Carthian Law stands as the Carthian Movement’s edge in Kindred society. Each affords the Carthians certain advantages pertaining to the recognized law of the city. In many cases, this law did not come from the Carthians but that doesn’t mean they can’t use it to their advantage. Carthian Law gives Kindred law a metaphysical weight which prevents a city’s residents from breaching protocol and the Carthians have learned to leverage that, making them valuable to even cities without a Carthian government.[1]
Carthian Law is a hotly debated aspect of the Movement's place in the All Night Society and while there are many possible answers to the questions of where it comes from, why it works, and when it becomes unfair to the will of the people, there is no covenant-wide consensus. The Movement cannot deny the power of Carthian Law and wields it as a weapon of revolution and a method of surviving against established forces.[2]
Carthian Laws[]
Variable Laws[]
to Coda Against Sorcery: When adopting this Law, the Carthian signifies whether this applies to all sorceries, a specific variety of blood sorcery, or a single defined ritual - this can also apply to non-Kindred magics. This requires the Carthian to have seen the power in effect or at least be versed in the basic way it works. Attempting to use or wield a defined sorcery against the Carthian causes a penalty.
One-Dot Laws[]
- Breaking the Chains: This Law exists as a form of defence against the Vinculum and only a member of good standing in the Movement with an active blood bond can take it. The Carthian must feed from - and become bound to - a number of other Carthians, allowing them to shatter the bond with their regnant.
- Strength of Resolution: A Carthian stands resolute in the face of that which would force them to violate the law. Add their status to contest a Discipline or other supernatural power which would coax them to violate acknowledged city law.
Two-Dot Laws[]
- Establish Precedent: This Law forces an enforced law upon all others to whom it applies and must be used on the same night that law is enforced. For a year and a day the Law punishes any further actions that match the violation, although statuses do not count. Violaters of the Law suffer aggravated damage and a Bane chosen at the time the legal precedent was established - this takes the form of a mark burned into the offender's flesh.
- Lex Terrae: Territory is bond. Feeding ground is sacrosanct. Any blood poached from the Carthian's feeding ground is tainted for Kindred they have not specifically allowed. When next a poacher sleeps, the blood dissolves in their gullet and when they wake, they violently retch - taking damage per Vitae lost. As well, their lips and mouth stain with black streaks that paint them as a poacher. These marks last for one week. This Law requires a clearly-defined and publicly announced feeding ground.
- Right of Return: This somewhat rare Law allows a Carthian to work within another covenant without fear of their covenant’s ostracism. After all, Carthians aim for human solutions and nothing is more human than the ability to adapt and socialize. With this Law, the Carthian’s status does not count toward their normal limitations on multiple Covenant Status Merits. While individuals may oppose the Carthian’s cosmopolitan membership practices, they're adept at defending them. Kindred remain ever paranoid, particularly with a Carthian in their midst, and every step they take receives the utmost scrutiny.
- Stare Decisis: The word of an elder trumps any petty disputes the ancillae can muster and their opinions in matters of city law are considered legal precedent. Other characters must spend Willpower to take any action that would oppose them whenever they speak on behalf of or against someone accused of breaking a law or Tradition.[3]
- Weaponize Dissent: This Law marks the beginning of revolution and remains active for a year and a day once activated by the Carthian - it cannot be deactivated. Whenever the Carthian is present in a scene, including their torpid body or as a pile of ash, any character's City Status acts as a weapon bonus to any attack against them.
Three-Dot Laws[]
- Empower Judiciary: This Law establishes a single delegate, which cannot be the highest executive Kindred in the city, as final arbiter of legal matters and does not have to be sanctioned by said executive. The empowered judiciary can make proclamations of legal interpretation, which remain inviolate. Judiciary appointments last until Final Death or the highest executive power in the city changes hands.
Four-Dot Laws[]
- Plausible Deniability: Carthians don’t break laws; they defy laws. Influential Carthians can throw law to the wind, then laugh it off with an argument about the definition of the word “is.” Any attempt to use a Discipline or other supernatural power to prove the Carthian’s guilt in breach of city law or Tradition automatically fails. They cannot be forced to confess by any means and attempts to detect their honesty through mundane means suffer their status as a penalty. They exhibit no stains on their aura from diablerie.
Five-Dot Laws[]
- Cease Fire: This Law is built on the principle of bringing peace. Bringing this Law to bear requires a consensus of at least half the Carthians in the city and once it takes effect, all Disciplines and Devotions fail to work normally. This Law lasts until the Carthian who activated it either uses a Discipline successfully, leaves the domain, or meets Final Death.
- Mandate from the Masses: Carthians wield consensus the way a cop wields a baton. With the power of the Movement behind them, a ranking Carthian can call on the will of their people to strike weakness into the Movement’s opposition. With their words and the mandate, they strip a Kindred enemy’s blood down to nothingness. To enact this Law, the Carthian must make a clear and direct admonishment against one of the Movement’s enemies. They must also garner the support of others of the Movement for a vote — if the vote favors the admonishment, reduce the victim’s Blood Potency. If this reduces them to zero, they effectively become a revenant. If the Carthian meets Final Death, the victim immediately regains their lost Blood Potency and only a single vampire may be victim to an instance of this Law at a time.
First Edition - Carthian Law[]
Carthian Law gives Kindred of the Carthian Movement extraordinary powers to enforce control over their domains.[4]
References[]
- ↑ VTR: Vampire: The Requiem Second Edition, p. 115
- ↑ VTR: Secrets of the Covenants, p. 179
- ↑ VTR: Thousand Years of Night, p. 85
- ↑ VTR: Carthians, p. 15