the Camarilla put together a task-force of their most trusted Childer and servants to get the Anarchs to fuck right off. (Hardestadt's eldest childe also took up impersonating him, so the rest of the Ventrue wouldn't shit bricks.)

The actual formation of the Camarilla was announced in 1435. The name chosen was as it meant it was a group of peers that met in secret, in this case, especially from mortals. The founders began rallying more openly for a coalition to protect fellow Kindred from the dangers of society. Including the Anarchs, mortal lynch mobs, and invading Kindred from the Middle East, known as the Assamite. 

War continued to rage on in Kindred society for the next couple of decades. The Founders, now called "Justicars," fought hard to keep their new organisation alive. In 1496, the first national conclave was created, during which the Justicars were given authority to punish vampires who violated the Traditions (see above). Also, a new body of agents was also was created to assist the Justicars, giving them more time to better develop the Camarilla. These would later be known as "Archons" and can more or less be thought of as a right-hand man, or even a vice-president. 

Finally, in 1493, a peace agreement was made between the still-new Camarilla, the Anarchs, and the Assamites, known as the ''Convention of Thorns''. In this peace agreement, the Traditions were accepted as law by representatives of the clans [[Brujah]], [[Gangrel]], [[Malkavian]], [[Nosferatu]], [[Toreador]], [[Tremere]], and [[Ventrue]]. They also joined the Camarilla. However, speakers for the [[Lasombra]] and [[Tzimisce]], who were majority Anarchs, were offended by this. They refused to join and rebelled by creating the Sabbat to be a polar opposite to everything the Camarilla represented. In other words, the mother of all Kindred tantrums was thrown. 

This event is extremely important because it not only marks the beginning of the Camarilla was we know it tonight, it also was the end of the first Anarch Revolt, and would set the stage for the next five centuries of conflict in kindred society. 

==A New World== 
Over the next couple of centuries, many anarchs refused to join the Camarilla, instead opting to join the [[Sabbat]]. The group continued to strike out at the Camarilla's power, still upset over the results of the last revolt.  However, the larger numbers and proper organisation of the older sect gave the Camarilla a huge advantage over the Sabbat.

In the 17th century, with explorers and the like discovering the 'New World', many younger Sabbat members fled there in large numbers. This left most of Europe to the Camarilla. For a while, there was a bit of debate over if they should chase after them in America. Instead, the idea of taking over new territories was decided as a great idea to start bringing in some new, younger Kindred. For a short time it had seemed that the Sabbat would have/had taken over the entire New World. But they started falling into internal conflicts over dwindling resources. All the while the Camarilla was siding with and gaining power in English, Dutch, and French Colonies. Hurrah for colonialism!

Then came the War of 1812. While human society were fighting said war, the Kindred had their own. The Camarilla began losing more and more of their cities throughout the first chunk of the 19th century. As the war between Camarilla and Sabbat spread to the American frontier, the Camarilla struggled to continue. (Cowboy Vampires?) In fact, they were only able to survive due to civil war within the Sabbat, severely weakening themselves. 

The Camarilla began the 20th century greatly weakened by internal disputes, mostly due to Kindred picking different sides during mortal conflicts. Think WW1 and the like. When WW2: This Time It's Personal rocked around, it caused even more troubles - the Toreador, Tremere, and Ventrue elders mostly sided with the Axis, and while the Inner Circle remained nominally neutral many Justicars ended up getting into scraps with each other. It was a huge clusterfuck, not unlike how WW1 was for mortals. 

Of course, when the bombs were dropped on Japan, it became apparent how important preserving the Masquerade really was. (And world peace, kind of.) If mortals could do that kind of damage to themselves, then they could destroy Kindred just as easily. As such, everyone chilled the fuck out. 

==Recent Nights==
The Sabbat gave the Camarilla a bloody nose when they invaded the East Coast: Washington D.C. fell to Sabbat Kindred after the Prince was revealed as a Lasombra double agent, with Sascha Vykos taking nominal control as Archbishop (though Camarilla remnants continue to fight on in the city), while Atlanta's Camarilla presence was almost completely wiped out after a Sabbat decapitation strike took out most of their leadership. Cherry on top of the shit sundae, the Gangrel abruptly decided to go independent, with the Inner Circle supposedly receiving a single message from a Gangrel Justicar before they fucked off. 

However, the Camarilla gave as good as they got: a series of co-ordinated Blood Hunts and totally-not-engineered industrial "accidents" almost completely exterminated the Sabbat presence in NYC, while Sabbat Archbishop Giangaleazzo of Milan very spectacularly defected to the Camarilla [[Awesome|by calling the rest of the Sabbat to his mansion for a meeting, giving them an epic "You Suck!" speech while setting the last original copy of the Code of Milan on fire, then torching the place with all the Sabbat still inside]] after he became disillusioned with the Sabbat's love of mindless carnage.

After the Conclave of Prague in 2012, the Brujah (who, frankly, never really fit in anyway) decided to leave as well to join the Anarchs.

==[[Antediluvian]]s and Gehenna==
The majority of Kindred in the Camarilla aren't older than a century or two, and as such, weren't alive when the Antediluvians were hanging 'round. Though they could have been educated in the story of [[Cain]] and the creation of Vampires, many consider it to be a myth, especially in the modern nights and its advances in science. The leaders of the Camarilla have long made it a strict rule to deny the existence of the Antediluvians, or at least insist that they all died a looooong time ago. 

Similar to this, any talk of Gehenna (The Apocalypse, more or less) is entirely discouraged and sometimes even punished. They take this shit super seriously. They do this out of the understandable concern such knowledge could result in making a Kindred paranoid, scared, irrational, and maybe even join a Gehenna cult. While barely any Kindred would admit to believing stories about The End Times, many also grow extremely nervous at the signs of its coming. Funny enough, the Camarilla's stance on all this stuff is one of the reasons why the Sabbat hate them. They use it as proof to say the Camarilla are actually run BY the Antediluvians to serve their own interests. 

==Prestation==
The Camarilla has this little concept they like to call "prestation." Basically, it's a fancy word for meaning 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.' The premise is that if a Kindred receives an important gift or favor, he owes the vampire who gave them said favor/gift. When a fledgling is presented officially before their Prince and recognized as a true member of the domain, they usually engage in their first act of prestation in the process, now owing their Prince.

Some clans, however, such as the Toreador and Ventrue, have Presetation happen even earlier. Favours, boons, and pledges of alliance get around a lot within the Camarilla, to the point where's its just like currency in the mortal world. As there are no real rules or regulations on how they can be traded or used, they're traded around constantly, leading to lines between enemy and friend being blurred. The sanctity of the prestation system is very important to the Camarilla. Especially so to the elders who have spent centuries carefully gaining favors from other kindred and hoarding 'em. If it was suddenly cool for people to just... change their mind, or be able to not return favors, the Elders would be simply fucked. So, of course, the Elders make sure this doesn't happen. If anyone tries to do this, the Elders take it care of it fairly quickly. Instead of killing him, however, they kill his reputation. Using their influence to ruin every single thing he has in his interest. Even if he managed to get through this, pretty much nobody is going to wanna be around him for a long, long while. 

As a bonus side effect, Prestation keeps Camarilla society somewhat stable. Very few Kindred want to lose a debt, and thus keep a careful eye on their assets. The outright murder of someone to whom you owe a favor is, simply put, a very fucking stupid idea. Also a super quick and easy way to get a Final Death, so... don't do that. Also fun to note, if an Elder owes a favor to a neonate (no matter how) he is obligated to honor his word. This helps to create the illusion of kindness and readability, and of normal, human-like interaction, that allows the Camarilla to pretend that they aren't damned creatures of the night. Spoiler, they totally are.

==Blood Hunts==
Most Camarilla terminology is poetic and circumlocutious, but this is exactly what it says on the tin.

The Blood Hunt is the stick to Prestation's carrot. Basically, if a Kindred does something that's ''way'' out of line - [[diablerie]], repeated Masquerade breaches, telling a Prince to go fuck themself, etc. - the Prince or a similar figure can put a hit on them. The Camarilla officially justifies it with the Sixth Tradition (Destruction) and the Lextalionis ("Eye for an eye"), but like Prestation it's one of the ways they keep Camarilla society from devolving into a free-for-all fuckfest; anyone who tries to upend the status quo or defy their authority ends up in deep shit.

While participation in a Blood Hunt isn't officially required, anyone who's in the vicinity of one is generally expected to join in; this goes double if it's a serious offence like serial Masquerade breaching or diablerie being prosecuted. The poor bastard being targeted is typically given until midnight to get the fuck out of the city they're in - after that, they're open to being hunted by other Kindred, as is anyone stupid enough to provide them with help. Diablerising the target on the sly is hardly unheard of, as is settling old scores in the crossfire - while it's officially forbidden... well, can't prosecute you if they don't know about it, right?

Blood Hunts are usually confined to a single city, though particularly severe offences (like diablerie) or top-tier threats like the Anathema tend to become cross-jurisdictional in a hurry, involving multiple cities' Scourges and similar forces. 

The Sabbat nicked off with this concept when they split from wider Kindred society, renaming it to the "Wild Hunt" and throwing in a healthy dose of torturing the target(s) before executing them for good measure. Wild Hunts are also a lot more indiscriminate than Blood Hunts - anyone the Sabbat even ''suspects'' of being affiliated with their target is fair game, Kindred or mortal.

==The Red List==
The Red List contains the Camarilla's Most Wanted, Kindred who are considered a major threat to the body as a whole. They're usually called "Anathema" and their destruction is extremely important if they're seen around. Members of this list are typically powerful, influential, or otherwise extremely skillful. Sometimes, however, it could be a kindred who's just made a gigantic fuck up. 

Because they're such massive threats, they essentially have a permanent Blood Hunt on them that spans jurisdictions. Specialized Archons called Alastors hunt the Anathema, and anyone who hangs with 'em. So basically Vampire Vampire Hunters. If they can manage to bag one, they're given a pretty major boon, sometimes called a trophy. 

Due to the Camarilla looooooving their red tape, there are some requirements and steps for a Kindred to be placed on the Red List:

1. Two Justicars have to agree to prosecute a truly monstrous action

2. Preferably there are witnesses of the deed(s) that have been done.

3. They bring the name of the accused Kindred before the Inner Circle at a meeting.

4. Everyone there has to agree said Kindred is a danger.

5. The Kindred is placed onto the list.

The Red List ~1994 consisted of the following Kindred, in rough chronological order:

* '''Angelo''' (Blood Brother) - Ex-gang leader and crackhead Embraced by a Sabbat pack then experimented on by a bunch of Tzimisce and Tremere ''antitribu''. Went batshit insane after being removed from his brothers and Frenzying, slaughtering the coven then running around the West Coast Embracing (and then murdering) anyone reminding him of his brothers. He got put on the List after ganking a load of Tremere, with the clan wanting to study his control over Frenzy. Eventually bit it in 1999 after being hit with a Blood Hunt by five separate cities' Scourges.
* '''Rabbat/Cloacina''' (Nosferatu): 7th generation Nosferatu who made the mistake of drinking from Black Death victims, creating a disease capable of afflicting vampires (known as the Scourge); this got her put onto the Red List. 
* '''Genina''' (Samedi): 6th generation vampire embraced by Baron Samedi himself, known for her frequent practicing of [[diablerie]] and violent hatred of everything supernatural (including other Kindred.) Looks like a rotting nine-year old, but known to use Chimerstry to look vaguely normal. Taken out in 2000 by the elite Ventrue Alastor Lucinde and a group of Archons, who staked her and dropped her on the Inner Circle's doorstep.
* '''Enkidu''' (Gangrel): 4th generation [[methuselah]]. Looks like a giant gargoyle-dragon thing due to raging way too many times; placed on the Red List due to killing other Kindred durting his frequent Frenzies. Supposedly serves the Gangrel [[Antediluvian]] herself, ghouling endangered species to preserve them and containing one she couldn't handle in his body. V20 claims he was killed in battle near Prague by a 30-man team of Alastors, ghouls, and other Camarilla troops, though none of them actually saw him go down for certain.
* '''Ossian''' (Fianna/Fae hybrid and independent ghoul) - Son of a Fianna father and Fae mother, who got stuck in Arcadia for a century after pursuing the mage who enslaved his mother and getting mindfucked by the mage's fairy ally. He eventually broke out, but the fairy in question cursed him to hunger for blood; properly ghouled after giving into temptation and drinking a vampire nun's blood. The Camarilla put him on the Red List due to his frequent hunting of vampires and the Garou that follow in his wake.
* '''Dylan Bruce''' (Ventrue ''antitribu''): 6th generation vampire created during World War 2, and a member of the Sabbat's Black Hand. Started out as a Sabbat infernalist's boy toy and personal assassin, but went rogue when he figured she was a vampire due to his vehement hatred of them. Has a massive hate-on for the Camarilla due to being convinced they were responsible for his father's death and his personal suffering; put on the Red List for this and his attacks on the Tremere.
* '''Ferox''' (Gargoyle): Batshit insane Gargoyle who thinks that he's a fallen angel and that all other vampires are Satan-spawn that must be destroyed, though he's willing to spare any penitent ones. (Except the Nosferatu, who he's convinced are the leaders of the rebellion against God.) Put on the Red List by the Tremere, fearing that his ties with the Catholic Church risk creating another Inquisition. Makes an appearance in the ''Wormwood'' Gehenna scenario as the Noah ersatz then gets burned to death by God for being a self-righteous fundie dickhead at the end.
* '''Alexis Sorokin''' (Ravnos): 6th generation art thief, Embraced by a Ravnos elder after she seduced him and showed him  her extensive collection of stolen art. Has a massive, mutual hate-on for the Toreador due to their respective attitudes toward art. Put on the Red List for torching a ballroom full of Toreador and art after they offed her sire, but unlike the rest of the Red List, the Camarilla very explicitly wants her alive so they can recover everything she's stolen from them.
* '''Germaine''' (Brujah ''antitribu''): A pro-Revolution double-agent against the Toreador during the French Revolution, who pissed off the Toreador by acting as a double-agent against one of their Embraced nobles. Hates the Camarilla due to seeing them as the new French royalty. He's on the Red List mainly because that Toreador countess's sire is royally assmad over his tricking of her protégé and the potential messes he could cause.
* '''Tariq the Silent''' (Assamite, ''antitribu''): Notorious diablerist and assassin, who acted as one of the Assamites' top hitmen during the Anarch Revolt; voluntold to become the scapegoat for their crimes when the Camarilla quelled that whole fuckstorm. Hates the Tremere with a passion due to their ''antitribu'' torturing him and using a ritual to devolve him to 13th generation. Sided with the Black Hand for a while, then ganked the rest of his Column and vanished after the Tremere ''antitribu'' got fucked.
* '''Valerius Maior''' (Tremere, ''antitribu''): 7th generation Tremere, possessed by an infernalist mage. On the list due to his efforts to form an entire Anathema sect, which would be [[rape|hilariously awful for the Camarilla if it occurred.]] Either a 12th generation vampire due to the Tremere ''antitribu'' getting fucked (Revised) or maybe back to his original self (V20).
* '''Pentaniqua''' (Malkavian, ''antitribu''): Crazy-ass vampire who claims to be the mother of Alexander the Great and a former servant of the Malkavian methuselah Cybele. Known for working with [[Werewolf:_The_Apocalypse|Black Spiral Dancers]] and the Sabbat inquisiton, as well as betraying another Anathema to the Camarilla only to be outed as a diablerist and put on the List herself. ''Time of Judgement'' has her diablerized by Alastor John Trent, who subsequently took her place on the Red List, while V20 depicts her as still alive but even more insane. 
* '''Kemintiri''' (Follower of Set): The very first entry on the Red List, which was created after she murdered and impersonated a Ventrue Justicar for a decade to fund her research into recreating the Spell of Life. Really, really hates her own clan, seeing them as an affront to Horus. She's also completely batshit insane, a side effect of [[Callidus|constantly murdering and impersonating other vampires to advance her goals]]. Literally the single most wanted vampire in the world, and is hunted by basically everyone (Camarilla, Sabbat, and Autarkis alike) as a result.

==Conclave== 
A Conclave is a one of the biggest social events in Camarilla society. It's only allowed to be issued by a Justicar and is usually used as a court for trials, important announcements, etc. Almost like a really important meeting. Because its only used for the most important things, any and all kindred are welcome to attend and share their thoughts and opinions. No matter their age or bloodline (So long as they ain't Sabbat or w/e, of course).

Conclaves have no planned schedule, each Justicar just calls them pretty much whenever he wants. Different codes of conducts are added and removed as they see fit, to better improve the meetings any way they can. Certain arrangements are always made, however, such as seating placement. 

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:VTMClans.jpg|Members of some of the clans in the Camarilla (Note the Brujah on the end.)
Image:Cammyfounders.jpg| The founders of the Camarilla. Ain't they fancy? 
Image:Cammyparty.jpg 
</gallery>

[[Category:World of Darkness]]
[[Category:Vampire: The Masquerade]]