Vampire/Theme/Laws

The laws of the domain of Philadelphia are passed by consensus of the Sakima and the Caucus.

They're largely a hands off group, so in many respects Philadelphia is known to be a place where people can get away with a lot more than they might be able to elsewhere. You're unlikely to face official reprisals for being a jerk to someone important, for instance.

In some other ways, the city is more restrictive than many of them are. The Carthian Movement has more power, there's a Neonates Union full of vampires who by and large have pretty modern (and leftist) ideals, and almost none of the members of the Caucus, nor the Sakima, come from the eurocentric backgrounds that lay the foundations for many of the domains more typically ruled by the Invictus and Lancea et Sanctum.

The result is that beyond the tradition, most of the laws are simply declarations put forward by the caucus in the wake of an action they had to take in response to someone's bad behavior. For the most part, your typical modern vampire who was raised on modern morality probably thinks that these judgments largely make sense, and fall under the golden rule.

Below is a collection of them:

The Traditions

First Tradition - Masquerade

Do not reveal your true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing so forfeits you your claim to the Blood.

None shall willfully breach the Masquerade and leave such a breach open. This shall be punishable by final death. Frequent breaches of this Tradition will be dealt with severely, even if the incidents are dealt with.

For purposes of this Tradition, a resolution that makes the Caucus confident that the breach won't spread suffices.

Second Tradition - Progeny

Sire another at the peril of both yourself and your progeny. If you create a childe, the weight is your own to bear.

Kindred residing within the domain of the Sakima and claiming affinity with the domain, any of its families, or any territory or property therein are forbidden to Embrace another without permission from the Sakima. This includes actions outside of the city; leaving the city to sire a childe and returning still constitutes a breach, unless the sire forfeits all right to any claim within the Sakima's domain before departure.

Embrace of a childe without permission is punishable by death for the sire. The childe will be provided for. Any who fail to care for a childe shall face the judgement of the caucus.

Third Tradition - Amaranth

You are forbidden from devouring the heartsblood of your Kindred. If you violate this commandment, the Beast calls to your own Blood.

Amaranth shall be punished by death.

Follow the Spirit, not the Letter

The spirit and intent of the law is more important than the letter. Technicality will not protect you. If you're in doubt, don't do it. You aren't a child.

In any case where there is an ambiguity in the law, evidence of harmful intent toward other kindred shall itself be sufficient to decide the guilt of parties involved.

Children Are Off Limits

Do not feed upon, blood bond, ghoul, embrace, or otherwise harm children. If you're wondering if something counts, it counts. We shouldn't have to tell you this, but apparently we do. If we have to tell you a second time, it will be the last time.

Stop Killing Each Other

Doesn't just about every society on Earth agree about this? How do some people still have trouble figuring this one out?

If you kill another vampire on purpose you will probably die for it. If you do it by accident and come to us immediately, you will probably live. If you try to cover it up, you might not.

This doesn't apply to our enemies, of course. That's OUR enemies, collectively, not YOUR enemies.

This also doesn't apply to self defense. It does apply to revenge, honor killings, and so on.

Try not to kill humans when possible. It tends to cause everyone a lot of extra problems that are usually just not necessary. If you kill humans and it becomes a problem for other kindred, it's going to become a problem for you.

People are People

People are not property. Yes, this includes mortals. If you have questions about this, please speak with the Sakima.

Elysium is Neutral Ground

Don't use disciplines on each other there. No, hiding your presence until you're inside so that people don't see you coming and going doesn't count. Yes, reading someone's aura does. If it violates someone's mental and physical autonomy, delves into their secrets, or is generally something that a reasonable person wouldn't want you to do to them, then just don't do it. This isn't hard to figure out.

If you have a problem, talk to the Keeper. If you complain about things nobody else thinks are a problem repeatedly, don't be surprised if you get told to stop. If you cause problems, don't be surprised if you get told you're not welcome.

We Won't Protect You From Yourself

There are other supernatural societies out there than ours. If you go digging into their secrets, and they stop you, then you only have yourself to blame. We won't help you. We won't even ask nicely for your corpse back.

Donate Annually

There's not much that I require of the citizens of my domain as your Sakima, but there is one: I require each person who wishes to reside within my borders to donate to me a sample of their blood upon their acceptance into my domain, and again annually. This blood will be consumed by me, personally, upon donation, in the presence of the donor.

Don't Make Us Get Involved

We don't like making laws. You don't like getting punished for breaking them. If you're doing something questionable stop and ask yourself, "is this something that the Sakima or the Caucus would be annoyed enough by to get involved personally?" If you think there's even a chance the answer is yes, think really hard about whether it's worth it. We promise you that the punishment will be worse than whatever benefit you get, because that's the only way some people learn.