Coterie

For the Vampire: The Requiem sourcebook, see Coteries (book)

Coterie: A small group or "pack" of Kindred united by the need for support and sometimes common interests.^[1]

Coterie is a term used in both Vampire: The Requiem and Vampire: The Masquerade to denote a group of vampires who have banded together for a common purpose. The term coterie may have originally come into use to designate a small group of vampires who work together with a single goal in mind. By contrast, a sect is a larger faction of vampires who share a common philosophy, while a court, domain, territory, or other terms generally define all of the Kindred in a single geographic locality. With that in mind, despite the modern prevalence of the term, many vampires consider coterie to be archaic speech.

Some young vampires feel coterie is too weighed down by the aristocratic ideology of the Camarilla, and it has nearly fallen out of use in certain Anarch domains, in favor of local, gang, or the now similarly antiquated soviet. Young Kindred, especially, often describe heterogeneous groups of vampires with a stylistic phrase related to their plurality or leadership: a bande of Brujah or Ravnos; a burrow of Gangrel or Nosferatu; a goddamnit of Tremere (less often used by Tremere themselves, who prefer school); a studio of Toreador; a suite of Ventrue; and so on. Thin-bloods may not even know there's supposed to be a special word for "group" or "team."

Coteries sometimes serve as a means of ensuring dependency between members of a greater conspiracy, replacing more holistic interpersonal connections. Modern Kindred may form coteries as an enterprise of common interest, a ritual of camaraderie among like-minded vampires, or even as an expression of affection, insofar as the Kindred can feel it.

Coteries persist due to the strong, traditional role that they hold in Kindred society—and because walking alone gets ever more dangerous these nights. When groups form, whether as social cliques, familial broods, information networks, or simply as outcasts, mutual protection remains the primary expectation.

Description[]

Vampires are naturally predatory creatures and fearful of one another's monstrous natures—it is uncommon for them to truly share bonds of trust. As such, coteries usually emerge to facilitate a singular goal or press a specific agenda. Coteries form with a purpose.

Trust, of course, is a rare and elusive emotion among Kindred. Any vampire who has spent time in multiple coteries can attest to one strong similarity that they all share: belonging to a coterie is less like chilling with friends and more akin to swimming with fellow sharks.

Any number of reasons may propel vampires into a coterie, but no matter those reasons, each member has their own objectives and agendas. All vampires want something—every single one—and at the same time, no coterie has ever existed in which all Kindred have been aware of one another's true intentions.

Whether the coterie consists of individual vampires who pursue blood, power, magic, wealth, knowledge, or social leverage, those vampires are always in some form of competition with one another. Underneath mutual protection lies personal ambition.

Despite this, only a shortsighted vampire would ever throw their coterie-mate under the bus to pursue a personal goal. Vampires who do so quickly garner infamy and make enemies.

Outside of coteries formed for social reasons, august Kindred of certain domains sometimes mandate coteries with very specific goals in mind.

A Camarilla domain might create a coterie formed by (or under) the Sheriff, Deputies, and Hounds, pursuing the objective of safeguarding their territory. A desperate Anarch domain might see a Lupine-hunting pack that reports to the Baron. An Ashirra coterie may find itself forced into particular vigilance against the Sabbat. The circumstances create the justification that keeps a coterie together—or the top-down sanction for it.