The True Dead

Part Two

By Michael Brown

The Ritae Mortis: The Rituals of the Dead

Many of the Mortiane perform elaborate rituals to summon, bind, ward and so on. The Mortiane do not wield True Magick, but can use it through the Consumptia Touch. Liches and Ghuls are the most common practitioners of the Ritae Mortis, although many others study it as well. Levels in Ritae Mortis are not guides to which rituals may or may not be performed, they are merely indicators of skill. Ritae Mortis may be bought as a Touch at character creation level.

Example Ritae Mortis

Function: To direct the wrath of Lady Death toward a person or group of people.

Focus: An item that the people have in common.

Process: Expend as many Vivae as you would like. Each will count as a success. 15 are required. Roll Perception + Ritae Mortis (difficulty 8). Any successes over 15 generate prompt and explosive response from Lady Death.

Backlash:

• Fail: The next person you lay eyes on will die.
• Botch: Death strikes the area you are currently in instead.

Function: To see through the eyes of a raven.

Focus: A sliver of your own flesh. (Reform is useful here.)

Process: Call down a raven (Man. + Animal Ken or Man. + Lifesong, difficulty 6) Feed the raven a piece of your flesh, then roll Man. + Ritae Mortis, difficulty 6 to control the raven for successes = hours. You will see what it sees and travel where it travels.

Backlash:

• Fail: The raven will thank you for its meal and leave.
• Botch: A murder of ravens will come to feed on you.

Cost: 1 Vivae.

Function: To see what a person has seen.

Focus: The individual's eyes.

Process: Expend 3 Vivae and 3 Willpower to remove one or both of your own eyes. Place the individuals eyes in your sockets and roll Per. + Ritae Mortis, difficulty 8. Using both of the individuals eyes reduces the difficulty by one.

Backlash:

• Fail: You see nothing but blackness.
• Botch:Your eyes wither and rot; you can still see, but your eyes are now just empty sockets. The borrowed eyes rot also.

Function: To let your soul roam through dead bodies, animating any you choose. This is usually performed to intimidate people by animating loved ones or pets. It can also be used to travel great distances in a single night.

Focus: The skull of a murdered mortal.

Process: 5 hours of meditation must be performed to prepare for the souls voyage. Place both hands on the skull and imbue it with all of your Willpower and Vivae (Man. + Ritae Mortis, difficulty 7). Once in the skull, you can travel from one cadaver to another, with no spatial limits. This ritual lasts 10 hours, at which time you are snapped back to your body along with all your Willpower and Vivae.

Backlash:

• Fail: You lose 3 Willpower and 3 Vivae and may not repeat the ritual for 48 hours.
• Botch: The skull absorbs all of your Vivae and Willpower and becomes a Familiaris Maleficari.

Function: To speak to the recently killed and discover what happened to them.

Focus: A flat, even surface, and the blood of the deceased.

Process: Gather the blood of the deceased on a flat surface and call to the deceased (Cha. + Ritae Mortis, difficulty 6). With one success the image of the deceased will reflect in the blood and give you a one-word answer. 3 or more successes will give you a full explanation.

Backlash:

• Fail: The image will not appear.
• Botch: You drag the spirit into its own blood, driving it insane, creating a Familiaris Maleficari.

Crawling from the Grave: Character Creation

"Death will come when thou art dead, soon, too soon..."
-- P.B. Shelley, To Night

Character creation follows the same process it does in Vampire, with some important digressions from that pattern.

Nature and Demeanour

Nature and Demeanour remain the same.

Standing

Standing is the hierarchical system of the Society of the Dead, or La Societ as it is known. Within each Standing are two Rankings. Each Mortiane has a beginning Ranking. To raise a Ranking by one, 10 times the current rating in experience points must be spent (alternatively it can be role-played, and thus costs nothing). Standing and Rankings can afford you much respect or revulsion, depending on your place in La Societ.

Thralls: the absolute bottom of La Societ. The slaves, dregs and servants of those who rule. Rating *

Outcasts: those deemed to be unworthy of Mortiane society. The dissidents and rabble-rousers. Rating **

Children: The citizens of Mortiane society; the Children of Death. Rating ***

Prelates: Citizens of importance in La Societ. They carry some bearing but no authority. Rating ****

Magisters: The rulers, lawmakers and enforcers. A Magister who rules a Mortville (city) is referred to as a Magister Lord. Rating *****

Acolytes: The Acolytes claim to serve Death Herself and are the ultimate leaders of the Mortiane. They direct policy and philosophy, law and theology. They are the Priest-Kings of the Mortiane. Rating 6

Touches

Touches are the equivalent of Vampiric Disciplines, except that Mortiane get 5 points to spend on Touches as opposed to the 3 points that Vampires get for Disciplines.

Backgrounds

The True Dead have access to some resources that the other supernatural beings do not. Likewise, the True Dead are limited in some areas that their other non-human cousins are not. The following is a list of the backgrounds available to the True Dead. Should a player want a background from another game, then the Storytellers permission is required.

Those who assist you and are loyal to you.

*	One ally of moderate influence.
**	Two allies of moderate influence.
***	Three allies, one of whom is quite influential.
****	Four allies, one of whom is very influential.
*****	Five allies, one of whom is extremely influential.

People you know from all over who comprise your information network.

*	One major contact.
**	Two major contacts.
***	Three major contacts.
****	Four major contacts.
*****	Five major contacts.

A gathering of human followers that attend your every word, and hail you as a great acolyte of their brand of faith.

*	You are revered by a small cabal of adherents; around 5.
**	You have a core following of a number of devotees; around 10.
***	You are supported by, if not a widespread cult, then at least one of some notoriety; no more than about 20 members, less if some are supernatural beings (1 supernatural being for every 5 humans is a good rule of thumb).
****	You are attended to by a strong cult that perhaps even supports a few front groups that recruit for the cult; around 50 members.
*****	You are supported by a well-known movement that boasts an enormous following, but usually no more than 100 core members.

You were quite well known when among the living, and may be recognised by them when walking among them.

*	You were known by a select subculture of society in the city.
**	You were recognised by a majority of the populace.
***	You were fairly famous; your name and face were known by many.
****	You wre quite renowned; everybody knew something about you.
*****	You were a nationally famous individual.

How respected you are among your Standing in La Societ, and how well respected you are generally.

*	You are at least not hated by your peer group; the majority are indifferent to you.
**	You are recognised within your society, and looked on amicably.
***	You are quite appreciated by your peer group, and are well accepted by most.
****	You are celebrated by the community at large as a valuable member of the society.
*****	You are hailed as one of the leaders of your community.

The more experienced member of the society who watches out for you, and attempts to keep too much harm from befalling you.

*	Mentor is a Citizen of some importance.
**	Mentor is a Prelate.
***	Mentor is a Magister.
****	Mentor is a Magister Lord.
*****	Mentor is an Acolyte.

You are known as a theologian in the ways of Death, one of the many in Mortiane society who endlessly debate their particular interpretations of the roles of Life and Death.

*	Known; you are recognised as a major theologian.
**	Respected; you have had at least one of your theories accepted by the theologian community.
***	High status; you have disproved a theory of one of the 'great' theologians, and may now adopt the title Theologian in addition to any other titles or Rankings.
****	Admired; your theories are highly accepted and have no small number of adherents.
*****	Visionary; your works are always lauded, and many believe you to be touched by Death Herself. In addition, you can adopt the title Theologian Master/Mistress.

Note that this Background may be viewed as more infamous if your character has a low Standing, and you may be called a 'Waerlogian', or a professor of false knowledge.

Those lesser dead who serve you. Minor Thralls include; Thralls and minor Familiari. Adequate Thralls include; Familiari, Zombies and Greylings. Good Thralls include; Puppets, Golemim, powerful Familiari, and Necroids.

*	You own a minor Thrall.
**	You have two minor Thralls, or one adequate one.
***	You have either four minor Thralls, two adequate ones, or one good one.
****	You may have up to six minor Thralls, four adequate ones, or two good ones.
*****	You may have up to ten minor Thralls, five adequate ones, or three good ones.

As a general rule of thumb, assume that 1 good Thrall is equal in points to two adequate ones, and an adequate Thrall is in turn equal to two minor ones.

Virtues

The Mortiane do not have any Virtues.

Humanity

Humanity may be replaced, should the player so desire, with the philosophy of Necrot. Humanity starts at 10 - the number of separate Touches the player has. Necrot is equal to the number of Touches +1. These can, of course, be raised with Freebie Points.

Willpower

Willpower for the Mortiane is different in that the temporary track has two rows. The top row is, as is usual, in keeping with the permanent track. The second row is used when the character advances the cause of Lady Death. Mortiane begin with 5 points of Willpower in their permanent rating.

Blood Pool

This is replaced by two rows of boxes headed Vivae. Vivae is gained by draining life and causing death.

Special Creation Rules

The Zombi and the Golemim are unusual creatures in exceptional circumstances. They are dead minds trapped in a strange body that they cannot possibly be familiar with.

Players generate their character as usual, however, it is advised that the Storyteller or another player allot a second set of Attribute points as well as a physical description for the inhabited body. This represents the dichotomy between the host body and the inhabiting mind.

Players prioritise their attributes as usual, but they develop a set of physical traits separately to reflect the type of body they inhabit.

Some sample bodies are described below; (More sample can be found in Merits and Flaws). The clay golem

This is a fairly classical example of what a golem was thought to be: Str: 6
Dex: 2
Sta: 3

The Mannequin

Summoned into life accidentally or by someone with a warped sense of humour.

Str: 2
Dex: 2
Sta: 1

The Scarecrow

The ultimate bogeyman.

Str: 1
Dex: 4
Sta: 2

Gaining Vivae

Vivae is the 'life-force' inherent in living beings. They gain and lose it every day. The dead feed on Vivae, using and corrupting it for their own purposes. Vivae can be forcefully drained from a living being through the Absconce Touch and the details of how this is done is listed under that Touch. The usual way that Vivae is harvested from the living is by a process called Gathering wherein excess ambient Vivae is simply absorbed by the Mortiane. To effect a Gathering the Mortiane must be in a crowded area and make a Perception roll, difficulty 5, successes times two is the number of points of Vivae the Mortiane Gathers. This may only be performed once every 48 hours.

Also, when a person dies, all of their Vivae is released. With a successful Gathering roll, this may be absorbed. This may be done within 48 hours of a normal Gathering. The Vivae gathered the individual's remaining Health Levels times two.

Gaining Willpower from Lady Death

Every time the Mortiane directly serve Lady Death, she strengthens its resolve. Mortiane Willpower is strong not only because it is fed from inner convictions, but also from Death Herself. There are a number of ways Mortiane can receive rewards of Willpower from Death; some of these are listed below. Storytellers are free to come up with others. This Willpower may be used exactly the same as normal Willpower, except it is recorded on the second track to keep it separate. Rewards of Willpower should be given sparingly.

Gaining Willpower from Death:

• Preventing the erasing of knowledge by Death.
• Consigning the soul of a doomed species to Her. The final death of one species allows Life to create a new one.
• Cheating Her. She favours audacity.
• Returning one of the False Dead to her (Vampires and Wraiths).

Point Costs

Attributes5 points each dot.
Abilities2 points each dot.
Touches7 points each dot.
Backgrounds1 point each dot.
Willpower1 point each dot.
Humanity1 point each dot.
Necrot2 points each dot.
Standing10 points per ranking.

Attributes	Current times 4.
Abilities	Current times 2.
New Touch	10 points.
Group Touch	Current times 4.
Other Group Touch	Current times 7.
Breed Touch	Current times 5.
Other Breed Touch	Current times 6.
Willpower	Current rating.
Humanity	Current times 3.
Necrot	Current times 2.
Standing	Current times 8.

Merit & Flaws

By Evan Gibson

First of all, the Golemim cannot heal damage by soaking or Reform. Their bodies are entirely non-organic, and as such may only repair damage by means more in keeping with their forms.

It is assumed that the Soul, or Wraith, of a Golemim can fill a general bodily form, and that is how they can animate the limbs of humanoid shaped inanimate structures. Some players or Storytellers may wish to mess around with this theory, and place Wraiths into spatulas or whatever. So be it. This section, however, merely operates on the premise of structural materials, and the union of Wraith and body.

The iron golem

Str: 7
Dex: 1
Sta: 7

The concrete golem

Str: 5
Dex: 1
Sta: 6

Iron: Acid, welding, industrial furnaces.

Concrete: Pneumatic hammers.

Scarecrow (hay): Fire.

Mannequin (plastic): Fire.

Clay (unfired): lots of high pressure water.

To heal thesewounds, or indeed any major wounds, the damaged area or limb will have to be replaced.

Some ideas for healing follow:

Iron: Welding on a new limb; pouring molten iron into a crack or fissure and letting it cool.

Concrete: As above in concept but using fresh wet concrete to fill cracks and fissures. Missing limbs may be difficult to reattach, without using metal spikes to keep limbs attached.

Scarecrow: stuffing can be refilled. If a limb is destroyed, it is a simple matter of getting a new shirt, gloves, trousers etc, and refilling them with hay.

Mannequin: the Golemim may need to break into a department store's storeroom to stock up on replacement limbs, heads, torsos etc.

Clay: More clay, simple.

Golemim are in essence, a Wraith rejoined with a non-human body, rather like an Inhabit gone wrong, as such there is the possibility of a lot of things going wrong between summoning and rejoining. Note that some of these Merits and Flaws may be equally applicable to Zombi as well. Wraith: the Oblivion is a useful book to read for many of these Merits and Flaws.

Residual Passions: (1-5 point merit) The summoned Wraith still has an emotional resonance with some feelings, and can still gain Pathos, at a +2 difficulty. Each point in the Merit gives you an equivalent number of points in Passions.

Weak binding: (5 point merit): The Wraith is not properly bound in the Golemim, and the Golemim is treated as a 5 point Fetter. The Wraith within can leave the body by spending a Willpower point, and an additional Willpower point for every hour the Wraith spends away from it.

Residual Arcanos: (2-6 point merit) Every two points taken in this Merit gives the Golemim one point in an Arcanos chosen from the following list: Castigate, Fatalism, Flux, Intimation, Keening, Mnemosynis, and Usury. If the player has access to The Risen sourcebook, they can make use of Pandemonium, Inhabit and Lifeweb in the described limited ways, and may also choose the Risen Arcanoi Fascinate and Serendipity. Any of the Dark Arcanoi may be used at the discretion of the Storyteller. Pathos spent to power the Arcanoi often cannot be regained.

Warded (3 point merit) The body of the Golemim is inscribed with a mystical protection. As a Merit this allows the Golemim to be made immune to a specific kind of influence or attack. Sample Wardings include hedge magic, Vampires, Werewolves, etc.

Residual Fetter: (1-5 point flaw) The Golemim still feels tied to certain people or objects as she was as a Wraith, and can be controlled through them. This is often how the Wraith was summoned into the body in the first place. Each point in the Flaw equals 1 point that can be put into a Fetter. The Golemim has the level of the Fetter added to the standard diff. of 6 when attempting to resist a command given by a person holding the Fetter. Willpower may not be spent for automatic successes, and the Willpower diff. increase (+2) for Zombi and Golemim still stands.

Shrouded: (2 point flaw) The Golemim can still see into the Shadowlands, as they did when a Wraith. This can cause immense problems seeing as the Golemim's body is in the Skinlands.

Residual Shadow: (5 point flaw) The Shadow did not merge properly with the Wraith upon binding and the Shadow is a separate entity within the Golemim's body, with its own goals and agenda. Create and run a Shadow character as normal.

Jekyll & Hyde: (4 point flaw) As above, the Shadow and Psyche did not merge properly, but in time of stress, they swap over and switch control.

Disembodied Shadow: (7 point flaw) As for Residual Shadow, but the Shadow is not tied to the Golemim's body as the Psyche is, and is a free agent.

Shoddy Workmanship: (2 point flaw) The Golemim's body has some inherent structural flaw, and has 1 point subtracted from all physical Attributes, down to a minimum of one; in addition the body suffers wound penalties as normal.

Stubby Digits: (1 point flaw) All Dex rolls involving the use of the Golemim's hands are at a +1 difficulty. Misformed Legs: (2 point flaw) All Dex rolls involving walking or running are at a +2 difficulty.

Loose Attachments: (2 point flaw) The head or a limb of the Golemim may fall off if the Golemim is bumped or jostled.

Warded: (2 point flaw) As a Flaw this prevents the Golemim from performing certain tasks. Example Wards may be; attacking master, or using Arcanoi, or Touches.

Multiple Tenants: (5 points flaw) The body of the Golemim contains two or more distinct and separate personalities.

Some final tweaks: All Merits and Flaws that refer to a separate Psyche or Shadow can be inverted easily, like for example the Flaw Disembodied Shadow could easily be made Disembodied Psyche.

The Golemim's inhabiting spirit may not actually be a Wraith. Other possibilities include; an Astral Traveller (Vampire, mortal or Mage), or even a Mummy between cycles.

The body of the Zombi may not necessarily be dead, a brain dead or lobotomised human may be the perfect body for the summoned Wraith. For utter confusion place the spirit of an Astral Traveller in a Golemim, and a Wraith in the Traveller's body as a Zombi. Now who is who?

Zombi

Live body: (3 point flaw) As mentioned above, the Wraith has been summoned into the body of a comatose or brain dead but living human. While this Merit allows the Wraith to fit into human society a lot more, it makes them further reviled in undead society, and their Standing will always be Thrall. In addition the Zombi cannot use any of the following Touches: Absconce, Facade, Fates Vision, Plusfort, Reform, Vue De Morte, and may be denied the opportunity to learn Group-based Touches.

Really Far Dead Body: (4 point flaw) Your body carries disease, is slowly falling apart, and above all is very ugly. The Storyteller may want to create some method and system for infection for those who are near you, and should insist on regular Stamina rolls to see if you fall apart. All Social based rolls with humans should be at least a +2 difficulty.

Revenants

Burning Passion: (2 point merit) The Revenant has a personal passion which sets certain specific goals. These could be similar to Wraiths Passions, like "Get even with killer", or the like, but should confer a bonus die on rolls where they are pursuing that goal, and a Willpower roll to avoid the goal.

Paranoid Fear: (3 point flaw) The Revenant has come back from Death with a haunted look in her eyes and certain things send her over the edge. The Revenant must choose something of which she has a terrible fear, and must make a Willpower roll, difficulty 9, not to flee from it.

Code of Honour: (2 point merit) The Revenant has constructed a personal code of morality to atone, and placate that which lies on the other side. The player must construct a list of "Do's" and "Do-Nots", which they will regain temporary Willpower for following, and lose for flouting, such as with the Vampire Paths of Enlightenment.

Ghuls

Feeding Restriction: (3 point flaw) The Ghul has decided that only a specific form of nourishment will prolong its life. This could be things such as virgins, children, women, the dying, etc.

Liches

Old Magic: (1-7 point merit) The Lich may spend 1 point per point taken in the Merit on Hedge Magic Paths, Necromantic rituals, and certain Vampiric Disciplines, such as Nihilistics, Necromancy or Thanatosis.

Anachronism: (1 point flaw) The Lich still dresses or speaks from a bygone age and will stand out like a sore thumb among mortal society.

Library: (1-5 point merit) The Lich has an extensive series of texts on Mortiane and undead lore which may help it learn new mystic abilities.

Death Philosophy

"I felt a funeral, in my brain,
and mourners to and fro
kept treading, treading till it seemed
that sense was breaking through"
-- Emily Dickinson

Death exists

Unlike Vampires the True Dead have not shied away from Death but joined with it.

Unlike Wraiths the True Dead do not face Death and run further, but embrace it.

Death comes to carry away your soul. Vampires lose their souls, a trade for the Curse. Wraiths, terrified of severing ties, hover as insubstantial minds in the shadows, but Death has claimed their souls.

The True Dead grip onto their souls for fear of letting go. Feverish, loving and dizzying Death cradles them all. In return for Her love they serve Her evermore.

Necrot "Deaths" Philosophy

Necrot is the study and philosophy of the nature and inter-relationship of Life and Death. There are those who believe that Death and Life are twin sisters and the Mortiane Deaths' fractious children, forever wandering between their two kingdoms. Death takes from Life to create life again; the cycle continues and nothing is saved. The Mortiane (or some at least) interpret their role as acolytes of Death. The taking of life merely continues the cycle of Life and the Mortiane gain the knowledge that otherwise would be lost.

Necrot can be taken as a replacement to Humanity, as many Mortiane regard Humanity as a denial of the nature of Death.

Necrot Tenets of Belief

The Philosophy of Necrot is not a guide to behaviour as Humanity is, nor is it a list of 'do-nots' like the Paths of Enlightenment. It is a philosophy, and as such it teaches basic precepts and past that allows room for debate and interpretation.

The Basic Tenets

*	An understanding of mortality is taught. All beings die; even Vampires can be counted as being actually dead. The soul is what separates Life from Death.
**	The surrendering of the soul to Death is what constitutes actual death; beings can surrender their soul and continue to exist, however.
***	The Being is a tripartite entity. The Body provides physical abilities, the Mind governs mental abilities, but the Soul gives these things the spark that makes beings truly live.
****	The Mind and Body can exist without the Soul, but it is the Mind remembering the emotion of the Soul that conveys any Soul-like aspects. Therefore, Vampires and Wraiths are dead in every way that counts because their Soul has departed. It is only the Mind that lends them illusion of emotion, but the Souls' spark no longer guides it. Mortiane have, it is believed, retained their spirit. Zombi and Golemim are minds united with bodies. They have no Soul.
*****	Death takes the Soul and reduces it to its' basic, original state. Wiping it clean, as it were. Life takes these virgin souls and places them in the yet to be born.

All further levels of Necrot are purely personal; each further point equals one tenet you uphold.

Some example tenets:

• Reuniting a body and mind that have both died gives spark to the Soul, reawakening it.
• Teaching mortals about Death will let them evade Her and be immortal.
• All Touches and abilities of the Dead are Lady Death working through the Mortiane.
• Lady Death does not tolerate those who cheat Her.

Please bear in mind that you can disagree with, and even replace one of the Basic Precepts. Many uphold the 4th Precept as a means of denigrating the Zombi and Golemim, and that doesn't always sit well with some Dead, not the least of whom are the Zombi and Golemim themselves.

History of the Dead: The Foundation of La Societ de La Morte

"Tonight we murder."
-- Ministry, Demon Knight Soundtrack

During the Dark Ages, death and plague were rife. More people were dying than at any other period in human history. Disease killed many outright and left others sick and weak for the rest of their short lives. Wars ended thousands of lives as cities were burned and their populations tortured and killed. Slavery killed non-Europeans so regularly it became commonplace.

The Mortiane were in Heaven; they were at the peak of their power. Vampires existed in only small numbers, and the Shadowlands were not the overpopulated cesspools they are today. Thousands of death cults and sects of revenants littered the world, some minor, some global. Among these were the cults who went on to form the Sects of the Mortiane, and many other supernatural organisations around the world, including the Euthanatos, the Nagaraja and the True Hand.

It was then that overtures were made to consolidate that power in the name of the one, true Goddess, Death Herself, and strike down those whose ideology was at variance to their own, specifically the cultists of the flash in the pan theologies of the Christian God and the false idol of Reason.

Death cults around the world centred on the recently established Court of Death under the wise rule of the Mistress of Shades, Lady Sriata, to meet and debate their methods and goals.

The thirteen most powerful groups at the time formed the Concordance, an agreement which lay the foundation for modern Mortiane society. These thirteen groups were:

The Feather Bearers, from Egypt who would later become known as the Black Guard.

The Black Artificers, a fraternity of Deathcrafters from around the world that would soon schism into the Mortech and the Bonecrafters.

The Free, from Africa, but primarily representing those who had been enslaved and killed at the hands of the Europeans, and especially in the name of the White God. They would later form the movement known as the Bone Gang.

The Annisenes, a Black Mother cult, primarily from the British Isles, France and Germany who caused controversy by claiming direct service of Death Herself, controversy that was further exacerbated by their change of name to the Daughters of Death.

Children of the Black Death, those who claimed initiation into Her Mysteries, by being baptised in the Plague that swept Europe. They would master this sickness in death and call themselves the Plague Lords.

The Pure from Rome, were a rival sect of the White God, who were rejected for the heresy of their claim that Jesus sought Death, rather than God for Holy wisdom. They would later be destroyed down to the last member by their rivals in Faith.

The Bhouca Men, from the British Isles, whose interests in fear almost outweighed their devotion to Death. They would later call themselves the Bogeymen.

The Osseids from Greece, though now almost extinct, were at the time quite influential and sought the true face of Death.

The Oneiromorti, these wandering Deathdreamers claimed to be able to dream the future by their connection to Death, but now they are no more, they have vanished completely.

The Knifedancers were, even then, a mysterious sect, and were later to disgrace La Societ with their heresy.

The Sons of Huginn and Muninn, who hailed from the North, bought with them much hidden knowledge, and became known as the Oracles of the Dead, the Ravensons.

The Slayers were formed from a number of other minor death cults, but joined together when they recognised their common role as the judges of Life's worth.

The Kalighat, a Black Mother cult from India were powerful allies in the Concordance, but their later disappearance and current rumours of their activities have caused many Mortiane to fear the mention of these Dead.

The Concordance decided to strike, and thirteen targets were chosen, men who represented the twin enemies of Faith and Reason. Priests, alchemists, slavers and Kings, no-one was exempt. Each opponent died mysterious and violent deaths, the only common element to their deaths being the missing leg bone from each of them. These bones were gathered, and through Sriata, Death blessed each of them with a gift chosen by the leader of each of the thirteen Sects.

The thirteen Sects were not alone in this war. Some of their allies included the Euthanatos cult who shared some membership with the Slayers, the Nagaraja who had long welcomed Ghuls into their organisation, the Corax whose alliance with the Sons of Huginn and Muninn ensured favour, the minor Cult Phobica (who eventually called themselves the Terrorartists), who though small were eager and willing allies of the Sects of Concordance, the Riders of Oblivion, who rallied under a recently freed Familiari named Bejaxa, and the Samedi Vampires, who though ideologically supportive were too small in number to commit to the Concordance. Some say a delegate of the Desert Walkers werewolf tribe was present, with a Mummy ally, but no documentation supports this supposition.

The war did not progress very favourably. The Osseids dwindled in number becoming more and more negligible, and rumours suggest that they lost their Bone Icon to the Euthanatos. When the Pure fell, their Icon was lost forever, and none can claim the whereabouts of its current resting place. The Oneiromorti vanished from sight around two centuries ago, amidst rumours that Cappadocian and Giovanni Vampires warred over their Icon. When the Mortech and Bonecrafter faction split out of the Black Artificers; it was the Mortech who kept the Icon and retired to Court with it. After using it against a number of major slavers, the Bone Gang surrendered their Icon to their leader Amoto, who had been made a High Acolyte. The Plague Lords are elusive about their role in the war, and rumours abound that they too have lost their Icon, a claim the Lords vigorously deny. The Knifedancers were discredited after the Concordance discovered that they were creating Death-touched living humans, a heresy few Mortiane could tolerate, and they were stripped of their Icon as a result. The Ravensons sometimes claim to both retain their Icon and insist it was taken by Fenris' get of werewolves. Why they do this causes no small amount of distrust in the Ravensons among other Mortiane.

The most alarming schism in the Concordance came not with the departure of the Kalighat, but the stories which surfaced after that departure. While many claim that they just departed because of a sense of arrogance on their part, others say that the Sect was either absorbed by an ancient Vampire, or that they themselves have a servitor bloodline of Vampires. Some have said that they have formed closer ties with Death than anyone else, and that is perhaps the most frightening option.

Icons

The Icons of the thirteen Sects were designed to be awesome tools of power against their enemies. Following is a list of those Icons, who held them and what they could do.

The Bone of Truth

The Feather Bearers

To use the Bone of Truth, a piece of writing must be shredded and gathered into a pile on the floor. Ask the Bone your question while swirling the Bone over the pile. The false words will blow away, leaving only the truth as your answer. To use this Icon you must not tell a single lie for a full moon before and after its use.

The Bone of Forms

The Black Artificers

The Bone of Forms, providing you have access to the Touches of Bonecrafting or The Art of Bones will become anything you wish it to. To use it you, yourself must undergo a drastic and lasting change, eg, ideology, appearance, behaviour etc.

The Bone of Chains

The Free

The Bone of Chains can be used to break any kind of bond permanently. In order to be deemed worthy of its use, you must have lived as a slave for at least a full cycle of the moon beforehand.

The Bone of Wrath

The Annisenes

Whilst holding this Bone and employing its power, full dominion over fire is given to you. You may ignite yourself, the Bone and anything you touch spontaneously. Only you and the Bone are unaffected by this fire. To be considered deserving of the Icon, you must have been unwillingly violated in some way.

The Bone of Decay

Children of the Black Death

The Icon of the Children of Death is capable of making anything decay, even including ideologies and systems of governing; however you must pay for your gift with an equal degradation of yourself, lasting and physical decay.

The Bone of Pain

The Pure

This Icon can inflict unbearable agony on any being within sight of the wielder. In game terms it does 7 aggravated levels of psychic pain. To empower the Icon, you yourself must be disfigured to Œunderstand¹ the nature of pain.

The Bone of Fear

The Bhouca Men

The Bone of Fear can be used to terrify anyone or anything, even to death. Immediately after using it, you will permanently fail all social rolls, except those involving Intimidation.

The Bone of Unveilings

The Osseids

Using this Bone the wielder can discover her Destiny, her future and/or her 'true self'. To do so, however she must remove the face that everyone sees to find her true face. In other words using the blade in the Icon they must cut her face off.

The Bone of Revelation

The Oneiromorti

With this Icon, the user may discover any single thing unknown to them, but this knowledge may not be used for personal gain, or else the fact will be erased from existence, as well as from your own mind.

The Bone of Final Experience

The Knifedancers

This Icon is capable of transforming any one killed by it, without doubt or hesitation into one of the True Dead, essentially a Revenant. However, any harm done by the convert to the Society will be reflected upon and cause harm to the converter.

The Bone of Sight

Sons of Huginn and Muninn

This Icon is capable of enabling its user to either recall any memory, no matter how small or forgotten, or foretell a person or places future, in the form of a prophecy. From the moment a thought is recalled, the user will not be able to forget anything. If you receive a prophecy, you will also receive another vision, but this time of something ill that cannot be averted.

The Bone of Murder

The Slayers

With this Icon any being deemed impossible or incredibly difficult to destroy may be permanently killed. To power this boon, the Icon must be fed as much Vivae as you can, starting with your own.

The Bone of Blood

The Kalighat

This Icon is capable of draining the blood out of any creature and converting it into Vivae for the wielder. The Icon is also somewhat willful in that if it is not granted its portion of the Blood, reducing the amount of Vivae to the wielder, it has a habit of being plunged into the wielder as the next sacrifice. Keep it happy.