The Embrace is a transformative curse, turning a mortal into an undead vampire beholden to an eternal Hunger of the Beast within. Existing as a vampire skulking about eternally-darkened streets can feel empty and unfulfilling at best. The threat of other vampires, Hunters, and even being caught in the sun can drive a solitary vampire to madness. Most vampires, like most mortals, congregate in groups.
Within every city, the occupying vampires are urged by their primitive impulses to find their place on their societal ladder. A vampire’s Status is the measure of his importance, recognized by his own peers, within a city. Status can ebb and flow based on the whims of a vampire’s allies, their sectarian allegiances, and the ire of her enemies. Camarilla vampires refer to Status. Anarchs refer to Reputation. Mechanically, the systems for each work the same. It should be noted that City Status is a system abstraction, not something referred to directly while in character.
Acceptance
While each sect differs in the rituals of how a character becomes “accepted,” the common thread is that a city’s Authority that is, the city’s ruler, typically the Prince (Camarilla) or Baron (Anarch)– bestows Acceptance on vampires who are allowed to exist openly in a city. Once Accepted in a city, that character gains one dot of City Status and one Moniker. Each sect utilizes a different Moniker for the first dot of City Status: Acknowledged in the Camarilla and Committed among the Anarchs. Independent vampires or vampires of a different sect as the city’s Authority who are permitted to live there are simply called Accepted. To be able to gain further Status in a city, a vampire must first earn one of these Monikers from the city’s Authority.
Vampires may gain acceptance within a city from an Authority of another sect. For example, a powerful independent vampire may decide to lie low among the Camarilla members of a city, or a rare Camarilla member may be tolerated among Anarchs. This allows her to exist in the domain and provides some degree of safety.
Connected Chronicles: Status Between Domains Status is earned city by city as a reflection of a character’s esteem in a vampiric domain (usually a city). A character’s reputation in one city may be excellent and poor (or entirely unestablished) in another city. Players in connected chronicles involving multiple cities should track their Acceptance and Status on a city-by-city basis. While a character may be accepted in the city of Boston, that does not mean she is automatically accepted in the city of Paris. The Authority of Paris would decide independently whether to recognize that character. |
The Rise and Fall of Status
Status in a city ranges from one to five dots and does not cost Experience Points. A vampire who has been Accepted in her city begins with one dot in City Status for that city and gains the appropriate sectarian Moniker (listed above) as proof of her admittance. Thereafter, a vampire may begin gaining and losing Status from her peers in a Domain. Additional Status is gained or lost by receiving Support or Opposition from other Accepted vampires in the city.
Support can be awarded for deeds accomplished, services rendered to influential members of the Court, or, in some cases, tactical bribery. Opposition may come from angering other Kindred, violating laws, or making political blunders. Support and Opposition are announced at large gatherings and in front of a majority of the city’s vampires.
The following rules apply to Status:
● Characters may only award Support and Opposition in a city they are Accepted in (have one dot of City Status and the Acknowledged, Committed, Initiated, or Accepted Moniker). ● A character may award Support and Opposition equal to their dots in Status in a single night. (Example: A Status 2 vampire can award two Support and two Opposition in a night.) ● A character can only award Support to a character who has equal to or less than their dots in Status.
● A character may award Support or Opposition to multiple different characters. ● A character can receive a maximum of three Support and three Opposition each per game session.
● A single character can only receive one Support or one Opposition per month from the same character. However, once Support or Opposition has been converted to a gain or loss of City Status, they may gain more Support or Opposition from the same character.
● Awards of Opposition and Support may be given for any reason. However, they must be given publicly, either by the character giving the award or a character they ask to do it for them. Typically, in the Camarilla, vampires who want another to speak for them in this regard will go to the Herald.
● Opposition and Support should be openly announced during the game to a majority of the participating players. For example, a Prince may give a speech about their Sheriff’s valor and grant them Support, or a neonate might openly call out the fact that their rival has been violating social norms and give them Opposition.
● If your game is using social media or email lists, it can be posted there at your Storyteller’s discretion. The Storyteller has the discretion to determine what means of communication are ‘“public” enough for their game.
● Opposition and Support cancel each other out. If a character has one Support and gains one Opposition or vice versa, both are erased from the character sheet at the time the canceling Support or Opposition is earned.
Once given Support or Opposition, the receiving player jots down the awarding character’s name beside the next empty dot of Status in the Status section of her character sheet. In order to withdraw Support or Opposition a character must award the opposing trait, canceling her first award.
Rising and Falling in Status
To rise in Status, a character is required to collect three times the level of Status above their current level:
● To rise from Status 1 to 2 takes six points of Support;
● To rise from Status 2 to 3 takes nine points of Support;
● To rise from Status 3 to 4 takes twelve points of Support;
● To rise from Status 4 to 5 takes fifteen points of Support.
Once the character has the necessary Support, they erase the Support from their sheet and fill in the next Status dot. They qualify for a new Moniker granted to them by the characters who gave them Support (for examples, see the Monikers section below).
To fall in status, a character must receive three times the level of Status below their current level:
● To fall from Status 5 to 4 requires twelve points of Opposition;
● To fall from Status 4 to 3 requires nine points of Opposition;
● To fall from Status 3 to 2 requires six points of Opposition;
● To fall from Status 2 to 1 requires three points of Opposition.
Once the character accumulates the amount of Opposition required to reduce their Status, they erase the Opposition marks and the lost Status. They lose the Moniker associated with that Status trait (see the Monikers section below).
Non-Player Characters, Pre-Chronicle Status Assignments, and Smaller Games Many games have non-player characters, some of whom may hold sect positions to help flesh out a city. The Storyteller may decide individually for their non-player characters how they decide to award Support or give Opposition. In new games that are being set up with established courts, Storytellers are free to assign Status to player characters and non-player characters as appropriate to support their world-building. In smaller games with only a few vampires dwelling in an area, the level of City Status is naturally “capped” until more vampire inhabitants move in. |
Monikers
When a character gains a new dot of Status, they gain a Moniker. The Moniker is an adjective or short phrase agreed upon by the players of the characters who Supported them in gaining their new Status. The Moniker should reflect the reason why the character was Supported. Once the Moniker has been decided, the player fills in the next dot of Status and records the new Moniker with the names of the characters (and players) who gave it to them.
Example: Mr. Chaney is a neonate trying to earn his way in the city of Seattle. He is Status 1. He is Supported by Etienne and Stacey for daring deeds of bravery they witnessed, and by Blair because he used a minor boon to compel Blair to Support him. All three provide two Support over two months based on deeds they witnessed for a total of 6 support. Mr. Chaney now has enough Support to rise to Status 2.
Mr. Chaney’s player tells the players of Etienne, Stacey, and Blair that he has enough Support, and they agree that he has proven himself to be Feared. Mr. Chaney fills in the second dot of Status and fills in the Feared Moniker.
If a character loses a point of Status due to receiving enough Opposition, the characters who gave the Opposition determine which Moniker is lost along with it. If a consensus cannot be reached, or all characters that levied an Opposition are not present at the game when Status is lost, then the character who gave the final Opposition decides which Moniker is lost.
Example: Anton has gained three dots of Status and the Monikers Acknowledged, Trustworthy, and Honorable. A scandal comes to light involving Anton, and Byron, Josephine, and Lydia, all of whom have two dots of their own Status, levy two points each of Opposition. This is enough Opposition to drop Anton from three dots of status to two. Byron, Josephine, and Lydia decide that Anton must lose the Trustworthy moniker.
City Status versus Sectarian Politics Aside from the Moniker gained with the first dot of City Status, sectarian membership does not dictate City Status. City Status is independent of sect membership. For example, an Anarch may earn any number of dots of City Status in a Camarilla-held city. The story on why and how they gained and maintain that level of respect from their peers, while being in an opposing sect, is a story in itself. However, this is not the norm. Very often, when individual vampires do not share the same sect with the Authority of the City, they are relegated to low City Status, sometimes only 1. While they may have a few friends who lend them Support, more often, established members of the City will levy Opposition to anyone who doesn’t share their political and sectarian beliefs. |
What Does Status Tell You?
Above all else, Status tells a story about relationships between characters and why a character has the esteem of other characters. For example, if Mr. Chaney is known publicly as Badass in Seattle, other characters might decide to learn why. They might realize that he is a dangerous fighter and conclude that he is worth hiring. It is also worth noting that he has the support of at least three others who think he is Badass.
A character with significant Status in a Domain can be understood to wield significant support within that Domain. It is a protective factor; vampires are creatures who seek their place in the pecking order, and knowing that another vampire is high up in that order provides a warning that they are dangerous. Whether a character is Status 4 because they are the most horrifying warrior in the land or because they are a beloved socialite might be hinted through their Monikers, but what any vampire with less Status knows is that they have a great many supporters and friends. Likewise, it is easier to trust someone with Status because they have something to lose in the event of dispute. A vampire with Status has put time and effort into building stable relationships. Should their conduct become an issue, it is much simpler to adjust their Status than to escalate to more hostile measures, such as violence or death.
The ‘Status number’ a character has is not referred to in-character. Vampires do not talk about being Status 2 or Status 4. Rather, vampires refer to the Monikers that a character has. A vampire referring to the fact that their Status is different from another vampire might say, “I’m less established than him” or “I’m more decorated than him.” Status is not magic. Characters do not automatically know a person’s Monikers just by looking at them. However, when a vampire is told a character’s name, they are able to ask the player or the Storyteller for the Monikers associated with it.