Anarchs | |
![]() Bruiser |
Superior: the Baron (usually) Eligible Clans: Vampire only Duties: Protect Anarch interests, stand against the yoke of the Camarilla Guides: |
Sticking it to the Man
As a member of the Anarch Movement, you reject the status quo of traditional vampire society espoused by the Camarilla. A stance (usually) taken by the thin-blooded and high generation Kindred(Though, lower generations can still support the cause for various reasons.), whom find it difficult to find any space to exist in the eternally rigid territories already claimed by the ancient elders of the Camarilla.
As an Anarch, you generally will always respect the Masquerade, though your personal opinion on all other traditions may vary greatly, from person to person - As will your more specific morality. Some Anarchs may be ardent followers of Humanitas, wishing to shelter mortals from any unnecessary harm, and others may be the most cutthroat manipulators, willing to do anything for their goals. Ultimately, the only real commonality between all Anarchs is a displeasure with the distribution of power present in the Camarilla, with little else. One Anarch may wish for a "democratic" solution, while another may wish to be just as tyrannical as the Prince whose power she wants for herself.
While, generally, any Cainite can declare himself in allegiance to the Anarchs, you, as a "Brusier", are specifically trusted by the Baron to assist them in night-to-night operations. (...it should be noted that "Brusier" isn't exactly a canon posistion within the Anarchs, and you can just call yourself an Anarch Member, for simplicity's sake.)
To be clear, the name "Anarch" has nothing to do with a Kindred's specific political opinion, be they in mortal or vampiric affairs. An "Anarch" may very well be a conservative Brujah who subscribes to American Republicanism, or a stuck-up Ventrue antitribu who wishes for Cainites to rule over mortals as gods.
An Unbound History
The First Anarch Revolt
The history of the Anarch Movement dates back to the fourteenth century, during the Inquisition, in times before the existence of the Camarilla, before all Kindred were afforded the (few) liberties that the Ivory Tower now grants them. In these Dark Ages, elders treated their childe like pawns, killing them with a flick of their finger, seeing them as nothing but tools - and many would die, as the Elders sacrificed countless childe to stave off the human hunters raging across Europe.
A voice on the ancient Ventrue councils of old, Patrica, a Brujah, expressed to Hardestadt and the elders that they must stand up and fight back against these hunters, and stop the wanton slaughter of the neonates - The elders refused, instead continuing to cower away in fear as they drafted up the first plans for establishing their Camarilla.
Enraged, Patrica gathered her fellow Brujah, sparking the First Anarch Revolt as she donned the name Tyler, marking into Castle Hardestadt, diablerizing the elder after a heavy battle. As news spread, so did the fires of Libertas, like a spark in a room full of powderkegs. Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe, all blazed with the fires of revolution, and countless elders were slain by their own "inferior" childe. The Tzimisce rebels brought with them the secret of Vaulderie, a ritual in which one could shatter the bloodbond placed on them by their sire.
Years would pass, and the Anarchs fought well, but quickly saw themselves beaten into a corner, just as exhausted as the fledgeling Camarilla was. (Though, I'm sure an Anarch would tell you they were forced into the treaty by the efforts of human hunters, not the Camarilla.) The leaders of both sects would meet, establishing the Convention of Thorns, which, amongst many other acts, it "absorbed" the Anarchs into the Camarilla. Those who did not comply with the terms of this treaty went on to form the Sabbat.
The Second Anarch Revolt
In the seventeen hundreds, the revolution spreading across France like a wildfire was not just a mortal affair. It was the second, coordinated attempt by the disgruntled Anarchs to act in open revolution. Whispers spread still of Brujah marching amongst Napoleon's armies, of Gangrels ripping apart the efforts of Austrian skirmishers, of the Ventrue Russians beating back Napoleon's armies from France. None of this may be true. But, in the end, the "good" did not last, and the combined efforts of the mortal empires and Camarilla destroyed Napoleon and his Republic. Disgruntled with the failure of their efforts, many Anarchs fled to the New World, to America, a land still mostly unclaimed by the Camarilla. Seeing California as the most suitable habitat for their living, many Unbound would settle there.
In time, as America "manifested it's destiny", so too did the Camarilla, and before long they held a vice grip over California, assigning specifically hardliner Princes in a deterrence to the large Anarch populace. It was in nineteen forty-four, in Los Angeles, when Prince Don Sebastian treated one Jeremy Macneil with such cruelty to spur him into revolt. After a careful planning and amassing of power, the Second Anarch Revolt began. Don Sebastian was killed, and those other elders who were not fled the city, effectively leaving it to Macneil's control. In but three months, they would claim everything from San Jose to Mexico. Calling themselves the Anarch Free State, Macneil with his coterie would codify a sort of manifesto, the Status Perfectus, a document which declares revolution against the tyranny of the Camarilla, while outlining six basic principles.
This "Perfect State" did not last, besieged constantly by the underminings of the Camarilla from the east, attacked by Sabbat from the south, and, in the 2000s, invaded from the West by the New Promise Mandarinate, a sect of the enigmatic Kuei Jin. One by one, Anarch domains would collapse from the pressure, until Macneil himself, betrayed by a close ally, Salvador Garcia, was forced to flee from L.A., presumably meeting his Final Death, or laying in hiding, licking his wounds. Many Princes would wisely offer "amnesty" to the Anarchs of these now-Camarilla domains, allowing them to act as Anarchs had in Camarilla territory that hadn't been involved in the Free State.
Now, with the Free State essentially dead, it's founder in hiding, and three great adversaries now warring over their territory, will the Anarchs be able to recover? Will they some day raise the flag of open rebellion? Time will tell.
The Convention of Thorns
The Convention of Thorns is the formal treaty which ended the First Anarch Revolt, and the terms of it, and how it may be violated, are crucial to politically manuevering in and around the Anarchs.
- The Camarilla, Anarchs, and Banu Haqim (referred to as Assamites in the Treaty) shall maintain peace with one another, and that all parties of the Convention are expected to enforce its terms amongst themselves, and one another.
- The Anarchs are "rejoined" with the Camarilla, and that all Anarchs are to work peacefully to achieve their political ends. They must become "defenders of all" (though, this really only applies to repelling Sabbat atttacks.) And are to be seen equal to Camarilla Cainites - legally speaking - so long as they do not violate the Treaty.
- If the Anarchs are warred upon, they may retaliate with impunity against any lone Camarilla Cainite, and defend themselves as they see fit. (Of course, killing a Sheriff won't go over very well - Even if he was acting rogue - but you can kill any random Camarilla Kindred who decides to attack you.)
- The Anarchs are allowed to act as they please on their own Domain, provided they do not break the Tradition of the Masquerade. That is to say, so long as the acts of the Anarchs cause no greater problems for the Camarilla, they are free to Embrace, kill, and otherwise do whatever they want, the Camarilla will not involve themselves. (That does not mean that a Baron won't stop you from mass embracing, or that they won't beat you into Torpor for violating their Domain.)
- The Banu Haqim may no longer lawfully commit diablerie upon any other clan, and must accept being thaumaturgically limited by the Tremere, magically preventing any further diablerie.
- The Banu Haqim are assured independence from the Camarilla, allowed to function as their own, lone clan. They may also freely commit diablerie upon their own clan, or Kindred who have left the Camarilla. (Sabbat, for example. Not Anarchs.)