"Trumped up little god? No, gods need worshippers, I need
nothing but myself."
- An Elder, about to smite
The Elder Vampires: known to plot and scheme with the lives of younger Vampires as if they were but pawns on a board; manipulation as a way of life rather than as just one tool; ancient beings who walked the earth under the sun centuries ago and walk still, but under the shroud of night.
Time to dispel a few myths about Elders. Being an Elder is defined by active age, not Generation. It does not matter that your Sire was a member of the 6th Generation and therefore you are now of the 7th Generation. If you have only been a Vampire for a few years you're still a Neonate nothing. Being an Elder requires age, age and experience. Being Embraced in the days of Caesar then spending 2000 years in Torpor does not an Elder make. Only active years count, years spent in Torpor are wasted (and wasting) years which count for nothing past maybe a strange accent, anachronisms, culture shock and more than likely a certain lack of manners and hygiene. You're not an Elder by right of the time in Torpor alone, but you may well be a sad arse short bastard with pretensions of grandeur. It's a recurring historical theme, after all, and originality is an unfortunately scarce commodity with a great proportion of people.
Elders are Vampires who have experienced and survived. This experience often lends them an inner strength, an almost palpable aura of being. People know when an Elder has entered a room - you can feel it. Their gaze carries a mass, their anger carries a death sentence towards those who encourage it. Emotions may take longer to surface than for a Neonate, but the force of their rising causes them to be purer and self-sustaining long after the cause has ceased to exist. An Elder in Frenzy is often only spoken about by proxy, as those who witnessed the action had long since passed on into the Final Death by the time the Elder's rage was satisfied.
Elders possess abilities and powers far beyond those available to new Vampires. This does not mean an Elder Vampire has spent 200 years pumping up their Blood Disciplines to regions Caine himself would quiver in fear when looking upon. Too many people equate power with the 'level' of Discipline. To be powerful is to know all there is about a Blood Discipline - wrong. An Elder gains power through practice and control. Control is everything. Even the most simple and oft used Blood Disciplines take a whole new force when used by one with hundreds of years of Experience. The mere act of reading an Aura is simple enough, but how do you know what the pretty colours and whirls actually mean? What do they bode for the person experiencing those emotions? What caused them and how can advantage be taken? Simple, through experience. Reading an Aura is elementary, understanding what is seen is complex. It is a well known fact that Auspex burns through Obfuscate of a lower complexity - well known, but difficult to grasp without experience. How does your Character find the Obfuscated opponent? Closing one eye and sticking out their tongue just so? Or perhaps their years of experience means they know what to be looking for. That little flicker of movement not quite dampened out by the brain in time. The shadow that seems too vast and now you look harder is moulding back into a person. Experience and practice. Fleshing out your Vampire makes the Story more interesting for all involved. If you are anal you'd just say "I use Auspex and look. Oh, there it is." Dull.
History: Elders have it. If they've been active all that time, or maybe active between a few sleeps, then they'll have accumulated their knowledge and memories through interaction with the real world. Say you've been researching Arcane law for the past few centuries eh? No time to get out and meet people then eh? Then please explain how you also learnt about computers and how to drive? No interaction means the modern world has passed you by, my friend. New slang, new accents and new gizmos. Playing an Elder who is way out of touch with the world is fun, a powerful creature of the night who jumps in fright the first time they see a jet fly over their heads. Imagine rural Gangrel who have been away from it all for a long time. First time back to the "township" is going to be a hoot. Roleplay it, make it happen.
Survival: Elders are really big on the idea. Especially when it refers to them rather than any others in particular. Having been around the place for a few hundred years you sort of grow fond of the idea. Kind of like to keep the idea going as long as possible. Even if you have to kill everyone who ever crosses your path just as a warning to others. Getting the point here? Elders have survived and will go to any lengths to continue to survive. Technology, wisdom, experience, contacts, allies, paranoia, fear, raw energy, all these things and more go into surviving. This is a very pointed message to the little pissants who claim to have risen their Generation through Diablerie. Such an easy claim to make. Have you ever given the slightest thought towards the fact that Elders DO NOT WANT TO DIE? They will not be unprotected, they will not "just give up". They will not leave the Haven undefended and lay there while you bite them on the neck! They will not be an easy target, they will not allow you "another go" if you happen to fail the first time. Other Elders will know what you have done, then they will hunt you down and KILL YOU! If your Character has done the big nasty to Elders and stolen their life force then create the hunt and the eventual kill. Roleplay it, create the details and the story behind it. Don't just say "went from 13th Generation to 6th". Do you have any idea how powerful a 6th Generation Vampire is when fighting for their existence? Especially when they have survived for years numbered in centuries rather than decades. Think about it before you say it.
Allies, foes and skeletons in the closet. Elders have all these things just by being. Being an Elder means you are involved in politics to some extent, even if only lip service. Camarilla, Sabbat, Anarch and independent Clan - the four big Sects to chose from. The latter speaks for itself so won't be covered but the former two will certainly be broached. Elders belong to one of these Sects, of course there are independent Elders who lip serve to none of these but they are extraordinarily rare. If you desire your Character to be an independent Elder you had better have a very good background and history prepared, else you're just wanking into the wind - a nasty, sticky mess that no one wants anything to do with. Independents die, very quickly and more often than not as an example to others. A War Band of youngsters looking for a quick rise to fame and power, would take on an independent before one of the big three Sects. Why, you ask? Security from prosecution. The Sabbat and Camarilla take a very dim view of their constituents being wiped out like that. Not surprisingly they'd investigate and do a little violence unto the perpetrators. Not the independent, who is going to look out for the loner, eh? Elders wish to survive, as such will do lip service to an organisation for the security and resources involved.
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Malkavian Elders
"But the Childe that is borne the Malky way is
blithe and bonny, grim and grey."
- Urban Scrawl
We are Malkavians, so how do Malkavian Elders function? Any minute now some vile little creature which should have been drowned at birth will start ranting on about Reality fluctuations or Chaos warps around the Malkavian Elder Vampire. Piss off and die, that's just pathetic. If you want Reality fluctuations, then play Mage; if you want Chaos warps, then play a Mage Marauder; if you want to summon Lloigor, play Call of Cthulhu. It's really not that difficult to figure out. Malkavians are observers to Reality. They look through the window of their madness and see what is there to be seen. What is seen is of course coloured by the madness lens of their particular window. They don't get given a blue print signed personally by Malkav and leap outside to do some redecorating all on their own, free of Paradox, MIB's, SAN loss or whatever.
Malkavian Elders are a very strange breed. They have lived with their madness(es) for centuries. The madness(es) have taken power and form due to experience as well. Sometimes they warp over time to take whole new forms. More often whole new levels are added as time goes by, the Malkavian sees and learns things they sometimes wish they hadn't. Madness breeds, it breeds internally above all else. After reading this don't add 200 years to your Character and chuck on a few extra personalities as recompense. Derangements are never that simple, never that direct and never that convenient. Multiple personalities are often an excuse by a Player to avoid making up a complete Character, instead they hide between 4-200 shallow ones and wonder why they're shunned. A Malkavian Elder with multiple personalities may have even lost a few along the way, they might have been killed by the others, perhaps a few left and will be back later on stronger and far more dangerous due to their vacation at the back of the head. Enhance the personalities already there, don't just keep adding to the number thinking that'll work on its own.
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Sabbat Elders
"Only a fool considers survival to mean they
live to see another night. A wise man knows
that survival is to wake refreshed with the
knowledge that by your hand others are no
longer so fortunate."
- Sabbat Paladin
The Sabbat, not a Sect well known for retaining members long enough to even become Elders. They are there however, the strong survive and become stronger. If they do not they die and we move on. Simple eh? Welcome to the Sabbat. For the Sabbat there is no such thing as Torpor unless caused by injury. A member of the Sabbat doesn't decide one day to just take a little lie down and see how the world is looking in 50 years or so. The Sabbat is about action, forcing the issue, not waiting for things to come together on their own. Sabbat Elders may enforce Torpor on others as a means of concealment. Keep your best shock weapons on ice for a time till needed for the big push. Resources are important for the Sabbat, as we're continually at war.
Sabbat Elders do not understand the concept of the status quo. There is only advancement and death, with the former being the preferred for oneself. If you're not going forward you'll soon be replaced. Termination of contract when referring to the Sabbat often means just what you're thinking, hello Final Death. Sabbat Elders think more in the short term than their opposites in the Camarilla. Death is always a heart beat away, by the hands of your own forces as well as the enemies. Knowing you can be called out and replaced by someone at any time makes for an uncertainty and steel grasp on survival that the Camarilla could not comprehend. Just as ruthless but in a more direct manner the Sabbat Elder is not afraid of removing potential threats "for the better of the Sect" when they appear. "A shame about that faulty intelligence wasn't it. Who could have known that Pack would encounter such stiff resistance? No survivors you say? Such a pity."
For the Sabbat the unifying concept is the "Cause." The Cause is what matters, this particular Cause may be different between Elder to Elder but that there is a Cause is certain. The Cause rivals with and often is more important than personal survival. Such martyrs are useful for the rest of the Sect. For all it is survival and change. The survival may be against the Antediluvians or it maybe against the Mortals.
The Sabbat realises the Camarilla blames them for every misfortune and woe that befalls them. The Sabbat Elder believes that this miscomprehension is to be encouraged as often as possible. Attack and withdraw, strike and destroy. For every victory you create ten will spring up out of rumour and fear. Fear is the weapon against the Camarilla, fear of the unknown lurking inside their cities ready to burn them all. Vampires are easily created, one nights work by a single advance Pack can swell your forces to unstoppable levels. The youth is to be used, they have no other purpose. How can the strong survive if there is no way for them to be strong. In conquest and conflict do we grow. Send them out to die then send out any survivors once more. Those that survive will benefit the Sect far more than a thousand fold untested youth. All the same, watch your back. The Sabbat offers the youth a shot of the action by right, if they prove lacking however the consequences turn a little grim. Remember that all you who claim to be Sabbat because "you swear a lot," because you "shout a little," because you "haven't the wit to hold to the Masquerade," you're not Sabbat, you're a child playing dress up. Dribble off into the corner and slowly starve to death in the only way you'll give your existence a meaning.
Sabbat Elders are strong followers of their particular Path of Enlightenment. They would not still exist otherwise. If they had succumbed to the Beast as the alternative then they would have long before now gotten that front row ticket, charging room only, in the battle lines. Cannon fodder did they come, cannon fodder will they return if they're stupid. The Paths are important, the Sabbat don't just get to throw away their Humanity and go for it with a blessing. They are restricted just as much, if not more than, any member of the Camarilla. An Elder may be at the upper planes of Enlightenment or skirting disaster at the bestial lower regions where madness lay. All the same, they have a particular Path and will follow it with all the strength they possess. Too many children choose the Sabbat as a means of ignoring their Humanity without accepting the new limitations. This is your wake up call, go off and be elsewhere.
Sabbat Malkavians are more unstable than many of their associates in the Camarilla. There is less of the force to conform, less of the need to hide what they are and far more of the drive to shock and frighten. Sabbat Malkavians are wonderful shock weapons when invading a city. They confuse and destroy, babble and mislead, fight and succeed. Even better, if they die what have you really lost in the way of assets? A Sabbat Malkavian is a wonderful breed. Rather than be satisfied looking out the window of their madness the Sabbat Malkavian would rather jump through their window and bathe in the blood and terror found on the other side. With all of the Sabbat usefulness is tolerated, a burden is not. A Malkavian has to perform and achieve. Any dross is destroyed. The dross does not survive to become an Elder. Elder Sabbat Malkavians are far beyond their youth in the Sect. More often than not they have lost any desire to be looking out at the world without their madness to make it interesting. All the same the shocking attacks of clarity and stability are all the more terrifying and chilling to witness.
As such Sabbat Malkavians are more often servants than masters. Even the Elder Malkavian is more prone to following orders than giving them. Wrapped up in themselves and changing the world to suit their vision for it they have little time to deal with others on too great a level. A General with too much time spent fighting the battle loses control of all but their small part.
"Certainly I'm their friend. I'm the single person
looking out for their interests amidst the knot-work
of calumny and deceit that is constantly interweaved
in conversation about our Clan - their protector.
Right up until they break the Masquerade and I have
to cut their strings."
- Camarilla Primogen
This Sect is commonly thought to be run exclusively by and for the Elders that are a part of it. Some are quite obvious, almost targets one could say, whereas many are hidden away behind the scenes, possibly holding the strings. Puppetry is quite a popular manner of achieving results in the hallowed halls, and the seamy streets, of the Camarilla. It is, of course, an organisation which has the redoubtable central tenets built to stand for the continuation of the vampiric species in tandem with keeping its existence a secret from the far larger Mortal population. Sure it is. Often the conspiracy theorists, in their boring, repetitive manner, will mention the speculation that the younger members are merely kept around as feeding stock for those Elders who can no longer exist on mere Mortal Vitae. This is patently absurd - the Neonates and Ancillae are also maintained as pieces in the Game, as troops, playthings, experiments, pets. By themselves they have limited amusement capability, as their childish antics are ones that Elders have seen time and time before over the centuries, but as the pawns of greater minds their worth is enhanced considerably. Elders can take promising Childer under their wings, grooming them for greatness and even eventual Elder status and usefulness as an ally, but this also shows a target for other Elders to shoot for. Give and take.
Prescribed law, rules, are very important to the Camarilla. They keep the young in their place and allow a framework of responsibility and limits for the Elders use against each other in the Game, and to ignore as they see fit. There is a limited fluidity to their status quo, in that within the system, dependent on how well they perform in the Game, they may gain or lose points, and Status, to other Players. This again is a reason why they fear being superseded or simply removed by young upstarts - there are only so many places on the Gameboard. The dynamics of the system will remove any excess baggage. It may take more years than a Mortal will live to see, but it will happen. Patience is a virtue that Camarilla Elders can indulge in, that their strategies, indeed, frequently depend upon. Torpor may be entered rather than having to bother to while away the time until the next great Move occurs. There is always time.
For the Camarilla Elder, when all the niceties are removed, there is no great cause, there is just the self, the Game and the worry that others will gain an upper hand. Maintaining power, keeping the lesser lights under heel by making use of them in strategic ploys against other Elders, increasing personal standing amongst their peers and generally keeping away the pall of boredom that the centuries can bring are things with which they keep themselves occupied. The particular methods of how these ventures may be enacted are extremely diverse, depending on the Elder in question, obviously. It is not as if the ages tend to make one conform to a universal constant for 'Elder', but rather to become more and more oneself. To call Camarilla Elders selfish would hardly be scraping the veneer of their self absorption.
Despite the ordered structure of the Camarilla, it is more like a collection of individuals at the higher levels than any great unifying force. These ancients are not team players unless forced to by the gravest of circumstance. Even then they are completely untrusting of each other, which is the only intelligent view to take. Conduct is analysed, reanalysed, filed and catalogued for later use. Each interaction is a source of information, knowledge for the Game, and must be countered with another move, never involving oneself personally if at all possible. Some bitter enemies may not have faced each other physically more than once in a handful of centuries. Direct action is for the boorish, uncivilised, beast-like and pathetically out of touch, which is to say - the Sabbat.
The Sabbat are always whittling away at the edges of Camarilla territories like the rats they are. Those too foolish or dangerous or merely the expendable are sent out to make it seen that things are being done. If they survive, then it is just another interesting wrinkle in the scheme of things. Strength can be rewarded, but usually in a manner that brings it under more control. An external threat is an ideal way to keep the eyes of others from any true problems. The infantile babbling of maniacs bent on pandering to the lowest common denominator are generally seen as laughable. True, some of their activities have been a real thorn in the side of the Camarilla, but one that it is more trouble to remove than is really worth it. War is good for business, good for politics, and it can be used as an excuse for some unfortunate necessities that otherwise might cause uncomfortable questions. Boogeymen are a wonderful way of showing the Childer exactly why they need such a wholesome, protective and fair minded environment as the Camarilla. This is the 20th century, after all - tooth and claw went out with the creation of cities, millennia ago. We know, some of us were there.
Such age as the Elders have gained comes at a cost. Centuries of observing the world and interacting with it as they may can weaken even the most powerful grasp on morals and basic Humanity. What does it really matter what is done to others when they are but mayflies in comparison to oneself, after all? Does a man worry about stepping on insects? A good deal of Camarilla Elders have very low Humanity as a result. Many may not act directly because they do not trust themselves to retain control. It is far better to have the effect of distance to cushion any reactions than run the risk of giving way entirely to the Beast. Some Elders of the Camarilla are in reality far worse than their opposite numbers in the Sabbat, and the power structure they are a part of will protect them rather than expunging them for their excesses. Other Elders will exert themselves to the fullest extent to maintain their grip on Humanity, and thus on themselves, not throwing away the pieces they have grown weary of. These are the ones who will truly last the test of time rather than being put down like a frothing dog.
Madness is no excuse for breaking the Masquerade. The Elder Malkavians of the Camarilla play the Game, though by their own rules as often as not. True, they can be less obviously deranged than some of their Sabbat counterparts, but they have the will to do so rather than act as beasts that must give in to every whim that their bodies or minds force upon them. If they do not have the will, then they do not last long enough to survive to become Camarilla Elders. Then there are those whose derangements fit well into the structure of the Camarilla and may lead them to limit the actions of others of their Clan, by whatever means necessary. Primogen may have far reaching powers and be held accountable if they do not use them. A threat to the Masquerade may need quick and precise Justice meted. All for the common good, of course. A Camarilla Malkavian is one of the most fearsome of all the Elders to be found in the Sect - not only has he gained Elder Status, but he has done so inside a structure which sets specific limits on what his madness can be allowed to express. The strength of will this portrays is often also shown in the fact that the Malkavians are among those with the best grip on their Humanity. People can seem a little too much into the joyful release of a Derangement. They forget that there may well once have been a perfectly sane human in the form once before, striving to get some return to what they remember, being dreadfully afraid of what their cracked mind may do next. The Vampire afraid of what the Mortal remnant may try to do, the Mortal crying out within. Imbalance creating a better insight into actual balance, perhaps, and creating an actual person, a character, somewhere in between, rather than a dim caricature.
"The Camarilla would never be afraid of using the body
of an ally to shield behind. The Sabbat would never
be afraid of killing their ally first to make them
easier to hold."
