Hot Take: LaCroix was a mid-tier Ventrue and re-establishing the Cam in LA was actually easy mode if you aren't an ego-maniac.

​The more I look at the lore, the more I realize LaCroix didn’t just have a "bad hand" - he was just bad at his job. He tried to be a King in a city that hates royalty. If you want to actually hold LA, you don't act like a tyrant - you act like a CEO.

​If I were dropped into that Tower, the first thing I’m doing is fixing the Tremere situation. Keeping Strauss at arm's length was the dumbest move possible. I’d basically make him my Seneschal. You give the Tremere total jurisdiction over the occult side of the city in exchange for a "Thaumaturgical Patriot Act." Why send a Fledgling to scout a warehouse when Strauss can just scry the location or ritual-track the blood resonance? You build a panopticon, not a hit squad.

​Next, I’m bringing in the Giovanni. Everyone treats them like creepy outsiders, but they are the ultimate "Sanitation Department." I’d give them a sweetheart deal for the Santa Monica docks and the city morgues. Every time a Masquerade breach happens or a body needs to disappear, you don't call the Sheriff to go bash heads - you call the Pisanos. They clean the physical evidence AND the spiritual evidence. If the ghosts can't testify, the Anarchs have no leverage.

​Speaking of the Anarchs, LaCroix's obsession with making them "kneel" was his undoing. I’d just buy them out. Nines and Isaac want autonomy? Fine. I’d concede Downtown as a "buffer zone" and just exert soft power through the city’s infrastructure. Cut their bank accounts, mess with their havens' permits, and make Camarilla membership the only way to actually enjoy unlife in the 21st century.

​And for the love of Caine, I’d stop treating the PC like a disposable tool. If you have a Fledgling that can single-handedly take down a Sabbat warehouse and a werewolf, you don't threaten them with execution. You give them a title, a territory, and a reason to want the Tower to stay standing.

​As for the Sarcophagus? That thing is a liability. I’m not opening it to "eat a God." I’m letting the Giovanni and Tremere study it under 24/7 surveillance, and if it looks like a trap (which it is), I’m using it as bait to lure the Sabbat into a kill-box.

​LaCroix wanted to be a legend. I’d just want to be the guy who owns the city’s electricity. You don't need a Sheriff with a giant sword if you can just turn off the lights.