Anarch Movement

Anarchs are vampires who reject the status quo of Cainite society. The resulting organization of anarchs is called the Anarch Movement, whose traditional strongholds are Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco.

The Anarchs especially resent the privileged status held by elders within the Camarilla and other vampire sects; when the eldest hold the most power in a society of immortals, the youngest view it as a pyramid scheme. As such, this sect is naturally targeted for recruitment by the Sabbat.

Most of the Anarchs respect and uphold the Masquerade and some of the other Traditions, even if they do not respect the vampires who enforce them or the system that benefits from them. Some truly believe in them, while others follow to avoid conflicts both inside and outside of the movement.

Under the terms of the Convention of Thorns, the Anarchs—like all vampires—were until the early 21st century considered a faction of the Camarilla by its members, but unlike the Sabbat, they were tolerated.

History

The Anarch's historical origins lie in the Anarch Revolt that birthed the Sabbat—as well as the older Promethean and Furore movements—but in recent nights, they are mostly an unorganized rabble of younger vampires and Caitiff. "Anarch" was originally a name imposed upon them by Camarilla elders, since they sought to overthrow the leadership structures of Cainite society, but while many Anarchs are indeed anarchists, the more traditional desire has been the bringing equality and democracy (or at least meritocracy) to Kindred society.

In modern nights, the Anarchs that have been sidelined to the fringes of Kindred society have gathered together under the banner of the "Anarch Movement". This organized movement made their single largest coup against the tyranny of the elders and the sects during the Second Anarch Revolt. During this revolution, the Anarchs liberated Los Angeles in 1944; within a year, they established an Anarch Free State across southern and central California, overthrowing the Princes of the liberated cities and establishing in their places the Anarch Barons - which were given a much more tolerant degree of authority over their fellow Anarchs.

The establishment and continued existence of the Free State has put a greater strain on Anarch-Camarilla relations than at any point since the original Revolt. During the second half of the 20th century, the Free State withstood constant incursions from Camarilla and Sabbat alike. However, the Kuei-jin staged a concentrated incursion into the region in the late 1990s with the assistance of a few highly-placed ex-Anarchs who sought to preserve the region's independence from both Camarilla and Sabbat.

The Kuei-jin managed to oust Jeremy MacNeill, the Baron of Los Angeles, only to lose the city to a Camarilla counter-offensive. Now, the region holds a fragile détente between four factions: the Anarchs in what remains of the Free State, the Kuei-jin in the New Promise Mandarinate centered around San Francisco, the Camarilla with footholds in Los Angeles and San Diego, and the Sabbat to the south, in Mexico.