Hello everybody, and happy new year.
It's been a long time since I've done one of these articles, and today, I'm going to write about a subject I feel rather strongly about. Now, I've been playing Vampire: The Masquerade for several years, and my favorite mode of play has always been the Sabbat. Now, I know, the Sabbat are supposed to be antagonists. They're supposed to be the 'evil' vampires that the Camarilla oppose, and I've probably made a vast number of V: tM players mad right now. But before you send me hate mail, about how I'm 'not playing it right,' or whatever else, listen to my perspective. I could have made this another RPG Antagonists article, but I like the Sabbat far too much to resign them to mere antagonists. Honestly, the Camarilla has starred more often in my game as the antagonistic force, and the Sabbat is an incredibly rich, diverse roleplaying setting. So, without further ado, let's dig into the Sword of Caine.
Now, to understand the Sabbat, you need to understand where they're coming from. It's easy to stereotype them as a horde of frenzying barbarians coming to batter down the walls of civilization, but the Sabbat have more to offer then that. The Sabbat was founded for the betterment of vampirekind. The Sabbat was founded on the basis of equality for all Cainites. The Anarch Revolt in the 1400's, the neonate revolt against the elders, that forced the elders to see neonates as a force to be reckoned with, was the revolution that spawned the Sabbat. But with the foundation of the Camarilla, the supposedly rebellious Anarchs agreed to the terms of the Camarilla. They agreed, once more to the rule of elders. The Sabbat were the vampires who stood true to their principles and said 'no.' The Sabbat, at the time, were right. If vampires had simply launched a true revolt, they could have ruled the world openly. In the dark ages, all humans had to fight them were stakes, crucifixes and fire. Vampires could have fed openly in the streets and ruled over the kine as the blood-stained gods of the night, but because of the cowardice of the Camarilla, vampires were forced to hide. They were forced to pretend to be human, and they were forced to deny their true nature. Now, can you imagine what it's like for the vampires who had lived to see the modern nights, from those ancient times? Can you imagine what it feels like to have divinity snatched so easily from you? The Sabbat are pissed off, and they have every right to be. The Camarilla have forced them into a modern dark age, allowing the humans to create weapons to destroy vampires if they were ever to show their faces. In a very real way, the Sabbat feel cheated.
Now, the Sabbat of the modern nights aren't just permanently frenzying monsters. Monsters they are, yes, but that's because they accept what they are, rather than, trying to hide behind the pathetic veneer of humanity. The Camarilla tries to pretend they are mortals, tries to pretend that they can still feel human emotions and that the thirst for blood doesn't guide their every action. Worse, the Camarilla adherence to humanity is all for show, a cheap little trick to lure neonates into the worship of the Antediluvians, because to the Sabbat, that's all the Camarilla is. The Sabbat, unlike the Camarilla, believe in the myth of Caine and his grandchilder, and rightfully fear them. They can feel the call of the ancients, and know that they sleep, waiting for the final night when they awaken and devour all their childer. The reason the Camarilla denies the existence of the Antediluvians is obviously because they work for them. The Sabbat are the sword of Caine, the last vampires on earth who still heed the words of their founder, and still fight against the foul thirteen elders, who care nothing for their broods.
The Camarilla may preach humanity, but they do not practice it.The so called 'kindred' can never feel at ease, even among their own kind. Backstabbing, untrustworthy creatures, the Sabbat knows what it means to have friendship. Unlike the Camarilla, the Sabbat understands what it means to love their own kind. The Sabbat is based upon the pack structure, where several vampires of common goal, partake among themselves the rite of the Vaulderie. The Vaulderie works by the members of the pack bleeding into a cup, and drinking from it, thereby blood bonding themselves to each other. members of a pack are closer than family, and each pack functions as a brood, a group of true companions, and a military unit. Unlike the decadent Camarilla, the Sabbat does not betray their own kind. The Sabbat are above the Jyhad, and seek their strength through unity. Even better, the power of the Vaulderie breaks all blood-bonds, preventing the foul elders from enslaving the Sabbat to their whims.
The Sabbat are vampire supremacists, and they worship Caine as an example of what a vampire should be. While (given that most players are human), it may be difficult to see this from your characters perspective, that's one of the things I think makes for such a good roleplaying experience. Look at Cainites, in all honesty. Objectively, aside from the curse of sunlight, they ARE better than humans. Cainites are undead, superhuman monsters, and because of the Camarilla, they've been denied their rightful place at the top of the food chain. The Sabbat are pissed off, and rightfully so, when you consider it.
Now, finally, I disagree with the canon interpretation of the Sabbat. Because the writers were trying to make a point of hypocrisy, they made the elders of the Sabbat and Camarilla functionally identical. I honestly think this undercuts the meaning of the Sabbat, and all the drama that they can create. The Sabbat pose a legitimate philosophical opponent to the Camarilla, and I feel that the writers felt the need to make them all a bunch of hypocrites in order to make them 'bad guys.' So, while the following isn't canon, this is how the Sabbat function in my World of Darkness.
For a start, the Sabbat perform what they call the Reciprocum, rather than the Vinculum. A Sabbat elder who bonds a younger member, always takes at least one drink of blood as well. This ensures that, unlike the Camarilla, the Sabbat actually can act as father figures to their troops. Each elder can act as a father figure, leading his troops into battle, and actually caring about their soldiers as well. The Sabbat was built for the equality of all Cainites, and the elders aim to set a good example for their neonates.
Secondly, the Sabbat place no stigma on generation or age. Every Sabbat has the right to be heard, and all opinions are to be judged by their merit, not by who proposed them. There is no shame in being a 14th generation, or even a Pander (clanless) within the Sabbat. If anything, it's just another tool the elders use to maintain power, and even the clanless and the young can have valuable insights into the mortal world, which makes Sabbat elders more adaptable to the modern world.
Finally, while the Sabbat may reject the traditions of the Camarilla, they do admit that some of them are necessary. The biggest part of this is the Masquerade. My Sabbat oppose the Masquerade from a philosophical standpoint, reasoning that if vampires had simply crushed the kine underfoot, the Masquerade would be irrelevant. However, because of the Camarilla's foolish, spineless decision, the Masquerade is a necessity that the Sabbat grudgingly upholds. They aren't idiots, and they know that they are no match for mortals as they are. What the Sabbat oppose is the fact that the Masquerade needed to be implemented in the first place. As for the tradition of Childer, the Sabbat believe that only the worthy should be given the gift of Caine. Humans shouldn't be embraced out of love, or out of sympathy, or other emotions that speak of the weakness of humanity, but because they are warriors. With the gift of Caine, the Sabbat believe they give humans the opportunity to prove themselves. The weak shovelheads perish, and the true vampires survive. It is a boon for the childe to accept or reject, but ultimately, it's always the vampire's choice. Finally, as for the tradition of Diablerie, the most controversial aspect of the Sabbat is that they accept kinslaying as a part of their condition. Sometimes, vampires were simply not meant to be embraced. Sometimes, humans prove to be nothing more than a waste of blood, and the Sabbat see no problem with reclaiming that blood. The Sabbat are founded upon darwinian principles, and, rather than pretend to be alive, they accept that they are a race of predators, and as predators, the weak die and are devoured by the strong. It is cruel yes, but at least the prey gets to live on as part of his killer, becoming part of something bigger than himself.
The Sabbat provide a lot of roleplay opportunities for some stunningly deep drama. The Sabbat are an opportunity to truly see what it means to be a vampire, to find some kind of peace and acceptance with one's condition. It's hard to stomach for humans, but the Sabbat are just another answer to the question that Vampire asks: what does it mean to be a predator? What always appealed to me about the Sabbat is that they can love, they can feel for their friends, just as deeply as they felt for loved ones in life, and that they truly understood what it means to be a vampire. It may be hard to stomach, but ultimately, the entire reason to play Vampire is to play a morally ambiguous character, and the Sabbat are just as heroic and noble (from their own perspective) as the Camarilla, and as Vampire players, we always know how much fun it is to take a walk on the dark side.
- Kephn
