Eye of the Storm
Camarilla
From the financial towers of the upper city to the industrial works and sewers, the Camarilla are the strongest sect in the city at this time. The Prince is prudent and charismatic and keeps the support of most of the Primogen. The sect has its talons into the political and economic pies throughout much of the city. Numerous clubs, hideaways, safehouses, and other holdings are maintained by individuals and clans for the protection of their own (as well as the Tremere’s chantryhouse). Camarilla vampires can be found anywhere in the San Francisco proper, though Chinatown and Oakland are ruled off-limits to the Camarilla. Venturing to North Bay or Golden Gate Park is ill-advised due to the Lupines, though the Gangrel often dare it.
Key Location
The club that serves as the main Elysium and site of most salons for the Kindred Elders is amusingly called the Vampire Club. This popular nightclub rests in the Theatre District of San Francisco. All manner of Kindred save Nosferatu enjoy this place, which caters to all kinds of different tastes through its varied cuisine and live performing artists. The nearby Tenderloin district serves as the Camarilla’s primary “Rack” – hunting zone, where pimps, prostitutes, and other lowly folk can be preyed upon with less interference from the police and other forces.
Clan Structure
Ventrue rule the city with the full support of the Toreador and Tremere, giving the Prince a powerhouse combination of allies. The Gangrel offer tacit support of what they view as a wise Prince. The Nosferatu usually throw their lot in with the Prince, too, and the Brujah give grudging respect to a self-confident and unusually relaxed Ventrue. The few Malkavians of the area all live by their own strange whims, of course.
Rules
The Camarilla of San Francisco must abide by the Traditions, of course, the premier of them being the Masquerade. The Tradition of Domain is especially lax in San Francisco, as all Kindred are allowed to venture almost wherever they please, save Oakland and Chinatown, as well as individual and private havens.
Sabbat
The Sabbat commands almost no presence in San Francisco. To date, their influence is limited to infiltration: namely the Anarchs. The handful of Sabbat are lone operatives that meet to exchange Vaulderie sessions, share reports, then return to the respective Anarch packs to which they are assigned. Any Sabbat clans might be present among these provocateurs.
Anarchs & Autarkis
Few Anarchs run wild in San Francisco proper. The Camarilla have made it clear that their wild ways aren’t appreciated downtown. A few run-ins with Gangrel biker gangs have taught the Anarchs that the Kindred of San Francisco are quite happy with their Prince, too. For now, they watch and wait for their opportunity from Oakland. As soon as the Prince or other Elders try to screw the local Kindred out of their Caine-given rights, the Anarchs will plan and carry out their coup.
Autarkis, an old Kindred word for independents, exist in the Bay Area as sole operatives. The Giovanni have never gotten to sink their fangs into the city’s commerce, and the Setites have made only limited gains through the ever-present crack cocaine trade.
Key Location
All over East Bay one can expect to find Anarchs of different shades. In Berkeley, for example, more thoughtful and visionary Anarchs (usually of a socialist bent) relax. In Richmond or Oakland, however, they tend to run in brutal gangs. The Anarchs call a lake resort called Merrit Heights, near Merrit Lake, their primary gathering site when they call an Anarch-wide meeting (a rare thing).
Clan Structure
Brujah and Caitiffs make up the majority of Anarchs as usual, but many other clans can be counted among them (or are counted among them, whether they care to be or not).
Rules
The Anarchs scoff at rules! Only the Masquerade is kept, and that’s considered a pragmatic way of unlife, not a rule. However, they made a deal with the Prince of San Francisco. While they have free passage through his city, they must abide by the Six Traditions when so doing. In exchange, the Prince’s enforcers and butt-kissers won’t bother them in Oakland.
Kuei-jin
Long a rising power in San Francisco, Kuei-jin co-existed with Asian-American immigrants almost as long as there were immigrants. When the first Chinese came to build railroads, Wan Kuei came to feed off of them and prosper from the wealth of the New World. At first there were but a few enterprising Kuei-jin. But eventually a dark Court representing the Quincux and its plans for a Great Step Outward was formed in 1965. Named the Court of the Prismatic Storm, the Hungry Dead turned their resourceful influence and wealth to maintaining a secret veil of intrigue and power in opposition to their Kin-jin rivals. They now back legitimate corporate strongholds as well as illicit groups, such as the Triads and tongs.
Key Location
The Wan Kuei of Chinatown hold court in a monastery to the north. This humble-seeming temple is built on a hill of rocks overlooking much of the district, rivaled only by the towering pagoda of the chi’n ta to the south. Streams trickle down the stones and collect into a creek that runs out to the bay. The monastery is host to numerous spartan rooms for the Cathayans and their mortal aides’ use. The Chambers of Meditation are actually acoustic reverberators; here the chanting of monks thrums up to a holy-sounding cacophony, and over the years collected into echoes of enlightenment. The Hungry Dead benefit from this in the form of a small (Level 1) dragon nest influenced by the concepts of patience and strength.
Dharmic Structure
Resplendent Cranes rule this Court with quiet approval from supportive Thousand Whispers. Some Thrashing Dragons thrive in the upbeat pulse of San Francisco, and Bone Flowers are attracted to the lore of Western sorcerers. Devil Tigers are the least interested in this court or the Great Step Outward for that matter, save as a means to personally improve themselves or their assets. The Heretical Dharmas find themselves unwelcome (or worse) in this conservative Quincux-guided court, though heimin are permitted to visit if they obey protocol.
Rules
The Fivefold Way is upheld in the Court of the Prismatic Storm. Complimenting the Great Way are protocols regarding the shen in Chinatown and beyond, as well as the Kin-jin. Observe, interact even if carefully, but do not engage. This Court is about paving the way for their allies back in China, and that involves subtlety and liquid acquisitions, not all-out war…a war they could not win with any faction right now.
