American Vampire Confederation

The American Vampire Confederation, or AVC is the governing body of the vampires within the continental United States of America. It is headed by the National Delegation. It is part of the Camarilla, and as such, it adheres to the Traditions established in the Convention of 1548.

## Territory

The American Vampire Confederation maintains control over most major settlements within the continental United States of America. Closely tied with the American government, the Confederation's land is divided into territories mirroring those of the United States, each ruled by a state delegation, whose headquarters typically resides within the state capitol. States are further divided into small zones which surround cities and other major settlements, known as sectors. Each sector is headed by a sector delegation, who is responsible for running the city the sector is centered around.

## Organization

The AVC is led by the National Delegation, and each subsequent group of territory is controlled by another, smaller delegation. The policies set down by delegates are enforced by a Sheriff and their Deputies. Delegates also serve as a group of judges over those who have broken their laws.

### Delegates

The First Delegate of any city is its primary ruler, and is holder of domain within the entire city they live in. They are advised by a council of other delegates, together forming a delegation of a city. The First Delegate facilitates discussion, keeps meetings organized, has the power to veto motions set forth by the delegation, and when it comes to voting, has a vote count of five. Furthermore, they are the only ones able to call for executions and blood hunts. Together with the rest of their delegation, they judge criminals, set the rules and punishments within their domain, and can create any law that does not contradict those set by higher ranking delegations.

#### Sector and State Delegates

Sector delegates, who rule a single city and its surrounding area, are elected from among the seven most populous vampire clans within the territory, with each vampire of said clans being required to cast their vote in a ballot. In order to run for an open seat, a prospective delegate must submit their resume to the current delegation for approval, and if it is granted, they may run for office. Upon being elected, a sector delegate will serve for fifteen years, before having to begin another campaign. Otherwise, they may also be ousted by a vote of four or higher from their colleagues.

State delegates are elected by the sector delegates from among their number, and serve for forty years before they need to begin a new election campaign. They may be ousted by a vote of five or higher by their colleagues.

#### The National Delegation

The National Delegation is the highest authority within the AVC, and the seven High Delegates who compose it are responsible for setting national laws that the entire vampiric population within the United States abides by. In addition to the local crimes within the District of Columbia, where their headquarters are located, the High Delegates on occasion may be have extremely prominent criminals from other regions set before them for judgement.

High Delegates are chosen by from among the various state delegations, with any state delegate being able to run for office if an empty seat is available. First, prospective High Delegates must submit their resumes to the current High Delegates for approval, and if it is received, they must work to accrue the most votes from their fellow state delegates, after which they will become members of the National Delegation. High Delegates serve for life, unless they either choose to step down, or are unanimously voted off by a vote of six or higher.

### Sheriffs

Sheriffs serve to enforce the laws set down by delegations, by whatever means necessary. They are appointed by their local delegation, and can be dismissed at any time. Their position comes with the authority to enforce local rules, and are licensed to drag any vampire to the delegation for judgement with whatever force they deem necessary, and they are rarely penalized . Should the need arise, they are also typically the ones used by the delegation to execute lawbreakers.

Sheriffs are also endowed with the authority to deputize vampiric citizens, extending their own power into them. Deputies are allowed to employ force to make sure laws are followed, and will also be responsible for helping to capture, or if all else fails, eliminate, criminals. Sheriffs do not make deputies lightly, as poor performance of the deputy reflects poorly upon them.

## Laws

The laws set down by the National Delegation are applied nationwide. State delegates may pass any laws that do not violate national decrees, while sectors may set down laws that do not violate those passed by the state. Given that the AVC is a Camarilla organization, they follow the six Traditions.

### Creation

#### Childer

New progeny may not be Embraced without the sanction of the local delegation. The typical punishment for an illegal Embrace is the destruction of both the Sire and the Childe, though in some cases, one, or in extremely rare cases, both, may be spared, and only fined via boons or forced into a blood bond. In order to secure the right to sire a childe, one must request permission from the local delegation.

#### Ghouls

Ghouls, like childer, require permission from one's local delegation to be created.

### Elysium

Elyisum is an area recognized by vampire society as an area where all quarrels are to be put aside, where vampires may openly mingle with one another without any fear of violence. Furthermore, the use of Disciplines is forbidden within Elysium, except when punishing those who violate its rules.

### Property

A number of items are recognized as property in AVC law. This includes their domain, their physical possessions, mortals that they have claimed, and their ghouls. Different processes are necessary to acquire certain property, and the punishments for damaging or stealing the property of another vampire varies depending on what is involved.

#### Domain

Domain, as defined by general vampiric society, is the territory belonging to a vampire. The AVC has the capacity to legally sanction the domain held by a vampire, which accords with it a number of privileges and protections. In order to have their domain sanctioned, a vampire must submit to their local delegation a written application, with their resume, and the territory they wish to claim. Generally speaking, older, more influential vampires will be allowed larger domains.

Once a domain has been sanctioned, it becomes the personal property of whoever successfully applied to it in the eyes of the law. Vampires who enter another's domain without permission can be legally expelled at any time, and can be forcibly removed by a Sheriff or their deputies if need be. Feeding in another's domain without permission, or otherwise breaking the rules of the domain's owner, is punishable by a revocation of property, or by the offender being put into debt of a boon with the owner of the domain. Leaving bodies in another vampire's domain is punishable in a similar manner.

#### Ghouls

Ghouls, humans who are consistently fed vampire blood by their master, are viewed as that vampire's personal property. They are viewed as representatives of their master, and any attacks on a ghoul, short of killing them, are regarded as attacks on their owner. While attacking a ghoul carries no legal repercussions, the law does allow the ghoul's master to respond as if they themselves had been physically assaulted, and they are free to physically brutalize the offending vampire in any manner short of killing them. Killing a ghoul will result in a minor, or, if the ghoul was particularly competent, a major boon being owed to the offended party.

Drinking the blood of a ghoul is different than merely physically abusing them. Due to the fact that said ghoul's body contains the blood of their master, this is regarded as a more serious crime. Drinking a ghoul's blood without permission incurs a debt of a minor boon.

#### Herd

A vampire's herd is a set of vessels, or creatures that they feed from, who are considered property of the Kindred who feeds on them. Feeding on another Kindred's herd is punishable by a fine which usually incurs a trivial boon.

### Masquerade Breaches

The AVC abides by the Convention of 1548 and the Traditions of the Camarilla, which demands that vampires do not reveal their existence to mortals in any way, a practice known as the Masquerade. Mortals who know of vampires existence are required, as per the rules of the Convention, must be killed, mind wiped, made into ghouls, or Embraced. Revealing vampire existence to mortals is known as a breach. The AVC defines five levels of breaches, which go thusly.

Level 1: The vampire has revealed the existence of the vampiric race to between one and five mortals, and the information has not spread to the extent that effort needs to be exerted by the vampire community to cover it up. The punishment is usually for the vampire to apprehend the mortals involved in the breach, and bring them before the delegation and a large number of community members. They will then need to publicly alter the memories of the mortal involved, or if they are not capable of doing so, execute them. However, they are able to request that another Kindred perform the memory wipe on their behalf, though this will incur a trivial boon. Subsequently, a common punishment that usually follows will have the perpetrator be staked and left in a supervised location for a few days to a week to contemplate their actions.

Level 2: The vampire's actions have led to the existence of vampires being revealed to an extant that requires community members to expend minor effort to cover it up. Such actions can include biting someone or demonstrating supernatural physical strength in public, enough to incur a minor police investigation. While some effort needs to be expended to cover up the breach, it is not a serious threat. The transgressor will be often be staked for one month, and will owe a legal debt of a minor boon to whichever member of the vampire community took the time to cover up their breach. Should the debtee require a service immediately, the one month staking may be postponed. On other occasions, the perpetrator may be subject to a one-sip blood bond to a responsible member of the vampire community.

Level 3: The vampire's actions have garnered a sizeably difficult to cover up revelation of vampiric existence. Most likely, a Level 3 breach requires a considerable amount of bribes, hacking, and memory alteration to cover it up. Such incidents could include online footage of a vampire utilizing their powers or getting into a major police investigation. Furthermore, the strong possibility exists that the breach may have attracted the attention of vampire hunters. Level 3 breaches require several vampires to expend resources covering them up, and the perpetrator of the breach will owe favors ranging from minor to major boons to all those who assist in cleaning up their mess. Furthermore, they will also sometimes be subject to being staked for one year, or be forced into a two-sip blood bond with a responsible community member for a few weeks or months.

Level 4: The vampire has committed an act that is near impossible to cover up. Oftentimes, their actions have spread into mortal news (especially video recordings), and have spurred a massive response from their law enforcement. Level 4 breaches are almost guaranteed to have attracted the attention of vampire hunters. In order to cover up such breaches, almost the entire vampire community will have to put forth large amounts of resources. The punishment for such actions will involve the vampire being deemed to unstable to properly blend in with society at that current time, and they as such, they will most likely be staked permanently. There will be evaluations on their mental state every twenty five years, and if they are found to have reformed during that time, they will be released, then banished to another sector. Another alternative is an extremely long lasting three-sip blood bond to a responsible community member.

Level 5: The vampire has engaged in an action that vampires alone cannot quiet, requiring assistance from other supernatural beings such as mages to cover up. Such acts are very difficult to commit, and would usually constitute unleashing destructive carnage across an entire city, or brutally murdering someone on live television. Vampires who commit such a breach are dubbed to be too much of a danger to the entire race, and the only punishment for such an act is death.

Of course, the punishments for breaches vary completely depending on the local delegation. Some are more lenient, whilst others may engage in executions for even a Level 1 breach.

### Violence

No penalty exists for vampires assaulting each other. However, whoever is attacked is considered within their rights to retaliate with violence of their own, so long as it does not result in the death of the other vampire. The only exception to this rule is when in the presence of mortals, due to the fact that assault is a crime in American law and could result in unwanted attention from human authorities. Furthermore, utilizing vampiric powers or demonstrating ones nature could count as a breach of the Masquerade.

#### Murder

The killing of another law abiding vampire without good reason is a grave offence. Common punishment for murder is being staked and entombed within the earth for a number of years depending on who it was they killed. Generally speaking, the murder of an elder will result in a longer sentence, or in some cases, death. However, on some occasions, if the murderer shows penitence for their crime, they may be allowed to be subject to being blood bound to a responsible member of the community who will keep an eye on them.

As ever though, the punishments for crimes will depend entirely on the delegation, and any murder can be punished with the True Death.