Camarilla Law

The Camarilla uphold a variety of rules and expectations for Kindred living and feeding within their territories, and the Camarilla Prince of a given domain has wide latitude to enforce their own rules on those beneath them. These rules range in importance from simple etiquette to inviolable precepts, and have accumulated over the hundreds of years that the Camarilla have dominated Kindred society.

The Traditions

The Traditions, also known as 'The Six', are the most fundamental laws governing the Kindred, allegedly passed down by Caine himself. The Camarilla enforces these strictly, although each Prince may have their own interpretations that impact their enforcement in minor ways tolerable to the powers above them. Under the Traditions, the term 'Elder' refers always to the Camarilla Prince of the area you are in.

Be warned, violation of these laws are almost always punished with public execution.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Fifth Tradition: The 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.

Sixth Tradition: The 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.

Elysium

Elysium is a core concept and feature of Camarilla society, and typically considered to be inviolable.

An Elysium is a place designated by the Prince for vampires to meet together without having to fear harm, and are almost always important cultural locations. The safety provided by Elysium provides Kindred with an opportunity to meet, socialize, and politick with one another.

Violence is strictly disallowed within Elysium, and anyone attempting to harm a fellow Kindred can expect to be promptly removed by the Sheriff of Keeper of Elysium and summarily punished (possibly with the final death). This prohibition extends to the use of Disciplines except auspex.

The only exception to this rule is when the Prince may be publicly punishing a Kindred. Executions and other physical punishments are often carried out in Elysium with the assembled Kindred observing.

The Elysium / Calling Elysium

You may sometimes hear of 'the Elysium', this almost always refers to the single most important Elysium in the city that the Prince addresses the Kindred at consistently. In San Francisco, the Elysium is typically the Theatre. When a Prince requests that Kindred assemble for a specific reason at the Elysium, this is sometimes referred to colloquially as 'calling' Elysium or 'calling an' Elysium.

Montmarte Pact

The Montmarte Pact was a treaty made following the Omen War, which grew to a climax when it was revealed the Tremere had used captive Gangrel, Tzimisce, and Nosferatu to produce Gargoyle slaves.

In exchange for peace between all parties, the Tremere agreed to destroy the Gargoyle Creation Rite. While it is commonly accepted that this knowledge was never destroyed but hidden, the Montmarte Pact has continued to be upheld by the Clans Tremere, Gangrel, Tzimisce, and Nosferatu, and thus upheld by the Camarilla writ large.

The existing Gargoyle population continues to be a source of tension for all, with many seeking freedom and recognition in Camarilla society.

Promise of 1528

The Promise of 1528 is a binding treaty between the Giovanni and the Camarilla. The treaty recognized the Giovanni as the official successor to the Cappadocians, whom the Giovanni had diablerized the founding Antediluvian of and been systematically exterminating the members of.

The Promise dictates that the Camarilla and Giovanni practice non-interference with one another's affairs, and that the Giovanni shall rule the City of Venice while respecting the right of the Camarilla Inner Council to meet there annually.

In practice, the Camarilla expect the Giovanni to adhere to the Traditions while in their territory, but leave the Giovanni to their own devices on their land.

Convention of Thorns

The founding treaty of the Camarilla, the Convention of Thorns established peace between the Camarilla, Anarchs, and Assamites. In brief, it partially incorporated the Anarchs into Camarilla society, recognizing them as an 'accepted part' of the Camarilla while leaving them largely to their own devices and domains. While the Anarchs are expected to adhere to the Traditions inside of Camarilla territory, no other laws can be enforced on them under the Convention, except those which their Baron enacts or allows.

Prestation

Prestation is a fundamental system of Kindred society, and refers to the process of the granting, receiving, and owing of favors (known as 'boons') between Kindred.

Establishing a prestation debt or 'boon' is simple: a Kindred either asks another of their kind for assistance in a matter, in return for a favor of some sort at a later date, or a Cainite assists another in a time of misfortune — with the understanding that the favor will be repaid later.

Debts among the Kindred rarely take specific shape. Few vampires request a detailed service - rather, debts are vague and amorphous, assumed to fall into a category the favor-granting Kindred considers their expertise, or something that puts the indebted Kindred at a greater but delayed disadvantage.

Within the Camarilla, prestation debts can be called in at literally any time, so it’s wise to make sure that one has the capacity to honor a boon, regardless of circumstance. While these is no formal punishment for not honoring an owed boon, failing to fulfill a minor boon or above will destroy one's reputation as untrustworthy and result in complete ostracization. Failing to fulfill a life boon may very well see your creditor rescind their original help.

Boons

There are four overall categories of boons, trivial, minor, major, and life.

Trivial Boon

There is no risk or cost to the granter, these might not be written down or tracked formally outside of the owing party. Examples include:

• Helping to find blood for the night.
• Getting an invitation to an exclusive or popular nightclub.
• Allowing one to stay in a haven.

Minor Boon

Minor boons require the owing party to go out of one’s way to fulfill, and may have some risks associated. Examples include:

• Vote in favor of another at Elysium but only if there is minimal social harm.
• Kill an unimportant human.
• Provide refuge to someone in dire need such as sanctuary or sustenance.
• Providing access to rare resources.

Major Boon

Major boons are given rarely, as the risk of them can be much greater than minor boons and the cost can be high even for Elders. Examples include:

• Granting rich hunting ground to another.
• Revealing a major secret.
• Leveraging one's resources towards someone else's agenda.
• Completing a difficult or dangerous task that may take time.

Life Boon

The life boon is a rare prize, usually only given when a Kindred has been saved from the Final Death.

• Protecting a fugitive (who might even be blood-hunted).
• Protecting your creditor from the Prince’s justice to the bitter end.
• Hiding a terrible crime, such as diablerie.
• Saving the life of another vampire from an enemy at significant risk to your own life.

The Ethic of Succor

Within Clan Ventrue, the Ethic of Succor is a special rule. Similar to owing a boon, the Ethic of Succor requires that a Ventrue render aid upon the invocation of the Ethic by a fellow Ventrue that is in dire circumstances. The Ethic of Succor also requires that the helping party not request a boon in exchange for providing aid, on the understanding that they too will adhere to the Ethic if it is ever invoked to them.

Failing to honor the Ethic is considered a terrible stain on the dignitas of the Ventrue that ignores the call for aid, and invoking it in the first place is also impugns the one in need of aid, as it is an acknowledgement of weakness.