Ventrue

See Ventrue on the White Wolf Wiki.}

While other clans play at politics, study philosophy, or encourage the arts, scions of Clan Ventrue focus their pursuits on the one thing that truly matters: power. Rulership is in their blood, and rare is the Ventrue who does not feel a need to command. The Ventrue legacy is that of kings and queens, a lineage of sovereigns dating back to before the rise of the Roman Empire. They consider it their divine right to lead and shape the world. This attitude not only imposes itself on other vampires, but also extends to the province of humans, where Ventrue often play kingmaker and decide the fate of mortal empires.

“As noble a standard as loyalty sets, there is simply too much fear, self-doubt, and ambition in Kindred nature. To be sure, nobility is defined by a certain honor, a certain drive toward ascendancy. Yet total constancy is neither natural nor realistic; even dogs bite the hand that feed them! Such is the paradox of our existence, the dichotomy between desire and reality, dignitas and ruthlessness, loyalty and self-awareness: those are the hallmarks of our nights.” — A. Graves, Esq.

Noblesse oblige is a term often heard in the halls of the Ventrue. The Ventrue clan values dignitas, a virtue based on honor, propriety and respect, and those who abide by its intricate rules will find themselves successful within the clan of kings. Ventrue are a cunning breed, educated and erudite, equally as capable with a sword as with a pen. Conservative and callous, Ventrue rarely make decisions based on emotion. Everything they do is weighed against the acquisition of power, and only the fittest survive. They know that ruthlessness is necessary to rule a domain of fractious undead.

The Ventrue practice of royal command translated into the modern world with ease. Instead of kings and emperors, they have become powerful CEOs, controlling empires of finance and business rather than land and serfs. The clan has shifted its attention to modern technology and commerce, where it thrives like voracious wolves in a field of helpless sheep. In order to maintain the clan’s acumen, Ventrue choose childer from those who are already successful; military leaders, business executives, and wealthy investors join the undead ranks with ancient kings and queens.

Like mortal royalty, a Ventrue learns the pedigree of her blood from the day she is Embraced, and she must always be prepared to recite her lineage letter perfect at the command of her elders. Internally the Ventrue organization operates in feudal fealty chains, although the exact nature has evolved from its ancient roots. Now, peerages, vassalages, and oaths of fealty merge seamlessly with business contracts, buyouts, and high-pressure management styles.

Notable Ventrue

• His Puissance, Adam Reeves-Johnson, Strategos of the North East
• Abigail Forza, Lictor
• Berel Underwood, Ventrue Primogen of Boston
• Hazel Iversen, Imperial Sheriff of Boston
• Gabriel Payne, Ventrue Primogen of Caliburn

History

Early History

The Ventrue cherish history more so than any other clan, believing it to be a worthy guide to live by and to justify their positions of authority today. This is not to say that they have any particular obsession with the truth – a myth can be much more powerful than the real thing, after all. But they take history very seriously, a fact that is no doubt aided by their tale being one of conquests and grand achievements the likes of which few other clans can boast. To hear them say it, their claim to fame begins in the early days of vampire history with Caine himself commanding his eldest childe Ynosch to Embrace the Ventrue Founder, who they believe to be the first member of the Third Generation and who is often called Ventru. He was to be Caine's advisor in the nights of the First City, and when the Dark Father prepared to leave he chose to hand the burden of stewarding his people to Ventru. Through this story the Ventrue justify their position of superiority and leadership over the other clans, just as they believe their progenitor led the other Antediluvians for a time.

The first major achievement of the Ventrue is attributed to Artemis with the creation of militant Sparta. Wary of the mortal masses even in those ancient nights, Artemis saw promise in the ideas of the philosopher Lycurgus and supported him, seeking to make the humans a tool to be used rather than fought, and eventually making herself Sparta's patron goddess. They would soon become the perfect example mortal potential in her eyes: loyal, brave, and completely devoted to self-perfection. Sensing the rising power, other Ventrue gathered to become a part of the Spartan war machine, urging the neighboring City-states to ally with Sparta while establishing their own domains within the Peloponnesian League. This also made possible the rise of the mercantile city of Corinth and its Prince Evarchus, who exemplified the power of wealth in a role for all Ventrue to follow.

The growing power of Sparta and the Brujah alliance in {{www|Athens (WOD)|Athens would lead to the first {{www|Brujah War, a conflict that would set the stage for a bitter rivalry between the two clans millennia afterwards. Though the Brujah or Ventrue never came directly to blows in the conflict, the eventual invasion of Athens led by Lysander caused many Brujah and Toreador to regard the Ventrue as power mad barbarians, while Spartan Ventrue considered the Brujah dangerous idealists.

Roman Age

After Sparta's fall, the rise of Rome signaled one of the clan's greatest ages. Many Ventrue had long settled in the region and lived relatively quietly while it was ruled by the Etruscans. Nevertheless, the rebellion that freed the Roman people was attributed to Collat, who would become the city's first Prince. Recognizing the mortals of Rome to be a proud and superstitious people that would sooner stake any vampires than consider living with them let alone beneath them, Collat did not seek to rule the Romans directly or make himself a deity as vampires in the past had done, but influenced events from behind the scenes by collecting favors from the city's citizens. This system would later be refined by Camilla, childe of Collat, who replaced his sire and set about establishing political connections with the patrician families of Rome. Instead of using Disciplines to force his will on the city's leaders, Collat ruled through ghoul proxies delivering favors and contacts, allowing him to grow rich and powerful while the mortals remained ignorant. This strategy would be widely adopted in the centuries to follow and would serve the clan well once the Masquerade was adopted.

The second Brujah War would parallel that of Rome and Carthage, where Brujah, Assamites, and even Baali ruled the mortals openly, demanding blood and sacrifices while living as gods. In such contrast to what the Patricians had fostered in Rome, the African nation was seen as a den of infernalists and monsters. Despite Lysander's repeated efforts to convince Camilla, the war with Carthage would not begin until a Brujah named Dominic antagonized the Malkavian Prince of Syracuse, Alchias. Alchias turned to Artemis and supposedly the bull-dancer Arikel for help, and the three made plans with Lysander to arrange the war. Cainites largely avoided direct fighting during the first two Punic Wars, but in the final assault Ventrue, Toreador, Malkavians, and Gangrel of Rome battled openly alongside the Romans against the people of Carthage. In the end both sides were greatly wounded, but the Ventrue prevailed, and the Brujah would never forgive them for destroying their fabled city.

In the years that followed Rome prospered. The Ventrue shared its power with many of the other clans that had taken part in the wars against Carthage, establishing friendships with other Cainites even as the Ventrue themselves began squabbling with one another. Most Patricians of the time were independent, with the only organization of the clan being a largely ineffectual assembly that eventually fell out of practice. Following the cue of Julius Caesar, Camilla reorganized the Ventrue into a structure that gave authority over the clan's members to the most important Ventrue in the region. While the power over the younger and less important Ventrue was not absolute, it did create a means for settling disputes, establishing connections, and identifying friends and enemies of the clan. These reforms served the clan well, and the Patricians prospered for several centuries until the empire itself dissolved.

Dark Ages

When Rome fell, most of the Ventrue elite abandoned the ruined city to establish new centers of power elsewhere. During the rise of the Merovingian dynasty in Frankia (later the Holy Roman Empire), the Ventrue began infiltrating existing government as feudal lords, thus taking credit for the creation and expansion of the medieval feudal system. As the Frankish state expanded into Germany and Italy, the Ventrue began to prosper once again. When the Holy Roman Empire was dispersed, the Ventrue moved their center of power to Italy. However, since Rome was dominated by the Lasombra (as was much of the Church), the Ventrue established centers of power elsewhere in Italy, in Venice, Milan, Genoa, and Firenze. Here, the Ventrue constantly opposed the Lasombra (and their proxies in the church and in Rome) in their quest for power, as their own early efforts had not succeeded. Posing as kings and merchant princes, the Ventrue expanded their influence across the Mediterranean through trade routes and crusades, thus becoming again a force to be reckoned with.

During these times, many Ventrue were influenced by the laws of chivalry and personal honor. Some of these separated themselves from the main clan during the founding of the Camarilla and turned to the Sabbat.

Victorian Age

1800s England was a good time to be Ventrue. The combination of centuries-old feudalism with the nouveau riche middle class served to keep the Ventrue at the top of the power structure. From there, they could oversee both international politics and the finances of an entire country.

Many Ventrue childer, already hungry for territories of their own, were sent to colonies through the British Empire, creating Camarilla beachheads in India, Australia, and Egypt. The vampires who already occupied these regions (primarily Ravnos and Daitya in India, and Setites in Egypt) faced years of vicious propaganda declaring them to be heathens, savages, and worse. Most people - both Kindred and kine - adopted these views wholesale, making the work of controlling popular opinion that much easier for the Ventrue. If a Ventrue wanted to increase profit from a mine in Africa, all they had to do was spread the word that the mine's workers were closet heretics, justifying the decline of pay and living conditions. The Danava of India were able to invoke their historical connection with the Ventrue to leverage themselves into a position resembling neutrality, at least on the surface. After over a century, the native Daitya were able to eventually wrest control of India back from the foreign British Ventrue.

Not all Ventrue were robber-barons and misanthropes, but enough of them were to make vampiric opinion turn against them for the first time since the founding of the Camarilla. The Toreador were repulsed by the Ventrue obsession with money and political gains; the Tremere had more important things to worry about than who was Prince of a small English town; the Gangrel were treated as servants and animals when they were not being hunted down.

The Ventrue made just enough compromises to smooth things over, at least with any Kindred whom they could make use of; it was during this time that the Ventrue learned to temper their cutthroat business dealings with an outward veneer of philanthropy. They remained, of course, a clan out for profit and prestige, but there is no reason not to remain civil while doing so. This policy was put to the test in the New World, where the Ventrue spread West across North America and provided much of the impetus for doing so: The clan's money could sponsor quite a few landstaking ventures and West Coast mines, and wherever cities sprang up so did Ventrue interests.

Modern Nights

The years following the World Wars have seen Clan Ventrue reassert itself once more over a half-century of troubles and decline. The clan thrived during the four-decade cold war, taking full advantage of the paranoid on both sides to make massive profits and sink its tendrils into the growing government bureaucracies that came to dominate industrialized governments. Having learned a valuable lesson from the debacle of the Crusades, savvy Ventrue have determined to hold their resources together despite the mortal conflict raging around them. Ventrue on both sides of the Iron Curtain worked in concert, watching their respective "governments" act against one another for the greatest advantage. The Ventrue were particularly fond of the various incarnations of secret police that came into existence, finding them an excellent way to keep the kine in line and under supervision. In the West, the Ventrue concentrated on the recovering European industries, all but abandoning the last of their feudal and noble ties for big business and majority shares in multinational corporations.

When the Cold War ended, the few former Communist Bloc Ventrue who did manage to cultivate some degree of influence found themselves stripped of power just as the governments they supported had been. A decade later, these Ventrue are still trying to recover while Western Ventrue-owned companies step into the dismal economies and invest heavily in national infrastructures. As a result, a number of Ventrue in the East – particularly in Russia, {{www|Poland (WOD)|Poland, {{www|Bulgaria (WOD)|Bulgaria, and the Ukraine – have turned to organized crime as a new field of influence.

Clan Organization

The Ventrue are second only to the Tremere in terms of organization and interrelation, and take pride in the fact that every clan member has a place and knows just where he stands within the clan in relation to everyone else. Of course, the system is not at all like some military organization.

Acquiring dignitas is the only way to advance in Ventrue society. One does not necessarily ascend a ladder of advancement from rank to rank. Rather, members can move through the (largely honorific) system as their abilities and fortunes decree. The Ventrue feel that this system allows them more flexibility and lets them spot new talents within the clan and reward it, if desirable.

The clan elders often point this latter facet of the system out to young Kindred who are anxious and frustrated at the lackluster success of their own unlives. The system borrows heavily from the Roman Republic's political institutions. Although the democratic elements of that system were stripped away long ago, the overall structure and some of the names remain.

Ephorate

The Ephorate – often referred to as the Directorate in modern nights – consists of the 12 most powerful and influential Ventrue elders. The Ephors establish precedent in matters of "clan policy". It is the highest rank among the Ventrue internal hierarchy, having the Strategoi as their acting agents.

The Ephors are responsible for choosing the clan's representative to the Inner Circle. They manage the clan affairs and punish those who betray the clan. The Ephorate can also arbitrate intra-clan disputes, but only when a dispute can have far reaching implications or ramifications. They serve as guidance, council, and a lending institution. The Ephors also preside over trials that involve law breaking among the Ventrue (though quite rarely).

The Directorate's most important function is not so easily quantified; they set the tone for the entire clan. Their philosophies, leadership styles, and political stances are discussed and debated through the ranks, therefore influencing the majority of the Ventrue to some degree.

They have influence and contacts everywhere and their combined power rivals that of major governments. The fact that few Ventrue even know who sits on council makes their power all the more fearsome.

Strategoi

The Strategoi are Ventrue that implement the will of the Ephorate within a specific geographic area set by their masters, much like the Justicars of the Camarilla (and with a similar freedom to interpret and act on them as they see fit). They guide the overall welfare of the clan in their territory. For the sake of loyalty to the Ephorate, Strategoi are not allowed to have any position within the Camarilla. However, the Strategoi itself is a position of prestige, and they are entitled to field agents known as Lictors.

Lictors

The Lictors are the field operatives of the Ephorate. They are appointed by and act as the direct aides to the Strategoi. They are the equivalent of the archons among the Ventrue.

There is no predetermined number of Lictors that a Strategoi may have active at one time and not all of them act in this capacity openly. They are the troubleshooters for the Ventrue clan, each with their own distinct specializations, trained to resolve a particular type of problem (martial, diplomacy, financial, Masquerade, etc.).

Since the Strategoi seldom get their hands dirty, they send these individuals out to address problems, enforce policy and procedure, and to administer judgment. Lictors are the eyes and ears for the Strategoi, reporting directly back to them about the various domains and directorate that they visit.

These are the strong-arm of the Ephorate, possibly best thought of as the clan's internal police force. A Ventrue of any significant standing can call upon their Strategos for assistance, and a single Lictor is often what they send in response. The Strategoi usually pick relatively young up-and-coming Ventrue to elevate to this coveted role, as this position often serves as a fast track (though certainly through a “Trial by Fire”) to the upper echelons of the clan.

Many Ventrue referred to Lictors as judge, jury, and oftentimes executioner for the clan.

City Organization

Inside cities, the Ventrue organize themselves into an institution called the Gerousia, (or simply "Board" in modern nights). This Council effectively adjudicates Ventrue concerns within the city, overseeing Ventrue business and political interests within a domain. The Board is officially headed by the Praetor, who brings issues before the rest of the Board and hosts their meetings. Below the Praetors are the Aediles, who aid the Council and Praetor just as supervisors assist managers in a business. By their turn, the Questors act as assistants for their elder (or otherwise experienced) Ventrue. Finally, below the Questors lie the common Ventrue, without a formal title or useful experience to the Clan - they are called Eiren.