On the Attack

It is rare for the Camarilla to go on an all-out offensive, as there just isn's the manpower (or reasonable facsimile thereof) to do it properly. Furthermore, the average Camarilla vampire is firmly attached to her unlife - she's been a vampire long enough to know exactly what she's risking by charging the tenement that the local Sabbat has had time to turn into a deathtrap. On the other hand, the Sabbat troops that invading Cammies are likely to run into are fresh out of the grave and haven's yet had it sink in that they've got all of eternity in front of them; ergo, they're more than willing to mount suicidal defenses. What it boils down to is that Camarilla vampires are naturally cautious, none more so than those who know that they're in enemy territory. Any offensives that these overly cautious vampires launch, then, are likely to be more than overly cautious. No one wants to risk his immortal skin unless it's absolutely unavoidable, and even younger Camarilla vampires aren's overjoyed about being ordered into dangerous spots, unless compelled by supernatural or other means.

As a result, Camarilla offensives are slow ones, marked by long periods of subversion beforehand and spearheaded by mortals and ghouls. If the sect's vampires are lucky, they never have to fire a shot or raise a talon in order to accomplish their aims. When the problem is just a single Sabbat pack, roving the countryside in a souped-up van, there's no need for actual vampires to dirty their hands. A phone call to a ghouled state police supervisor here, a small bribe administered there, and suddenly there are state troopers crawling all over the offending vehicle an hour after sunrise. The matter is taken care of, a little bit more of highway is safe for Camarilla vampires to travel once again, and no one important was threatened - at least to the Camarilla way of thinking.

Even when more direct measures are called for, Camarilla tacticians prefer to go for Sabbat support mechanisms - havens, feeding grounds and the like. Clean up a neighborhood, and all of a sudden a pack's depredations stand out to the city's gendarmes. Put up a building on an empty lot, and suddenly the antitribu don's have any place for their rites any more. Nudge the local diocese to send a few priests who really believe into a Sabbat-infested neighborhood, and there's going to be a True Faith-flavored surprise for any Lasombra who gets too cocky. And while each of these steps may not seem like much, they add up - and with minimal risk to the vampires pulling the strings. The Camarilla has far greater mortal resources than its opponent does, and is not afraid to use them. Better a half-dozen police officers get killed in flushing out a basement haven than a single loyal Kindred.

There are times, however, when vampire-on-vampire conflict is unavoidable. Even in these cases, Camarilla agents try to protect and surround themselves with heavily armed and armored ghouls, blood bound and eminently willing to die to

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Diablerie

Attacks on Sabbat positions provide one of the few chances for sanctioned diablerie that a Camarilla vampire is likely ever to see. While there is no official Camarilla policy on the matter, the unofficial rule has always been, "Take care of business first - and don's let us catch you at it."

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protect their "patrons." Camarilla strategists do prefer surgical fights as opposed to protracted sieges. They'd rather pick a target, isolate it, then hit it hard with everything they have and overwhelm the opposition through a precise application of force. Ideally, there is only one target to hit at a time, as Camarilla forces can't afford to be stretched too thin or they'll be swamped under the seemingly endless numbers that the Sabbat can bring to bear. So, once a building is targeted, it's taken floor by floor, starting from the ground up, with a ring of support "troops" on surrounding buildings and covering escape routes. Camarilla assaults are thorough, efficient and bloody; the attackers make certain of their kills before moving on to new targets. Once a building is reduced, the strike team moves onto the next one, and then the next - speed is of the essence. The Camarilla cannot win a war of attrition, so its offensives need to be fast and deadly.

Camarilla pushes are also bound by the necessity of keeping up the Masquerade, and armed assaults on Sabbat strongholds are by necessity not terribly subtle. As such, Camarilla attack teams need to have some sort of cover in place, as they can's burn down the building they've just emptied every time. At moments like this, the Camarilla's decided advantage in mortal resources comes into play. A noisy but ineffective shootout between the forces of two Camarilla-controlled drug lords makes for perfect camoflauge for a vampiric operation, as any witnesses are more than likely to see the entire action - humans and vampires both - in terms they understand. Getting construction crews, transit authority workers, gas company employees and other mortals in positions that give them access to lots of yellow tape that reads "Do Not Cross" to cordon off zones of conflict also serves Camarilla purposes - any banging, shouting, shooting or other loud noises can be explained as part of the "problem" necessitating the clearance of the area.

Дата добавления: 2015-12-08