By The Order's definition, a Citadel is the largest, strongest and most powerful Haunt inside a Necropolis. Such Haunts become their above-ground "headquarters" within a city, and stand guard over their own Domain. Ideally, The Order's Citadel would be within sight of the entrance to the Catacombs, and oddly enough it often is...

If Haunts are the sort of places that most of the living want to steer clear of, then Citadels are the sort of places where no one but the mad, bad and dangerously-driven make a trip to. The Echoes from such a place are usually awful enough to make even the most hardened antiquarian, architect or photo-hound turn in their tracks and seek better sites to visit. And if the Echoes aren't enough, a few applications of Fear on the premises will take care of most pesky mortals right away.

Other Concords have tended to keep the name "Citadel" to describe their own, general gathering places, but not always. And while their Citadels might the strongest and most powerful they can lay claim to, they often prefer to find ones that are "out of the way," instead, so as to not invite unwanted attention. It all depends on what's available, what works best for everyone involved, and whether the people who actually "own" the Haunt - since it's their Anchor - want folks tromping in and out of their home.

An especially powerful Concord may have more than one Citadel within a city, but most have at least one. Whether that one, solitary Citadel as powerful as they'd like it to be or not is another matter entirely - sometimes you have to take what you can get, and be glad of it.

Marketplaces

Sometimes, certain Concords - most notably the Freewraiths - will set up "neutral ground" Citadels, which are open to any and all. Such places are known by various names, but are often called Marketplaces, whether or not there's any actual commerce going on or not. All Concords are usually welcome there, and the only steadfast rule of such a Citadel is that conflict is not permitted.

Marketplaces tend to be open-air Ghost Haunts that a Concord has claimed. They might also be enclosed spaces, such as a wide, abandoned warehouse, half-collapsed steelmill or a cavernous, near-empty church: the bigger the building, the better the Market.

Sometimes the Marketplace is convened underground, in the Catacombs. However, such gatherings are open only to those who "own" that city's Catacombs, and those they allow in. As such, they are "Marketplaces" in name only, and are therefore limited in what sort of goods and services one can purchase there. {Freewraiths tend to call such one-party gatherings "flea markets."}

Marketplaces may also be convened in Wraith Haunts, rather than those "leased" from a Ghost. In such cases, the Anchor's owner is often directly in charge of the Citadel, regardless of what status she may hold in her Concord. Her word is law in all things, and has the backing of her entire Concord should someone decide to be a problem.

It goes without saying that such Wraiths tend to be rather powerful, in and of themselves. So if a fight should break out, it might already be long over by the time the rest of the Concord gets there.

Citadel Etiquette

Every Concord has their own way of handling matters within a Citadel, but a general rule of thumb is that the Citadel is the extension of the Concord's will. All rules, guiding ideas and standards of behavior are in full effect, and those who break them there - of all places - may be punished more severely than they'd be if they broken them somewhere else.

Members of other Concords are generally not allowed in a Concord's own Citadel, any more than a Wraith would let a stranger into her own Haunt. This also goes for times of Storm, though it's not unknown for the Wraiths inside to relent and let in a desperate stranger, "just this once."

Some Concords do allow visitors to enter, so long as they're on fair-to-decent terms with the visitors' Concords, but this courtesy cannot be counted on. Those who extend this trust often insist on the visitor having some reason for being there, and some of the more paranoid will see that she's accompanied at all times.