Regents are those Kindred lords who receive their territory directly from the Prince. Even when a Regent has granted no land out to vassals below her, she is known as an overlord. Regents are prominent even when they are not particularly important. Their proximity to the Prince — always politically and often personally — makes them visible to the Kindred court, but their authority gives them the privilege of retreating from the Danse Macabre to a degree.[1]
Regents are often high-ranking or leading members of covenants and are given territory by the Prince as a means of forcing responsibility for covenant-member actions on an affiliated Regent. Regents are highly visible figures in the Danse Macabre, at least insofar as their names and territories are usually well known. Some neighborhoods take on nicknames among the Damned based on the Regent who controls it — Sykestown, Cameron’s Hills, or Richville, for example.
Involving a Regent in one’s political schemes is dangerous. To unseat a Regent, one must strike close to the Prince, possibly even attacking one of his confidants. A Regent who doesn’t stick her neck out may be able to hold territory for decades. Regents who stay active in the Danse Macabre probably have vassals whose necks they stick out instead. What a Regent without vassals can’t do, however, is defer blame for things that happen in her domain, so wreaking havoc in her turf forces her to act and reveal what kind of lord she really is. (Of course, if the Regent reveals herself as a competent or excellent lord, the troublemakers in her territory are in bloody trouble.)
Regency is the dream of many vassals. The Prince has great power, but the Regents have access to him and the luxury of staying out things now and again. The Primogen, who may well be Regents themselves, are likewise in a fine position. The Prince is an obvious target, and many Kindred are simply not cut out for the position. A vampire who knows it might strive for Regency, then fight to hold that seat for eternity.
Stories about Regents are about calculated responses to political attacks. Though players’ characters can certainly become Regents (or even the Primogen or Prince), Regents are more likely to be antagonists in a Barony chronicle — at least at the beginning. At this level of play, the coterie may have to circle round one of its members, who takes on the mantle of Regent while the rest of them make do with vassalage or even less.
