Welcome to Amsterdam

The Princes of Amsterdam, lord Peter Fritzenklein of clan Ventrue, and lord Mahmud ibn Sihirbaz bid you welcome, traveller. What follows is a brief guide to the delights of the Amsterdam of our nightly time. Respect the rules and obey them, and you will in turn be respected. Disregard them, and swift justice will follow.

The Princes

Van Dordrecht:

How can anybody think that trading without Spain can be more profiting than trading with natives like the British

Hellrich:

Now that I have life eternal I would like to have the opportunity to reshape each city in Amsterdam's image. But only after the Toreador left the place

Modius:

Treat a work of art like a prince, let it speak to you first

Lucianus:

A tale of two cities takes place solely in this one

Fritzenklein:

A friend in power is a friend lost

Ibn Sihirbaz:

A clan with the potential to turn up the course of history, like we did, should govern all which is slightly governable

The rules

The Masquerade

Thou shalt not reveal thy true nature to those not of the blood. Doing so shall renounce thy claims of blood.

The Domain

Thy domain is thy concern. All others owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word in thy domain.

The Progeny

Thou shalt sire another only with permission of thine elder. If thou createst another without thine elder's leave, both thou and thy progeny shall be slain.

The Accounting

Those thou create are thine own childer. Until thy progeny shall be released, thou shalt command them in all things. Their sins are thine to endure.

Hospitality

Honor one another's domain. When thou comest to a foreign city, thou shalt present thyself to the one who ruleth there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing.

Destruction

Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind. The right of destruction belongeth only to thine elder. Only the eldest among you shall call the blood hunt.

[source: Vampire the Masquerade WW 2300]

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou more cursed than the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; A ceaseless wanderer on earth thou shalt be. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

[Torah, Genesis 4:6-16]

Recount to them in all truth the story of Adam's two sons:
how they each made an offering, and how the offering of the one was accepted while that of the other was not. Cain said: `I will surely kill you.' His brother replied: `Allah accepts offerings only from the righteous. If you stretch your hand to kill me, I shall not lift mine to slay you; for I fear Allah, the Lord of Creation. I would rather you should add your sin against me to your other sins and thus increase the punishment of Hell. Such is the reward of the wicked.' Cain's soul prompted him to slay his brother; he killed him and thus became one of the lost. Then Allah sent down a raven, which dug the earth to show him how to bury the naked corpse of his brother. `Alas!' he cried. `Have I not strength enough to do as this raven has done and so bury my naked brother's corpse' And he became repentant. ...whoever killed a human being, except as punishment for murder or other wicked crimes, should be looked upon as though he had killed all mankind

[Qur'an, Al-Ma`ida 5:26]