One setting that interests me is the World of Darkness, particularly its use with Vampire: The Masquerade (VtM), which first appeared in 1991 as the inaugural game for White Wolf's story-telling system. The setting is a fictionalised, gothic-punk version of the modern world, with a heightened sense of dread and despair as a backdrop for the player's stories and struggles.

This tone as a player in VtM is distinctly different from what you might experience if you were to play other World of Darkness titles, such as Mage: The Ascension, Wraith: The Oblivion, or Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Here, players assume the roles of vampires — known as Kindred, Cainite, or Licks, depending on who you ask — and fight against their own primal nature, vampire hunters, and one another to explore themes of morality, depravity, human existence, hope, and individual terror.

This is not a roleplaying game where you play good guys… Using this game to explore moral questions and immoral acts can be interesting and emotionally meaningful. After all, the character is not you, and the game is not real. You can use it as a fictional space to explore terrible things… The private nature of the game allows you to explore moral territory that's difficult to approach in the online world where the danger of context collapse is ever-present. You can take risks and play raw.

Despite focusing on the individual struggle, it's impossible to ignore the inherent commentary on society and our economy through the World of Darkness setting. So let me begin with the sects to briefly overview how vampire society works and talk a little about what the rebels do in response. Then another time, we'll already have the context to get into more specific topics.

The Camarilla

The Camarilla is a shadowy organisation of power-hungry vampires manipulating worldwide business and politics, using their own kind and mortals alike to achieve their goals. It is a global organisation as invested in its own interests and destructive towards those who don't fall in line as NATO. Like the UN, they have a central inner circle and travelling envoys acting as peacekeepers, visiting cities and dealing with issues to maintain Camarailla order.

Generally, the Camarilla works to preserve the Masquerade — the intricate web of lies and deceit woven to keep the existence of vampires hidden from humans. They strive to keep humanity safe from the blood lust of their kind in service of their own self-preservation. Succumbing to primal desires by indulging in them at every whim will let the "Beast" take over, making a vampire animalistic to the point where they can no longer scheme or even think beyond the hunt. It's similar to how cultural norms and laws try to keep a handle on the more destructive vices and addictions yet still allow the powerful to get away with whatever they wish.

The Camarilla, indeed, are a privileged bunch, with many having impressive power and wealth, able to exercise an extraordinary influence over the leaders of the government. These monsters conceal themselves behind luxurious evening gowns, well-managed financial holdings, and havens watched by blood servants in security uniforms. Like most successful career politicians, they know how to spread disinformation, craft propaganda, and use the system to protect their interests.

Just as throughout our history, wealth accumulation has brought growth in organisations designed to preserve wealth. So too, does the Camarilla protect its rulers, as cutthroat as they may be towards each other.

The Anarchs

The old have the power, the knowledge and the resources to keep running things to their advantage. The young have nothing but their fearlessness, numbers and an understanding of the modern world... And that's just mortals.

The resistance to the Camarilla has been around almost as long as the sect itself. Unbound vampires are those who stand outside the Camarilla. The Anarch Movement, as it became known, is a subset of the Unbound and is the most recognisable faction. It started off small, known as the Anarch Revolt, but has become stronger and more popular as younger vampires struggle to understand why they should submit to the orders of elders. After all, these elders are more powerful simply because they've been around for longer, acting as petty hoarders, paranoid and bitter. Similar to inheritance allowing wealthy families to not just stay wealthy but accumulate it over time, why would we not question the inequality this creates in the world?

Most Anarchs try to escape the control of the Camarilla by lying low, similar to how one might try to disconnect from the trappings of capitalism by becoming as self-sufficient as possible. However, some have decided to resist, attempting to gain power and control from the Camarilla.

What is to be done?

Well, my advice for the Movement as a whole would be this. Abandon violence and violent rhetoric. Instead, try to change the Camarilla from within by reasoned discourse. If enough of us show that we're dependable, trustworthy and able to compromise, the Princes of the Camarilla will come around and voluntarily grant us at least some of the freedom we seek... [laughter]

It sounds as absurd as it does in the World of Darkness as it does in real life. So instead, in familiar parlance, the more organised Anarchs aim to "Educate, agitate, organise." (Keeping in mind that the Anarchs are less coordinated than the Camarilla, which does not imply the Camarilla are well coordinated across the globe, either.)

Education is essential in revealing that other choices are available. A thorough understanding requires someone to tell them a different narrative than what they have been indoctrinated with. If someone believes in some divine power that dictates that it is their purpose to serve the elders, they won't rebel. With enough knowledge, however, they can become more independent and start making decisions for themselves.

Agitating is about engaging with people, inspiring them to join the cause and fight for their rights. Expecting the oppressed to free themselves from their constraints on their own is not enough. Being a successful agitator requires being present with the people and listening to their needs. We cannot simply dictate their beliefs or life experience, but instead, we can hear their worries, consider how to support them, and how they can support the mutual struggle for a more just society. This way, we can create a unified movement and build a powerful coalition.

By organising, we can take a crowd of passionate individuals and create a powerful and lasting force. Through strategic focus and structure, we can effectively harness the energy of anger and use it to drive real change. (Whereas defeatism and apathy get us nowhere, hence why they're so detrimental.) However, acting as individuals rather than a unified group can lead to paranoia and disunity, thus the need for unification.

These three steps alone can propel all sorts of interesting Anarch-focused campaigns. See, when trying to survive the brutal, social ladder-climbing-obsessed world of the Camarilla and avoid sabotage by the Anarchs every so often, we're playing very individual-focused games, where backstabbing is normal, and our success is an individual success more than a group one. Whereas, as an Anarch, the point isn't to amass wealth and power for the sake of our own luxury and protection. Instead, our goals are to cooperate with each other, other Anarch members, and even possibly Anarch members to work towards a better vampire society — our success is the group's success.

Besides, our lives outside our games are already full of competition; we don't need more. So if you're looking for something more cooperative than competitive, to feel like you're achieving something together with people as opposed to trying to outdo them all the time, the Anarchs are for you.

Vampires and hierarchy and rebellion, oh my

Isn't channelling our energy into being rebels in a game counterproductive? Just another way to quell dissent through the commodification of the movement, folding it into capital? Well, yes. But the first step is education, and sometimes you need a vehicle to explore the concept by making it more personal and relatable.

In a world full of distractions, it becomes harder and harder to expect others to pick up the non-fiction books that help them understand the world, so we do what we must. It's about more than just using the types of media that let people connect and understand in their own way but also, avoiding certain platforms means there's a perspective that's underrepresented in them.

Fortunately, there is some interesting content out there, on platforms such as YouTube and in podcasts, that I'll share another day. But until then, happy d10 rolling.