Founded Covens and Nomad packs.

By Reverend K.

Nomad packs:

Nomad packs tend to go from place to place as they will. They leave carnage in their wake where ere they step and few can stop them from prowling the highways and byways of the world. Most packs tend to number from 6-10 and in fact it is thought that a pack with 13 members is doomed for destruction. Large packs cannot travel light nor leave fast enough should they draw the ire of local lupines. in the late stages of a siege it is not uncommon for 10 small packs to descend on a beleaguered city, traveling separately. If they traveled together they would be easily stopped.

Packs tend to reproduce by budding. If a pack becomes too large for it's own good. It is incumbent upon the pack leader to choose a vampire to become the new leader and then he chooses which vampires belong to that new leaders pack and the next night they part ways. This often a good way to get rid of troublemakers who are too stubborn to die. In some packs it is considered traditional for the pack leaders childe to become the leader of the baby pack but this is hardly common practice.

Nomad pack tend to become personality cults for the eldest and/or toughest in their midst. Life among a nomad pack is Darwinian to say the least, but for those who struggle to be the alpha vampire,their existence is a constant trial that keeps their knives sharp.

By tradition, the pack leader is responsible for the direction of travel and the mode of transport. On the flip side, The pack priest is responsible for finding haven each night. Since even the most megalomaniacal vampires don't want to be saddled with both chores this has the tendency to keep both roles in the pack intact. It is very rare for a nomad pack to have a leader who also acts as the pack priest.

Another role that is common among nomad packs is that of the scout. Most nomads are more likely to be without a priest than a scout. Packmates with Obfuscate,Animalism and Auspex are often sought or are pressed into duty. Since scouting is dangerous duty it is given additional status and scouts are often left alone by the other pack members out of respect.(for their toughness and craftiness if nothing else) This suits most Gangrel and Ravnos Antitribu just fine and often isn't a problem for Nosferatu Antitribu who go on the road.

Conveyances can be a nightly problem and although mobile homes,panel vans and mid-sized trucks are prized. Some vampires far prefer the freedom that motorcycles represent. On the road, disciplines like Protean and Serpentis are extremely prized for their ability to enable a vampire to escape the rays of the sun. Protean users simply earth meld while Serpentis users assume snake form and burrow into the sand. in some cases, it is possible for a Sabbat to curl up inside the saddlebags of his own Harley.

Pack leaders prize their freedom and the freedom of their fellows. Nomads mix well with one another because for the most part they don't have centuries old interclan rivalries tearing them apart. oftentimes,the only clan mate they have ever had contact with is their sire who, as like as not, is in the pack with them.City vampires tend to take that "clan" shit more seriously and look what it's done to them.

Another element of Nomad life is the tendency for Nomads to rise in generation quickly as they go from place to place diablerizing their fellow kindred. This tendency is balanced by the fact that as the packmates survive and get older and more powerful, there is the very real tendency to get more cautious. the open road begins to look more and more dangerous as you have more and more to lose. Some begin to look for a place to settle and throw in with with seiges on cities as a way carve out a territory to call their own. Vampiric homesteading as it were. Those few real elders who still travel the open road do because they pissed off other much more powerful vampires or for reasons that are entirely personal.

Make no mistake: Traveling the open road is dangerous. the lupines and other less savory creatures make sure of it. Nomad Sabbat stay alive by traveling fast,hiding well,running when possible and fighting like hell when it's not. A lone Lupine can often kill a number of vampires if it's not put off balance tactically very quickly....and those things hunt in packs. Wise nomad packs keep maps of places to avoid. Some have been passed down for decades.other's rely on mnemonic tricks and little songs to remind which places are unsafe.

Theoretically, Nomad pack are entirely at the beck and call of the consistory.By custom, the pack priest must report to the local bishop of whatever place he is at and that bishop can give the pack orders. For his own part, the bishop must provide sanctuary and feeding privileges to any pack so commanded so it's kind of a trade off. Also by tradition, while the Bishop may command a pack to leave his city, he may not command them to stay.Some of the conservative faction would dearly like to change this.

Most pack leaders and priests who wish to sidestep this sort of duty find ways to stay out of the cities. After all, what is the bishop going to do? come out here and get us? Ha!

Staying out of cities tends to make nomads keen hunters and woodsman but it also makes them cranky as hell. City stays are looked at as a sort of shore leave by most rank and file nomads. Although vampires don't need food or water or medical supplies or most other camping necessities. if for no other reason, they often are forced to stop in an urban area for things like bulk ammo and other sundries.a real shower is considered a pearl beyond price after a month or two on the road.

Traditions and customs carry a lot of weight in nomad packs. Without some of them the natural tendency would be to devolve into cannibalistic beasts and nobody wants that. Vaulderie and Ritae are observed rigorously and justice is swift and brutal. Pack responsibilities are considered life and death matters as well as religious obligation and every vampire hunts and pulls his weight. Conflicts that stop short of Monomacy are often settled in an old fashioned way. Two pissed off vampires are handcuffed together. each is given a razor sharp knife and their mouths and noses are taped shut. Packmates score the fight and beat the shit out of the winner if it looks as if he's gone over the edge anyway. Sometimes the winner gets his ass beaten even if he doesn't frenzy. Decision by trial of combat is considered final and a sign from Caine besides.

As a nomads humanity begins to wane he begins to look around for something to prop up his sanity from the depredations of the beast. if your pack priest is on a path that is attractive to you then perhaps he can tutor you in the philosophical underpinnings necessary to take on that path. if your pack priests path is repellent to you then you may have to seek instruction in the cities that you visit.

Sadly, Nomads who are kept away from the cities for whatever reasons tend to fall to the beast.

Nomads consider Founded Coven vampires to be soft and weak. The fact that they lean on the revenants for help is proof enough. Nomads also consider the Covens prissy and snobbish and out of touch. By and large, most nomads fall into the Loyalist faction. Panders are also prevalent and the rest shake out along the lines of moderate or status quo. The more esoteric and more politically powerful stay ensconced in their safe little cities with the exception of the Black Hand. The Black Hand occasionally orders some members to join or start nomad packs in order to increase the power and flexibility of their vampiric militia. The Hand commands respect among the Nomads.

Infernalism is like a low grade rash that runs across the nomad packs.The more powerful practitioners are always in the cities but the Sabbat inquisition simply doesn't have the time or manpower to hunt down suspected infernalist nomads...who are goddamn tough to begin with. In terms of the individual infernalist. it all depends on how tolerant your pack leader or your pack mates are.

As you can imagine, if you are a vampire that cannot fight you are considered potential food by the others. it is for this reason that the bulk of nomad packs is made up of Brujah,Ravnos,Gangrel, Serpents, tough Lasombra, dangerous Malkavians, and Nosferatu who don't buy all that "Nicktucku" shit. Assamites are always welcome and in some packs are considered lucky. Panders are very common as are Ventrue Loyalists. Ventrue Loyalists are the most likely to romanticize the open road as some sort of knightly quest. This tends to draw ridicule from more pragmatic vampires (read: everybody else)

Tzimisce, being as territorial as they are, rarely move. Kyasid are even more so. The likelihood of finding a nomad toreador is so low that most young nomads never even heard of them.

Covens:

Covens are an entirely different matter. As a siege winds to a close, those long term sleeper agents who prepared all the ground work usually end up in the catbird seat politically. Their pack leader often takes the title of Bishop and can begin to divide up the city into protectorates. By custom, the newly appointed bishop may not be challenged for one whole year as the Sabbat consolidates it's hold on the city. The only way a city's new bishop can be removed in this first year is by the archbishop (this is only done in the case of gross incompetence or proof of infernalism,or tolerance of same on the part of the new bishop. sadly, the occasional naked power grab by an archbishop is also possible.)

Protectorates are often given to Nomad packs who wish to settle and who participated in the siege. Protectorates are given over to the pack in return for fealty to the bishop and protection of that section of the city. if you can't protect that corner of the city. the bishop will rescind your charter and give it to a pack who can. it's just that simple. Naturally this an incredibly unpopular move and a wise bishop will use it sparingly and only when it is obvious that not replacing the offending pack actually endangers the city. Bishops who pull this stunt too often make too many enemies.

Another element of a developing city is the advent of Houses. This practice harkens back to medieval guilds and is one of the ways that like minded vampires can become Covens.

The way it works is this. The most common way for a House to be created is for a bishop to create a charter for it. Although it is not uncommon for like minded vampires to petition a bishop for the creation of a house charter.(though this usually incurs some sort of debt from that bishop.) That House then becomes a pack with limited domain rights and the right to unlimited access to their own special bailiwick. Others are kept out of their bailiwick by bishopric fiat.

To put it another way. Protectorates hold territory. Houses hold power.

Houses break down many different ways. Large numbers of followers of the path of death and the soul will constitute themselves into the House of Bones. Their bailiwick will be administering the path to potential followers,looking after the temple (if there is one) and spying on the Giovanni.

Apt Ventrue and Lasombra can constitute a House of Gold which offers banking services for the undead, care and feeding of undead business enterprise, Protection of same from Camarilla depredation and looking after the Grimaldi Revenants.

Toreadors create the House of Art, which is the hub of art mafia activity and often doubles as the Cathari temple house.(thanks to Oakthorne's cool article on Sabbat temples.)

Often the Bishop will insist that the first House made will be the House of Answers which is often peopled by Malkavian seers,Kyasids, learned Nosferatu, and Tzimisce of all types.

There is almost always a House of the Hand. The possibilities for types of house are limitless. Some houses have formed themselves into larger organization with chapters in multiple cities. Some more possibilities for types of Houses will appear at the end of this article.

A bishop that tries to rescind the charter of a House often is committing political (if not actual) suicide. Houses become quite large over time. They perform necessary services for Sabbat in general and for the bishop in specific. Houses may indulge in favor brokering and also have access to revenants. Those who would move against a House do so at their peril. It might anger the Consistory and all other who have come depend on their services. Thus do Houses perpetuate their security.

It would seem that Protectorate Covens are far less powerful than House Covens but this is not necessarily so. Houses have very limited domain rights.usually limited to within a block of their buildings. Thus, hunting anywhere else is technically poaching. and since Protectorate Covens are the building blocks of any city's defense. a wise House Coven will offer it's services free to Protectorate Covens that surround or are adjacent to it.

Houses gain their membership in a much less haphazard fashion than Protectorate covens do. Vampires who have a particular bent may want to leave their pack and join the Coven. Orphaned Sabbat (I.E. lone survivors) are often assigned by the bishop into a House appropriate to his skills and talents. Houses also grow through the siring of childer. and at times become the roosting places of defecting Camarilla vampires.

Houses and Protectorates tend to be like nomad packs insofar as they tend to be run by one powerful vampire and there is a bit of vying for position. the only difference is that the political games tend to be much less violent and more complex. City Vampires tend to be older,and more sophisticated than their nomad cousins. and if they started out as nomads. They are 3 times as dangerous. it also bear keeping in mind that the average Coven member might have vinculums with both his house and his pack (if these are not the same) and if he is a member of the priesthood probably with the Bishop himself as well. This bewildering web of Vinculums is the only thing keeping the whole thing from crashing down into internecine diablerie.Monomacy is a rare thing in the city. While Diablerie becomes much rarer for Coven Vampires. it is easier to get old and powerful. it should be noted that in the cities it is much easier to enforce things like the Code of Milan and the Purchase pact.

Unlike Nomad packs, Houses and Protectorates may have a bewildering number of laws,bylaws offices,committees traditions,ritae, and if some are honored more in the breach... Oh well.

Most Houses have at least a War-leader who acts as the sergeant at arms in peace, the commander in war, and the security chief at all times. Many Houses have a master librarian and some even go so far as to elect ambassadors to other Houses. The Coven Priest is usually looked at as the wise man/consigliere/spiritual leader of the House or Protectorate. While the Pack leader is usually looked at as the chief executive officer. Conflicts are often settled by arbitration by the pack leader which might involve any number of punishments from extra chores to being turned over to the Coven Tzimisce. Trial by combat is frowned on and considered counterproductive except among those of the Path of Honorable Accord.

Nomad packs are viewed with suspicion if not downright fear by Founded Covens. Nomads are tough, seem pissed, and get stuck with all of the scutwork the bishop can shove off on them. Pity the poor bastards who have to board them while they are in town.(a sure sign you are on the bishop's shit list.) Never mind that this is total hypocrisy from those who used to walk the open road. They KNOW how dangerous their brethren can be.

A city vampire's life can be a dangerous one with house allegiances,clan rivalries,protectorate battles for turf.political intrigues,ritae and customs not to mention goddamn antediluvians! Politically, Coven vampires lean further towards Moderate, and Ultra Conservative side of factions and some of the factions literally can't exist outside of cities.

As infernalism is a low grade rash among the nomads it is a fever among among the Covens. eventually it almost always burns itself out but may infect many along the way.

Tensions:

Since both sides consider the other side crazy there is inevitable tension. In conflicts between nomads and city vampires the nomads almost always take it in the pants but then of course they have their ways of getting even. It usually come down to a matter of some city vampire who started some shit and then had fun watching the nomads get put in their place by the bishop only to get himself curbstomped some night by some pissed off nomads. Since nomads tend to stick together, it may not even be the same pack. Let's say the nomads meets some fellows on the road heading into a town they've just left. if the name of some vampire who fucks with nomads comes up..."Oh well. we were just talking. no law against that."

Ritae can be a tense time when they are especially large and include coven and nomad vampires.Each side will try to outdo the other and when the firedance is involved this can get messy very quickly. for this reason and this reason only, these sorts of ritae start with the Vaulderie right off.Bishops who don't do this are probably looking to eliminate some enemies.

Nomads can sometimes upset the delicate balance in a Sabbat city mainly because they aren't used to disguising what they are from the mortals. While this is far from an infraction it does create difficulty for house vampires who have to go around behind the nomads who are lodging in their city and keep them from tearing their gauze-thin masquerade down. This practice is usually referred to as "Pooper-scooping" and it rankles the city vampires to their core because they can't really say anything about it, lest the be perceived as weak.

End of The Road:

Some Vampires never tire of the open road. but most do. These vampires,many of whom are rough and unsophisticated come to cities and decide to settle in either a protectorate or house that will have them or they participate in a siege which will enable them to carve out a niche for themselves. Inevitably a change takes place. the city is just as dangerous as the road but in a different way. Politics and manipulation become the survival skills and the nomad has to become sophisticated fast or he will be eaten up and spat out. Nomads who do this are usually considered sellouts by their brethren (although there are exceptions.) It should be remembered though that any city vampire you meet could have been a nomad once, and they rarely forget how to be tough, should the need arise.

Some More types of Houses:

The House of Lies (shores up the masquerade in Sabbat held cities and engages in counterintelligence against Camarilla spies.Serpents of the Light excel at this sort of thing

The House of knights (Templar training and temple house of the Path of the honorable accord. generally a big roosting place for Ventrue Antitribu and elder style Tzimisce that still consider themselves nobility)

The House of Caine (center for Noddist activity. often also the roosting place of the ranking Sabbat in the town.

The House of Madness ( freaks and Malkavian Antitribu. Those that the Bishop would destroy, they first make mad.)

The House of Goratrix (now defunct ...probably most of them are still jam-packed with all kinds of thaumaturgical learning and stuff...too bad they are warded against all kindred intruders.)

The House of Agonies ( for those who are into the suffering of others this is a combination art studio,general use laboratory, and night club with performance art.)

the House of Garbage ( town hall for Nosferatu Antitribu)

The Marketo di Sangria (a niche market often run by panders who cater to odd tastes in blood and to vampires who hate hunting or who hate begrudging the time taken away from their plots or studies. Auctions are held every weekend.