There is strain on the archon to bend the knee ... also hire ups always take heart / interest in the babes...
There is not much that can be done when the ruling conclave take a shining of your babes ...
Archon tries to hog some of the babes, but they are seen and taken on by his elders or his peers,
that is why there is only so much he can do about bringing them to heel.
Ive played only episode 1 so far, but is this really another WoD game without the option to be with the Sabbat?
In World of Darkness, which is obviously the inspiration for this game, there is the Camarilla, the good guys and probably here the main cast is with them. And the Sabbat, the bad guys, who think more that vamps should rule the earth etc. And I think Astrid would at least somewhat be with them.
But in no WoD game I have found, there is an option to join the Sabbat. Not evenhinted or anything. Like in this game. You just cant make anything the Camarilla (or the Archon here) would prohibit. Isnt that the point of choices?
Because we see the recruiting tier in this game, of course everyone in the high court will be interested.
Also punishing by killing / destabilizing the recruits is not very wise, because the other factions will
have swollen numbers.
MC is more on the lines of lestat, or damien, not the originals, but the ones sharing their blood.
So of course the matriarchs spawning the brood, from the shaddows, they will always watch over.