🩸 Chronicle Reference

SABBAT PACK-001

Pack Structure

Sabbat exist in packs: small groups of three to seven (but never more than 10) Cainites. Every Sabbat belongs to a pack, from the Regent to the humblest new initiate. Packs tend to be unchanging; their members are deeply loyal, bound together through the ritual of Vaulderie.

Ductus

Ducti attend to the operational, day-to-day activities of the pack and serve as warleaders. They are responsible for the combat training and functionality of the pack, as well as its safety and security. In most packs, the Ductus is the primary authority.

• Gains the abiding status trait Blessed during tenure
• Holds status jurisdiction over pack members
• May administer physical punishment to pack members

Priest

The Priest is responsible for the spiritual growth of her packmates. The Priest conducts ritae and offers advice on Paths of Enlightenment. Priests must learn three Auctoritas Ritae (the Creation Rites, the Vaulderie, and the Monomacy).

• Gains the abiding status trait Ordained during tenure
• Holds status jurisdiction over pack members
• May order pack members to undergo a Rite of Contrition

Abbot

The position of Abbot is typically found only in founded packs. An Abbot is charged with the maintenance of a pack's communal haven.

Pack Types

• Founded Packs (Covens): Choose a specific city and maintain a permanent pack haven there
• Nomadic Packs (Horsemen): Roam the countryside, some scouting, others just wandering

SABBAT RITE-001

The Vaulderie

The Vaulderie is the foremost ritual of the Sword of Caine. It ensures freedom from the blood bond, as well as promoting unity between bickering political factions. The Vaulderie gives vampires a simulated emotional connection to their comrades known as vinculum.

Performing the Vaulderie

To begin the Vaulderie, the Priest or clergy member officiating the ritus gathers the participants into a circle. She brings forth a vessel and a weapon: usually a chalice and a consecrated knife.

The officiant chants: "My blood springs from Caine, and is gladly spilled in his service." She cuts her wrist and bleeds into the cup. Each vampire in the circle then speaks the same blessing and adds her blood to the mix.

Once everyone has contributed, the officiant lifts the cup toward the heavens and speaks: "Praise Caine! May the bonds be broken." The blood within the cup is transubstantiated and purified by the ritual.

Vinculum Ratings

Vinculum is always mutual; someone cannot have a vinculum without the other individual feeling the same vinculum in return. Once a character has participated in a Vaulderie with another individual, she always has a vinculum rating of 1 toward that individual. This rating is permanent.

• Rating 5: Vaulderie every few days for three months - Complete infatuation. Must spend 2 Willpower per scene to work against them; 2 Willpower per round to attack them. Cannot kill them.
• Rating 4: Vaulderie weekly for three months - Integral part of life, like a lover or trusted companion. Must spend 1 Willpower per scene to work against; 1 Willpower per round to attack. Must spend Willpower to kill.
• Rating 3: Vaulderie 10+ times in past year - Close connection and deep friendship. Must spend 1 Willpower to attack for the scene.
• Rating 2: Vaulderie 2+ times in past year - Empathy and friendship. Must spend 1 Willpower to kill.
• Rating 1: Vaulderie once (permanent) - Sense of kinship and neutral-to-friendly feelings. No mechanical effect.

SABBAT RITE-002

The Creation Rites

The Creation Rite is a formal and sacred ritual performed after a fledgling vampire has proven herself to the sect, has been educated, and is ready to be Initiated. As part of this ritual, the priest consecrates a flaming brand and presses it to a supplicant's forehead while she recites her first oath of allegiance to the sect.

The Oath of the Sabbat

All pack Priests are required to learn this ritus. After completing the Creation Rites, the vampire is considered a True Sabbat and gains the status Initiated.

SABBAT RITE-003

The Fire Dance

The Sabbat believe that vampires should revel in their undead nature, proving their courage against the vampiric bane of fire. This ritus requires a participant to leap through a massive blaze, and it is therefore a test of courage as well as a test of faith. The Fire Dance takes quite some time to cast and works vampires into a state of near-frenzy, driving their Beasts to the limit as they leap again and again through a massive bonfire.

Effects

Characters who participate in a Fire Dance are fortified against fear frenzy for three nights following the ritus. All fear frenzy tests are treated as though the participant has 1 less Beast trait.

SABBAT RITE-004

The Monomacy

One of the earliest ritus devised by the sect, Monomacy has been critical to the continuance of the Sabbat. The Code of Milan states that Monomacy must be used to settle all disputes. A dispute must be founded on irreconcilable differences that cannot be solved in another manner.

Default Terms of Monomacy

• Direct, one-on-one fight within a 30-foot diameter circle
• Takes place at midnight on the first new moon following acceptance
• Challenger selects location; challenged chooses weapons (ceremonial melee weapons or unarmed)
• No powers active when Monomacy begins (passive powers like Fortitude are acceptable)
• After Monomacy begins, participants may use any powers they possess
• Victor determined when one vampire torpors opponent within circle or drives opponent fully out of circle

Outcomes

After a victor has been determined, she selects the outcome:

1. Death: Death must occur within the circle, by the victor's own hands or powers. All possessions of slain losers must be given to the winner.
2. Exile: The defeated vampire must never again come within the city (or local diocese) for five years or until the victor relents.
3. Loss of Position: The loser must resign the office in contention, and the victor chooses a replacement for that position.

SABBAT RITE-005

Games of Instinct

Games of Instinct can take many different forms, but each is designed to strengthen and hone a vampire's skills. These games are often dangerous, and can be deadly for the participants, but are considered no less sacred than other ritae.

Effects

A vampire who successfully completes a Game of Instinct receives an additional Physical attribute focus that lingers for the next three nights. After the bonus from this ritae expires, you cannot benefit from a Game of Instinct or from other ritae that grant additional focuses for two game sessions or one month (whichever is greater).

SABBAT RITE-006

Rite of Contrition

The newest of the Auctoritas, this ritus allows a humiliated or failed sect member to atone for her actions. Performing a Rite of Contrition is a semi-voluntary act. Evidence of wrongdoing is brought to a superior (typically either a member of the clergy or the individual's Priest). If the evidence is compelling, the penitent vampire can request the rite to clear her name, or she may be ordered to perform the Rite of Contrition.

Process

1. The penitent gathers with her Priest, the aggrieved, and the aggrieved's Priest
2. The penitent states the deed for which she intends to make amends
3. The penitent's Priest assigns an appropriate task, to be fulfilled within three nights
4. The aggrieved may add a caveat to this task, magnifying the difficulty
5. The penitent may choose a willing second to aid her in the task

Consequences

• Success: All negative status removed. Cannot be given negative status for that issue again. No further argument, vengeance, or persecution may occur about this issue.
• Failure: Stripped of all status, forced to step down from any positions, and cannot gain status for three months or six games thereafter.

SABBAT RITE-007

The Wild Hunt

This ritual confers Caine's blessing upon multiple packs for the purpose of hunting a specific, named individual: a traitor to the sect. This rite cannot be used to target someone who is not a member of the Sabbat, and it can only be performed against someone who has betrayed the sect in a tangible manner.

Process

Although any Initiated member of the sect may participate in a Wild Hunt, the ritus can only be performed by an Archbishop, Cardinal, or the Regent. The clergy must:

1. Light 13 black candles
2. Publically announce the Banns of the Hunt (a complete list of charges against the accused) and a location
3. The accused has three nights to face her accuser and answer the charges; during each night, the 13 black candles are lit again
4. If the accused does not come to answer charges within three nights, the accuser blows out each of the black candles and casts the remainder of the Wild Hunt ritus

Effects

An individual who has been Wild Hunted gains a mystical, ever-bleeding scar upon her flesh, which identifies her as a traitor to the Sword of Caine. The mark may appear on the target's forehead, chest, the back of the neck, or the palm of a hand. The vampire will bear this wound until her Final Death or until she is pardoned by the Regent.

At the moment this rite is formally completed, the target:

• Loses all status and position in the sect
• Cannot benefit from any Sabbat ritae
• All vinculums to her are immediately broken (although vinculums she has toward others still remain)

SABBAT RITE-008

The War Party

This powerful ritual confers Caine's blessing upon multiple packs for the purpose of hunting a specific, named enemy of the sect, with the intention of drinking her soul and strengthening the Sabbat. If the War Party does not bring death to that enemy, those involved will suffer great shame.

Effects

The effects of a War Party last until the next sunrise. Once the War Party ritus has been successfully performed, the packs cannot turn from their purpose, even if they cannot find their target or there is no hope of victory.

A Priest can cast War Party on up to 15 vampires. During the War Party, participants can choose to gain 1 Beast trait in order to receive a +1 wild card bonus for any challenge that actively pursues or attacks the specific target. A character may make this exchange up to five times during the War Party.

This ritual cannot be used against True Sabbat.

SABBAT HIER-001

The Regent of Caine

The Regent is the absolute theocratic leader of the Sabbat. He shepherds the faith and doctrine of the Church of the Dark Father. The Regent is the commander of the Sword of Caine in its war against the Antediluvians and their pawns, the Camarilla.

Current Regent: Temoch the Jackal

The current Regent is a Coyote Gangrel named Temoch (6th generation). Embraced during the war for Mexico's independence, Temoch is a devoutly faithful creature and a dedicated member of the Orthodox political faction, merging bloody Aztec practices with the ritual traditions of Catholicism. His pack is named Nuestra Muerte.

Temoch earned the loyalty of the sect through decisive action during the Nights of Turmoil. He gathered the remaining Black Hand agents and negated the order's self-proclaimed independent mandate. He called on the Coyotes of the sect and asked them to join the ranks of the weakened Hand, using them to locate and extract desperate packs in war-torn areas, regrouping the broken remnants of the Sword of Caine in Mexico City.

The Regent's Authority Includes:

• Calling a synod of the sect
• Removing or imposing individual status bans
• Uninitiating any member of the Sabbat
• Ordering any member to undergo a Rite of Contrition
• Ordaining (through the Blood Bath) any clergy post in the sect
• Confirming a Prisci appointed by the Prisci Council
• Removing any member of the clergy from her position
• Appointing or removing the Seraph and Grand Inquisitor posts
• Appointing up to five Templars into his service
• Declaring a full Crusade (the Regent is the sole title holder capable of this act)
• Summoning any member of the Black Hand or the Inquisition and issuing commands
• Holding global status jurisdiction

Status

The Regent gains the abiding status traits Authority, Commander, Ominous, and Sacrosanct during his tenure in office.

SABBAT HIER-002

Cardinals

Cardinals have the authority to administrate large geographical territories known as a Holy See. Cardinals are always members of founded packs within the territory they control. Cardinals report directly to the Regent and serve on the Consistory to coordinate Archbishops within her territory.

A Cardinal's Authority Includes:

• Ordaining (through the Blood Bath) Archbishops and Bishops within her jurisdiction
• Performing Wild Hunts and Blood Feasts within her Holy See
• Assisting and advising the Regent
• Ordering any member of her Holy See to undergo a Rite of Contrition
• Appointing up to three Templars into her service
• Calling an ecumenical council of the Holy See
• Issuing letters patent to ratify the findings of an ecumenical council
• Removing any Archbishop or Bishop within her jurisdiction
• Exiling a member of the Sabbat from her Holy See (permanently or otherwise)
• Summoning a lesser member of the Black Hand or the Inquisition
• Holding regional status jurisdiction within her Holy See (or over nomads)

Status

A Cardinal gains the abiding status traits Authority, Glorious, and Sacrosanct during her tenure in office.

Notable Cardinals

• Yitzhak (Toreador antitribu, 8th gen) - Cardinal of Montreal, Path of Nocturnal Redemption, Orthodox
• Francisco Domingo de Polonia (Lasombra, 7th gen) - Cardinal of the East, Path of Power and the Inner Voice, Ultra Conservative
• Miranda the Baptizer (Salubri antitribu, 9th gen) - Cardinal of the Midwest, Path of Caine, Orthodox

SABBAT HIER-003

Archbishops

Archbishops have the authority to administrate specific cities or small territories known as a diocese. Archbishops are always members of founded packs within the area they control. Archbishops report to the Cardinal of the Holy See and coordinate military strategy for their diocese.

Where a Camarilla Prince is a domineering and tyrannical authority, a Sabbat Archbishop must be more cunning and subtle. The Sabbat, unconcerned with enforcing the Traditions, instead wages a holy war. Thus, an Archbishop is part spiritual leader and part warlord.

An Archbishop's Authority Includes:

• Awarding or removing fleeting or negative status to those within her diocese
• Calling an esbat within her diocese
• Assisting and advising the Cardinal of the surrounding Holy See
• Appointing or removing up to five Bishops for her diocese
• Performing the Blood Bath on her Bishops
• Authorizing Wild Hunts within her diocese
• Appointing up to two Templars
• Ordering any member of her diocese to undergo a Rite of Contrition
• Exiling a member of the Sabbat from her diocese
• Administering physical punishments to members of her diocese
• Summoning a lesser member of the Black Hand or the Inquisition
• Holding status jurisdiction over her physical domain

Status

An Archbishop gains the abiding status traits Authority, Glorious, and Ordained during her tenure in office.

SABBAT HIER-004

Bishops

A Bishop's authority comes via an ordained Archbishop or Cardinal. A diocese may have three to five Bishops, each tasked by the Archbishop to manage one aspect of that city's administration.

Common Bishop Roles

• Bishop of War: Trains local packs in combat and strategy, coordinates military activity
• Bishop of Security: Maintains the diocese's communal haven
• Bishop of Spirituality: Instructs packs in the Auctoritas Ritae, oversees Monomacy challenges
• Bishop of Information: Acts as a spymaster, keeps tabs on founded packs, nomadic visitors, and non-Sabbat vampires
• Bishop of Resources: Maintains control over the influences and peons of the mortal world

A Bishop's Authority Includes:

• Carrying out the Archbishop's will within the domain
• Performing ritae when the Archbishop authorizes it
• Fulfilling her specialization or administrative task
• Holding status jurisdiction in her Archbishop's physical domain

Status

A Bishop gains either the abiding status trait Blessed or Enforcer (chosen at the beginning of each night) during her tenure in office.

SABBAT HIER-005

The Prisci

The 13 Prisci serve the populace of the Sabbat as sages and chamberlains, and are not part of the hierarchy of the clergy. A new Prisci is appointed or removed by a majority vote of the Prisci Council. Typically, a Prisci is an older member of the sect, vested with centuries of wisdom and influence. Her duty is to advise the Regent and offer wisdom to the Sword of Caine.

Powers of the Prisci

• With a unanimous vote, the Prisci Council can overrule the Regent's decree on any issue except Crusade
• A group of three Prisci may remove the ordination of a Cardinal, Archbishop, or Bishop
• A Priscus can uninitiate any vampire proven to be ignorant or dangerous to the Sabbat
• A Priscus can order any member of the sect to undergo a Rite of Contrition
• By full majority vote, the Prisci can order the Regent to undergo Contrition
• As a group, the Prisci perform the Blood Bath to ordain the Regent

Status

A Priscus gains the abiding status traits of Infamous, Prominent, and Sacrosanct during her tenure in office.

Notable Prisci

• Sascha Vykos (Tzimisce, 6th gen) - Path of Death and the Soul
• Joseph Pander (Pander, 9th gen) - Humanity, Pander faction
• Adonai (Salubri antitribu, 7th gen) - Path of Honorable Accord, Ultra Conservative
• Dorotea Black (Tremere antitribu [Telyav], 8th gen) - Humanity

SABBAT HAND-001

The Black Hand

The Black Hand is an elite order of soldiers, whose membership consists of the finest and most dangerous combatants in the sect. These special operatives take on the most dangerous tasks, often sacrificing their lives in service to the Sword of Caine.

History

Originally a militia mustered to lead assaults against Camarilla-held cities, the Black Hand became increasingly powerful and permanent. However, over the centuries it was infiltrated by a death cult known as the Tal'Mahe'Ra. When the Red Star rose, the Assamite antitribu (including the leadership of the Black Hand) answered the Eldest's call and left the sect. The Black Hand nearly crumbled.

During the Nights of Turmoil, Regent Temoch called the last of the Black Hand to Mexico City. He ordered his own Templars to join the Hand, swelling the order's ranks with powerful Gangrel and Nosferatu. The Black Hand now serves the Regent, obeying his orders and placing its trust in his command.

Black Hand Missions

• Kidnapping: When the Sabbat needs information, the Hand will kidnap a non-Sabbat vampire. The target has a choice: forced conversion or death by diablerie.
• Assassination: The Hand performs targeted killings, often to frame a secondary source and sow division among enemies.
• Espionage: Only Black Hand members are trusted to infiltrate enemy organizations for any length of time.

Membership

Less than 30 Cainites currently serve in the order. Members tend to be Gangrel (primarily Coyote), Nosferatu, Brujah antitribu, and Pander. The Hand is officially neutral in sect politics. Members cannot take sect positions, including clergy titles and pack responsibilities. A pack can never have more than one Black Hand member.

The Crescent Brand

Those who join the Black Hand are branded with a permanent, mystical black crescent moon on the palm of their right hand. The Seraphim can use the brand as a sympathetic link for rituals: warning agents in the field, destroying compromised operatives, or summoning agents to report.

Statute XIII of the Code of Milan

"All Sabbat shall support the Black Hand." This statute allows an operative to commandeer local packs and sect members when the Hand requires backup or needs access to specific skills.

Ranks

• Seraph: The highest authority of the Black Hand. Four Seraphim are known to exist, reporting directly to the Regent.
• Dominion: Commanders with regional authority. Primary battlefield tacticians.
• Agent: Acting as soldiers, commandos, and operatives, Agents comprise the main body of Black Hand membership.

SABBAT INQ-001

The Sabbat Inquisition

The Sabbat Inquisition was founded in 1804 to stamp out infernalism, which had risen among the sect. Over the years, the order's authority expanded into the murky realm of religious purity: determining heresy within the Sword of Caine.

History

The order began when a Ventrue antitribu Priscus named Gustav Mallenhous barely escaped an encounter with infernalists. By the turn of the 20th century, the Inquisition's leadership was corrupt, abusing their power to condemn heretics as a political tool. In 1919, the Black Hand annihilated Inquisition agents in a battle outside Philadelphia, and thereafter, the Inquisition was violently reformed.

The Inquisition has acquired a reputation for cruelty, no mean feat among those who willingly label themselves monsters. The order has an intense and vicious rivalry with the Black Hand.

Membership

Approximately 30 Cainites hold posts within the order. Inquisitors routinely travel to all Sabbat-held territories, often presiding over Rites of Contrition or assisting with sect punishments. Inquisitors are usually members of nomadic packs, and such packs are formed primarily of Inquisition members.

Crusaders of the Ventrue antitribu line are the most common members. The rest of the order is overwhelmingly comprised of Lasombra, Tzimisce, and Toreador antitribu. Unusually, there are even Harbingers of Skulls within the Inquisition.

Current Leadership

Maria Sandoza (Lasombra, 7th gen) - Grand Inquisitor. Pack: Scions of the Unknown. Path of Honorable Accord. Ultra Conservative. Childe of the famous Archbishop Ambrosio Luis Monçada. She administrates the order from a secret bunker known as Santo Oficio, located in northern Mexico.

Ranks

• Grand Inquisitor: The highest authority within the Inquisition, reporting directly to the Regent
• Watcher: Support staff who operate from safe houses or from the Santo Oficio
• Judge Inquisitor: The main body of Inquisition membership, active field operatives
• Knight Inquisitor (Paladins): Warriors and combat operatives of the order

Iron Reliquaries

An Inquisitor's iron reliquary is a weapon that serves as her badge of office. Each one is given to the Inquisitor directly by the Regent. Physically, a reliquary is a stylized version of the Sabbat symbol, forged of iron. It can be held and wielded like a dagger or sword, and often incorporates sharp spikes or cutting surfaces.

SABBAT INQ-002

Inquisition Trials

The Inquisition has unprecedented power to accuse, interrogate, and judge on cases of heresy and suspected dealings with the infernal. An Inquisitor can accuse any other member of the Sabbat, save the Regent, of heresy or infernalism and can take such an individual into custody. Resistance or flight is proof of guilt.

Trial Process

• The individual's Priest must be present to witness interrogation, trial, and destruction
• The Priest may advocate on her packmate's behalf
• The Inquisition prefers to do most trials in public to educate the sect and encourage fear
• All executions are reviewed by the Regent
• If conclusions of heresy or infernalism are found to be in error or unsupported, the Inquisition member can be destroyed in turn

Ad Cautelum

An individual who has been investigated and determined to be free of infernal taint or heresy is given a writ of innocence known as the ad cautelum. This writ lasts for three months, during which time the individual is expected to be particularly penitent and atone for any sins she has committed against the faith of Caine. Once expired, she may be investigated again if new evidence surfaces.

Sentences

• Heretics: Killed by various gruesome means
• Infernalists: Death by fire, always
• Condemned heretics and infernalists are never diablerized, as the stain would transfer
• Anyone who diablerizes a heretic or infernalist must be destroyed immediately under the same charge

SABBAT INQ-003

Heresy

The Sabbat is rife with heretical doctrines. Unlike infernal thralls, it is difficult to tell if someone is corrupted by heretical belief. The Sabbat's ethic of freedom and the diversity of its membership means ignorant individuals often espouse slanted beliefs. This is one reason the Inquisition is so cruel; it would rather put a sect member to the sword for an ill-chosen sermon than allow a heretic to go unpunished.

What Constitutes Heresy

Beliefs that revere the Antediluvians, enslave others, interact with the infernal, encourage blood bonding, forsake the ritae, or preach against Caine are heretical.

Heretical Paths

Over the last century and more, the Inquisition has declared the following paths to be heretical:

• Path of Evil Revelations
• Path of Typhon
• Path of Sutekh
• Path of Lilith
• Path of Blood

Even the Lasombra clan's Path of Night balances on the edge of being declared heresy. Only the Path of Righteous Night has given the Inquisition any reason to hesitate about purging the sect of all patrons of this form of Morality.

Heretical Texts

Certain rarely known, aberrant texts from the dark ages are considered heretical:

• The Book of Shining Blood (Euagetaematikon) - gnostic writings of the Cainite Heresy
• The Gospel of Laodice - favored by those on the various Paths of Heaven
• Any knowledge or information regarding Golconda (a blasphemy against the vampiric state)

SABBAT CODE-001

The Code of Milan

In 1933, the Sabbat convened a synod in New York. There, the Sabbat rededicated itself to freedom, unity, and the religion of Caine. Regent Gorchrist selected several of the most important tenets of the ancient Code of Milan (a three-book text from the 11th century) and updated them, using them as a basis for a formal document of law for the Sabbat.

The Statutes

I. The Sabbat shall remain united in its support of the sect's Regent. If necessary, a new Regent shall be elected. The Regent shall support relief from tyranny, granting all Sabbat freedom.

II. All Sabbat shall do their best to serve their leaders as long as said leaders serve the will of the Regent.

III. All Sabbat shall faithfully observe all the Auctoritus Ritae.

IV. All Sabbat shall keep their word of honor to one another.

V. All Sabbat shall treat their peers fairly and equally, upholding the strength and unity of the Sabbat. If necessary, they shall provide for the needs of their brethren.

VI. All Sabbat must put the good of the sect and the race of Cainites before their own personal needs, despite all costs.

VII. Those who are not honorable under the code will be considered less than equal and therefore unworthy of assistance.

VIII. As it has always been, so shall it always be. The Lextalionis shall be the model for undying justice by which all Sabbat shall abide.

IX. All Sabbat shall protect one another from the enemies of the sect. Personal enemies shall remain a personal responsibility, unless they undermine sect security.

X. All sect members shall protect Sabbat territory from all the other powers. The spirit of freedom shall be the fundamental principle of the Sect. All Sabbat shall expect and demand freedom from their leaders.

XI. The spirit of freedom shall be the fundamental principle of the Sect. All Sabbat shall expect and demand freedom from their leaders.

XII. The Ritus of Monomacy shall be used to settle disputes among all Sabbat.

XIII. All Sabbat shall support the Black Hand.

Addenda to the Code of Milan

Observed by all witnessing parties present on this night, December 21, 1933, and hereafter upheld.

I. All Sabbat have the right to monitor the behavior and activities of their fellow sect members in order to maintain freedom and security.

II. All Sabbat possess the right to call a council of their peers and immediate leaders.

III. All Sabbat shall act against sect members who use the powers and authority the Sabbat has given them for personal gain at the expense of the Sabbat. Action shall be taken only through accepted means, approved by a quorum of Prisci.

SABBAT FACT-001

Ultra Conservatives

Once composed of the eldest members of the Sabbat, Ultra Conservatives favor centralization and authoritarianism. From their viewpoint, true freedom will come only after the Sabbat win the war. Until then, the Sword of Caine must be an army, and it must be prepared to fight as an army.

Ultra Conservatives favor bold leaders and insist upon intensive combat training, ensuring that every member of the sect has the capacity to be useful in war. They work to consolidate the strength of the Sabbat through strict and efficient hierarchical structures. They recommend the Vaulderie between all packs of a diocese; with enough ties of blood, they hope pack cells will become unnecessary, and all Sabbat will join together as a unified nation.

Faction Ritae: Irad's Wall

Irad's Wall is an ancient ritus, but the Ultra Conservatives jealously guard its secrets. To cast it, petitioners must consecrate an area no larger than a single room of 100 square feet with incense and salt.

When this ritus is performed, it sanctifies a building or small area for a single night, preventing spirits, wraiths, or psychic forms from entering the location. Such entities can attempt to spy on the protected area from outside Irad's Wall, but they cannot cross the barrier.

SABBAT FACT-002

Orthodox

The Orthodox faction is waging a campaign of renewed religious fervor within the Sabbat. It focuses on the ritae, the worship of Caine, and the mystic nature of vampirism. This faction insists upon spiritual dedication, and it believes that the Sabbat's leadership should be comprised of the most devout and faithful Priests.

Orthodox Sabbat advocate a greater use of ritae, more authority for Priests, and more fanatic adherence to the doctrine of the sect. They tend to work well with the Inquisition, and they actively support the creation of new ritae and the use of Thaumaturgy within the sect.

Faction Ritae: Atra Sacramentum

Members of the Roman Catholic Church consider its sacraments necessary for a mortal's salvation. So, too, do Orthodox members of the Church of Caine consider the Atra Sacramentum integral to a vampire's unlife. When the Atra Sacramentum is performed, all vampires involved in the ritus must sacrifice some of their own flesh, offering reparation to the Dark Father in penance for the sins of their forefathers, the Antediluvians.

The vampire receives 2 points of unpreventable aggravated damage when performing this ritual. Healing these wounds ends all effects of the Atra Sacramentum. Until the next sunset, a vampire who participated in the Atra Sacramentum does not suffer the effects of her clan's weakness.

SABBAT FACT-003

Loyalists

One of the largest political factions in the Sabbat, Loyalists comprise perhaps 50% of the sect. Unlike the Camarilla's Anarchs, who rebel against any authority, Loyalists view themselves as an integral part of the Sabbat. They believe in the pack structure, the bonds of vinculum, and the right of an individual sect member to respect Caine as that vampire sees fit.

Though they can be contrary, refusing orders simply to prove a point, most Loyalists genuinely believe in the sect's cause. They advocate an extremely limited hierarchy, wherein the Regent is the sole authority above pack officers. Loyalists believe clergy positions degrade the sect's freedom and will not accept such posts.

Faction Ritae: Tower of Babel

The Loyalists created the Tower of Babel rite to strengthen the pack, encouraging and allowing secure communication even within a larger gathering. Individuals who participate in a Tower of Babel ritus (up to 10 individuals) may communicate with one another in a manner that is indecipherable to all those around them. These vampires may speak the mystic language of their tower, and that language cannot be deciphered by any means.

The communication granted by this ritus is as obvious as any other discussion: just the meaning is obscured. The effects of this ritual last until sunrise.

SABBAT FACT-004

Order of St. Blaise

Vampires in the Order of St. Blaise lead dangerous existences. Once, they served the sect as spies and saboteurs within the Roman Catholic Church, but in modern times, the Order of St. Blaise has widened its scope. Now it works to gain and control influence over all aspects of human society. It uses these contacts and leverage to hide Sabbat activity, maintain the Silence of the Blood, and protect packs and communal havens from sect enemies.

In general, members of the Sabbat disdain Humanity and mortal life. This leads to friction between the Order of St. Blaise and other factions, as the Order's primary purpose requires its members to typically maintain their Humanity and to interact with mortals far more than other vampires in the Sabbat.

However, the order's contributions to the Sword of Caine are unparalleled. In these modern nights of cellphone cameras and constant mortal surveillance, the Order of St. Blaise has become unquestionably integral to the survival of the sect.

Faction Ritae: The Blessing of Saint Blaise

Drawing upon Saint Blaise in his capacity as the patron saint of throat ailments, the order uses this ritus to guard against maladies that pass through the throat. A Priest begins by consecrating a pair of candles and presses them in a crossed position to the recipient's neck. The Priest then recites the blessing: "Through the invocation of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr of the Sword, may Caine deliver you from ailments."

If the target has been affected by poison, drugs, or any other ingested substance, the effects of those substances end immediately. Further, the ritus protects against the next single ingestion of tainted substances within a seven-day period.

SABBAT HIST-001

Rise of the Sword

Since ancient nights, powerful vampire lineages have warred against one another for control of the mortal world. Elders Embraced carefully selected broods, forcing childer to work ceaselessly for the glory of their sires. To enforce their will, elders used the blood bond, replacing a childe's instinct for self-preservation with the false emotions of vitae addiction.

The Anarch Revolt

At the turn of the 1400s, a faction of young vampires managed to rebel. Using a magical ritual created by Tzimisce koldun, they broke their blood bonds and struck back at their elders, diablerizing many of their sires. This revolution, known as the Anarch Revolt, was a bloody, vicious battle that raged for nearly a century.

The revolution culminated in two unthinkable blows: the rebellious childer of the Lasombra and Tzimisce clans defeated and diablerized their Antediluvians, the very founders of those clans. Meanwhile, the mortal Inquisition preyed upon all vampires, taking advantage of the chaos to target and destroy undead across Europe and northern Africa.

The Treaty of Thorns (1493)

In a desperate attempt to stop the Anarch Revolt and escape the Inquisition, a coterie of Toreador and Ventrue elders and their allies gathered in a small chapel outside the English town of Silchester in 1493. There, they founded the Camarilla and forced the Anarchs to sign the Treaty of Thorns, ending the revolution.

Birth of the Sabbat

But not all Anarchs wanted peace. In defiance, these extremists burned the town of Silchester and rejected the Camarilla's terms of surrender. They declared themselves "Sabbat," a religious term denoting their adherence to the spiritual tenets of Caine. Following the lead of the Lasombra and Tzimisce clans, who rejected the Camarilla's offer nearly as a whole, the newly formed Sabbat made a bold statement: we will never be slaves.

Sabbat vampires descended from the Camarilla's founding clans proudly called themselves "antitribu," or "enemies of the clan."

SABBAT HIST-002

The Nights of Turmoil

The Red Star (July 1999)

For a brief period in July 1999, a Red Star shone in the sky, signaling a series of changes that became known as the Week of Nightmares. According to rumors that spread rapidly among the Sabbat, the Ravnos Antediluvian awakened in Bangladesh and was immediately destroyed by unknown agencies in a devastating battle that spanned three days and nights.

The Sabbat saw the event as a holy revelation and the Red Star as a sign of Caine's imminent return. The Regent announced a Crusade, and the Sabbat Embraced massive quantities of mortals, driving them toward its Camarilla enemies in savage waves.

Rioting with enthusiasm, Sabbat forces conquered Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. Detroit, always a stronghold of the sect, rose in prominence, preparing for what seemed the imminent arrival of Caine.

Then...nothing happened. No other Antediluvians seemed to awaken. The Red Star faded, and glory did not come.

Backlash and Betrayal

This slow realization was followed by a sharp, devastating backlash among the sect. Packs blamed one another for breaches of faith or lack of military strength. Political factions imploded. Fanatics engaged in mass suicide, and internal violence threw the sect into pandemonium.

Then, a massive blow struck the fractured sect:

• January 2001: Every vampire in the Sabbat-controlled city of Savannah was eradicated in a single night
• Exceptionally coordinated mortal hunters descended on Sabbat strongholds throughout the East Coast
• The Assamite antitribu abandoned the Sabbat en masse when their Eldest called them to return to Alamut
• A powerful curse swept through the sect, destroying nearly all Tremere antitribu
• The defection of the Assamite antitribu divided the Black Hand's leadership and corroded the order's prominence

Temoch's Salvation

In the end, it was the tenaciousness of the new Regent, Temoch the Jackal, that saved the Church of Caine from destruction. Temoch gathered the remaining Black Hand agents and negated the order's self-proclaimed independent mandate. He called on the Coyotes of the sect and asked them to join the ranks of the weakened Hand. With their aid, Temoch rededicated the order to its original purpose as elite defenders of the Sabbat, and he used the Black Hand to locate and extract desperate packs in war-torn areas, regrouping the broken remnants of the Sword of Caine in Mexico City.

SABBAT HIST-003

Modern Nights

Many scholars and powerful Sabbat leaders were destroyed during the Nights of Turmoil. The Sabbat has grown weak. Its numbers are drastically reduced, and it is still the primary target of mortal hunters. The war against the Antediluvians and the Camarilla, while important, must come second to the sect's survival.

Changed Tactics

• Mass-Embraces are now only practiced as part of an official Crusade
• Street-corner security cameras feeding directly to the internet make random Embraces too dangerous
• The sacred gift of Caine's Embrace must be treated with respect
• Battles are smaller; combatants use hit-and-run operations, sabotage, arson, and raids
• Deliberately breaching the Masquerade in Camarilla territory is still a popular gambit
• Single-target attacks on prominent individuals continue, but outright Crusade is rare

The Silence of the Blood

After the slaughter of packs in Savannah, the Sabbat realized that it is foolhardy to ignore the dangers of the mortal world. In an age of cellphones, micro-cameras, and satellite surveillance, the Silence of the Blood has been extended. Members of the Sabbat are not to draw the attention of mortal hunters, nor endanger their packs or fellow sect members by allowing the mortal world to locate Sabbat gatherings or identify the powers of Caine.

Current Strongholds

In some locations, the sect is still moderately strong. The Sabbat jealously contests domains in:

• Mexico
• North Africa
• Eastern Europe
• St. Louis, Missouri
• Western Ohio
• Great Lakes area
• Mexico and South America (traditional strongholds)

Most of the U.S. Eastern Seaboard is strongly Camarilla-controlled. New York remains a contested zone. To the far south, Miami has become a multi-cultural hive of villainy, unclaimed by any sect: a veritable no-man's-zone of mixed alliances and spotty allegiances.