Status is the measure of a vampire's reputation, and is measured in Traits. Most often, it usually stems from an office held among the local Kindred, from Prince to Primogen to Scourge. Such posts are hard to attain, and those that do hold them tend to defend them zealously. However, a vampire may also gain Status by being influential in the city's business, performing extraordinary deeds or by simply catching the right eyes at the right time.

The Prince is the ultimate authority when it comes to status within a given city. The individual in this position holds immense sway over those under him/her, being able to grant and remove status almost at will. The Prince's word is final when it comes to judgements based on Status (as it is with pretty much anything else within the city) and cannot be overruled by any within his domain (of course those above him outside the city are another matter entirely).

The only individual who comes close to matching this amount of power when it comes to Status is the Lead Harpy and to a lesser extent, his/her Assistants. Their judgements can only be overruled by the Prince and no other within the city. The Harpies are considered the caretakers that maintain the intricate and complicated pecking order that is known as Status in every city claimed by the Camarilla. The Harpies are the ultimate vampiric social clique which makes them despised by the majority of vampires (although only the stupid would show this sort of animosity outwardly it they wish to survive long).

Though many an Elder or position holder has felt the wrath of Harpies at one time or another, they have a vested interest in supporting them. The elaborate protocols and etiquette that is Status keeps them in positions of power and relatively safe from harm. This becomes even more important with each passing decade as they become more and more out of touch with the ever changing mortal world. Without these rules it would only be a matter of time before either the neonates would overthrow them or they would slip up and be discovered by mortals because they have not been able to keep up with the major scientific advancements we take for granted (try to explain how a computer works to a vampire who was embraced at a time when blacksmithing was state of the art).

You can either continue to scoll down the page or use the links below to jump to the section you want.

• Gaining and Losing Status
• Interacting with Others
• Using Status
• Who Can Grant Status
• Who Can Remove Status
• Status Traits

Gaining and Losing Status:

Role playing out the granting and removing of status is very important. You should always talk to the Harpies first before making any public announcements regarding the granting or removing of Status. By doing so you accomplish three important things;

(1) To make sure that rewarding status is applicable to the situation (Hopefully this will keep "questionable" status awards to a minimum).

(2) This will give them time to spread the proper rumors to the general populace to justify the granting or removal of a Status Trait (the reasons why someone is rewarded or stripped of status should be known by all, otherwise the whole idea of status makes little sense).

(3) To show your support of the Harpies.

Don't be surprised if the Harpies (or the Prince) reverse your decision to grant status if you bypass these rules. The best time to announce the granting (or removal) of status is when alot of characters are around in Elysium (like when the Prince is holding Court for example). As a rule of thumb you should expect to wait till the next session to make the announcement (of course there will be some times when this does not occur... usually when it comes to removing status).

All vampires who have been officially "accepted" by the Prince acquire a single Status Trait: "Acknowledged". Failure to possess this Trait means that a character cannot expect even the most simple favors from local Kindred, and he may even be hunted by the Scourge if the Prince discovers his presence. The Prince is the only Kindred in a city that can grant or remove this particular Status Trait.

Characters may gain Status by helping uphold the Traditions (especially the Masquerade), doing favors for the Prince or an Elder, saving the unlife of a prominent Kindred, or defeating a menace to the city (Sabbat, Garou, etc). A City Official may also recommend a Kindred for Status if she has been particularly useful or has assisted them in their work. On occasion, the prominent may award Status to those who hindered their enemies or overthrew them, but such notice may not always be a good thing.

Characters may lose Status as easily as they gain it (if not more so). Falsely accusing another vampire of a crime, violating the Traditions, backing out of a boon owed, committing diablerie or refusing to recognize the Status of another Kindred ar but a few of the ways to earn such displeasure. Of course, this need not happen if there are no witnesses to report such violations.

A character may never gain more than one Status Trait per session. There are two exceptions to this rule: if the Prince rewards or sanctions an additional Trait, or if the Status Traits are conferred when a Kindred assumes an office in Kindred society. However, a character can lose more than one Status per session.

Interacting with Others:

It not only can become quite difficult to know where one stands in comparison to others, but also how one should treat others and expect to be treated. The following table is a loose "interpretation" of how the various amounts are viewed (i.e. political power and prestige within vampiric society) on the city level. Please keep in mind that this is more of an abstract concept and does not take into effect factors such as Generation and Age (so it is possible for an 8th Generation 600 year old Elder to have only 3 status, this doesn't mean he is a neonate... it just means that he is not nearly as respected in the city as one would expect).

• 1 to 3 Points of Status - Neonate
• 4 to 6 Points of Status - Ancilla
• 7 to 8 Points of Status - Elder Ancilla
• 9 to 12 Points of Status - Elder
• 13+ Points of Status - Powerful Elder

The distance between the status of individuals dictates how you should interact. Basically, you should always treat those of higher status than your own with respect and courtesy (the higher above you, the more you should show). In dealing with those with less status than yourself you should base your interactions with them off of how they treat you. Please keep in mind that just because you may have quite a few more status than another player doesn't mean that you have free reign to mess with them at will and expect to get away with it. Remember, there is a "real" person with "real" feelings playing the character your messing with, don't go overboard. Don't let the fact that your character has a lot of status lead you to believe that "personally" your better than everyone else, it just means that your character has a lot of prestige in the game (out of game, other players may think your a socially challenged idiot). If you feel that someone is abusing their status, talk to the Harpies "in character" or the Storytellers "out of character" about it.

If you have 5 or more permanent Status, your status will be known outside the city and is considered "Camarilla-wide" (even though it can still be removed).

The "Politics" ability becomes very useful in determining who has what status. Once a character's name is known, you may expend a level of "Politics" to determine the following; (1) their permanent Status Rating, (2) their current temporary Status Rating (in other words, you'll know if they have expended any status so far during the session). This is easiest to do with other player's, but can be used on NPCs who have just arrived in the city to determine their reputation (of course this only lets you know if they have 5 or more Status).

Using Status:

Status comes in two types: permanent and temporary. Permanent Status is recorded on the player's character sheet, and is a measure of a character's actual standing in Kindred Society; permanent Status losses or gains are added or removed from your character sheet. By contrast, the loss or gain of temporary Status has no effect on permanent Status and tends to fluctuate more.

You may bid a Status Trait instead of a regular Trait in any applicable Social Challenge. You may also choose to add Status Traits to your Social Traits during a Social Challenge if Traits are compared. You must tell your opponent when you wish to use your Status Traits in these ways, however, since they may choose to ignore them if they like. Such a disrespectful act typically means a loss of permanent Status for the offending Kindred, unless the vampire ignored was far less influential than the offender (4 or more Traits separate the individuals involved). Some form of punishment should be expected, though -- Elders consider those who flout the system dangerously disruptive.

• Status is a measure of a character's credibility. In any situation where it is one vampire's word against another, Status can be used as the determining factor. The same is true in the case of accusing another of a crime in which there is no concrete evidence. Typically in such cases, the character with the most Status is the one whose word is accepted (although this may not necessarily be the case all the time).
• You may temporarily expend and then loan a Status Trait to another to show your favor, though the individual to which you made the loan must return it immediately on the asking. The bearer may spend this Trait as a temporary Trait, after which it is gone and reverts back to the owners control (This is the only way a character's temporary Status can rise above his/her permanent Status rating). Loaned Status can be used exactly as you would use your own. You can give only one Trait of Status to any one person in this fashion. Loaning status primarily comes into play when the previous listing happens (i.e. others show you support when credibility is in question by backing you with their own status, thus it is possible to have the word of someone with 3 Status taken over someone with 5 Status if he/she can gain the backing of 3 others willing to show their support of his side by each of them loaning him a status... there by raising his/her Status rating temporarily to 6).
• You must possess at least one Trait of Status in order to petition the Prince for any reason.
• Whenever a vote is called for one reason or another. Each permanent Status Trait counts as a vote, so each character involved writes down on a slip of paper how they want to expend their votes (all for one thing or split them up among multiple things).

Who Can Grant Status:

• The Prince:

  The Prince can grant a permanent Status Trait to any individual in the city by temporarily expending one of his/her own Status Traits to do so.

• The Elders:

  Elders can grant a permanent Status Trait to any individual in the city by temporarily expending one of his/her own Status Traits to do so. They must have at least 5 permanent Status Traits to be able to do this. The term "Elder" refers to the three Elder Player Characters played by Aaron, Phil and Spooky... as well as the NPC Elders run by the Storytellers.

• Primogen:

  Primogen can grant a permanent Status Trait to any member of their own clan by temporarily expending one of his/her own Status Traits to do so.

• Individuals of High Status:

  An individual can grant a permanent Status Trait to another member of their own clan if they have twice as much permanent status as the individual they want to grant status to. This costs the person granting the status one temporary Status Trait.

Who Can Remove Status

• The Prince:

  The Prince can remove permanent status from any individual in the city by temporarily expending his/her own Status Traits on a "one for one" basis to do so. This can only be reversed by someone of Archon standing or higher.

• The Elders:

  Elders can remove permanent status from any individual in the city by temporarily expending his/her own Status Traits on a "one for one" basis to do so. This can only be reversed by the Prince or Lead Harpy.

• Primogen:

  Primogen can remove permanent status from any member of their own clan by temporarily expending his/her own Status Traits on a "one for one" basis to do so. This can only be reversed by the Elder of the same clan, the Prince or the Lead Harpy.

• Lead Harpy:

  The Lead Harpy can remove permanent status from any individual in the city who has backed out of a boon or is involved in a major scandel at no cost. This can only be reversed by the Prince.

• Assistant Harpies:

  The Assistant Harpies can remove temporary status from any individual in the city who has backed out of a boon or is involved in a major scandel at no cost. This can only be reversed by the Prince or Lead Harpy.

• Sheriff:

  The Sheriff can remove permanent status from any individual in the city who hinders him, or his deputies, in the pursuit of their duties (at no cost). This can only be reversed by the Prince or Lead Harpy.

• Keeper of Elysium:

  The Keeper can remove permanent status from any individual in the city whom he/she catches breaking the Masquerade or the Laws of Elysium. If he/she does not witness it himself, sufficient evidence must be brought forth. This removal costs the Keeper nothing and can only be reversed by the Prince or the Lead Harpy.

• Scourge:

  The Scourge can remove permanent status from any individual in the city whom he/she discovers harboring or abetting vampires created without the Prince's permission or who have not been presented formally to the Prince. This removal costs the Scourge nothing and can only be reversed by the Prince.

• Special Cases:

  The following situations may arise also during the course of the game. These are mainly for those who do not hold positions which allow them to remove status from others (or if they do, the position only allows it under certain circumstances). Since most of these circumstances involve the permanent expenditure of Status Traits to be performed they cannot be reversed by anyone on the city level (and in most cases, above the city level);

  • Anyone of higher Status may remove permanent Status from those lower than themselves at a cost of one permanent Status Trait per Trait removed. Temporary Status may be removed in the same fashion. This is often done as punishment.
  • A clan may remove one permanent Status Trait from the Elder or Primogen of their clan by expending a group total of permanent Status Traits equal to the Elder or Primogen's permanent Status.
  • The Primogen Council may remove one permanent Status Trait from the Prince by expending a group total of permanent Status Traits equal to the Prince's permanent Status.

Status Traits

Here is a list of possible Status Traits....

The following traits require storyteller approval (these apply to certain circumstances and high level positions)...

Empowered, Legendary and Sanctioned.