Mind's Eye Theatre - Vampire The Requiem.pdf - RoseRed

as a whole. Princes, Regents, Primogen, Harpies and other “offi cers” of a given domain fi t
this description.
Additionally, City Status represents those Kindred who aren’t part of the prevailing social
structure, but who nonetheless have signifi cant esteem, sway or reputation among the Kindred.
Examples include bosses of powerful gangs, Kindred who have considerable infl uence
in specialized areas (prominent businessmen, city government, health care and hospitals,
religious communities), or even just those who are powerful in their own right but largely
apolitical, as with a potent elder who abstains from city responsibilities but whose territory
is respected by all other local Kindred for fear of her raw power and ferocity.
Although somewhat more fl exible within a given domain than the other two types of
Kindred-oriented Status, it should be noted that City Status does not “travel” well. That is a
character cannot use it for any mechanical benefi t outside the domain where it was earned, and
even her sheer reputation quickly erodes as she travels (for more details, see p. 283). On the
other hand, while less fl exible within a domain, Clan and Covenant Status do travel. In fact,
a Kindred journeying to a distant city is likely to call on his fellow clan or covenant members
to offer him some measure of protection from the other native Kindred. Therefore, a character
may use Clan and Covenant Status normally, even when visiting an unknown city.
A character generally may have City Status only in his own primary domain of residence.
The Damned are highly territorial, suspicious beings who naturally distrust outsiders, especially
those who come and go between cities. As another component of City Status is regular attendance
and participation at city functions, it is nearly impossible even for a Kindred who has
managed to be accepted in multiple domains to keep up with their social calendars. Indeed,
nomadic life is less likely to earn a Kindred Status in different cities, because the Kindred of
those domains know that there is nothing holding that vampire back from wrecking their
city and then skipping town.
At the Storyteller’s discretion, a character may earn City Status in more than one city, but
each additional city reduces the amount of Status that can be earned in any of them (not
counting any other limitations in place). So a character who earns Status in two cities has a
maximum of City Status 4 in each. A character with Status in three cities has a maximum of
City Status 3 in each. In addition, to prevent player abuse, a character with Status in multiple
domains cannot hold any sort of offi ce in any of these cities. He simply is not trusted enough
to be granted a position, even by his allies in a domain; after all, he has a “backdoor” if anything
goes wrong. Allowing Status in multiple cities should be rare, however, if the option
is ever used at all.
In some cases, City Status is very much a chicken-and-egg situation — does Prince Anne
have City Status 5 because she’s Prince, or did her accumulated City Status result in her
claiming praxis? In other cases, City Status obviously refl ects accomplishment, as with a
political activist who has many mortal supporters — but those supporters obviously didn’t
join his cause because they knew he was a vampire. Harpies, in particular, make much of
these distinctions, but some speculate that that’s because their own Status falls under the
defi nition of City Status.
Note that these Status levels are not the minimum required to hold the named positions,
nor are these dots automatically granted to anyone who assumes the listed title. Rather, they
are merely an indication of the ideal level of City Status a Kindred should possess to accept
the position comfortably and hold it with a minimal amount of gossip about his worthiness
to carry out its duties. A relatively young or untested Prince might only have City Status
•••, for example, refl ecting that while he is Prince, he still hasn’t completely solidifi ed his
reputation or climbed to the top of the ladder yet. If she manages to hold on long enough
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chapter two: character