backTitles and Responsibilities
Roman
Roman cities are generally more uniform than most other cities at during ancient times. Almost every Roman city will have two Magistrates. The specific positions below Magistrate that are filled will vary from city to city, but they are always the same positions with the same names. Greek and Barbarian cities may have such unique positions, but Roman cities tend to be much more uniform.
Legatus - The Legati are the highest ranking officials outside Rome. There goal is easily stated, defend Rome's grip on the provinces. To accomplish that goal they have unlimited rights, up to and including the destruction of Magistrates. A Legatus who abuses those rights will quickly be destroyed by their peers. Though each Legatus is theoretically loyal to Rome, in reality each is blood bond to an Elder somewhere in the Empire. The great cities of Rome, Alexandria and Athens are were most Legati call home, but there are many exceptions. An individual Legatus is often considerably less powerful than the Elders who they often find themselves opposed to. But all know that an attack on the servants of Rome is an attack on Rome itself. The Legati are charged with the matenance of Rome's power. This means they act as roving trouble-shooters, propping up a failing Magistate in Gades one week before sailing to Colonia Agrippina to deal with rebellious Germans. The combination of martial prowess and diplomatic tact is rarely found in one Kindred, so they frequently travel in groups of three to four. When expecting trouble a number of Legati will descend on a city with cash and ghouls. Such an expedition is derisively known as a "legion" among those disaffected with Rome.
Magistrate - More formally known as the duoviri iuredicundo, these two Kindred serve as the immortal leaders of a city. They are a nearly universal feature of Kindred politics in the Roman world. Occasionally a single Kindred will serve as Magistrate, but this is a situation rarely appreciated by other Kindred as it accumulates so much power in one vampire's hands. The term for a solitary ruler is becoming Princeps amoung younger Kindred now that the empire is a part of the roman world view. .It is common for at least one of the two Magistrates to be an Ancilla sent directly from Rome and be of Ventrue or Malkavian blood. The other Magistrate may be a local Elder, this is most common in cities which were historically accepting of Roman rule. In such a situation, the local Kindred is often two or even five times older than their co-ruler. In cities that have been resistant to Roman rule the second Magistrate is generally Roman as well. A local Kindred may be chosen in such a situation if they were clearly opposed to the old regime. The Magistrates have the power of life and death over their subjects. They decide legal cases, as well as being responsible for the policing of the city. They appoint all other positions with in a city, as well as deciding the scope and goals of those so appointed. Further, they even decide what such positions, if any, need exist in the first place. The theoretically equal status of the two Magistrates can lead to friction. In some cases the responsibilities of the city are divided, in others the city's Kindred are actually divided among the rulers. Some informal solution must be worked out though. Under Roman law the Magistrates must agree for any decision to pass. Without an informal agreement the Magistrates often fall into political bickering which brings the workings of Kindred government to a halt.
Master of Infantry (informally Pediatus)- This position is also known as dictator, but this term has fallen out of use since the abolishing of the mortal position of the same name in 44 BCE. Should the Magistrates feel they need an enforcer of the law or a defender of the city from external threats they will appoint someone to this position. Appointing a Kindred to this position is seen as an extreme method that most Magistrates will only undertake if they are under intense pressure. Pediatus outranks all other officials in the city save the Magistrates themselves. Their first task is to protect the city from outsiders, Kindred who would use force to attack the city's inhabitants. Such external threats can obviously include direct attacks on the Kindred of the city, but they can also be as general as attacks on the resources Kindred of the city might have outside the city. The Master of Infantry also has authority to police law breakers within the city. This is a secondary goal of the official, when both a Pediatus and a Praetor are appointed in a city the Praetor has priority on these internal matters.
Master of Horse (informally, Equitatus) - This official serves as an assistant to the Master of Infantry. They are appointed not by the Magistrates but by the Pediatus. The exact duties of this position can vary greatly, and are at the discretion of the Pediatus. Traditionally the duties of this office relate to information gathering in suport of military of police action. But the needs of any individual Pediatus are potentially so diverse as to make categorizing this position impossible.
Censor - Should the Magistrates of a city require an official to keep track of who resides in their domain, a Censor is appointed. The duties of such an official can be purely ceremonial. Some Magistrates wish to publicly reward an important Ancilla with a position, but wish to keep track of their city's population themselves. Other Magistrates, especially in particularly large or well traveled cities, need an active Censor to ensure that every immigrant Kindred is noted. An active Censor may simply keep a list of all the Kindred in the city, or they may take a more active roll, attempting to determine where every Kindred's Haven is for instance. Such an active Censor may in fact act as a spy master for the Magistrates. In cities whose Magistrates are at odds, there may be two different Censors, one for each Magistrate.
Praetor - This position is sometimes appointed to decide legal issues. These can range from criminal charges to purely civil disputes between Kindred over resources. In this more passive roll the Magistrates will assign legal issues to the Praetor. The case of a Neonate accused of attacking the mortal client of an Ancilla might be brought in front of the Praetor, for instance. Further, some Kindred will bring issues before the Praetor before the Magistrates get involved. A purely judicial Praetor benefits the Magistrates by both reducing their workload and by letting them shirk responsibility for difficult decisions. In some cities this official is charged with tracking down law breakers as well. In this case the Praetor acts to investigate crimes in the city as well as actually apprehending the suspects.
Informal Positions - Roman society also has considerable room for Kindred to participate in city government without having an official position. In some cities the job descriptions above are done by Kindred who bear no formal title. Certainly every Kindred in the city knows who these Kindred are and what, roughly, they do. Further, there is a political role in the city for Kindred who do not take such an active part in city government. Influential Kindred may provide security at the Forum for public meetings or they may fund night spectacles. Participation in government of this sort is, to a degree, a privalidge. The Magistrates will only allow favored Kindred to boost their status by providing such services. Of course, forgien Kindred may not understand these particularly Roman customs at all, so the status gained may be only among Romanized Kindred.
Greek
Greek cities tend to follow one of several styles of government.
Tyrant
Council
Archon
Magistrate
Barbarian