Covenant Ascendency

When a covenant achieves ascendancy, it is the dominant socio-political entity in a domain. Its ideology, organization and administrative methods imprint themselves on the city, and members find it easier to obtain certain common benefits from being in charge. Ascendant covenant and eminent clan benefits (see below) are cumulative — a single character can benefit from both in the same month. If they ever come into conflict, the covenant benefit always takes precedence.

Carthian Movement

Ascendant Carthians find it easy to interact with the mortal world and co-exist with the mortals in the domain. By calling in a favor or otherwise greasing mortal wheels, Carthians can find an improvised haven somewhere in the city on very short notice, not needing to return to their normal homes. They cannot be left without a shelter unless they are taken outside the city. Such improvised havens do not grant any of the benefits of the Haven Merit, however.

Once per month, every ascendant Carthian can also call on her resources to attract a small crowd of mortals (between 8 and 15 people, depending on how many would be available in the area). These humans help out in an activity of the Carthian’s choice, whether staging a protest outside an elder’s haven or building a simple structure for a community group, so long as the activity is fairly innocuous and in line with the Carthian’s rhetoric. This activity cannot involve anything immediately illegal beyond what might be expected of non-violent protesters. A sit-in is reasonable, but an armed uprising or robbery is not. The mortals also have no particular loyalty to the Carthian in question, so do not risk their lives or a lengthy jail sentence unless other means are used to convince them.

Circle of the Crone

Circle members fi nd it very easy to develop small groups of mortal followers. Most of these people are typically convinced that they’re involved in nothing more than a pagan worship circle. By making requests for help in ritual research or observances, a Circle member can use these mortals to help out with large rites (provided they don’t violate the Masquerade), or to perform tedious and mundane research and acquisition of materials involved in rites. Ascendant Acolytes thus gain the equivalent of two dots of the Allies Merit in the field most useful to pursuing their research. So, an Acolyte whose occult studies focus on the lessons of the plant world might gain an Ally in the park service or the city’s botanical garden. This is a separate instance of the Allies Merit and does not combine with any similar Merits a character may already have. This Merit cannot be used for tasks that are overtly supernatural or illegal.

While engaged in rituals and similar observations, Acolytes also gather great spiritual strength from their faith. The knowledge that their covenant is dominant in a city — represented by ascendant status — strengthens the faith of those in the Circle of the Crone, allowing each member to regain a spent point of Willpower each week as they perform their rituals (during downtime).

Invictus

When the Invictus is ascendant, members of the First Estate are protected from the vampiric games of rumor and innuendo. An Invictus Prince cannot lose any City Status dots during a month in which his covenant is ascendant, and Harpies who are not themselves members of the First Estate must spend three points of Status for every dot of City Status they wish to remove from a member of the Invictus. Finally, no member of the Invictus can have his last dot of City Status stripped from him, unless the Prince or Master of Elysium doing so is herself a member of the covenant.

Lancea Sanctum

When the Lancea Sanctum is ascendant, the covenant’s deep-seated belief in the righteousness of its cause combines with its influence in the city to strengthen the Sanctified ability to carry on the fight. Once per week, a Sanctified character may pray to Longinus and regain a spent point of Willpower. This prayer takes a full minute if done during a game session and approximately an hour if performed during downtime.

In a city where the Lancea Sanctum is ascendant, all Sanctified characters are further considered exempt from the authority of all Kindred officers save the Prince and Harpies — unless the officer in question is also Sanctified. The Master of Elysium cannot strip covenant members of City Status and the Sheriff cannot order them about. This exemption doesn’t provide any supernatural protection — it is merely considered unthinkable (and a sin against the city, see p. 289) to attack an ascendant Sanctified.

Ordo Dracul

When the Ordo Dracul is ascendant, the Dragons’ confidence in their mystical abilities and the supremacy of their territory is so unshakeable that they are socially unflappable. For every dot of City Status she has at the beginning of the month (before any ascendancy bonus), a Dragon may ignore the result of a single Social (instant or extended) action performed against her that is not supernatural in nature.

What’s more, each Dragon can select a discreet territory (no more than a few city blocks) and claim it as her personal fiefdom when the covenant is ascendant. The Dragon effectively becomes regent of the area. Others who hunt there must either pay some tribute or leave at the Dragon’s discretion. The Dragon may not lay claim to a place already claimed by another unless she has a higher City Status (after the ascendancy bonus). The Ordo normally uses this privilege to ensure that members have access to all the best wyrm nests at which to perform their mystic rites, though it has certainly seen more petty application. When the covenant falls from ascendancy, all claims to territories are lost unless individual Dragons can defend them.

Unaligned

Should the unaligned somehow become ascendant, the domain is effectively an outlaw paradise. Until they cease being ascendant, no boons involving members of that domain are valid. Other Kindred recognize the lawlessness of the domain and the futility of expecting the Traditions or Elysium to be upheld.