From: Timothy Toner On Punishment Most of the princes and law-types in the Camarilla come from the old school of Contrapasso. THis delightful term, best typified in Dante's Inferno, is simply letting the punishment fit the crime. In this system, there are no hard and fast rules about crime and its punishment. Each case is judged according to its merits, and the punishment is skilfully executed so that no only is the person punished, but also he learns something from his punishment (and perhaps the crowd who witnesses the punishment won't make the same mistake). Now the worst thing a prince can do to a vampire, from the prince's point of view, is kill the offender. THis tends to make martyrs out of fools who didn't have the common sense to follow simple rules, and, really, that's what the Traditions are. They didn't spring from nothing. In fact, the Traditions arose slowly out of common sense observations of kindred interactions. Was there a problem with Kindred killing Kindred? As a general rule, then, this was outlawed. Was there a problem with violation of territoriality? Uncontrolled Creation? All these things were addressed in seven simple rules that would hold true for all Kindred socieities large enough to have a prince. None of the Traditions are that harsh in any event. Most can be followed subconsciously, by being mindful of others, and following the golden rule (you stay away from my gold, and I'll stay away from yours). However, the Traditions are NOT the be all and end all of Kindred Law. Each area will have certain...problems which must be addressed with futher laws. THis is why the law of presentation is the most important, since it provides a keen opportunity for newcomers to learn about local idiosyncracies. Those who violate a local law may be excused only if they followed the Tradition of Presentation, and the Prince or agent of the Prince was lax in informing the newcomer to specific rules regarding the Prince's domain. In every other case, ignorance of the law is no excuse, and there is no mercy for the arrogant, and the stupid. Enforcement of Kindred law demands that the Prince be on good terms with the local Nosferatu or Malkavians, or some other group with mastery of Obfuscation. Any charge, no matter how spurious, can be backed up by one or more of these silent spies "who saw it all." While it seems a gross misuse of justice, recall that the Prince is not wholly interested in Justice, but rather the enforcement of the laws, in order to keep the peace. A good prince who trusts his instincts usually ascends to the throne quickly, and those with good instincts tend to remain for long periods of time. Thus, it isn't smart to question the judgement of a Prince, or a sheriff. Most vampires look at it philosophically, thinking, "She's accusing me of a crime I didn't commit, but then again, she didn't see me doing, "X." Once the suspect has been accused, it is time for sentencing. No matter how horrendous the crime, with the exception of diabolism, the worst punishment for a first offense is exile, with an automatic blood hunt on the fool, should he chose to return. Exile in itself is a rather blah punishment, since it makes others believe that the vampire "got off the hook." Nevertheless, an intelligent Prince or Sheriff will make opportunities arise where the subject is compelled to return, and he will truly understand the enormity of the punishment. Various methods, discussed below, can be used to track the exiled, and wait for their return: * Obfuscated Spies: Good in areas where the prince can get away with such brazen violations of privacy. * Thaumaturgy: One ritual in particular, blood sign, is effective in tracking the target. The terget is somehow smeared with the caster's blood, and the caster gets a small sample of the target's blood. THe target's blood is smeared on a small stone, which will now glow with a terrible inner light when the target gets within a certain distance of the stone. Note that only one blood sign works per vampire, and the stone will only tell if the distance threshhold had been violated, not how close the target is from there. >From there, the Prince should become clever in her arbitration of power. WHat was the offense? Is there any way that this offense can be turned on the offender, giving him a taste of his own medicine, so to speak? THis is really the underlying concept of the blood hunt, which predisposes that diablerie has occurred, and that there is unspoken permission to diabolize the target. The kindred form possesses a certain degree of resilience which is both a blessing ad a curse when it comes to arbitrating punishment. Chances are, a kindred will recover wholly from anything that does not directly destroy him. Merely being beaten, then, isn't enough. Humiliation plays a big factor, as long as the beating doesn't make a hero out of the vampire. There must be no question that what the offender did was wrong before the Prince allows a public beating. This usually is a good time for pomp and circumstance, where it is hammered in that deviant nature of this sort will not be tolerated. Better than the one time beating is an ongoing beating, which continually reminds the subject of his great offense. The Blood Curse of Caine, which created us all, is one form of this kind of punishment. Perhaps the subject has killed a Nosferatu, and must find a nosferatu each night, and be beaten with a steel rod until the Nosferatu gives up, to understand the pain he has inflicted on their community. Usually, though, these beatings should possess some sort of pre-set limit, such as a month, or a year, so that release does not seem so distant as to be unattainable. One recent innovation on the idea of the public beating is a deliberate re-enactment of the crime, with the roles reversed. The very weapon that caused the offense is now wielded by a kindred obfuscated to look like the offender. THe subject is dressed in the clothes of the victim, and the scene is replayed to the letter. Next, we have mutiliation, a favored act of the Sabbat. Certain wounds can be inflicted on a kindred by fire and sn which do not heal readily. THese can act as living signs of their offense. Once again, however, these tend to heal over time, usually far too fast for true punishment. Thus, it is necessary to either continually mutilate the subject, compel the user not to heal his wounds, upon pain of an even worse punishment, and the employment of certain thaumaturgical rituals which allow the permanent alteration of the body. The Sabbat, of course, use viccissitude, but that is too impermanent, since another practicioner of that art can undo any damage. Forms of mutiliation include dismemberment of limbs symbolic of the offense, such as the hand that stole the cup, or the finger that pulled the trigger, or the fangs that ripped the throat. Also, there is branding, which includes the branding of auras, known to some Tremere. THose brands which appear on the forehead of all Sabbat Tremere is one form of aura brands. SOme kindred still recall the hideous A brand, used to scar the cheek of any Autarkis found during the first wars. Then there is the horrific sun-brands. THey are simply pieces of metal with a shape or word carved out. The subject is strapped to a table with a covered window. THis plate is placed in a pane, and when the sun is directly burning down, the curtain is removed, and the image is torched into the flesh of the offender. Often, this occurs after the victim has fallen into the sleep of the sun, which provides a nasty wake-up call. Various words can be sun-branded on a Kindred's chest, which must be revealed on command to any agent of the Prince. THose princes who do not believe that physical punishment is as effective as mental punishment often take criticism for being "weak" and "ineffectual." Those who feel this way obviosuly have never had judgement passed down by the right prince before. Physical punishment is often used because other kindred can comprehend the principle of an eye for an eye. However, true sadism lies in the heart of a prince who doesn't even touch his subjects. The most common example of non-physical punishment is the Blood Bond. SInce it takes a Tremere to correctly tell whether someone is already bonded, and since certain individuals seem innately resistant to the Bond, it is a dangerous gambit at times. Many vampires who are subjected to the first taste of the Bond will often Bond themselves immediately to a trusted friend. The wise Prince frowns deeply on this practice, and will often Bond the friend in secret, or order the regent, with Dominate, to order the Thrall to do something dangerous, thus exploiting the Bond. An optional Tremere ritual developed quite some time ago involves the creation of the Black Robin's Egg, which is swallowed by an offender, and cannot be removed. Any attempt to remove the egg will cause the egg to break, releasing its contents. Each egg is filled with some substance, usually blood, and is unbreakable until a condition is met. When that condition is met, the contents are released. Certain Tremere specialize in the Bond Egg, which are actually three eggs, one encased inside the other which is incased inside the other. THe space between is filled with the vitae of a vampire. As each day passes, an egg breaks, releasing its contents. After three days, the victim is bonded. Often, a target given the Bond egg is Dominated into forgetting the event occurred, so that he had no idea what is happening to him. THere is a variant on the Black Robin's Egg, which fills the egg with Assamite blood sufficient to kill the kindred outright if the Kindred ever attempts to strike a target. Beyond the Bond, there is servitude, which can be given in various degrees of severity. If a Kindred has killed a respected member of the kine community, she might be impelled to fill that loss with service until a new replacement comes along. Often this is a humilating experience. Servitude can be to a clan, or a single individual, and is sometimes backed up with thaumaturgy or dominate, though occassionally, a prince will ue paranoia to keep the subject in line. >From here, we get humiliation in its purest form. THis should be reserved for those who truly deserve to be taught a lesson. THe kindred is impelled to do a specific, humiliating act, such as coming to a primogen meeting stark naked, with the Tradition he has broken carved into his flesh, by him. THe mind reels with the possibilities, but humiliation should first be truly deserved, and second, should be a one shot event. Betwix humiliation and servitude is the deliberate manipulation of memories to achieve a certain goal. Perhaps the vampire killed someone's Sire accidentally. As a punishment, all memories of someone close to him will be purged for a length of time. THis is far more nasty than it seems at first glance. Next is sacrifice, which can be a simple as donating money (useless to most kindred) to giving up a valuable object that means something, to giving up power to another kindred. Once again, the punishment will fit the crime, and the kindred must live with the offense, or risk a more harsh judgement. Sometimes the kindred will be ordered to destroy an object that means a great deal to him. Occassionally, the object to be sacrificed is a kine close to the offender. Then there is death. Death, the ultimate offense. For some Kindred, death is too easy. THey've done it once before, so where's the penalty? If death is to be done, it should be done only to the most hardened of kindred, and the death should bring about something productive, even if it is as vulgar as diabolism, or simple as the remains used to fertilize the Prince's rose garden. Execution should _not_ be public, unless it is a member of the Sabbat, or a kindred with no friends. It should be swift, and not lingering. No matter how dramatic it can be to leave someone staked on a roof somewhere, that is the way of the Sabbat, and not the civilized Camarilla. Only a child makes an animal suffer in death. Make it quick and clean, and leave no questions as to the rightness of the act. THis usually means controlling who witnesses the execution. THe final type of punishment is one I am loathe to mention, since it usually is little more than a trnsitory state. I am, of course, talking about incarceration. The kine are fond of this since they honestly believe that they can keep the monsters of the world at bay, unaware that the monsters only fester in their concrete rooms, waiting for release, and vengeance. THey have learned nothing from their time, except to hate more. Thus, it is often better to kill than imprison, since we often have no control over what comes out of that cell. If, however, incarceration is desired, then there are a variety of methods: * Stake in heart. Usually from here, something needs to be done with the body to prevent the removal of the stake at an awkward time. See below for suggestions. * Imprisonment: THis usually involves putting a kindred in a cell much like the kine used. This is dangerous, since certain kindred, such as the Gangrel, have means of getting out. If you prefer this method of incarceration, I reccomend blood rationing to keep them on the edge of frenzying. This prevents them from storing blood in an attempt to escape. The advantage to this is the relative low maintenance. Simply lock the subject in, and wait a month. If they're not in some form of torpor, they're probably potent enough to have escaped by now. * Cold Storage: Either freezers or liquid Nitrogen work nicely. Beware the Thaw. * Burial: THis usually entails sinking the offender in concrete or some substance to deny him the leverage his needs to escape. At a point in the future, the subject will be released. * Water Burial: Similar to the above, this involves tying a chain to the victim's legs, and tying the other end of the chain to a weight. The victim s sent to the bottom of a large body of water, where he may be uncovered later.