To the Tremere nothing is more important than te concept of a "well-ordered house." Similar to the way craftsmen organize themselves into a guild to protect their trade from outsider competition or the way the nobility organizes a feudal structure to protect itself from outside invaders, the House of Tremere is organized to protect the interests of the House and the Order from outside threats.
This organization is also useful to advance the interests of the members, House, and Order, but those interests change with time and the individual members. In other words, while it is possible for individuals to rise to power in the organization and use it for "evil" goals (see, e.g., the Sundering, or the Schism War), it is those individuals' goals which are "evil," not the organization. The organization merely makes the achievement of the goals more readily obtainable.
Fundamentally, the Tremere understand politics (and better than the Jerbiton, they would argue). They realize a great portion of human endeavor is made up in trying to control and dominate others. They also understand that an individual can almost always be overpowered by numbers (a lesson not learned by, say, Flambeau), and that therefore it is important to organize communities of like-minded and like-interested individuals to resist that domination. They understand that cooperation and organization generally make everyone better off. To a Tremere, in the state of nature, life is nasty, brutish and short, but by coming together into a community and giving up certain freedoms, the quality of life greatly improves.
Hence, the House is one of the strongest supporters of the Order of Hermes, as the Order makes life much better for that special-interest group, Gifted humans.
That said, the Tremere have also developed a keen understanding of the day-to-day nature of politics. Even in these mutually-beneficial communities, some will benefit more than others, and that means that some will still try to dominate others to ensure that they get the bigger end of the stick. Tremere understand that even in communities where everyone is better off, politics is still concerned with coercion as much as cooperation. One's ability to do what one wants, free from coercion, or to get people to do what one wants, through either coercion or cooperation, depends on one's reputation for power. If one is "powerful", people are less inclined to mess with you, more likely to listen to you (both out of fear), and more likely to want to cooperate with you (because you have more to offer in exchange).
Therefore, the central concern for Tremere is their reputation. The reputation they seek is "mess with me, and you'll be destroyed; but work with me, and we can both be better off." Some Tremere focus more on the first part – these often become Hoplites – and some focus more on the second part – these are the great politicians and diplomats of the House. The Tremere focus on Certamen is a reflection of this. Certamen is intended to be a surrogate for showing that one's magical power is superior to another, without the destructive aspect of a Wizard's War to prove it. Thus one can establish one's reputation for power and receive the concominant benefits in coercion and cooperation, without having to destroy the person you are trying convince to do something for you.
Political creatures that they are, the Tremere realize that the power one has is not just dependant on one's personal resources (be they magical or mundane). One's personal power can be greatly enhanced by the alliances one has with others. This is true in both coercive and cooperative situations. The primary lesson to be learned from the life of Tremere himself is that a weak Magus with an extensive set of allies is far more powerful than the strongest Magus isolated from support. Thus a great deal of Tremere activity is directed toward building, strengthening, and formalizing such "alliances."
This broad philosophical background explains the political structure of the House. House Tremere is modeled in large part after the Roman system of clientela, modified through the developments of Guilds.
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CLIENTELA In ancient Rome, the relationship between a man of wealth and influence (patron) and a free client; the client acknowledged his dependence on the patron and received protection in return. This sort of relationship was recognized in law as early as the 5th century BC; by the 1st century BC it had become hereditary. Freed slaves were automatically clients of their former owners. The patron might support his client in the courts or supply him with daily food, often converted into cash (sportula). The client was expected to show deference to his patron, especially by calling upon him each morning (salutatio) and by aiding him in his private and public life. The political influence exercised by patrons over their clients was of considerable importance in the voting conducted in the public assemblies (comitia) under the republic. In the courts, no evidence could be given by patron or client against each other. Under the empire (i.e., after 27 BC) clients were often looked upon as parasites; because of their duty of salutatio they were sometimes called salutatores ("greeters"), or togati because they were required to wear the toga when it was passing out of fashion. Clientage became the most important social relationship in the Roman provinces as well as in Rome. The extension of the system to client nations was a cardinal feature of the growth and maintenance of Roman power under Julius Caesar and the emperors. |
Much like the three broad ranks of a guild (apprentice, journeyman, master), or the three broad ranks of the Order of Hermes (apprentice, magus, archmagus), there are three general ranks among the Tremere, each with their concomitant rights and responsibilities. Paralleling the guild structure, these ranks are the apprentice, the journeyman, and the master.
The apprentice rank is the same as that of the Order of Hermes, and ends at the same time as a magus passes her Gauntlet. Upon passing the Gauntlet, she has proven herself capable of being a full Magus with the appropriate rights and responsiblities in the eyes of the Order of Hermes. However, her status in the House of Tremere is not fully matured. The Gauntlet only demonstrates he is capable of practicing Hermetic magic. It does not demonstrate that he has mastered sufficient magical techniques to feared, nor that he is astute enough politically to be accorded any authority in the House.
Quite simply, the Magus is still considered, by the House, a member of his Master's " crgastêrium" (rough translation from the Latin = "workshop" or "laboratory"), with the higher rank of a Journeyman. Due to her potential, he is more worthy of respect than an Apprentice, and so he is accorded a different set of rights and responsibilities, detailed below. However, he still has not proven himself worthy of being a full member of House Tremere.
As the years go by, he will acquire more power and wisdom, which he can bring to bear in the service of the House. Eventually, his growing ability to assist the House earns him the right to a voice in the activities of the House. At this point, he breaks free from her Master's atelier, and joins the ranks of the Tremere Masters. Recognition of this point is formalized through the Certamen process described below.
The No Sigil Flaw, where one's parens or pater magnus holds one's sigil, is the general rule among newly gauntleted Tremere. Tremere PCs must take the flaw.
Note that a Tremere's sigil may only be held in this manner by an "ancestor" in the Magus’ lineage, i.e., parens, pater magnus, etc.One cannot gain another's sigil through Certamen or the like.
However, as it is not a part of the Code, the flaw is not enforced by Tribunals or Quaesitores. Rather, it is purely "voluntary" as far as the Order is concerned.It is enforced, just not by the Order.Adherence to Tremere sigil-holding tradition is required by the House, and one will be declared Ex Orbus by the Primus if one recants one's parens' right to hold one's sigil.Further, doing so would be a grave insult to one's parens, as it is an expression of doubt about his ability and wisdom to guide one's career and act in one's best interests. His fellow Tremere Masters would expect him to avenge the insult through Wizard's War.
At the rank of a sigil-less Journeyman, a Maga has the following rights and responsibilities (these are somewhat modified, to try to keep the flaw worth -1):
There in precedent in the Peripheral Code for dealing with a multiple Tribunal problem, however. In 1063, Agrippa of Coeris sent his Journeyman Hector to aid in the founding of a Covenant in the Tribunal of Rus. When the question of Hector's vote came up, the Quaesitores, after consulting with the Primus of Tremere, ruled that, in deference to the customs of House Tremere, Hector was still considered to be a primary resident of his Master's covenant. He was given the choice of reaffirming or renouncing his ties to his Master's covenant and deciding his own primary residence. He decided to remain a part of his parens' household and covenant. The issue was not appealed to the next Grand Tribunal. Magvillius has staged debates on this issue, and the general feeling, including among those Quaesitores of Tremerean origin, is that this was the best outcome.
Journeymen have a right to petition their Master for their "graduation" to Master status, and the right to their sigil, when they have demonstrated that they are able to hold their own as a force to be reckoned with. The grant of independence generally involves two prerequisites.
One: The Journeyman must have completed a "Masterpiece" or "Masterwork". This is generally satisfied by creating a 5th magnitude formulaic spell, or the enchantment of a 4th magnitude enchanted item. This is not meant to show the superior mastery of magic that the Archmagus requirement of a 7th magitude spell demonstrates; rather, it simply shows that the Journeyman can command enough magical power or vis to pose a serious threat to his enemies. Also unlike the Archmagus spell, the Masterpiece remains private property. The Journeyman is under no compulsion to surrender it to his Master or anyone else.
Two: The Journeyman must defeat his Master in Certamen. The purpose of this contest again is to demonstrate that the Journeyman possesses sufficient personal power and maturity to be accorded the right to chart his own political course without being a prima facie danger to the cohesiveness of the House. This Certamen ritual is somewhat more formalized than the Order-wide ritual.