See below for rules relating to Factions on Seattle by Night and Status, which vary from the sects and Background presented in the V5 Core Rulebook.

Joining a Faction

For information regarding the Factions, refer here.

To join a Faction, you should have your character write a letter addressed to the head of that Faction, declaring their intention to join. If your character is a member of another Faction already, they should also write the head of that Faction to announce their departure. Leaving a Faction may have effects on a characters Status and Loresheets depending on the circumstances.

Letters for the Loyalist Faction should be posted in the Camarilla Contact channel. Letters for all other Factions should be posted in Non Camarilla Contact.

Levels of Status

Faction Status is measured across 8 levels, from Shunned (••) to Prominent (•••••), as outlined below:

Status Point Thresholds

Points towards Faction Status can be gained or lost through character actions in play, or occasionally at ST discretion for events such as campaign rewards. The table below shows the threshold of points needed for a character to be able to purchase each level of Status with a given faction, according to the relationship between their faction and the faction in question. Faction relationships can be found in the Relationship Map section.

Players should track points per faction, and points do not reset upon purchase of a level of Status. For example, a character who earned 20 points with their faction and purchased Status 2 before earning another 5 points would have a total of 25 points towards the threshold of 50 required by Status 3. If that character then lost 10 points they would lose access to the benefits of Status 2 until reaching the threshold again.

For information regarding the Factions relationships to one another, refer here.

Gaining Faction Status

There are many ways that characters can gain points toward Status with the various Factions, including but not limited to:
• Participating in Faction Projects
• Attending Faction meetings
• Interacting positively with Faction SPCs
• Providing meaningful assistance to fellow Faction members (PC or SPC)
• Gaining Merits/Backgrounds that support the overall goals of the Faction

Losing Faction Status

Similarly, there are many ways that characters can lose points toward Status, which may cause the character’s Status with a Faction to temporarily decrease if it falls below the appropriate threshold, including but not limited to:
• Interacting negatively with Faction SPCs
• Disgracing oneself in the eyes of the Faction in public
• Breaching the Masquerade
•  Betraying the Faction
• Leaving the Faction

Gained or lost Status Points will be noted on a weekly basis in the Experience Tracker and Census channel along with Experience Points.

Faction Status Perks

Once per story, every character with Faction Status will receive Perk Points equal to the number of dots of Status they have in that Faction. For example, a character with Status 3 in Loyalist Faction will receive 3 Perk Points. A character cannot have more Perk Points than their Faction Status allows. For example if a character has Status 3 and does not use all 3 Perk Points within a story, they will only have 3 Perk Points at the start of the next story.

These Perk Points can be spent with the Faction on associated Perks, which are unlocked by reaching levels of Faction Status. For example, a character with Faction Status 2 can access Perks from levels 1 and 2, but not 3, 4, or 5. A Perk is considered to cost a number of Perk Points equal to its Perk level, such as a level 2 Perk costing 2 Perk Points. Faction Members are able to use Perk Points to gain access to their Faction Loresheet.

Perks accessed this way do not require use of the Boons/Prestation system, and will be tracked and handled using the #ask-the-st channel, where posts can be made with the “Perk” tag.

For the purpose of Perks, each year will be broken into four three-month stories. The current story will end on September 30th, 2023, with the next few stories running from October 1st – December 30th, 2023, and then December 31st, 2023 to March 30th, 2024 (essentially, the new story begins on the closest reset date to the end of the three month period of the calendar year). This differs from other use of “story” as measure of time on server, which reflects a period of three months beginning that isn’t fixed and begins when invoked. Perks do not roll over to the next story. Those unused are lost, but they are refreshed to the level of the character’s Status with the Faction. Increasing Status mid-story does allow for additional Perks immediately.

Level 1 Perks

• Body Disposal (Basic): The faction will make a body disappear, but will not take any other steps to hide the crime or clean any evidence
• Breach Cover-Up (Minor): The faction will take steps to cover up a minor breach of the Masquerade, such as flashing fangs, a non-lethal messy critical outcome, a temporary Infamy flaw, etc. Events that result in body counts or involve exposure to a large number of kine and/or SI will not be covered
• Faction Correspondence (Low-Level): Interact with a Faction SPC by some means that are not real-time, such as letters. These SPCs might include: Harpies; the Sheriff; Clan Representatives, etc. This would not include Primogen or Faction Leadership
• Purchase the First Dot of the Faction’s Loresheet (Faction Members Only)

Level 2 Perks

• Body Disposal (Advanced): The faction will make a body disappear, as in Body Disposal (Basic) and also without crime scene clean up, but will also handle difficulties which might be beyond the character to handle, including but not limited to:
  • Minor clean-up of an associated breach
  • Hiding a connection between the PC and the victim to remove a trail
  • Handling an event which might usually provide Suspect Blankbody flaw
• Forgive a Faux Pas: Avoid negative effects from a minor breach of Faction etiquette, as outlined in the Losing Faction Status section. Examples include but are not limited to:
  • Disrespectful behavior toward a Faction member of equivalent standing
  • Inappropriate behavior at a Faction location or meeting
  • Providing aid to a member of a Disliked Faction at the expense of your own Faction
• Faction Correspondence (Mid-Level): Interact with a Faction SPC by some means that are not real-time, such as a letter. These SPCs might include: Primogen; Faction Leadership such as seneschal, lieutenants, and second-in-command; Keeper of Elysium, etc. This would not include Faction Leaders such as Prince Cross or Lou Grand
• Purchase the Second Dot of the Faction’s Loresheet (Faction Members Only)
• Purchase the First Dot of the Faction’s Loresheet (Faction Non-members)

Level 3 Perks

• Breach Cover-Up (Major): The faction will cover up major breaches of the Masquerade, such as events that leave a large body count or exposed the character to a large number of kine; events which would otherwise usually give the Known Blankbody flaw.
• Absolve a Transgression: Avoid negative effects from a breach of Faction etiquette, as outlined in the Losing Faction Status section. Examples include but are not limited to:
  • Antagonistic behavior toward a Faction member of equivalent standing
  • A public outburst during a Faction event or meeting
  • Revealing a minor secret of the Faction to an outsider
• Faction Correspondence (High-Level): Interact with a Faction SPC by some means that are not real-time, such as a letter. These SPCs might include: the Prince, the head of a Faction
• Faction Face Time (Low-Level): Talk with a Faction SPC in real-time, such as by meeting in person. These SPCs are at the same level as the Level 1 Faction Correspondence (Low-Level).
• Purchase the Third Dot of the Faction’s Loresheet

Level 4 Perks

• Personal Improvement: The faction will arrange to remove one external flaw, such as Infamy; Enemy; Adversary; Blankbody. This Perk cannot be used to take the number of flaws on a character below the number required by Character Creation Guidelines.
• Exonerate a Grave Mistake: Avoid negative effects from a major breach of Faction etiquette. Examples include but are not limited to: being disrespectful toward a member of the Faction with higher standing; being caught working against the interests of another established Faction member; needless destruction of Faction personnel or property.
• Faction Correspondence (Lore SPC): Interact with a Faction SPC by some means that are not real-time, such as a letter. This is limited to lore SPCs with existing Loresheets (Ex. Carmelita Neillson, aligned to the Pioneers) 
• Faction Face Time (Mid-Level): Interact with a Faction SPC in real-time, such as by meeting in person. These SPCs are at the same level as the Level 2 Faction Correspondence (Mid-Level) Perk
• Purchase the Fourth Dot of the Faction’s Loresheet

Level 5 Perks

• Arbiter of Etiquette: Allow another character to avoid negative effects from breaches of Faction etiquette, as in previous Perk levels. Perk Point cost is equal to the Perk level of the equivalent individual Perk +1
• Diplomatic Immunity: Gain access to the Untouchable Merit for a single deed; some exceptions apply at ST discretion
• Faction Face Time (High Level): Interact with a Faction SPC in real-time, such as by meeting in person. These SPCs are at the same level as the Level 3 Faction Correspondence (High Level) Perk
• Make a Connection (Lore SPC): Allow another character to interact with a Faction SPC by some means that are not real-time, such as a letter. This is limited to lore SPCs with existing Loresheets (Ex. Carmelita Neillson, aligned to the Pioneers) 
• Purchase the Fifth Dot of the Faction’s Loresheet