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

mekhet • nosferatu • ventrue • coteries
VENTRUE
The Ventrue are regal, commanding and aristocratic. Vampires as everything from Eastern
European lords on the mountain to gentrifi ed nobles to modern corporate raiders belong
to this clan.
Surprisingly, the Ventrue are understood to be the youngest of the clans, almost certainly
originating in Rome itself, probably in tandem with the formation of the Camarilla. While
their history is relatively short (in vampiric terms), it is also distinguished, as the Ventrue
are made to rule. Although none remember the name of the fi rst Ventrue, various vampiric
histories do ascribe the origin of the clan, which was believed to once be a covenant, to a
single female vampire. A darker history implies that this Kindred was not the fi rst of the
Ventrue line, but that she consumed the soul of her own sire, and in so doing founded a
new bloodline that rose to the status of a proper clan.
As might be surmised, the Ventrue have historically been strongest in Europe, from which
they grew into North and Central America, but their presence elsewhere in the world has been
relatively minor. As a clan, their numbers are probably fewer than those of any other clan, but
such things vary by domain, as one vampire community might consist of nothing but Ventrue
— likely all the preeminent Kindred’s progeny.
COTERIES
Decades and centuries ago, when cities were smaller and technology far less advanced, the
Kindred could afford to remain solitary predators, moving alone through the massed ranks
of humanity. Tonight, the world has changed. Both mortal and Kindred populations are
substantially larger than anyone could have dreamed even a few score years ago. Kindred,
particularly young ones with no political clout and minimal infl uence in the mortal world,
need allies in ways their elders never did at their age. Combined with the lingering desire
for companionship left over from their mortal days, this need inspires modern Kindred to
gather in small social groups called coteries.
The coterie, which normally consists of anywhere from three to six Kindred, with a few
unusual groups growing as large as a dozen, has existed as an ideal for centuries. In ages past,
coteries tended to assemble for a specifi c purpose, such as the taking of an important road and
the construction of a lair, or perhaps defending a domain against outside aggression. The notion
of a coterie that assembles and remains together for long-term goals, or even more strangely for
social purposes, seems alien and artifi cial to most elders tonight. Their positions in society are
already secure, their havens well hidden from enemies and unsuspecting kine alike. They dismiss
the formation of coteries as youthful foolishness, or even worse as the behavior of animals.
For those Kindred not considered elders, however, coteries are just common sense. Some
modern coteries do assemble for a particular goal, as they did in years past. It might be an
objective that members wish to achieve, or they might be assembled at the behest of a Kindred
leader, faction, their sires or by any others with the authority to demand some service
of the group members. In most cases, coteries are purely social constructs, with no purpose
other than the long-term benefi t and mutual protection of their membership. They provide
allies and support that young Kindred haven’t yet managed to fi nd anywhere else. At the
very least, such community provides someone to watch one’s back, to aid in the hunt and to
corroborate any accounts that might have to be given to elders or authorities — advantages
not be underestimated in the world of the Damned.
That said, coteries aren’t happy bands of friends rollicking through a domain. The mistrust
endemic to all Kindred doesn’t end with the formation of a group. Coteries are subject to the
same internal squabbling, double-dealing and, on occasion, outright betrayal as any other Kin-
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