Now, today ladies and gentlemen, we're going to be talking about my personal favorite RPG of all time, and everyone's favorite bloodsuckers, Vampire. Now, I've mentioned this before, but I am completely in love with both versions of Vampire, Masquerade and Requiem. I realize that this is goth/nerd heresy, but hear me out.
Both tackle the same topics, but in different ways. Both of them have the same themes but a completely different feeling and mood. Of course there is going to be some overlap, however, and that's going to vary by GM, but overall, Masquerade is more of an action/conspiracy story. Masquerade has vampires as members of one of two ancient, secret, warring conspiracies, who often send them on missions. While it's still scary, it's a lot pulpier. Vampires of the Camarilla need to be sabotaging their enemies in the Sabbat and vice versa, everyone's always paranoid that those stick-up-the-arse Cammies will be invading, or that those Sabbat idiots are going to break the Masquerade. The paranoia is always on a global scale, brought down to a personal level because if one house of cards (be they Cammarilla or Sabbat) falls, everyone is fucked, totally and irrevocably. Ironically, the Camarilla and the Sabbat are both fighting for the same thing: the future for their species, but the fight itself is one that threatens their species' discovery in the first place.
Requiem is a bleaker and more grim setting. It's set in a world where everyone follows the Camarilla traditions from Masquerade, but everyone is far from friends. Different philosophical groups war for power, and threaten the masquerade in their own way, risking the unlives of everyone for their own selfish causes. Even worse, unlike Masquerade, there's no guiding body governing anyone beyond the Prince of the city. Cities become prisons, because without contacts with other countries, vampires can't just move around willy-nilly any more, secure under the protection of the Camarilla. Requiem gives you the feeling of being totally fucked, alone in a perpetual night, with peers who will look down on you and mock you for admitting weakness, and no one to ask for help when stuff goes wrong. So, without further ado, I'm going to be looking at the thing that defines cities in both games, the Prince, and how to run him or her.
In Masquerade, Princes/Archbishops of Camarilla and Sabbat cities are appointed by their sect. There's a certain level of publicity in this, and at very least, if a Prince or Archbishop is doing a particularly bad job, he can be expecting a long, stern talking too by his superiors, followed by a swift execution/diablerie. In Requiem, it's not so simple. The Prince is the absolute power, the strongest vampire in the city, and there's no greater organization to complain to if you don't like him or her. The Prince can make up whatever draconian laws or be absolutely batshit insane, but if you personally, don't have the power to fight him, then tough shit, son. It's very rare to come across a Prince in either setting that doesn't have a few secrets, or a few eccentricities, and moreso than defining the political atmosphere of the city, it defines the feeling of the city itself. Consider a Malkavian Prince, who's paranoid as anything, and insists on travelling invisibly through the streets, never appearing in public, and leaving cryptic notes on the haven doors of his subjects. The Prince's paranoia infects the city. Consider a Tremere Prince who inexplicably has certain buildings demolished, certain roads built, and seems to be trying to rework the city into an immense thaumaturgical sigil. Princes always have their own agenda, and that's something to remember when roleplaying them.
In terms of roleplay, the Prince fulfills the idea a king of the realm might fulfill in DnD. He's the absolute authority of the land, and probably the guy who sends you out on quests or dispenses justice if you break the rules. Whether he's bigger and tougher than you, or even younger and frailer, there needs to be an air of authority and menace, around the Prince, the idea that you can't take him down, or that he has an ace up his sleeve. In fact, it's the young, frail ones you need to watch out for, because, what kind of power could they have that no one has taken them down yet? Prince's can be cordial, they can even be jovial or friendly, or they could be aloof, cryptic, or flat out incomprehensible, but ultimately, as nice as they are, they are using you. Very, very few Princes wake up at night and see the city, wondering how they can make it a better place for the kindred within. The only reason they can get away with this, is that they need to balance their personal ambitions against every other vampire in the city who is thinking the exact same thing. A Prince who can't keep control of his domain isn't going to remain Prince for much longer.
Finally, as this post was inspired by a fantastic book called Damnation City (from Vampire: The Requiem), I wanted to give some cool ideas for Princes that I would run. These ideas aren't exactly canon, and may require a few twists and turns, but I think they make interesting twists on the average Ventrue Tyrant Prince.
The Sorcerer (Tremere): The Sorcerer is a Prince cryptic even by the standards of vampires. Everyone knows he's a Tremere, and everyone is terrified about his unholy thaumaturgy. People who speak out against him find themselves feeling a dread gaze watching them, or find strange, unnatural phenomena, like black birds clustered around her haven door. People rarely see the Sorcerer beyond Elysium, but his presence is always felt, like a psychic blanket, coldly viewing the city, and all his test subjects. Everyone knows that the Tremere are bound by their inner council, and everyone knows that the Sorcerer answers to them before the Camarilla, but the Camarilla really don't care, as long as he enforces the laws. In Requiem Terms, the Sorcerer would be an Ordo Dracul member, though most of the same applies.
The Starlet (Nosferatu): Everybody knows her, everybody sees her. She was beautiful once, but now she's hideous as anything. People had better not point that out, however, or they might find their houses being bought and renovated, and their assets seized. The Starlet acts like a movie star, expecting devotion from her subjects, and viewing herself as a sweet, kind, compassionate role-model. Beneath it all, however, she knows she's broken forever, and that all the love is just an act, and when she snaps, the results are going to be cataclysmic, as she tries to destroy the city around her. She works as a Prince in Requiem or Masquerade, or a Sabbat Archbishop,
The Hag (Gangrel): A wicked old woman, who only holds court in her hut on the very edge of the city, some people have no idea how she maintains power for this long. The people of the city know, and all of them are tight-lipped about it. The Hag controls the animals and the wildlife, all of which report back to her. You never know when a flock of pigeons could be her secret informants, you never know when a swarm of rats bears her foul mind (or worse, maybe she's found a way to become one with all the rats in the city). People who go to her hut for council find themselves welcome, and are given a warm meal and kindly advice, though there is always something intensely strange about her, as if she is merely an animal, or beast given human form. This one is built with Requiem in mind (especially with the Devotion from Clanbook Gangrel that lets them take a swarm-form) but works fine in Masquerade as a Sabbat leader, with some form of Animalism.
The Artist (Tzimisce/Toreador): He is famous in his city for being bizarre, even by the standards of vampires there, who as Sabbat, really should be accustomed to this sort of the thing. The Artist pays them no mind. He has a vision, one he isn't sharing with anyone, and there are nights where he and his retinue stroll the city, deciding what pleases him, and what needs to be replaced with something more aesthetic. Sabbat moots will be festooned with entrails, gore, and blood, or sometimes, will take an almost pristine, sterile and clean setting. No one who speaks to the Artist comes away untouched. He speaks in monotone, with no emotion or intonation, always looking past, through the person, as if imagining what he could create out of them.
- Kephn
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