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Camarilla Documents
The Traditions
The Masquerade
Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing such shall renounce thy claims of Blood.
The Domain
Thy domain is thy own concern. All others owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word while in thy domain.
The Progeny
Thou shall only Sire another with the permission of thine elder. If you createst another without thine Elder's leave,
both thou and thy Progeny shall be slain.
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.
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.
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.
The Traditions for Dummies
Missing entry
Punishments for Violation of Traditions
Missing Entry
The Treaty of Tyre (1496)
Whereas we, the elders and the Kindred of the Clans Ventrue, Tremere, Toreador,
Nosferatu, Gangrel, Brujah, and Malkavian, gathered together in Brotherhood and
Mutual faith and hereinafter known as the Camarilla, being the True and Only
Rightful Heirs of the estate of Caine, do desire an end to the Unlawful and
Diabolistic Practices of the Rebels hereinafter known as the Clan Assamite; And
whereas the said Clan Assamite does desire that the said Camarilla shall hold
back its Hand from the full and Ultimate Extinction of the Clan Assamite:
Therefore, be it agreed between all Parties signed and witnessed hereunto
that the following Articles shall stand as binding between all Parties and their
Progeny and Servitors, from this date perpetually...
The Clan Assamite shall refrain from taking the Blood of other Kindred, and as
surety of this provision shall submit themselves to a ritual to be administered
by the Elders of the Clan Tremere, whereby Kindred Blood shall be made poisonous
to them.
The Clan Assamite shall remain peacefully in the territory ceded to them by the
Camarilla, which they have historically claimed as their own. They shall seek no
expansion of this territory, nor shall they permit any unrest of mortals within
their territory to spread to other areas. They shall not travel, either singly or
in groups, outside this territory, nor shall they have Retainers or Servitors of
any kind travel outside this territory on their behalf. The Princes of the Camarilla
have the perpetual right to call a Blood Hunt against any Assamite or Assamites
within their fiefs, and need give no other reason for such a Blood Hunt beyond
membership of the Assamite bloodline.
The defenses of the castle of Alamut shall be dismantled to the point where the
castle can no longer withstand a siege or other attack by forces of the Camarilla.
The Clan Assamite shall permit observers from the Camarilla to verify compliance
with this provision further, any re-fortification of Alamut, or any attempt to
establish a fortification elsewhere, shall be in breach of this treaty, and a
worldwide Blood Hunt may be called against those committing the breach.
The Camarilla undertakes to cease all action against the Clan Assamite, and not
to violate the borders of its agreed territory without the sanction of a full
Convocation of the Camarilla. The Clans of the Camarilla agree among themselves
that they shall no longer seek to employ members of the Clan Assamite as hired
assassins, and that those violating this provision shall forfeit the protection of
their Clans and may be subject to a Blood Hunt. The Clan Assamite undertakes to
cease any and all activity of its members as assassins for hire.
The Convention of Thorns
Many years have passed since the start of our current conflict now called the Anarch
Movement. Be it known that on this night of 23 October, 1493, the Jyhad has ended.
The time for self-destruction is over.
This Concordat, bound in the Covenant of Caine by sacred vow, represents an unyielding
vigilant truce between the Kindred known unto themselves as Anarchs, the Clan Assamite
and the free-standing Kindred bound under the title of Camarilla. Henceforth, the parties
shall be recognized by faction as the Anarchs, the Assamites and the Camarilla.
Each of the parties agrees to the responsibility of maintaining peace. Each shall lay its
censures upon any who breach or oppose this sacred Agreement. Accounting will be made of
all parties for violations by them to either the letter or spirit of this Agreement. This
document is legally binding under the accepted Lextalionis of all Cainites as it has passed
through the ages. All Kindred are entreated to accept and gain pleasure from this peaceful
accord.
Be it known that the Anarchs will enjoin with the Camarilla as an accepted part, making
it whole. Anarchs are expected to work peacefully to achieve their own ends. They must
become defenders of all and they shall receive full entitlement to all rights and privileges
belonging to all Camarilla Kindred. All Anarchs shall be accepted back unto their elders
and their formerly denounced clans without any fear of reprisal. Only the most vicious of
atrocities shall not be forgiven. These shall stand written for the Justicars to hear within
one year after which all allegations are no longer valid. All Anarchs shall reclaim all
remaining and rightful property confiscated from them. In return, they must turn over any
war gains taken during the conflict by giving them to their sires or any recognized clan
elder.
Know also that if the Anarchs are further warred upon, this open jyhad invalidates their
responsibility to maintain peace with their attacker. They may act freely without fear of
reprisal from any nonactive members of the Camarilla. Anarchs are guaranteed the freedom
to act as they please short of breaching the "Masquerade" imposed for the protection of
all Kindred from the kine.
It is also noted that any member of any other self-proclaimed sect must openly declare
this before his elders and renounce this relation. Failure to do so will result in the
destruction of any deemed guilty. No Kindred may be sent knowingly to his death by an
elder or sire unless the security of clan or Camarilla outweighs the possible loss of
unlife.
From this night forward, the Assamites shall henceforth no longer commit diablerie upon
members of other clans. The Assamites must commit themselves to this acceptance by a mark
of assurance placed upon them in the form of a thaumaturgical limitation. All members of
the Assamites shall become unable to drink freely of the vitae of other Kindred from now
unto forever. In addition, the Assamites shall pay the Brujah elders of Spain two thousand
pounds of gold in ransom of the five Assamite elders captured committing diablerie. Also,
the Assamites may no longer participate in Blood Hunts.
Be it also known the Assamites are guaranteed complete independence from Camarilla demands.
The Assamite fortress, Alamut, shall be free from any further assaults. Assamites are also
granted, out of respect for their beliefs, the freedom to commit diablerie upon all Kindred
not recognized as holding membership within the Camarilla.
It is rendered that all parties involved and all showing allegiance to any of these parties
shall be held responsible for all aspects of this Convention brought forth here, in the
neutral kingdom of England, outside the hamlet of Thorn, near the town of Silchester. May
Caine hold truth and peace for us all.
The Camarilla Oath
Prince, Archon or Justicar: Who comes before the
Camarilla to swear the Oath?
Pledge: I, {full name}
, of the {name of clan or Caitiff}, come before
the Camarilla freely of my own will and determination, or in supplication to redress past
crimes.
The Witness: I recognize you before me and as a
witness I shall watch you take the oath so that all will know your loyalty to the
Camarilla.
The Renunciation: Upon the symbol and the banner I
hereby swear that I am not tied currently to those who are known as the Anarchs, to those
who are known as the Sabbat, and to those who are known as the Inconnu, for they are not
the Camarilla and their ways bring harm to the Camarilla. If I have been, or currently am,
a member of those Sects I hereby before all who witness renounce forever all ties, boons,
and affiliations with those who are known as the Anarchs, with those who are known as the
Sabbat, and with those who are known as the Inconnu. I am now and onwards only loyal to
the Sect of the Camarilla, and no other Sects may claim me as their own.
Pledging the Traditions: I pledge hereby to uphold
the Six Traditions of the Camarilla, and above all the Tradition of the Masquerade for it
is the guiding light under which the Camarilla leads. Let no Elder, no Prince, no Anarch
nor any other Cainite sway me from my support of these Traditions. I pledge hereby to hold
inviolate the tenets of Elysium. I will not seek to do harm to others upon that ground, nor
influence them with the gifts of Caine, nor seek to destroy the arts and properties held
within. If attacked, I will do what is necessary to secure myself from harm, but will not
seek destruction upon those grounds upon my attacker. I pledge to expand the dominion of the
Camarilla where I can responsibly and in good faith. I pledge to respect the Prince and her
officers which govern over me, to respect the Prince and her officers in those cities I
travel to. I pledge to respect the Justicars and their judgements, and the Inner Circle and
its edicts.
The Enemies: Let the enemies of the Camarilla become
my enemies; those of the Red List, the Sabbat, and the Anarchs shall find no favor in my
domain and city. Those who have been blood hunted, their names upon the Red List, or who
are Sabbat I will seek to bring down and destroy without mercy. The Assamites will know no
favor or refuge in my city, and they will be hunted back to their mountaintop.
Conclusion: These things I do swear before the
Camarilla and its witnesses. I swear by my honor and the gift of my Embrace that I will
strive with every effort to hold these tenets true, and should I fail hope that I am cast
out as Oath-Breaker for my betrayal. Witness: So I have seen you swear, and you are now
Oath-Sworn to the Camarilla, if you break your Oath you will be cast out as a Oath-Breaker
for your betrayal.
Clarification of the Promise of 1528
The Promise, as detailed by Clanbook Giovanni, states only (paraphrasing):
The Giovanni promise to remove themselves from the affairs
of other Kindred. The Camarilla will not interefere in the affairs of Clan Giovanni.
This can be clarified as follows:
Terms:
Giovanni: Includes embraced members of Clan
Giovanni, as well as any mortal member of the extended families of the Giovanni (inc. Milliner,
Dunsirn, etc etc), Giovanni ghouls, and mortal business associates, alive or dead.
Camarilla member: Any acknowledged member
of the Camarilla, and including also kindred under the accounting of acknowledged Camarilla
members, and their ghouls, and mortal business associates.
Interfere: To intervene unasked in the affairs
of others and often in an impudent or indiscreet manner. Interfere implies action that seriously
hampers, hinders, or frustrates.
Points:
- The Giovanni are free to reside wherever they see fit. They may buy a house anywhere, and
live in it, without needing approval from a Prince. It is often considered polite to inform the
Prince that you are in their city, and this is often a prerequisite for being invited to Court. A
Prince cannot demand that Giovanni leave their city - this interferes in the Giovanni's affairs.
They can demand that no Giovanni may attend their court.
- The Giovanni are free to conduct their businesses as they see fit. They may buy companies and
run them, without needing approval.
- The Giovanni are permitted to attend Court, and other Camarilla events, if invited. Intruding
without invitation could be considered interference. It should be noted that "Court" is the event,
and "Elysium" is a place. Court is frequently held in Elysium, but this is not a requirement.
- The Giovanni are free to conduct business and make deals with other Kindred. They are free to
both give and receive boons1. Note, such deals cannot be directed against the Camarilla, or its
members. It is ok to make a deal to take over a company together. It is not ok to make a deal to
kill someone, or put someone in the Prince position.
- The Giovanni are free to conduct their own affairs, as long as those affairs do not interfere
with the Camarilla. Breaking the Masquerade, by definition, interferes with the Camarilla's primary
purpose. A family member destroying another family member does not, nor does a family member embracing
a family member. (i.e. - Giovanni need not get "Right of Destruction", or "Right of Progeny" for their
own family, these are Giovanni affairs2.)
- The Giovanni may enter into deals with non-Camarilla kindred, as long as such deals are not
directed at or against the Camarilla, or its members.
- The Camarilla is free to uphold the social and political institutions of Kindred, enforcing
their traditions to the extent that they do not interfere with the affairs of the Giovanni.
- The Camarilla cannot be held responsible for violations of the Promise if they are unaware that
a Giovanni was involved. Any Giovanni who chooses not to notify a Prince that they're visiting a
domain does so at their own risk, and with no protection from the scourge of the domain.
- Telling a Camarilla member who wanders into Giovanni territory that they can no longer claim
their status, or that the Giovanni have right of destruction over them is just as much a violation
of their rights as it is for them to claim destruction over the Giovanni, or to tell the Giovanni
that you may not claim their Family name in their domain.
Violations of this promise should be handled by the authorities of the sect/family whose member
violated the promise. Giovanni are to be brought to their Don for punishment, Camarilla members
to their Prince. In the case of a Don/Prince breaking the promise, the matter should be escalated
to the Director/Archon level, or higher. Repeat transgressions by a member can be considered evidence
that a good-faith effort to punish the transgressor has not occurred, and should also be
escalated3.
The Sabbat: The Sabbat has no such non-involvement
treaty with the Giovanni. They have never promised to stay out of Giovanni affairs, nor the Giovanni
to stay out of theirs. The Giovanni are free to conduct business with the Sabbat at their own risk.
Flaunting this to Camarilla authorities isn't smart.
Conclusion: The Giovanni have certain long-term
plans that are facilitated by avoiding other kindred, who would certainly attempt to stop them if they
knew. Venice is in Europe, which is a highly Camarilla area of the world. It should go without saying
that while Giovanni strive to maintain neutrality, the Camarilla are a little more favored in dealings
than the Sabbat. In the clanbooks and WW history, during the War for New York, the Giovanni helped the
Camarilla take the City. This just backs up this point and is not OWbN history.
Footnotes:
1. The Camarilla bases boons on Status, while
boons predate the Camarilla. Giovanni can accept any boons offered too them, the more, the better.
Giovanni can offer boons, but, as they do not hold status, many Camarilla members will not accept
a boon from a Giovanni. The Family elders will not be too happy with a member of the family who gets
themselves into excessive boon-debt.
2. While Giovanni don't need permission
from any Prince to embrace or destroy members of their own Family, they should probably talk to their
Don about these things before taking them into their own hands.
3. OWbN Precedent for this has been set when
Pedder overturned bloodhunts against Giovanni, claiming it was not the place of the Camarilla to deal
with Giovanni issues, and that the elders of the Giovanni better take care of it.
- Paraphrased from Ventrue Directive Library
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