Vampire/Theme/Families

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The Vampire Families
The importance of family ties among Philadelphia's vampires is unusual, but so are many things about Philadelphia. A good deal of this comes from the guidance of Sakima Saagochque, who makes no effort to hide that she it's simply the kind of culture that she grew up in with the Lenape before European encroachment forced change on the area, and that since she's in charge she's going back to it. She views the obsessive pursuit of power and the idea of centering your sense of identity about what you do to to fill your days is a distinctly Eurocentric approach, and that it's also a bunch of nonsense she's not going to officially sanction. With the stronger emphasis on family, it's no surprise that a number of local kindred lineages have risen to more prominence, simply through the successes of their members or their ability to be around long enough for everyone to recognize their names

There are two ways for a family to grow their numbers in Philadelphia: to be granted permission to embrace a new vampire, or to adopt one that already exists. Though families are usually affiliated with the clan that the majority of their members belong to, and are strongly encouraged to have a family head who is also of that clan, this isn't strictly required, and one of the Sagamores would be permitted to officially adopt a family with no members of their clan at all, if they desired. This has never happened, and might raise questions, but it is permissible.

Families are most commonly referred to by the surname of their founder or their family head, though there aren't strict rules about family names, which has lead to some rather outlandish ones over the years.

Daeva Families
  • Ashtifar: The family headed by Tahmina Ashtifar, who also serves the Daeva as the Sagamore for their clan. Despite being the clan head's family, Ashtifar is made up of members of every clan, with all but Tahmina's cousin being adoptees. The family has a certain reputation , which the charitable might call a penchant for taking in strays who want to live their unlives in a way that minimizes harm, but which others occasionally speak of in less kind terms. None the less, their affiliation with the Daeva clan's head gives some some sway, and their atypical approach to unlife is more accepted in Philly's kindred political climate than it might be elsewhere.
  • Okorafor & Kan: More commonly referred to as O&K, and the only family in the city that bears the name of two kindred, Ejaita Okorafor & Sora Kan is also the name of the law firm run by the family's two founders, and is one of the few families whose reliance on the use of ghouls and thralls is grudgingly accepted. Nominally considered a Daeva family because it's the clan Ejaita Okorafor belongs to, and her name is the first on their letterhead. Her partner is Sora Kan, a Mekhet, and the pair are both Carthians who maintain many of the domain's legal connections and provide representation in matters related to both Kindred businesses and their personal legal needs. They also have extensive contacts that make them a source for kindred needing to establish new legal identities and other similar services.
Gangrel Families
  • Washington: This family is the one belonging to Anthony Robert Washington, the founder of the Bloodsuckers Local 76 union, and almost every member of the family is a member of the union as well. It's a highly egalitarian family, and also the one with probably the most connections with the mortal workforce. They're a go to group for people coming into the city from overseas who need large quantities of things brought safely into the country, particularly in cases where people don't want the authorities looking closely at what's being shipped through the port. They allow members of any clan, but require BL76 membership as a requirement for adoption for those who are young enough, and outward support of the union for those who are too old. The family controls the Port of Philadelphia.
  • Touati: The founder of this family, Shiri Touati, is also the Gangrel clan head. They are well connected in social circles both in mortal society and kindred as an arts patron and community organizer. Their family is a small one, but has the distinction of being the family with the largest number of direct descendants of the family's founder in a city where permission for the embrace is strictly controlled. A good number of the city's Gangrel who don't feel like they fit the stereotypes of their clan also find their way to the Touati family, but it also contains one or two members of each of the other clans as well. The family controls the Avenue of Arts, a point of significant contention with more than one of the Daeva families.
Mekhet Families
  • Rodriguez: A family initially founded by Marco Rodriquez and now led by his daughter, Clara, this family is made up mostly of Mekhet with an interest in the study of ephemeral beings such as ghosts and spirits. They aren't an exclusively Mekhet family, but they are a small one. Given their scholarly bent and the particular focus of their studies, they tend to attract members of the Ordo Dracul as the majority of their non-Mekhet members, but they also have members of other covenants and clans as well. They control a seemingly random scattering of territories around the Sakima's domain, chosen for reasons they rarely share with others, though rumor has it they're places of spiritual significance.
  • Vega: The Vega family is a small one. Their founder, Karen Vega, is notorious both for her bloodline -- she's one of the fangless Norvegi -- and for the fact that she simply doesn't have time for anyone's bullshit. Not for the petty squabbles over inconsequential garbage that tend to occupy the requiems of the kindred, and not for most of Saagochque's politics, and definitely not for yours, regardless of who you are. A handful of kindred thought early on that being in her family would be like not being in one at all, only to find out that she seems to know everything about what her people are up to and she definitely doesn't have time for their bullshit, either. Most of the time her lack of patience manifests in her simply leaving without commentary in the middle of a discussion, but she's a frightening dangerous person when pushed. How did she end up in charge of the Mekhet? She's hands off, she isn't afraid to disagree with the Sakima, and maybe surprisingly, she seems to have Saagochque's respect.
  • Wright: The Wright family isn't nearly the powerhouse that they once were, owing to their membership being predominantly Invictus with a scattering of those in the Lancea et Sanctum, but the last lingering remnants of a Dynastic Invictus powerhouse still remain in the city, and in the last couple of decades members of the long-standing cyclical dynasty have returned from their slumbers to a Philly that's nothing like the one that they left. Harold Wright, the current leader of the family, woke up only a few years ago, and after a brief internal power struggle came to be its head. The family seems mostly to be lying low for the time being, but there's little doubt they're working on plans for how to raise their station.
Nosferatu Families
  • Saagochque: This family, headed by the Sakima of Philadelphia, is one of the largest in the city simply by nature of being the one that a number of Kindred end up in by default. It contains some of the older members of the city, many of whom were still under the thumbs of Sires who were killed in the coup of 1891. The decision to adopt those kindred may be seen as risky, or as an attempt to keep her enemies close, but some of those adoptees are now among her staunchest supporters, at least outwardly. Newcomers, especially Nosferatu, who seek adoption into a local family often petition for entrance into hers, and are frequently accepted. It means that they're one of the most diverse -- some might say random -- families of vampires in the city.
  • The Fly By Night Society: In a city where so much of the normal convention of vampire society is thrown out the window, it may come as less surprise to anyone that what started out as Flyers fan club gained official recognition as one of the city's Families just because the club's president asked, and was given permission. Hot Doug's family/club was granted all of the territory between interstates 76, 95, and the Schuylkil; river, including Wells Fargo Center, where the Flyers play. Their official stance is that anyone can come to games, as long as they root for the Flyers and don't feed on too many people in the stadium.
Ventrue Families
  • Mac Lochlainn: Led by Banan Mac Lochlainn, a member of the Bron bloodline, this family is made up primarily of Banan's blood kin, a handful of more martially and less politically inclined Ventrue, and a few of the cities other warriors. They put themselves forward as a sort of unofficial city watch, both to provide assistance to the Sheriff and to confront threats to the city in a more organized way than just a bunch of kindred who have never even tried to work together all hoping to go into battle side by side.
  • Chevrette The family of Ventrue clan head and Keeper of Elysium Esme Chevrette, and one of the only families in the city lead by someone who claims membership in no covenant, the Chevrette family is unusual in other ways. Even more than some of the other egalitarian families, the Chevrette family has a strong focus on de-centralized leadership (some might say a lack of it), and a willingness to take in anybody who shares their disinterested attitude toward the obsessive accumulation of kindred power. Esme has made it no secret that she works to maintain leadership of the Ventrue clan entirely to serve as a check on the typical ambition of the Lords, and she has continued to hold clan leadership despite multiple attempts by other Lords to oust her.