Revised History and
Description of the Arcanum

History

Records of the Master House trace the history of the Arcanum to the Rosicrucians of the 19th century, and backwards in time through hermeticists, medieval occulists, alchemists, priests, druids and so on to an ancient lineage which leads back to mankind’s earliest interest in things beyond the boundaries of our physical world.

In Medieval times the Order hid itself within secrety societies and false monasteries dedicated to occult learning (particularly hiding within the houses of the Knights Templar).

In earlier times they worked alongside the Epicureans in Rome, and also through even earlier secret temple sects and communities, stretching far back into the antiquity of ancient Canaan, Egypt and Mesopotamia, to the very beginnings of Western civilisation.

Because of its ongoing close association with religious orders, the Arcanum itself has a pseudo-religious, ecclesiastical structure. Although members are encouraged to believe in whatever deities they see fit (and in former times the Arcanum was heavily Christian), this is not allowed to interfere with the primary work – observation, cataloguing and documenting of phenomena beyond the natural world.

The True Inquisition

The Arcanum in its present form is in truth the descendant of the original Grand Inquisition of Pope Gregory IX. Old records held in the Order's archives still describe Investigators as "Inquisitor".

For obvious reasons, terms like this have long since fallen from use, because of the Schism which occurred during the 13th century. One half of the organisation desired to seek out and destroy heretics and supernatural creatures - the public half which the Arcanum now call the Bloody Inquisition. It had let itself be taken over by fear and hatred of the unknown, and it was on a path of destroying that which it did not understand. The original, True Inquisition wished to distance itself from its dark twin. It hid within the Orders of the Church, and became the Arcanum.

The Bloody Inquisition tolerated and eventually forgot the Arcanum, but the Schism is still a major force in the psyche of the Order. Partly because of it, the Order is conservative, secretive, careful and infinitely patient. They are observers, and they refrain from taking any action which will interfere with their subjects, so long as their security and safety is maintained.

Admission to the Order

Patronage

Members of the Arcanum gain admittance and promotion largely through a Byzantine system of Patronage.

All individuals within the Arcanum have a Patron, a Mentor or Superior. Even the highest-ranking members have a Patron, who oversees their work and progression within the organisation, and is responsible for them.

Candidate Selection

Any potential candidate – usually chosen from academia, the legal profession, medicine, and other related professions – is subtley and secretly observed and interrogated over a long period of time, developing a close relationship with their Patron, who eventually makes a report to their own Patron, and to the Novitiate Committee.

This committee makes the final judgement on admission, depending on strict criteria laid down by the Grand Committee of elders.

Internal Candidates

Candidates are not just chosen from these outsiders, however. The Arcanum also operates a number of charitable schools for orphans and deprived children of high ability, in which it secretly moulds children as potential recruits into the greater Order. Many children of Arcanum members also come into the Order, under the guidance (and sometimes Patronage) of their parents.

Assessment

Candidates must prove a deep-seated lust for knowledge, but must above all be selfless and have a wider vision for the implications of his actions – with no motivations for using the knowledge for his or her own personal power. Candidates must have a drive for acquiring knowledge for its own sake. Once approved by the Novitiate Committee (which is usually made up of a line of Patrons up to the Father Superior’s office) the member is brought into a Chapter House for training and indoctrination – and only then is the full nature of the Arcanum revealed.

During this time, ability assessments are carried out to decide into which field they should best be assigned. Before full membership is bestowed, the Novice is asked to complete a research project to prove their aptitude.

Libraries and Research

Domains

Research projects and libraries are divided into a number of different fields, called within the Order ‘Domains’.

There are many Domains and sub-domains, but a few examples are Vampirology, Numenics (or more contemporarily "Psychic Ability"), Ritual Magicks, Beliefs, History, Anthropology, Linguistics, Archives, Divination and so on. Each Domain has its specialists, administrators and investigators, although there is considerable cross-fertilisation and use of specialists in different Domains on specific investigation projects.

Chapter Houses

Around the world are Chapter Houses, where members may live and work on their projects. Houses are found in major cities and remote rural retreats, but all have extensive libraries and archives, protected by high security, containing the wealth of the Arcanum.

Most of the smaller Houses specialise in a particular field of research, often linked to their geographical location. The bigger Houses, particularly those in or around major cities, are the true storehouses of knowledge, with special storeage facilities for the most ancient and precious texts.

The Arcanum is expanding into electronic media, and most of these ancient texts are being scanned and stored on more indestuctible electronic media, which can also be distributed to other Houses around the world.

The Arcanum's main work not only includes wrestling with ancient texts in comfortable private libraries, but also field work, and the organisation has hundreds of operatives constantly engaged in silent observation of their real-life subjects. Local investigations are organised in local Chapter Houses, under the direction of the relevant local Domain Chief and the Chapter House master.

Rank, Hierarchy and Administration

The hierarchy is for administration and operation rather than acting like a military chain of command. Rank within the organisation refers more properly to the individual’s level of access to secret Arcanum files.

Members on the whole remain in the same positions for much of their life, but talented investigators and administrators rise in Rank by being re-assigned to a new Patron – usually one higher up the line from their former Patron – who has a more important role or a wider scope of investigation in a certain field.

Administration

Alongside Ranks there are also levels of Administrative hierarchy. Adminstrators are in charge of the day-to-day running of the organisation, administrering the smaller regional chapter houses, managing the accounts and finances, and generally ensuring that facilities are adequate to carry out the work of the Order.

These administrators are important, but as they generally have no strategic field role, they are often of relatively low Rank. The higher-rank administrators are heads of the national Chapter Houses and important sites.

The Superior and the Hidden Elders

The Order is headed by a Superior, who is its executive figurehead. He or she is responsible for implementing policy decisions made by the Hidden Elders.

Elders

Elders are members who hold the highest Ranks in each Domain. Because Rank is not made public, no-one knows for sure who is an Elder and who is not (except other Elders).

Together, the Elders form Committees which run the organisation. Secrecy was considered essential in days gone by, and even today, because of the danger from both humans and inhumans. The Arcanum has always operated under threat of discovery, and so secrecy is still an important issue.

Only other Elders know who they are, and most Elders work in committee-groups resembling a cell-like structure, with reports and memos being passed through intermediaries. (The Arcanum makes increasing use of technology these days, and employs the best security protocols to maintain secrecy.)

It is the Elders who make all the major policy decisions regarding the running of the organisation, and at least one Hidden Elder sits on every Novitiate Committee, although usually no-one will be sure who this person is. The role of Elders, dark though it may seem, has been accepted within the Order as the age-old product of practical necessity in the face of the dangers which faced the Arcanum on a daily basis.

Elders remain Elders for their entire lifetime, but usually only act as Serving Elders (taking an adminstative role in committees) for a limited number of years (often ten years), before retiring to make way for others, or to sit in an advisory capacity.

The Hidden Council

Amongst the Elders there are committees heading each Domain, as well as policy areas such as Finance, Adminstration, and the many more esoteric policy areas, such as the DCA Committee which decides investigatory policy towards the Camarilla.

The most important committee is the Hidden Council, made up of the chairs or representatives from each Elder committee. It consists of about 20 members, one of whom is the Superior. He or she acts as the Chair of the committee (and must take an impartial stance in debates).

The main work of the Committee is to formulate general policy, particularly on Security, to to guide overall avenues of investigation, and to oversee the development and adminstration of the organisation.

Discipline and Security

Secrecy and security have always been of extreme importance to the Arcanum. They investigate creatures of dangerous powers and keep endless files, records and observances of them, and so are a prime target for attack. The vampire Camarilla protects them from direct assault, but for reasons of self-interest, not altruism (see below).

Day-to-day security comes from the cell-like structure under which the Arcanum operates. Domains each have many cells for investigation purposes, and in each cell there is only one reporting officer, with one backup which operates through a separate source. This protects cell-members and higher Patrons and hierarchs alike - if a member is tortured, manipulated or has information taken from them by occult means, there is a limit to the amount they know.

This is another reason for the Rank system. Field operatives who are most likely to be captured are seldom of very high level. There are also many "sleeper" cells throughout the world - mostly Academics who in normal life carry out their work, but also carry on their own private researches for the Arcanum. However in times of need, cells can be activated to investigate sensitive situations which might arise.

Rogues and Spies

Discipline is maintained by Patrons - should a member cause minor problems it is their Patron's task to correct them. This chain of Patronage is meant to ensure that even the watchers are watched, and it has, on the whole, worked very well. However, the biggest danger to the Order is from Spies and Rogues.

Rogues are either current or former members who use their knowledge of the Order to harm it. Although members of the Arcanum can leave, the Arcanum Security (known to old members as the Militas) keeps tabs on them until they die - and even after.

Patrons are responsible for watching out for odd behaviour, or rebellious or subversive thinking. The Arcanum likes to use persuasion and even coercion to enforce obedience, but when pushed, the Militas has not been averse to executing dangerous rogues in the past (This includes destroying Arcanum members who have been Embraced - be it willingly or unwillingly).

Spies obviously are infiltrators, either in disguise (Obfuscated vampires masquerading as a member, or even a mundane spy such as a journalist), or by using fraudulent credentials to persuade and manipulate their way into Order houses.

Those using supernatural means of spying are the greatest threat, but the Order has subtle and secret means of negating any magick used against them. (See below.)

The Special Power of the Arcanum

Rank is not only a mark of progression in the organisation and greater access to libraries. It is also a measure of the greatest secret the Arcanum possesses - the basis of its strength, safety and survival.

All Arcanai have a special ability to protect themselves against supernatural assault. This ability was never devised, but merely evolved as a result of the work they do.

Because of the logical and analytical nature of the Arcanum, all members have developed a strong sense of logic and reason. For many this Reason is so strong that it becomes equivalent in strength to Faith. In magickal terms it actually acts the same as Faith, except that it works to negate magick.

In becoming a member of the Arcanum, preliminary training involves gaining the equivalent of the first Sphere of Reason. To gain Reason, the person must give up all other occult powers, and Faith in any other belief systems.

Reason can be used to stop beings from using supernatural powers - particularly mental powers like Presence, Dominate and Obfuscate. It can also be used to interfere with Tremere rituals, and to stop kindred and Garou from using Protean to change shape. (There is an old story of an Arcanum hierarch persuading a powerful Gangrel that he was in fact a wolf, and the Gangrel stayed that way for ever.)

Another effect is that those with Reason have no perceptible aura, unless the viewer's Auspex level is higher than the subject's Reason.

System: When using Reason, the Arcano makes a conscious effort to rationalise what he sees. Using Reason counts as an action, although Willpower may also be used in the same turn to resist any additional effects.

Defence: When confronted with someone using occult powers, the Arcano rolls Intelligence + Reason, diff the same as the Attacker rolls. Each success takes one success away from the attacker. Against Obfuscate, if the Reasoner has a higher or equal level of Reason to the level of Obfuscate, he can roll Percep + Reason to through it.

Stopping Frenzies: Reason can be exerted to bring others - including Garou - out of Frenzy. Roll Reason against the subject's Willpower, must have eye contact (except for Level Five). Three successes are required to stop Frenzy in this turn, otherwise delayed for one or two turns.

(Similarly, there are stories of high-powered Arcano being confronted with a Garou all their terrible power, simply saying "Oh stop that" - the Garou snaps back to a rather cold and shivering naked human.)

Example: Prince Cesare tries to Dominate Margaret, an Arcanum investigator.

Cesare rolls 8 (Charisma+Intimidation) dice against her Willpower (8 - Arcanum investigators are always headstrong). He gets two successes.

Margaret has Reason 2, Int 4 (not only tough, but smart). She rolls 6 dice against the same difficulty.

• If she gets 3 or more successes, she gives a knowing grin to the bloodsucker before the slipping the stake between his ribs. Arrogant son-of-a-bitch, she thinks as he crumbles to dust.
• With 2 successes, she smiles grimly and stares right back at him. He cannot try to Dominate her again in this scene.
• With 1 success, she might be in trouble. She needs 1 success on a Willpower roll of the same difficulty.
• If she gets none, she must make the same roll and a spend a Willpower point not to be overcome. (Arcano are awakened to the world - hardly surprising as they're investigators.) Bloody vampires, she thinks after spending willpower, and rams the stake home harder than she would otherwise have.
• If she botches (eek!), she does what he says. She is stunned for a turn and cannot use Reason again for that day. If she has failed a lot of Reason rolls lately, she will also be likely to lose a Reason point - her Faith in rationality has been eroded.

Arcanum - Global Defence

Reason, as we have seen, acts as a powerful defence against attack, and is why the Arcanum are rightly treated with respect by the Camarilla. Neonates are ordered to stay well clear of them.

There is nothing more embarassing for a Prince than trying to crush a mortal mind with Level 5 Dominate, only for the Third Rank Arcano in question to yawn, smile, and then check her nails. Or, for a Gangrel Primogen in a violent Frenzy whirling into Form of the Beast - only to fall flat on his face wondering what he was getting himself in a tizzy over.

Although elaborately devious strategies have been mulled over by the Arcanum's Hidden Council, everyone has come to the conclusion that it is mostly this frustration and embarassment factor which makes vampires leave the Arcanum alone.

However, this does not help against physical assaults. In the past, remote Arcanum houses have been wiped out utterly. Physical assaults cannot just be Reasoned away (although it can bring attackers out of Frenzy), and although the Arcanum Militas is highly skilled and efficient, it cannot hope to defend every house and constant outright assault. It is an internal police force, not an army.

Treaty with the Camarilla

The Hidden Council long ago realised that information within the Arcanum Achives is not only their greatest resource, but their greatest weapon.

This is the most important reason why the Arcanum is feared and respected.

After a history of occasional attacks, the Arcanum Hidden Elders in the 1820s came to an agreement - and negotiated a Treaty with the Council of the Camarilla.

Blackmail

Vampires have the advantage of physical strength over the Arcanum, but the Arcanum is capable - with its centuries, even millennia of documented information and proof - of destroying the Masquerade and unleashing the full rage and terror of humanity upon them.

The Arcanum have vaults across the world with standing orders: they must be revealed to the world if the Arcanum is attacked. There are far too many caches of information, hidden in secret places throughout the world, that Kindred could never hope to root out them all before the damage was done.

Not only this, but the Arcanum now has caches of documents stored throughout Internet and the World Wide Web.

[NB This document was collated by agents of the Order of Draco during the early days of the Internet, when Arcanum security was primitive.]

These documents contain highly damaging information, and can be sent to every relevant organisation in the world at the touch of the key. It is also suspected that there are hundreds of these "information bombs" around the Web, timed to deliver this information unless codes are submitted to them regularly. The Camarilla Elders fear this new technology, which they cannot hope to understand. They also know that they cannot possibly destroy such a world-spanning technology.

As a result, the Camarilla Treaty protects the Arcanum from attacks and interference by the Camarilla. It gives them a protected status - although obviously not against the Sabbat or others not abiding by its rules.

It is interesting that for this reason, Arcanum houses are mostly within Camarilla territory.

Treaty Stipulations

The agreement states that the Arcanum will not intrude into the affairs of others, Kindred in particular, nor break their Masquerade, nor divulge dangerous information, on pain of destruction. Kindred on the other hand must not harm or interfere with Investigators or other members of the Arcanum. This treaty which must be enforced by all Princes.

There have been five known incidents of violations of this treaty. Two have resulted in the destruction of kindred. One caused the suicide of a member - the other member was taken by Nosferatu and drained to death, slowly.

Related subjects:

Faith

Reason

 

"Order of Draco", (c) Robert D How, 1998