The Nightfall Society

Tremere Internal Ranks


Introduction

Until such a time that BNS releases a Tremere Clan book we will be using the following document to determine rank within the Clan Tremere.

Clan Tremere are probably the most structured Clan within the Camarilla, more so than the Ventrue, New characters will be given a rank based upon their capability as determined by the below guidelines, but also based upon their political position both in the Clan and in the wider Camarilla.

There is no automatic advancement within the clan. Your chantry Regent will reward you as they feel you have progressed, advancing your rank up to Apprentice of the 7th Circle. Progression to beyond Regent is not covered in detail in this document, and Tremere players are encouraged to work with their ST to interact with the NPC’s of their clan if they are interested in progressing to high levels of Regent or a Lord.


The Ranks

 Title   Circle   Details 
Apprentice 0 At this level the individual is little more than a slave, they cook and clean and do menial tasks, for a PC to fall into this category they must either be a Ghoul or through flaws not have any dots in Thaumaturgy and have nothing else to offer the clan.
1-3 These circles tend to be viewed as true apprentices and although mistakes are normally forgiven once suitable training is received, rebellious attitude or action tends to result in final death. Most Tremere will achieve the second cirlce before being presented at court and the third circle before being released by their sires.
4-5 Most Tremere neonates and ancilla fall within these ranks - warlocks of this rank will usually be capable kindred with a bit of experience, but who are not suited to leadership or lack the talent for more advanced Thaumaturgy.
6-7 Those of these ranks have proven themselves capable and will usually receive significant responsibility within their chantry - they will act as the Regent's lieutenants and lead the other apprentices in their work.
Regent 1-7 To hold this rank you must be in charge of a recognised Chantry. This position is appointed by a Lord or above, and Lords are the ones who then grant advancement to higher level Regent Circles. Lords can also demote Regents to apprentice levels if they find a more suitable candidate for the Regency.
Lord 1-7 Vampires of this are the pinnacle of what most ordinary Tremere Vampires can aspire to become, there are little over 300 worldwide. You must be appointed to this position by a Pontifex, and thus will become a Lord of 1st Circle. Pontifex are also the ones who grant advancement or demotion through this level and can demote a Lord if they find a more suitable candidate.
Pontifex 1-7 There are usually 49 vampires of this Rank in existence at any one time, to become one you must be exceptionally powerful and exceptionally old. You must impress a member of the Council of Seven to the Degree that they will oversee a Certiman against one of the existing vampires of this rank.
Council of Seven N/A These Vampires are members of the original Mages who Tremere turned into Vampires in the Dark ages. They are old, cunning and deadly having survived the combined might of the majority of the clans in existence at that time.

Advancement

To advance to a rank above what you currently possess you must not only impress the appropriate higher ranking member of the clan (someone of the rank who can grant the rank you wish) you must also be of the Rank directly below (so advancing to the Rank of Regent 2nd Circle requires you to be a Regent of the 1st Circle).

Regents and Lords may withhold or grant promotions at their pleasure, however most Tremere of that rank or higher would view it as suspect should you refuse too many times, play favourites too obviously, or not have a good reason for demotion.

When an apprentice wishes to gain a rank in Apprentice circles, they must try to convince the Regent that they are worthy of the higher Rank. Typically, this can be that they have met the requirements for the rank they wish to achieve and the Regent grants the rank in due course, but other situations or actions can force the Regent into promoting you if you have suitably impressed them, or the wider Clan/Sect:

 Circle   Typical Requirement   Typical Quest Difficulty to earn that Rank 
Apprentice 1st Circle Not applicable to Player Characters Not applicable to Player Characters
Apprentice 2nd Circle Base Level Rank for Player Characters Base Level Rank for Player Characters
Apprentice 3rd Circle Three total levels in Thaumaturgy Paths, Occult 3 Simple Level 3
Apprentice 4th Circle Four total levels in Thaumaturgy Paths, Occult 4, at least 1 ritual known Complex Level 2
Apprentice 5th Circle Five total levels in Thaumaturgy Paths, Occult 4, at least 2 rituals known Complex Level 2
Apprentice 6th Circle Five total levels in Thaumaturgy Paths, Occult 4, at least 3 rituals known Complex Level 3
Apprentice 7th Circle Five total levels in Thaumaturgy Paths, Occult 5, at least 5 rituals known Complex Level 3

It is up to the player to either achieve this promotion through active roleplay, or if a player wishes they can work with the ST to carry out a Quest to suitably impress the Regent, or Force their hand. Above is a guide to the typical difficulty of Quests you can expect to have to complete.

This is by no means guaranteed to grant you a promotion if the Regent actively dislikes you and can find a valid reason to refuse you a higher rank. Equally, if the Regent position is owned by a Player Character, the ST will advise them of the success of the Quest, but the decision will be theirs.

At the end of this document are examples of quests or activities that you could try to complete, either through roleplay or through Quests, to earn your higher ranks.

Please keep in mind that promotion to Regent will require the Player to fill an empty Regent’s seat by appointment from a Lord. Players seeking this should actively work with their ST on how they wish to accomplish this.


Example Progression

Victor wants to rise in rank from an Apprentice of 5th Circle to Apprentice of 6th Circle. He has checked the typical requirements and has found that, having just purchased a 3rd Ritual last Downtime, he now does meet the typical requirements. The Regent has unfortunately decided not to promote him at this time.

This means he will have to suitably impress the Regent to be awarded the Rank, less the Regent receive criticism on how they run their Chantry.

Looking at the above chart, Victor can see it will be a Complex Quest at Level 3 difficulty. He Speaks to the ST and the ST confirms that it will be such a quest to achieve his goal. The ST decides to use the Behind Enemy Lines Challenge. This requires Victor to sneak into a warehouse used by the Sabbat, and gather intelligence without being seen, bravely bringing back information to assist in the Camarilla’s defence against the Sabbat, or perhaps to allow a successful raid on the warehouse.

The ST then looks as the Quest tables and sees that this will require 3 scenarios, each with 6 Requirements – a difficult task. The First Scenario set for Victor is to gather information on the Warehouse deep in Sabbat Territory and prepare for the task ahead.

The following requirements are set:

The List is handed to Victor and he goes and checks what he has and needs. He finds he has the required 3 Dots of Awareness and Contacts, but he will need someone with at Least 4 Dots of Obfuscate to come with him on the quest, someone to come with him who has at least 3 Dots of Security, use of someone’s Underworld Influence, and to speak to someone with Sabbat Lore so he knows what to expect.

Victor goes and speaks to a Nosferatu who owes him a major boon, and explains that he needs to gather information on a Sabbat Warehouse in Sabbat Territory. The Nosferatu accepts the calling in of the boon to join the Quest, and confirms he has the required Obfuscate, Security and Underworld influence to meet the requirements. Finally, Victor goes and speaks to a Volgirre Toreador, who he knows left the Sabbat when the rest of their bloodline did. She confirms she has Sabbat Lore and Victor pays her a suitable boon for the information.

Having now met all the requirements, he and the Nosferatu Spend a downtime action to confirm their participation in the Quest as it is classed as Complex. They then, at the next game, go to the ST and confirm they are ready to carry out the first scenario of the Quest. Victor is nominated the Quest Leader and has enough Dots of Leadership to add the Nosferatu to the Quest Party. The ST confirms that all the requirements are validly met and throws tests with the two players. Both happen to win their tests and so the first scenario is a success with no consequences. The ST confirms this and says he will prepare the next scenario for the Quest – Scouting out the location – for the next game.

Once Victor succeeds on all 3 scenarios, he hopes the riskily gathered information will suitably impress the Court and the Tremere Regent, and he will be awarded with his new Rank within the Tremere.


Example Challenges

 Challenge   Description 
All Fall Down This requires the Tremere to lead a raid on a Sabbat, hunter, werewolf or other enemy structure. She must take her fellow apprentices, or another group of Kindred, and destroy their enemy without suffering any casualties.
Behind Enemy Lines This involves the Tremere infiltrating an enemy construct—be it a Sabbat tainted facility or a haven of a known hostile kindred—without being seen. She must gather intelligence about the enemy there and successfully bring it back for use by the Camarilla.
Big Business The Tremere must act as a mediator between two hostile kindred showing they have diplomatic knack for handling tough court situations. To succeed in this challenge the Kindred, without using their own boons, must publicly broker a boon agreement between two parties. The more animosity between the parties the better publicity the Tremere will get for sorting out a potentially hostile situation.
Change of Heart Although many kindred fall to the lure of the beast, others are lost due to their failure to adhere to the Camarilla’s rules or a downward spiral into more dangerous Path. This requires a Tremere to find another Kindred who has fallen from grace within the Camarilla (such as a recently defected anarch or kindred running from punishment), a Kindred with humanity 3 or lower, or a Kindred on a path other than Humanity. She must teach and/or convince the outcast why her actions were wrong and how she threatened/threatens Kindred society, convincing her to willingly submit to punishment/return to the Camarilla, increase their humanity, or come back to humanity from their chosen path.
Creation In this challenge, a Tremere must design and craft a ritual item. This item can be an item she creates for herself or one intended as a gift for a another Tremere (typically the Tremere who can grant the Rank).
Dear Diary A Tremere must spend a significant amount of time—usually any period from a week to a couple of months—discovering what secrets or buried issues her fellow apprentices may be hiding, and expose their wrong-doings to the Tremere who can grant the Rank they seek.
Duel Typically, a rarer way to impress a Tremere, it will involve the Tremere in question having a direct dual with another notably strong Kindred. It may not matter if they lose so long as they display intelligence and honour.
Hostage Situation This directs a Tremere to rescue someone or something important—be it an item, or a Ghoul or another Kindred— from capture by enemies of the Tremere. She must lead a group on a successful rescue mission, and return with the target intact.
Friends in High Places A good way of quickly climbing the ranks within the Tremere. In this Challenge the Tremere must obtain the rank of Officer in the court they are currently in. Typically completed by a Tremere without an existing position, it publicly shows their value to the Clan in Camarilla politics.
The Hunt for Knowledge A Tremere can try to find a rare occult book that is needed by the Tremere who can grant the required Rank. Younger apprentices very commonly use this as a way to gain favour.
Into the Pit This requires a Tremere to travel to a dangerous location, often Sabbat territory or a mortal Hunter facility, and reclaim a lost or cursed item. Once the item has been found, she must successfully destroy the item, or redeem it to be used by the Tremere.
Iron Defence Another rarely used example. Older Apprentices often volunteer for this type of work as they have the confidence to stand against what comes. This requires them to stand vigil outside a certain building that is known to be a target for an attack from Dusk until Dawn. She must prevent any enemies of the Sect or Clan entering the building for that time.
A Kindred’s power often relies on her ability to deal with many situations. The Tremere must convince a Kindred of another Clan to teach her a Discipline that it would normally refuse to teach, and thus show the Tremere who can grant the Rank their usefulness.
Riddle Me This Younger Tremere often try this out with mixed results. The Tremere goes out to discover a riddle that has no answer. This may culminate in a riddle contest, where the Tremere attempts to stump all the Members of their chantry.
Protect the Traditions This requires a Tremere to obtain the Acclaimed status from publicly protecting the Masquerade or otherwise upholding the Traditions when they were in jeopardy.
Power for the Clan This challenge requires a Tremere to obtain a boon of high level from the Prince of their domain.