The world of darkness :

The world of Vampire: The Masquerade is not our own, though it is close enough for fearsome discomfort. Rather, the world inhabited by vampires is like ours, but through a looking glass, darkly. Evil is palpable and ubiquitous in this world; the Final Nights are upon us, and the whole planet teeters on a razor's edge of tension. It is a world of darkness.

Superficially, the World of Darkness is like the "real" world we all inhabit. More present than in our world, though, is the undercurrent of horror - our world's ills are all the more pronounced in the World of Darkness. Its fears are more real. Its governments are more degenerate. Its ecosystem dies a bit more night. And vampires exist.

Many of the differences between our world and the World of Darkness stem from these vampires, or Kindred as they refer to themselves. Ancient and inscrutable, the Kindred toy with humanity as a cat does with a trapped mouse. The immortal Kindred manipulate society to stave off the ennui and malaise that threaten them nightly or to guard against the machinations of centuries -old rivals. Immortality is a curse to vampires, for they are locked in stagnant existences and dead bodies.

THE GENERATION'S AND CHINE

One way the Damned distinguish themselves is through a combination of age and generation, or how far removed a Kindred is from the progenitor vampire, Caine. Young vampires must prove themselves to their elders to be afforded any bit of status, and Kindred society is often as stagnant and stultifying as the immortal Damned themselves. There is a small degree of mobility, however, as elder Kindred are always looking for assets and allies who may aid them against their rivals in the jyhad.

The greatest status is accorded to the Antediluvians, vampires of the Third Generation. Most vampires consider these Kindred to be legendary - certainly, none has been verifiably seen in the modern nights. The lowest rung of status is held by rank neonates and the clanless Caitiff, those claimed by no clan or with blood too weak to trace a proper lineage.

THE CLANS AND SECTS

If the myth of the Antediluvians is to be believed, Caine sired a number of progeny, who then sired childer themselves. These childer, accordingly of the Third Generation, were the progenitors of the modern  clans, and all vampires descended from them shared common Traits and characteristics. Certainly this is true to some degree, as each clan has a set of vampiric powers its members learn more readily than others, and each clan also has a distinguishing weakness or character flaw by which its members may be identified.

Lineage is important to the Kindred. Though they are loners and typically shun each other's company by nature, the Damned place great value on their heritage. The honor a vampire is due stems from clan as much as generation, and even the most dull -witted Kindred is afforded some modicum of respect if his legacy demands it.

There are 13 known clans, each supposedly spawned by one of the Antediluvians, but whispers circulate through the Kindred world about "lesser" clans or "bloodlines" that branched off from their parent genealogies somewhere in the nights of history. Few vampires have ever met Kindred claiming to hail from these mysterious bloodlines, and few of these have turned out to be anything more than Caitiff with delusions of self -importance. For more information on the clans themselves, please refer to the section on clans.

Sects are groups of vampires that supposedly share a common ideology. They are a modern contrivance but an important one. Most vampires belong to one sect or another; others claim independence, no preference or that they are affiliated with their clan, not a sect. The sect known as the Camarilla is arguably the largest and most prevalent in the modern nights, though its rival the Sabbat has recently made considerable inroads against it and still opposes the Camarilla at every turn. The Camarilla came about in an attempt to hold vampire society together against the power of the Inquisition in the 15th century. Under its iron guidance, the Tradition of the Masquerade grew from a cautious suggestion to the guiding principle of Kindred life. Even tonight, the Camarilla concerns itself with the enforcement of the Masquerade, hiding among humans lest it be destroyed. The Camarillds archenemy is the monstrous sect known as the Sabbat. While the "Kindred" of the Camarilla espouse concealing themselves among mortals and maintaining the tattered vestiges of their Humanity, the Sabbat favors a different philosophy. Not content to cower like beaten dogs from humans nor to act as pawns in the schemes of their elders, Sabbat vampires instead prefer to revel in their undead nature.

THE BEAT AND HUMANITY

Many of a Kindred's first nights are spent learning what it means to be undead. The childe inevitably meets her Beast - the wild, uncontrollable monster inside her that thrives on terror and bloodlust - and either falls to frenzy or learns early on how to subjugate its wild call. The sire may offer aid and guidance in thwarting the Beast, or he may watch as it overtakes his childe, then admonish her for weakness afterward. It is now that the childe learns that undead is indeed a curse - despite the power brought by the Embrace, she is no longer entirely herself and must forever be wary of the Hunger that burns inside her.

Also at this time, a Kindred learns -too late! - to appreciate the emotional capacity possessed by mortals. As a vampire, the childe's heart has died, leaving her a cold corpse incapable of truly feeling anything. Most vampires compensate by making themselves feel, conjuring up memories of emotions long dead. These last vestiges of humanity are all that separate them from ravening rage, from falling to the Beast completely. Desperation is all that remains in the hearts of many vampires, as they realize what they have lost as their mortal selves died.

The unlife of a vampire is a litany of bleak revelations. Many Kindred cannot cope with the terrible new world of night into which they have been reborn and choose to meet the obliterating rays of the sun rather than continue their existences.

THE TRADITIONS  (Also see Traditions Page)

The Six Traditions that form the laws of vampire society are believed to have been passed down since the wars that slew the Second Generation. They are rarely written down, but they have never been forgotten, and they are known by all Kindred in some form. Even vampires who scorn the Traditions know them; though their specific wordings may vary, the intent behind them never falters.

It is a popular Camarilla conceit that a sire recite the Traditions to his childe before that childe is recognized as a neonate. Some princes stage grand spectacles to honor new childer's transition from fledgling to neonate, while others need not even witness the release, trusting the sire with the proper execution. Almost all childer learn the Traditions well before this recitation, but the act is accorded great symbolism and gravity in Camarilla affairs. Staunch supporters of the Camarilla and the Traditions maintain that a newly Embraced Kindred has not truly become a vampire until her sire speaks the Traditions to her. Obviously, the Traditions are quite a serious matter, and the sire is held accountable for the childe until, by speaking them to her, he makes her responsible for upholding the code herself.

Some vampires believe that Caine himself created the Traditions when he sired his childer and that what modern vampires follow are their progenitor's original wishes for his descendants. Others, however, think that the Antediluvians created them to maintain control over their childer or that they were simply a set of common -sense ideas that were upheld over the millennia because they worked. The Tradition of the Masquerade, for example, is thought to have existed in some form since the nights of the First City, but it changed in response to the Inquisition.

A number of young vampires, children of the modern world, see the Traditions as being merely a tool of the elders to maintain their stranglehold on Kindred society, and an antique tool at that. The times that produced the need for the Masquerade are over and done, ancient history. Caine, Gehenna, the Antediluvians - all myths with about as much substance as the Flood or the Tower of Babel - and all for the sake of controlling the younger generations. It's time to drop the Traditions and live in the modern age. The vampires of the Sabbat rabidly adhere to this reasoning, and their scorn for the Traditions is one of the primary motivations behind their constant attacks on the ancient power structures.

Most elders see the young as temperamental adolescents who think they know everything but who lack the wisdom and experience of age. As many of the rebels are anarchs and neonates, mostly powerless and without voice in Kindred society, it should come as no great surprise that they are so wild. However, not every elder takes such an indulgent viewpoint. Many feel that the reckless whelps who demand the Traditions be dropped may get their wish when they bring mortal society down on their heads. Natural selection takes care of a few of these, but such selection has occasionally been "assisted" by a prince exasperated beyond patience with a particularly recalcitrant young vampire. What follows is the most common wording of the Traditions. Bear in mind that this is the phrasing used by elders and on formal occasions. The wording may change according to the clan, the age of the vampire speaking or simple circumstance. During a childe's presentation to the prince, she may be required to recite the Traditions as proof that her sire has taught them to her.

LEXICON

The Kindred have their own dialect of specialized words and phrases. Vampires have a tremendous capacity for double­ talk; what they say often means something

other than its literal interpretation or something in addition to its simple meaning.

THE LONG NIGHT AND THE FINAL NIGHTS : THE DARK AGES

In the centuries before the modern nights, the Kindred skulk throughout the Dark Medieval world,

where the shadowy sides of fantasy and reality meet. Things are a little more sinister, and the wind blows a little colder on a moonless winter's night. But it is an exciting time to be alive, nonetheless... and an even more exciting time to be among the walking dead.

On the surface, little differs from the real medieval age; castles serve as both homes and fortresses to the nobility, while most peasants count themselves lucky to live with their families in drafty one -room buildings. Wars are fought in the name of God and man, and to speak out against one's liege is both blasphemy and treason. But in the darkest hours of the night, undead spirits in the shape of men walk in the shadows ....

The so -called Dark Ages of our world were the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance. The glory that was Rome crumbled, and the roads and bureaucracy the empire had brought to the continent quickly fell apart. Trade decreased, and most people were too busy simply trying to survive to spend time learning to read and write. Knowledge of science and technology common during Roman occupation was forgotten, and a cloud of superstition descended on the Western world.

Times were difficult for the common man during this period. Marauding armies sacked towns and pillaged villages. Cities lay in ruins. Most of the art produced during this time was portable and often practical, such as jewellery and pottery. Even some rulers were illiterate, and only in scattered Christian monasteries did reading, writing and academic learning continue. Most people were farmers, never blessed with the luxuries of art or learning, living hard short lives, more at risk from disease and starvation than from invasions.

But the "dark" part of Dark Medieval means something more and is not restricted to a single decade or century. The shadow that has fallen across much of Europe is a moral darkness, a rejection of the spiritual. Respect for one's fellow man has been eclipsed by the day-to-day struggle to survive. Many commoners obey the laws of God and man more out of fear of the consequences than from any real belief in what is "good" or "right." The vampires who hold much of the power rule unchecked and rarely face the consequences of their actions. But the mortal world will not live in fear forever, and the day may come when the living will rise up against the predators in their midst.

In the centuries that follow the Dark Ages, vampires learn the importance of hiding themselves away from mortal eyes. Inquisitions of Church and state decimate the Cainite population, and only those who are able to blend into mortal society survive.

But those nights seem distant in the Dark Ages. In the minds of most mortals, vampires are creatures of the Devil, to be feared - and either fought by the Church or avoided entirely. With the power of their vampiric Disciplines and a cunning born from centuries of experience, some vampires set themselves up as lords of outlying areas, taking their tithes of blood from any unfortunates who pass by. Other influence the mortal rules of the land, through potent blood oaths and the work of their half-mortal ghouls.

CAINITES AND SOCIETY

Dark Medieval society is feudal, with power and rank dependent upon lands held and military might. In the medieval world there is no such thing as "equality of opportunity." If your family is powerful, then you will have an immediate and tangible advantage over others. If your family members are peasants, you will live in poverty and die young. A man's rank is determined by his birth. A woman's rank is determined by her husband's.

Medieval men divide themselves into those who fight, those who work and those who pray.

NOBILITY

The nobility are the military, landholding class. The great nobles own the land; petty nobles retain tracts of land in exchange for military service and money. Many nobles are trained from their youth to fight and are equipped with fine armor and weaponry. On a day-to-day level, however, they are administrators and civil servants -  running their lands, enforcing royal law, commanding garrisons, working as officers of the law courts or as senior servants in royal households. Cainites who dwell among the mortal nobility have a dual existence. They must function within the society of other nobles and lord over the lands and people of their fiefs. Just as mortal nobles have responsibilities , to their overlords and underlings, so do vampire lords. Yet Cainite nobles also have responsibilities to their undead kind, whether in positions of authority or subservience.

The difficulties of observing the responsibilities of mortal gentility arise from being undead. Vampire lords cannot appear before their underlings and serfs during the day and must arrange all affairs to occur at night. Such nocturnal behavior cannot go unnoticed for long, and that is when superstitious rumors spread among the mortals.

The best way for a Cainite lord to manage her mortal affairs might be through kine proxies or ghouls. A sheriff can be an effective tool at enforcing the laws and seeing justice done, while a seneschal can arrange the affairs of the manor house. Of course, should there be a daytime emergency ....

The fact is, a feudal noble holds stable power when his authority can be directly attributed to a name and a face. When many subjects fail to see the face of their master, it is easier to blame problems on him. Still, there's much to be said for the ominous silhouette of a lord standing atop his battlements, the moon casting his cold shadow across the cringing mortal souls below.

Other difficulties of feudal authority lie in reconciling mortal and immortal power. How does a duke explain his meekness before a mere baron who comes calling after sunset? If a noble's Cainite authority spreads much further than his mortal authority, how does he explain the presence of some of his ghouls in the lands of another mortal lord? And what of a group of rebellious vampires who won't answer to a mortal overlord, but will answer to a lesser lord, who also happens to be the local Cainite prince?

PEASANTS

The medieval masses are the peasants - the farmers who till the nobles' fields. The more fortunate are "freemen," who rent land from the nobles, ~' working their plots in return for heavy rents, tithes and taxes. The less fortunate are "serfs," peasants who are the slaves of their noble masters, who own nothing not even their own bodies. A serf pays heavier taxes and may not marry or move away without his lord's permission; if a serf is assaulted, the attacker must pay a fine or compensation to the serf's lord for damaging his "property." Although mortal social classes have little bearing on Cainite society, it is difficult for neonates and others sired since the time of Charlemagne to recognize the prominence of some vampires over others. Vampires with such limited vision have particular difficulty with Cainites who were drawn from or exist among the mortal peasantry. It is difficult for a newly sired vampire, who is a noble or clergyman in mortal society, to take orders from a vampire who is ostensibly a mortal freeman. That is the paradoxical nature of Cainite society, though, and the newcomer who cannot adapt quickly is short-lived.

Vampires who exist among kine peasants do bear a terrible burden, though. To try to remain true to her former lifestyle, a peasant Cainite must somehow account for her absence during the daytime, when everyone else in the manor or town is working. She is also expected to go to Mass with everyone else and would be missed at the frequent festivals that manor lords often allow their serfs.

A clever Cainite who still lives as a serf could make ghouls of the right people and justify her strange behavior as part of her services "at the manor house." The local gossips could also be controlled to ensure that no ill word is spread or that rumors are actually squelched. Ultimately, though, most vampires who are chosen from the peasantry break their mortal social bonds and seek higher lifestyles. Why be a predator of humans while living a lie as their prey?

CLERGY

The Church is the single greatest institution in the medieval world. Arguably it is the only important institution. The Church runs the universities and cathedral schools of medieval Europe, educating the sons of the wealthy and powerful. It appoints priests

to local parishes, and from every pulpit, those priests tell the people to obey God and their mortal masters. Few people outside the Church can read, nor do they own books. The monasteries and cathedrals of Europe own vast amounts of land and are the most important patrons of the arts. The power of the Church in the Dark Medieval world can not be understated. The lords of the Church are very

wealthy and very influential. They tell people what to believe and bribe and cajole them with the promise of eternal life. An angered bishop may "excommunicate" an unfortunate soul, cutting off a person from the Church and from God's mercy, and only a priest may absolve a person of her sins. Cainites who exist among the mortal clergy have the greatest protection from vampire and mortal opponents, but that protection comes at a price. By posing as God's devout - though usually only through lip service - vampires in the clergy have the power of the Church behind them, the most influential institution in the medieval world. If an opponent ever grows too strong, Cainites in the Church can bring the mortal authority of God down upon them. All the vampires need do is trump up the right charges and provide the right "evidence." Ironically, the Church also provides defenses for its cursed brethren through the power of faith. Mortal clergymen are often unfaithful, but there are some who are not, and their conviction can be enough to stave off an attacker who would hunt a Cainite in his very abbey or monastery. All the Cainite brother need know is who of faith should be avoided among the disciples. The dangers of hiding among the clergy are immense, though. At some point it must mean contact with True Faith. Cainite power must also be wielded subtly for fear of raising suspicion and avoiding charges of diabolism. And the duties of the clergy must be fulfilled to a point that is convincing to other brethren; an obvious lack of conviction would be as dangerous to a vampire as exposure to too much. Vampires' failure to hide their existence properly within the Church may ultimately lead to witch hunts.  

GEOGRAPHY

In the Dark Medieval world, Europe is dominated by a small number of powerful kingdoms. The Holy Roman Empire is the largest state in Europe and covers Germany, northern Italy and part of western France. It is currently in the midst of along civil war fought between two rival Emperors, Otto of Brunswick and Philip of Swabia. The empire actually comprises dozens of small duchies; the dukes owe allegiance to the emperor but often rule their lands as independent monarchs, and it is the feuds between these rulers that so often divide the empire.

The English kings (currently King Richard the Lionheart) rule lands in England, Vales, northern France and (theoretically) Ireland. In 1199, Richard is killed in battle and is succeeded by his vicious brother John. The Kingdom of France under Philip II, perhaps the strongest single kingdom in Europe and certainly the best administered, is expanding by seizing lands in northern France from England. Constantinople, under the Emperor Alexius III, controls an empire including modern‑day Turkey (disputed with the Moors), Serbia and Greece.

Other kingdoms rule the fringes of Europe, including the kingdoms of Hungary, Poland, Jerusalem (actually based on Cyprus, as Jerusalem itself is in Moslem hands) and Scotland; the Principalities of Russia; and the "Empire" of Bulgaria. Numerous smaller kingdoms and principalities also exist, such as the petty kingdoms of Iberia, the four principalities of Ireland, the tiny states of Switzerland and the kingdom of Denmark. Europe also contains one last bulwark against Christianity, the pagan kingdom of Lithuania and the lands surrounding it along the Baltic coast.

Perhaps the most powerful person in Europe is the Pope. The Pope controls his own private principality in central Italy, including the city of Rome itself, but more importantly, he is the head of the Church throughout Western Europe. For while the earthly kingdoms are divided among warring monarchs, all acknowledge the Pope as a higher spiritual authority beneath whose jurisdiction all mortal kingdoms fall. Some also argue that as Christ's representative on Earth, the Pope should have supreme authority on all matters, and claim that all secular rulers should bow down in obedience to him. The year 1198 sees the death of the moderate Pope, Celestine III, and his replacement by the shrewd and domineering Innocent III.

THE MODERN NIGHTS

"Gothic -Punk" is perhaps the best way to describe the physical nature of the modern World of Darkness. The environment is a clashing mixture of styles and influences, and the tension caused by the juxtaposition of ethnicities, social classes and subcultures makes the world a vibrant, albeit dangerous, place.

The Gothic aspect describes the ambience of the World of Darkness. Buttressed buildings loom overhead, bedecked with classical columns and grimacing gargoyles. Residents are dwarfed by the sheer scale of architecture, lost amid the spires that seem to grope toward Heaven in an effort to escape the physical world. The ranks of the Church swell, as mortals flock to any banner that offers them a hope of something better in the hereafter. Likewise, cults flourish in the underground, promising power and redemption. The institutions that control society are even more staid and conservative than they are in our world, for many in power prefer the evil of the world they know to the chaos engendered by change. It is a divisive world of have and have‑not, rich and poor, excess and squalor.

The Punk aspect is the lifestyle that many denizens of the World of Darkness have adopted. In order to give their lives meaning, they rebel, crashing themselves against the crags of power. Gangs prowl the streets and organized crime breeds in the underworld, reactions to the pointlessness of living "by the book." Music is louder, faster, more violent or hypnotically monotonous and supported by masses who find salvation in its escape. Speech is coarser, fashion is bolder, art is more shocking, and technology brings it all to everyone at the click of a button.

The world is more corrupt, the people are spiritually bankrupt, and escapism often replaces hope.

As if this weren't fearful enough, the last few years have seen a quiet but pervasive dread grip the Kindred community. Many Kindred whisper of the Jyhad, the eternal war or game said to consume the most ancient vampires. This struggle has been waged since the dawn of time, but many vampires fear that, as one millennium passes to the next and the curse of undead grows weaker, an apocalyptic endgame is at hand. Signs and portents, many recorded in the prophetic Book of Nod trouble vampires of all clans and lineages, even those who profess not to believe. Whispers in Sabbat covens and Camarilla salons alike speak of turmoil in the East, of armies of clanless rabble, of vampires whose blood is so thin that they cannot Embrace, of meetings with mysterious elders whose vast power betrays no discernible lineage, of black crescent moons and full moons red as blood. All, say the believers, are omens that the Final Nights are approaching and that the end of all thing is nigh.

Some Kindred believe that a Reckoning is at hand, that the powers of Heaven are preparing at last to judge the vampires and what they have made of the world. Others speak of the Winnowing, or Gehenna, the night when the most ancient vampires will rise to consume their progeny, taking their lessers' cursed blood to sate their own hunger. Few admit to such superstitions, but most feel a palpable tension in these nights. Elder vampires play their hands in one fell swoop, negating centuries long schemes in a single mad flurry of action. The war packs of the dread Sabbat hurl themselves at the fortresses of their enemies, for they fear they might not get another opportunity. Cells of Assamite cannibals, formerly held in check by a great curse, hunt other vampires and ravenously drink their blood. Vampires of uncertain lineage are hunted down and destroyed by paranoid elders, who fear them as harbingers of Gehenna. Though patience is a special virtue among the immortals, it is practiced less and less, and the whole Kindred world teeters on the verge of a great collective frenzy.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SECTS

Sects are groups of vampires and clans that supposedly share a common ideology. They are a modern contrivance but an important one. Sects as they are known in these nights first surfaced after the Great Anarch Revolt, a continent‑wide upheaval which took place in Europe during the 15th century. Many elders accept sect Membership grudgingly, deriding sects as "foolishness ‑ the Blood is all that matters." In the nights before the Great Anarch Revolt and the Inquisition, these elders claim, there were no sects at all. Other vampires argue, that this is still true - a vampire in a sizable city may go a decade or more without ever seeing another Kindred, so of what use is a sect? Regardless, most vampires belong to one sect or another; others claim independence, no preference or that they are affiliated with their clan, not a sect. The sect known as the Camarilla is arguably the largest and most prevalent, though its rival the Sabbat has recently made considerable inroads against it and still opposes the Camarilla at every turn. The secretive Inconnu, when it may be reached for comment, maintains that it is not a sect, although it seems to be organized and manages to steer clear of the other sects. On the opposite side of the coin, the anarchs make much show of pretending to be a sect, though they are the first to enlist Camarilla aid when the Sabbat appears at a city's borders. Thus, the Camarilla considers the anarchs to be under its purview.

THE CAMARILLA

The largest sect of vampires in existence, the Camarilla concerns itself with the Masquerade, thereby hoping to maintain a place for Kindred in the modern nights. The Camarilla is an open society; it claims all vampires as members (whether they want to belong or not), and any vampire may claim membership, regardless of lineage.

According to the often -contradictory history of the Kindred, the Camarilla came to be at the end of the Anarch Revolt, sometime in the 15th century. The Kindred of Clan Ventrue loudly claim to have been instrumental in the sect's formation, to which many Kindred owe their unlives. With the enforcement of the Masquerade, Kindred had a means of foiling the Inquisition, a Church office sworn to the destruction of super -natural creatures.

Though the Camarilla is the largest sect, just over half of the 13 known vampire clans actively participate in its affairs. The sect holds meetings attended by active clans' representatives; these gatherings are known as convocations. It also calls periodic conclaves, which are open to any and all members of the sect, to discuss matters of imminent sect importance. Only justicars, officers elected by the Inner Circle to attend to matters of the Traditions, may call conclaves. Justicars are always of great age and rightly feared; as such, their interpretations of the Traditions are heeded out of self -preservation. Coteries of vampires known as archons attend the justicars; meeting an archon is usually a portentous event.

Officially, the Camarilla does not recognize the existence of the Antediluvians or Caine. It reasons that these vampires, if they ever existed at all, have long since suffered the Final Death, and those who allude to them are publicly derided.

THE SABBAT

Rumored to have its origins in a medieval death cult, the Sabbat is greatly feared by Kindred who do not belong to it. The sect is monstrous and violent and no longer clings to any trappings of human philosophy or morality. Members instead revel in their vampiric unlives. Sometimes referred to as the Black Hand, the Sabbat actively seeks the overthrow of the Traditions, the destruction of the Camarilla and the subjugation of humankind.

The Sabbat recruits wherever it takes hold, spreading like a poisonous weed and tearing down the established institutions around it. Unlike the Camarilla, the Sabbat recognizes the existence of the Antediluvians, though it rabidly opposes them. According to Sabbat propaganda, the Antediluvians pull the strings of the entire world, and it is this malignant control they oppose. They see the Camarilla as pawns of the Ancients, and oppose its members politically as well as physically. Most Sabbat express bilious contempt for the vampires of the Camarilla, whom they see as cowardly wretches unable to accept their predatory natures.

Outsiders know little about the Sabbat's inner workings. Some Camarilla Kindred even doubt its existence, believing it to be a rumor created by elders to keep troublesome childer in line -an undead boogeyman. Lurid tales about the sect spread like wildfire, including claims that its members indulge in ceaseless diablerie, worship demons, hunt and kill other vampires and possess the ability to break blood bonds. The only consistent rumor attributed to the Sabbat is its members' apparent love of fire - the sect has a fearsome reputation for leaving burning wakes behind it.

THE INCONNU

The Inconnu are not a sect so much as they are a disparate group of like -minded vampires. No longer wishing to be the puppets of those older than they and tired of the incessant maneuvering of those younger than they, the Inconnu seem to have dropped out of the Jyhad altogether. This is what distinguishes an Inconnu vampire from those of other sects -the Inconnu distance themselves from other vampires and their contemptible machinations.

The Inconnu are rumored (as no one ever really goes looking for them) to be of great age and potency. Many reportedly spend much time in torpor or otherwise sleeping, the better to avoid the Jyhad. Some Kindred liken the Inconnu to the Antediluvians, claiming that they have grown away from the world and into a timeless, inhuman mindset. Other Kindred believe that the Inconnu all pursue or have attained Gasconade, a fabled state of vampiric transcendence.

Kindred who deal with the Inconnu typically leave the encounter with a sense of profound mystery and awe. Although the Inconnu seem to be informal and loosely organized, they communicate very well among themselves. Inconnu know when to avoid Kindred, when to hide from them and when to unleash their significant power to turn vampires away. Their agenda, if they even have one, is unknown.

ANARCHS

Anarchs are vampires who reject the Traditions of Caine and the dictates of the elders who enforce them. Ironically, elders grudgingly afford anarchs some degree of status, due to the anarchs' ability to obtain power in spite of the elders' opposition. Anarchs are also respected for their passion and drive, which few elder Kindred, mired as they are in their age and dissatisfaction, can muster. Ultimately, however, most Kindred see anarchs as jackals, scavenging their unlives from what slips through the elders' fingers. Although arguably members of the Camarilla, the anarchs are vocal in their desire to see Kindred affairs change from the status quo.

GEHENNA - THE END IS NEAR

Although few Camarilla Kindred would admit it, many vampires see the world on a downward plummet and believe that Gehenna will occur soon - perhaps even within the next few years. Frantically piecing together the signs from whatever Cainite histories and mythological fragments they can compile, the Kindred seek to learn the true nature of Gehenna and possibly avert it. Elder vampires know, however, of the implacable wills of the Antediluvians. Should they so will its Gehenna shall come and overwhelm world, destroying every mortal and vampire in a tide of blood and fire.

Even so, the Kindred attempt to foil or aid the jyhad as they see their role coming to critical culmination. The millennial tension that plagues the planet is certainly a precursor to the coming apocalypse, and they Nights are ups us. Unless....

THE STATE OF THE WORLD

Much has come to pass recently in the World of Darkness, and many Kindred are convinced that the Final Nights have arrived. Numerous events portend the movement of the Antediluvians; the world has undergone significant changes, as have the Kindred themselves.

Varying accounts of Antediluvians, most unreliably accredited, have become common, and it would seem that as the world spirals toward its presumed destruction, some subtlety has been lost in the Jyhad. Whether these sighting are actual or not, they reveal an unsettling paranoia and a sense of urgency previously unknown. Stories of encounters with a being who claims to be Caine are also circulating like fever before. Whereas it was once fashionable to mock such preposterous conversation, many Kindred wonder if there may be some legitimacy to the matter.