A vampire clan in the popular role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade , the Ventrue are the elites of the multi-clan organization, the Camarilla , to which they generally supply the leadership. The clan originated with the first of the third generation progeny of Caine, the first vampire, sired by Enoch, one of the second generation. Ventrue saw the development of the First City, and after centuries of peace with the moral residents of the city, he was told of Caine's vision of a future in which the mortals wold rise against the vampires and blame them for some catastrophes that would strike the world. He also told of other supernatural creatures that viewed the vampires as a threat.
Quietly, Ventrue began to gather the tools that would allow him to withstand the masters of these other supernatural creatures. He also created an underground sanctuary to house them. The other vampires were jealous of Ventrue's possessions. When the First City was destroyed by a flood, he gathered the surviving artifacts and oversaw the building of the Second City, in which he created a hiding place for the artifacts and a jar containing some of Caine's blood When that city fell to a revolution by the mortals his treasures were secure and never found The Nosferatu continue to search for them. After the fall of the Second City, the Ventrue scattered, but eventually emerged as a powerful force among the Etruscans now led by their Ventrue ruler Tinia, conquered the Italian peninsula in the eighth-century B.C.E. One of Tinia's progeny, Collat, led the revolution that overthrew the Etruscan leadership and became the ruler of Rome . The Ventrue were the invisible power behind the development of the Roman Empire.
Meanwhile, the Brujah settled and ruled Carthage, across the Mediterranean and operated quite openly. They threatened Rome and made allies with the enemies of the Ventrue in the city. They allied themselves with the Malkavian who were fighting the Brujah in Sicily. Slowly the other clans allied themselves with the Ventrue. When the city was finally destroyed, it was burned and the ground salted. The price of gaining allies was to open Rome to the other clans, and some leadership was needed. Camilla, the Ventrue leader, stepped forward.
Not without difficulty, the Ventrue directed the course of the Roman Empire, eventually manipulating Constantine to declare Christianity as the state religion as a means of stabilizing society. Events were basically favorable, although vampires tended to divide into warring factions, until the 13th-century and the coming of the Inquisition. In 1252, the Inquisition uncovered the first Ventrue and soon turned on vampires systematically. The devastation wrought by the Inquisition led to the formation of the Camarilla , the coalition of the seven clans-the Ventrue, the Brujah, the Toreador, the Nosferatu, the Gangrel , the Malkavian, and the Tremere . They were immediately called upon to deal with revolt of the Anarchs those vampires who had no respect for the elder vampires, and the opposition of the Sabbat a coalition of vampire clans not a part of the Camarilla. The Ventrue took the lead in these battles.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Ventrue spread around the world and prospered as the modern age emerged. The Ventrue organized itself into a number of directorates (corporations) in every major city in the Western World. The directorates, managed by the clan's more powerful members, operate to continue and spread the clan's influence. There is also a senior board of directors that guides international development.
The Ventrue live by tradition. They support the Masquerade and in addition have traditions peculiar to themselves. Foremost among the traditions is that of sanctuary. Any Ventrue can demand a safe haven in the home of another. This tradition has produced a society in which clan members help each other. Also younger members of the clan are expected to defer to their elders. The Ventrue keep up contacts with mortals and through subtle means try to exert control over human society. As a result of their organizational skills and political savvy, the Ventrue are most likely to hold the office of prince in the vampire community of any given city.
Greenberg, Andrew. Clanbook Ventrue. Stone Mountain, GA: White Wolf Game Studio, 1994. 72 pp.
