Ravnos from Vampire The Masquerade
Sitting between the nobility and common vampires are the gangs like the one that Clyde runs. While his is more infamous, there are plenty around that exist for various reasons that typically boil down to survival. Some go with crime while others stay together to hunt and hide. They can live in the wild, ruins, or the vampire cities depending on what brought the members together.
One important thing with the gangs is that they are watched by the nobility and other powerful members of society. They can be considered the biggest threat to vampires since they don’t always act rationally or within any types of laws. Some go full anarchist too, which is what causes a lot of vampire hunts. Unfortunately, a gang becoming a danger and exposing their presence can create backlash on others. Mortals only know that there are vampires in the area and will hunt all of them down. They aren’t aware that there could be individuals nearby with no association to the gang causing trouble. This is why the nobility in some regions will purge gangs that get too big or try to cause any crimes against mortals.
As far as Clyde’s gang goes, they were certainly one of the biggest in Windemere. The reason they didn’t get in trouble is because they had their own internal hierarchy. You had the inner circle that did the big heists that ranged from thievery to mercenary work. The other members did their own things with the protection of the gang as long as they didn’t make too big of a mess. More importantly, Clyde and Mab created a system of hideouts that their people could use for a fee. Unlike other gangs, they worked with nobles to get some leeway with their antics. Not that they caused a lot of trouble, but Clyde had his moments of doing large heists with the inner circle. This separation helped hide the size of his gang with the Duragians who considered it a smaller one instead of a giant organization.
Something I try to portray with the gang is that they are a family. At least in Clyde’s case, he depends on them to support his ideas and plans. They are the ones who keep him on the right path and he does the same for them. Considering he has been absent from the world for fifty years, Clyde needs his gang to help him acclimate to a new Windemere. The group probably becomes more important than ever before because of all of this. No matter what happens, he has the gang and they have him. This is going to be a major part of the entire series too. It feeds into the question about his humanity and how hard it is for him to hold onto it. With the gang depending on his leadership and control, Clyde has to think about more than himself.
It’s going to be hard to pull all this off though. As things progress, you’ll have Gang vs Nobility. This turns them into anarchists in a way, which makes their existence problematic. Then again, some nobles may see them as a useful ally if they want to control vampire society. It’s not going to be easy working politics into this series even slightly, which might be why I’m focusing more on the gang than the council.
Although, there is one more ‘group’ that should probably get some attention . . . Friday.
Legends of Windemere 
I have a question that might sound silly: Are the heists Clyde’s gang perform done for money? Power? A little bit of both? I ask this because you mentioned they charge a fee for the use of some hideouts. What do they use the money for? (I’m sure we’ll find out in the series, right?)
In our society, people use money to eat well, buy huge homes and other material things. But vampires don’t eat what we eat. So how is money important to them? I’m just curious, because their hierarchy is fascinating.
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It’s for money, fun, and whatever else catches their attention. Vampires use the same gold, silver, diamond, and jewel system that the rest of Windemere uses. If they didn’t then they wouldn’t be able to influence or interact with the rest of society at all.
Vampires still need clothes, homes, weapons, and tools. Money can be used within their cities to buy blood. Not every species tastes the same and some vampires like the rarer types. So you have blood hunters that need money to function.
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Okay, good. Thanks for answering. I’m glad to know how their society works.
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Best way to think of it is that vampires used to be mortal, so they do what they can to function alongside their old world.
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So… substitute politicians for nobility, and Clyde’s gang is the Mob?
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Not exactly. They’re not as influential or politically motivated. Be closer to an independent crime group like car thieves and bank robbers.
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Never gave a thought to Vampire gangs. Do they terrorize others in addition to the robberies etc?
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In many fiction worlds, they tend to be roving packs. It’s kind of different in Windemere. Prior to the Dawn Fangs, they would feed on mortals. Not every gang was about robberies too. Some acted like mercenaries and others simply worked to survive. The challenge with terrorizing the locals in Windemere is that there’s paladins and priests who can be called in.
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Thanks.
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I like the whole gang idea.
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Thanks. 🙂
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Interesting, I would never had considered that a vampire nobility would have such control over gangs of vampires. It sounds like you’re having a lot of fun with this series.
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The nobility really don’t have any control over the gangs. They watch them and sometimes make deals for jobs that they don’t want to be directly connected with. The gangs are just as likely to cause trouble for the nobility as work with them.
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Got it, sorry I misunderstood at first.
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No problem. It gets a little complicated at times.
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