Even when Mithras ruled the Kindred of England, his control was far from absolute. In and around London his authority was terrifyingly close to it, but goings-on in the smaller cities and towns were often beneath his notice. Vampires daring enough to live in the countryside, and clever enough to avoid the notice of the werewolves, might go on about their unlives without even knowing of the Lord of Light’s existence, much less following his commands. In that sense, there have been Anarchs in England even before there was such a thing as the Anarch Movement — and quite often in areas that have since transformed from rural to urban, from outlying hamlet to crowded suburb.
The gradual expansion of London to its current size brought much of this outlying territory under Mithras’ sway — at least nominally, if not always in practice — but many of the villages and towns outside the historic County of London retained their own status as independent Princedoms, or at least aspired to such. It was not until 1965, well after his disappearance, that the outer boroughs were formally made part of the city in the mortal world. Queen Anne supported this initiative, viewing it as a way to expand her own territory, but while the Camarilla supported her power grab, it nonetheless touched off a firestorm among the residents of the newly annexed boroughs. Some acquiesced peacefully — chiefly the western parts of Outer London, who were happy to have additional support in their efforts to preserve a detente with the Lupines — but others simply refused to go along, and thus became — in effect, if not always in name — Anarch Baronies.
Since then, the squabble has seesawed back and forth. Anne understands very well that a violent overthrow of the Anarch leaders will only result in fertile recruiting grounds for Sabbat agitators, and fears that scorched-earth tactics designed to eliminate the rebellious Kindred root and branch would bring censure from Camarilla leadership while also pointing out weaknesses she can ill afford to reveal. The Barons, in turn, are acutely aware that while Anne might not be able to eliminate them completely, she could definitely destroy most and make unlife miserable for the rest.
As a result, the Outer London boroughs are effectively Anarch territory, with Inner London the domain of the Camarilla. The Anarchs have encroached somewhat on the borders of Inner London — northern Hackney, Islington, and Camden, and southern Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, and Greenwich — but they exist in a kind of no-man’s-land where they run the risk of the Camarilla attempting to enforce its rules whenever and wherever they have the force to do so. Only at the Highgate Cemetery Elysium can Anarch visitors be truly confident in their safety.
In practice, there are so many vampires in the greater London area that even the Sheriff has difficulty keeping track of them all, and so Anarchs routinely visit Camarilla territory and vice versa, both usually unmolested as long as they don’t cause any trouble. The catch, of course, is that if there is any trouble, the outsiders will usually be blamed for causing it, whether or not that’s at all justified. The Anarchs have learned to step carefully when it comes to feeding within Inner London, but keeping track of who claims which domain is a herculean task even for Camarilla members, and accidents do happen. All but the newest of the new arrivals know very well that when the Camarilla puts its foot down, they’ll usually get their way — the key is to avoid being someone they decide to put their foot down on.
Note: As of this writing (May 2024), nearly all of the Outer London boroughs remain unbuilt, although they (and specifically those claimed as Anarch territory) are near the top of the grid to-do list. We suggest the border areas of the boroughs mentioned above as areas for Anarch PCs to make their havens in the meantime, with the explicit understanding from staff that we aren’t going to make your life difficult because of this OOC constraint. Once there are official Anarch territories built, things may get somewhat more stringent, but we aren’t going to ding you for working with what’s available.
The Barony of Bexley
Of the three Anarch main territories, Bexley is the closest to being actively antagonistic to the Camarilla. Since Roman times the road from London to Canterbury and Dover, and therefore to mainland Europe, has passed through this area. It was still mostly unsettled wilderness until well into the 19th century, and served as centuries as a favorite haunt for Gangrel and some intrepid Clanless who had no interest in living under the Camarilla’s rule and were content to feed on travelers while avoiding their own kind.
Industrialization and railways changed all that in the span of a mere few decades — the blink of an eye by vampiric standards. Without any real cooperation among the Bexleyheath Kindred, there was no effective resistance to the area’s development, although that was also partly due to the London vampires who felt offended to be at risk of their unlives, or at least their dignities, in order to make a trip to the Continent.
Once safety had been ensured, however — the majority of the old heath converted to pasturage or private parkland, and the Autarkis vampires who had made it their home driven out or destroyed — London lost interest. No one was particularly enthusiastic about establishing a domain in an area that was largely empty farmland with very few people, and even after it began to evolve into a town and then a suburb it was rarely considered anything other than a potential place to stop for the day while headed somewhere else.
Still, vampires, like nature, abhor a vacuum. The increasing population and lack of any Camarilla attention meant easier feeding, and that brought with it a younger and more urbanized collection of outsider vampires. This new generation not only failed to acknowledge the Ivory Tower’s authority, it was deeply skeptical of any authority at all, and the Tower’s clumsy attempts at bringing them into line only made the situation worse. The attempted annexation of Bexley into Greater London triggered a low-intensity guerilla war that lasted into the 1980s before petering out with both sides claiming victory.
Modern Bexley is home to a modest number of vampires who share little other than an intimate understanding of how to move among the suburbs, and a contempt for the Camarilla, its officers, and its practices. While they adhere grudgingly to the Masquerade — more or less — this is a practical matter rather than one of adherence to the Traditions, whatever the Tower might say. Their relations with London are generally poor, and they have the unique distinction among the Baronies of being actively unwelcome in the rest of the city, a sentiment they are more than happy to return. Gossip says that part of Queen Anne’s reason for designating Highgate Cemetery as neutral meeting ground for all vampires is because of the difficulty of getting there from Bexley.
Note: Bexley is primarily intended as an NPC group that is antagonistic without (always) being hostile. While they are permitted as PCs, please think carefully before applying for one: their opportunities for RP with other vampires are quite limited, and given the collaborative nature of the game, staff will be especially attentive to Bexley vampire applications to make sure that they both have chances to participate in the game and also contribute to making the game fun for other players.
Baron Jim Holly
Before he was a vampire, Jim Holly was an up-and-coming footballer who had risen to the fringes of the EFL and looked to be headed for the Premier League. The son of Jamaican immigrants, he made a name for himself as a flashy attacking midfielder with a gift for trash talk that was nearly as impressive as his skill on the pitch. His journey upward was cut short by a Toreador with a broad definition of “art” who decided to preserve the elegance of his game for eternity. The results were not particularly happy for either of them.
It didn’t take long for Jim to grasp what he was in for and decide he wanted no part of it. It took a little longer for him to learn enough about the vampire world that he could make his escape, but once he had, he wasted no time. The Bexley Anarchs welcomed him, and those who expressed skepticism that a Toreador could fit in among them were quickly disabused of the notion when he demonstrated that his mastery of tactical football translated very well to vampiric conflict, and that he himself was just as willing as the rowdiest of Brujah to engage in bare-knuckle brawling with Camarilla soldiers.
Today Jim is widely acknowledged by the Bexley vampires as their leader, though neither he nor they would tolerate his being described as their ruler. He remains deeply hostile to the Camarilla and its minions, but he’s also smart enough to realize that going to war with them would be disastrous. Instead, he maintains a constant low level of harassment around the borough’s edges, and pushes back firmly against any attempts to encroach. He does, however, tend to send the encroachers back staked, rather than ashed.
The Barony of Croydon
Croydon is extremely proud of itself. The more vocal of Croydon’s Anarchs love to talk about its long history as a market town, a center for tanning, brewing, and industry that had its own Prince for centuries before the Camarilla decided it should be incorporated into London. They’ll talk for hours about their valiant resistance to Anne’s tyranny, how they’re battered but unbowed, how they represent a shining example of Kindred independence in the face of attempts to take away their freedoms, and so on, and so on.
The truth is rather more simple and less flattering: London just doesn’t care about Croydon that much. Yes, once it was an important center of industry. Yes, it has a long history. But in modern times, there’s nothing particularly important about it, and it is, to quote one local Gangrel whose name has gone unrecorded, “kind of an abject shithole.” In short, it’s less that Croydon is an example to all for their unwavering bravery and persistence, and more that London isn’t really all that enthused about claiming their territory in the first place.
In fact, other than pride, the only real reason the Camarilla bothers with Croydon at all is that it sits squarely astride the main route south to Brighton, Eastbourne, and the coastal cities. While vampires have no interest in sunbathing, they enjoy a holiday now and then as much as anyone else, and they prefer not to have to worry too much about being attacked on their way there. So the local Baron does his best to keep the Anarchs out of the Camarilla’s way, and the Camarilla, in exchange, graciously refrains from noticing them. It’s not the most equitable arrangement by any means, but it’s a good middle ground for those vampires who fall somewhere in between the other two Baronies when it comes to their feelings toward the Ivory Tower.
Baron Gervaise “Jerry” St. John-Smythe
Once upon a time, Jerry St. John-Smythe (“that’s ‘Sinjin-Smythe'”) was the very model of the upper-class young British gentleman. Went to Eton, played polo, served as an officer in one of Her Majesty’s more prestigious regiments — he checked every box on the toff to-do list. If he didn’t spend a great deal of time thinking, well, his life didn’t demand much thought. To put it a little less gently, he was something of a twit, and his carelessly destructive way of approaching the world absolutely infuriated the wrong Nosferatu, which, in a manner of speaking, is how he came to be a vampire.
To the surprise of almost everyone, not least his own sire, once deprived of good looks, family connections, wealth, and social cachet, Jerry turned out to have a brain in his head after all. Although no Einstein, he’s witty, urbane, and can banter with the best of them despite the absolutely horrific transformation the Embrace wrought on him. When he has visitors, he’ll routinely greet them with food and drink for mortals, rather than for Kindred, and he rarely acknowledges his own undead state. Opinions vary on whether this is an attempt to salvage something of his old life, or just one of those little bits of madness that are sadly not uncommon to his clan.
As a Baron, he’d make a much better Seneschal. He’s generally somewhat ineffectual and is regularly pushed around by the Camarilla, treatment he bears up under with good grace and a stiff upper lip. The London Primogen consider him something of a joke, but in spite of his tragicomic self-presentation, he’s genuinely concerned about the welfare of Croydon’s other vampires, and worries constantly about a takeover despite ample evidence that the Camarilla isn’t interested.
The Barony of Waltham Forest
It is a running joke among the Anarchs of Waltham Forest (a territory that also incorporates parts of Enfield, Redbridge, and Haringey) that the Baron would be much happier if it were Camarilla territory. Well-organized and actively engaged with their neighbors to the south, Waltham Forest is a model Anarch territory, and a significantly better example of what a well-run vampire domain looks like than many actual Camarilla cities.
In spite of its name, the great majority of the vampires in this area are clustered along the border with Inner London, with only a bare handful making their homes in what remains of the namesake woodlands. Most of the actual forest is long since gone, and the southern and central areas of the Barony are nearly as urbanized as any other London suburb. Relations with the Camarilla are excellent, and there has been some cooperation between the two sects when it comes to dealing with the Sabbat, wights, infernalists, and other “undesirables.” There’s even a gentlevampires’ agreement that minor transgressions on either side will be let off with a warning, and, despite the occasional disagreement on the meaning of “minor”, that agreement is usually honored.
It’s a situation that isn’t likely to last forever: many vampires on both sides who take a long-term view believe that eventually, either the Camarilla will push the Anarchs too far and things will turn hostile, or else continued cooperation will result in the Barony becoming a Camarilla protectorate and a part of Anne’s domain. Considering the kid-glove treatment they’ve been given so far, many of the Anarchs don’t even consider the latter possibility all that alarming, and perhaps that’s been part of the plan all along.
Baron Joanna Stone
The relative friendliness between Waltham Forest and the Camarilla is almost entirely the work of one vampire, and that most unusual of vampires — a Ventrue Anarch — at that. Joanna was still an ambitious neonate in the 1960s, but was smart enough to see that while she might reasonably aspire to power in the independent territories, as one among the many Greater London Kindred — most of whom were vastly older and more experienced than she — such an opportunity would not come for centuries, if ever.
It was a simple enough situation, and one that many other vampires could see the outcome of just as easily as she. The only thing that made Joanna unique was that she chose to do what those other vampires wouldn’t: act. Through persuasion, diplomacy, and occasionally outright bribery, she was able to rouse just enough resentment among the area’s Kindred to convince the Camarilla that annexation would be more trouble than it was worth. Thanks to her talent for, and willingness to take on, all the thankless tasks involved in keeping a group of independent-minded vampires from destroying one another, she rapidly became seen as the consensus choice to lead the newly established Barony. After all, it was fundamentally just an administrative post, not one with any real authority …
Since then Joanna has judo-ed both sects into not just acquiescing to, but actively supporting her as Baron. Anne sees some of herself in Joanna and vice versa; she’s someone the Camarilla Ventrue feel they can work with, and they’re willing to play the long game in bringing her into the fold. Talent like this doesn’t just grow on trees, after all. The Anarchs, in turn, are happy to be left more or less in peace, and view her as the person who’s made it possible. Still, she plays her cards close to her stylishly-clad (by 1960s standards, at least) chest, and at least for the time being, the question of which side she’ll eventually come down on is one that both feel pretty confident they’ll be happy with the answer to.