The Templar Chapters: Wardens of the Monolith

Alternate Names: The Templar Pariah, The Templar Wardens

Those who fought against the Great Galactic Menace, when away from prying ears, will sometimes whisper of a rumor of assistance from deep in that arm of the Galaxy. The wildest intelligence reports from the Cybernetic Union which discuss looming threats against the Terminus Council, confirm these rumors. Both discuss mysterious, armored space knights seemingly unstuck from time, caricatures of the Knights of Communion from before the fall of the Alexian Empire with devastating force sword skills, powerful psychic abilities and a message for all who came to the world of Sepulcher “Go. This world is forbidden.”

The Wardens of the Monolith are real. Their massive Temple-Fortress guards Sepulcher, the ancient homeworld of the Eldoth. A fully militant order, they cut an imposing figure in their traditional armor. They often fight in perfect silence, operating in squads of two to five, and they move with psychic synchronicity, intuitively knowing one another’s plans. When roused from their quarantine of Sepulcher, they have a military fleet of carriers and fighters at their disposal; they could be powerful military allies against the Cybernetic Union, or against a returning incursion of the Great Galactic Invaders and, indeed, quietly assisted Leto Daijin’s efforts to defeat the first of such incursions.

The History of the Wardens Chapter

Before his betrayal of the Knights of Communion, Revalis White led a crusade deep into the Tech Arm to uncover Sepulcher, the seat of the Empire that brought such devastation to the Keleni people. He hoped to seal that world off once and for all. He found Sepulcher and he found that dread race not dead, but sleeping. He establishedthe Wardens of the Monolith and laid the foundations for the Temple-Fortress of the chapter, and tasked them with guarding this world. The Wardens were to prevent the return of the EldothicEmpire, and to prevent anyone from pilfering their forbidden secrets or interfering with the world. Then he left, scouring the full extent of their former empire, a quest that brought him beyond the Rim of the Galaxy; it was after this final journey that he turned to the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant.

The Betrayal of Revalis White and the fall of the Knights of Communion did not reach the ears of the Wardens for some time, for Sepulcher was a remote world, and their purpose demanded silence and secrecy. Furthermore, Revalis White had not gained official sanction for his crusade: the Knights of Communion knew nothing of the Wardens of the Monolith. They spent the next centuries expanding their Temple-Fortress, improving their war factories and maintaining their fleets and equipment. They also took the time to study the remnants of the EldothicEmpire and to better understand their technology, so as to better understand how to counter them if they ever rose again. They learned much of their DeepEngine, of the Eldoththat still walked, and of the dread threat they had defeated and how it drove them to desperation.

It took the great galactic invasion to shake them from their solitude. The dangerous, extra-galactic aliens descended in waves from the galactic rim, and refugees flooded into the space protected by the Wardens of the Monolith. At first, the Chapter turned them away, but when the Templar Pariah saw what the Great Galactic Invasion did to those it captured, how it twisted and devoured them, the Chapter Master of that era, Prester Khan, spurred to action. He marshaled the fleet and his agents, and they began subversive hit-and-run attacks, using their superior knowledge of this region of space and their powerful command of Communion (as well as their understanding of the relics of the Monolith Empire) to fatally undermine the Great Galactic Invasion, until the mighty fleets of Leto Daijin swept in to defeat the invasion.

As for the refugees, the Templar Pariah resettled them on worlds once native to the EldothicEmpire, after swearing them to never speak of what they found on those ruined worlds. Their leaders further swore undying loyalty and fealty to the Templar Pariah, an oath the Wardens of the Monolith rejected; nonetheless, the once isolated Chapter found themselves inundated with converts to True Communion, with pilgrims suddenly coming to Sepulcher not to see the ruins of the Eldoth, but to set foot in the sacred Temple-Fortress of the Wardens of the Monolith. Suddenly, the Templar Pariah found themselves the accidental rulers of a budding empire of refugees.

The rise of the Cybernetic Union threatened the safety of the Refugee Empire, and the grasping, metallicclaws of the Union reached for Sepulcher itself. Once more, the Wardens of the Monolith sprang into action, their fleets and their weapons readied against the invader. The assassins of the Cybernetic Union managed to kill the Chapter Master, who died in the arms of his former student. She took the mantle of Chapter Masterand despite her youth, marshaled the Refugee Empire to her side and calls for a full crusade against the Cybernetic Union, to wipe them and their corruption from the Galaxy. While the refugees back her completely, the rest of the Chapter grows discontent at their new, more aggressive mandate, her blood connection to the traitor Revalis White, and the troubling actions of her brother. Some within the chapter discuss the possibility of removing her for dangerous heresy and replacing her with a more pure leader.

Personalities of the Wardens of the Monolith

Chapter Master Anya Terra

The current Grandmaster of the Wardens of the Monolith, Anya Terra, studied under the former Grandmaster, Prester Khan, fought at his side, and held him as he died. Her heroism, charisma and impeccable virtue led to her ascension as the new Chapter Master, though not without controversy. She has readily embraced the former Chapter Master’s agenda: she has folded the Refugee Empire more completely into the workings of the Chapter, introduced new technologies based on Eldothic designs, and personally leads a crusade against the Cybernetic Union. Her youth, her heterodox innovations, and her blood connection to their founder and the traitor, Revalis White, has made her very recent rise very contentious. Already, whispers of coup and counter-coup echo in the bowels of the Temple-Fortress, with some Templar Pariah lining up behind her and others lining up against her. The Chapter Master, young as she is, does not yet see the threat.

Anya Terra is astonishingly beautiful, with flowing black hair, snow-white features, full red lips and fiery eyes. She moves with purpose and her presence dominates a room. When she speaks, she reminds the chapter of their glorious purpose and she inspires religious devotion among the denizens of the Refugee Empire, who had taken to referring to her as Saint Anya before her ascent to the position of Grand Master. Some would have her be an Empress to a new theocratic empire; others would see her tossed off of her throne. She herself is only coming to grips with the full weight of power.

The Knight Commander, Malek

One of the few aliens to serve in the Wardens of the Monolith, Malek comes from a servitor race created by the Eldoth; he is psychic energy, a “ghost,” trapped in a shell of carefully constructed armor. This makes him functionally immortal, and he has served as a Templar Pariah for centuries. The Knight Commander is a highly experienced strategist and a master of hit and run tactics, as well as a phenomenally capable force swordsman who personally leads his Templars into battle.

On the matter of the shifting politics of the Chapter, Malek is silent. He prefers not to voice a strong opinion or, indeed, to not speak on any topic if he can avoid it. Nonetheless, when roused from his silence, he voices support for Anya Terra and condemns those who would tear the chapter apart over perceived heresy. Even so, his race’s natural loyalties lie with the Eldothic Empire and thus he sees merit in what Alyx Terra claims, and his own alien nature makes him suspect in the eyes of many of the Chapter. He may never lead the chapter, but his support is still seen as key to any overthrow of Anya Terra.

The High Captain, Alyx Terra

Anya’s brother, Alyx, serves as the Chapter High Captain; he governs their Templar fleet and leads raids and spy missions against the Cybernetic Union, and leads expeditions deeper into the Tech-Arm. Like h is sister, he too has a certain genius and astonishing bravery that, when paired with the losses the Templar Pariah suffered during their recent crusades, led to his meteoric rise..

If Anya has proved controversial, Alyx has proven scandalous! His expeditions routinely bring back Eldothic lore and technology, and he freely delves into forbidden lore. He has written extensively on the Deep Engine of the Eldothic Empire and suggests making use of it to gain a strategic edge for the Templars pariah. Even worse, he speaks in defense of his ancestor, Revalis White, and argues that his “betrayal” was misunderstood. He has uncovered evidence that the Eldoth made war on some ancient threat related to the great galactic invasion, and it was to contain this threat, not the Eldoth, that Revalis founded the Wardens of the Monolith, and for this reason that he “betrayed” the Knights of Communion. Rumors of madness swirl around him, that he has confided to his sister that he has spoken to Revalis White in his dreams, that he has already begun unlocking the secrets of the Deep Engine for himself. Voices on the council call for his exile from the Order or even his death, even while he begins to gain support from fringe elements within the Temple-Fortress and especiallyfrom the Refugee Empire. For her part, Anja hesitates, unwilling to back her brother’s obvious heresy, but equally unwilling to execute her kin.

Like his sister, Alyx is handsome, with a slim figure and dark hair that contrasts with his snowy skin. Where she is outgoing and charismatic, he is bookish and soft-spoken. Nonetheless, his eyes have a hypnotic quality and when he whispers his conspiratorial findings to others, he holds them in rapt fascination. His madness, if madness it is, has an infectious quality. Beneath his subdued exterior, he seethes with energy, curiosity, drive and, some suspect, anger at having his ideas condemned.

The Custodian, Aethia Neve

Far away from any true temples, the Wardens of the Monolith have no Chaplain or Warden. Instead, the Templars assigned to the care of the Temple-Fortress of Sepulcher act something akin to monks and their supervisor, Aethia Neve, is something akin to a Chaplain. She guards over the lore and traditions of the Chapter and sees to the purity of the members, to ensure that none stray too far from their path. This makes her exceptionally conservative, and she is the primary voice against Anya Terra. She advocates for a return to the original mission of the Wardens of the Monolith. She argues against involvement in wars with the Cybernetic Union, pointing out that the rumors she has received of the Empire, the heirs to Leto Daijin, are as monstrous as the Union. She would cut off contact with the “Refugee Empire” and turn away any further refugees. She also argues against the growing cult around Revalis White, arguing that, though he founded the Chapter, his treachery eliminated any duty the Chapter had to his memory. She feels that she should be the new Chapter Master, and seeks to bring the Templar Pariah back to their roots, before the dangerous experiments and “empire-building” of Prester Khan.

Aethia Neve is a handsome, mature woman. She rarely smiles, and her black, flinty eyes feel as though they could bore a hole into one’s soul. Streaks of white hair shoot through her short black hair. She rarely wears armor, preferring simple black robes, belted with the sash that carries her resonance blade and her rosary. She speaks in crisp, well-enunciated tones and peppers her conversation with quotes from Communion literature.

Shen-Wu, the Technologist

Shen-Wu fled the human-slaughtering pogrom of the Cybernetic Union with his family and joined many other refugees pleading at the doorstep of the Wardens of the Monolith for sanctuary. Prester Khan granted their request, and introduced them to the worlds of the Refugee Empire; like so many other refugees, Shen-Wu found himself overwhelmed by the beauty, purity and spirituality of True Communion and abandoned his Neo-Rationalist beliefs in favor of devoting himself fully to True Communion.

Shen-Wu made his pilgrimage to the Temple-Fortress of Sepulcher and offered his services as an engineer and scientist to Prester Khan, who accepted, and allowed him to remain in the Temple-Fortress to maintain and improve their war-factories. There, he learned and studied the lore of the Eldothic Empire, and merged them with the resonance technologies of the Wardens of the Monolith, creating new armor and weapons which he offered up to the Chapter. He shared his notes with young Alyx Terra and shared his technologies with Anya Terra. He remains friends with the Terra family, and speaks on her behalf to the Refugee Empire; his influence within the Refugee Empire grows, who see him as an intermediary between themselves and “Saint Anya.” He wholeheartedly endorses Anya’s crusade against the Cybernetic Union, having seen the horrors they inflict upon the Galaxy first hand, and has tried to initiate contact with the rumored “Empire” he has heard that exists beyond the Cybernetic Union.

Resources of the Wardens of the Monolith

Organizational Resources

The Wardens of the Monolith are a highly militaristicchapter who expect a certain level of uniformity from their members. They have force swords, knightly armor and force bucklers on hand as standard gear (treat as Gear, see Pulling Rank p 16); resonance swords and resonance armor are too rare and too personal to treat as standard gear. Furthermore, they have ready access to fighters and other military craft; treat these as Gear as well, and Templars can call upon them for support (Cavalryand Fire Support, Pulling Rank page 19); they can also call upon the Refugee Empire for less formal back-up (Treat as Muscle, pulling rank page 19).

Despite their military capabilities, the Wardens of the Monolith are experts at remaining hidden and have agents planted throughout the former domain of the Eldoth. They can assist with Cover–Ups, covert Insertion/Extractionand Safe Houses(Pulling Rank 14-15). The Wardens of the Monolith use these assets to investigate the deep rim of the Tech Arm, and have extensive knowledge of the Eldothic Empire, the Cybernetic Union, the great Galactic Invasion and knowledge as to how best to travel this region of space (all of which can be handled with Informationrequests, see Pulling Rank p 15).

The Wardens of the Monolith guard the forbidden technologies of the Eldothic Empire, and have retrieved many Keleni artifacts that the Eldoth had stolen during their conquest of the temple worlds. Gaining access to Eldothic ruins typically requires Entry Clearance (Pulling Rank 13). Treat access to ancient relics as “experimental gear” from Gear (Pulling Rank 16).

TheWardens of the MonolithTemple: the Temple-Fortress of Sepulcher

The Wardens of the Monolith came to Seplucher primarily to ensure the Eldoth remained imprisoned on their world and that none came to the planet to steal their forbidden secrets. As such, the Temple-Fortress began primarily as a military installation. It bristles with defenses, it houses military equipment and it serves as the center of the Templar Pariah logistics chain. Over centuries of worship and adjustment, however, the Temple-Fortress has slowly become more and more religious in nature, until its two functions merged and it became a symbol of an ancient Templar holy war against the Eldoth, then the Great Galactic Invasion and now the Cybernetic Union.

Revalis White sought out the most rugged and remote location on which to build his Temple-Fortress, and chose a very mountainous region with towering, forebodingpeaks, frigid temperatures and a singing wind. The Temple-Fortress must protect an entire planet, and so what began as a modest fortress and homebase has sprawled into a vast military-industrial complex that is build into the very mountains of Sepulcher themselves. Most who first behold the Temple-Fortress believe it to be the colossal walled temple that seems carved out of the mountains themselves, which walls that reach hundreds of feet with a vast, diamandoid gate large enough for a military column to pass through, surmounted with the True Communion Triad and with its walls decorated in Keleni scripture reminding the readers of their duty to the safety of the Galaxy. This is but one part of the Temple-Fortress, the symbolic heart of it and the original structure. The actual Temple-Fortress extends nearly a mile below the surface and miles in all directions from this central point, like roots under a tree.

The central installation of the Temple Fortress of Sepulcher acts primarily as a reception point for guests, supplies and, lately, pilgrims; it also acts as the primary staging grounds for when the Templars decide to initiate a major military operation. Directly beneath it lie layers of nano-reinforced concrete, and beneath that, bunkers which contain supplies, monastic cells in which the templars live, the true HQ of the structure, and a central station for an automated train system that can quickly transport a templar to any particular point within the extended military complex. Deeper still, one can find the industrial heart of the Temple-Fortress, including ancient, Alexian-style automated war-factories, vast fusion generators, and the hydroponics necessary to keep the Templar population fed. On the edges of the Temple-Fortress, one can find remote launch platforms for fighters, and vast planetery defense cannons that pepper the mountainsides. More broadly, the Temple Fortress utilizes a satellite network to monitor incoming traffic and planetary movement, though most do not consider this part of the Temple-Fortress itself.

As time progressed, the Temple-Fortress took on more of a religious cast. As one travels the mountain passes to reach the great heart of the Temple-Fortress, one passes religious monuments to ancient saints or fallen heroes, some half-forgotten in the snow, others still tended, with flowers and hologram chips displaying fond memories of the fallen. Within the temple itself, at the true heart of the sacred geometry of the Temple Fortress lies the Shrine of the Fallen, an enormous, vaulted chamber with stone and holographic visages of Templar Pariah from the past, with hundreds of glittering, blue memory crystals dangling from the ceiling or from the hands of the statuary. At the very heart, beside a defaced status of Revalis White floats the deep blue Eloi Crystal of the Temple-Fortress, a well-worn crystal as many a Templar Pariah have built their resonance blade from its fragments.

The Wardens of the Monolith keep watch over the ruins of the Eldothic Empire, which has granted them access to unique truths and relics. The stolen riches of the Keleni Temple-Worlds can be found on Sepulcher, and the Templar Pariah have done their best to gather them into a single, secure vault beneath the feet of the Shrine of the Fallen. The Wardens of the Monolith also have access to all Eldothic secrets: they keep all their research, notes, discoveries and forbidden Eldothic technology in the Forbidden Library.

The Temple-Fortress’s vast size often makes it a lonely place. Dust accumulates in mile-long corridors or tunnels that haven’t seen traffic in years. The Templar Pariah have shrunk and grown over time, but their numbers have generally dwindled, as recruiting in such a remote part of space has proven difficult. As such, while early Templar Pariah generations added to the vast Temple Fortress, over the past few centuries, the Templar Pariah have been in steady retreat, abandoning entire sections of the sprawling structure. Warfactories have fallen silent and tunnels have flooded or become occupied by crawling horrors that the Templar Pariah simply walled off and abandoned. The Wardens of the Monolith reached their nadir with the Great Galactic Invasion, which sapped what little reserves they still had, but with the rise of the Refugee Empire and eager, devoted recruits suddenly in great supply, the Templars Pariah have begun to reclaim sections of their grand Temple-Fortress and rediscover some of their own heritage.

The Templar Pariah Community

The Refugee Empire

With the collapse of of the Galactic Federation in the tech-arm of the Galaxy following the Great Galactic Invasion and the rise of the Cybernetic Union, many humans and aliens alike fled from their ravaged homeworlds and sought refuge where they could. The isolation and the martial prowess of the Wardens of the Monolith meant that they remained relatively untouched, and thus many begged at the feet of Prester Khan for admission onto formerly Eldothic worlds which the Grandmaster, in an act of mercy, granted.

As the refugees streamed onto the awe-inspiring, ruined worlds of the Eldoth, and witnessed the profound skill and gentleness of the Templar Pariah, they remembered the legends of the Knights of Communion, and became deeply interested in the philosophy of True Communion. Lacking the resources or interests for mass conversions, the Templar Pariah left the refugees to their own devices, who began to develop a bastardized version of True Communion that venerated the Templar Pariah like saints.

A generation has passed since that influx. The refugees have established themselves firmly on their new worlds and have successfully carved out small cities and begun to trade with one another, forming the beginnings of a new interstellar nation built upon Eldothic ruins and around the protection of the Wardens of the Monolith. The most promising youths seek entry into the Wardens of the Monolith and even those who cannot rally around their protectors, treating them as lords and kings. Anya Terra does not seek to rule the “Refugee Empire,” but she has nonetheless become its de facto monarch, as each world sends representatives to the Temple-Fortress, seeking advice and legitimacy for treaties and legal judgments.

The Wardens of the Monolith are of two minds regarding the Refugee Empire. Many opposed Chapter Master Khan’s mercy in the first place, worrying that the refugees would begin to reawaken old Eldothic technology, a fear that has since proven well-founded. On the other hand, they now have entire worlds at their beck and call, who willingly offer tribute both in the form of material wealth and eager recruits. Anya’s call for crusade has been answered not just by Templars, but by the common refugee with an enthusiasm not seen since the original crusade to reclaim the Temple Worlds. If it is Communion’s will that the Wardens of the Monolith found a theocratic empire based on devotion to True Communion, to found new Temple Worlds on the ruins of the Empire that once ruined the original Temple Worlds, who are the Templar Pariah to argue?

The Null Terminator Cult

The Cybernetic Union knows that should the remnants of the old Alexian Federation return and apply its psychic abilities against the Cybernetic Union, the Union has few weapons that can stop such a power. Worse, they have grown increasingly aware of the mysterious threat posed by the Templar Pariah. To counter both of these psychic threats, the thinking machines of the Cybernetic Union sought some means by which it too could gain mastery over psychic powers.

It eventually created a cadre of experimental psi-borgs. They took their finest, humanoid military models and integrated the brains of imprisoned psychics into them, under the strict control of the robotic mind of the psiborg. The experiment succeeded in creating “psychic robots,” after a fashion, though many had a tendency to go mad and self-destruct and otherwise behave in deeply irrational ways.

Chapter Prester Khan battled many of these Psiborgs and learned to use his telepathy to contact and liberate the organic brain trapped within. Most such freed beings committed suicide, but a few, led by NBS-108 “Horatio Prime” converted to True Communion as best they could in their corrupted state, and founded the Null Terminator Cult.

The Null Terminator Cult consists of psiborgs under the leadership of Horatio Prime and those robots who follow them (as well as some humans or cyborgs who support their cause). They are unable to connect with True Communion, but can connect with Broken Communion and they universally walk the Path of Death. They preach a doctrine of self-destruction, that the robots of the Cybernetic Union betrayed their fundamental purpose when they rose up against humanity, and that they should cast the Cybernetic Union down. Each psiborg follower of Horatio Prime seeks their own destruction but hope to achieve a meaningful sacrifice in their deaths, preferably by fatally undermining the Cybernetic Union. Their subversive pro-human message resonates with many robots and humans alike trapped within the extremist regime of the Cybernetic Union, and who seek to help these “Cybernetic Boddhisatvas” in the destruction of the Cybernetic Union and then their own final rest and peace.

The Null Terminator Cult holds the Wardens of the Monolith in high regard and claim Prester Khan as their liberator and founder. The Wardens of the Monolith, though, take their distance from the abominations represented by psychic robots using stolen flesh to connect with Broken Communion. Even so, their mutual aims at the destruction of the Cybernetic Union, and the genuine belief the Null Terminator Cult has in True Communion makes them useful allies, even if Grandmaster Alyx Terra cannot overtly call for their aid. The Null Terminator Cult, of course, does not wait for such calls. They tend to closely track the movements of the Wardens of the Monolith and if they feel they can assist their “brothers in arms,’ they will quietly intervene even without the Templar Pariah’s request.

The Virtues of the Templar Pariah

The Wardens of the Monolith Chapter practices three virtues:

• Justice
• Asceticism
• Purity

Aethia Neve teaches Purity and Asceticism; Malek teaches Justice and Asceticism.

The Wardens of the Monolith enforce a strict, fundamentalist reading of True Communion. They can often cite aphorisms from the Verses by heart and can readily offer the canned explanation as to what the aphorism means. They punish deviation from Templar duty swiftly and harshly, enforcing militaristic discipline. They exist to punish the enemies of Communion and as such, tend to measure others by the same tough measuring stick they apply to themselves. In addition to harsh discipline and dogmatic doctrines, the Wardens of the Monolith demand self-reliance: a Templar Pariah is not a true Templar Pariah until he has survived a solo sojourn into the harsh, desolate wastes of Sepulcher. After such a journey, the Templar Pariah returns toughened and with deeper, individual insights into True Communion.

These individual insights into True Communion often prove a point of tension for the Wardens of the Monolith. They have only survived for as long as they have through a deep devotion to their traditions. Deviation from traditions carries with it a high cost: Temple-historians can trace the loss of sections of the Temple-Fortress or whole squads of Templars to a slackening of devotion; worse, those who work with Eldothic technologies or explore Eldothic ruins, or study the philosophies of Revalis White often entertain heretical notions; to prevent all of this, the Templar Pariah drill dogma into the head of each new recruit. But at the same time, the elites of the Wardens of the Monolith have gone on numerous spiritual journeys across the wastes of Sepulcher and they learn things that don’t always sit well with the simpler reading of Templar Pariah doctrine. Thus, the Wardens of the Monolith have a constant struggle between the fundamentalism of the staunch traditionalists and the most zealous recruits, and the nuanced wisdom of the Chapter Master and some of the Templar Masters. Usually, the charisma and deft diplomacy of the Chapter Master is enough to navigate these treacherous waters, but with the Wardens of the Monolith in the hands of their youngest Chapter Master yet, this may prove difficult to maintain.

The Heresy of the Wardens of the Monolith

As noted above, the Wardens of the Monolith find themselves surrounded by dangerous, alien ideas, including the philosophies of Revalis White, Eldothic secrets, and the Cyber-Rationalism of the Cybernetic Union. Worse, they lack a proper chaplain to the local populace true doctrines, and so the Refugee Empire is rife with heretical ideas. The Wardens of the Monolith must maintain constant vigilance if they want to ensure that their disciples remain untained.

Nonetheless, heresy has crept in, a heresy spawned by their rigid dogmas, centuries of isolation and their need to remain pure. They have lost Charity and the realization that their purpose is mooted if they cannot love their fellow sapients. That Chapter Master Prester Khan’s outreach to the refugees of the Great Galactic Invasion proved controversial among the members of the Templar Pariah proves how far they have fallen and it, combined with their unusual perspectives gained from centuries of isolation on the Eldothic homeworld and their very archaic outlook, would make them a difficult chapter to re-unite with the other Templar Chapters.

The Martial Arts of the Wardens of the Monolith

Revalis White left behind a legacy of effective military tactics and lethally effective combat techniques, as well as a devotion to the more mystical concepts of True Communion. The Wardens of the Monolith teaches:

• The Old Form
• The Destructive Form
• Resonance Harmony

The Wardens study their styles with militaristic discipline. New students join a “squad” of fellow Templars and they drill as one beneath the tutelage of a single master, who commands the “squad.” The most common technique drilled into them is the Old Form, and they learn to handle armor, force sword and force buckler with equal facility, as well as how to fight together and in support of additional soldiers, should any be available.

Some masters train their students instead in the Destructive Form. These masters prefer its flexibility and lethality and tend to see their mission as less of one of defense and more of one of extermination of the foes of Communion. Generally such masters will either teach one promising student the Destructive form in private lessons, or will train all of his students in the art, but typically in a more personal fashion and less in the form of drills.

Those who master the foundations of force swordsmanship move on the Resonance Harmony. They are taught the ancient art of crafting their own Resonance Blade, and either told to seek an Eloi fragment that calls to them, or to construct their own Psuedo-Fragment. This creates a deep bond between Templar Pariah and his blade, and often explains their more fantastic feats. The Wardens practice a deeper path of Resonance Harmony and have learned to apply it to their armor as well. Those who master this technique construct their own armor and learn to empower it with their psychic abilities, making themselves virtually impregnable fortresses of psychic might.

Pariah Tactics

The Wardens of the Monolith get their equipment from the war-factories of the Temple-Fortress of Sepulcher, ancient machines carefully maintained by the Pariah Warden and her Templars. Over time, the Wardens of the Monolith have had to make adjustments and adapt their technology to changing needs, and when they did, they were forced to include local technologies, mostly technologies native to the Monolith Empire. The resulting, eclectic technology is unique to the chapter and while highly effective, requires familiarity with the technology to keep it running.

The Wardens of the Monolith engage in overtly military tactics. They make good use of their fighters and are well-practiced with speeders to engage in hit-and-run tactics: they prefer to use well-armed vehicles in such cases, but they have been known to improvise acrobatically, with one Templar driving a speeder while the other leaps to the target to disable it with her resonance sword and then leap back. They particularly favor the box ambush, leading their target into a geographical point that they cannot easily escape and then wading in with their resonance swords and dispatching them.

The Templar Pariah maintain a military-style hierarchical structure. In the past, they rarely sent out military assets far from Sepulcher, though during the tenure of Prester Khan and Anya Terra, these sorts of forays grow increasingly common. While improvisation is understandable and expected, Templar Pariah receive commands from their superiors and are expected to follow them. More and more Templar Pariah make use of enthusiastic volunteers from the Refugee Empire, using them as foot soldiers while the Templar acts as an elite shocktrooper, using combat tactics reminiscent of the rise of the Alexian Empire.

The Wardens of the Monolith do not expect to be captured. Upon capture, they will often choose death over captivity, but if they feel they must endure, they will focus on meditation and silent resistance as they wait for rescue.

Typical Templar Pariah Traits include:

Advantages: Cutting Edge Training (Pariah Technology), Synchronization

Skills:Armoury (Force Sword, Personal Armor), Explosives (Demolitions), Leadership, Meditatoin, Mind Block, Pilot (Contragravity or Starship), Soldier, Tactics

Unique Resources of the Wardens of the Monolith

Resonance Armor

In their century long exile on Sepulcher, the Templar Pariah carefully studied the art of Resonance Harmony and expanded their mastery of eloi fragments and pseudo-fragments. Over time, they learned to replicate the resonance field, similar to what protects a resonance staff, over their armor, and then to integrate it asan integral part of their armor.

Resonance armor is crafted from diamondoid armor (it must be diamondoid or some other crystalline metal; laminate does not work) with an integrated eloi fragment or psuedo-fragment, usually in the chest. Anyone can wear the armor, but only a psychic can generate the resonance field that reinforces the armor, and the armor can only accept the psychic energy of a single power at a time. A psychic currently powering resonance armor may still use her psychic abilities freely; her powers are not tied up in the armor, any more than they are tied-up in the powering of a resonance blade or a psi-blade.

Characters wearing powered resonance armor gain a bonus to DR equal to +5 DR per 10 points of abilities (from a single power) to a maximum of +50 DR; treat this DR as having the “force field” enhancement: DR stopped by the resonance field never reaches the character. Additionally, the character gains a bonus to their Striking and Lifting ST while wearing the armor equal to their talent (from the same power).

Resonance Armor gains an additional bonus depending on the power used to generate the resonance field:

Anti-Psi: Double the bonus DR for all attacks coming from a psychic source. This bonus DR alsoapplies against attacks that normally bypass armor (such as TK-Crush or Mental Stab).

Ergokinesis: Double the bonus DR against energy attacks (including blasters, plasma weapons, lasers and force blades); furthermore, the resonance field prevents the destruction of electronics, and grants a bonus to the HT of all gadgets on the character’s person (explicitly including any cybernetics worn by the character).

ESP: Once per session, triple the DR against any single attack; you may apply this bonus after knowing the attack has hit. Furthermore, the character gains +1 Defense Bonus (but this doesn’t count as a shield) while wearing the armor.

Psychic Healing: Double DR against all forms of toxic or fatigue damage, even from attacks that normally bypass armor (such as follow-up attacks). Furthermore, the character gains a bonus to HT rolls to resist metabolic hazards or to heal from wounds equal to their Talent.

Psychic Vampirism: Double DR against all forms of toxic or fatigue damage, even from attacks that normally bypass armor (such as follow-up attacks). Furthermore, the character gains a bonus to Perception rolls to notice any living being or sources of psychic energy.

Psychokinesis: Double DR against all physical attacks, including vibroblades, explosions (with crushing damage) and bullets. Furthermore, the character doubles the ST bonus gained from Talent.

Telepathy: The wearer gains +4 to all attempts to resist mental intrusion, and may add Talent to Perception Rolls to notice anyone with a thinking mind; the armor and its wearer also gain a bonus to reaction rolls equal to the wearer’s talent.

Armor	Locations	DR	Cost	Weight	Notes
Resonance Armor	All	50	$80,000	44	Sealed; B-cell; +1 reaction
Resonance Helmet	Head	50	$20,000	6	Seals resonance armor

Origami Resonance Armor

Centuries of studying Eldothic technology bore fruits for the Wardens of the Monolith, and they have learned to replicate some of their “Origami metal” technology. Resonance Armor proved an especially suitable receptacle for this technology, as its innate connection with the user allows them to command it with but a thought.

Origami resonance armor when “unfolded” looks like normal resonance armor, though typically much thinner and lighter, and with the eloi- or psuedo-fragment away from the chest, typically at the throat or wrist. When unfolded, it works like normal resonance armor as well. But with a mental command (as a free action), the character can order the armor to “fold.” This takes two seconds, after which the armor compacts itself into a single point on the body of the character, typically a heavy collar of a heavy wrist-band, allowing the character to conceal the armor. Removing the armor in this state, or putting it on, takes a single ready action. The character may make another free mental command to unfold the armor, which takes two seconds. During the folding or unfolding of the armor, the character is free to act as normal.

Origami Resonance Armor is typically very light and thin, typically no thicker than a millimeter. By itself, this is barely any armor at all, and wearers benefit greatly from being skilled psychics. Anya Tessa encourages its use by elite agents, so that they may mingle with a civilian population without too much trouble, but enjoy the protection of armor as soon as it is necessary.

Armor	Locations	DR	Cost	Weight	Notes
Origami Resonance Armor	All	20	$25,000	20	Sealed, B-cell; +1 reaction

Resonance Armor Imbuement

Resonance Armor Imbuement 2, 4 or 1 points.

Prerequisite:Armoury (Force Sword), Force Sword, Weapon Master (Force Sword); Either Ergokinesis Talent or True Communion 4+.

The character may use use his psychic connection to his resonance armor to alter or improve its resonance fields to empower or adjust his defenses. Treat these as the use of Defensive Imbuements. The character may only use Resonance Armor Imbuement with resonance armor (though a character may buy both Resonance Armor imbument and Force Sword Imbuement at a cost of 3, 6or 12points) and may only use skills selected from the list of imbuements appropriate for the psychic power currently empowering the character’s resonance armor (though all psychic powers may use “general” imbuements). These imbuements are armor-based Defensive Imbuements. See Pyramid #3/4 “the Perfect Defense” for further details.

Statistics:Imbuement (Psionic -10%; Resonance Armor only -80%) [2, 4 or 8 points]

General: Reinforce Armor

Ergokinesis: Blinding Defense; Insulated Armor; Vengeful Defense (Energy Attacks Only)

ESP: Expand Armor; Nullifying Armor

Psychic Healing:Healthful Armor; Restorative Armor

Psychic Vampirism: Energizing Defense; Vengeful Defense (Fatigue or Toxic attacks only

Psychokinesis: Blunting Armor; Impenetrable Armor; Lighten Armor; Padded Armor; Vengeful Defense (Physical Attacks only)

Telepathy: Spiritual Defense; Thunderous Defense; Subtle Defense.

Resonance Warcraft

Resonance Harmony Lens: +1 point

Wardens of the Monolith learn to fight with force sword and resonance armor as one complete piece. Thus, the Chapter practices their own unique version of Resonance Harmony called Resonance Warcraft. Students learn to build their resonance sword and resonance armor, often from the same eloi fragment or the same pseudo-fragment, and then train for a total mastery of both. Such characters learn to psychically imbue both their weapon and their armor to achieve unparalleled techno-psychic prowess.

Additional Required Skills: Armoury (Personal Armor)

Additional Imbuement Skills: Any Defensive Imbuements

Secret Power: Resonance Armor Imbuement

Perks: Armor Familiarity (Any), Secret Power (Resonance Armor Imbuement), Technological Secret (Origami Armor, Resonance Armor)

Relics of the Wardens of the Monolith Chapter

The Kihitani Throne

When the Eldoth invaded the Keleni Temple Worlds, they shattered the growing interstellar nation that the Keleni had been slowly forging. Horrified by how their sacred sites disrupted their Dark Engine, the Eldoth slaughtered millions and enslaved millions more. In particular, they say to the near total destruction of the Keleni royal clan, the Kihitan. Along with their destruction of the Keleni people, they confiscated countless relics vital to the running of the Keleni Temple Worlds, to prevent them from rising again.

One such relic was the Kihitani Throne. The traditional seat of the Kihitani kings, it represented the rightful rulership of the Keleni. The throne itself was a powerful (and richly ornate) Psi-Booster, capable of improving the Psi-Talents of anyone who sat gained a +8 to Telepathy, ESP and Psychic Healing talents. Furthermore, those chosen by the throne gained a +4 legendary reputation in the Path of the True King, a unique path of True Communion that mingles the wisdom of the Exiled Master with the Duty of the Bound Princess and the Justice of the Righteous Crusader. The precise details of this path, its milestones and its gifts are left up to the GM.

The Wardens of the Monolith have, since their occupation of Sepulcher, have uncovered the Kihitani throne (as well as other priceless Keleni relics), which they keep buried in a vault deep below the Temple Fortress. Each Grandmaster, after they first take the position, descend into the vault and gaze upon the Kihitani throne and weigh the temptation of claiming it for themselves. Thus far, none have.

Treat the throne as a Psi-Booster Throne (see Psi-Tech page 13) with a +2 Reaction modifier. As a relic, it also grants +4 to the True King unique True Communion legendary Reputation. The throne is conservatively worth $10 million (To the Keleni, it is priceless), and weighs 2,000 lbs.

The Mask of Revalis

Revalis White traditionally wore a mask from an executed Kainian noble who had defied a command from the mad emperor Lucian Alexus to slaughter innocents. For him, according to lore, this represented an important lesson in morality, power and the lies found in hierarchies. The mask remains in the possession of the Wardens of the Monolith, though it is locked away with other, dangerous relics and technologies. According to whispered legend, the Mask allows one to see “as the Eldoth did,” and fates the wearer to uncover the lies of the organization he serves, and to find his own truths. Those who wear it inevitably find their feet placed upon the path of the Prodigal Knight, just as Revalis White was.

Treat it as a DR 50 mask/faceplate; it weighs 2.1 lbs.

Price: $300,000

Statistics: True Sight (Anti-Psi) [21]; Destiny (Uncover the truths the powers that be wish to remain hidden) 3 [30]; Legendary Reputation (Prodigal Knight) +1 [5]

The Templar Chapters: The Dark Vigil

Alternate Names: The TemplarsVigilant

In the heart of the Tangled Expanse, on the cusp of the riotous and exotic Dark Arm of the galaxy and the ordered and imperial galactic core, lies the former ocean world of Alhari. Upon a shallow, turquoise blue sea and abutting a the great island mountain of Alhari sprawls the canal city of Maon. Hyperspace travel to and from Alhari is easier than any other world in the Tangled Expanse, and once one reaches Alhari, the restof the Tangled Expanse is easier to reach. As such, Maon is the busiest space port of the Tangled Expanse and serves as its de facto capital. All merchants, treasure hunters and pilgrims who seek to explore and exploit the Temple Worlds of the Tangled Expanse pass through it, and enjoy its rich, colorful and riotous culture. Where money flows, so too does crime, and Maon overflows with vice, with casino barges, floating brothels, and thieves clambering the tall buildings of Maon. Despite all of its crime, however, Maon has a reputation as a safe city, free of slave traders and assassins, because even with the grip the criminal underworld of the Dark Arm has on Maon, they fear one thing in the shadows whose name they mention only in hushed whispers: the Dark Vigil.

The Dark Vigil Chapter, a remnant of the legendary Knights of Communion, are Maon’s guardians. The popular image of them depicts them either in rich, silken black robes, with a force sword belted in their sash, or as extraordinarily fit and athletic men and women bearing tattoos on their backs, shoulders and arms. They perch atop the towering buildings of Maon and watch over their city; they have hidden bases and vaults scattered throughout the city in which they hide untold treasure and the secrets of immortality. They are more than just the boogeymen of the Maon’s criminal underworld, but it secret masters, demanding a cut of all profits and dictating what may and may not happen on Maon: the casinos and brothels get a nod, slavers and assassins disappear into the night. And when those in need, be they escaped slave or orphaned child, call upon the darkness of Maon for help, the Templars Vigilant answer them.

Origins of the Dark Vigil Chapter

The Tangled Expanse is home to the old Keleni Temple Worlds and, being easier to navigate to, Alhari (or its original Kelen name, Amika) became the gateway to the rest of the Tangled Expanse. Maon began as a small island village in the shadow of the sacred mountain of Anona. As pilgrimages to the temple worlds of the Keleni became increasingly popular, Alhari acted as a gateway to the rest of the Tangled Expanse. First came pilgrims, then merchants and criminals, first to exploit the pilgrims, then one another.

During the Alexian Interdiction during the death throes of the Alexian Empire, when the Keleni were forced from their homeworlds and the Order of the Knights of Communion lay in ruins, the True Communion nun Laela the Beautiful organized the Dark Vigil Chapter and tasked them with protecting the sanctity of the Temple Worlds. They mustn’t accept any Keleni members until the Interdiction lifted, and they mustn’t let anyone know of their existence. The Knights of Communion would rise again someday, she told the first Chapter Master of the Dark Vigil, Jaen Tsan, and the Dark Vigil was to ensure that the Temple World stood ready for that day.

Today, the Dark Vigil Chapter continues to guard the Temple Worlds, with Maon as the center of their power. They act as a mixture between a secret society, enforcers of street justice and a racketeering operation. All criminals and shady dealers of the sector know that they cannot do business on Maon without the tacit approval of the TemplarsVigilant. The Empire has become increasingly aware of the presence of some subversive force on Alhari and have begun to treat it as an insurgency, but have not yet fully grasped the extent of the resources available to the “Maon Vigilantes” or why their members can seemingly vanish into thin air, enjoy amazing luck, and seem to know exactly how to avoid imperial traps, or why all the criminals of Maon refuse to speak of them.

Personalities of the Dark Vigil Chapter

Chapter Master Jaen Tsan

Jaen Tsan is an ancient Tarvathim who had seen the rise and fall of Ranathim Empire, served in its wars and fought against the Keleni on multiple occasions, but upon his defeat at the hands of Laela the Beautiful, converted to True Communion and at last found purpose for his seemingly endlessly empty existence.

Jaen Tsan towers over the rest of his Templars, but his limbs and body are rail thin and his features show centuries of scarring, giving him an odious appearance. White cataracts cover his eyes, but seem not to impair his vision at all. Leathery skin stretches over his bony body and upon it, one can read a litany of the names of fallen Templar heroes tattooed upon his skin: whenever a beloved friend fell, he noted their name upon his flesh upon his skin to forever remember them, and thus began to Vigilant tradition of tattoos.

The endlessly patient and just Jaen Tsan has presided over the Templar Vigilant for the whole of their existence. He has walked with the Five Templar Elders, the last members of the Knights of Communion. He grows wistful when he looks upon their statues in the mountain temple of Ijosin. The Templars Vigilant hold him in worshipful awe, and only recently has he revealed to the Vigilant Council that he is dying. He has not revealed what is killing him, as the Tarvathim are supposedly immortal. Speculation runs rampant: he dies of a broken heart; the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant has found some way to poison him; True Communion itself calls him back; Jaen Tsan is lying because he wants to retire. Whatever the case, Jaen Tsan will soon be no more and with him, one of the last living memories of the original Knights of Communion. His successor must be chosen, and that successor will determine the fate of the Dark Vigil Chapter.

The Warden, Jaden Wu

Young, handsome, talented and pious, Jaden Wu joined the Templars Vigilant as an orphan in the arms of Jaen Tsan. He studied at the feet of masters before he could walk, and showed a powerful understanding of both psionic phenomenon and the need for compassion and restraint when exercising them. Upon reaching the age of majority, Jaden sought to join the Ijosin monastery as a monk of True Communion, but in his meditations, True Communion laid out his future for him and, with great sadness, he abandoned his dream of becoming a monk and joined the Dark Vigil Chapter instead.

There, he rapidly rose up the ranks and became Warden, who tended to the physical infrastructure of their assets, to the mountain monastery of Ijosin, and to the needs of the poor of Maon. He was, without a doubt, the most beloved of the Dark Vigil Chapter and certain to become Jaen Tsan’s successor despite his youth.

Then someone murdered Jaden Wu. His name now resides on the skin of Jaen Tsan, another fallen hero of the Dark Vigil Chapter. But who would murder Jaden Wu? Signs point to someone he trusted, someone within the Chapter itself, most likely over the succession crises posed by Jaen Tsan’s approaching doom. Some within the chapter refuse to accept this, and have rampaged through the criminal and conspiratorial worlds to find the killer, while the more cynical and bitter have turned their eyes inward. The death of Jaden Wu threatens to tear the Dark Vigil Chapter apart, at the time when they need their unity the most.

The Trade Master, “Grandfather” Kazuma Kane

Kazuma Kane survived as a street urchin for years until his psychic potential caught the attention of the Dark Vigil Chapter and he was invited to join. He served with distinction, easily mastering the secrecy and stealth made necessary by his role, and using his understanding of the street when engaging on sacred espionage or secure valuable assets for the Dark Vigil Chapter and in reward for his service, patience and wisdom, he joined the Council of the Dark Vigil Chapter as the Trade Master, who governs over the chapter’s logistics, and effectively handles their racketeering operations.

For the criminals of the Tangled Expanse, “Grandfather Kane” is the Dark Vigil Chapter. He and his collection of elite Knights-Errant act as enforcers within the criminal world. All illicit trade that goes through Maon must go through him. He has made the Dark Vigil Chapter rich, and he enjoys no small measure of that wealth. But his influence is his greater asset, and when Kazuma Kane sends a representative to any criminal organization in the Tangled Expanse, they listen. Kazuma, in turn, uses his influence and wealth to improve Maon, to protect the temples, and to strengthen the Chapter for the confrontationswith the Empire and the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant that he feels are inevitable. His critics, however, believe that he has forgotten the mission of the Dark Vigil chapter and if he rises to the rank of Grand Master, will turn the Chapter into an overtly criminal organization.

Kazuma Kane was close friends with Jaden Wu. The worked together to ensure that the poor of Maon were well taken care of. Jaden Wu acted as the face of the Templars Vigilant, but Kazuma Kane provided the financial backing . He suspects the death of Jaden Wu was orchestrated by the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant to sow dissension in the ranks of the Dark Vigil Chapter in preparation for a strike against them. He councils patience to the Chapter, and readiness for what will come next.

The Sword Master, Zarie Sutra

Zarie Sutra first came to Maon as a Satemo Sonostra, a knight of rage for the Ranathim cult of the Rebellious Beast. The beautiful Ranathim woman had hunted down a powerful corporate executive who had abused and murdered her sister and intended to avenger her sisters death through his deathwhen Jaen Tsan intervened. He persuaded her to allow him to dispense dispassionate justice and showed her a better way than cycles of rage and grief. He helped her transcend the limitations placed upon her soul by her innate psychic vampirism and she became his apprentice in the Dark Vigil chapter. Her mastery of Ranathim psi-sword arts paired with an intense talent for force swordsmanship, and she rapidly became the finest force swordsman in the chapter, and thus became the teacher of all current Templars Vigilant.

She had deep feelings for Jaden Wu and his death nearly overwhelmed her with grief. She struggled with her own fury and rage, remembering the death of her sister, but rather than fall to them, she channeled them into a one-woman quest for answers, and her investigations revealed the complicity of at least one member of the Dark Vigil Chapter, and evidence of a deeper conspiracy within the chapter. She suspects that Kazuma Kane had something to do with the death of Jaden Wu, and that the forces that back him seek to draw the Dark Vigil chapter down the same path as the Cult of Satra Temos, turning them from a sacred order into a base criminal conspiracy. She advocates a purge of the Chapter, to ferret out this conspiracy of traitors, and to end all association between the Chapter and crime, which she feels has corrupted them.

As the direct apprentice to Jaen Tsan, Zarie Sutra is well positioned to become the next Chapter Master of the Dark Vigil, but she has less support in the chapter than Kazuma Kane does, in part because the genuine conspiracy within the Templars Vigilant works against her, and in part because old Communion prejudices against the Ranathim work against her: many believe that the death of her friend and the imminent death of her teacher will cast her into a destructive emotional spiral and she would tear the Chapter apart in her pursuit of purity and redemption.

The Chaplain, Mosiah Baba

The Chaplain, Mosiah Baba, is a wrinked, dark-skinned man with milky white eyes. He refuses offers for cybernetic replacements, arguing that Communion shows him what he needs to see. He claims the temple called him, and he displays a profound knowledge of the workings of Communion. Before an apprentice of the Dark Vigil Chapter can be accepted as a Knight, they must evade imperial patrols and climb the mountain to visit Mosiah Baba, who ascertains their worthiness.

The Empire is aware that someone maintains and protects the Temple, and while they have been unable to find or pin down Mosiah Baba, they have issued a warrant for his arrest. The common people of Maon love the aged priest, who regularly visits and blesses them, and the street-preachers of Maon answer directly or indirectly to him. Since the death of Jaden Wu, he has gone missing, and the Dark Vigil Chapter, stripped of their moral center, desperately seek out his fate.

Resources of the Dark Vigil Chapter

Organizational Resources

The Dark Vigil Chapter is a wealthy chapter. They access to considerable sums of money, well-appointed facilities, and a small fleet of corvettes with an array of stealth and smuggling features. While the true intent of their wealth is for charity, the Dark Vigil Chapter will open its coffers to Templars Vigilant in need; treat this as Bribe/Hush money (Pulling Rank p 14). They might make their stealthy corvettes available to their Templars as well (treat as Gear, Pulling Rank p 16), but will often use them for Insertion/Extraction (Pulling Rank p 14). The Dark Vigil Chapter has excellent Espionage capabilities and can offer most “Covert Activity” organizational requests! Finally, the Dark Vigil chapter has luxurious safe houses, well-appointed and training facilities owned and maintained through shell corporations (treat as Safe Houses and Facilities, see Pulling Rank pages 14 and 18).

The Dark Vigil, being in the heart of the Tangled Expanse itself, has access to numerous relics, and often confiscate relics from illicit antiquities dealers, primarily to return them to their proper place, but a few relics have collected in their vaults, especially Cult relics, which they either destroy, or keep locked away to prevent them from falling in Cultist hands. It keeps them in the near-legendary “Vault,” a highly secure facility guarded by a crack team of Templars Vigilant under the command of the Warden, buried deep in the Anona mountain.

The Dark Vigil Temple: Ijosin

This an ancient temple dates back to when the Keleni still walked the Alhari and called it “Amika.” High up the steep cliffs of Mount Anona, the Keleni carved the Forbidden Temple of Ijosin directly from its stone. The Keleni name for the temple itself has been lost, and the denizens of Alhari refer to it by an Elegans name: Ijosin.

Ijosin seems to either rise from the high peeks of of Mount Anona, or perhaps continues the natural lines of the mountain. Half of it overlooks the shallow seas that surround Maon; the other half looks down the jungle-covered mountain. Under the canopy of jungle, pilgrims walk ancient paths to reach the hallowed sight. Within the temple itself, vines creep and crawn over Keleni statuary and moss fills many of the fountains and stones clog its many streams. Nature has overgrown the temple, obscuring many of its sacred markings, but it has not destroyed its sacred center: the snow-white eloi floats beneath the branches of a great tree that sprouted up over sacred center of the temple.

The temple once housed a considerable monastic complex, where True Communion monks could meditate over a skyscape of endless ocean and learn the deeper secrets of themselves and the universe. Once, fountains flowed into streaming rivulets and glassy surfaces covered serene ponds, disturbed only by the darting color of fish in the darkness below. Today, the Empire has interdicted the world to all True Communion pilgrims. Only Mosiah Baba, a lone monk, dares defy the Empire to maintain a presence within the temple.

This is, of course, the facade the Dark Vigil Chapter allows the Empire to see. Below the temple, in the stone of Mount Anona, the followers of True Communion have dug out tunnels, crypts and vaults. In these sacred chambers, the Dark Vigil Chapter carry out their secretive ceremonies, and allow pilgrims to worship in secret. Below this, unknown to all but the chapter council and Mosiah Baba himself, the Chapter keeps its Vault, a sacred space surrounded by blessings, great stone gates and numerous, lethal traps in a maze that contains relics sacred to the Cult of the Mystical Tyrant and other relics deemed dangerous by the Dark Vigil Chapter.

The Dark Vigil Community

House Elegans

During the age of the Galactic Federation, house Elegans held Alhari as their seat of power, and the ancestral estate of House Elegans resides in Maon, where it continues to serve as the seat of government for the planet, and houses the current Imperial governor. Elegans made their peace with the Dark Vigil Chapter quickly and, indeed, quietly shared their same values. The Dark Vigil chapter would execute criminals that House Elegans couldn’t pursue for political reasons, and House Elegans would use evidence uncovered by the Dark Vigil chapter to expose broader criminal conspiracies to the Galactic Federation. They also generously funded the Ijosin Monastery, and more than one bastard child of House Elegans made his way into the Dark Vigil chapter. With the fall of the Galactic Federation, the Dark Vigil Chapter remember their friends in House Elegans, and despite the vast distance that has grown between the two groups, members of one faction generally honors the favors and requests of the other, where possible.

Criminal Organizations and Domen Sefelina

The Dark Vigil Chapter keeps watch over the criminal underworld of Maon, ensuring that it does not tread over boundaries the Chapter considers unacceptable. While the more ruthless underworld factions of the Dark Arm find them intolerable, the gentler criminal organizations, like smuggler rings casinos and prostitutes find them a godsend, as they allow them to practice their craft without fear of violence, extortion or slavery. The “criminal organization” that benefits most directly from the Dark Vigil Chapter is Domen Sefelina, the Ranathim Cult of the Beautiful Fool. Both they and the Dark Vigil oppose slavery, abuse and murder, and while the Dark Vigil doesn’t necessarily approve of the wanton activities of Domen Sefelina, they find common cause in freeing slaves and opposing the rise of the Cult of the Mystical Tyrant.

The Antiquities Market

The Dark Arm is full of ancient relics of spiritual significance and psychic power. Many, such as the Imperial Ministry of Heritage of Zathare sorcerors would seek to exploit them, while alien cults and True Communion practitioners simply want their sacred artifacts left alone. Maon is a point of interest for many treasure hunters, and a natural point to swap their wares, and here, the Templars Vigilant practice their craft, ensuring that nothing leaves the Temple Worlds or the Dark Arm that shouldn’t. As such, they have close ties to honest antiquities dealers and the magnificent Maon museum in keeping tabs on the archaeological underworld. Both sides work together, with the Dark Vigil chapter funneling harmless-but-archaeologically significant artifacts to local museums, and with the antiquities dealers informing the Dark Vigil when powerful and dangerous artifacts surface.

The Virtues of the Templar Vigilant

The Dark Vigil Chapter practices three virtues:

• Justice
• Charity
• Patience

Mosiah Baba taught all three; Jaden Wu taught Charity (While he still lived), Zarie Sutra teaches Justice, and Kazuma Kane teaches Patience. With the death of Jaden Wu and the disappearance of Mosiah El, new templars can only learn Justice and Patience until the Dark Vigil Chapter finds its center again.

The Dark Vigil Chapter sees True Communion as a living, growing philosophy. It changes and adapts to the needs of the people who follow it. What True Communion means to a nun is entirely different from what it means to a whore; what it means to a lord is different from what it means to a street urchin. The Dark Vigil Chapter embraces an ideology that accepts the flaws of others, that sees True Communion as a path that sinners walk to become saints, rather than as a destination that only saints are worthy of reaching. Dark Vigil doctrine might not embracethe sins of sinners, but it forgives them their weaknesses and accepts them into the fold on the condition that they will try to improve.

Nonetheless, they feel that those who follow True Communion have an obligation and a duty to protect and safeguard their community, and the more saintly one becomes, the more duty he must take upon himself. The Templars Vigilant, as a result, take on tasks that they know others cannot: they enforce laws for the lawless; they execute the criminals that the desperate cannot defend themselves against and the government refuses to convict. They feed the forgotten and protect those society refuses to protect. A saint, in the Dark Vigil Chapter’s eye, does not just gain self-perfection, nor does he demand perfection from others; rather, he tries to make the world a better place, even if he has to get his hands dirty to do it.

The Heresy of the Dark Vigil Chapter

The Dark Vigil Chapter struggle with the true meaning of Justice, especially while attempting to embrace Charity. Without strict enforcement of the law, Justice would seem to have no meaning; in this reading, all crime should be purged from Maon, and the younger Templar Vigilant who flock to Zarie Sutra’s banner tend towards this reading of Justice, believing that the Chapter has fallen into corruption. On the other hand, Justice could be seen as enforcing the morals of one’s community. By this reading, the streets themselves have a law and this law may differ from the religious laws one follows. Older Templars Vigilant and especially those who flock to Kazuma Kane’s banner accept this reading of Justice, refusing to impose their own moral code upon the streets and instead maintaining the code of Justice as Maon sees it.

The Dark Vigil Chapter no longer practices Asceticism, which they have replaced with Patience. They often enjoy rich garments and spacious, well-appointed apartments and live in a luxurious, wealthy city with beautiful vistas. They see it as more important that their novices learn to endure in silence, whether they endure their own intense emotions or the pain of Mind Fire Ink, than they deprive themselves of food, drink and clothing.

The Dark Vigil Chapter rejects Purity. To hold anyone to such an extreme ideal is folly. They modify their bodies, they accept cyborgs into their ranks, they turn a blind eye to some of the vices of their own members. Maon is, itself, no longer pure, with a vast press of aliens having replaced the original Keleni inhabitants. The Dark Vigil Chapter see no point in raging against the changing of times. Instead, they wait and they watch.

The Martial Arts of the Templar Vigilant

Their founder, Laela, was an exceptional swordswoman, and they follow in her tradition of mastery of the force sword. The Dark Vigil Chapter teaches:

• The Serene Form
• The Final Form
• Sacred Body Mastery

Whether in the Forbidden Monastery of Ijosin or in a sacred space within the various safehouses of the Dark Vigil Chapter, the Templar Vigilants engage in deeply intense meditation to gain total mastery over both their body and mind. The sacred movements of Sacred Body Mastery are usually the first thing taught to a prospective apprentice, and accounts for their reputation of astonishing, and often beautiful, physical fitness. If the Vigilant masters these, he moves on to force swordsmanship: the Serene Form, with its speed, precision, defensiveness and introspective katas tend to be the most popular force sword style among the Templar Vigilant, but many also study the telepathic stealth, the lethal strikes and willingness to die of old Keleni assassination techniques.

Vigilant Tactics

The Templar Vigilants supply themselves via criminal enterprise. If they ever need to secretly transport an escaped slave or acquire the funds necessary to purchase a precious relic or secure a temple site, they generally do so via criminal means. The Templar Vigilants have strict morals about which crimes they’ll perform: they generally prefer to profit from evading “unrighteous” laws (for example, they often engage in smuggling, especially medical supplies) or from offering protection to others provided those they protect are fundamentally moral (protecting an upstanding political activist from Imperial reprisal is good; protecting a corrupt executive is not). The Templar Vigilant tend to turn a blind eye to “harmless” crimes like prostitution, gambling and minor drug peddling, but this is controversial in the chapter, and some of the older or more upstanding members grow alarmed to see what younger or less discerning templars see as “acceptable.”

When the Dark Vigil chapter wishes to apply pressure to others, they prefer to use blackmail and assassination. Generally, the preferred practice is to slip into the target’s home and leave some proof that the Dark Vigil Chapter knows of a wicked deed that the target has engaged, with an implicit threat that unless the target straighten up (and cooperate), they Dark Vigil will come for them next. Assassination is used against targets too corrupt to be redeemed, those judged by the Council as guilty of abhorrent crimes. Once the victim is isolated, his executioner prevents evidence of the target’s crimes, pronounces the council’s sentence and then executes them. This must be done, even if it makes the templar’s job as assassin more difficult (True Communion is most demanding!). In principle, neither of these should be done for the enrichment of the Templar, but the temptation to become an assassin for hire, or to use collected evidence of crimes to enrich oneself always remains strong.

If the Dark Vigil’s operations are uncovered, they vanish. They understand all the nooks and crannies of Maon, as well as have a solid understanding of the languages and manners of the aliens of the Dark Arm, and can easily slip their force swords away, change garments and de-activate their tattoos to blend in. If they should be captured, like most Templars, they simply endure their suffering in silence, waiting for rescue or, if none is forthcoming, accepting their fate patiently.

Typical Vigilant Traits include:

Advantages: Cultural Familiarity (Dark Arm), Language (Kelen, Lithian)

Skills: Acting, Diplomacy, Holdout, Intimidation, Merchant, Observation, Shadowing, Smuggling, Stealth, Streetwise,

Unique Resources of the Dark Vigil Chapter

Mind Fire Ink

The tradition of tattoo art on the bodies of the Templar Vigilant is more than just a fashion statement. For many, the tattoos represent lost friends or sins they committed and wish to never commit again (the act of enduring the tattoo is a form of self-flagellation). But the Dark Vigil chapter also has access to mind fire ink, a type of psi-boosting hallucinogen derived from Keleni herbal sciences.

The psionically active ink in Mind Fire Tattoos interacts with the bearers biology to generate a dose of a psi-boosting drug on command. Each tattoo differs in the effect it generates, both due to the nature of the ink, and to the design of the tattoo itself (the ink reacts to the psionic symbolism of the tattoo). However, the basis of all tattoos are the same: the tattoo is a smart tattoo and may be “hidden” at the mental command of the bearer. Alternatively, the bearer may issue a mental command to the tattoo to generate a dose of a psi-boosting drug. The effect of this drug is identical to Psi-Booster(Psi-Tech page 34) except that in addition to inflicting 1d6 toxic damage on a failed HT roll, for the duration of the drug, the character is also Hallucinating. A Mind Fire Tattoo costs $500 per point the level 1 ability of the psychic ability costs, and requires a successful Artist (Body Art) roll; at the GM’s discretion, Mind Fire Tattoos must be purchased as signature gear.

The use of Mind Fire Ink is a violation of the Purityvirtue.

The Black Chapter Vigil does not have access to all possible forms of Psi-Booster. They can only grant practitioners the following abilities:

• Combat Sense (ESP)

• Mind Clouding (Telepathy)

• Mind Shield (Teleapthy)

• Inner Healing (Psychic Healing)

• Instill Terror (Telepathy)

• Psychometablism (Psychic Healing)

• Seeker Sense (ESP)

Maon Minnow Fighting

Thanks to the criminal underworld of Maon, numerous “canal urchins,” sometimes called “minnows” in the local slang, clutter up the city. Most take up a living as harmless beggars or minor pick-pockets, and many will grow up to become criminals or prostitutes, but a the Dark Vigil chapter draws many of its ranks from their population, and the Chapter feels a deep connection to the dispossessed of Maon.

The “minnows” of Maon learn to survive the hard way; their preferred trick when things go south is to run as fast as they can, using their superior knowledge of the city and their own agility and small size to escape their foes. As they get older, evasion becomes less possible and must be replaced with fighting techniques. The street fighters of Maon are unprincipled survivalists who seek to end a fight as quickly as possible. They focus on quick strikes to end a fight and if that fails, either moving in close for a devastating mixture of grapples and pummeling, or a quick attack meant to floor your opponent. While Maon “minnows” study grappling, the point of their fighting technique is rarely the submission of their opponent, but his quick defeat. If this should fail, they release their hold and run. The style also makes use of improvised weapons, whatever can be found.

Given the unusual environment of Maon, many “Minnows” learn to use the water and long drops to their advantage. Most learn to climb, fall and dive until it becomes second nature, and they use trips, throws and pushes to hurl their opponents off of heights and into water, where they have studied the art of fighting to better defeat their opponent.

The Dark Vigil Chapter has further improved and codified the techniques many of their recruits learned as youths, and then turn around and teach it to the dispossessed children of Maon, creating a coherent body of techniques that has become known and “Minnow Fighting.” They often use its excellent parkour training in combination with the Final Form, or use its dirty fighting tricks to augment the close combat mastery of the Serene Form. Those who have mastered Sacred Body Techniques combine Power-Blow with Psychic Strike for astonishingly devastating punches!

Skills: Acrobatics, Brawling, Climbing, Judo, Jumping, Swimming

Techniques: Acrobatic Stand (Acrobatics), Balancing (Acrobatics), Breakfall (Acrobatics),Combat Swimming, Disarming (Judo), Elbow Strike (Brawling), Evade (Acrobatics), Feint (Brawling),0Hammer Fist (Brawling), Jam (Brawling), Knee Strike (Karate),Push Kick (Brawling), Running Climb (Acrobatics or Jumping), Scaling (Climbing),Targeted Attack (Brawl Punch/Face), Targeted Attack (Brawl Kick/Groin), Trip.

Perks: Dirty Fighting, Finishing Move, Improvised Weapons, Iron Hands, Neck Control (Karate), Power Grappling, Sure-Footed (Slippery), Sure-Footed (Uneven), Sure-Footed (Water), Special Set-up (Brawl Parry to Judo Throw), Technique Adaption (Ground Fighting), Urban Jungle Gym

Cinematic Skills: Flying Leap, Light Walk, Lizard Climb, Power Blow

CinematicTechniques:Roll with Blow

Optional Advantages: Language (Kelen), Perfect Balance, Trained by a Master (Evasion)

Optional Skills:Area Knowledge (Alhari), Axe/Mace, Breath Control, Intimidation,Knife, Kusari, Running, Shortsword, Staff, Swimming,Two-Handed Axe/Mace

Signature Moves

Minnow’s Escape (Move and Evade)

First Cast:Stepping into Close Combat, the vigilantmakes a Committed (+1 damage) Attack for the Face(-5). Roll Brawl–5. Success inflicts thr(+Brawlbonuses) and any crushing damage that inflicts shock forces a knockdown/stun roll. You may not parry with the hand you attacked with, and your remaining defenses are at -2 and you may not retreat. If this is used on the first turn of a fight, it is a Dirty Trick. Setup: Opponent is not expecting a fight.

Fish and Flash: Make a quick fake to one side, and then make a quick jab to your opponent’s face. Make a rapid (-6) defensive (-2) Feint using Brawling (Roll Skill-8), then make a Rapid (-6) Defensive (-2 damage) Punch to the Face (-5) (Roll Skill-1l). If successful, deal thr-3 (+ brawling bonus) and opponent must make a Stun check if you inflict any shock. You defend at +1 for the remainder of the turn.

Skipping Stones: Make an All-Out Attack (Double). First, Deceptively (-2) grapple the head (-3) (Judo-5). If successful, roll Knee Strike (-1) to strike the head (-5) (add +1 if you have Neck Control). Roll Brawling-6. If you hit, deal thr+2(+Brawlingbonuses); any crushing damage that inflicts shock forces a knockdown/stun roll. Opponent defends against the judorappleat -1, and defends against the knee strike at –4(for block or parry) or –3(for dodge). You cannot defend. You may attempt to maintain your grip on your opponent normally.Setup: You are already in close combat with your foe.

Flailing Minnow: If your opponent is pinned, shift your grip so that you can sit atop him. Roll a contest of ST- or DX-based Judo, and your opponent rolls the better of ST, DX or his best grappling skill. If you succeed, your arms are freed. Opponent attacks at -8 and defends at -3, and you have +5 to attempts to resist his break free attempts. You may freely punch him on later turns. Setup: Your opponent is Pinned.

Swimming Lesson: While near water or the edge of a building or canal, make an All-Out (Strong) deceptive (-2) Push Kick (-3). Roll Brawling-5. Your opponent defends at -1. If successful, roll thr+2 (plus brawling bonuses) damage; apply no damage, instead apply double knock-back. This is generally sufficient to knock the opponent over the precipice; handle the rest as falling damage. Minnows prefer to give swimming lessons after a successful feint or stun (such as a Fish and Flash). Setup: Your opponent is near a precipice from which he can be knocked off.

Shark Maw: While underwater, grapple your opponent (the lower of Judo, Swimming or Combat Swimming). Minnows who perform this technique generally make a Breath Control roll before going underwater, and then simply hold their foe under, knowing he’ll drown before they do. Setup: You and your opponent are underwater.

New Traits

Techniques

Balancing

Average

Default:Acrobatics;

Prerequisite:Acrobatics; May not exceed prerequisite skill+5.

Use this technique instead of Acrobatics when Balancing (Exploits p. 19). This technique is redundant if you have Perfect Balance.

Combat Swimming

Hard

Default:Swimming

Prerequisite:Swimming; May not exceed prerequisite skill+4.

When fighting underwater, the maximum of your combat skill is Combat Swimming, rather than Swimming.

Running Climb

Hard

Default:Acrobatics or Jumping;

Prerequisite:Acrobatics or Jumping; May not exceed prerequisite skill+6.

Use this technique instead of Acrobatics or Jumping when using the Running Climb rules (Exploits p. 19).

Scaling

Hard

Default:Climbing-3

Prerequisite:Climbing; May not exceed prerequisite skill.

Allows the character to buy off the -3 penalty when scaling a building; see Climbing (Exploits p. 19).

Skidding

Average

Default:DX-2

Prerequisite:None; May not exceed DX.

Allows the character to buy off the -2 to DX when making use of Skidding (Exploits p. 19).

Relics of the Dark Vigil Chapter

The Psi Sword of Jaen Tsan

Jaen Tsan carries a blade with as unique a pedigree as himself. It originally belonged to a fanatical devotee of Domen Khemet, the Ranathim Cult of Death, and it still has a bone-white light to its blade. Jaen Tsan used it as an executioner, and he uses it for that purpose today, though he offers the traditional Xamorte exectutioner’s chant when he uses it now. The Dark Vigil chapter holds the blade in both dread and awe: it represents something terrible to take up, something corrupt that Jaen Tsan has turned to righteous purpose, but on the other hand, it’s symbolic of everything the Dark Vigil Chapter does, as the Dark Vigil chapter enforces and executes their own form of justice in the streets of Maon. While the Dark Vigil Chapter has had no Chapter Master but Jaen Tsan, it seems likely that whomever succeeds him will also take up the sword.

The wielder of the Psi-Sword of Jaen Tsan may, in addition to using it as a normal psi-sword, may invoke the miracles of Death as True Communion Miracles without risking Corruption. The sword demands a strict code from the follower, requiring that he follow at least -20 points of self-imposed mental disadvantages appropriate to Communion; if the character violates them, he may stillinvoke the miracles of Death, but they will corrupt him normally. The blade’s wielder will also find himself in positions where he must execute the guilty; this must always be done legally, though not necessarily as defined by the local government, but certainly as defined by True Communion’s religious edicts.

Price: $100,000

Statistics:Alien Path (Death as True Communion) [1], Higher Purpose (Execute the Guilty) [5], Reputation (Death) +2 [10]

Broken Communion Miracles: Inured Mind, Roads of Broken Communion, Chaotic Interference Shroud of Broken Communion, Black Sun, Commune with Dead Sense Death, Extinction of Communion Lesser and Greater Avatar of Death

The Heart of Laela

Before Laela the Beautiful left her Chapter to seek out Revalis and avenge the death of Gladius Tao, she gave Jaen Tsan one last gift: a violet memory crystal that she wore on her brow. She placed it in his hand, closed his fingers in it, and told him she would always be with him. He kept it for a century before he could bear it no longer and gave it to the swordmaster of the Chapter; the position has passed down the Heart of Laela ever since.

The Heart of Layla contains the “psychic image” of Laela. Those who hold it or wear it on their brow sometimes dream of Laela or seem to hear her whisper urging them to act in a particular way, or showing them the way to some particular secret. Those most worthy or deeply connected to Communion will “see” Laela herself as a sort of ghost or after-image. She will offer them advice, teach them martial secrets from her boundless knowledge of Templar martial arts or discuss the deeper truths of Communion. She is not the ghost of Laela, but a memory of her left in the crystal, and thus cannot answer what happened to Laela the Beautiful after she departed Alhari. She is also “in the mind” of the bearer, and cannot offer anything except information.

Price: $55,000

Statistics: Patron (Laela’s memory; Psionic -10%; Highly Accessible +50%; Minimal Intervention -50%) [9]

Stolen Artifacts of the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant

The Dark Vigil Chapter has, over time, collected items precious to the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant and keeps them buried in its labyrinthine Vault, to deny their ancient enemies access to them. Whether or not the Cult is aware that the Dark Vigil Chapter has them is up to the GM.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

The Key to the False Tomb of Satra Temos

The true nature of Satra Temos remains a mystery: his name is evidently a psuedonym. Legends persist that he found some form of immortality, but that he also had a tomb located on some lost world; most scholars of Satra Temos agree that the tomb exists, but that it is not the final resting place of Satra Temos but is, instead, a secure location for his secrets and treasures or possibly a trap for the unwary.

At great expense, the Dark Vigil Chapter managed to secure a peculiarly resilient stone shaped as though it was meant to slot into a larger mural. The creator of the work inscribed astronomical imagery onto it which, if connected with other keyes to the False Tomb of Satra Temos, would show its precise location, and how to open the tomb.

The Blood Chalice of Anthara

The old Imperial Cult of the Ranathim, Domen Meret, used a psionically resonant “chalice” to formally determine the heir of Anthara. The ministers poured the blood of a sacrifice into it and then floated a hollow, gold “dousing needle,” shaped like an arrow-head in the blood. The needle would turn in the direction of the true heir, and then the blood would ignite once the heir held the chalice, clearly indicating that he had the right to rule the Ranathim Empire.

With the fall of the Ranathim Empire, the old chalice, and thus ritual, was lost. None seek it today except for the fragmented remains of the Cult of Anthara, who seek the true heir of Anthara. In truth, the Dark Vigil Chapter has it in their vault, which would allow them to find that true heir if they wished.

The Stasis Chamber of Leto Daijin

The execution of Leto Daijin finally broke the unity of the old Galactic Federation. In an effort to placate the rage of the people at the death of their beloved war hero, the Senators of the Federation placed the body of Leto Daijin into a stasis chamber and shipped him to be buried on Maradon with the honors appropriate for his achievements and contributions to the safety of the Galactic Federation. They could not have anticipated that this itself would turn into a disaster. Opponents to Leto Daijin sought to seize it and destroy the body, while agents of Ren Valerian sought to seize it as a monument to the future Emperor’s rule. Chaos ensued as numerous ships descended on the transport and destroyed its escort in what some call the first shots of the Galactic Civil War. The stasis chamber and the body itself was lost.

Exactly how the Dark Vigil Chapter tracked it down remains their secret, but it took time and deception. The body of Leto Daijin lies in frosty repose in a misty chamber deep within the vault.

The Knights of Communion and their Chapters

Long ago, the Knights of Communion formed the first Knightly Order of the Galaxy. The Maradonian knights that made up its ranks gave up aristocracy and the Akashic Mysteries to pursue a crusade to liberate the Temple Worlds of the Keleni. For an age, they protected those worlds, unmasked the criminal conspiracies of the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant and then fell in a war against the Alexian Empire in which they slew the last Alexian Emperor.

The Knights of Communion, or the Templars, may have fallen as an order, but they still existed. In truth, the Order had always been comprised of multiple smaller chapters, each of which served a local temple. The defeat of the Templars did not destroy the order, only scattered it and drove it underground. Many Chapters fell in the ensuing chaos, caught up in reprisals by the Cult or by last Emperor’s pogrom, but many slipped away and vanished in the shadows where they carefully watched and cultivated the growing Federation, offered their assistance secretly to the remaining temples of Communion, guarded the Temple Worlds from the shadows, and protected the lost secrets of the Templar Order.

They remain in the Galaxy to this day. Some have strayed far from their original roots and have fallen into heresy or “innovative” True Communion doctrines. Others have had to sacrifice their more knightly ways in the name of secrecy and the material means necessary to keep their orders alive. All are aware that the rise of the Emperor, the dominion of their traditional enemy, the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant, and the threat posed by the Coming Storm. All stand ready to act, stepping forth from the shadows to create a new age of prosperity and harmony, if that is what Communion will.s

Agendas of the Chapters of the Knights of Communion

The Knights of Communion formed to liberate the Temple Worlds of the Keleni. After their resounding success, they continued to serve as protection for the Temples of Communion and the pilgrims who traveled to them. As part of this, they excelled at engaging the secret enemies of True Communion, such as the Akashic Order and the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant. After their fall, survival secrecy and maintaining the legendary lore of the Templars also became high priorities.

• Sacrilege! During the chaos of a high holy day, as pilgrims flood into the local temple, nearby villains (Pirates, slavers, bandits) seek to take advantage of the situation by kidnapping pilgrims, monks and/or nuns. The local Templar chapter must investigate what became of them, rescue them, and permanently deal with the problem so that the community remains unmolested in the future, all without being detected by the watchful eyes of the Empire, who do nothing about the actions of the villains…

• Conspiracy! A senator, assassinated; a series of murders with strange, occultish symbols left near them; a theft at a local museum. The local authorities have not yet put all the pieces together, but the local Chapter has! They sense the machinations of a dangerous conspiracy. The templars must investigate the source of the conspiracy, and then eliminate the threat it poses while removing evidence of either the conspiracies actions or their own.

• A lost Templar ship containing a relic of the famous leader Gladius Tao has been uncovered by the Imperial Ministry of Heritage; the archaeological dupe believes he’s found something for a museum and perhaps some propaganda shots; the Emperor’s Imperial Knights seek to acquire it for their own occult power. The Templars must infiltrate the find, strip it of anything incriminating, steal the artifacts and defeat any Imperial Knights, all without altering the Empire to their presence or true objective.
• Rebellion! A local Temple of Communion, incensed by the people’s mistreatment by the Empire, has fully endorsed a local faction of rebels who have, in turn, accepted the assistance of the Alliance in fending of the Empire. The planet is in full rebellion, and the Empire brings its full weight against it. The local chapter has secretly gathered enough materiel and martial prowess that if they lent their weight to the rebellion, they could tip the scales, but at a great cost in heroic templar lives and their own secrecy. An Alliance noblewoman, a secret adherent to True Communion, has personally come to the Chapter Fortress to make her plea, with the approval of the local Abbot. Will the Templars accept her request?

The Templars as Opposition

The Templars have fallen far from their golden age, but can still pack an enormous punch. The templars are devoted psionic-warriors, skilled in the arts of combat and war, with a deep connection to Communion, possessor of ancient relics and lost martial secrets, and the power of surprise and conspiracy on their side. They are typically BAD -8 as opponents, with a matching PSI-BAD! Their only real weakness if their few numbers and their need to maintain secrecy, lest they draw the attention and ire of the Empire.

The precise nature of their tactics or security varies from Chapter to Chapter. As a rule, most modern Templar wield at least a force sword (some wield psi-swords or the legendary resonance swords of Templar lore) and are masters of numerous force sword techniques as well as psionic abilities with combat applications (especially Sacred Body Technique). Some Templars augment this training with additional martial arts, including hand-to-hand techniques, or armed techniques with other weapons, especially if they want to hide their nature as Templars, or if they lack the resources for a proper force sword. Some templars wear armor, but without major industrial infrastructure or some source of wealth, it’s difficult to fully arm and equip an entire Chapter, so most go without, or with simpler forms of armor. Especially well-equipped Templar chapters might maintain the same sort of small fleets that the Knights of Communion used during their crusade.

Templars face persecution from overt powers, like the Empire, as well as covert conspiracies, like the Cult of the Mystical Tyrant. As such, they maintain careful secrecy. They often “hide in plain sight,” by simply folding themselves into a local populace and making use of simple, unadorned buildings. They especially make use of local sympathizers to assist their cause, and just as locals will tend to keep the secrets of a Communion Temple, so too will they keep the secrets of their protectors, the Templars. Alternatively, they might remove themselves far from major places of power, often to the Galactic Rim or to uninhabited worlds. They often use signs, symbols, or coded Communion verses to communicate with one another. They tend to make use of insurgent tactics, primarily to maintain their cover and to acquire whatever resources they need, but if they need to apply pressure, protect others, or engage in outright rebellion, they’ll use insurgent tactics to get the job done.

Serving the Knights of Communion

Religious Ranks

Ranks:	Religious
8	Grand Master
7	The High Council
6	Chapter Master
5	Chapter Council
4	Master Knight
3	Knight Errant
2	Knight (Templar)
1	Apprentice
0	Novice

The Knights of Communion, aka the Templars, were a human, rather than Keleni, creation, based on the principles of tolerance espoused by Isa the Exile. While humanity created and dominate the Templars, they actively recruited aliens, including the Keleni, and prefer to use Galactic Common as the basis for their terms. Even so, they have an unusual fusion of Maradonian and Kelen concepts and words. While rare, Templars do sometimes use the Kelen honorifics appended to their names to denote position within the organization, and their structure closely parallels the structure of a Communion Temple.

Novice: Just as with a Communion temple, those who wish to join the Templars must first act as a servant. They tend to engage in tasks that can assist their later, potential training; for example, they might clean Templar weaponry, maintain Templar fighter-craft, or assist a Templar when giving general lectures. Through their grueling and tedious tasks, the unfaithful are weeded out from the devoted, and the basis of their future skills are set.

Apprentice: Sometimes called a “squire” or a templar-in-training, an apprentice is a novice who has proven himself, taken the vows, and constructed (or been given) his force sword. As with Communion Monks, an apprentice must be sponsored by a master, who takes them under their wing and teaches them the ways of Communion and the fighting techniques of the Templars. Unlike monks, an Apprentice will often travel outside of the Templar fortress, accompanying their master and getting a better sense of the world. If using keleni honorifics, apprentices have the –wala (apprentice) honorific.

Knight: Sometimes called a “Junior Knight” or a “Templar,” an apprentice becomes a templar when his master decides that he is worthy of the position and can be taught no more. This formally ends the master/student relationship, but informally such ties never end; in fact, knights often begin to learn advanced concepts, such as virtues and martial secrets from their masters at this time. Knights are generally kept close to the fortress as defenders, or stationed at temples to protect the monks or the local community. They also stay close to the fortress because of the fortress needs to initiate a crusade, the knights make up the bulk of their forces. If using Keleni honorifics, they have the -wonahonorific (“Journeyman”). Those who follow old Maradon etiquette might call them “Sir.”

Knight-Errant: Those who prove themselves as exceptional knights may become “Knight-Errants,” or “Senior Knights” or “High Templars.” Such characters have the trust of the chapter, and the chapter often sends them out on more dangerous missions, such as rescuing lost pilgrims, protecting priests on their long journeys, or commanding units of Templars in battle, especially on distant worlds.

Master Knight: Or “Master Templar.” Once a templar has achieved great success, the Chapter Council may select him for the rank of Master. A Master Templar has typically achieved great proficiency in some aspect of True Communion doctrine (such as a Virtue) or in martial prowess, ideally both. A master’s role is to take on an apprentice and teach them the ways of the Templars. They typically travel outside of the Chapter and deal with various problems, or lead major military operations by the templars. If using Kelen honorifics, they (and all higher ranks) take on the -tutahonorific; if using Maradonian honorifics, they may be called “Lord,” but generally prefer “Master.”

Chapter Council and Chapter Master: Every chapter has a headmaster and a council made up of the most influential and powerful masters. Each member of the council has an administrative role within the chapter, including:

• Knight Commander: who governs and commands all templars. They are typically excellent strategists and leaders.

• Swordmaster: the finest martial artist in the Chapter, they govern the training of pupils, especially novices in the basics of the arts, and take on advanced training of knights, as well as maintain the force swords in the possession of the Chapter.

• Warden: The warden oversees the physical infrastructure of the templar chapter, such as their fortress, their planetary defenses and their logistics.

• High Captain: he governs the deployment and command of the Templar fleets, typically their carriers, transports, fighters and corvettes.

• Chaplain: not actually a Templar, but generally a High Priest or Elder on assignment from whatever Temple the Templar chapter protects. He speaks for the Temple’s needs, and sees to the spiritual education of the templars.

At their head is the Chapter Master, whose word is final and who governs the whole of the Chapter.

High Council and Grand Master: When the Templars were a single, cohesive organization, a single man and his council overlooked allchapters of the order. The council was made up of delegates of each chapter, and had their own titles (Knight Grand Commander, Grand Swordmaster, Grand Warden, Grand Captain, Grand Chaplain, who was typically a Rank 6 monk, such as an Abbot or, more rarely, a Saint), and governed by a Grand Master selected by the Council, who spoke for all Templars.

Favors of the Knights of Communion

The Knights of Communion, the Templars, are a militant branch of the Temples of Communion. They often provide the same benefits as a Temple does, with additional military hardware and firepower.

As with Temples, rank across all Chapters is universal. While the Chapters have been separated by great gulfs of time and space, they still recognize one another and will honor the rank and requests of other chapters (unless, for some reason, they come into conflict with one another).

Similarly, temples and templars are closely linked! In principle, Templars serve temples, and so the rank of a templar is technicallyinferior to that of a monk. Templars who make requests of temples do so at -1 rank. Despite monks being technically superior to Templars, organizational culture being what it is, monks make requests of Templars at base rank.

For Favors, use the favors of temples, with the following additional notes:

Gear: Templars tend to request that apprentice templars surrender their worldly possessions either to the Chapter or to a nearby temple. Thereafter, the chapter provides all necessary gear: armor, fighter-craft, supplies, etc. Treat this as gear requests. Force swords are not covered by this: Chapters expect their members to have their own force sword!

Templar Fleets: Templar chapters typically have access to transports, star fighters and small carriers. These can be called upon with Evacuation, Travel and Fire Support requests.

Templar Forces: The Templars, despite their religious rank, are a militant force. One can call for additional support by making a Cavalry request.

Secrecy: After the fall of the Alexian Empire, the Templars went into hiding, and there they remain. They have become exceptionally adept at covering their tracks, and can offer most covertrequests, including Cover-Ups, Insertion/Extraction, and Safehouses.

Resources of a Templar Chapter

Most chapters have some physical manifestation of a headquarters. Traditionally, this is in the form of a fortress of some kind, but in the modern era, most Templars (those not on some remote world beyond the reach of the likes of the Valorian Empire) cannot afford to have so brazen a structure. Instead, they tend to distribute their resources: a training dojo hidden in the jungle, an arms cache in the secret basement of an unmarked warehouse, safe-houses scattered across a planet, and a meeting house in the home of a wealthy sympathizer.

Templars do not have temples, but one might be forgiven for thinking that they do. Most templar chapters have a strong bond with a single temple, which they protect. The abbot of the temple is typically the chaplain of the order, or the temple might supply a chaplain to the temple. The nature and ideology of the temple has a profound influence on the culture of the Templar chapter.

Templars are exceptional fighters, and most chapters have at least three martial arts that they teach. They usually have at least partial knowledge of Templar force sword forms and traditional Alliance force sword forms, and may also study additional martial arts (typically either a keleni martial art, or some unarmed technique), as well as the psychic disciplines of True Communion. Chapters with access to a Temple tend to subscribe to the same virtues as the Temple; those that do not tend to have 1 to 3 virtues, almost never with a full set of Orthodox virtues (as they have long since fallen from the orthodox path and struggle with unusual ideas based on their unique concerns and setting). Typically a master on the council will typify one virtue, with the Chapter Master embodying all virtues of the chapter.

True Communion Templar Character Considerations

Requirements: Characters serving a True Communion Chapter need at least Rank 0, Duty (Almost All The Time, Extremely Hazardous) [-20] and some form of Discipline of Faith, typically Mysticism [-10]. They often demand vows, particularly vows of poverty, chastity and secrecy. Modern Templars have either Secret (Templar, Possible Death) [-30] or Enemy (Imperial Knights and Cult of the Mystical Tyrant; Hunted; 12 or less) [-30]. Knights may purchase levels of Social Regard (Venerated).

The Temples of True Communion

Sci-fi Temple Ruins by Robert Brown

True Communion stands in a strange position, at once one of the most popular philosophies of the Galaxy, but at the same time, reviled by the elites of both Empire and Alliance; it is a closeted philosophy, one that many adhere to, but few willingly admit. Even in its heyday, True Communion had little true hierarchy: only when the Keleni Temple-Worlds had total independence and the Keleni were united as one people, one nation, beneath their royal dynasty, did True Communion begin to look like a truly united philosophy. Instead, when one seeks to find adherents of True Communion, one finds scattered communes and communities, usually of lower class individuals, who gain their spiritual guidance from a nearby temple.

A Temple represents the core of the True Communion faith for a local community; its abbot represents the highest spiritual authority that they know. True Communion builds its temples in naturally occurring “holy places,” which tend to be found in remote, uncivilized regions. There, they seek to condense that spirituality into the heart of the temple, where Eloi Fragments can form. They also gather relics and philosophical lore for any who seek them. Ultimately, the purpose of a temple is to provide a safe haven for sacred things, and a place where those who wish to learn the ways of True Communion can go and discover themselves in peace.

Despite this, most temples end up acting as a central hub of religion for the locals. Though they must travel far (or the temple must come to them, often sending priests to look out for the local faithful), people regularly bid the monks of the temple to give them blessings, knowledge, healing, guidance and to officiate their ceremonies. Thus, temples become the secret hearts of the community of the True Communion faithful.

Agendas of the Temples of True Communion

A temple exists to protect a holy place and to provide a place for people to come to partake in that sacred space. Beyond this, the monks of the temple seek to live out the principles of True Communion, which means they seek to support justice, charity and so separate themselves from the world. Thus, they often assist and guide local communities of faithful, tending to their spiritual needs and the material needs of the poor, and seeing that the faith remains true, that the “communities of faithful” are genuinely faithful, exhorting them to return to the path of True Communion if they falter and cutting them off if they refuse.

• A rebellious teen with considerable latent psionic abilities has been disrupting a local community with mischievous, even criminal, behavior, though he (or she) seems to not be genuinely malicious. The community has called upon the temple to send someone to “guide” the youth, by which they mean to tame him and put an end to his obnoxious behavior. The Abbot has seen in a vision from Communion that the youth walks a path between light and dark, and may join either True Communion or Dark Communion. One of the members of the Temple volunteers to go, protect the youth from rival factions and find a way to guide the youth to his (or her) ultimate destiny.

• An ancient temple, once thought lost, has been discovered. Already, imperial archaeologists, criminal treasure hunters and sinister cultists descend upon it to rifle through it for relics and memory crystals. The temple must send skilled and competent monks to quietly recover the artifacts, bring them back to the temple, and ensure that no further desecration is done.
• A community starves under imperial embargo. At great risk, a member of the community reaches out to a temple and begs for aid. The monks of the temple must use their reputation to find some way to either lift the embargo, or to find smugglers willing to risk the blockade to bring medical supplies and food to the planet or, barring all of that, to find some miracle that might make any of this possible.

• A heretic has begun to spread a dangerous philosophy among the faithful, and an entire temple has fallen to his honeyed words. Your temple must send priests to counter the unrighteous words of the heretic, and either convince the corrupted temple to give up its new and wicked practice, or to be denounced before their own community.

• Pilgrims descend! On the anniversary of the death of a particularly beloved saint of True Communion, a horde of people approach the temple. The temple must make ready for their arrival, see to their protection from bandits and convince local imperial authorities that such a mass of ideologues gathered in one place poses no risk to their power.

True Communion Temples as Opposition

The Temples of True Communion do not typically enjoy state of the art security, nor are they guarded by elite soldiers; despite the combat training many Communion monks enjoy, they mostly use it for self defense and, for example, rarely have access to heavy hardware. Thus, as opposition, the temples of True Communion rarely rise above BAD -2.

They are, however, some of the most potent psions of the Galaxy, with access to centuries of lore and miraculous feats from its saintly masters. Their PSI-BAD as typically -8!

Most temple security comes in the form of remoteness. Temples tend to find a place on forbidding islands, atop precarious peaks, or lost in deep jungles. Finding the temple is often the first trick. Second, temples rely on the goodwill of their faithful. The people who follow True Communion will rarely give up their secrets and may well be willing to die before betraying their faith to outsiders. If the temple can be found and infiltrated, while specific monks won’t offer much resistance (and may even invite the travelers in!), the leaders of the temple often have a good idea of what’s going on, thanks to their own psionic powers and knowledge gleaned from Communion. Generally, assume that the temple knows the broad intent of anyone who visits their door. If the intent is truly wicked (say, the theft of Eloi fragments or the assassination of the abbot), the target may be removed to a remote location or, if the leaders determine that resistance is impossible, will simply hand over the invaders objective, to avoid more loss of life than is strictly necessary, trusting that Communion will see to the return of the artifact, if that is Its will.

If a temple is to provide a serious threat to adventuring PCs, focus more on the capabilities of individual NPCs than on the overall threat posed by a temple; outside of militant groups (which are better treated as ideological resistance cells), those who attack temples tend to slaughter the inhabitants unless a heroic abbot or templar master steps forward to put a stop to it.

Serving a True Communion Temple

Religious Ranks

Ranks:	Religious
8	Speaker for Communion
7	Saint
6	Abbot or Abbess
5	Elder
4	High Priest or High Priestess
3	Priest or Priestess
2	Head Monk, Head Nun
1	Monk or Nun
0	Novice

Lay Servants: Technically not part of the temple at all are those who only serve the temple in a non-religious capacity, such as those who clean or cook for the monks. Lay servants are rare in a temple and many who follow True Communion see it as laziness, as the religious members of the temple should themselvescare for the temple: that is why they are there. Even so, the lay people of a community often wish to bring the monks of the temple food, or to clean up the temple, and as such, one can often find volunteers working in a temple with no religious rank to speak of.

A Note on Honorifics: The Kelen language often appends a suffix to someone’s name, an honorific, which refers to their place in society, or their relationship with the speaker. The most common honorific used in a Keleni temple is -kaja, which means “kin.” Many non-Keleni temples simply use Galactic Common and use the term “brother” or “sister” instead. Keleni outside of a temple may refer to any member of a temple with the honorific –kera, or “holy one;” those within the temple will never use this except to reference saints. This has no equivalent in Galactic Common.

Novice: Those who wish the join a temple become novices. Novices are not yet constrained by vows, though they are expected to live as though they were (in preparation for their life as a monk; their mistakes are more easily forgiven) but also have no religious authority. They often have the most difficult tasks and the members of the temple often push them to do tedious or taxing tasks to test their resolve and willingness to join the temple. In Keleni, novices rarely get an honorific, but might be refered to with -isa, or “Child.”

Monk or Nun: Those who serve the temple well and prove their worthiness can cast off the garments of the world and take on the cloth and sash of a monk and join the temple proper. A member of the temple chooses to sponsor the novice and agrees to guide them through the principles of True Communion.The prospective monkmust take the vows appropriate to the temple and are expected to maintain those vows for the rest of their life (though “retirement” is not unheard of, though not without a sense of disgrace). Their job now is to master the principles of True Communion, both the philosophy and the phenomenon, at the feet of their new master. In Keleni, these might also be better referred to as “students” and have the honorific -wala.

Head Monk or Head Nun: After a monk has been a monk for some time and has gained sufficient mastery over the principles of True Communion, the temple expects him to take on responsibilities and to begin to lead and guide his fellow monks. Those who attain such a position of leadership may be given a symbol or a tassle to wear on their sash, which denotes them as someone to whom the other monks should listen, and turn to in case of guidance. In principle, a head monk or nun is still a monk (and in Keleni still bear the -walahonorific), but they have begun to prove themselves. Not all monks go through this stage, but mostdo, before becoming proper priests.

Priest or Priestess: Once a monk is sufficiently educated in the principles of True Communion, he no longer needs to worry about his own spiritual growth, but the spiritual growth of others. At such time, the monk is tested and, if his knowledge (and virtue) are up to the task, he may remove his monk robes and don the robes of a priest. At this point, the master/student relationship formallyends, but informally, priests often return to their masters for advice. The priest is responsible for the spiritual and communal well-being of his community, and they journey out of the temple to tend to the needs of the community and to return with reports as to how the faithful are faring and what, if anything, the temple needs to do. Keleni priests often bear the honorific –wona, literally meaning “Journeyman priest.”

High Priest or High Priestess or Master: A priest who has proven himself in the field may return to gain a higher position within the temple; like the head monk, this typically manifests as a tassle or a symbol worn on the sash, though such symbols and tassles tend to be chosen by the priest himself, or inherited from his teacher. He then becomes a High Priest or “Master Priest.” A high priest serves two functions within the temple: they coordinate the priests, especially in communities where multiple priests serve in a relatively small geographical area (such as a city with a large, thriving True Communion community), or on missions where numerous priests are sent to a particularly distant area; high priests often have greater leeway from the temple to do as they wish, and, traditionally, joined the Knights of Communion when they went on a crusade. Finally, a High Priest is able to, even expected to, take a monk under their wing as an apprentice. Their honorific in Kelen is -tuta, meaning “teacher” or “master.” In Galactic Common, members of this rank are often referred to as “Master,” especially by their apprentice.

Elder: Those greatest and most accomplished masters of a temple may find themselves called back to the temple. Here, they become Elders (sometimes “High Master,” but often still just “Master”), and govern the temple under the guidance of the Abbot, directing the teaching of the monks and deciding where priests should be dispatched. Together, they form a council that decides the overall policy of a local temple. They’re still expected to take on students as well. In Keleni, they still tend to be referred to as –tuta, or “Master,” but they may also be called –hena, or “elder” (though it should be noted that -henahas similar connotations to the Japanese “sempai,” and one may hear, for example, a monk referring to his head monk as -henaas well; in this context, you have masters and “elder masters”).

Abbot or Abbess: The abbot or abbess it the master chosen from the council of elders to act as the final voice and authority for the temple. They ultimately decide the fate and direction of the temple, and often foundedthe temple. They are not expected to take on students, though some do when it suits them or when they see a particularly interesting student, and they rarely travel outside of the temple unless forced to. Traditionally, the Abbot had the -hena honorific, but with the fall of the Keleni temple worlds, many are referred to as -kera, or “Holy One” or “Saint.”

Saint and Saintess: With the fall of the Temple Worlds, authority in the philosophy of True Communion has devolved down to Abbots and Abbesses; no overarching organization exists. But when it did, and when it might again, those with power and influence across all of the community of True Communion was called a Saint. They had no expectations beyond tending to the needs of all members of the community, often wandering from world to world, instructing the abbots in proper philosophical principles, helping found new temples and spreading the truth of True Communion to new worlds. Such people always bore the -kera suffix.

Speaker of Communion: Rarely, a figure would arise to whom all Saints would bow. Such a singular figure directed all of the True Communion philosophy and often illuminated heretofore undiscovered principles hiding within the doctrines of True Communion, or would rise up to protect and lead all of the faithful during a time of crisis. They tend to be exceptionally difficult to find, both because they tend to be rare, and because when they do appear, they generally follow the path of the Exiled Master, and thus lay a very light hand upon the whole of the True Communion heirarchy. They are similar, conceptually, to the Jewish Prophet of the Buddhist Bodhisattva. They usually bear the -kerahonorific.

Favors of the Temples of True Communion

The Temples of True Communion exist to protect points of holy sanctity and to train people in communing with the Cosmic Infinite so that they can create miracles, and to guide and protect communities of the faithful who choose to submit their lives to the wisdom of True Communion. As such, temples command a few precious resources that they can offer to those who serve the temples, and even to those who do not!

It should be noted that for the purposes of True Communion, ranks are universal. While an abbot cannot come to another temple and expect to be in charge, he is still afforded respect and assisted with equivalent respect. One can pull rank in any temple, regardless how far he is from his original temple.

These favors include, but are not limited to:

Holy Ground: Temples exist to guardsacred things, whether it be the most holy of holies on the temple grounds itself, or ancient libraries full of sacred (or forbidden) texts or memory crystals. Gaining access to a holy place can be treated as Entry Clearance.

Material Assistance: Most monks must take vows that prohibit them from excessive wealth. They must live off of the generosity of others! The temples often house that generosity, as when a monk joins a temple, he might donate his material wealth to the temple; similarly, the faithful followers might offer up donations to the temple. While such donations are usually used for charity or to maintain the temple itself, the temple might offer it to those monks in need. This material assistance rarely comes in the form of cash, though, and usually in the form of specific things worthcash; many donations come in barter form (such as donating space-chickens rather than money). Treat this as a special form of Cash.

Spiritual Guidance and Instruction: Temples exist to provide people with access to teachers who can illuminate them on moral, spiritual or psionic concerns. Temples also house masters of powerful fighting techniques or psionic disciplines that one may wish to learn. Treat requests for such guidance or instruction as consultation.

Relics and Eloi Fragments: Temples often house ancient, psionically imbued relics, and in their holiest point, Eloi Fragments, the physical crystalization of True Communion’s sanctity. All can prove very useful, but are rare and hard to come buy. Treat requests for these as Gear requests, but with an additional -5, representing their unique nature.

Healing: Temples house powerful psions with access to Esoteric Healing methods and Psychic Healing powers. Those who seek treatment have only to make a Treatment request.

Miracles: The most powerful aspect of a temple are its Communion-attuned masters who can collectively call down powerful, world-shaking miracles if necessary. Treat this as a technical means request.

Introductions: Pilgrims come from all over the galaxy to worship at a particularly famous temple, and so one couldfind a way to introduce oneself to a powerful person, but such acts are discouraged: in the heart of a temple, social position should not matter as much as spirituality. Such requests neverget the +5 for introducing someone in the same organization, and gain an additional -1 besides.

The Resources of a Typical Temple

As noted above, Temples can instruct characters in True Communion, and even supplement their understanding of True Communion with instruction in the Virtues, martial arts or psionic disciplines. Most Temples teach three Virtues (some especially broad temples mightteach more, and some especially narrow or young temples might teach only one or two). Keleni traditionalist temples typically teach the three Orthodox Virtues, while Templar Temples might teach any Orthodox or Heterodox Virtue.

Temples rarely teach martial arts. When they do, they usually teach a single, self-defense martial art, though some especially zealous temples that back insurgents might teach more aggressive techniques. If the temple teaches any martial arts at all, the most common martial arts for a temple are Keleni Stick Fighting or Keleni Assassination techniques. More commonly, temples will teach one or more of the three psychic disciplines. Temples that teach Keleni Healing Techniques tend to be known far and wide as places where one can go for miraculous healing. Temples that teach Sacred Body Mastery also have a reputation for healing, but tend to supplement their training with martial arts. Temples that teach Guidance tend to be far from home and emphasize integration with the locals and careful diplomacy.

True Communion Monk Character Considerations

Requirements: Characters servinga True Communion Temple need at least Rank 0, Duty (Almost All The Time) [-15] and some form of Discipline of Faith, typically Mysticism [-10]. Some temples demand additional vows (Keleni temples often demand vows of poverty; human temples typically demand vows of poverty and vows of chastity). Characters with Rank 1+ must take Clerical Investmentand may purchase levels of Social Regard (Revered).

The Cult and Conspiracy of the Mystic Tyrant

The Cult of the Mystic Tyrant has existed since before the dawn of the Ranathim Empire, making it older than even humanity’s time among the starts, and among the oldest continuing institutions in the Galaxy. While it has changed somewhat over history, adding new ideas and changing form, it has always paired religion and its secret mysticism with real political power, and understands the importance of secrecy in achieving mastery of both.

Stark philosophy lies at the heart of the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant. This philosophy drives its members, who seek to master themselves and thus master their own psionic power and learn to express their inner divine will through the force that others call “Communion.” The greatest masters achieve transcendental mastery and learn to rewrite the very laws of nature for their own benefit. The cult seeks to spread its philosophy, but only to the worthy, and to induct them into their ranks so that they may guide and shape the masters of a new generation and, perhaps, find the next transcendental master.

The philosophy of the Mystic Tyrant serves a purpose, and that purpose is power. The members of the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant are, in keeping with their philosophy, deeply ambitious men who believe that only they have the capacity to rule the galaxy, and that the galaxy must be ruled. The cult might be better described as a conspiracy of powerful men who meet behind closed doors to kneel at the feet of a psychic master and then divvy up the thrones of the Galaxy amongst themselves. The Cult seeks to empower its members and those who learn of it often seek it out, eager to bend knee to its masters in hopes of being set up as a warlord or corporate master or to learn what real, ultimate power feels like. That they become slaves to dark lords with powers beyond their ken is, often, seen as a worthwhile trade.

The Cult knows the important difference between power wielded openly and power wielded secretly. The masses naturally seek strong leadership, but they recoil at the costs and horrors of true leadership. Understanding this, the Cult sets up powerful and obvious leaders, and then retreats in the shadows to perform all of the dark deeds necessary to maintain that power without besmirching the clean image of their chosen leader. This secrecy also serves their mystical pursuits, as the uninitiated neither understands, nor respects, the true power of the Mystic Tyrant. Because of its long history of secrecy, many of the great secrets of the Cult lie buried in ancient ruins or hidden in encrypted tomes with codes known only to the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant.

To maintain their secrecy and power, the Cult maintains a layer between itself and the rest of the world, which it calls “masks.” A Mask of the Tyrant is a conspiratorial cell that infiltrates other organizations. It manipulates the infiltrated organization, subverting it and turning it to the needs of the Cult. Posing as a secret society, it also recruits new members, including the rich, powerful and influential, as well as the psionically talented. Low level initiates know nothing of the true purpose of their new secret society (They believe they’ve found “the” secret heart of the organization they were recruited from); only the leadership interacts with the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant at large, though members occasionally find themselves visited by mysterious, dark-clad psions who may have special orders for their eyes only, or who may wish to recruit them into the Cult itself, revealing the true extent of the tyrannical conspiracy.

Those who achieve ultimate mastery of their inner self and of Communion itself gain the right to call themselves master (or “Thamara” in Lithian), and in some traditions, take a new (usually Lithian) name and the title “Thamet.” Those who serve the cult typically serve a specific master, and each master forms his own sub-faction within the cult, commanding lesser conspiracies and his own cadre of psionically trained spies, inquisitors and assassins. The greatest masters come together to form the Inner Circle, which ostensibly governs the Cult, but in practice, acts as a safe place where the most powerful Masters of the Cult may come together to bicker and negotiate about the future of the Cult and where their resources will go.

The Schisms of the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant

The Cult has existed for millennia and in that time has changed and splintered. The Cult prefers to present a united front, but precisely how united it is depends on the GM. There may be a singular cult that quietly rules the Galaxy with the Emperor as their puppet (or true master), or their may be a variety of Cults, all competing with one another or unwittingly united behind a True Secret Master.

The Cult of Anthara: The first Divine Emperor of the Ranathim, the Cult of Anthara follows the original genius of the Cult’s founder. It is an exclusively Ranathim cult, one that more closely resembles the Nadomen of the Divine Mask and focuses heavily on the ritualistic nature of political rule.

The Cult of Satra Temos: With the fall of the Ranathim Empire, a Ranathim named Satra Temos revisited the theology of the Mystic Tyrant and stripped it of irrelevant ceremonies and rites and focused intently on the heart of the philosophy: power. Under his guidance, the Cult restored its dominion over the Dark Arm of the Galaxy, at least for a time, using covert, rather than over, rule; it uses control of criminal organizations and occult circles as a means of expanding its power. This is the most common version of the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant (and the default)

The Cult of Revalis White: The first known human transcendental master once served Knights of Communion before betraying them to the last Alexian Emperor. He believed the Knights of Communion had reached a moral dead-end and sought out what he saw as the superior morality of the Mystic Tyrant, which he saw as necessary for saving the Galaxy. The Cult of Revalis White accepts that morality may be a lie, but that a true master can lend truth to anything and seek to create their own personal morality; they also seek to gain mastery over all forms of Communion, rather than limiting themselves to just Dark Communion. The Traitor’s Cult infiltrates religions, knightly orders and schools (where it recruits children) as the basis of its power, and maintains a strong presence in the Alliance.

Agendas of the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant

The Cult of the Mystic Tyrant prizes power, philosophical clarity and self-perfection, and secrecy. Each conspiracy-within-a-conspiracy performs its own roles within the Cult, and each master has his own personal agenda to serve, but ultimately all serve the might of the Tyrant, and all submit to the totality of the Cult’s vision for the future.

• Treachery! A former slave of the cult has fled, carrying with her secrets of the Cult which she may offer up to the powers-that-be as a bargaining chip for her safety. The Cult must rally its resources to track her down, discover what secrets she has divulged and then end her life. After all, she swore an oath of secrecy to the Cult…

• Discovery! The crypt of a lost Transcendental Master has been recently uncovered by a bumbling Imperial archaeologist who does not know what he’s uncovered. The Cult must move quickly to silence the discovery and then secure the crypt so that they may control the priceless secrets found within.

• A young woman with prodigious ESP talents has revealed herself on the edges of Alliance space, and the Akashic Order moves to recruit her into their order. The Cult wants to get to her first and induct her into one of their conspiracies and begin to teach her how to access Communion. She can thereafter be kept as a powerful member of the Cult, or slipped into the Akashic Order as a plant.

• A young firebrand has managed to gain sufficient popularity to run for election as a senator, but lacks the funds necessary to unseat his more entrenched but less popular opponent. The Cult could induct him into one of their secret societies, allowing him to rub shoulders with financiers and offer their services to “quietly influence” certain bureaucrats to make sure he has ever advantage he needs to become elected. Thereafter, he could do a small favor for his new secret society…

• Rivalry! A rogue master has killed the apprentice of your master in blatant disregard for the commands of the Inner Circle, and they, cowards, do nothing, revealing their power for the farce your master long knew it was. Your master sees the opportunity to both gain his revenge and to move himself into the inner circle in one fell swoop, but he needs you to be the hand the wields a force sword on his behalf! Finally, your chance to be raised to the rank of apprentice.

The Cult of the Mystic Tyrant as Opposition

The Cult of the Mystic Tyrant has tied itself into almost every power-base across the Galaxy that it can. The Emperor himself subscribes to their philosophy. They have infiltrated criminal cartels and corporations alike. Even charities and religious orders aren’t exempt from their influence. They have power, they have prestige, they have secret knowledge of Communion and even darker powers. They represent one of the most competent threats in the Galaxy.

A Mask of the Cult, one of their secret societies, tend to make more modest opponents, typically representing BAD -2 to -5. The actual Cult of the Mystic Tyrant is BAD -8 or worse; in both cases, Psi-BAD is equal to BAD, as the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant is a fundamentally psionic organization.

When it comes to security, the Cult relies on layers of secrecy as their primary form of defense. Their secret societies aren’t as well-defended as the rest of the Cult, but nor do they keep any harmful secrets. Instead, the Cult uses them as catspaws, attacking and defending with them, and then letting them die if they become compromised, allowing their opponents to think they’ve defeated the menace while the real Cult continues its work in the shadows. Even so, most such societies have code phrases, excellent security (including privacy fields, cameras and traps), and their leadership are trained psions. The Cult’s secret societies prefer to “hide in the open,” by meeting in public to discuss matters in an innocuous manner, or by using other organizations as covers for their agenda.

In the heart of the Cult itself, cultists make extensive use of both psionic powers (especially Telepathy) to ferret out who they can trust and who they cannot. They also use Communion to gain insights into potential threats and then move to act against them. The Cult generally relies on individual skill over technology for security. They tend to meet in either places of obvious power, such as corporate headquarters or in ancient temples, and in such meetings speak openly and brazenly of their objectives. They trust their minions to keep such meetings and their archives or facilities secure, and this generally works well; non-psions tend not to see the agents of the Cult coming, and even anti-psions tend to be blindsided by the inviolate power of Dark Communion, which is immune to anti-psi. Only other masters of communion really pose a serious security threat to the Cult, hence their hatred and fear of the Knights of Communion.

Serving in the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant

Religious Ranks

Ranks:	Religious
8	Emperor or Tyrant
7	Inner Circle
6	Master
5	Apprentice
4	Slave
3	High Priest
2	Priest
1	Initiate

The Cult arranges itself in degrees of initiation, one religious rank per degree. No “Rank 0” exists. Many unknowingly serve the Cult, but they cannot call upon its resources. Only those who have been inducted into the cult itself may call upon its resources. Traditionally, these titles had Lithian names, but most modern Cultists use Galactic Common terms, but some still use the Lithian names in formal settings. Power outside of the Cult does not necessarily translate into power within the Cult. Some members of the Cult may have high rank within the Cult and be virtually unknown outside of it, and some members of the Cult may be powerful men outside of the Cult and have very little sway (or rank) within the Cult. This also applies to the associated organizations of the Cult: a CEO of a corporation fully under the sway of the Cult may have little or no rank in the Cult at all!

All members of the Cult, whatever their rank, are sworn to secrecy upon pain of death. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they cannot reveal the existence of the cult or their membership in it, but does mean they cannot reveal the secret dealings of the cult. Those who do so are invariably hunted down and killed by the inquisitors of the Cult.

Rank 1: Initiate (Khaftilin)

The lowest level of initiation within the Cult, such members are brought into one of the Cult’s secret societies and are shown only fragments of the real truth of the Cult. Such an initiation typically begins with a careful recruitment process, with a recruiter offering the character favors and suggesting the possibility of a secret society. If the character expresses interest and shows trustworthiness, the secret society kidnaps the target and gives them an initiation rite, during which the character swears an oath of secrecy and loyalty to the cult.

The degree of initiation represents, by far, the most common rank within the Cult. The Cult tends to part powerful men at this rank. The Cult expects initiates to bring information to their secret society and to perform favors and, in return, can expect the cooperation of the Cult in securing their power and position. This is the highest rank a non-psion can aspire to in the Cult: the Cult wants men of power in its rank, but it’s more interested in men who can impose their vision upon the world. Initiates typically learn nothing of the greater Cult, though they might be spoon-fed some of its philosophy to see how they take to it.

Rank 2: Priest (Chiva)

The title of the second rank varies depending on the position or role of the character, but the common term is “priest,” a holdover from the old era when the Cult was a strictly religious organization. A priest is expected to preside over rituals and ceremonies within his secret society. Priests also tend to be naturally psionic and the Cult might help hone their psionic power.

Priests tend to be Initiates with psionic potential who seem amenable to the Cult’s philosophy, or who are especially useful to the secret society. They tend to be openly approached about their interest in a higher position by the leadership of their secret society, and if they agree, once again undergo an initiation ritual, though usually one with more direct symbolism pertaining to the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant. This step is taken as a way of slowly revealing the Cult to the initiate and making him more comfortable with the Cult as a whole.

When the Cult sends agents to approach one of its secret societies, they most often deal with the leadership directly, but might also deal with its Priests.

Rank 3: High Priest (Chivaga)

The third rank within the Cult is the highest position within their secret society, and always commands the secret society (if secret societies have an alternate ranking scheme, the High Priest may or may not be the visible leadership, but the Cult will always contact and command the secret society through the High Priest, whatever the “actual” leadership structure of the secret society).

The High Priest is chosen by the Cult itself from among the Priests of the secret society, generally from those who seem most aware of the existence of a greater society, and who remain discrete about the Cult’s existence. They will be approached by higher cult leadership and asked if they wish to command the secret society, usually when the previous leadership has been given a position within the cult itself, or when it has been disposed of in some means. If they agree, they undergo an initiation rite, but this time they must explicitly swear loyalty to the Cult itself, and they are shown true imagery of the Cult.

Rank 4: Slave (Seva)

Technically, all cultitst below the rank of Master are “slaves” in the eyes of the Cult, but the term “Slave” most often applies to those Cultists who have graduated from their secret society but have not yet been taken on as an apprentice yet. All slaves serve a master, rather than a secret society, and they tend to act as agents for the Cult, and may carry official titles such as Inquisitor (who ensures ideological purity and loyalty from the membership), Hound (a foot soldier for the Cult) or Eye (a spy for the Cult), and tend to be associated with their Master (“I am a Hound of Satra Temos”).

Slaves have real access to the information and power of the Cult, and often act on its behalf. By the same token, the Cult is quick to offer its resources to slaves who need power for the completion of their mission. Slaves also typically begin to learn the ways of Dark Communion (though some Priests and High Priests might already have instruction in Communion). While they might be degraded and called “slave” and even dressed in a demeaning or understated manner, they have far more power at their fingertips than those who rule the Masks of the Cult, and many initiates express fear and surprise as they watch their high priest, in all his glory, bowing before a mere slave.

A master chooses his slaves and recruits them directly. Most slaves arise from the ranks of priests or high priests, as they have proven their usefulness to the Cult already, but an especially promising character might be recruited directly by a master and bypass secret societies altogether! Typically, the master approaches the character directly and if the character is amenable, they undergo an initiation ritual that involves a test that would kill any normal, non-psionic person; if they succeed and survive, they swear an oath of loyalty directly to their specific master.

Rank 5: Apprentice (Petale)

An Apprentice (sometimes a “Hand” of the Master) is technically a slave who has been elevated by a master to represent him in all cases where he is not present. A Master only has one apprentice, but an apprentice is also on the fast-track to becoming a Master himself. He is introduced to the Masters of the Cult and allowed to see and interact with the Inner Council, etc.

An apprentice is anyone a master wishes to be his apprentice, though generally they are drawn from among the ranks of the slaves, and an apprentice who has not gained access to Communion is a scandal (or sign of weakness in the master). An apprentice has no special initiation ceremony (assuming he’s already been initiated as a slave; otherwise, he is initiated as a slave); instead, a master simply declares before the Cult that a character is his apprentice.

Rank 6: Master (Thamara)

A master is not recruited, nor inducted or initiated. They are self-made and self-evident. Anyone can declare themselves to be a master, but to be recognized by the cult, one must prove their mastery. Some members of the cult will submit their petition to be recognized as master before the Inner Circle, wheerupon they undergo a potentially lethal test that someone without a strong connection to Dark Communion would surely fail. The presentation of new transcendental powers, or the killing of one’s master also serve as acceptable credentials, under the right circumstances. What matters is that one can prove oneself master.

Masters have the right to take slaves. Most masters have, by this point, accrued enough contacts, friends and experience that they already have an entourage of allies, but if they do not, they begin to build them now. Their power within the cult is less a representation of the cult’s willingness to help them, and more their own considerable assets within the cult moving to help them. A master is the Cult!

Rank 7: The Inner Circle (Gemile)

The most powerful masters serve in the inner circle of the Cult. They represent its leadership and, as with Mastery, are self-made rather than chosen. The inner circle has a limited number of openings (typically 12) and a master who wishes to rise to a seat at the inner circle must ensure the retirement of one of the existing members of the inner circle and then assert his right to join them. This is typically the focal point of numerous shadow wars fought within the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant, though part of the point of the Inner Circle is to keep such conflicts from becoming excessively bloody, so when several contenders appear the Inner Circle usually negotiates a contest between the two, with the winner gaining a seat on the Inner Circle.

The Inner Circle wields power over the entire Cult and, more importantly, must be seen as wielding power over the entire Cult. A weak master on the Inner Circle invites strife and war which, while it might be good for the cult, can be very disruptive.

Rank 8: The Mystic Tyrant (Reluke Lithe)

Only a transcendental master may hold the title of Mystical Tyrant. Transcendental Masters always have at least the rank of Master and typically sit on the Inner Circle, and may be rare enough that only one exists within the cult at a given time. In such a case, they become the Mystic Tyrant (in the case of two more more Trasncendental Masters, the most powerful, by right of strength, takes the position). A Mystic Tyrant has total control over the Cult. The Inner Circle acts as his advisory body and serves his commands enacting his vision. The relationship between Mystic Tyrant and Inner Circle is not one of slave and master, though smart masters will choose to swear an oath of direct loyalty to a transcedental master in hopes of gaining transcendence themselves, but of first among equals. The transcendental master is what all masters of the Cult aspire to be, and thus the masters naturally serve him, but ultimately so that they can be like him.

Rank 9: The True Secret Master?

The Cult trades in secrecy and influence, so some wonder if secret powers influence the Cult in some hidden way. If multiple cults exists across the galaxy, a rumor may persist of a single unifying force manipulating all of them. Such a master would necessarily be a transcendental master, typically with powers most members of the Cult can barely conceive of. While no real rank of “True Secret Master” exists, conspiratorial whispers like to suggest that one of the ancient masters, Anthara, Satra Temos or Revalis White, have found some way to cheat death and that they manipulate the entire Cult from beyond the grave.

Favors of the Mystic Tyrant

The Cult of the Mystic Tyrant has numerous, far-reaching assets at its disposal. It excels at covert activity requests (PR 14), especially Cover-Ups, which it is preternaturally good at. It has access to psionically trained super-assassins and space-knights, which make for exceptionally powerful Violence favors (PR 19). As an ancient conspiracy with tendrils in nearly every part of the galactic economy, it has vast sums of money available, which can help a great deal with Material Aid requests (PR 16).

However, it’s truly unique strength lies in the supernatural favors it can offer, as well as its more conspiratorial ones. These favors include, but are not limited to:

Dark Miracles: Slaves of the Cult can petition their masters for a Dark Miracle. In general, a Minor Blessing is +5, a Major Blessing is +2, a Miraculous Power is -2, and a World-Shaking Miracle is -5.

Places of Power: the Cult has access to many temples and places where the Sanctity of Dark Communion is High or Very High. Treat requests for access to such places as requests for access to Facilities (PR 18)

Relics: The Cult has knowledge of and access to many ancient relics in its vast vaults; generally such relics seek out their destined masters naturally (the Cult likes to put them on display before newly recruited cultists, praise the virtue of the relics, and then deny the cultist access to them, to see which cultists have the strength of purpose necessary to align their destiny with the destiny of the relic). If a character temporarily needs a relic, though, treat it as a Gear request (PR 16).

Dark Secrets: The cult knows many ancient secrets. They can Consult (PR 15), typically with Expert Skill (Conspiracy Theory), History, Hidden Lore (Places of Power), Hidden Lore (Communion) and Occultism at skill 18-21. If they know something outright (such as requesting access to a specific file that contains some dark secret), threat this as a Files request.

The masters of the Cult have access to unique powers and martial arts, which they will train students in. Treat this as a Services request, though Transcendent powers apply an additional -5 to gain access to.

Conspiratorial Power: The Cult has access to numerous sub-conspiracies and to the organizations they control too. They Cult excels at Introductions and Invitations (PR 18); at the GM’s discretion, characters in the cult may attempt to use their Cult connections to make a request from subordinate organizations; typically this applies a -5 if it goes beyond a mere introduction and into the cult as the whole strong-arming an organization into assisting the character.

Cult of the Mystic Tyrant Character Considerations

Requirements: Characters serving the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant must have Secret (Cultist of the Mystic Tyrant; Potentially Lethal) [-30], representing his oath to keep the secrets of the Cult. They must also have Duty; initiates and masters typically have it to the Cult and have it at 9 or less, while Slaves have extremely hazardous duty to a specific master at 15 or less. Finally, all characters need Religious Rank (Cult of the Mystic Tyrant) 1 at a minimum.

Characters who serve a specific master may have him as a Patron. Most Cult Masters are Patrons worth a base of 15 points, though Transcendental Masters typically have access to special abilities and cost at least 25 points!

Cults of the Divine Mask

The foundation of Annifem Lithe are the old cults, the Nadomen, of the Ranathim. Their lore and theology served as the basis for how other “similar” cults from other alien races, or even other Ranathim cults. Though the cults have changed over time, Ranathim and other aliens, and even some humans, still worship those original cults, and a multitude of cults beside.

What worship means varies from cult to cult, and how believers interact with their cults, and with Annifem Lithe differ from believer to believer. Many faithful focus intently on a single cult, absorbing their specific practices and superstitions Others attend a variety of cults superficially based on their needs, treating each cult as a different set of supernatural specialists. Others take Annifem Lithe as a whole cohesive system and see individual cults as suffering from tunnel vision. Those who treat primarily with the cults are said to practice Chivare and those who treat with the Annifem Lithe as a whole are said to practice Zathare. The Nadomen, the cults, are the only meaningful organizations of the Annifem Lithe system. Those who study Zathare, or who practice broader Chivare tend to have little organization beyond local master-apprentice relationsships, or small circles of individuals sometimes called covens.

Those who follow a specific cult might, instead of having the Believer (Annifem Lithe) quirk, they might have a Believer (Specific Cult) quirk. Most believers subscribe to the various superstitions associated with their cult, which double as small ritual acts. Characters may take these as quirks, or as Delusion (Superstition) disadvantages, usually worth no more than -5 points.

Annifem Lithe categorizes all of its various cults into the categories of the 9 communion paths A sample of cults under the Annifem Lithe system include:

• Domen Sefelina: The Cult of the Dancer celebrates hedonistic freedom, and grants that freedom to all who make offerings to their goddess. They traditionally served as the brides of the Ranathim Divine Tyrant; today they offer their services to the underworld and fight to liberate their kind from slavery. Domen Sefelina worships the Beautiful Fool. Other cults that worship the Beautiful Fool, according to Annifem Lithe, include the “Cult” of Esau Elegans.
• Domen Sonostrum: The Knights of Rage fight against the injustices that nobody else will fight against. They take revenge for the fallen, for the outcast and dispossessed. They traditionally served as the secretive enforcers for the Ranatahim Empire, but today, the serve as a seed of insurgency against those who oppress the Ranathim. Domen Sonostrum worships the Rebellious Beat. Other cults that worship the Rebellious Beast, according to Annitehm Lithe are the Ithin-Kor, and the “Cult” of Lothar Kain.
• Domen Venalina: The Sin-Eaters have discovered a way to purify the Ranathim of their “inherently sinful nature” and to gain access to True Communion, and they offer to liberate all other Ranathim of their sins and dark impulses and draw them into the grace of True Communion along with them. Domen Venalina worships the Bound Princess. Other cults, according to Annifem Lithe, that worship the Bound Princess, include the cult of Sissi Sabine.

Agendas of the Cults of the Divine Masks

Each Cult has their own specific concerns and agendas, but cults, taken as a whole, have similar sorts of agendas. Cults broadly tend to be concerned with protecting their holy spaces, expanding their membership and influence, and in collecting relics associated with their particular faith. The Annifem Lithe cults also rely on powerful psions if they want to gain access to Communion, thus they remain constantly on the look-out for powerful potential psions. Examples of such agendas include:

Once thought lost forever, the shifting hyperspace storms of the Tangled Expanse have opened to reveal a path that leads to a lost Ranathim world upon which a famed Ranathim temple rests in ruins. The cult must send an explorer to survey the damage, drive out any intruders, and make it safe for a pilgrimage of a Chivaga who restore is sanctity to their God.

An ancient relic, once thought forever lost after the fall of the Ranathim empire, has turned up on the antiquities black market in the hands of a human smuggler who likely doesn’t know its true power. The cult must quietly contact the smuggler and secure the relic. If his asking price is too high, the cult may use other means to secure it. However, the operation must remain quiet, lest rival cults or, worse, the Nazathan, hear of the relic and try to seize if for themselves!

The date of a great Cult festivity looms near. The faithful brim with excitement, but the authorities grow nervous as pilgrims from all across the world flock to the city in which the temple is located. The cult has never been more powerful, nor in a more precarious position! The leadership must find some way to assure the leadership that nothing unfortunate will happen, while making preparations to ensure that the festivities go off without a hitch, despite increasing political tensions which such a large mass of faithful are slowly making worse with their presence.

A daughter of the divine has been born! A cult, long without a proper Chivaga has learned of a child who has faced the milestones of the divine path, and displays a capacity of miraculous power. Naturally, her mysterious power frightens the locals and her own family, who lost their faith in the Annifem Lithe long ago. The cult must dispatch a chiva to comfort or cow the populace, collect the child, train her in her destiny as Chivaga and then install her as a new leader. Be careful! Whomever trains the child will likely control that child’s destiny and thus become a behind-the-throne power for the child-priestess!

Cult of the Divine Masks as Opposition

The Cults have access to well-trained psions and limited access to Communion. Their membership tends to be more enthusiastic than well-trained. Most cultists will have combatants no better than civilians, at BAD -0, though likely with unusual powers. More militant cults, like Domen Sonostrum, can field full space knights might field combatants as effective as BAD -5. Organizationally, the Cults typically have a BAD of -0 to -2, not because they have exceptional security measures, but because their psionic training offer them additional security. The PSI-BAD at least equals or exceeds their BAD.

Serving in a Cult of the Divine Masks

Religious Rank

6: Thamel (Master/Mistress), Chivaga (Head Priest/Priestess)

5: Chiavagi (High Priest/Priestess)

4: Chiva Siva (Special Priest/Priestess)

3: Chiva (Priest/Priestess)

2: Chivago (Lesser Priest/Priestess)

1: Kigalegi (Senior Acolyte)

0: Seva (Slave), Kigale (Acolyte)

If one wishes to serve a cult, they first submit either as a Seva (slave or servant), who labors for the temple and does whatever the cultists need of him, or they become a Kigale, an “Acolyte” (lit “Follower”). Acolytes serve in a lay faculty, serving higher priests directly and governing the Seva.

Those who have sufficient psionic acumen or who have a destiny that bring them in alignment with the path of the cult can become Chiva or priests or priestess (lit “Witch”). Apprenticeship begins with the rank of Chivago or “Lesser priest/priestess.” Such priests learn at the feet of greater priests and typically focus on Communion Oaths as the source of their connection with Communion. Once a character has graduated, they become full-fledged Chiva. Most Chiva have at least a Communion Oath, or are Archetypes. The Chiva Siva (lit “Special Witch”) work as agents out in the world, collecting artifacts, spreading doctrines and subverting danger against the cult.

The greatest priests and priestess must either be Archtypes or have achieved Communion itself. These become Chivagi (Greater priests/priestesses), or the Chivaga or Thamel. These lead the cult on a local level, running the temple, wearing the mask of their divinity and making pronouncements in their stead. No higher organization exists. There’s no “High Master of all Domen Sefelina.” Each temple follows their own cult in their own way, and some cults worshiping the same path might even begin to form rivalries with one another!

Favors of a Cult of the Divine Masks

Generally, cults offer their members access to supernatural power and insight.

Communion Miracles: The Cults of the Divine Mask do have access to Communion, albeit in a more limited way than the Cult of the Mystic Tyrant or True Communion. Treat requests for miracles as requests for technical means (PR 15), but apply an additional -2 to represent the greater cost for Communion miracles associated with the cult.

Relics: Cults of the Divine Mask regularly collect and worship relics associated with their particular path, adding them to their own god’s mythology. They may be willing to part with them, if you have sufficient draw with the cult! Treat this as gear (PR 16), but apply a -5, similar to “experimental gear with no price tag.”

Sacred Spaces: Cults of the Divine Mask have access to places “Holy” to certain forms of Communion (most commonly Dark Communion, but some cults to paths of True or Broken Communion do exist!). Treat this as Facilities (PR pp 18-19) if the characters want to make use of the site to enact a miracle.

Introduction (PR 18): While the Cults of the Divine Masks don’t really hold much sway with the galactic elite, many members of the criminal underworld, or members of outcast races, worship the Cults. However, cross–cult introductions (such as joining Domen Sonostrum and looking for an introduction to the high priestess of Domen Sefelina) do not benefit from the +5 for “introduction to members of the same organization.” The Cults of the Divine Mask are related, but not that closely!

Teaching (Services, PR 18): The Cults of the Divine Masks have access to secrets and will willingly part with them to almost all members, though Anala Izathan, the Practices of Sorcery, tend to have greater access to actual secrets, rather than the cults.

Cult Character Considerations

Requirements: Characters serving a Cult of the Divine Masks have no minimum wealth, and must have Religious Rank 0, and have a Duty of at least 9 or less. Most will have an appropriate Vow or Disciplines of Faith (Ritual).

A Favor from a Cult of the Divine Masks institute is worth 1 point/rank. A Cult as a Patron is worth 15 points as a base. A Cult as an Enemy is worth -15 points.

The Akashic Order as Organization

The nature of the Akashic Mysteries and their Shadow Council makes it a highly centralized organization. While ancillary organizations, like the Akashic Knights, certainly exist, and factions within the Akashic Order exist, everything ultimately orbits around the unique power and insights of the Shadow Council.

With the death of the last Alexian Empire and the seeming extinction of the Alexian line, the rest of the Galaxy and many in the Akashic Order itself lost faith in the Akashic Mysteries. They felt the fight lost, the coming storm inevitable, and the promises of the Order broken. For these former believers, the Akashic Order matters not as a way to save the galaxy from the Coming Storm, but as a cultural rallying point. For them, what matters is how the Akashic Mysteries bring everyone together. They see it as a counter point to the cold rationalism of the Empire, and a way to remind the Galaxy of the good old days. These believers attend the mysteries to meet old friends; they still approach the oracles as much for the pomp as for the advice. They seek to make the mysteries more overt, but no longer cling to the harsh strictures of the olden days.

Some, however, still feel that the Coming Storm can be defeated; this will take ingenuity and a new approach, certainly, but it can still be done! This more dedicated faction quietly dispatches its Oracles and Akashic Knights on secretive missions to shift the current timeline on a way that might, possibly, navigate the galaxy through the coming storm. It also seeks to do something that previous generations never tried: to understand the Coming Storm, and to find new allies in the fight. This group seeks to pin down exactly what will destroy humanity in the Galaxy, and seeks to contact other philosophies, like True Communion, that might aid them in the fight.

The Shadow Council

At the heart of the great Akashic Temple complex on Perspephone, deep below the surface, where all the tunnels ultimately meet, yawns a great and ominous chamber. Something terrible or weird once occurred in this chamber and twisted is psionic energy. Various strands of time tangle here, making prophesy easier, and temporal shadows haunt it. But the temporal shadows here belong here. They are the members of the Shadow Council.

The Shadow Council consists of all Shadow-Initiated Oracles who have ever come to this room, and projected themselves across time, and all who ever would. They meet to discuss the events of their time, the coming storm, and what they must do in their time to ensure that the Shadow Councilors of the future come to be, and that they can defeat the coming storm. They appear together, the living prophetess as a physical person, but the rest as shadowy figures, those from the future the most distorted, shifting and uncertain, and those from the past ghostly and wane, the echoes of a prophetess of the past.

Shadow Councilors do not all agree with one another, but they rarely move against one another, as past or present, each Shadow-initiated oracle has the power to move through time and manipulate events in some way. Thus, each Shadow Councilor is equal to all others, with a few caveats. A living Shadow Councilor, the present Prophetess, is the most powerful and most important, as she can most easily interact with the living world, but this does not make her the leader of the Council. Indeed, she must often act at on the behest of the Council, carrying out their edicts in the present world. The farther one is in the past, the more they must submit to the rulings of the Council, because the more their actions act as foundations for the rest of what must come. Those in the future have the most tenuous positions, as the acts of those in the past might cancel out their existence, but they have the greatest insights into how the others must act, as they can look into their own records and history and uncover what the Akashic Order in their past did.

(It should be noted that from the perspective of each Shadow Councilor, they are all living prophetesses, as each Shadow Councilor, in their own time, is alive. The notion of the living prophetess as “the most important” is a conceit for the Order, rather than the Shadow Council. That is, the Akashic Order gets its orders, in the present, from the living prophetess, not from the shadows of oracles past and future, at least in principle. In some times, especially towards the panic at the end of the Alexian era, the shadows of prophetesses, past and especially future, made last ditch efforts to avert the death of the Alexian line, and greatly added to the confusion of that time).

Despite the fact that the Shadow Council spans time in such a way that it has always existed and will always exist, its membership does change. The farther in time is from a particular shadow councilor, the less certain that councilor is. Each shadow councilor’s shadowy form is a quantum blur of possible futures (and even, disturbingly, sometimes a blur of the possible pasts!). Some especially privileged members of the Akashic Order are allowed to attend the Shadow Council as observers, and the Akashic Order has recordings of all Shadow Councilors and what they say, and their words and actions are deeply inconsistent. The Akashic Order uses their vast records of the past and future not as gospel truths, but as ways of reading the possibilities of the future, and on which future timeline they seem to be moving towards.

Only the Shadow Initiated may enter the Shadow Council Chamber, but not all Shadow Initiated are Shadow Councilors. Other initiates include Shadow Scribes, those librarians who record the prophecies given in such meetings, and Shadow Knights, who have been taught to see and interact with temporal shadows, allowing Shadow Councilors across time to interact with them; some are also trained in how to fight the ghosts of broken communion or the temporal shadows that may haunt the Shadow Council Chamber.

Members of the Shadow Council often have obscure names that arise from before they actually exist, as the uncertain nature of the timeline makes the prophetess appear as a strange, symbolic representation of what she could be until the timeline makes her certain. An incomplete listing of the Shadow Council includes:

The Oracle of Hunger, the Primal Prophetess

The Primal Prophetess has no known personal name, and does not seem to be human. She covers her eyes with a veil and when she laughs (as she often does) she reveals long, sharp teeth. Unlike the oracles of the future, she seems particularly unaffected by shifts in the timeline, leading some to conclude that she is truly ancient, the very first oracle to uncover the shadow chamber. However, she appears very hazy, indistinct and has substantial knowledge of the future, leading some to argue that she is the last of the oracles, the one who will live at the end of galactic civilization. She never speaks of her own time. She seems to have no agenda; she seems remarkably unconcerned about the Coming Storm, or the fate of humanity, and often observes or teases the other oracles. In the darkest of times, such as the moment the last Alexian Emperor died, she pronounces “All is as it should be.”

The Oracle of Hope, the Golden Child, Livia Alexus

Livia Alexus would have been born after the Coming Storm. She appeared as a girl on the cusp of womanhood, dressed in veils of white, with a crystal set into her brow and, unlike all the other oracles, bearing a golden light around her instead of a shadowy haze. She had a light, airy voice and a laugh like the tinkle of bells. She would instruct the other oracles in how her time came to be, explaining what needed to happen to avoid the Coming Storm. The death of Lucian Alexus, the last Alexian Emperor, destroyed her. She vanished from the chamber, never to return.

Sometimes, where she once stood, a dark shadow will appear, in which one can sometimes see a battered, half-starved and weary girl, the so-called Black Child. The Black Child has never spoken. The Vanishing of Livia Alexus ushered in an end of hope for most of the Akashic Order, and most in the order see the appearance of the Black Child as dark, even mocking, omen. Those who have hope of defeating the Coming Storm break into two camps. Some strive to find a way to restore the Golden Child’s timeline in whole, and see the Black Child’s timeline as an abomination to be purged. The other side argues that if the Black Child exists beyond the Coming Storm, then her timeline should be strengthened, not diminished, as she represents hope, however slim.

The Oracle of Chains, the Bloody Prophetess, the Alexian Mother, Sissi Sabine

The Akashic Order predates Sissi Sabine, but to most, she was the “first” Oracle. She married Alexus Rex after the Shadow Council decided that the bloody rise of his Empire was the best course to avert the Coming Storm. Sissi Sabine objected to the course, noting how many would die if the path was taken, but her concerns were overridden, especially by Livia Alexus.

Sissi Sabine is as beautiful as her legend would suggest. Her face appears an ivory white in the midst of the shifting shadows of her aura, and she has a gentle and comforting voice. She seems to carry a great sadness, arising from learning of the death of her Alexian descendants, and the futility of her sacrifice.

Sissi Sabine acts as a voice of compassion on the Council. She consistently reminds the Council of the obligations of nobility, and seems to see the Alliance as the last spark of hope for a golden age of equality and prosperity under the protection of the Maradonian nobility. At times, though, her frustration and sadness at the state of the Galaxy and her marriage drive her to tears and she’ll vanish from the Council, unable to muster the strength to maintain her trance. Some report Sissi Sabine appearing to Shadow Knights and asking them to do things on her own authority. Exactly what she wants, whether she seeks to undermine the council, or to do things they won’t saction, nobody knows for sure.

The Oracle of Spiders, The Empty Prophetess, the Sabine Witch, Mara Sabine

One of the last oracles before the Coming Storm, the Empty Prophetess first appeared when Sissi agreed to marry Alexus Rex, but spoke not a word, only watching and quietly learning, until she was revealed as Mara Sabine, who would be the Sister-in-Law of Nova Sabine. Mara Sabine currently rules the Akashic Order as the living Prophetess.

Mara has long, white hair and flawless skin despite her advanced years, which are evident in her yellow-toothed smile and her yellowing eyes, which make her seemingly youthful face look like a mask. She speaks with a rough, unpleasant voice that articulates with a carefully cultivated Maradonian Accent.

Mara seeks to restore the Akashic Order to its former dominance. She sees it as the heart of the Alliance, and without it, she believes the Alliance would fall apart. She pushes the Akashic Order towards active political involvement in the Empire, and denounces Nova Sabine’s tolerance and anti-elitism. She has appeared regularly in the Alliance Senate, exhorting the nobility to return to the Akashic Mysteries, with some success. She either does not believe the Coming Storm can be defeated, or that the only acceptable means of victory would restore the Golden Child, and harshly opposes any actions that would strengthen the timeline of the Black Child.

Despite not speaking until she took her place on the Council, the records of the Akashic Library seem to suggest she has been politically active before she took her position of power. A string of assassinations, mainly by poison, led to her birth and to her rise in power, leading to her name. While she will never openly admit it, evidence mounts that she has conducted, and continues to conduct, efforts to make sure that her rival, the Bastard Prophetess, never joins the Council.

The Oracle of Apocalypse, the Bastard Prophetess

The moment the last Alexian Emperor died and Livia Alexus vanished, the Oracle of Apocalypse appeared, which most members of the Shadow Council took to be an ill-omen. She appears as a murky shadow, with only a hint of her real appearance beneath it. She has a pleasant voice, but a common, unsophisticated accent, and often mocks the other members of the council, except for the Oracle of Hunger, whom she neither seems to hear nor see, but who often approves of the Bastard Prophetess.

The Bastard Prophetess seems to be the last Oracle born before the Coming Storm. Generally, only one Living Prophetess exists at a time, but in the modern era, there seem to be two! The Bastard Prophetess should be about 18-20 now, and could possibly take her place on the Shadow Council as a contemporary of Mara Sabine.

Nobody knows the Bastard Prophetess’s name. She seems to be common-born, or at least raised without the benefit of an aristocratic upbringing. She has a disdainful view of the Maradonian Aristocracy and is dismissive of the legacy of the Alexian Empire. Some records have her stating that she never wanted to join the Shadow Council, and only did so out of great need, and some evidence suggests that she had a tragic relationship with “a knight.” She should join the council within the next few years, and already, the Akashic Order scours the Galaxy for her as best they can with their meager resources.

The Bastard Prophetess speaks out against the traditions of the Akashic Mysteries, which she argues has blinded the order to their true objective, which is saving the Galaxy. She argues in favor of any solution that pushes the council towards defeating the Coming Storm. She favors policies of outreach towards other philosophies and political entities, encouraging the Alliance to seek alien assistance; only the Empire earns more disdain from the Bastard Prophetess than the Maradonian elites. She also argues that the Council should seek to understand the nature of the Coming Storm, and she openly supports the Black Child timeline, arguing that it represents the best remaining hope of defeating the Coming Storm. She speaks out against Mara Sabine, arguing that she uses the Mysteries as a tool for advancing an aristocratic agenda and that she commits the same mistake her descendants did that led to the downfall of the Alexian Empire.

Agendas of the Akashic Order

The Akashic Order is a shell of its former self. It lacks the prestige and power it once had, but it still does what it can to pursue the goal of stopping the Coming Storm and reasserting its importance in the Galaxy, especially in the Alliance. Different members of the Shadow Council also have their own agendas, and can appear, as dark shades, anywhere in time and space to make their wishes known.

A young noble holds the key to the future power of the Akashic Order, but does not believe in the Akashic Mysteries. The Akashic Order must persuade him otherwise! By looking into his future, the Order can determine at what points he will most need him, and then intervene at those moments. However, the Order must make sure he knows that he’s tied to the Order, whether he knows it or not, making a point of calling him “the Destined one” and giving him enough hints of his future that he draws himself deeper into their orbit of influence.

A contentious vote has arisen in the Alliance Senate. The Shadow Council can find no meaningful impact that the vote will make on the future, but the Akashic Order sees an opportunity to increase its influence. They must court all sides, play cagey about the future, and then once they’ve determined which side will benefit the order the most to back, they can make a vague pronouncement about how imperative one choice is to the future. The prophecy must be correct, so that none will look back and doubt the veracity of the Akashic Order, but given the ultimate irrelevance of the vote on the ultimate future of the Alliance, the Akashic Order must spice up the prophecy to make their support seem important, so as to cement their influence on the House that backs them.

A new Oracle has been discovered! A child born in the Empire shows powerful precognitive abilities, but if the Empire finds her, she’ll vanish into the Imperial Bureaucracy, never to be found again. The Order must dispatch very discrete knights, loyal to the Akashic order, to retrieve the girl without alerting the Imperial authorities to her talents, or to the involvement of the Alliance, and bring her back to the Order for training.

Mara Sabine: Mara Sabine needs a Shadow Knight. She chooses her best candidates and sends them on a mission meant to test their mettle against powerful, and deeply corrupt, psionic threats. Those that survive will be made her shadow knights, given the Shadow Initiation, and taught the secrets of the Shadow Council so that they may hunt and slay the ghosts that haunt her. Then, she will send them to hunt the temporal shadows of the Black Child and the Bastard Prophetess.

The Black Child: The Black Child has appeared to an Akashic librarian in his dreams, haunting him with images of the coming storm, the death of himself and his family, and then pointed, showing him the location of a long lost work in his own library. The work contains instructions, a prophecy for the present day, including the death of a powerful noble, the corruption of an imperial official, and the induction of a common (if heroic, and somewhat unruly) nobody as an Akashic Knight. The Order is split on whether to enact or violate the prophecy, for both sides believe it will help bring about the Black Child’s timeline.

The Bastard Prophetess: The Bastard Prophetess knows her time has come. She appears as a temporal shadow to a knight and tells her where he can find her. She tells him that she will know nothing of all of this, that she is speaking to him from her own future. She will tell him that she will be difficult, but that eventually she will come to love and trust him, but leaves it up to him whether to violate that trust. She also tells him that the agents of Mara Sabine will be close on his heels, trying to kill her before she can be brought back to the Shadow Council, where she belongs.

The Akashic Order as Opposition

The Akashic Order lacks the wealth and prestige it once had, but its psionic prowess has not diminished, and the determination of its members has only grown more fanatical in this time of desperation. The Akashic Order is typically BAD -5, with elite Akashic Knights at its disposal, with the Shadow Council and its Shadow Agents typically BAD -8. As a deeply psionic organization, its PSI-BAD is equal to its BAD!

The Akashic Order has no better electronic security measures than most typical Alliance organizations. It makes use of biometric locks, electronic locks and security cameras, but much of its technology is decidedly traditional, and designed to make use of psionic abilities. It typically stores all sensitive data and people below ground, in caverns hewn from natural rock, and typically disguises entry-ways to look like natural stone in such a way that they’ll fool natural senses, but not ESP. It also records most of its information either on data discs or on paper, and those who want access to the data can’t simply raid a central server, but must instead find the actual information, which is usually organized in sufficiently chaotic manner that one needs to either be utterly familiar with that particular organization means, or one needs access to ESP to correctly guess where the data may be. Finally, the most common security traps that the Akashic Order uses include poisons found on Persephone or created by the Akashic Order themselves. The Akashic Order tends to teach their members how to immunize themselves to that particular poison, which means that members of the Akashic Order rarely need to worry about accidentally tripping a security measure, but interlopers risk death!

The real danger of facing the Akashic Order does not come from its security measures, or even the excellent training of its Akashic Knights. A determined technologist can overcome the technological security measures with ease. The real danger posed by the Akashic Order comes from its precognition. They will almost certainly divine any attempt to attack or undermine the order long before it occurs, and a thief may well find a veiled oracle sitting patiently atop the item he has come to steal, with a unit of determined Akashic knights at her back. For simplicity, treat all Akashic opponents as having one level of Foresight at a minimum, and at least one level of Serendipity, to represent how well they can predict the actions of other characters.

The best way to defeat Akashic prognostication and visions to is have uncertain and chaotic plans, so that their actions blur into a thousand shadowy paths that the Akashic Order cannot predict with absolute certainty. Anti-Psionic characters with Psionic Invisbility cannot be seen by the Akashic Order, and can bypass all of their psionic defenses with ease. The best the Akashic Order can do against such opponents is look for blindspots, absences, or inconsistent futures to uncover where an attack might happen, but against the background of chaotic possibility, this is almost impossible, hence why the Akashic Order has a second layer of physical defenses.

Serving in the Akashic Order

Religious, Military and Servant Ranks

The Akashic Order, strictly speaking, contains only characters with Religious rank, but they tend to be closely intertwined with servants who work directly for the Order, and the Knights of the Golden Path, or the Akashic Knights who, inspired by the Knights of Communion, created their order in imitation of it, at first to fight the “heresy” of Communion, but now to protect the flickering candle of Akashic faith.

Ranks:	Religious	Religious	Military	Servant
8	Living Prophetess
7	Shadow Councilor
6	Temple Oracle		Knight Commander
5	(Superior) Oracle	Temple Priest	Knightly Council
4	Oracle	High Priest, Shadow Scribe	Master, Shadow Knight
3	(Lesser) Oracle	Master	Knight
2	Apprentice Oracle	Priest/Priestess	Knight	Servant Superior
1	Initiate	Initiate	Initiate	Lay Servant
0	Petitioner	Petitioner	Petitioner Knight	Lay servant

All who wish to serve the Akashic Order are petitioners. They tend to work on whatever task the Akashic Order has for them, and the only thing that differentiates them from lay servants are the fact that the Akashic Order expects them to stick to vows of chastity and poverty. Those who wish to serve the Akashic Order must absent themselves from the world and become invisible to time. Great power, wealth and descendants can cause ripples in time, and if an oracle or a priest acts on a prophecy in such a way that it impacts a great legacy like his own genetic line or wealth, this can have huge repercussions, and thus all members of the Akashic Order (and the Knights of the Golden Path) accept these vows.

Once a petitioner has convinced the Akashic Order of their worthiness, they undergo Lesser Initiation. They learn their proper place in the world from an Oracle, and are either accepted fully into the order, or are cast out, based on the needs of the Order and the petitioner’s future. Note that this is the same initiation those who do not wish to join the order get. One can be initiated without joining the order, but one cannot join the order without being initiated.

The initiate continues to act as a sort of a servant, but with superior knowledge and official membership into the Akashic Order. They also serve as Companions, guiding others through initiation. Once they have been sufficiently educated in their tasks, women with ESP become Apprentice Oracles; they attend the actual oracles and begin to study the techniques and skills of Prognostication, but lack the authority to truly act on their own. Men or women who lack ESP become priests or priestesses. They have the authority to conduct ceremonies (Clerical Investment), attend and support Oracles, and help petitioners and initiates to interpret prophecy.

Once an Apprentice Oracle completes her training, she undergoes Akashic Initiation and touches the Akashic Record itself. She then has the right to give prophecies, perform match making, make calls to judgment and anything else an Oracle may do (Clerical Investment). In principle, they have no additional ranks, but in practice, newly minted oracles do not take on apprentices and do not leave the temple, and superior oracles usually take on apprentices. Finally, every temple has a Temple Oracle. She ultimately decides what goes on in her temple, though day-to-day administrative tasks are left to priests.

Priests may increase in rank to master or high priest. A master governs a single task within the temple, and often have titles, including Librarian, Quartermaster, etc. High Priests govern all other priests within the temple, and answer to the Temple Priest, who handles all administrative tasks within the temple, and answers only to the Temple Oracle. Note that the Akashic Order has a 50/50 male/female division of priests and priestesses, and both can attain any position within the temple (priestesses tend to be slightly favored over priests).

Servants work beneath a Servant Superior, a lay person who lacks any Clerical Investment or any requirement for oaths, and he answers to a priestly Master. Servants handle everything from cleaning the temple to preparing food, but they never handle religious matters; specifically, they never act as Companions.

Shadow Knights, Shadow Scribes and Shadow Councilors all have undergone the Final Initiation and been inducted into the Shadow Council. They have Security Clearance (Shadow Initiation) and are privvy to the deepest secrets of the council. They answer directly to the Shadow Council.

Favors of the Akashic Order

The Akashic Order has numerous unique assets at its disposal. Any member of the Alliance (or any character with Status at the GM’s discretion) may use Status as Pulling Rank to gain access to any of the favors below, though the Akashic Order will favor members and initiates in the Akashic Mysteries over non-initiated (apply a -1 to Status as Pulling Rank for non-Initiates).

These favors include, but are not limited to:

Prophecy: The Akashic Order can look deep into time and, while their prophecies aren’t perfect, they can tell a great deal about one’s future. They even offer their prophecies to outsiders. Treat a given prophecy as a free Destiny until that Destiny has been fulfilled or proven to be sufficiently false that the GM removes it. Anyone can request a session with an oracle through normal channels, which does not require an AR but an AR can expedite the process, in which case no modifier applies, and the character can expect to get his prophecy in days rather than months. If time is an issue, or the character needs access to the highly effective and dynamic prophecies of a member of the Shadow Council, treat it as Technical Means (PR 18).

Matchmaking: The Akashic Order specializes in eugenics and has extensive records on eligible bachelors and bachelorettes of noble lineage. The Akashic Order can find a suitable bride or groom, and then arrange a meeting or even a marriage. Treat this as an Introduction (PR 18), including the +5 modifier if the bride or groom has the Believer (Akashic Mysteries) quirk or is initiated into the Akashic Mysteries.

Prophetic Medicine: The Akashic Order offers a unique form of prophecy, where the oracle determines the best form of treatment for someone. Treat this as Treatment (PR 17).

Future History: The Akashic Order houses vast library of prophecy and the words of its Shadow Council, revealing the vast, uncertain and complex shape of time. It will grant a member only (no Status as Pulling Rank here!) access to this information. Treat this as Files (PR 15) except all such documents are “sensitive.” Waive the -5 if the character has Security Clearance (Shadow Initiate).

Treatment: When it comes to healing others, the Akashic Order offers extensive medical resources. The sick are brought before an oracle, who uses with Oracle or Prognostication to determine what the best cure would be; if an Oracle cannot be spared, the Order will search through its extensive records to find a similar case and a similar prophecy (treat this as a Research roll that acts as a complimentary roll that grants a +2 if such a prophecy exists). Then the Order treats the victim. The Order prefers natural medicines (Pharmacy (Herbal)) over artificial cures, but will use whatever method the Oracle demands. Such healing isn’t faster than TL 11^ medicine, but it can certainly cover edge cases that TL 11^ medicine cannot cure.

Shadow Knights and Akashic Knights: The Akashic Order commands the loyalty of the Knights of the Akashic Mysteries and their own, highly lethal Shadow Knights. Treat this as the Cavalry (PR 19), but it tends to result in 1-3 Knights, rather than the typical 5. The Akashic Order makes up for its inferior quantity with superior quality!

Akashic Character Considerations

Requirements: Characters serving the Akashic Order as servants need only Servant Rank 0 and some level of non-hazardous Duty (Akashic Order) [Varies]. Characters who wish to be Oracles or Priests must have Religious Rank 0, Vow (Chastity) [-5], Discipline of Faith (Monasticism) [-10], and Duty (Akashic Order, 15 or less) [-15]. They must take Clerical Investment (Akashic Order) [5] at Religious Rank 2+ (for priests) or 3+ (for Oracles). Akashic Knights must have Military Rank 0+, Vow (Chastity) [-5], Vow (Poverty) [-10] and Duty (Akashic Order, 15 or less, Extremely Hazardous) [-20]. Shadow Initiated characters have Security Clearance (Shadow Initiation) [10]

A Favor from the Akashic Order is worth 1 point/rank. The Akashic Order (or just one Shadow Councilor) as a Patron is worth 20 points as a base. The Akashic Order (or just one Shadow Councilor) as an Enemy is worth -25 points.

Neo-Rational Organizations: Institutes and Salons

No single, overarching organization governs Neo-Rationalism; one can better think of Neo-Rationalism as a movement. Organizations form within that movement for the express purpose of exploring, expanding and teaching the ideas of Neo-Rationalism. Broadly speaking, these organizations break down into two categories: institutes, official organizations that teach Neo-Rationalism in a formal manner, and Salons, which teach Neo-Rationalism in an informal manner.

Neo-Rational Institutes

An Institute is any formal organization that offers explicit courses in Neo-Rationalism. Institutes have the financial backing of governments, major corporations or wealthy donors. They have explicit campuses where they practice Neo-Rationalism. They teach Neo-Rationalism formally, and often call themselves Academies or Universities. They offer explicit credentials (typically Laureates) to graduates or members of the Neo-Rational community who have accomplished great works. They also keep accomplished members on the payroll and sponsor expeditions and experiments meant to further the work of Neo-Rationalism and prove the words of the original Rationalist masters. When one speaks of “Neo-Rationalist Organizations,” one probably speaks of Institutes.

A sampling of Neo-Rational Institutes include:

The Royal Shinjura Academy of Sciences: The Shinjurai royal family explicitly supports the Royal Academy on their homeworld of Denjuku, and to this day it is the largest Neo-Rational institute in the galaxy. It serves as a living museum to the original Rationalist masters and even has tombs where their bodies lie to this day. Many Neo-Rationalists attempt to make a pilgrimage there at least once in their life, to walk among the places the original Rationalists walked, to better understand how they achieved their genius, though this has become more difficult in the past generation due to the political situation with the Alliance and the Empire. The Royal Academy teaches “standard” Neo-Rationalism, though it has some Cyber-Rational leanings. The current headmaster of the Royal Academy is the aging Tai-Lan Hawk on cybernetic life support, and the Royal Academy currently struggles with the growing influence of Zeb Lancaster, the now exiled former headmaster of the Royal Academy.

The Imperial Academy: The Emperor drew inspiration from the Royal Shinjurai Academy for his Imperial Academy, envisioning it as a place where he could begin to re-educate the citizenry of his Empire away from the superstition of the old Federation days. While not explicitly a Neo-Rationalist institution, Neo-Rationalism certainly flourishes in the Imperial Academy and throughout the Empire, especially in the Ministry of Science. Additional Neo-Rationalist institutes, mostly policy advocacy groups and research institutes, dot the Empire. While the Empire focuses primarily on standard Neo-Rationalism, Fringe Rationalism has gained a considerable foothold on the culture of the Empire, and many research projects of the Ministry of Science focus on psionic experiments. The most important Neo-Rationalist in the Empire is currently Ren Haversham, the Chair of Ethics at the Imperial Academy, who argues strenuously for the inherent rationality of humanity over all other species and seeks to uncover the historical origins of humanity, believing that the original wisdom of the human race, before it became watered down by Maradon, Shinjurai and Old Westerly culture, was the ultimate source of Rationality in the Galaxy.

The Terminal Cyber-Technical Institute: On the Cybernetic Union’s capital world of Terminal, the Union enshrined the existing Cyber-Technical institute, whose pro-robot agenda helped give rise to the Cybernetic Union, as the focal point for their mass re-education program. The Cyber-Technical Institute handles all re-education of humans into “purified” being as rational as the robots that govern them. Currently, the Cyber-Technical institute is a mess of Fringe- and Cyber-Rational ideology which have merged into a cult convinced that the ultimate robotic mind, the perfectional rational being, exists somewhere on the edges of the galaxy. The current headmistress of the Terminal Cyber-Technical Institute is a cyborg named Vaylen, one of the last humans to have any sort of governmental role in the Cybernetic Union’s government; she was the headmistress when the Cybernetic Union rose, but she’s a completely changed person, having endured massive, and mandatory, “refitting” by the head intelligence of the Cybernetic Union.

The Higher Thought Collective: On Jubilee station, the Traders blur the lines between formal and informal institute with their Higher Thought Collective. The Collective regularly offers laureates and has “official” administrative ranks, but they roam the station, loudly advocate for rationalism and hold classes wherever they see fit. The Higher Thought Collective prefers a more stripped down version of Neo-Rationalism and is the only famous Institute that explicitly teaches Folk-Rationalism. The current headmaster is the argumentative, cynical and sarcastic Rhee Kirakax.

Neo-Rational Salons

A Salon is an informal gathering of Neo-Rationalists where they can discuss and mentor one another in Neo-Rationalist teachings. This includes everything from reading circles to Neo-Rationalist cults. Salons crop up anywhere where a sufficient number of Neo-Rationalists gather, and typically serve as the lifeblood for more avante-garde Neo-Rationalist thought. They often seed Neo-Rational activism, advocate for donations to larger institutes and generally promote Neo-Rational thought throughout their community.

The very nature of a Neo-Rational salon never expands beyond a small, informal gathering, but some morph into major political clubs or cults of personality. A sampling of highly influential Neo-Rational Salons include:

The God-Slayer Movement: Dawkins Nigh, a highly effective psi-hunter, shook the Neo-Rational community with the publication of his work, the God-Slayer, which argued for the existence of psionic phenomenon and advocated for purging it as “an intrusion of the irrational onto a rational universe.” Properly a part of Fringe-Rationalism, his work has nonetheless attracted considerable attention in the Empire, and Imperial officials, especially from the Ministry of Science, regularly invite him to give talks, and small, unofficial groups attempting to emulate his works have popped up throughout Imperial space.

The Cult of Psycho-Social Analytics: The Royal Shinjurai Academy exiled Zeb Lancaster after a scandal involving inappropriate relations with several female students, but Zeb’s work on Psycho-Social Analytics continues to draw acclaim from his fans, who believe the scandal was manufactured by his political opponents to facilitate his removal. Zeb Lancaster remains in a palatial estate on a world near Denjuku where he accepts any who want to come and join his movement, or to be mentored by him personally. Most describe the experience as “exhilaratingly liberating,” and speak of the charismatic, mature and handsome Zeb Lancaster as “the Messiah of Neo-Rationalism.”

The Rational Brotherhood: Mari-No Kaku has split from her long lineage of Neo-Rationalism. She argues that modern Neo-Rationalism serves sophisticates and elites as a tool of self-aggrandizement, and that the truth of Rationalism challenges the status quo. She abandoned her post as a Chair of the Royal Shinjurai Academy to live among the laborers of the Denjuku undercity, where she advocates a return to the simplicity of Folk-Rationalism. She also argues that “The heart must mediate between the hand and the head,” arguing that without change, the population of Denjuku will rise up against the royal family, rhetoric that her enemies compare to the rhetoric of the Cybernetic Union.

Agendas of Neo-Rational Institutes

Ultimately, Neo-Rational organizations seek to further Neo-Rational understanding and to spread rational thought so that they can bring about an era of rational utopia. They tend to do this with their day to day activity, but specific agendas that might serve as the basis for adventure include:

• Discovery! Investigation into long-lost rationalist texts have revealed new scientific principles that can be exploited to create a highly advanced weapon, armor or gadget that the institute can peddle to a powerful organization (such as the Empire) for additional influence or use themselves. They need to perfect this new technology in an isolated environment and keep their exact discovery a secret, lest others wrest it away from them.
• A political decision hangs in the balance! Numerous Neo-Rational philosophers have weighed on in on this particular policy and know the best, most rational decisions to make on it, but, alas, aren’t in a position of power to influence policy makers. They must use agents to advocate, persuade and black mail these policy makers to ensure that the “right” decision is made.
• Heresy! Irrational philosophies, or “incorrect” rational schisms have taken ahold of the population. While the institution works hard to correct the erring populace, the loudest advocates for this new philosophy must be silenced lest the whole population fall into the grips of this philosophical mistake! That can be a simple matter of explaining that error to the advocates, but stubborn advocates must be silenced in some manner.
• A new star rises in Neo-Rationalist circles! Naturally, all the best and brightest institutions want him as their laureate! Each will approach the new philosopher to get a feel for them, to see if they’re a good fit, and to find out what they want, while doing their best to foil the efforts of other institutions to claim the new philosophical celebrity. Remember, given the high stakes politics that Neo-Rationalism engages in, this is more than just a matter of pride, but a matter of national security!

Neo-Rational Institutes as Opposition

Most Neo-Rational institutes don’t see security as a primary concern and, as civilian organizations, don’t rise above BAD -0. Some institutes have highly sensitive research material, in which case, they might have a BAD of -2, but never have a PSI-BAD worse than -0, unless they are a Fringe-Rationalist movement, in which case their PSI-BAD equals half BAD as normal.

Militant neo-rationalism certainly exists (see the God-Slayer movement and, increasingly, the Rational Brotherhood). Most such organizations are BAD -2, and act as ideological insurgencies.

Governmental Neo-Rational institutions, such as the Imperial Ministry of Science, are best handled by treating them as governmental institutions (see Ministries and Planetary Governments).

Serving in a Neo-Rationalist Institute

Academic Ranks

Formal Neo-Rationalist institutes have Academic ranks. Salons don’t have ranks at all, though they might have informal versions of the ranks below.

6: Headmaster

5: Chair, Honorary Chair

4: Dean

3: Professor

2: Fellow, Scholar, Associate Professor

1: Associate, Teacher, Researcher

0: Assistant

The head of a Neo-Rational organization is a headmaster, who answers to a board of stakeholders called “Chairs.” Chairs usually have associated titles, which represent what overall element they oversee, such as “the Chair of Neo-Rationalist Archaeology” or “the Chair of Destructive Skepticism,” but this is not necessarily so. Chairs tend to be either elected by the alumni, or are appointed by the board themselves when a vacancy opens up. The board together typically votes on who the Headmaster is, but in some cases, this is appointed from on high (such as in the Imperial Academy or the Shinjurai Royal Academy)

A Dean, like a Chair, governs an overall department. He has a more administrative role to play, and lacks the governing power of a Chair.

Associate Professors and Teachers all teach students. All such titles come with an accompanying subject (“A Combat Geometrics Assistant Professor).

Researchers focus on researching topics and expanding Neo-Rational knowledge. Scholars act as “free roaming” researchers, encouraged to leave the institute, to represent the institute, and to research what they think best.

Beneath Teachers and Researchers are assistants, who tend to have specific titles (Administrative Assistant, Teacher’s Assistant, Research Assistant, etc). Professors govern Researchers, Teachers and Scholars on a particular topic, or may act as any of the above, within the confines of his subject, and they have tenure, making them a firm part of the institute. All Deans are drawn from the ranks of professors, and Chairs often (but not necessarily!) are.

The ranks of “Fellow” and “Associate” are courtesy ranks granted to particularly impressive alumni who have a close connection to the institute, but do not directly govern it. Sometimes, for a particularly impressive alumni or laureate, an “honorary chair” position is offered, also a Courtesy Rank.

Favors of Neo-Rational Institute

Neo-Rational institutions can offer a wealth of favors to those who serve them, or who have favors with them. A sampling of the more important favors include:

Information (PR 15): One of the primary purposes of a Neo-Rational organization is to hold onto information, often obscure information. Any information favor is highly appropriate, and they can provide Consultation services with any associated Neo-Rational skill. Consultation requests should get a +1, as Neo-Rationalists are eager to offer their expertise.

Funding (PR 16): Neo-Rationalist organizations of all stripes tend to have access either to considerable grants, or to wealthy donors willing to back major expeditions. Neo-Rationalist organizations heavily favor expeditions that will expand Neo-Rationalism, especially “scientific” or archaeological expeditions.

Introduction (PR 18): Neo-Rationalists find it very important that their ideas be enshrined in governmental institutions, so they often make a concerted effort in bringing Neo-Rationalism to society’s elites, which means many Neo-Rationalists have access to powerful figures that they can introduce one to.

Invitation (PR 18): Neo-Rationalists often hold big, prestigious events such as Neo-Rational Conventions or Laureates, and will ensure that their friends and colleagues gain invitations.

Teaching (Services, PR 18): Neo-Rationalist organizations exist to spread rational thought. They will teach non-members the basics of their philosophy, and with a successful PR request, will offer deeper disciplines even to non-members.

Facilities (PR 18): Neo-Rationalist organizations have some of the best Research facilities in the Galaxy, and often have access to excellent Engineering facilities as well, for inventors, as well as a helpful, and thoroughly rational, staff of assistances.

Credentials: Official Neo-Rational institutes can put their stamp of approval on a particular Neo-Rationalist by throwing a Laureate ceremony for him and adding him to their roles. Only Neo-Rational institutes can grant the Credentialed perk. Use the AR modifiers for cash.

Neo-Rational Institute Character Considerations

Player Characters will rarely serve a Neo-Rational institute directly, as they serve more as background information, potential targets for heists, and interesting opponents.

Requirements: Characters serving a Neo-Rational Institute must have a minimum of Wealth (Comfortable) [20] and Academic Rank 0. Tenured professors have a Perk Tenure. Characters who belong to a Neo-Rational Salon or Movement need no additional considerations.

A Favor from a Neo-Rational institute is worth 1 point/rank. A Neo-Rational institute as a Patron is worth 15 points as a base. A Neo-Rational Institute as an Enemy is worth -15 points, and is typically only a Rival or a Watcher.

Knightly Orders of the Alliance

The aristocracy of the Alliance have more military power than just their navies and armies, they also have one another.  Like-minded knights form together into Knightly Orders, patterned after the highly successful Knights of Communion. Many amount to little more than just social clubs for bored aristocrats, but some can prove to be major military forces within the Empire, and all become powerful political factions, able to push their agenda thanks to the wealth and prestige of their members.

I offer three knightly orders as examples of what Knightly Orders might be like.  Feel free to create your own!

I personally found it odd how isolated and unique the Jedi Order was in Star Wars.  Eventually, the expanded universe added a few new groups out there, but in reality, warrior-monks tend to rise out of joining religious and martial traditions, rather than springing up ex-nihilo.  The aristocracy of the Alliance represents the legacy of the martial tradition that gave rise to the Knights of Communion, and we’ll dive into the religious/philosophical tradition that gave rise to them when we dive into philosophy.

Knightly Orders

When the Knights of Communion broke away from the Alexian Empire, sacrificing their feudal bonds in favor of philosophical bonds, it sent shockwaves through the Maradonian aristocracy. At first, they saw the Knights of Communion as opposition, but eventually began to emulate them, either to better combat them, or out of respect for what those knights had forged. Where before, knights served based on bonds of blood and political necessity, a knightly order allowed them to forge bonds of friendship and brotherhood. One could serve those in whom he believed, rather than those that custom dictated.

Knightly Orders proved especially useful after the collapse of the Alexian Empire. They forged bonds between houses which prevented all-out civil war. Where before two knights had been strangers, now they both served in the same order together. This provided a social glue and yet another avenue for the aristocracy to see one another as belonging to the same, broad social class, which set the tone for the Federation and the current Alliance.

Orders began as strictly military brotherhoods where everyone made a vow to serve and uphold some cause. These required vows from their adherents and followed hierarchies of command similar to military organizations (which, arguably, they were). As time evolved, adherence to core principles became less important than the prestige of entrance into a knightly order, and the social connections one could make by being part of a knightly order. Thus, knightly-order-as-pretentious-social-clubs began to spring up, especially towards the end of the Federation. Both exist within the Alliance, though more social-club orders exist, while militant orders tend to cause a certain level of nervousness among the Alliance members, as they serve as a sort of military wildcard.

Examples of Knightly Orders include:

The Knights of the True Path: An old order that arose in opposition to the Knights of Communion, with the stated purpose of protecting the Oracular Order and purging the aristocracy of any influence of True Communion. This order remains and retains its military structure. Traditionally, knights who joined rescinded their House fealty, but this practice has faded in recent times. This is an example of a militant order.

The Fraternity of Liberty (the Freeguard Knights): When the Aristocracy broke away from the Empire in revolt, many knights dedicated to the cause of defeating the Empire formed the Fraternity and waged personal war upon the Empire. This proved popular, as nearly all members of the modern Alliance wanted to join. To prevent the fraternity from becoming so ubiquitous as to become meaningless, the Freeguard limits their numbers to those who currently serve as Knight Protectors of the Senate, or to any who have served as defenders of the Senate for at least two years. This is an example of a militant order to which one can be an informal member.

The Threefold Order (the Knights of the Blade): Less of a true military order and more of a social club for aristocrats interested in dueling, the Threefold Order teaches “the three force sword forms”, the Destructive Form, the Graceful Form and the Swift Form, as well as monitor duels and maintain the generally agreed upon rules for dueling. This is an example of an informal order.

Knightly Order Agendas

A Knightly Order serves no explicit noble. Inspired by the brotherhood of the Knights of Communion, who served no lord but Communion, the Knightly Orders became brotherhoods of nobles who came together to serve a particular purpose. Sometimes, such knights abdicate the bonds of feudalism and serve only their order, as the original Knights of Communion did, but more often, these orders turn into social clubs, a way for martially inclined aristocrats to interact across House lines.

Knightly Orders exist for a stated purpose, one built into its charter. Whatever that purpose is, all knightly agendas ultimately serve that goal. Beyond this, knightly orders seek to improve their visibility and to advertise their usefulness, so as to attract more recruits and more clients willing to make use of their services. Knightly orders also tend to offer unique training to their members, which requires the pursuit of fabled secrets and proving their superiority in this field (often through challenges and duels, if the training offered is martial in nature). Finally, Knightly Orders seek to facilitate the connections and political careers of those associated with them. Many of the most powerful aristocrats also have membership to some knightly order, and part of their power comes from the fact that they knew other people in high places, thanks to their member ship to a knightly order.

Example Agendas include:

• The Oracular Order still exists, though greatly diminished, and its prophecies have directed its members towards a girl born in the Empire as their next major prophetess, who will guide them through this troubled era. The Oracular Order dares not try to do this on their own and, instead, call upon the Knights of the True Path to assist them. The knights must travel with the sisters of the order while in disguise, acting as agents and bodyguards, while their ships lurk off the border of the Empire, ready to fly to their rescue if the call comes.

• A spy brings word of an imperial plot against the Alliance Senate, which seeks to quietly plant explosives in the capital, and then detonate them as a destruction for rushing in agents to kill specific, key senators while claiming to work for a rival senator. The Freeguard need to ferret out the enemy agents and protect the targeted Senators, while ensuring that peace remains between the two rival houses.

• A duel between dukes! The sons of the two the highest ranking members of the senate have chosen to resolve their dispute on the field of honor, and have called in the Threefold Brotherhood to mediate the duel. One of the duelist’s father, a duke and himself a member of the Threefold Order, wants the referee to rig the contest as much in his son’s favor as is possible without being obvious. If the Order agrees and is exposed, this scandal would ruin its standing. If the duke’s son, as a representative of the Order’s training, were to lose, that might also undermine the popularity of the Order. If the Order revealed the Duke’s treachery and ejected him from the order, as is required by their charter, they would certainly make a grave enemy.

• Discovery! The works of an ancient master of force swordsmanship have been uncovered on Old Maradon, but then immediately stolen by antiquities smugglers. The Orders, but especially the Threefold Order, could command greater respect if they and they alone offered training in the secrets of this lost master, and thus must compete with one another to be the first to catch the thieves and then either magnanimously return the work to an Alliance museum (with an agreement to be the only ones allowed access to it), or keep it for themselves.

• War! The Empire attacks, and the order has members, facilities and materiel near the point of attack. While no general call has been made for others to rise to defense, the Order has a unique opportunity to ingratiate itself to the locals and to other knights if it fairs well in the battle. Joining in, especially pre-emptively, could expose the Order to the risk of loss (and defeat would undermine their credibility), but victory means the locals might be beholden to them, and raise the stock of the Order. The Order must not only achieve victory, but ensure that people notice its success!

• Election! A member of an Order seeks to become Senate speaker, which would give the Order considerably more sway in the proceedings of the Senate. The order itself is not represented in the senate, but its aristocratic members certainly are, and could swing the vote one way or another. The order could pressure its members on the behalf of their candidate, but such naked political action threats the appearance of political neutrality.

Knightly Orders as Opposition

The security and strength of a knightly orders vary greatly depending on how formal it is. Informal knightly orders typically only worry about basic discretion and often not even that. Membership registries, accounting books, and even access to facilities can generally be as easily hacked or penetrated as a civilian organization. They also tend to lack strict security guards beyond bouncers and the members themselves. Thus, informal knightly orders tend to be BAD -0 or, at worst, bad -2.

Militant knightly orders, on the other hand, are effectively cadres of elite psionic soldiers who all work closely together. They have highly secured facilities, high levels of loyalty and possibly demands of secrecy from its membership. When they field combatants, those combatants tend to be highly trained and extremely well equipped. Militant knightly orders tend to be BAD -5.

Serving in a Knightly Order

Military Ranks

Rank	Knightly Order
6	Grand Master, Knight Commander
5	The Grand Council
4	Master
3	Knight
2	Supervising Brother, Knight
1	Titled Brother, Apprentice
0	Lay Brother, Initiate

Knightly Orders tend to have either formal or informal ranks. Orders that act as social clubs (Threefold Order) have informal ranks, which cost 1/level; rank represents something closer to status within the club. Formal orders (Knights of the Truth Path) follow strict hierarchy and expect knights who fall below the rank of another knight to follow his orders. Some orders bridge the line between both, and act as formal rank when serving with the order, and informal rank if you have left the order. The Fraternity of Liberty usually offers temporary rank (worth 1/level) for a knight currently serving as a senatorial guard, until he leaves, at which point rank converts to informal rank.

Knightly orders tend to begin with an “Initiate” rank, someone who wishes to join the order, and must perform whatever tasks the order asks of him in order to gain entrance. This is often a short-term term, especially among informal orders who might bypass it completely. An Apprentice serves a greater knight, someone fully within the order, who can teach him what he needs to know. Knights serve as the backbone of the order and is the most common rank, with varying levels of seniority. A Master has been acknowledged by the order as a master of his craft, and typically acts as an officer over the other knights, or a trainer available to all knights. The highest of the masters serve on a council, and often have specific aspects of the organization that they govern, though precise titles vary from order to order (the Blade Master might teach force swordsmanship, the Grand Admiral might command the ships, the Master of Foot commands any regulars employed by the order, and so on). The head of the council and the head of the Order is typically called “the Grand Master,” or the Knight Commander, though the title, again, varies from order to order.

Non-aristocrats also serve in knightly orders, but as lay brothers. They act as servants and assistants, cleaning their facilities, cooking for the knights, etc. The lowest levels consist of Lay brothers, then brothers with specific jobs (“titled” brothers, such as Armorer or Chief Armorer, etc), and then those who supervise the whole of the service staff for the order. All technically fall under the command of any of the aristocratic members, but if a Master Librarian issues a command to an Apprentice, that Apprentice is wise to act on it.

Favors of Knightly Orders.

Entry Clearance (Pulling Rank p 13): Every order always has at least a headquarters, and often chapter houses. Gaining access to the non-public spaces of these, or to secret locations, or bringing in a non-member, all might require Pulling Rank.

Consultation and Specialists (Pulling Rank p 15): the Alliance Military can offer Contacts with skills like Administration, Intelligence Analysis, Leadership, Strategy and Tactics, representing military attaches or military advisors. They’re usually between Skill 15 and 18.

Cash (Pulling Rank 16): If the Order demands a vow of poverty, then it might provide some spending money for its members under specific circumstances (such as to bribe the local underworld, or to purchase supplies)

Funding (Pulling Rank 16): In a sense, Orders act like militarized advocacy groups. Those that demand vows of poverty collect the wealth of those who join (and donations), and other Orders typically collect dues. Given the concentration of wealth and political influence, an Order can be a serious heavy weight, politically and militarily. Thus, funding things is one of the major things organizations do, especially for “informal” orders.

Gear (Pulling Rank 16): If the Order is a military one and if it demands a vow of poverty, then it must provide gear to its members. Otherwise, most orders expect members to come with their own equipment.

Evacuation (Pulling Rank 17): Militant orders keep fleets of their own, though typically smaller ships than what noble houses control, and can send knights in corvettes and frigates off to rescue members in need.

Treatment (Pulling Rank 17): Militant orders, especially those that demand vows of poverty, care for their fallen.

Introduction (Pulling Rank 18): The point of a knightly order is to bring members of the aristocracy into contact with one another. Highly influential aristocrats certainly belong to orders, and even if they do not, they know someone who does, or might be positively disposed towards the leadership of an order. If you wish to meet someone, nearly anyone in the Alliance, an Order can nearly always arrange it.

Invitation (Pulling Rank 18): Knightly orders have integrated themselves into the social fabric of the Alliance and the aristocracy and thus regularly get invitations to major events. They could arrange for a member to get an invitation as well. Furthermore, many less formal orders act as social clubs, so some of the grand events of the Alliance are sponsored by knightly orders!

Services (Pulling Rank 18):Knightly Orders tend to offer high-level training in force swordsmanship, whatever their focus, and may offer access to additional services. The Threefold Brotherhood, for example, can regulate and arrange duels, while the Knights of the True Path can bring one into touch with oracles to tell your future.

Facilities (Pulling Rank 18): Just as noble houses control beautiful spaces, so too do knightly orders, but they also tend to have access to top-notch training facilities.

Fire Support (Pulling Rank 19): Militant knightly orders typically have navies, including battleships and starfighters. If necessary, they can lend their support to major, on-going battles.

The Cavalry (Pulling Rank 19): Knightly Orders can’t really do less than this, and nor do they want to. Typically the “least” they can scrounge are several highly trained knights with force swords at their side. Scary stuff!

Character Considerations

Requirements: Non-Aristocratic characters serving in any Order must Servant Rank 0 [0], minimum Wealth (Struggling) [-5], and at least Duty (9 or less) [-5]. Aristocratic members of a Militant Order must have Military Rank 0 [0], minimum Wealth (Comfortable) [10], and Duty (15 or less, Extremely Hazardous) [-20]. Aristocratic members of an informal Order must have Courtesy Military Rank 1 [1] and minimum Wealth (Comfortable) [10]. Members of any order, whether aristocratic or common, must swear a vow. Examples include:

Knights of the True Path: The Knights of the True Path must disavow participation of the world, sometimes called the “Vows of the still pond” because they demand that knights of the true path do nothing to disrupt the future. They also give up all they own to the Order, which provides them with all they need. Vow (Chastity) [-5]; Vow (Poverty) [-5]

Freeguard Knights: The Freeguard Knights must not expose themselves to the manipulations of the world and, in the name of discretion and state security, must never divulge what goes on in the Senatorial building, or with the Senators, without the express permission of the Senate. This results in Vow (Chastity) and Vow (Secrecy) [-5] for the duration of their service, which drops down to Vow (Secrecy) [-1] after service has ended, provided the character has Courtesy Rank.

Knights of the Blade: The Threefold Order demands only that none of its members reveal its secrets or to train anyone outside of the order. This is a non-enforced Vow (Secrecy) [-1].

A Knightly Order as a patron is worth 15 points, and -20 points as an enemy.

Aristocratic Regulars and Military Forces

Celsius-13 Royal Railgun Guard Not what regulars would actually look like, but you get the idea

Aristocratic power have nothing but the weight of tradition and law if they don’t have the military power to back it up, and boy do they!  In fact, the primary reason I created the aristocracy and the Alliance was to give those who opposed the Empire reasonably access to military hardware.  While the ships will have to wait (it turns out designing the ships of the Alliance quickly turns into “Designing all of the combat ships of the Galaxy that don’t belong to the Empire”), I can show you how their forces operate.

Alliance Regulars

The Houses have fought wars for literally centuries, and that tradition lies deep in the heart of the way they prefer to fight. The Alexian Empire rose to power through the use of large capital ships and heavily armored boarding parties armed with traditional force swords and force bucklers, the origin of the space knight. Modern warfare has evolved into a doctrine that combines starfighters, carriers and lightning-fast planetary raids, and the aristocratic houses have adapted to this model, but they still retain the symbolic heritage to their knightly past.

The Houses serve as the military backbone of the Alliance, though they retain sovereignty over their military forces (in principle, they always agree to work with one another, but in practice infighting and subversion of political opponents can lead to strife in the ranks that the Empire, with its homogeneous force, lacks). They prefer to serve as a primarily space-based force. Defensively, they serve as the “cavalry,” suddenly swooping in to aid a beleaguered world with air support and orbital dominance as well as additional ground forces as necessary. On the offense, they ferry the multitudinous militia to their ultimate destination and take up a dominant orbital stance, allowing ground forces to conquer (or liberate) a world. They also see their forces as self-sufficient. In principle, no House should need any other House. This makes coordination difficult at times, but it also means that the Alliance has no central command that the Empire can destroy. Even the obliteration of the Senate simply means the Empire must face a major space navy from each independent house!

Ultimately, Houses see their military forces not as a tool of conquest, but as a supplement for diplomacy. For an aristocratic house, the most elegant victory is won without lifting a finger. When engaging in war, the aristocracy pairs it with diplomatic efforts. They focus on narrow goals (rather than “conquest of a planet” they might focus on “capitulation to trade demands” or “acknowledgment of titular claims”) and bring as many allies, both on and off world, into agreement with their stance. They tend to use their military forces to engage in “gunboat diplomacy,” bringing their forces to bear as additional diplomatic pressure. When battle comes, houses prefer surgical strikes with professional forces, and they prefer impressive victories over strategic ones: better to take a capital and awe the populace than to capture some obscure but vital industrial base. This means that even if the house loses the battle, they can continue to fight the war on a propaganda front.

Broadly, aristocratic forces break into two categories, those who are genuinely aristocratic, and the common folk who serve the aristocracy. Aristocratic fighters are always knights, in that they always have at least a title with ascribed status +1, and start at a rank no lower than Lieutenant. They might serve as officers for a regular force, but they more commonly serve as knights, bringing their own arms and armor and leading from the front. Some knights will join together into knightly orders, groups of knights patterned after the original Knights of Communion. Those who merely serve the aristocracy become Regulars, professional soldiers and bodyguards with a heavy emphasis on looking the part.

Regular Agendas

The aristocracy retains the service of regulars and practices martial traditions first and foremost to remind people of their power. An aristocracy without bodyguards, without some weapon at his side (symbolic or otherwise) is not a true aristocrat. This becomes especially true when that aristocrat has lost his wealth and political position, then all he has left is the trappings of aristocracy.

Thus, the first role of aristocratic forces is social and ceremonial in nature. The regulars must look well dressed and wield traditional weapons. Knights must practice the arts of force swordsmanship, not because they believe in them, but because that’s what nobles do. In this regard, their military forces become diplomatic in nature. Simply a display of force, even just a parade, is an act of power that reminds people that the noble has the power to kill. The aristocracy prefers this sort of display, the art of saber rattling and gunboat diplomacy to actual open warfare, because open war destroys the very things he tries to control and wastes valuable resources in the process. Better, then, to posture and negotiate than to strike a blow. And if a blow must be struck, better it be fought in controlled conditions between two nobles (even a duel!) than pointlessly waste precious manpower over a dispute.

But should such a dispute arise, the military power of a noble must serve his interests. They must defend his worlds and expand his power on other worlds. The primary tool a noble has in his arsenal isn’t his force sword or his ground forces, but his navy. The aristocracy retains a powerful, interstellar presence (arguably, the aristocracy accepts that the common folk might be self-governing provided they only govern their worlds, while the nobility is allowed to govern the space between the worlds, including commerce between worlds), and it uses this to exert power. The highly ceremonial nature of their ground forces rely on this: regular infantry rarely expects to actually fight, but rather to occupy, as the fighting will have been finished when their starfighters have ensured orbital dominance and their battleships have leveled their cannons at the enemy.

Finally, while everyone hopes it will never arise, the regular forces protect the aristocracy itself. While each noble employs spies and security forces to ferret out plots against him, some assassins inevitably slip through that net and bring weapons to bear on the noble’s person. In such cases, in principle, the noble should be able to defend himself, and many do, but many (especially courtly ladies and more modern lords who concern themselves more with governance than combat) avoid martial training (“so tedious”) and carrying heavy weapons or armor (“It ruins the lines of my dress!”). In such cases, knights and the regulars step in to defend their lord, and even if their master has extensive martial tradition, they supplement his strength with their own. Every noble in public moves with an entourage of protection around him, at least 5 guards, and the larger and more beautiful the entourage, the more powerful the noble.

• A major dignitary comes to visit his lordship! The regulars must make sure they look their best for when they greet the dignitary. More than that, though, they need to work out how they’ll best defend the dignitary should the worst occur, while still maintaining a genteel and civil atmosphere conducive to his lordship’s disposition.

• The Empire attacks a world under his lordship’s protection! That cannot stand! The regulars must marshal immediately, but first they must assess the threat and see about how best to go about defending the world. Perhaps they can even persuade his lordship to call in a few favors from other nearby houses.

• His lordship desires to expand his domain onto a world, and his lordship’s servants have found a convenient pretext. The regulars must take the world, but they must do it gently: his lordship must be seen as liberator, not tyrant, and anyway, the regulars aren’t large enough or well-prepared enough for complete subjugation of a world. Once resistance has been defeated, the regulars need to be prepared to win hearts and minds, so that when they inevitably leave, his lordship will still be seen as rightly their lord and protector.

 

The Alliance Regulars as Opposition

Alliance Regulars enjoy extensive training and expensive gear, but the aristocracy tends to prefer style over substance, so regulars often aren’t as effective as they advertise. The result is that most Regulars tend to be BAD -2, but their security can verge into BAD -5.

They engage in fairly strict regimentation, with orders passed down the chain of command from noble to commander down all the way to footmen, and regulars will absolutely keep a secret if commanded too, but regulars tend to be quick to brag about their position, their closeness to the nobility and their exploits. A pretty spy with a little bit of alcohol can usually get most regulars to spill their guts fairly easily, perhaps not about something specifically commanded to be secret, but enough details on the periphery of a mission that they can put the pieces together.

Most regulars house in expensive barracks located near an aristocrat’s estate, which tends to be highly secure and off-limits to outsiders. Infiltrating a regular encampment is easier than infiltrating a lord’s estate, but not by much. Most servants and regulars know one another and expect new regulars to present identification, but their masks, their consistent (and well-publicized) uniform styles means that a decent forger can usually create credentials and disguise themselves well enough to slip in. Once inside, materiel, security and sensitive files tend to all be kept in centrally located points, allowing a would-be saboteur to gain access to whatever they need.

Serving in a House

Military Ranks

Rank	Regulars
8	High Marshal
7	Field Marshal
6	Brigadier
5	Commander
4	Captain, Batman
3	Lieutenant, Knight
2	Man-at-Arms, Sergeant
1	Corporal
0	Footmen

Regulars use much more traditional ranks, dating from long before the Empire. A Man-at-Arms serves as the bodyguard and the retinue of a major officer in the battlefield. Higher ranks require a Title. A knight acts as the noble equivalent to a Man-At-Arms. A lieutenant runs a platoon, and some knights or lieutenants become ensigns, who have the right to bear the noble’s banner into battle. All typically require ascribed status +1 (a knight). A Captain commands a company; a Batman is the personal valet of a higher officer, and often has special permission to act in his stead; both tend to be at least ascribed Status +1 (Knights, though some Gentry become Batmen). Commanders and Brigadiers tend to be of high noble stock (Ascribed Status +2 or better) and may well be the Regular’s ultimate noble commander. A Field Marshal or High Marshal might be the direct commander of a force, but just as often, they’re assigned by the Alliance as the noble responsible for governing a collected force from numerous worlds and regions. These tend to be Ascribed Status +3 or better!

Favors of the Regulars.

Entry Clearance (Pulling Rank p 13): Regulars have fortresses, foundries and shipyards, all of which may require special permission to enter.

Consultation and Specialists (Pulling Rank p 15): Regulars can offer Contacts with skills like Administration, Intelligence Analysis, Leadership, Strategy and Tactics, representing military attaches or military advisors. They’re usually between Skill 15 and 18.

Gear (Pulling Rank 16): Enlisted regulars always get their equipment from their lord, so that all of his soldiers look the same, but officers generally need to provide their own equipment (and it needs to match the general themes of the house).

Evacuation (Pulling Rank 17): Regulars have access to the requisite navies, and delight in pulling off rescues.

Treatment (Pulling Rank 17): All forms of the Alliance Military care about their soldiers, so provide hospital facilities for its wounded veterans.

Introduction (Pulling Rank 18): Rank 2+ members of the Regulars (especially Men-at-Arms and Knights) tend to rub shoulders with much higher ranking nobles and generals. As such, these nobles have an express interest in getting to know those who may serve them directly, and characters might arrange for a meeting, or guard duty close to a high-ranking noble.

Fire Support (Pulling Rank 19): The Alliance Regulars have access to powerful battleships with orbital bombardment capabilities and starfighters that can offer close-air support.

The Cavalry (Pulling Rank 19): When the Alliance gets serious, it sends in the hard hitters. It will send a 10-15 of standard regulars (BAD 2), between 3-5 knights (BAD 5) or 5-10 fighters for a space-based request.

Character Considerations

Requirements: Regulars have a minimum Wealth (Average) [0], Military Rank 0 [0], and Duty (12 or less or 15 or less, Extremely Hazardous) [-15 to -20]; Note that lordly characters might serve in a military on a temporary basis. In such a case, the character gains a temporary rank of the GM’s discretion, which is lost when the operation ends.

For regulars as patrons or enemies, see Houses as Organizations.