Written by Andrea Plovgaard Frederiksen og Sebastian Erik Nielsen.

This page tells the story of how The Undying Society came to be. Its purpose is to give you as a player an understanding of the world in which we play. At the same time, your character will probably know much of what is written herein, depending on its age, upbringing, and level of Occult. What is written here is the truth, but many characters will have their own memories and framings of what happened. So, feel free to twist the narrative ingame.

Before The Undying Society

For many vampires, either dusk born or embraced, the time before the Undying Society can seem like another world. And there definitely is a “before” and “after” 1860. Ever since the first vampires walked the night, they have ruled where they were able. This resulted in many small domains, some the size of small countries, some the size of great cities – and some much smaller than that.

The distance between domains made communication a slow and difficult process, so information could easily take months or years to spread. This made it possible for a domain to be lost without the clan at large learning about it, until chance led a clan member to visit and later report.
This lack of communication also meant that superstition and prejudice was rampant. Nothing is more dangerous or more frightening than the unknown.
Therefore, a lonely traveling vampire might be treated as a spy even if they were simply seeking a new home, and a pack of traveling vampires who could be a diplomatic delegation might be seen as a vanguard for an assault on a domain, and therefore destroyed.
The ambitions that drive every vampire brought grim war for territories and blood with it. The streets were unsafe, the Hunters an ever-present threat, and bloodlines rarely survived for more than a few generations.

In the cities and lands where a clan or an individual ruled, their word was the law. They acted as judge, jury, and executioner, just like the human kings that got their inspiration from the rulers of the night. But those were still the “good” places to exist. For they had stability. Too many cities were not controlled by a single clan, too many roads were riddled with fires, too many havens got the windows smashed during the day.

It was a time for strength, alliance, betrayal and terror.

Much of this ended with The Undying Society. But not everywhere. In most of Russia, clan Dracul still reign without the control of the Society. In remote cities and small countries, an Agamemnon can set herself up as ruler. In almost every country it is possible to find at least one city which is under the complete control of either the Nephilim, the Chupacabra, clan Revenant, or, more recently, clan Ghul. Those areas work like the old nights: the strong rule, the weak obey.

Invitations to a new world

The world was changing in the 19^th century. The Bastion Crusade shook Europe, and in combination with the chaos of the Napoleonic wars it left many of the domains of central Europe weakened, and some domains were entirely lost by the end of the year 1815.
In the years that followed those who set out to retake or reconstitute the domains of Europe started meeting members of an entirely unknown vampiric clan, the clan Revenant. By 1855 clan Revenant had gained control of the entirety of the British empire granting them access to vast resources and influence over the continent, and the world. Just four decades after most clans became aware of the existence of clan Revenant, they were the pre-eminently most powerful clan of vampires in the world.

No other clan had gained so much power in such a short span of time. And clan Revenant used it. In 1855 invitations were sent out worldwide. Every known member of every known clan was invited to London. An event this grand had never been orchestrated before. It was a massive show of force.

The invitation was for a week of debates in London, taking place in 1860. Clan Revenant promised food, lodgings, and the chance to play a part in creating a new world.

Hundreds of vampires attended. Just as many stayed away: paranoia at clan Revenant’s intent kept some at home, others couldn’t manage the long travel, some simply didn’t bother and still others feared a coup if they left their domain unattended. But enough showed up. The Agamemnon, the Nephilim, the Dracul, the Chupacabra, and, naturally, the Revenant. All were represented by someone with the authority to negotiate on behalf of their entire clan.

The event was divided into two.
The vampires that were old, powerful, and well connected discussed how to form a society for The Undying. Their acceptance was needed, should the project succeed.
Everyone else were entertained by clan Revenant: there were opportunities to give input, react to drafts and attend working groups. But mostly, there were parties, competitions, and games. Everything needed to convince the masses that their existence would be so much better in a society.

The negotiations – points of view

The negotiations began with a draft from clan Revenant. It was a convoluted maze of duties and privileges. It detailed how to form a Society, how to spread it across the globe, which rules should govern it, which officials should enforce it, which punishments were available, how to adapt the system to the changing of times. It detailed everything. And it left the negotiators furious, that clan Revenant had dared make such a dramatic proposal without negotiating first. But everyone liked a part of it. And since they had traveled far, and since the rooms were good, the food plenty and all their enemies seemed inclined to stay, they stayed too. So, the negotiations began.

They ended on time a week later. The Undying Society was created. The Elysium in London, the very same place where the negotiations took place, was the first to open. The Society that was created in 1860 contained many elements that we still see to this night. The Council, The Arbiter, the Elysium, and the Traditions have not changed at all. Status was invented as a guideline to show who the important members of a Clan are. This has not changed much either.

The first draft of the Taboos was also written and voted in. These have changed over the years, and look different from country to country, city to city. New York, for example, is known as a city with more fair Taboos and a ‘progressive’ approach.

The Undying Society is made up of compromises. Every Tradition, Title and Taboo reflects that one or more clans got their way.

Clan Agamemnon was used to act on their own, fighting for the individual’s right to act as she wishes, and for violence to be accepted.

Clan Nephilim wished to avoid conflict with the other clans, but had no desire to outlaw murder, diablerie or breaches of the Masquerade.

Clan Chupacabra saw a chance to spread the word of God and let their doctrines run as an ideology under the official wordings.

Clan Dracul was ready to be diplomatic. A society of intrigue, powerplays and dominance was ideal. This lets the Dracul press their power upon other clans.

Clan Revenant wished for peace everlasting, so a society of intrigue, wordplays and trade could be of use. They gained the right to run and uphold The Society and hereby culminated their rise to greatness.

To this night, many clans will be able to point out “their” rule, addition, or restriction, which is exactly how it should be. It keeps the clans invested in maintaining a Society that many of them can no longer fathom existing without.

With a society formed by compromises made by five clans, with vastly different interests and norms, represented by beings who were already old in 1860, and none of which were willing to be put at disadvantage in relation to each other, it is no wonder that The Undying Society can seem ripe for misuse and conflict.

From the first night until now

The Undying Society was made not to further the nature of vampires but, in very creative ways, to suppress it. Everyone had seen what happened without regulation. So, The Undying Society taught the vampires to focus on a more subtle approach first rather than just murdering each other. And when the killing happened, it happened at Elysium where it could be seen and potentially judged, instead of in the streets, where only the Hunters watched, waiting for the opportunity to kill as many vampires as possible.

The punishments for breaches of Traditions and Taboos have always varied from domain to domain. Death, extravagant beatings and extensive torture where more common in the early days of the Society, but they are still present, and death is still the usual punishment for at breach of Tradition.
New York is well known for being less punitive than most other domains, as there are still domains where torture for a breach of Taboo is common, and seen as a spectacle put on for the enjoyment of the present Socialites.

In the years since the Society was created, it has become a worldwide institution. It can change and adapt but has in reality rarely done so. Clan Ghul was accepted, words have changed to make it more understandable, and the individual cities form their own Taboos and special customs. But on the whole, the Society as it was made in 1860 still stands, and the world of vampires has become “civilised”.

One might think that clan loyalty is less important now, than it was before the formation of the Undying Society. But the truth is that the security given by your clan is only more important now, as you cannot simply run to a new domain and gain a fresh start. Your actions and your reputation follow you as part of the network put in place to ensure that you will always find an open Elysium, as long as you play by the rules of your clan and the Society.

There are strongholds, where the controlling clan, and not The Undying Society, makes the rules, passes judgment and sets the agenda. There are not many members of other clans in those cities. These are some of the cities that are held by Agamemnon, Chupacabra, Dracul, Ghul, Nephilim or Revenant.

Jerusalem(Nephilim), Casablanca(Nephilim), Istanbul(Nephilim), Dhaka(Nephilim), Bern(Ghul), Geneva(Ghul), Milan(Ghul), Liechtenstein(Ghul), Lyon(Ghul), Shanghai(Revenant), Hong Kong(Revenant), Singapore(Revenant), Cairo(Revenant), Lisbon(Revenant), Monaco(Revenant), Amsterdam(Revenant), Ottawa(Revenant), CapeTown(Revenant), Skt. Petersburg(Dracul), Vladivostok(Dracul), Tallinn(Dracul), Helsinki(Dracul), Warsaw(Dracul), Prague(Dracul), Budapest(Dracul), Asunción(Chupacabra), Lima(Chupacabra), Bogotá(Chupacabra), Brasília(Chupacabra), Tegucigalpa(Chupacabra), Nashville(Chupacabra), São Tomé(Chupacabra), Las Vegas(Agamemnon), Magdeburg(Agamemnon), Athens(Agamemnon).