The Camarilla: A Vampire Fan Association is a gothic vampire fan club founded in the early 1990s by players of Vampire: The Masquerade the most popular of the vampire-oriented role-playing (or storytelling) games In the game, the players assume the role of a vampire who is a member of a vampire society called the Camarilla. In the myth, vampires created the Camarilla after the Inquisition in an effort to keep their race from being totally annihilated. They organized The Camarilla into clans , each of which was distinguished by a peculiar aesthetic/intellectual approach to the vampiric condition, or by a certain ethnic origin.
The Camarilla: A Vampire Fan Association focuses on the vampire as a tragic and romantic figure and tends to avoid its violent aspects. Members of the club join a clan and create a vampire persona which is lived out in club activities, such as gaming sessions. The club emphasizes member participation and encourages new members to become active in a local chapter or even begin one themselves. Chapters are often involved in raising money for local charities or hosting blood drives, etc. Community service is emphasized as much as role-playing.
The Camarilla is headed by a governing board, referred to as The Inner Circle. Each of the primary clans is represented on the board. In each city there is a city coordinator (referred to as the Prince), chapter coordinators and their assistants (Elders and Regents), and the gaming referee (the City Storyteller). This helps keep the real world and the game world separate.
Chapters must have at least five members to receive a charter, and is first termed a "coterie." After six months of activity that includes the sponsoring of gaming sessions and some additional self-chosen task (the publication of a fanzine, organization of a special event, etc.) it can be designated as a "House," an honored position in the city.
Individual members receive the membership handbook, The Tome of the Kindred (which explains the club's organization and assists members in developing their personae), and the club's quarterly fanzine, Requiem, plus a host of other materials. The Camarilla may be contacted at 8314 Greenwood Ave. N., Box 2850, Seattle, WA 98103.
Rein-Hagen, Mark. Vampire: The Masquerade. Stone Mountain, GA: White Wolf, 1991. 263 pp.
Wright, Jana. The Tome of the Kindred. Seattle, WA: The Camarilla, 1993. 44 pp.
