Fourth Tradition: Accounting

The mistake was trivial, the kind mortals committed and forgot within hours. An indiscreet feeding, a mortal left breathing with memories that lingered too long. For the Ventrue, such carelessness was not minor, it was rot. Lord Henry Woolcott learned of it before the night had fully settled, the knowledge carried to him like tribute. By the time the fledgling was summoned to the manor's lower hall, the air itself felt accusatory. Shadows clung to the stone walls as if eager to witness judgment. The Fourth Tradition did not require announcement. It simply was.

Accounting meant that the fledgling's failure was Woolcott's failure, and the old Ventrue did not tolerate imperfection bearing his name. His stare was cold, predatory, devoid of anger yet heavy with promise. Among the Ventrue, reputation was power, and power had to appear effortless. A crack, however small, invited annihilation. The young vampire felt the weight of that truth press down on him as Woolcott circled slowly, like a magistrate measuring a sentence. The message was unmistakable: until released, a progeny was not an individual, but property and damaged property demanded correction.

The punishment was not swift. Woolcott believed pain was most instructive when prolonged. The fledgling was stripped of all autonomy, ordered when to rise, when to feed, when to speak, and more often, when to remain silent. Nights blurred into one another as Woolcott used him as an example, parading perfect control where the fledgling had shown weakness. Mortals were silenced, witnesses erased, all while the childe stood behind his sire, forced to watch the consequences of his failure undone by hands far steadier than his own. 

When the ordeal ended, the fledgling understood the true weight of the Fourth Tradition. Accounting was not cruelty for its own sake, but the crucible through which Ventrue were forged. Woolcott did not apologize, he did not soften the lesson. "Your sins are mine", his demeanor seemed to say, "and I will suffer none". From that night forward, the young Ventrue moved with calculated precision, every gesture rehearsed, every impulse mastered. Under Woolcott's tyranny, perfection was no longer an ideal, it was survival, and anything less was unforgivable. 

My first impression of Fourth Tradition: Accounting was that it's basically Govern the Unaligned wearing a fake mustache and hoping no one notices. Or, if we're being charitable, the "budget-friendly" version for vampires who either don't have Dominate or don't want to admit they rely on it too much. The moment I saw the card, my brain immediately went: "Alright, let’s compare this to Govern, because that's clearly what we're doing here".

So, what does the Camarilla's Fourth Tradition actually bring to the table? First, you need a Prince or a Justicar to play it. A quick dive into the VDB shows there are 117 vampires in the crypt pool that qualify. The action itself is straightforward: the acting vampire burns one blood, then you add three blood to a younger vampire as a +1 stealth action. Clean, thematic, very on-brand for the Camarilla's obsession with controlled resource management.

Now let's look at Govern the Unaligned. No titles required, just superior Dominate. According to the same database, that's 295 vampires who can pull it off. The effect is identical: one blood from the acting vampire, three blood to a younger one, +1 stealth. On top of that, Govern comes with the flexibility of its inferior mode, letting you bleed when you don't need to play vampire accountant for the turn. It's like getting a Swiss Army knife while Accounting hands you a very nice pen and a ledger.

So what's the verdict? The only situation where I see myself reaching for Fourth Tradition: Accounting is when I'm playing a deck that simply doesn't have access to Dominate. As a fan of Tremere, Ventrue, and Lasombra, imagining such a deck is… difficult. It's like imagining a boardroom without manipulation, or a warlock without footnotes. Maybe I just love Dominate so much that I subconsciously build decks around it. Entirely possible.

As for whether the card needs changes I genuinely don't know. Would +2 stealth be too much? Would that suddenly turn it from "Govern's polite cousin" into something scary? Or is it already fine as-is, quietly making sure that non-Dominating vampires can still take care of their younglings without borrowing someone else's discipline? I'm far too inexperienced to pass a final judgment.

All I know is this: Fourth Tradition: Accounting is flavorful, fair, and very Camarilla… but it's probably not making the cut in most of the decks I enjoy playing. And that's less a criticism of the card and more a confession about my ongoing, unhealthy relationship with Dominate.

The game never ends, only pauses. I'll see you at the next move.

Custodian Hargrave