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It would be easy to answer the query “What sort of territories attract the High Clans?” with the answer “all of them.” To a large extent, this response is entirely accurate.

As is always the case with Cainites, however, the situation is substantially more complex than it ap- pears on the surface. At a cursory glance, the first cursed do indeed seem to be everywhere, involved in every aspect of mortal and undead existence, lords of the vast majority of Cainite domains.

Closer inspection, however, reveals that the High Clans only appear to have it all, because they make such a point of acting as though they do. Substantial territories remain outside their grasp, and as the Low Clans begin to realize that they need not remain the bottom rung on society’s ladder, additional regions and arenas of influence slip away from the first cursed, who have dominated them since time immemorial. Additionally, the constant conflict among and within the High Clans renders their power in many regions less than it might otherwise be, allowing other clans — including Low Clans — to step in and steal power from those who once held it.

The High Clans’ situation has grown even more tenuous now that the War of Princes has fully erupted. Ventrue battle with Tzimisce, Toreador with Lasombra, Ventrue with Ventrue. On the fringes, the Low Clans are not only repulsing the first cursed’s attempts at ousting them but are making unprec-

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ainites in battle must often wrestle to control the Beast, which exults in vio- lence and bloodshed. The chaos of war is meat and drink to it, and many vampires lose control of themselves in the heat of battle. A check to avoid frenzy is appropriate during a battle, with a difficulty ranging from 4 (for an ordinary battle) to 7 or 8 if the character is hungry or if the battle involves something particularly dear to him (from an ideal to a loved one). Note that this is for Cainites directly participating in battle. A leader behind the lines needn’t worry about frenzy unless hungry (less than a quarter of her usual blood pool).

Some Cainites choose to “Ride the Beast” in battle (Dark Ages: Vampire, p. 265), giving in to their frenzy and drawing strength from it, becoming almost unstoppable killing machines. This can make the Cainite unable to tell friend from foe, however. Since it is also possible only for Cainites who favor Instinct over Self-Con- trol, it is not a common ability among the nobility of the night (most of whom follow roads that favor Self-Control, such as the Road of Kings or the Road of Humanity). Riding the Beast in battle is most associated with Low Clan barbar- ians and savages of the Road of the Beast rather than the noble rulers of Cainite domains.

edented territorial gains, such as the constant conflict between the Assamites and several High Clans in Outremer, or the recent Tremere gains in Hungary. Conflict between the High Clans weakens their hold on power and offers far too many opportunities for the fallen to advance beyond their “rightful station.” By definition, because the High Clans already hold most of the power, they benefit only by maintaining order and the status quo. Chaos favors those who do not yet hold power, those who have nothing to lose and everything to gain from social upheaval, and the War of Princes is nothing if not chaotic. For the first time that even the deathless Cainites can remember, the High Clans must focus as much on retaining the power they have as on gaining more.

So, while any and every area attracts the High Clans to some extent, the reality of the world is that their influence is limited to specific (albeit numerous) regions and requires that they focus their efforts on specific objectives.

First and foremost, the High Clans are most powerful in regions where the High Clans have always been powerful. That may sound blatantly obvious and not even worth stating, but it’s worth considering for a moment. Far more than the kine, Cainites are creatures of habit, inertia and tradition. Most elders dislike change, and the inevitability of death, which forceschange on mortal leaders and governments, is far less of a factor. In many parts of the world, in many institutions of mortal life, the first cursed maintain power not because they are necessarily better suited to it, or even because they are particularly active in defending it, but simply because everyone — High and Low Clan alike — is so accustomed to thinking of that domain as theirs that it would never occur to them to challenge that claim. The High Clans may struggle among themselves for dominance, such as the Ventrue-Tzimisce conflicts in the Slavic East or the constant struggle for dominance of the Church, but for the most part, the Low Clans have little chance of acquiring their own share of that power.

It’s also worth noting that the High Clans fre- quently take advantage of numbers. The first cursed do not by any means outnumber the fallen; in fact, if one considers the entirety of the known world, the Low Clans are significantly more numerous, partially because many of the Low Clans are less selective in choosing their childer, and also due to the simple fact that more of the clans are Low than High. The advantage the High Clans have, however, is that they tend to be more concentrated than the fallen, and they tend, on the average, to congregate within the most

politically powerful and culturally central communi- ties. London, Paris, Rome, Buda-Pest and many other large and important cities account for an enormous portion of the High Clan population, granting them an influence far out of proportion to their overall numbers. The Low Clans — many of whom are nomadic and therefore rarely found in great numbers, others of whom hold power in lands considered un- civilized by most of Christendom — simply lack the resources or the strength to compete. This is not, by any means, coincidental. Because many of the High Clans seek power, they flock to where that power is centered; because they have been doing so for years, they now outnumber any newcomers who might seek to take that power from them.

Just as the first cursed tend to prefer communities and geographic regions that offer a degree of political power, they prefer organizations and institutions that claim either cultural authority or economic influence. Government and royalty, merchants’ and craftsmen’s guilds, and of course all levels of the Church present tempting targets for any Cainite with even the slight- est interest in manipulating the mortal world around her. These have long since been claimed by the High Clans. Let the fallen pull the strings of tiny provincial mayors, lone traders and merchants, and even the kings, sultans and governors of lands not yet civilized and brought under the yoke of the Church. Let them enjoy their tiny portions of power while they have them, for they will be forced to surrender them to their “betters” soon enough.

In fact, such territories account for an enormous amount of High Clan efforts and activities. The first cursed are inexorably drawn to those regions where they hold little or no power — in Assamite-domi- nated Outremer, Setite Egypt or the Scandinavian wilds where the Gangrel hold domain, for instance. Their efforts here may be less intensive, either because the territory has little of value to offer or because they know they have little real hope of dislodging the current fallen lords, but they make those efforts none- theless. It is a matter of principle, insofar as vampires en masse can be said to have principles. The High Clans cannot permit the Low Clans to maintain control of any region, for such a state of affairs calls into question the basic societal norms on which all Cainite interaction is based. If the Low Clans rule anywhere, successfully and effectively, might they not cease to acknowledge the superiority of the High Clans elsewhere?

It would be impossible in a work this size — or even far larger size, for that matter — to address even

a substantial portion of the cities, communities and regions in which the High Clans dominate. For all their recent troubles, they still hold the vast majority of power and influence throughout Europe. What follows, then, is an examination only of those areas that are of particular significance to the High Clans, either due to the importance of a particular individual (such as Prince Mithras of London) or a city (such as the Court of Paris), or due to their intensive efforts in that region (such as their participation in the Reconquistaagainst the Assamites). These entries are, of necessity, somewhat brief. Players who seek more information are directed toward Dark Ages Europe and Iberia by Night.

In document PARTE 5 Procedimientos de la expedición (página 26-33)