The Pyramid

The clan is nominally led by Tremere himself, who is the apex of the Pyramid, though none save the Councillors have contact with him. The seven Councillors oversee the Pontifices, who oversee the Lords, who oversee the Regents, who oversee the Apprentices. Ideally, each superior supervises seven Tremere of lesser rank, but in practice these numbers are more fluid. In places where there are many Tremere a Lord may have more than seven regents, and in many places they have less. There are always openings, and room for advancement for those Kindred with the ambition to act and the skill to avoid getting caught. Within each rank seven circles of mystery, with a greater number of circles denoting superiority.

Ranks, Circles and Responsibilities

Apprentice

Apprentice, First Circle and Second Circle

Commonly these are the Fledglings within the clan. These are the newly embraced who have just given the oath and drunk from the cup, or in rare cases, more experienced members of the clan who have been demoted to the lowest rank as a form of punishment.

The apprentice is not allowed to focus on his own personal projects, and instead is conscripted to learn from and assist more experienced Magi.

Apprentice, Third Circle and Fourth Circle

The title of Magus is bestowed upon this rank of Apprentice.

Those at this level are now considered responsible enough to conduct their own magical experimentation and learning with the approval of the Regent. At this point the Magus is trusted to act independently in the best interest of the Clan.

Apprentice, Fifth Circle and Six Circle

Many apprentices at this level of advancement are often tasked with teaching and supervising the activities of the lower ranked members of the Chantry.

These ranks are filled with the more promising Neonates and most of the clan’s Ancillae, along with Elders who never progressed into the higher circles.

Apprentice, Seventh Circle

For many in clan Tremere, this is the furthest they progress in rank.

At this point, their Chantry Regents can no longer promote them, and they must wait until a Lord makes positions available in the pyramid for new Regents and promotes them. It is also whispered that some have duelled Regents in certamen when there were no openings for advancement, and that the loser then returned to lower Apprentice ranks while the victor took/kept the Regent title.

A Regent may refuse such a challenge if they desire, though the realm’s Lord may take this for a sign of weakness.

Regents

Among Regents the Circles of Mystery continue, but are more symbolic of trust and accomplishment.

Regents of the First and Second Circle are still getting their feet under them and are likely to receive more oversight than Regents of higher rank.

Regents of the Sixth and Seventh Circles are often given side projects by a Lord which extend throughout a realm. These projects serve as a test to separate those able to lead a realm from those who are better served to lead a Chantry.

Additionally, there are important details concerning all those of Regent rank. Typically, the Regent of a Chantry is the only one who can promote those under his authority. And without need of a tribunal, the Regent of a Chantry can also demote those directly underneath him.

These actions may only be vetoed/changed by a Tremere holding a rank above Regent (Lord, Pontifex, etc.) in that Regents chain of command. A Regent may only advance a Tremere under his authority up to Apprentice of the Seventh Circle.

A Regent is responsible for calling together convocations. These are regular meetings for all in a Chantry and can run from a simple rant to an elaborate ritual in which current and future projects are discussed.

Lords

Not much needs to be said of this rare and shadowy rank. The Circles of Mystery gauge how well respected they are in comparison to the other Lords under their Pontifex.

Lords often have their own personal Chantries where they can pursue whatever mystical experimentations they desire in secrecy. They can also surpass the usual chain of command to speak directly to apprentices further down their line of command.

They also carry the authority to demote Apprentices and Regents below them who forget their place, without the need to call a tribunal to take action.

Pontifex

Each Pontifex is responsible for a broad geographic region, such as a continent or countries, and has direct authority over the Lords under their auspices.

Pontifices possess the ability to demote or promote any who fall under their chain of the Pyramid, without the need to call a tribunal.

Needless to say, only Lords may generally contact a Pontifex (or know how to) directly.