An understanding of the Anarchs, the Anarch Revolt, and the operation of the Camarilla is integral to the popular role-playing game, Vampire: The Maquerade . Periodically within the community of vampires, younger members (measured by the length of time they have been a vampire) have risen in revolt against the authority of their elders. According to the myth of the game, in ancient times the fourth generation rose against the third generation, destroyed the structure they had imposed on the community, and killed at least some of them. The most important rebellion occurred in the fifteenth century. Many of the elder vampires were short sighted in their reaction to the growing power of the Inquisition. As vampires were discovered and taken from their lairs, the elders began to use their children as shields to protect them from the Inquisition's long arm. Realizing how they were being fed to the Inquisition, the young rose in what was termed the Anarch Revolt. The Camarilla, the coalition of vampire clans in Europe, was formed to counter both the Inquisition and the Anarch Revolt.
The Camarilla won their war against the Anarchs, but did not succeed in destroying them. Some aligned themselves with the Sabbat, an organization led by the Lasomba clan which refused to submit to the Camarilla's rules. Others remained unaligned.
In the present, younger vampires tend to identify with the Anarchs. They are individually weaker than the elders, but make up for their condition by their numbers. When their numbers grow large enough, they will tend to revolt against the local prince, and they have taken advantage of the weakened condition of the elders in the immediate aftermath of a clash between the two main vampire organizations, the Camarilla and the Sabbat. In those cities controlled by either the Sabbat or the Camarilla, the Anarchs are viewed as constant threat.
The Anarchs have been able to take control of several cities, most notably in 1944 when they led a revolt in Los Angeles that led to the formation of the Anarch Free States along the West Coast of the United States. Their control gives California an unusual place in the vampire world.
Dudley, Noah. Los Angeles by Night. Stone Mountain, GA: White Wolf Game Studio, 1994. 119 pp.
Bridges, Bill, with Kerry Thornley. The Anarch Cookbook: A Friendly Guide to Vampire Politics.
