The Directorate has gone through many changes over the centuries. It began as a shadowy body of 12 or so elders who established all precedents in matters of clan, controlled wide range of national and international businesses and were the ones who choose the clan representatives for the inner council.

In modern times, there are four major American Directorates; divided into the East Coast, Midwest, Southern and West Coast as well as Brazilian, Canadian, South Asian (including Oceania), and the traditional European Directorates. Each of these has smaller Regional Directorates, or Boards, that run the clan business for an area. Even now, at the highest levels, the clan is run by a Board of Directors. This Board appoints the Strategoi for each major Directorate, who in turn appoints their Lictors. Praetors and other local positions are either appointed by the Strategoi or decided on by the Regional Board.

Not every Ventrue is active within the Directorate. However, if you are Camarilla, your Lineage has been recorded with the Directorate’s Lineage Office, the Directorate acknowledges you exist. This is what officially makes you legitimately part of the Clan of Kings. You may claim that you’re not part of the Directorate; however in the eyes of the Board you are still considered such. A mere Eiren, but part of the Directorate none the less, and are looked upon as any other Ventrue who does not hold a position of importance within the clan structure.

(NPCs)

Strategoi are considered the Generals of the Ventrue clan and is the highest position that one can attain before becoming part of the Board of Directors (The Ephorate) itself. They are primarily responsible for the administration of large regional areas. Strategoi have no legitimate Camarilla position, but within the clan they have the full backing of any Directorate. They carry out the policies that the secretive Ephors hand down, enforcing the will of the Board. For the most part, they are the only Ventrue to have direct contact with members of the Ephorate. Because of the large amount of duties set on these kindred, they rarely have any other position outside the clan, although some have been found at times to be Primogen, Seneschals and even Princes.

Strategoi of Note

William Hyde Drake (East Coast)

Datura (Midwest)

Roderick Darroch Elliott (Western US)

Catherine Cobb (Southern US)

Seigfried (Canada)

Sir Tobias de Aguiar (Brazil)

Camille T'Sien (South Pacific)

(NPCs)

Lictors are appointed by and act as the direct aides to the Strategoi. There is no pre-determined number of Lictors that the Strategoi may have active at one time and not all of them act in this capacity openly. They are the troubleshooters for the clan, each with their own distinct specializations. Since the Strategoi seldom get their hands dirty, they send these individuals out to address problems, enforce policy and procedure and administer judgment. Lictors are the eyes and ears for the Strategoi, reporting directly back to them about the various domains and directorate that they visit. Many Ventrue referred to Lictors as Judge, Jury and many times Executioner for the clan.

Regional Boards (Directorates) & Local Gerousia

OWbN runs the Directorate a little differently than the clan book. This is mainly because the number of Ventrue players just isn’t enough to have a Praetor in every city with numerous Adieles and Quaestors working under them. Regional Boards are smaller entities within one of the major Directorate areas. Each Region, normally a state or district, is presided over by a single Praetor. The Ventrue that holds the Praetor position presides over their region with a strong hand, managing the regional affairs and appointing Adieles to manage the cities within their jurisdiction as well as 1 to 2 Quaestors for the Region. Normally one Aedile is appointed per city though in some circumstances, when two cities are very close together, one Aedile is appointed to manage the affairs in both cities for the clan.

Regional Boards hold meetings far more frequently than the Directorates. Aediles are expected to maintain a meeting schedule of a minimum of one meeting per month for their Local Gerousia and a Praetor is expected to have a Regional Board meeting at least once every 4 to 6 months. The major Directorates choose to hold their meetings approximately once per year to discuss affairs and concerns that affect the entirety of the clan within that area.

The clan has a Local Gerousia in almost every major city within a Region as well as a few in less populated areas. These Gerousia may have as few as two or three members, but all serve the same purpose, ensuring that the clan's power and influence continue to spread. When a Regional Directorate or Board meeting is called, the various Gerousia gather to discuss matters of import.

Something such as the Board is not to be taken lightly. The Board deals directly with regional matters, and it is a force to be reckoned with. The board usually consists of the eldest, most experienced in the local area (usually acting as Adieles in each city), but due to dwindling numbers they have been known to add younger Ventrue to its ranks. Those who sit on the Board are normally the Praetor for the region, the elders of the area and the Adieles of each city. The board’s primary purpose is something similar to a normal corporation’s board, making decisions on regional policy, finances of holdings, etc. One of the most important duties of the board is voting on the awarding of Dignitas to clan members who have made outstanding achievements.

Most unusual of the major Directorates is the one found within the Midwest of the United States. The Midwest Directorate not only consists of a Board of Directors for Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and the Prairie District (Minnesota, Iowa & the Dakotas), but also appoints a Praetor for the entirety of the Directorate. This position is known as the Praetor of the Midwest.

Praetors are the highest-ranking Ventrue within the Regional Board’s hierarchy. Praetors are the “Managers” of the clan in their areas, and take care of many of the normal day to day events, such as Ventrue meeting locations, Board affairs, etc. The Praetor is the person at the center of all Ventrue affairs in the region, and has access to a higher level of information than other Ventrue in the area, including closer contact with the higher ranking Directorate personages. Many clan mates often go to the Praetor for advice, instruction and leadership. Due to the lack of clan members in some areas, many Praetors have been given a region encompassing multiple states. The Midwest, however, is populated enough in most areas to require a Praetor for each individual state, with the exception of the Prairie District.

During the Roman Empire, an Aedile was a magistrate who was responsible maintenance of the temples, organization of the Roman Games and for the maintenance of the public buildings in Rome. Moreover, they served sometimes as administrators in mercantile affairs. The title of Aedile is still used by the Ventrue clan in the modern day to describe the supervisors that maintain the clan’s business and financial affairs within each city. Normally appointed by the Praetor, the Aedile’s duties are to assist both the Praetor and the Local Gerousia in their goals as well as keep tabs on other Ventrue within the city.

The word quaestor literally means 'the man who asks questions'. Quaestors are expected to keep their eyes and ears open for any affairs that may be of interest to the Local Gerousia or Regional board and report these findings to the Praetor. Quaestors are normally Ventrue who have shown some achievement or drive to succeed and are earmarked for later advancement.

The lowest level of employee amongst the Ventrue in the Directorate, also sometimes referred to as Associates. Some Eiren may not even be members of the Peerage.

Ascending the Directorate Ranks

Moving up within the clan can be quite simple or extremely difficult. The best way to ascend the ranks is to do a good job at whatever it is you are already doing. Display competence and skill in a specific area and someone will eventually notice you. Loyalty to both the clan and the Camarilla is also important. You may be able to easily accomplish your goals, but if you make enemies of clanmates or if you don’t follow the rules, you may be securing a place for yourself at the bottom of the barrel. The last way to get promoted, and sometimes you will need this no matter how skilled and loyal you are, is to have allies in high places. An extremely diligent and hard-working Questor may very well have a hard time moving up the ranks if he can’t catch the eye of the Praetor. Of course, the implied necessary component to moving up is an opening, and creating them is the catalyst for many Ventrue vs. Ventrue disputes.

The Directorate Offices

The Ventrue Directorate has a developed a series of offices that are devoted to the many societies and branches within the clan. Only those who work within the offices know the actual location of the buildings, though it is rumored that they have moved from Europe to a more remote location in recent years. It is believed by many Ventrue that these offices are where the Board of Directors holds their annual meeting.

The Directorate Offices include the Awards Office, Business & Financial Office, and Lineage Office as well as offices for most, if not all, of the clan societies. The Offices also house the Hague Library, which contains a plentitude of information on legal affairs. Any Ventrue may request the assistance of these offices, though the information may take time to obtain as all requests are dependant upon the importance of the individual making the request and the urgency of the information that is needed. A Praetor has a far better chance of receiving information in a matter of days, where as a mere Eiren may wait months for someone to respond to their inquiries.

With the complexity of the Ventrue Dignitas system it is not expected that an individual will be able to learn every single detail about each of the awards that the clan. The Awards Office offers both assistance and reference materials in regards to the various Awards and Dignitas that the clan has created throughout the years. The office also tracks and maintains a cohesive list of the Dignitas that has been awarded to each member of the clan, working closely with the Lineage Offices to maintain accurate records of this information.

The Business & Financial Office of the Directorate maintains the records and holding of the clan’s achievements within the mortal world. These offices maintain the national and international clan holdings within a multitude of countries. They quite frequently find their assistance requested by many a younger Ventrue seeking advice on matters of financial and business-related importance.

It is well known that the most important office within the Directorate is the Lineage Office. Without this office there would be no structure, no order, nor any ability to know one’s history and ancestors. This Office, maintained by a small group of the clan, each of whom is individually ensured to be unswervingly loyal to the clan, maintains the names, lineages and histories of every single Ventrue known to the Camarilla. Any Ventrue whom is registered with the Lineage Office may contact those same Offices with an inquiry of the legitimacy of another who claims to be Ventrue. The Offices will respond in turn with Verification or Denial. The reply may take more than one evening, sometimes as long as a week, as the rapidity of the response normally depends on both the importance of the inquiry and the individual inquiring.

Clan Ventrue is noted for its ability to uphold the Traditions of the Camarilla and its extensive knowledge of the mortal legal world. While many Ventrue keep their own personal libraries consisting of legal documentation for the country or domain in which they reside, the Hague Library, maintained by the Directorate Offices, holds information that encompasses the laws, customs and society standards for almost every culture in both the modern and the ancient world. It also has, though carefully worded and edited by strict guidelines to preserve the Masquerade, a wealth of material on the Camarilla customs, traditions and legal systems. Access to this material is granted only to those who are members or endorsed affiliates of the Society of The Hague. Documentation is never loaned out from the Library, instead a small group of legal experts within the Society of The Hague has been appointed to assist individuals with their research and provide them with the information that they require.