Old and new

[Grimathor]

From what I gather the clans are different in the WoD.

Does the Camarilla and Sabbat still exist?

Is it still a political game?

[MadVlat]

In answer to your query:

1. In the new world of darkness there are only five clans. They are as follows: Nosferatu, Gangrel, Mekhet, Ventrue, and Daeva. Each clan has several bloodlines associated with it. The bloodlines give a bit of variety to the game.
In addition there are five covenants and the unbound. The covenants are as follows. Circle of the Crone (They practice ancient blood magic), Lancea Sanctum (They practice the doctrine of Longuis. I call them the new Sabbat.), Ordo Dracul (They believe that vampires are of a higher order of evolution and strive to perfect themselves), Invictus (These are usually your ruling class within a city or domain, 'nough said.), Carthian movement (Movers and shakers among mortal society).

2. The Camarilla is a mindset for vampiric society. The Sabbat no longer exist. The closest thing being the Lancea Sanctum (see above).

3. Vampires have to have something to spend eternity doing. So yes it is still a socially motivated political system.

I hope that this answers some of your questions Grim.

[Grimathor]

So each vampire choose a clan, bloodline and covenant?

[Vardaen]

Honeslty I think the Lancea Sactum are nothing like teh Sabbat, that is a terrible analogy. The LS are the religous arm, the true believers in the founder of the vampire society.

[MadVlat]

Their ideology is different yes (Caine or longuis). But the way they are set up politically and their use of church titles such as BISHOP, CARDINAL, etc..., makes them closer in comparison than most people think.

*****ALSO*****

Only clan and covenant (or unbound) are required for character creation. Bloodlines are an option the player has at creation or further down the line. By taking a bloodline your character gains access to an additional discipline but also it departs an additional bloodline specific weakness.

[Grimathor]

Do Justicars and Archons still exist within the Camarilla?

[MadVlat]

There is small mention of them, but yes they do exist. In title more than practice.

[Vardaen]

I won't argue about the Sabbat and LC, but the Sabbat are, from my experience. More wild, gang like bastards not worried about the Masqerade or any sort of thing like that. Little more than animals, while the LS are clearly Cammarilla minded.

Maybe there is more to the Sabbat than flexing and violence, but I've never seen a game like that.

[MadVlat]

The reason they have that rep is because of their belief system. One major difference between them is the fact that the Sabbat tend to force their ideals down your throat. The L.S. on the other hand use a bit more subtlty a majority of the time.

[Vardaen]

LS
The Lancea Sanctum exists under a rather peculiar dichotomy. On one hand, they believe in propriety and sobriety. On the other hand, their absolutist self-righteous prejudices color everything about them. Although he Testament of Longinus doesn't explicitly encourage unnecessary violence, the Testament does state that it is a vampire's duty to feed upon the kine without regret or mercy, for the Curse is a mandate from Heaven. The Lancea Sanctum book purports to represent the alien mindset of these most inhuman of vampires in order to portray them in all their bloody resplendence.

Sabbat
All Sabbat adhere to a code of conduct called "The Code of Milan", which preaches loyalty to sect and packmates, and to one's own freedom within the sect, as long as one's own good is never placed above the good of the Sabbat itself.

In addition to a very firm "if you're not with us, you're against us" mentality, the sect considers vampires to be a higher form of life than humanity, and is based upon the principles of Loyalty and Freedom. Loyalty to the sect and to one's comrades is one of the important aspects of the sect, and the Sabbat vampires maintain this loyalty through a ritual called Vaulderie, where strong emotional bonds are created between members of the Sabbat. Freedom is preached in accordance to the Sabbat belief that every vampire is free to create their own destiny without being hindered by the reputations of their elders, and that no Sabbat has to lay down their life for cowards who cannot take care of their own matters. Of course, it does not always work like this in practice.



While I see some similarities there is also alot of differences. Just because one uses the term Bishop doesn't make the jobs the same. Sabbats are anarchs, desiring to destroy the Antedeluvians, while the LS preach the testament of Longnius and stucture and belief in the system and the Man. Two very different attidudes.