Social Structure

Vampires in a given area are referred to as a Kiss and are governed over by a single Vampire, known as the Master of the City. How wide a geographic area a Master can control varies wildly depending on the Master in questions. Most Kiss' are bound to major metropolitan areas, as the abundance of prey makes the survival of many vampires considerably easier.

Vampires tend to follow a strict hierarchical structure. With few exceptions, all vampires are bound to a master, who is in turn bound to another master, creating a chain of command that tends to put the most powerful vampires at the top. This organization is used to help identify social networks and to reflect a vampire's influence and overall sphere of power.

• Vampires are generally compelled to obey the commands of the master they are bound to and do not usually live when the master dies, however there are exceptions to both cases.
• Masters can draw a share of power from all vampires under their control.

Master of the City

Geographical areas with a sufficient vampire population are under the control of one vampire known as the Master of the City, akin to ruling nobility in Medieval times. They are responsible for maintaining their territory according to the rules established by the Vampire Council. MOTCs are often political as they balance law and order in their territory against the natural violent instincts of vampires, establish agreements with other mortal and supernatural factions, and negotiate with other MOTCs.

• It is customary that when a vampire travels to an area, they must have the permission or the MOTC and/or present themselves to the MOTC upon arrival.
• A MOTC's second in command is called a Temoin.
• The group of vampires under a MOTC is called a Kiss.
• The MOTC position is usually transferred only when the current MOTC dies.

Masters of Cities are free to arrange their territory in whatever way they see fit, assigning and appointing vampires to different positions. In Denver, the new Master of the City has created/restored certain positions and empowered vampires to fulfill those roles:

• Sheriff:
• Sheriffs are charged with enforcing the rules of the Master of the City, and responsible for delivering the punishments that come with breaking them. Sheriffs can have lots of or lesser autonomy from the Master, depending on how much trust the Master has in their Sheriff.
• Scourge
• A Scourge is likely to be the vampire that is ranked least popular within a Master's domain. As it is a vampire’s custom to present themselves to the Master of the City when they arrive in his domain, the Scourge is the only vampire in the city that has been granted the Right of Destruction, or the power to kill vampires which are not known in the city.

Vampire Council

In the days prior to the rise of Marmee Noir, a council of Elder, and some might say ancient, vampires governed the affairs of the vampire race. Their single overriding rule was "Thou shall not draw attention to thyself or thy kind." But that was before the rise of Anita Blake, the return of the Mother of All Darkness, and the destruction visited upon the Vampire Council. Worse however is the notion that Marmee Noir must have been incorrect, or lying, when she claimed to be the very first vampire. What she was, however, was a massively powerful ancient vampire who wreaked considerable havoc albeit in a narrow spectrum.

In the wake of the struggles of the Council, the death of Marmee Noir, and the apparent desertion of the members of the Harlequin, there is no longer a group of elder vampires that tries to govern the affairs. What remains of the Council is powerful but is being fought against by the American vampires.

Jean-Claude, nominal inheritor of the Vampire Council, has been struggling these last several years to put together a coalition of American vampires in order to set precedent and laws for their kind, and protect their place in the United States. Some Masters of the City are willing to participate, others are striving to build their own coalitions. Others still are contesting that there are still older vampires that lie sleeping somewhere in the Earth that will rise and rain havoc down on the rest of their descendents.

These radicals further insist that the European Vampire Council, were not truly the sourdre d'sangs of the bloodlines, but puppets of the true bloodline progenitors, who were set to govern according to their sires' will.

Other Roles

Sourdre de Sang: Translates to "fountain of blood," is a vampire capable of supporting their own bloodline though the generation of their own animating power that can be shared by all vampires in its bloodline or bound by blood oath to the Sourdre.

Pomme de Sang: Literally "apple of blood," is a person (human or animal) who has agreed to regularly feed a vampire. They are considered precious and often spoiled with gifts. Pommes have their vampire's full protection and it is considered a grave offense to harm one.

Servant(s): Vampires are well known to take servants wherever they can find them. Servants can fulfill a number of different roles for their vampiric masters, but are typically daytime guards and food sources.