<![CDATA[ Vampires, called Kindred, have lived along mankind since the beginning.]]>
<![CDATA[ Caine, slayer of Abel, was the first. Cursed by the Almighty for his
murder, Caine spawned a brood of vampires, who in turn Embraced their own progeny:
thirteen grandchilder, the Third Generation of Caine. These thirteen are called
Antediluvians, since they were sired before the Great Flood.
Each founded a bloodline of vampires, called a clan. These thirteen clans have
warred with each other throughout history, using mortals as pawns, warriors, and victims
in an unholy war called the Jyhad. But the clans have lost contact with their
Antediluvian creators, who have fallen into a state of torpor. They are now
so old that they can only survive by drinking the blood not of humans, but of
other vampires. They sleep while their progeny make progeny of their own, each
generation less powerful than the generation before.
We're reaching the thirteenth generation now, and the blood is getting pretty thin.
All clans fear that their founder will one night awaken to consume all the generations
of progeny. But younger vampires can consume older vampires too- taking their blood
and stealing their power in a rite called diablerie.
If this makes you think that no vampire can trust another, you're right.
The clans are torn into two rival sects- the Camarilla and the Sabbat-
with some independent clans who won't join either group.
The Camarilla is the oldest group of vampire clans. It's made up of the
rebellious Brujah, the demented Malkavians, the disfigured Nosferatu, the graceful
Toreador, the mystical Tremere, and the regal Ventrue. The savage Gangrel used
to be members, but within the past few years, they fled the Camarilla after
an unknown evil decimated the clan. The Camarilla was created as a united front
against the Inquisition that threatened to exterminate vampire society. The
Camarilla also enforces a set of Traditions on Kindred society to keep the Kindred
hidden from humankind. Vampires walk among the mortals in secrecy by using an
elaborate Masquerade enabled by the mortals' endless capacity for denial of
frightening facts. No one knows vampires exist, even the many people who witlessly
serve them. The Camarilla has a loose hierarchy, and each subsequent generation
of vampires cowers before its elders- not because they want to, but because
each generation is weaker than the generation before, so they must. To prevent
the Kindred from exposing their unholy secret to the world, the "princes" of
the Camarilla often place limits on the number of new vampires that can be created.
Almost every city on Earth has a prince, who claims to be preeminent among the
Kindred of his domain. They bestow the right to create progeny and mercilessly
enforce the Masquerade. They also try to limit the fighting between vampires
within the realms- a nearly impossible task. They coordinate the fight against
numerous enemies, like mortal vampire hunters, and the Sabbat.
The Sabbat is composed of the fiendish Tzimisce, the shadowy Lasombra and many traitorous
members of the Camarilla clans. They seek to overthrow the Camarilla, breed
out of control, destroy the slumbering Antediluvians, and enslave the human
race. It takes a large population of mortals to provide sufficient blood for
a single vampire. If vampires were to create endless amounts of progeny, there
would come a night when even six billion mortals would not support them all.
Imagine the global war that would produce. So one of the most important goals
of the Camarilla is stopping the Sabbat. But the Sabbat is only growing in power,
while the Camarilla tears itself apart from within. The Sabbat has just taken
control of cities all across the East Coast of the U.S. But they are not all-powerful.
The Camarilla has had some success assassinating some of their prominent leaders.
The independent clans are the murderous Assamites, the fanatical Followers of
Set, the necromantic Giovanni, and the wandering Ravnos. The Ravnos have had
a little accident, though. Their Antediluvian sire awoke, and awoke hungry.
In a blood frenzy, this ancient vampire quickly consumed most of his childer.
(Some say he was forced to awaken.) The scattered survivors have turned to the
Camarilla, and may join up- replacing the Gangrel. Some say that the Tzimisce
Antediluvian is awakening as well. ]]>