Architecture of the Ivory Tower
“A king is born, lives, rules, and dies. Only Kindred dominion survives the passage of time.”
— Lucinde, Ventrue Justicar
The Camarilla is, theoretically, a federation of domains and the Princes that rule them. In truth, however, there is a constant struggle between the local authority of Princes and the global purview of Justicars to protect the Masquerade and the sect.
The Camarilla was initially a loose association of domains, coteries, and important Kindred in an alliance based on enlightened self-interest. The vigilance and labor required to maintain the Masquerade and defend the Ivory Tower from external threats gradually forced the creation of a global political structure to deal with issues too large for a single domain to handle. While the Ivory Tower claims the entire world under its dominion, there are swaths of the world where the Sabbat or other vampires hold nearabsolute sway.
Global organization between the Camarilla’s various domains encourages travel and ties cities together with boons and common history, thus decreasing the danger shared by everyone in the Ivory Tower.
Inner Circle
The Inner Circle is the secretive cabal, compromised of a single member of every pillar clan, that controls the Ivory Tower. It is the archetypical secret society, inspiring legends for countless conspiracy theorists’ nightmares, exerting its will subtly, with frightening effectiveness. Few know the identities of the current membership of the Inner Circle, but none can deny that these Kindred are the true political hub around which the Camarilla revolves. None are certain exactly how the members of the Inner Circle achieve their position, except simply by surviving to be a ripe old age and ascending to monstrous power.
Every 13 years, these secret masters meet in Vienna to discuss potential threats to the Camarilla and the sect’s future. Many believe that the Inner Circle takes an active hand in guiding the Ivory Tower, directing the Justicars as necessary and shifting the direction of the sect. Those who have aroused the Inner Circle’s collective anger have usually done so in spectacular fashion, resulting in the greatest punishment that can be levied: a place on the Red List, essentially guaranteeing the criminal an eternity-long blood hunt.
Members of the Inner Circle can expend their status namelessly, using the Justicars as their mouthpieces for the expenditure. Often when they do this, they choose to expend the status Ominous, which is only possessed by the Inner Circle, in order to allow the politically savvy to understand where the command originated.
The Inner Circle’s authority includes:
• Appointing or removing Justicars
• Determining the Ivory Tower’s political and social direction
• Ruling upon Camarilla-wide issues and doctrine
• Issuing edicts to alter the fundamental doctrine, law, or custom of the sect
• Defining methods of judgment and punishment
• Naming individuals to the Red List
• Appointing or removing the Imperator
• Holding immunity from the authority of any lesser sect office
• Appointing Alastors to the sect
• Holding global status jurisdiction
A member of the Inner Circle gains the positional status traits Ascendant, Authority, Commander, and Ominous during her tenure in office. Ominous is an NPC-only positional status trait granting the highest level of command; nearly everything that is allowable falls within its capacity. When a member of the Inner Circle expends a status to give an offending Kindred the negative status Disgraced or Forsaken, this status can only be removed by another member of the Inner Circle.
Imperator
Faced with increasing threats from the Sabbat, hunters wielding True Faith, and their own internal strife, the Camarilla’s Inner Circle recently decided to appoint a military commander to lead the militia of the Camarilla. This commander is known as the Imperator.
The Imperator acts as the voice of the Inner Circle on matters of war, coordinating efforts between Princes and the Justicars via his agents, known as the Myrmidons. The office has the authority to grant clemency, for virtually all crimes, to warriors who fight on behalf of the Imperator. A number of Harpies disapprove of this new policy, claiming that it distorts the order of society and weakens the power of the Princes. Few have refused to acknowledge the Imperator’s authority. The Imperator can only be removed from office by the will of the Inner Circle and is immune from prosecution from any lesser Camarilla office.
The Imperator’s authority includes:
• Raising and coordinating a militia to deal with a specific threat or enemy, when sanctioned by the Inner Circle
• Granting clemency, even to those blood hunted or on the Red List, to those who fight on behalf of the Imperator
• Appointing Myrmidions
• Issuing edicts from the Inner Circle changing global policy of the sect, solely for the purpose of protection
• Calling and enforcing a global blood hunt on a sect member who refuses to lend aid
• Holding immunity from the authority of any lesser sect office
• Holding global status jurisdiction
The Imperator gains the abiding status traits Ascendant, Authority, and Commander during his tenure in office. When the Imperator expends a status to give an offending Kindred the negative status Disgraced or Forsaken, this status can only be removed by the Inner Circle, or by a Justicar during a Judicial Conclave of the sect.
Justicars
Elected by the Inner Circle to 13-year terms, the Justicars are the global Camarilla authorities empowered to act as judge, jury, and executioner. Each of the pillar clans of the Ivory Tower seats a single Justicar. Justicars enjoy immense power over Kindred society and the Camarilla. The greatest authority that a Justicar possesses is the power to issue an edict, a formal judicial review that clarifies how a Tradition shall henceforth be interpreted or introduces a new lesser law of the Camarilla. These dangerous vampires serve not only as grim judges and agents of the Inner Circle, but also as leaders and protectors of society, encouraging social discourse and alliances within the sect. They sometimes call and manage conclaves for the purpose of encouraging Camarilla Kindred to host salons, creating a place for chance meetings that might otherwise never occur. A right or wrong word from a Justicar at the proper moment can be better coin than gold or status.
Justicars are regarded with awe and fear. No Kindred dares to refuse them, even if it aids in that vampire’s own destruction. The Justicars stride the Camarilla like colossi, and the shadow they cast is long indeed.
Empowered by the Inner Circle, the Justicars have the ability to ensure that an insane or criminally despotic Prince is formally removed from power before she does too much damage to the Traditions, or turns the tide of battle against the Camarilla. A Justicar can automatically strip a Prince of all abiding status traits related to that office. In addition, a Justicar can announce a global blood hunt upon criminals of the Camarilla. Such a global blood hunt can only be removed by sanction of the Inner Circle. Justicars can also propose new additions to the Red List to the Inner Circle and offer bounties on behalf of their clans.
A Justicar welds great power within the Camarilla during the term of her office, but she must leverage it carefully, lest those she wronged seek revenge once she is released from service. Rarely will a Justicar involve herself in domain affairs until the problem is so great that the Masquerade is truly in danger. If a domain’s problems spill out beyond its borders to endanger other domains, an Archon may be sent to investigate and resolve the matter.
Justicars can be formally removed from office by the will of the Inner Circle; they are immune from prosecution from any lesser Camarilla office. Should a Justicar prove to be too autocratic or incompetent, a clever opponent may humiliate her via a Motion to Censure at a Judicial or Grand Conclave. A Justicar who has lost the favor of the assembly, despite her considerable political advantages, is considered by the Inner Circle to be too weak to be a viable officer; they are usually discharged. Such an event is rare; it has only occurred twice in the history of the Camarilla, most recently to Brujah Justicar Pascek shortly before his murder at the hands of hunters in 2010.
A Justicar’s authority includes:
• Calling a Global, Judicial or Regional Conclave
• Issuing a writ to require the presence of any Accepted sect member
• Issuing an edict to alter the laws of the sect
• Removing the praxis of a Prince, stripping her abiding status
• Issuing blood hunts on criminals and enemies of the sect
• Holding immunity from prosecution from any lesser sect office
• Appointing Archons into her service
• Appointing the host of a Conclave to be Primus Inter Pares
• Holding global status jurisdiction
A Justicar gains the abiding status traits Ascendant, Authority, and Commander during her tenure in office. When a Justicar brands an offending Kindred with the negative status Disgraced or Forsaken, this status can only be removed by the Inner Circle, the Imperator, or by a Justicar during a Judicial Conclave of the sect.
Archons
“Sure, the Camarilla is pretty fucking far from perfect, but it’s the only way to keep a society of supernatural apex predators from tearing itself apart. That’s why I’m willing to risk the Final Death to keep it going.”
— Jessica Kesch, Malkavian Archon
Archons are the empowered agents of a Justicar. They serve as the eyes and ears of the Camarilla, representing the first line of the Ivory Tower’s global justice. Justicars send their Archons to investigate troubling rumors and discover potential problems before there is a crisis. If an Archon finds only minor trouble, she usually gives the local Prince or Sheriff advice on how to handle the situation and a warning that it had better be cleaned up when she returns. If she finds serious trouble, she takes care of it personally. While Archons may employ ghouls or younger Kindred to handle drudge work, most Archons expect and are expected to be totally self-sufficient, only contacting their patron Justicar when their investigations are complete or to present regular status reports.
An Archon is exempt from prosecution for violating the Fifth and Sixth Traditions in direct service to her Justicar. It is expected that an Archon shall ignore the Tradition of Hospitality if doing so would endanger the completion of her task. Should she find cause, an Archon is allowed to kill with impunity in the name of the Justicar she serves. If she finds exceptional problems, she escalates the situation to her Justicar, possibly to the point of a Judicial Conclave. Archons are not immune to the requirements of etiquette or the anger of the Harpies. Should an Archon misstep socially or politically, she will punished just like any other officer. Such social punishment implies that the Archon has overstepped her authority. Often, a Prince will punish an Archon to send a message to a meddlesome Justicar whose work clearly impedes upon Prince’s prerogatives under the Second Tradition.
An Archon can go for weeks without contacting her employer, especially when operating under cover. This habit may have disastrous results if a Justicar fails to realize that something untoward has happened to her Archon.
An Archon’s authority includes:
• Holding exemption from prosecution for violating the Fifth and Sixth Traditions while in service
• Holding immunity from blood hunts other than from Justicars, the Imperator, or the Inner Circle
• Appointing up to two Servires (permanent deputies) into her service (also known as Deacons)
• Holding status jurisdiction directly related to her given task
An Archon gains the abiding status traits Commander and Noble for her tenure in office.
Alastor
An Alastor is an agent of the Inner Circle charged with hunting down the Anathema: vampires who have been added to the Camarilla’s Red List and targeted for destruction by the entire sect. Should a vampire who is not yet an Alastor manage to destroy one of the Anathema, she is automatically press-ganged into service as an Alastor. While the Archons answer directly to the Justicars, the Alastors answer only to the Camarilla’s Inner Circle. Any Kindred (even an Alastor) who diablerizes an Anathema takes the victim’s place on the Red List. Alastors have a mystical red tattoo (similar in appearance to the Ankh of the Camarilla) placed on their right palm to denote their position.
An Alastor’s authority includes:
• Entering any domain in the search for Anathema
• Holding exemption from prosecution for violating the Fifth and Sixth Traditions while hunting Anathema
An Alastor gains the abiding status trait Commander during her tenure in office.
Myrmidions
According to the Iliad, Myrmidions were legendary warriors commanded by the infamous demigod Achilles. The Founders of the Camarilla borrowed this mighty name for their own military commanders during the Anarch Revolt, until the name Archon came into common service. The Imperator reclaimed this name for the warriors who serve under his banner.
If Archons are the Sheriffs of the Justicars, then the Myrmidions are the Scourges of the Imperator. Many of the Myrmidions are former criminals who were pressed into service to earn pardons. While their slates have been technically washed clean, many elders remember the dark crimes committed by these former miscreants and simply prefer them to be out in the wilds fighting for the Camarilla rather than attending court or visiting Elysium.
Myrmidions possess all of the authority of Archons, but instead of the abiding status Noble, they possess Sanctioned.
