Vampire/Theme/Families/Overview

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.