Camarilla Titles

On many MUSHes, it is common for characters - particularly those in vampiric society - to have titles. Prince. Primogen. Archon. Justicar. Knight. Lord. Regent. Duke. Scourge. Los Angeles is no different, and many of the vampires here have titles. But what is a title? It's just a word.

An Archon doesn't suddenly gain the power to seize control of a Prince's mind and order him to do his bidding simply by virtue of being an Archon. No, an Archon has power both because the Archon himself has personal power in the form of resources, disciplines, etc., and also because he is backed by a greater power: the Justicars. The Justicars themselves don't have power because of their titles, but because of institutional strength that supports them, including their Archons.

Different from most Domains, the officials in the Heart of Los Angeles are not supported by the Global Camarilla Organization. No Justicar lent them the legitimacy of authority to their station.

Still, the high officials (such as Prince Emerson, the Clan Elders, Barons, Overseers etc.) of the Ancient's Domain have their power because they are themselves possessed of great personal power, because their underlings and those of similar Standing have a stake in defending the dignity of the title. All of these vampires have a stake in seeing their positions upheld, their authority enforced. So the landholders of the City of Angels rule their domain. In theory.

In reality, a Prince rules what he can get his hands on. Princes appoint Sheriffs, who do their jobs because the Prince can use his or her power to either destroy or benefit the Sheriff. By working together, in a relationship where each knows their place, they both become stronger. The Prince becomes backed by the power of the Sheriff, and the Sheriff by the power of the Prince.

The entire Camarilla power structure can be described in terms of power relationships. The titles are secondary, methods by which the members formalize their relationships. Because a title is only an expression of the relationship between vampires, these are generalizations only. In particular, the meaning of titles varies depending on the Domain. Each Domain is independent, and sets its own rules.

White Wolf © White Wolf
Original Work is licensed under a CC Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 US License.