At heart, the vampire is a solitary creature. No longer able to see the light of day or interact with others save with the intent of sucking their blood, vampires often cloister themselves, stealing forth at night only to claim sustenance.
Nonetheless, loneliness takes its toll on the isolationist Kindred. This is particularly true of younger Kindred -neonates and fledglings- who also band together for protection from their own elders. As such, gatherings of Kindred, known as coteries, have been a staple of Kindred society for at least the past hundred years.
Elders deride the coteries, as they themselves exist in antiquated havens far from the deadly hand of mortals. Likening the groups to bands of lesser animals on the hunt or, more derogatorily, the brutal packs of the Sabbat vampires, elder vampires fail to realize that younger, weaker vampires often have no option other than Final Death. A solitary neonate may eke out a wretched existence for awhile, but sooner or later, without someone to watch his back, he will likely fall to one of the innumerable other predators of the city. In truth, many elders fear the neonates' coteries, though they would never admit it. Established vampires undermine the growing power of the coteries at every turn, frightened as they are by the versatility and modern savvy the groups possess.
Coteries are here to stay. Though unnatural, inconvenient, often inefficient and almost always tense, coteries provide the only recourse for vampires who wish more than subsistence from their unlives.
This list of coteries is by no means exhaustive -vampires have number of reasons to band together, though their cause should be enough to keep them unified despite their natures. Coteries are like cliques of the undead, and very rarely fit a stereotype completely. After all, each vampire's reasons for joining a particular coterie are as unique as he is. As such, coteries are seldom unified fronts, more often being vehicles for individual vampires to advance their own agendas.
Examples of Coteries
Clan Coteries:
Sabbat Packs:
Gang Coteries:
Anarch Coteries:
Wartime Coteries:
Diplomatic Coteries:
Criminal Coteries:
One of the most common type of coteries, the clan coterie is composed exclusively of members of one clan. Brujah broods are one of the best examples of this coterie, as vampires with the same sire often cling to each other long after their sire has grown bored and left them on their own. Young Ventrue sometimes form consortiums, pooling their resources to better usurp their elders' power bases. Cabals of Tremere are also known to pool resources, these cabals often maintain close connections with the clan as a whole, due to the structured nature of the Warlocks. Horrific nests of Nosferatu dwell under the streets of the cities, away from the judgmental eyes of Kindred and kine. Clutches of Malkavians, united under the charismatic leadership of one of their number, often resemble cults or Manson Family-esque assemblies of unhealthy minds. Even the independent and the territorially catty Toreador sometimes band together to form salons or "art movements" composed of a few inspired Kindred. Family groupings of Giovanni vampires are sometimes classified as coteries, though these are usually led by clan elders or ancillae, as are Assamite assassin cells and Setite cults. Essentially, any group of Kindred with a common lineage may have reason to stick together, though this is less true among the rugged individualists of Clans Gangrel and Tzimisce.
Exclusive to the Sabbat, the pack is the basic social unit of the Black Hand. Composed of several Sabbat vampires, packs ensure their members' loyalty through a requirement that each vampire regularly drink a mixture of all the other members' blood. Thus mystically bound, Sabbat packs are among the tightest and most vicious groups of vampires in existence. Each pack is unique, with its own name, membership requirements, customs, style of dress and rites. Some packs have existed for centuries; these packs have "illustrious" -or depraved- histories, legends of departed members, and bitter rivalries with other packs.
Common among the streetwise and less well-to-do Kindred, gang coteries are true urban terrors. Composed of a group of vampires, their ghouls, and any hanger-ons who somehow convince the vampires not to eat them, gang coteries are the scourge if the inner city. Their rank include brutal vampires, commonly of the Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian and Ravnos clans, with Caitiff sometimes thrown in for good measure. Gang coteries are violent and ruthless, though some defend the rights of drifters and the homeless -who usually end up as members of the gang or its herd.- Gang coteries may be nomadic, like bike gangs or Gypsies, or static, like chapters of nationwide gangs or locals-only outfits. Gang coteries are often involved in local drug scenes and almost invariably spend as much time fighting other gangs and gang coteries over "distribution rights" as they do police.
While the violent tactics, styles of dress and clan makeups of anarch coteries sometimes cause them to be mistaken for gang coteries, the fundamental ideologies differ. Anarch coteries oppose elders' scheming and stranglehold on power, arguing that every vampire should have a fair, equitable claim to domains and hunting rights. Anarch coteries typically comprise members of the Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian and Nosferatu clans, but a few resentful Ventrue and disillusioned Tremere have joined the cause. If a Toreador is seen among anarch company, she's likely slumming or trying t annoy her sire. Anarchs tend to be younger Kindred, and these coteries are often short-lived, as the group accomplishes enough to gain a Prince's notice and is then destroyed or disbanded by a city's elders and their minions. The anarchs have proved remarkably successful on the U.S. West Coast, though their power erodes nightly under an influx of Cathayans from the East.
The Camarilla is efficient in its opposition of the Sabbat, and one of the best tactics is the establishment of wartime coteries. When a city becomes contested territory between the two sects, the Sabbat often sends waves of newly Embraced vampires against its opponents. The Camarilla, with its better organization and greater resources, has found that an effective manner of repelling these attacks is to create teams of neonates and ancillae, who gain the opportunity to impress their elders by turning the tide. These coteries are often composed of diverse members -Brujah and Gangrel warriors, Malkavians and Nosferatu scouts, Tremere magicians and Ventrue and Toreador diplomats. Although normally of finite duration, these coteries sometimes see bonds of camaraderie form among their members who maintain relations following the repulsion of the Sabbat threat.
Sometimes a Prince needs a matter of policy enforced or a matter of urgency attended to, but lacks the resources to address it herself. In this case, she entreats the elders of her city to recommend Kindred to handle the task. After much boon-exchanging and promise-swearing -or the cancellation thereof-, the Prince has a pool of vampires upon which to draw. These are often cosmopolitan coteries, assembled in much the same manner as wartime coteries, but often with less threat of physical violence. Diplomatic coteries often enjoy the endorsement of elders, the Prince and the primogen, but this may work against them if offenders are predisposed against the current regime.
Criminal coteries resemble Mafia families, Yakuza gumi, Seoulpa rings, drug cartels or Chinese tongs. Essentially collections of vampires who want to make money "outside the system," criminal coteries run rackets, extortion, numbers, prostitution, drug distribution -often with the aid of lesser criminal coteries or gang coteries-, "distressed goods" liquidation, car-parts scams, large-scale theft, union strikes, gambling, bookmaking and protection operations. If it's illegal, they do it; vampires' power and influence allow criminal coteries to create a highly profitable mixture of blue-collar and white-collar crime. Criminal coteries frequently degenerate into hotbeds of distrust as various prospects atrophy or change in profitability. Clans involved with criminal coteries tend to be more refined Brujah, Toreador, Ventrue, Giovanni, and the odd Caitiff, though one of the Gambino street gangs in New York is rumored to have a Nosferatu at the head.