The largest vampire sect is the Camarilla, also known as the “Ivory Tower.” In the Camarilla, a vampire’s success – and survival – depends on political subtlety and social manoeuvring. Vampire Princes rule cities, while the shadowy Inner Circle controls the ebb and flow of worldwide events. The Camarilla enforces a group of societal laws known as the Traditions, and it maintains a practice known as the Masquerade, which demands that no mortal be allowed to realize vampires exist.
Legends tell us that, in the 15th century, ancients founded the Camarilla as a means for vampires to protect themselves from the ire of humankind. At the Convention of Thorns, they formally recognised seven lineages as the pillars of their society: the seven clans of their kind. They codified the Six Traditions they had obeyed for generations, demanded all within their purview obey them as then enforced them with brutal efficiency. Paramount among these laws is the practice of the Masquerade, the need to obscure all traces of their existence from the common populace.
Members of the Camarilla respect and preserve their Humanity, considering it critical to a vampire’s ability to remain hidden among mortals. Even ancients of the sect cling to humane ethical beliefs, and demand no less from the younger members of society. The Camarilla hosts social gatherings and political functions, employing subtlety and Machiavellian manipulation as power shifts hands with each night. It is a cut-throat world, but a beautiful one: a bloody knife wrapped in elegant silk.
Several clans banded together to form the Camarilla, and are thus considered pillars of the sect. The Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere, and Ventrue are revered as founding clans. Other clans are given far less credibility and freedom. In a social hierarchy loosely modelled on feudal Princes and dynastic bloodlines, elders command the most respect; they rule over lineages of vampires descended from their blood. Meanwhile, in the shadows, young vampires struggle to gain allies and work within – or fight against – a society that has stood, unchanging, for hundreds of years.
In the gaslight era, imperialism is rampant, and the Camarilla has benefited greatly from it. Queen Victoria's empire spans the globe, governing realms from Hong Kong to Jamaica, Canada to Capetown and London to Delhi.
The Kindred egotistically claim credit for this expansionism, reaffirming that they have forced back the other creatures of the night so their herds of "kine" (humans) can grow. regardless of whether this is true or not, it has enabled them to spread their politics and traditions around the world. Although London is undoubtedly the jewel in the Camarilla's crown, the vampiric sect now dominates more cities and territories than ever before - and more than it ever will again. As part of this conceit, the whole of Camarilla society is commonly referred to as the Empire, used interchangeably to refer to the kingdoms of Kindred and kine.
The Victorian Camarilla defines each Kindred's place in society. Status is paramount, often defined as much by clan and lineage as by deeds. Elders hold obligations over their progeny for decades, punishing wayward childer who stray. Gatherings of Camarilla vampires are often very formal and ostentatious affairs, recognising and reinforcing these beliefs. While they may take on the appearance of the current fashions of Victorian high society - entailing everything from regal balls to African safaris - they are, at best, pale imitations of mortal innovations. The roles played by the participants usually reflect their political status. Under new and stylish guises, those who conform are praised, while those who stray are condemned... or excluded.
Even when a small society of Kindred allies, it does so in obeisance of propriety and Camarilla tradition. Kindred who come to depend on each other from social coteries that cross boundaries of lineage and status. Yet, when they act outside the understood roles of their clan, lineage or generation, their motives become suspect. Society has high expectations.
Princes and elders reflect upon this as a golden age because they hold more power than they have in centuries.
They have seized much of this power by vilifying their greatest enemies: the Sabbat. Legends tell of the Camarilla's rivals seizing and desecrating holy land for their own defence, raising armies of freshly killed childer from graveyards and even making pacts with the Devil himself to gain supernatural power. Elders greatly exaggerating these and other threats to their domains justify tyranny in those domains. Spreading fear, they warn of Sabbat spies in their midst and, thus, enforce the Traditions according to their whims, exploiting an aegis of terror. Any who cannot uphold strict expectations may have "fallen to the enemy's corruption."
For Camarilla childer, existence is perilous. A Camarilla vampire's true nature is defined by the conflict between an individual and the expectations of others: his sire, his prince and his sect. Above all else, it is a society in which "each knows his place." Victorian beliefs serve as the foundation for many modern stereotypes. Defying these expectations calls society itself into question. Because Victorian ideals are so lofty, it is an enterprise an ambitious vampire cannot help but eventually pursue.
