Camarilla (fan club)
Encyclopedia
The Camarilla is the official worldwide fan organization of White Wolf Publishing
. White Wolf is an Atlanta based company that specializes in fantasy
and modern horror
and is best-known for its role-playing game
s set in the World of Darkness
. The Camarilla is mainly a Live Action Roleplaying group, or LARP, in which the membership creates characters and acts out an interactive soap-opera within the World of Darkness. It also has traditional and computer-assisted role-playing games in addition to its LARPs.
The Camarilla has affiliate organizations across the world playing a distributed role-playing game
in which thousands of players assume the roles of the World of Darkness' inhabitants. Despite being separated by distance, all of these players (through e-mail, IRC, and conventions) have characters in the same world, or chronicle.
In 2004 the Camarilla ended their global chronicle, specifically Vampire: The Masquerade venue, Wraith: The Oblivion venue and the Mortal venue. White Wolf Publishing reworked their World of Darkness and their official fan club changed games accordingly. In January 2005 the new global chronicle restarted with Requiem. The Werewolf: The Apocalypse (Garou) venue ended March 2005 or shortly thereafter. The Mage: the Ascension venue ended October 2005 or shortly thereafter. The final venue of the original chronicle, Changeling: The Dreaming, concluded October 2006, and transitioned to a post-end of the world mode into early 2007 before finishing.
, published by White Wolf. By 1993, representations were made in the UK for a similar organisation to be formed but, with the US group ahead in the process the two nascent groups were folded into the same process." After spending six months in early 1992 preparing membership materials, the club was launched at VikingCon in Bellingham, Washington, in August 1992. Originally registered under law as a literary organization, which permitted it to legally collect membership dues, The Camarilla was reorganized as a non-profit, non-stock corporation under the Revised Code of Washington, Title 24, Chapter 3 (RCW 24.03), as "The Camarilla: A Vampire Fan Association" in 1993. The Board of Directors signed contracts in 1993 & 1994 with White Wolf to be the official fan club
. The club's legal status was dissolved in late 1994 as the original founders were unable to continue dedicating the volunteer time the growing organization required.
The original Board of Directors transferred the club's materials and funds to a group of members in Salt Lake City in April 1995, in order for the Utah members to legally reincorporate the club and maintain continuity in membership and activities. After traveling to Seattle to get the remaining club assets from the original founders, the Utah members began working with White Wolf to sign a new contract so that they might continue as the official fan club.
In December 1998, The Camarilla filed a trademark
registration on the use of the word "Camarilla" only as the designation for a fan club, despite the fact that this word was already trademarked by White Wolf for the fictional organization of vampires in its game setting. Later negotiations between The Camarilla and White Wolf went poorly, revolving largely around the decision by White Wolf to transition the organization from its long-standing non-profit status to a profit arm. In January 2002 White Wolf announced that it now owned the fan-run organization The Camarilla. The Camarilla responded with a temporary restraining order
against White Wolf. With the Olympics bringing Utah to a standstill, White Wolf had the venue moved to its home base of Georgia, counter-sued, and had the restraining order overturned. It also sent notices to the groups and individuals voluntarily providing web hosting and other services for The Camarillas web hosting that the domain was in legal contention
, causing the material to be taken off line.
The Camarilla Board of Directors resigned and dissolved the organization in 2003, leaving White Wolf to manage the Camarilla directly. Despite the difficulties incurred by the folding of the non-profit group, the bulk of the membership did transfer to the club now under nominal White Wolf control, and operations were running smoothly again by early 2004.
In 2005, White Wolf rebooted
their World of Darkness
game setting. The Camarilla has likewise brought the previous setting's games to an apocalyptic end, and begun a chronicle for the new Vampire: The Requiem
, Werewolf: The Forsaken
, Mage: The Awakening
games, as well as 'mortal' (i.e. non-supernatural) characters. Additionally there are also chronicles of Changeling: The Lost
and Geist: The Sin-Eaters
.
In addition to the primary U.S. portion of the club, the organization also has affiliates in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and the Low Countries. There are also several Global Independent Regions (GIRs) covering other areas, allowing members who live outside a country with an affiliate contract or the United States to continue gaming with the support structure provided in other countries.
On March 1, 2009, White Wolf/CCP revoked its affiliate agreement with the Camarilla UK after renewed contract terms would reportedly violate the UK Data Protection act. Without the agreement, the Camarilla UK could no longer use the trademarked and other licensed terms. Those UK members remaining with the organization became a GIR. Others founded an independent, national organisation named the Isles of Darkness.
In November 2009, the Camarilla announced to its membership that it would be revisiting the original Vampire: the Masquerade
venues (Camarilla and Sabbat) for a set-length chronicle set to start June 2010 and run for three years.
On September 26, 2010, it was announced that the Camarilla will no longer be owned and run by White Wolf/CCP, and the US club would become a not-for-profit organization. With a new Board of Directors chosen, and a revised operating method currently under authorship, the US club has temporarily taken the name of Midnight Dance; a new legal name has not yet been chosen, awaiting a vote by the membership. The possibility of licensing the name Camarilla for use by the club in the near future is currently being visited with White Wolf/CCP.
On August 25, 2011, after engaging a poll of the membership for potential new titles for the club, the US membership voted to rename their affiliate from Midnight Dance to Mind's Eye Society, with a ratification of nearly 75% of the membership.
On September 19, 2011, at the Grand Masquerade event in New Orleans, Mind's Eye Society signed a licensing agreement with White Wolf/CCP, returning the day-to-day administration and ownership of the US club back to its membership. The licensing agreement includes use of trademarked terms, including the term Camarilla.
Character : A fictional persona which a player assumes the role of in order to take part in a roleplaying game. (See also Campaign (role-playing games)
.)
Chronicle : An ongoing game in the World of Darkness setting. The entire game run by the Camarilla is known as "The Global Chronicle" or simply "The Chronicle". (See also Campaign (role-playing games)
.)
Domain (also Chapter): The local "branch" of the Camarilla, usually based in an entire city or metropolitan area.
Coordinator: an individual responsible for administration within the society; tasks include booking places to hold games, and keeping track of membership.
Prestige: A system for tracking service to the club and contributions to outside charitable efforts by members on behalf of the club. The use of Prestige has been part of the organization since its very founding. Higher levels of Prestige can lead to more experience points for a players' characters.
Storyteller (ST): an individual responsible for plot, game rules and events in a given aspect of the Chronicle (See also Gamemaster
).
Venue : The aspect of the setting concerned with one "species" of supernatural creature. For instance, "the Requiem Venue" refers to players, characters and events specific to the Vampire: the Requiem
game. This term is also used to a specific game within a domain within a genre. For example "the New York Forsaken Venue". Domains or chapters may multiple venues, even (rarely) multiple ones of the same genre (two Awakening venues could exist in the same chapter.)
White Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
. White Wolf is an Atlanta based company that specializes in fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and modern horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and is best-known for its role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s set in the World of Darkness
World of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
. The Camarilla is mainly a Live Action Roleplaying group, or LARP, in which the membership creates characters and acts out an interactive soap-opera within the World of Darkness. It also has traditional and computer-assisted role-playing games in addition to its LARPs.
The Camarilla has affiliate organizations across the world playing a distributed role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
in which thousands of players assume the roles of the World of Darkness' inhabitants. Despite being separated by distance, all of these players (through e-mail, IRC, and conventions) have characters in the same world, or chronicle.
The Chronicle/Game
For the most part, the Camarilla concerns itself with the operation of the "Global Chronicle", the ongoing setting in which all characters exist. All characters in this setting are able to interact with other characters of the same type. Interactions between characters of different types (such as those in different Venues, see Glossary) are restricted in order to maintain the individual flavor of each Venue (werewolf, mage, vampire, etc.)In 2004 the Camarilla ended their global chronicle, specifically Vampire: The Masquerade venue, Wraith: The Oblivion venue and the Mortal venue. White Wolf Publishing reworked their World of Darkness and their official fan club changed games accordingly. In January 2005 the new global chronicle restarted with Requiem. The Werewolf: The Apocalypse (Garou) venue ended March 2005 or shortly thereafter. The Mage: the Ascension venue ended October 2005 or shortly thereafter. The final venue of the original chronicle, Changeling: The Dreaming, concluded October 2006, and transitioned to a post-end of the world mode into early 2007 before finishing.
History
The Camarilla was founded by a group in Seattle, Washington, who were interested in the recently released role-playing game Vampire: the MasqueradeVampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade is a role-playing game. Created by Mark Rein·Hagen, it was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness role-playing games, based on the Storyteller System and centered around vampires in a modern gothic-punk world....
, published by White Wolf. By 1993, representations were made in the UK for a similar organisation to be formed but, with the US group ahead in the process the two nascent groups were folded into the same process." After spending six months in early 1992 preparing membership materials, the club was launched at VikingCon in Bellingham, Washington, in August 1992. Originally registered under law as a literary organization, which permitted it to legally collect membership dues, The Camarilla was reorganized as a non-profit, non-stock corporation under the Revised Code of Washington, Title 24, Chapter 3 (RCW 24.03), as "The Camarilla: A Vampire Fan Association" in 1993. The Board of Directors signed contracts in 1993 & 1994 with White Wolf to be the official fan club
Fan club
A fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...
. The club's legal status was dissolved in late 1994 as the original founders were unable to continue dedicating the volunteer time the growing organization required.
The original Board of Directors transferred the club's materials and funds to a group of members in Salt Lake City in April 1995, in order for the Utah members to legally reincorporate the club and maintain continuity in membership and activities. After traveling to Seattle to get the remaining club assets from the original founders, the Utah members began working with White Wolf to sign a new contract so that they might continue as the official fan club.
In December 1998, The Camarilla filed a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
registration on the use of the word "Camarilla" only as the designation for a fan club, despite the fact that this word was already trademarked by White Wolf for the fictional organization of vampires in its game setting. Later negotiations between The Camarilla and White Wolf went poorly, revolving largely around the decision by White Wolf to transition the organization from its long-standing non-profit status to a profit arm. In January 2002 White Wolf announced that it now owned the fan-run organization The Camarilla. The Camarilla responded with a temporary restraining order
Restraining order
A restraining order or order of protection is a form of legal injunction that requires a party to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. A party that refuses to comply with an order faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
against White Wolf. With the Olympics bringing Utah to a standstill, White Wolf had the venue moved to its home base of Georgia, counter-sued, and had the restraining order overturned. It also sent notices to the groups and individuals voluntarily providing web hosting and other services for The Camarillas web hosting that the domain was in legal contention
Contention
Contention may refer to:* The main contention, in rhetoric, the main point being argued* Resource contention, a general concept in communications and computing, is competition by users of a system for the facility at the same time:...
, causing the material to be taken off line.
The Camarilla Board of Directors resigned and dissolved the organization in 2003, leaving White Wolf to manage the Camarilla directly. Despite the difficulties incurred by the folding of the non-profit group, the bulk of the membership did transfer to the club now under nominal White Wolf control, and operations were running smoothly again by early 2004.
In 2005, White Wolf rebooted
Reboot (continuity)
The verb reboot, in media dealing with serial fiction, means to discard much or even all previous continuity in the series and start anew with fresh ideas...
their World of Darkness
World of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
game setting. The Camarilla has likewise brought the previous setting's games to an apocalyptic end, and begun a chronicle for the new Vampire: The Requiem
Vampire: The Requiem
Vampire: The Requiem is a role-playing game published by White Wolf, set in the World of Darkness, and the successor to the Vampire: The Masquerade line. It was first released in August 2004, together with a new core rule book for the World of Darkness...
, Werewolf: The Forsaken
Werewolf: The Forsaken
Werewolf: The Forsaken is a role-playing game set in the new World of Darkness created by White Wolf Game Studio. It is the successor to Werewolf: The Apocalypse, the "game of savage horror" from the old World of Darkness line of games, but has moved to a more personal sort of horror, reflecting...
, Mage: The Awakening
Mage: The Awakening
Mage: The Awakening is a role-playing game developed by White Wolf, Inc. and based in their World of Darkness setting. The characters portrayed in this game are individuals able to bend or break the commonly-accepted rules of reality to perform subtle or outlandish acts of magic. These characters...
games, as well as 'mortal' (i.e. non-supernatural) characters. Additionally there are also chronicles of Changeling: The Lost
Changeling: The Lost
Changeling: The Lost is the fifth supplementary role-playing game line published by White Wolf, Inc. It uses the Storytelling System for rules and is set in the new World of Darkness setting...
and Geist: The Sin-Eaters
Geist: The Sin-Eaters
Geist: The Sin-Eaters is a tabletop roleplaying game and setting for White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness line released in August 2009. "Geist", in this context, refers to a spirit to whom a human who has died, binds, resulting in a Sin-Eater....
.
In addition to the primary U.S. portion of the club, the organization also has affiliates in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and the Low Countries. There are also several Global Independent Regions (GIRs) covering other areas, allowing members who live outside a country with an affiliate contract or the United States to continue gaming with the support structure provided in other countries.
On March 1, 2009, White Wolf/CCP revoked its affiliate agreement with the Camarilla UK after renewed contract terms would reportedly violate the UK Data Protection act. Without the agreement, the Camarilla UK could no longer use the trademarked and other licensed terms. Those UK members remaining with the organization became a GIR. Others founded an independent, national organisation named the Isles of Darkness.
In November 2009, the Camarilla announced to its membership that it would be revisiting the original Vampire: the Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade is a role-playing game. Created by Mark Rein·Hagen, it was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness role-playing games, based on the Storyteller System and centered around vampires in a modern gothic-punk world....
venues (Camarilla and Sabbat) for a set-length chronicle set to start June 2010 and run for three years.
On September 26, 2010, it was announced that the Camarilla will no longer be owned and run by White Wolf/CCP, and the US club would become a not-for-profit organization. With a new Board of Directors chosen, and a revised operating method currently under authorship, the US club has temporarily taken the name of Midnight Dance; a new legal name has not yet been chosen, awaiting a vote by the membership. The possibility of licensing the name Camarilla for use by the club in the near future is currently being visited with White Wolf/CCP.
On August 25, 2011, after engaging a poll of the membership for potential new titles for the club, the US membership voted to rename their affiliate from Midnight Dance to Mind's Eye Society, with a ratification of nearly 75% of the membership.
On September 19, 2011, at the Grand Masquerade event in New Orleans, Mind's Eye Society signed a licensing agreement with White Wolf/CCP, returning the day-to-day administration and ownership of the US club back to its membership. The licensing agreement includes use of trademarked terms, including the term Camarilla.
Glossary
Approvals : The system used to regulate the rarity of items, powers and character types in the setting that should be kept rare, by giving Storytellers who oversee areas larger than a Domain the responsibility of approving or denying such things. For instance, unusually powerful magical items, custom-written powers and such like must pass through the Approvals chain before being clear for use.Character : A fictional persona which a player assumes the role of in order to take part in a roleplaying game. (See also Campaign (role-playing games)
Campaign (role-playing games)
In role-playing games, a campaign is a continuing storyline or set of adventures, typically involving the same characters. The purpose of the continuing storyline is to introduce a further aspect into the game: that of development, improvement, and growth of the characters. In a campaign, a...
.)
Chronicle : An ongoing game in the World of Darkness setting. The entire game run by the Camarilla is known as "The Global Chronicle" or simply "The Chronicle". (See also Campaign (role-playing games)
Campaign (role-playing games)
In role-playing games, a campaign is a continuing storyline or set of adventures, typically involving the same characters. The purpose of the continuing storyline is to introduce a further aspect into the game: that of development, improvement, and growth of the characters. In a campaign, a...
.)
Domain (also Chapter): The local "branch" of the Camarilla, usually based in an entire city or metropolitan area.
Coordinator: an individual responsible for administration within the society; tasks include booking places to hold games, and keeping track of membership.
Prestige: A system for tracking service to the club and contributions to outside charitable efforts by members on behalf of the club. The use of Prestige has been part of the organization since its very founding. Higher levels of Prestige can lead to more experience points for a players' characters.
Storyteller (ST): an individual responsible for plot, game rules and events in a given aspect of the Chronicle (See also Gamemaster
Gamemaster
A gamemaster is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for questions regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer game...
).
Venue : The aspect of the setting concerned with one "species" of supernatural creature. For instance, "the Requiem Venue" refers to players, characters and events specific to the Vampire: the Requiem
Vampire: The Requiem
Vampire: The Requiem is a role-playing game published by White Wolf, set in the World of Darkness, and the successor to the Vampire: The Masquerade line. It was first released in August 2004, together with a new core rule book for the World of Darkness...
game. This term is also used to a specific game within a domain within a genre. For example "the New York Forsaken Venue". Domains or chapters may multiple venues, even (rarely) multiple ones of the same genre (two Awakening venues could exist in the same chapter.)
See also
- Camarilla (World of Darkness)
- Mage: the AwakeningMage: The AwakeningMage: The Awakening is a role-playing game developed by White Wolf, Inc. and based in their World of Darkness setting. The characters portrayed in this game are individuals able to bend or break the commonly-accepted rules of reality to perform subtle or outlandish acts of magic. These characters...
- Werewolf: the ForsakenWerewolf: The ForsakenWerewolf: The Forsaken is a role-playing game set in the new World of Darkness created by White Wolf Game Studio. It is the successor to Werewolf: The Apocalypse, the "game of savage horror" from the old World of Darkness line of games, but has moved to a more personal sort of horror, reflecting...
- Vampire: the MasqueradeVampire: The MasqueradeVampire: The Masquerade is a role-playing game. Created by Mark Rein·Hagen, it was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness role-playing games, based on the Storyteller System and centered around vampires in a modern gothic-punk world....
- Vampire: the RequiemVampire: The RequiemVampire: The Requiem is a role-playing game published by White Wolf, set in the World of Darkness, and the successor to the Vampire: The Masquerade line. It was first released in August 2004, together with a new core rule book for the World of Darkness...
- Changeling: the LostChangeling: The LostChangeling: The Lost is the fifth supplementary role-playing game line published by White Wolf, Inc. It uses the Storytelling System for rules and is set in the new World of Darkness setting...
- LARP
- Mind's Eye TheatreMind's Eye TheatreMind's Eye Theatre is a live action role-playing game based on the White Wolf World of Darkness universe, sharing a theme and setting originally with the table-top role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade and now with its revision, Vampire: The Requiem...
- White Wolf PublishingWhite Wolf, Inc.White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
- Publisher of METMind's Eye TheatreMind's Eye Theatre is a live action role-playing game based on the White Wolf World of Darkness universe, sharing a theme and setting originally with the table-top role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade and now with its revision, Vampire: The Requiem...