asian kindred society and covenants

The kindred of Asia are not like the kindred of Eu- rope and the New World. Their society is fundamen- tally different. The mythology is different. Their social structure is different. And their Covenants are different. While the European Social Structure and Covenants described in Vampire: the Requiem cover a significant portion of the world, over 1.7 billion mortals, the Asian structures cover over 2.1 billion mortals. Yet many would regard the European Covenants as the dominant forces in the world. The Asians have a long history of accepting new beliefs and integrating them into their own, whereas the Europeans have often forced conversion on others. So while the Asian social structures may seem less aggressive and thus less influential, they are still significant forces in the Danse Macabre on the world stage. The structures are dominant in most of East Asia, from Japan down to Singapore. China is the strong- hold of this structure and the basis of its develop- ment. Only in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka do the Hindu structures dominate. In Indonesia, Bangla- desh, Pakistan and Southwest Asia, the Islamic structures control most cities. Most of the Western Asia follows the European structures, although some Central Asian cities, in the former USSR states, still hold onto their Islamic roots. But in the most popu- lated areas of the East, the Asian structures reign supreme. This is a guide for players to create characters and histories from this area. It can help create back- ground material. Storytellers can use it for NPCs concepts. It will also be a resource for affiliates in Asia, or even for proxy scenes that take place there. Above all, this is a source for ideas to give the game an international flavor and make it more interesting. Common Law Asian vampires, follow all the Traditions and more. Many call these rules Xian Xing, meaning "Immortal Conduct". In many ways, they take these rules more seriously than Western kindred do the Traditions. Misconduct is not only a reflection on the perpetra- tor, but on his entire lineage and all his allies. These rules are similar to Confucian beliefs, and many Asian kindred believe they date back at least as far. They are listed here by their most common Chinese names. Junzi "Perfect Gentlemen": Kindred are expected to always exhibit control of their Beast when dealing with others. A vampire must show respect even to his greatest enemy. Priests and monks must always be treated with respect, even if one doesn't agree with them. There is a time and place for battle and even treachery, but in front of other always show respect. This can be hard for foreigners to grasp. Asian kindred can be easily offended if a visitor does not show proper reverence by bowing deeply or speaking for- mally. A visitor often has no real standing, despite being treated courteously, and even a minor court minister can take offense and cause problems. Bi Hu "To Protect": Asian kindred consider it a du- ty to guard over their mortal kin. Many become known as spirits that haunt a particular family and either bless them (if appropriate tributes are made) or curse them (if they commit wrong deeds). It is a grievous sin to prey upon the family of another vampire. A vampire's family is often her herd, and it is sacred to her. Wars have been fought over such an easy mistake. However, one vampire can only protect so many people, so they keep to the core of their family. This leaves many unattached mortals to feed on, so long as one is careful. Xiao "Filial Piety": Along with Bi Hu, is an im- portant relationship between sire and childe. Re- sponsibility for a childe never goes away. A childe is released after a time (a few months to a few years), and thus able to act on his own. Yet his actions always reflect on his or her sire, and thus their grandsire, and great grandsire, and so on. This in turn means that his extended vampire family will take

asian kindred society and covenants

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