READ +NEWS GOVERNMENT/TITLES BEFORE THIS.

 What is a Keeper? Keepers are 
those vampires who preserve the Masquerade and keep the peace at an Elysium. In 
these regards, their word is law within their Elysium subject only to the       
dictates of the vampire (generally Prince) who appointed them. Similarly, their 
authority extends only as far as the power of the person who appointed them. If 
a Primogen appoints a Keeper, and the Prince of the Domain walks in, it is      
unlikely that the Keeper of the Elysium will have much say in anything. At the  
same time, of course, the Prince wouldn't want to stress the relationship with  
his Primogen. Otherwise, Keepers are subject to the realities of their Standing 
and Status, just like Sheriffs.
                                             

READ +NEWS GOVERNMENT/TITLES BEFORE THIS.

 What is a Primogen? First off,
let us clear up some confusion. A Primogen is -not- a leader of his or her clan.
A Primogen is an honorific title granted by a Prince to elders and other        
influential vampires. Traditionally, in Camarilla cities across the globe, the  
Primogen are a council of elders who, by virtue of their own personal and       
collective power, are able to impose upon the Prince's rule at least to the     
point where they must have their voices heard. Sometimes this power comes from  
the backing of a unified clan, yielding one Primogen per clan; clans are not as 
unified in L.A., so that doesn't apply. In pure semantic terms, a               
"Primogen" is a powerful and influential vampire who is not Prince.   
Some Primogen Councils control puppet Princes outright.
 In Los Angeles,     
Primogen are typically those vampires who are personally powerful and who       
control large blocks of territory. See '+news Systems/standing' and '+news      
Government/standing levels' for details on the control of territory. In many    
domains, but not all, they are the ones who sit on the Prince's advisory        
council.
 A Primogen may be given specific authority and responsibilities by 
the Prince. More feudally minded Princes might grant large pieces of territory  
to a would-be Primogen on the condition that the Primogen enforce the Prince's  
will. Once again, the Primogen gains in power through the support of the Prince,
and the Prince gains in power through the support of the Primogen. Some Primogen
are given their titles by the Prince out of recognition rather than largesse -  
to not grant such a title would be a dangerous snub that could cause unnecessary
friction.
                                                                   

READ +NEWS GOVERNMENT/TITLES BEFORE THIS.

What is a Prince?

 A    
Prince is a vampire who effectively rules a city. In Los Angeles, Princes rule  
Domains such as Downtown, Santa Monica, or South Central. Princes gather their  
power through a variety of means. Some seize it by virtue of their immense      
personal power. Others form coalitions of other powerful vampires who recognize 
the need for unified leadership. Some are simple puppets of other forces. Under 
Camarilla Tradition, however, a Prince has the power of life and death over all 
those in their domain. They have the power to refuse entry, the power to destroy
those who break the Traditions, and the power to refuse permission to sire a new
vampire.
 In Los Angeles, the Princes are established by the Treaty of La    
Cienega. The treaty officially sets some restrictions on the Princes' power,    
including the mandatory formation of an advisory council and the appointment of 
a seneschal. To keep himself from having to answer to the other Princes who     
signed the Treaty or the Justicar, a Prince in Los Angeles /must/ convene an    
advisory council at least four times a year. Some Princes might take this very  
seriously, calling together all their Primogen and listening to entreaties and  
suggestions. Others might call together a group of sycophants and send the      
Seneschal to attend in the Prince's place. Does this follow the letter of the   
rule? No. The Treaty very specifically states that the Prince must make him or  
herself available. But is anyone with the power to do something about it going  
to go out of their way to cause trouble over this violation? Not unless they had
something to gain out of it.
                                                

READ +NEWS GOVERNMENT/TITLES BEFORE THIS.

 What is a Seneschal?          
Generally, a Seneschal is a Primogen or other influential vampire who is        
empowered by a Prince to act on his or her behalf on all matters *except* as    
they pertain directly to other Primogen (where the Prince must act directly) or 
where the issue involves destroying a vampire of significance, whether an elder 
of a vampire of Standing or great Status. Vampires can get away with bypassing a
Seneschal to speak directly with his or her Prince, assuming that they (1) know 
how; (2) don't anger the Prince by bothering them with trivial matters; and (3) 
are able to deal (in one way or another) with any resultant ire that the        
Seneschal might have for taking a matter over their head. Each Prince generally 
has one Seneschal, indeed the Treaty of La Cienega mandates it. The amount of   
power given to a Seneschal will of course vary from Prince to Prince. Some      
Princes might purposefully select weak, easily manipulable Seneschals. Others   
might select someone strong whom they wish to "keep closer" as the    
saying goes about friends and enemies.
                                      

READ +NEWS GOVERNMENT/TITLES BEFORE THIS.

 What is a Sheriff? A Sheriff  
is, quite simply, a vampire empowered by his or her Prince to police the laws   
and Traditions of the domain. It should be noted that they are very rarely      
empowered to punish violators summarily. Instead, most Sheriffs apprehend       
violators and deliver them either to the Prince, the Seneschal, or to the       
vampire who controls the territory in which the violation occurred. Sheriffs can
generally travel anywhere in their Prince's domain where they must to carry out 
their functions, and they sometimes may deputize other vampires to assist them. 
Sheriffs have a number of ways they can exercise discretion; for instance, they 
might overlook certain crimes, take the detainee to a more friendly             
"judge", or nitpick violations of the Traditions, where they think    
that they can get away with it without harming their or their Prince's          
credibility.
                                                                

 Sheriffs are not, however, exempt from the realities of their Standing and 
Status. Just as a police officer sent to arrest the President of the United     
States would have to defer to the Secret Service, perhaps leave his gun outside,
and would have to treat the President with honor and respect, so a Sheriff      
should be mindful in all his actions. His title means one thing only: the Prince
of the domain backs his action so long as his actions do not embarrass,         
undermine, or harm the Prince's interest. If a Sheriff were to truly anger a    
powerful Primogen, a Prince might show outward solidarity because the Prince    
wouldn't want to undermine the Sheriff's (read: the Prince's) authority, but woe
betide that Sheriff when the company has gone home and the doors close.
     

The following details what various levels of Standing (+news systems/standing)  
specifically represent: 

STANDING 7: This is a Prince who is acknowledged
as sovereign over all of the domains over greater Los Angeles. Prince Emerson   
once had this level of Standing, but it was lost when Los Angeles was divided   
into eight autonomous domains each ruled by a different Prince. Will Los Angeles
ever be united again under one Prince? Only time will tell.

 STANDING 6: 
This is a Prince who holds dominion over more than one of the eight domains, but
less than all of them. No Prince appears at the moment to have such standing.   
Will the balance of power between eight Princes in eight domains remain as it   
is? Does any Prince secretly wield dominion over another? This is all a matter  
of speculation.

 STANDING 5: This is a Prince who wields Camarilla domain
over one of the eight sovereign territories recognized in Los Angeles. This     
appears to be the highest level of Standing that anyone in Los Angeles presently
maintains. These vampires are the final arbiters of the Traditions and Laws     
within their respective domains, excepting only certain limited prerogatives    
granted to Prince Emerson and the Council of Princes pursuant to The Treaty of  
La Cienega. (See +news Undead/Treaty.) The only 'legitimate' way for someone to 
obtain this Standing is to succeed a presently recognized Prince. Of course, any
vampire, including an anarch, who controlled territory comprising over thirty   
outdoor rooms on a +map could make a meaningful argument that they are due this 
Standing. (See +help ic/map; +help social/domain.)
                          

STANDING 4: A vampire with this level of Standing controls (and usually is      
responsible for) a territory comprising eight or more outdoor rooms on a +map,  
but less than one of the eight Los Angeles domains. These rooms need not be     
contiguous, or even in the same domain (though they usually are). The only thing
that matters is how much territory the vampire ultimately controls. As set forth
in +news Government/standing, the way by which the vampire comes by control of  
this territory, and the way in which that control is exerted, can vary          
tremendously. Vampires with enough power and influence to control this much     
territory are almost always given the title of Primogen, and in many cases are  
appointed to Princes' advisory councils. Seneschals most often come from the    
limited ranks of vampires with this Standing. It is unlikely that a Prince would
allow too many vampires of this level to exist in her domain, as they could     
collectively pose a great threat to her rule.

 STANDING 3: A vampire with
this level of Standing controls (and usually is responsible for) territory      
comprising four to seven outdoor rooms on a +map. These rooms need not be       
contiguous, or even in the same domain. The only thing that matters is how much 
territory the vampire ultimately controls. Vampires at this level are also often
known as Primogen, though a few have the chutzpah to declare their own titles.  
E.g. Alvin Forrester, the self-styled anarch Warlord of Inglewood. Some may even
have no title at all. Many vampires who otherwise would have Standing 4 occupy  
this tier due to their decision to "grant" their territory to         
strengthen a relationship with a subordinate ally. A Seneschal sometimes is     
found among those vampires with this Standing.
                              

 STANDING 2: A vampire with this level of Standing controls (and is usually 
responsible for) territory comprising one to three outdoor rooms on a +map.     
Vampires with Standing 2 are often given subordinate titles, and those titles   
can vary tremendously from domain to domain. In Santa Monica, most are known as 
Knights, in Downtown they are known as Wardens, and in South Central they are   
known as Leaders. Vampires with this level of Standing generally have received  
their territory by a grant from the Prince or else been delegated control of a  
portion of a Primogen's territory with at least the nominal approval of a       
Prince. Such vampires control their territory, and maintain their Standing, at  
the pleasure of the Prince and/or Primogen who granted it to them, unless of    
course the vampire who is an anarch who maintains his or her territories by     
force of arms or personality. It should be noted that it is a common, though not
universal, practice for Princes to grant their Sheriffs and Elysium Keepers     
territory sufficient for them to call upon this level of Standing.
          

STANDING 1: These vampires do not control territory of significance, however    
they have survived long enough to be recognized as 'adult' vampires. Any        
territory they control is little more their havens and/or select buildings, but 
nothing of territorial significance. These vampires have either survived at     
least five years since their embrace, or they have been recognized under the    
Tradition of Hospitality by at least one Prince or his or her Seneschal. Unless 
a Blood Hunt has been called against them, such vampires are generally afforded 
protection in accord with the Camarilla Tradition of Destruction. These vampires
are seldom granted titles of any sort, though they may be referred to as        
Neonate, Ancilla, or Elder, depending on their age.

 STANDING 0:No Prince
in Los Angeles has recognized the right of this vampire to exist and this       
vampire has not otherwise survived 5 years as a vampire. These poor creatures   
are not protected from Destruction, and generally their sire, those with        
Standing 3 or better, or someone with authority of some sort from a Prince (e.g.
a Blood Hunt) can destroy those with this standing without consequence for      
violating the Tradition of Destruction. (This -does not- mean that there might  
not be other forms of social and political consequences.) Most with this        
standing are childer who have not yet been presented to a Prince or haven't     
survived for more than 5 years as a vampire.                                    

 On many MUSHes, it is common for characters - particularly those in        
vampiric society - to have titles. Prince. Primogen. Archon. Justicar. Knight.  
Lord. Regent. Duke. Scourge. Los Angeles is no different, and many of the       
vampires here have titles. But what is a title? It's just a word.
 An Archon 
doesn't suddenly gain the power to seize control of a Prince's mind and order   
him to do his bidding simply by virtue of being an Archon. No, an Archon has    
power both because the Archon himself has personal power in the form of         
resources, disciplines, etc., and also because he is backed by a greater power: 
the Justicars. The Justicars themselves don't have power because of their       
titles, but because of institutional strength that supports them, including     
their Archons.
 Likewise, the Princes of Los Angeles have their power because
they are themselves possessed of great personal power, because the other Princes
have a stake in defending the dignity of the title, and because a Justicar of   
the Camarilla has lent the legitimacy of his authority to their station. All of 
these elders have a stake in seeing their positions upheld, their authority     
enforced. So the Princes rule their domains.
 In theory.
                 

 In reality, a Prince rules what he can get his hands on. Princes appoint   
Sheriffs, who do their jobs because the Prince can use his or her power to      
either destroy or benefit the Sheriff. By working together, in a relationship   
where each knows their place, they both become stronger. The Prince becomes     
backed by the power of the Sheriff, and the Sheriff by the power of the         
Prince.
 The entire Camarilla power structure can be described in terms of   
power relationships. The titles are secondary, methods by which the members     
formalize their relationships. Because a title is only an expression of the     
relationship between vampires, these are generalizations only. In particular,   
the meaning of titles varies depending on the Domain. Each Principality of Los  
Angeles is independent, and sets its own rules.