The Traditions
(Please note this is from the BNS book, and has not yet been edited to fit BAMverse)
“Tacitus was fond of saying that ‘In a state where corruption
abounds, laws must be very numerous.’
Nonsense! We Kindred need but six.”
— Morgan Vargas, Ventrue Elder, Prince of Detroit
The Traditions form the source of all authority of Camarilla society and law. In modern nights, the Prince of a domain fulfills the elder role outlined in the Traditions. Much of vampire law and culture springs from the Traditions — presentation is outlined in the Tradition of Hospitality, the blood hunt in the Tradition of Destruction, and the parceling of land in the Tradition of Domain. To this night, they remain the bulwark of Camarilla society and are strictly upheld out of fear that ignoring them would lead to another catastrophic event such as the Inquisition or worse.
Enlightened self-interest keeps most Kindred following these rules simply because it makes too much sense and they want to avoid trouble.
The customs codified in the six Traditions have been in place in some form long before the formation of the Ivory Tower, but not every tradition has always been venerated until the Camarilla enforced it.
These six laws are the universal legislation of the Camarilla and provide the source of much of the tension between the global offices of the Ivory Tower and local Princes. Justicars point to the First Tradition, the Masquerade, as justification for the assumption of previously unknown powers to protect the Camarilla. Princes counter with the Second Tradition, Domain, and remain resolute in their authority over their domains.
Interpretation of the Traditions and customs on how a Prince enforces these laws in a local domain are informally called the Courtesies and the Intrigues.
All Camarilla neonates are expected to learn and understand the Traditions. Ignorance is no excuse when it comes to a violation of one of these precepts. These laws are absolute; any violation of them is met with swift and severe retribution.
Contents
The First Tradition: The Masquerade
Thou shalt not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing so shall renounce thy claims of Blood.
The Masquerade is at the heart of the existence of the Ivory Tower, and many Kindred scholars agree that Rafael de Corazon’s famous speech marked the formation of the Camarilla. Long ago, Kindred could walk abroad in the glory of their power, but times have changed, and mortals have come to possess frightening technology and the power to destroy the world. During the past 500 years, Kindred have struggled to eradicate belief in and knowledge of vampires via sequestering reports, discrediting (or eliminating) witnesses, and disciplining those who violate the Masquerade.
Most Princes define a Masquerade breach as revealing yourself as a vampire to a human, through error or choice, and then allowing said human to escape with the knowledge.
The Camarilla strives to keep humanity in the dark about the existence of vampires. Many elders still remember the madness and slaughter that followed the Inquisition, and they ruthlessly punish any who repeat the mistakes that led to it. The penalty for breaching the Masquerade is, most often, Final Death. Every Camarilla vampire is supposed to be on watch for violations of the Masquerade and stop any breach she might come across. Failure to halt a violation of the Masquerade, or to report such to the appropriate authorities, is almost as bad as breaking the Tradition itself; the Camarilla takes the Masquerade very seriously. As a result, Sheriffs and their deputies constantly scan feeding territories for even the slightest errors in upholding the Tradition. While the other laws of the Camarilla are occasionally subject to looser interpretation, the First Tradition remains inviolable.
The Second Tradition: Domain
Thy domain is thine own concern. All others owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word while in thy domain.
The Second Tradition is the foundation of a Prince’s authority over her domain. When a Prince claims praxis, she is stating to all other vampires that she has the freedom to do as she pleases with her dominion.
Successful management of the domain’s resources is vital to the Prince’s security. The world has grown a great deal smaller in the past few centuries, and the number of Kindred vying for a piece of land to call their own grows with every night. These nights, it’s a rare Kindred who holds a significant domain and isn’t a Prince or a powerful elder. Often, the Prince doles out portions of her own domain in payment for some favor or service, and, in return, expects the occupant to enforce the Prince’s will. Those who expect autonomy in such situations, however, are in for a terrible disappointment.
Recently, some more business-minded Kindred have taken to claiming dominion over certain aspects of mortal activity in a given city. Young vampires now squabble over brokerage firms and software developers instead of four blocks of prime hunting ground. Many elders, rooted in the old ways and firmly convinced of the surety of real estate, dismiss the trend as one more fantasy of youth doomed to failure. Others, though, have noticed the growing momentum of the practice and wonder at what might really be gained.
The Third Tradition: Progeny
Thou shalt 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.
In the Ivory Tower, the right to create progeny is one of the more fiercely sought-after boons a Prince can offer to loyal subjects. So long as she controls the right to bring mortals into vampiric society, the Prince has a never-ending stream of Kindred currying for her favor. Before Princes littered the countryside and domain was free to any who could hold it, one generally sought the permission of one’s sire before granting a mortal the Embrace. As centuries passed and the power of the Camarilla waxed, the term elder came to mean Prince.
These nights, Kindred vie fervently to make their own childer, and the Princes guard the right jealously as population control is one of the more difficult problems facing the Camarilla. Vampires beget more vampires and other sects, such as the Sabbat, have a method of natural selection that stems this problem. Camarilla neonates who follow the Traditions tend to survive and thrive under the protection of the Ivory Tower.
This presents a quandary for a wily Prince. Having too many Kindred in a city threatens the Masquerade and makes hunting more difficult. Too few leaves the city vulnerable to attack. Wise Princes enforce the Third Tradition ruthlessly. Strict adherence to the custom means that the Prince always knows how many Kindred are in her city, who sired them, and what clan they belong to, and thus can adjust the population numbers when required for the security of the domain.
Recently, some Princes have attempted to advance the Third Tradition to cover the creation of ghouls. Some clans, such as the Ventrue, vehemently oppose such measures. Others argue that the new breed of hunters requires stricter rules when dealing with mortals.
The Fourth Tradition: 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.
Embracing a mortal into the world of the Camarilla is a tremendous risk to the sire. The blood wreaks vast changes on a mortal’s body and mind. The flood of power that comes with undeath can overwhelm a new vampire and provoke lapses in judgment that could threaten the entire Masquerade. As a result, a new vampire’s sire is held personally responsible for her childer’s actions until formally released before the Prince. The sire faces any penalty the childer’s behavior earns in full, up to and including the Final Death.
Wise Princes implement this Tradition forcefully, feeling that the Accounting forces young Kindred to take the Embrace seriously and choose their progeny carefully. To formally release a childe, a sire must present her progeny before the Prince and announce before the court that said childe is ready to be released.
This presentation provides the Prince with a chance to interview the childe and determine if the sire educated her properly. This process will usually involve questioning about the Traditions and how they might apply to unusual situations. Failure will lead to a declaration of scandal from the Harpies and possible punishment from the Prince, perhaps even the humiliation of possibly fostering the childe with another vampire or even destruction.
Prince Kathryn Watson of Charleston leveraged this Tradition to create a local Curiosity; she required that all presentations occur within a select season each year. Sires wanting to present a childe for release are responsible for holding a release party for the entire court.
The Fifth Tradition: Hospitality
Honor one another’s domain. When thou comest to a foreign city, thou shalt present thyself to the one who ruleth there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing.
The Ivory Tower is a society of predators seeking to limit their blood thirst via engaging in social customs designed to smooth over tense situations. Social graces keep them from tearing into one another on sight and allow them to establish relationships other than kill-or-be-killed. The Fifth Tradition is a perfect example of this sort of social buffering, as it allows Kindred to move in one another’s territory without immediately coming into conflict.
If a Kindred crosses into the domain of another Kindred, it is customary for the visitor to announce herself to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. At its simplest level, the Fifth Tradition is simply a mandate for all strangers entering a city to present themselves to the Prince. The presentation can take many forms, from a simple greeting to a formal recitation of the Traditions and one’s lineage. In Edmonton, the Prince always demands a service from visiting Kindred. It’s seen as crass, but it’s his prerogative.
In modern nights, this Tradition is generally fulfilled by petitioning a member of the Primogen or the Seneschal to request a meeting with the Prince of a given city and requesting her acceptance. Wise Princes are content to grant this acceptance easily to temporary visitors and to closely question immigrants seeking to establish a new residence.
By Acknowledging a vampire who presents herself, a Prince grants that Kindred permission to stay, dwell, and hunt within her city. By presenting herself, the vampire acknowledges the Prince’s authority and ensures that she isn’t immediately brought down by a Scourge who doesn’t know her on sight.
Some try to short-change this particular Tradition; if one can maintain a low enough profile while lacking the acceptance of Acknowledgment, the trouble incurred is negligible. Some feel that any sort of mandatory appearance at the Prince’s behest might be a trap or a sell-out to the Ivory Tower. Others simply don’t wish to recognize princely authority in any way, shape, or form. Elder Kindred – particularly if the Prince in question is younger than they – many Anarchs, and some independents sometimes see things thusly.
However, by refusing to present herself, a vampire becomes an outlaw, and she moves from the Prince’s jurisdiction to the Sheriff’s — or the Scourge’s.
The Sixth Tradition: 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.
According to the oldest known readings of this law, the Sixth Tradition grants a sire or an elder the right to destroy any and all of her progeny. The Prince, under the Camarilla’s auspices, holds the right of Destruction over any vampire in her domain. It is expected that a Prince shall use this power responsibly and only for the benefit of the domain against miscreants who are a direct threat.
She may extend this right to others, but ultimately the Prince is always responsible for every lawful death that occurs under her dominion. Should the Prince abuse her praxis by using the right of Destruction too cavalierly, she risks the domain rising up against her in a coup to deprive her of this power.
Sires are still allowed to destroy their unacknowledged childer before presentation, but otherwise kin-slaying is strictly outlawed in Camarilla domains. Sires attempting to reclaim the blood via their ancient birthright may find that the Prince refuses them. Once a neonate has been presented and accepted, she belongs to the Camarilla.
The ties of blood are strong, and many Princes will deliberately delay justice in order to accept boons or bribes from sires, Primogen, and other clanmates of the condemned seeking the Prince’s permission to slay a wayward clanmate.
The Traditions are laws designed to protect all of Kindred society. The Sixth Tradition is paramount to maintaining civilized behavior within a domain, especially amongst predators competing for feeding territory. It is possible to petition for – or even purchase – the right to destroy another, but the Prince never grants such a right without a great cost. Creation and Destruction are the two most potent weapons in a Prince’s arsenal, and she guards them jealously.
Any Kindred who seek to usurp the Prince’s privilege and end another vampire’s existence without permission more often than not find themselves on the receiving end of a blood hunt, a command from the Prince for all citizens within her domain to seek and destroy one so hunted.
When wielded prudently, the very threat of blood hunt is the most effective weapon a Prince can wield. Used capriciously, it can easily lead to the downfall of a city. For more information on declaring and enacting a blood hunt, see The Blood Hunt, page 388.
