The Let's Play Archive

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

by gatz, TheMcD

Part 2: II - The Embrace







































































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We've seen some very important characters in this update, I'll only shine a light on two of them, for now.

Meet the Camarilla Prince of Los Angeles, Sebastian LaCroix.



He is voiced by Andy Milder

Listen:


You could probably tell from the way he wouldn't stop talking about laws, rules, code, and tradition, but LaCroix is a Ventrue. Born in Calais, France, LaCroix ascended in the ranks of Napoleon's army until, presumably in his early twenties, he was embraced by a Belgian Ventrue nobleman. He climbed through the Camarilla's ranks, having several charges in France and England before becoming Prince in Los Angeles in 2004. He is head of the LaCroix Foundation, and resides in the Venture Tower in downtown Los Angeles, commanding the city from his penthouse office.

What does it mean do be "prince"? Every city controlled by the Camarilla has one, it's essentialy the top poisition in a hierarchy of power. I'll let Vic explain things further:

Vicissitude posted:

The Camarilla has a number of positions of authority. Ostensibly, supreme power in any given city under Cam control is given to the Prince. This is a formal title for either gender, though some come up with their own fancy monikers for the position. The Prince can, and often does, lay down the law for their territory. Some are lenient, others are tyrannical. But it all comes down to the Prince and the city. New York, for instance, was under Sabbat control for a very, very long time. The Camarilla wrested control from them in 1999, but they've had to be extremely vigilant every since, and very strict when it comes to law enforcement.

Behind (occasionally), beside (usually), or (very rarely) above the Prince is the Council of Primogen. This is a group of advisers, each representative of a clan or group in the city. Usually, individuals on the council are members of the clan or group they represent, but in some cases, a better allied spokesman/woman can be found. As advisers do, they advise the prince on the state of his/her territory. Usually it's for the better good, but there's always a certain amount of political maneuvering going on. Sometimes the Ventrue want to push into Toreador holdings to buy them out, the Malkavians have some bizarre plan that they believe will benefit all, and of course the Nosferatu have information they can trade for a small favor somewhere down the road...

The next step up is the Justicar. As the Primogen do in a single city, the Justicars represent their entire Clan in Camarilla politics. From night to night, they generally go about Cam territory to address issues that have arisen in the interest of the health of the Sect. But since they represent their clan as well as the sect, they usually bend their ears in that direction as issues come up.

The Justicars are the public face of the Inner Circle, the mysterious elders who actually run the sect and choose the course of its actions. Little is known about them, except that they meet every 13 years.

There are other positions of authority, but I'll go over them as we meet them. One, we've already met, but we'll see how he rolls in just a bit. :shh:


There is also someone whom we know as Mr. Rodriguez.



I'll do a more in-depth look at him later. For now, all we need to focus on is that we were saved from execution by his actions. Did it have something to do with us? Was he upset at seeing a fellow Kindred executed? Or does it have to do with something else, something political in nature?

Answers will have to wait until the next part.