Status Traits
Contents
Why is status a thing?
"A beast I am, lest a beast I become."
"Wanna know what I'm buying, Ringo?"
"What?"
"Your life. I'm giving you that money so I don't have to kill your ass."
Vampire society evolved the status system to let vampires release their Beast in a subtle fashion, rather than lose control to it. In addition to the general perception of Status Rating, Credit Rating (Camarilla) and vaulderie (Sabbat), it has adopted these more specific codes of social standing.
General concepts
For the purpose of these rules, 'weeks' begin on (IC time) Monday at noon Pacific. All changes to traits should go through +request.
"Accepted" is not governed by these status trait rules, instead it is a prerequisite for them.
- The Camarilla calls this "Acknowledged". You must speak with your Primogen and be formally introduced to the local Prince.
- The Sabbat calls this "Committed". You must survive Creation Rites.
- The Anarch Movement calls this "Initiated". You must prove your loyalty in combat with others of your sect.
- All status trait effects are limited to one sect (unless Alternate Identity is involved), and sometimes also by domain and/or other things.
- You automatically know the status traits of all Accepted members.
- Each week, you can inquire into N such members (N = your Leadership) and learn where / how / why / by whom it was awarded.
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Offices and Abiding traits
Camarilla
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Sabbat
Anarch
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- Imperial Praxis equivalents: (local) Imperator ~ Prince, Duke ~ Seneschal.
- Elder and Ancilla also depend on how long you've ICly been active. (Will probably be tied to OOC time since approval and/or lifetime XP, details TBD.) Increasing Generation in the present day does not qualify you for them.
- NPC only, details omitted for brevity: Inner Circle, (global) Imperator, Justicar, Archon, Alastor; Regent, Cardinal, Prisci; Ascendant, Ominous, Sacrosanct.
Specific Abiding traits
Trait | How you get it | Passive | Spent |
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Authority | Prince; Seneschal, while Prince is absent | Award Courageous, Defender, Honorable, or Loyal.
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Issue or remove Warned or Forsaken. |
Commander | Prince, unless petty |
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Award Courageous or Loyal to up to three people (need not be the same for all of them). |
Enforcer | Keeper of Elysium, Sheriff, Scourge |
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Issue Warned to someone you legitimately believe has broken the law. |
Established | Elder | Anyone who clearly insults, threatens or attacks you in the presence of another becomes Warned, unless they have Authority, Commander, or Triumphant. | Award Favored. |
Prominent | Harpy / Court Harpy | Award Courteous or Honorable.
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Order someone to leave a non-combat scene. If they don't, they become Disgraced. |
Confirmed | Elder or ancilla | May approach officers without formal introduction and without social penalty. | Order a ghoul or other servant of the faction, unless it directly contradicts their domitor/etc's orders. If they refuse, you can kill them without reprisal. Can't be spent during combat. |
Guardian | Harpy, Keeper of Elysium; Assistant Harpy, at their own gatherings, while Court Harpy not present | Issue Warned to anyone who behaves inappropriately within your jurisdiction or does not respect the authority of your proclamations. | Issue Disgraced
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Noble | Seneschal, Primogen, Harpy / Court Harpy; Whip, while your primogen is absent | Award Loyal or Acclaimed.
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Issue Vulgar to someone who caused significant offense. |
Privileged | Elder | Others can't openly accuse you of lying unless they have Authority, Commander, Privileged, or Triumphant. | Issue Vulgar. |
Sovereign | Prince |
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Award Sanctioned, or initiate a blood hunt for as long as you retain your position (target is effectively Forsaken within your domain). |
- Imperial Praxis: Sheriff awarding Defender is two per fief, implicitly renewed weekly for standing deputies.
Specific Innate traits
- TBD: Architect, Primus Inter Pares
Specific Fleeting traits
Trait | How you get it | Passive | Spent |
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Courteous | Patron with Prominent | Others setting off Awareness can't frame you for it with Subterfuge. | Apologize for a political or etiquette gaffe you made within the past five minutes. It still happened, but can't be held against you. |
Courageous | Patron with Authority or Commander | You gain +1 success on one combat action per scene if following directives of someone with Authority or Commander. | You or another person gains +1 success on one combat action unless breaking the law. |
Defender | Patron with Authority or Enforcer | Carry weapons to any gathering, including Elysium. | Auto-succeed on a check to resist frenzy. |
Favored | Patron with Established | Anyone who openly attacks you becomes Warned unless they have Authority, Commander, or Triumphant. | Negate a negative trait before it's applied. That person can't issue you negative traits for rest of week. |
Honorable | Patron with Authority or Prominent | Anyone who openly accuses you of lying must spend a positive trait (any type, without its usual effect) to do so. | Negate all current/future orders to leave the current scene. |
Loyal | Patron with Authority, Commander, or Noble, or Prestigious Sire merit | If you would otherwise become Warned, it's negated and you lose Loyal instead. | Acquire one piece of equipment or information (e.g. another person's location) from NPCs (typically ghouls or low-level vampires) within five minutes, if they can do so relatively easily. |
Praised | Openly insulting someone with Disgraced | No passive effect. | Demand a trivial boon from someone who doesn't already owe you any boons. |
Triumphant | Killing someone with Forsaken (helping is insufficient) | VIP treatment. Feed anywhere. | Negate the effects of all of your or another person's negative traits for an hour, even if they would otherwise prevent you from using status traits. |
Victorious | Winning a symbel | For rest of week in which you gained it, others who can spend to give you positive traits can do so without spending. | Regain another trait that you just spent, or remove Warned from yourself or another within same jurisdiction where you gained Victorious. |
Acclaimed | Patron with Noble | Extend passive effects of one of your unspent traits to one other person for one hour as long as they remain within ten feet of you. | Ask an officer to share her views or offer advice (publically or privately as you wish) on a subject relevant to the domain (personal gain is explicitly OK as long as it's still relevant). |
Gallant | Patron with Social Nobility merit (BNS page 405). | No passive effect. | Apologize for a political or etiquette gaffe you made within the past five minutes. It still happened, but can't be held against you. |
Sanctioned | Patron with Sovereign | No passive effect. | You're allowed by the Authority of the domain to break one specific law without punishment. |
Ban | Cap | How you get it |
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Lesser | 3 |
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Greater | 1 |
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Specific Negative traits
Trait | How you get it | Censure | Punishment |
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Warned |
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Disgraced | Violating Warned or Prominent |
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Forsaken |
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Vulgar | Issued by someone with Noble or Privileged | All your fleeting traits are spent without effect (but return at end of week) and you can't gain more until then. | If issued Vulgar again, gain Warned as well. |
Symbels
Symbels allow gambling with status traits.
- Outcome must be reasonably uncertain, otherwise everyone loses (ST discretion).
- Must be disclosed to a group of people, but not necessarily all participants.
DuelsTwo people bet one of their traits each, and agree on the terms of the duel, e.g.
If you don't have a trait to bet, then you can't participate in a duel. While the duel is in progress, the bet traits can't be spent, but still provide their passive effects. When the duel is won:
Examples of duels:
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OrdealsOne person (the host) bets one of their traits and announces a goal.
If you don't have a trait to bet, then you can't host an ordeal, but you can particpate in one. While the ordeal is in progress, the bet trait can't be spent, but still provides its passive effects. When the ordeal is won:
Examples of ordeals:
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References
These rules are adapted from BNS MET Vampire pages 310-318 (general), 370-380 and 400-403 (Camarilla), 416-420 and 446-449 (Sabbat), 472-474 and 481-484 (Anarch), 317-318 (symbels).