Vampires staked claims to specific
areas to use as hunting grounds, bases of power, or because they wished to take
care of them. This Tradition was then used to enforce the idea of "domain,"
and a vampire could be justified in killing another because her domain was violated.
Over the years, as societies changed, this became unacceptable. For the past
200 or so years, a city or region ruled by a prince became the domain of the
prince upon his taking the throne, or at least in theory. The truth is, a number
of vampires maintain domain, many times from the sheer weight of custom ("The
sewers have always been the domain of the Nosferatu," or "A Ventrue
has ruled this bank since its founding"). Of course, in modern nights,
with some cities hosting vampire populations of 30, 50, even 100 or more, concessions
must be made. As such, many vampires hunt where they will, in the communal hunting
grounds of the city's bars, theatres and nightclubs, which are know collectively
as "The Rack" in Kindred slang.
Young vampires, and a number of older ones, often still attempt to hold bits
of territory, protecting and using them as private feeding grounds. Some anarchs
claim that these mini-fiefdoms are granted by the prince as reward, proof that
only the lapdogs get the treats. This is incorrect -- the Kindred who hold their
bits of turf are violating the Second Tradition, and the prince need not stand
for it. He often lets violations go, however, in the name of expediency; there
are more important concerns than chasing after every petty would-be anarch who
stakes out turf. He may entrust certain trusted allies with guardianship of
particular areas, and grant them a few privileges for the burden of the job,
but in the end, he holds domain over the city. This allows him to keep order,
for he may, by the Second Tradition, punish interlopers with impunity.
For solitary vampires or small groups staking out their territory, domain holds
immense allure to them, even if the territory is an urban wasteland. Few princes
actually grant territory, but they occasionally allow "squatters,"
provided the vampires there support them and uphold the law there. The downside
to this is the turf battles that can arise between gangs of anarchs or coteries.
These can spill over into the mortal world and threaten the Masquerade. Some
princes have gone so far as to encourage such conflict, regardless of the danger,
in order to set the troublemakers at each other's throats and distract them
from the business of the city.
If nothing else, each Kindred may claim her haven as domain, making her responsible
for the activity in and around the area. Some vampires take an active interest
in their environment to ensure a secure haven, while others merely want a room
where they can get away from the sun and to hell with the rest.
The question of what exactly constitutes domain is debated nightly. Does domain
mean the physically territory and its concerns (such as hunting and haven),
or does a domain also grant a vampire access to and influence over the mortal
spheres within? Most princes argue that domain is strictly an issue of physical
"turf," but wisely realize that influence over mortal affairs comes
with the territory, no matter how they might attempt to curb it otherwise. A
vampire who keeps up domain at the docks cannot help but become involved in
the nightly mortal business of shipping and unions, if for no other reason than
to keep her haven secure (after all, a labor strike could be very inconvenient,
particularly if her bolthole is on the other side of the picket line). Very
few vampires stake a domain encompassing mortals they cannot affect in some
way, which can be a help or a headache to their princes. A prince does, however,
become inclined to step in when a particular vampire's power within and stemming
from her domain threatens to eclipse his own.
As the nights progress and omens of Gehenna permeate Kindred society, ore and
more vampires fortify individual domains, holing themselves away in spite of
princely prohibition. Only in this manner, these paranoid creatures reason,
do they have a chance of surviving the Jyhad