So how does a pack operate, and how should they work in game?
Priests, Ducti and Packs, Oh My
The sourcebooks give conflicting messages on the internal dynamic of packs, so I am just going to clarify how we will be running them. Every Sabbat must be a member of a pack. The Sabbat sees the pack structure as the very foundation of their society, and any Sabbat who shuns pack membership for any amount of time runs the risk of being suspected as a spy and unbeliever, and killed without even the benefit of a Monomacy since they have no priest to represent them.
There are two basic necessary positions in the Sabbat pack - the Ductus and the Priest.
The Ductus is the leader in times of war, and commands the pack in dangerous situations and during Games of Instinct and similar contests. This role is fairly simple to understand, the sergeant of the squad for all intents and purposes. But the Ductus is not the tyrant of the pack - the freedom loving Sabbat would hardly tolerate such a thing - and while his orders cannot be questioned without a monomacy when the pack is battling whichever foe, he is not the be-all and end-all of authority within the pack nor does he always represent the pack to the rest of the Sabbat.
The Priest is the leader of the pack in spiritual and social matters. It falls to the Priest, not the Ductus, to represent the pack in rituals and in many social situations. The Priest is often the final interpreter of Sabbat law within the pack and like any good confessor, can be called upon resolve conflicts between the Ductus and the other packmates. The most subtle but powerful role of the Priest is his authority over the Ritae - it is the Priest, not the Ductus, who decides whether a Monomacy is worthy of being heard and whether its terms are fair and valid. it is the Priest that must agree to oversee the Creation Rites or the Welcoming Rites to bring in a new member into the pack. Whenever monomacy occurs between members of two separate packs, the pack priests are the ones who confer and agree on the terms of the battle, and agree on a third party to judge over it. So while Priests do not have the most direct power in the pack structure, their power in Sabbat society is subtle and far-reaching.