Factions and Faction Ritae Sabbat
Source: https://vamp.bynightstudios.com/vampire/library/factionsandfactionritaesabbat
The Sword of Caine can be a chaotic and unpredictable environment. Rebellious splinter groups and political factions rise and fall, often leaving little trace of their existence. An individual vampire may swap factions over the years, changing political alliances as her personal beliefs mature or alter. The primary political contingents of the Sabbat are the Ultra Conservatives, the Orthodoxy, the Order of St. Blaise, and the Loyalists. Two smaller factions, the Status Quo and the Pander caucus, are less powerful but still notable. Some members of the Sabbat simply don't care about politics. Vampires not affiliated with a faction are known as Moderates, claiming no unifying cause.
The political factions underwent significant upheavals during the Nights of Turmoil. The Ultra Conservatives fared well, providing structure in the chaos and assisting the Cardinals to centralize command. A small group of Cainites began a campaign of renewed religious fervency, advocating greater use of the sacred ritae, more spirituality, greater influence for Priests. The Orthodox faction, as they came to be called, gained a tremendous amount of support from Sabbat mystics and spiritualists. Loyalists were hardest hit in the wake of the Red Star, as they were the loudest celebrants of the End Times. Only the intervention of the Regent and his Hand saved the Loyalist faction from complete destruction. Because of Temoch's courage in rescuing their brothers and sisters, Loyalists have renewed their dedication to the Regent, even as they vehemently reject the rest of the clergy's formalized hierarchy. Only time will tell if this new assertion lasts beyond Temoch's tenure.
Faction Ritae are rites performed by gatherings of specific political groups. Like other ritae, these rites rely heavily on faith to power their magic. Vampires who do not genuinely believe in the sub-sect's principles are considered doubters in that faction's ritae, and they will likely cause a ritus to fail. Changing political factions ends all benefits of ongoing faction ritae immediately.
System Rules
Ultra Conservatives
"I (name), pledge to uphold the sect, its rightful clergy, and its sacred goals, in the name of the Dark Father. Stability through discipline. Unity through constancy. Victory through relentlessness. I will prove my worth. I swear it, upon the altar of Caine." - Oath of the Renunciation
Once composed of the eldest members of the Sabbat, Ultra Conservatives favor centralization and authoritarianism. From the Ultra Conservative viewpoint, true freedom will come only after the Sabbat win the war. Until then, the Sword of Caine must be an army, and it must be prepared to fight as an army. Others see the Ultra Conservatives as stodgy, inflexible, and usually archaic vampires who never fully abandoned the hierarchy of lineage and rank. However, as other groups floundered, the Ultra Conservatives seized many positions of authority, centralizing command and providing critical coordination for Sabbat troops. Although this faction does tend to contain the most hidebound individuals in the Sabbat, it also boasts a number of younger, more militant members of the Sword of Caine.
Ultra Conservatives favor bold leaders and insist upon intensive combat training, ensuring that every member of the sect has the capacity to be useful in war. Ultra Conservatives work to consolidate the strength of the Sabbat through strict and efficient hierarchical structures. They recommend the Vaulderie between all packs of a diocese; with enough ties of blood, they hope pack cells will become unnecessary, and all Sabbat will join together as a unified nation.
Faction Ritae: Irad's Wall
Irad's Wall is an ancient ritus, but the Ultra Conservatives jealously guard its secrets. To cast it, petitioners must consecrate an area no larger than a single room of 100 square feet with incense and salt.
System:
When this ritus is performed, it sanctifies a building or small area for a single night, preventing spirits, wraiths, or psychic forms from entering the location. Such entities can attempt to spy on the protected area from outside Irad's Wall, but they cannot cross the barrier. If a body whose spirit is elsewhere crosses this barrier, the spirit instantly returns to its body - immediately ending powers like Possession, Psychic Projection, or Soul Stealing. Characters who leave their bodies while inside of an area secured by Irad's Wall are unable to leave that area until their body crosses the barrier. Irad's Wall ends when the sun rises.
Orthodox
The Orthodox faction is waging a campaign of renewed religious fervor within the Sabbat. It focuses on the ritae, the worship of Caine, and the mystic nature of vampirism. This faction insists upon spiritual dedication, and it believes that the Sabbat's leadership should be comprised of the most devout and faithful Priests. As membership swelled, they gained a tremendous amount of support and dedicated themselves to the Dark Church under a new name: Orthodox.
Orthodox Sabbat advocate a greater use of ritae, more authority for Priests, and more fanatic adherence to the doctrine of the sect. They tend to work well with the Inquisition, and they actively support the creation of new ritae and the use of Thaumaturgy within the sect.
Faction Ritae: Atra Sacramentum
Members of the Roman Catholic Church consider its sacraments necessary for a mortal's salvation. So, too, do Orthodox members of the Church of Caine consider the Atra Sacramentum integral to a vampire's unlife. When the Atra Sacramentum is performed, all vampires involved in the ritus must sacrifice some of their own flesh, offering reparation to the Dark Father in penance for the sins of their forefathers, the Antediluvians.
System:
The vampire receives 2 points of unpreventable aggravated damage when performing this ritual. Healing these wounds ends all effects of the Atra Sacramentum. Until the next sunset, a vampire who participated in the Atra Sacramentum does not suffer the effects of her clan's weakness. A vampire can only receive the benefits of the Atra Sacramentum once per lunar month.
Loyalists
One of the largest political factions in the Sabbat, Loyalists comprise perhaps 50% of the sect. This might provide the Loyalists a tremendous amount of power, if they were not so focused on freedom and self-determination. Although Loyalists believe in the sect and obey the Regent, they have no intent to sacrifice their free will or recognize sect hierarchy. Unlike the Camarilla's Anarchs, who rebel against any authority, Loyalists view themselves as an integral part of the Sabbat. They believe in the pack structure, the bonds of vinculum, and the right of an individual sect member to respect Caine as that vampire sees fit.
Loyalist Cainites cannot hold clergy positions (Cardinal, Archbishop, or Bishop), nor can they become a Templar to one of those posts. So long as a character is dedicated to this political faction, she gains the abiding status trait Loyalist.
Faction Ritae: Tower of Babel
System:
Individuals who participate in a Tower of Babel ritus (up to 10 individuals) may communicate with one another in a manner that is indecipherable to all those around them. These vampires may speak the mystic language of their tower, and that language cannot be deciphered by any means. Further, this communication does not have to be verbal. The ritual participants may communicate clearly so long as they can see, hear, touch, or otherwise distinctly sense one another, even over video cameras, cellphones, or other electronic means. The effects of this ritual last until sunrise, although the primary caster may choose to end them for one or all participants prior to that duration.
Only members of the Loyalist faction can learn or cast this ritual. Unusually, an individual with a vinculum of 3 or greater with the primary caster is not considered unfaithful for the purpose of determining this ritual's success.
Order of St. Blaise
Vampires in the Order of St. Blaise lead dangerous existences. Once, they served the sect as spies and saboteurs within the Roman Catholic Church, but in modern times, the Order of St. Blaise has widened its scope. Now it works to gain and control influence over all aspects of human society. It uses these contacts and leverage to hide Sabbat activity, maintain the Silence of the Blood, and protect packs and communal havens from sect enemies.
Faction Ritae: The Blessing of Saint Blaise
System:
If the target has been affected by poison, drugs, or any other ingested substance, the effects of those substances end immediately. Vampires gain this benefit whether they have been poisoned, diseased, chemically altered, or tampered with, provided the harmful substance was consumed through the throat. Further, the ritus protects against the next single ingestion of tainted substances within a seven-day period. Note this rite does not remove the Disease Carrier flaw from a vampire with that flaw, but could cure someone who has consumed the blood of an individual who possesses that flaw. This ritus has no effect on the blood bond or the Vaulderie.
Source Book: MET - VTM - Core Book