Ma Fear

Mother of Terror

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History

Before Time

Ancient writings tell of a nameless darkness deity that walked secretly amongst Gods and mortals inflicting Death and Terror upon all. This deity was not heeded for those yet to experience the Terror of the Knife in the Dark refused to believe those victims still living until the God of Death and Truth found himself trapped in a dark place by someone he took for a friend. Humakt was warned by his aspect of the threat and drove-off the assassin after wounding it; the deity retreated in a cloud of darkness. Humakt hunted for the assassin but never found her. The assassin fled into the wilderness to be healed by the Druid twins and make her pact with them.

Since Time

Worshippers of Ma Fear now form an organisation dedicated to power and rule by Death and Terror and yet remains totally covert. In many places the government is wholly in the hands of the assassins and yet only a select few are aware of this.

Life After Death

Ma Fear teaches that all who die go to serve her in the Assassin Legion to await the final holocaust. Her nature as a deity of Death leads her to forbid Resurrection and Death Divints.

Runic Associations

The Mother of Terror was born out of Darkness and is probably more closely linked with this than any other god. She is concerned with the Death of Man and all is profoundly warped by the Chaos Rune.

Nature of Cult

The cult is concerned with spreading terror and death. It flourishes because there are always people who will use such abilities to gain power and influence. This cult attracts Psychopaths! It should be noted that while this cult's primary mode of operation is assassination, Ma Fear's way is not the quick, clean kill but usually involves pain, mental torture and a fair bit of time.

Socio-Political Position and Power

Despite maintaining a secrecy so strict that many people do not believe that the cult exists, the cult always strives to gain power in towns and cities by bribery, corruption, coercion and murder and unless countered by cult such as Rhadamanthus and Humakt or an equally powered chaos-cult it will usually come to completely control the town's politics. This will happen in any city sooner or later. Because of the pact with Zadok and Banuril, Ma Fear has no power outside the urban environment, and most assassins fear the countryside; this causes each temple to be isolated from the others with little means of communication.

Particular Likes and Dislikes

Humakt is anathema along with Rhadamanthus as these cults are adept at foiling Ma Fear's real powers. All the anti-chaos cults are disliked but they cannot harm Ma Fear for they have no reliable way to find it.

When Ma Fear hid in the wilderness from Humakt, she would have died save for Zadok and Banuril who healed her in return for the secret of Silent Kill. Since then, the Assassins have kept to the towns leaving rural chaos to the Druids. This is not a true association, for Ma Fear trusts no one, but an agreement never to trespass in each other's domains. The Mother of Terror views all other cults and any city dwellers as pawns to be crudely manipulated.

Organisation

Each temple dominates one city or town; no rivals are allowed to challenge its monopoly. Inter-Temple communication is rare due to due to difficulties in rural travel and the independence of the High Priests who dislike interference, and fear and distrust possible rivals for power.

Operationally the cult lets the mundane criminal element conduct most crimes and instead specialises in bribery, extortion and assassination, which they accomplish by real powers of violence.

Within the temple, authority passes from the High Priest to the Assassins (Runelords), who plan and execute all plans involving killing; to the lesser Runepriests who administer the day-to-day business of the Temple, command sub-temples in the suburbs or run a particular aspect of operations. The temple hierarchy is maintained by fear and assassination as a legitimate means of promotion.

Centres of Power and Holy Places

Each temple is housed in a complex of buildings and subterranean passages, often in the prosperous area of the town and well disguised to hide its true function. These premises are not of themselves regarded as holy and, if discovered, can be quickly vacated to be set up elsewhere. The only Holy-Places known to exist are the "shrines" wherein dwell the alters in each Temple, places of great Evil and Fear.

Holy days and High Holy Days

Freeze Day of Disorder Week is the seasonal; Holy Day, that in Dark Season is the High Holy Day.

Lay Membership

Anyone controlled by the cult is regarded as a Lay Member and must pay a tithe which is determined according to arbitrary rules by the cult hierarchy usually close to what the cult can screw them for; this includes both the law abiding and criminals, and in a strongly held town, everyone from the Mayor down to the poorest beggar will be either paying in money or in kind to the Assassins. Laymen never know more about the cult then the name and appearance of an initiate. They are less likely to be killed by the cult than non-laymen.

Training can be purchased in thief-skills at double cost, little spell teaching is available and only those laymen who can be trusted will receive said training.

Laymen captured by the forces of law or who gives away information on the cult are, if possible, ruthlessly killed usually in a manner which will warn others.

Initiate Membership

Initiates are only acquired by invitation, either from the families of initiates or from New Blood laymen who have unquestioningly proven there loyalty to the cult. Any race may be invited, but it is most likely for non-human woodland races to become initiates; Trolls, Ogres and Ducks have all been found in Ma Fear from time to time. Initiation requires a special test involving a small task, rigorous questioning by a Priest in a bare room and finally exposure to the cult Spirit of Reprisal. The test may be abstracted as Defence Bonus and Oratory Bonus + 5% per year as Laymen plus a crime bonus according to the following tables.

If the invited applicant fails then the Spirit of Reprisal or a cultist kills him.

Once invited, an applicant is referred to as "brother" or "sister" and is regarded as part of the family. He must give 3 points of power each Holy Day, 5 on a High Holy Day. He must pay all monies gained by extortion etc. to the cult who will allow him an allowance for food, lodgings etc. Only highly trusted initiates will be given room and board at the temple, though they may be summoned for an operational briefing or for disciplining etc.

Training and Spell Teaching is usually done at sub-cults. Brothers can gain free training in Move Quietly, Hide in Shadows, Shortsword & Dagger Attack, Climbing, Listen and half price training in Weapon Parries, Assassins Crossbow, Spot Hidden, Brew Poison, Acting, Disguise, Pick Locks and Silent Kill, (later trained free up to 25% plus bonuses). All other Stealth/Thief skills taught at full cost. All Brothers are taught Invisibility II and Silence for free plus Bladesharp, Shimmer, Detection Blank and Invisibility III+ at half price. Brothers are forbidden to know, and will forget it if they know already, Peaceful Cut and Fire/Light Battlemagics.

Brethren may sacrifice for 1 & 2 point reusable Runemagics on a one use basis. They will not be trained in other weapons, but such weapons are not specifically forbidden.

Thanks to Ma Fear's nature, POW counts towards the stealth bonus rather than away from it.

All Brothers are expected to maintain a cover and not reveal the cult or Temple to outsiders.

Runelordhood - The Assassins

Ma Fear Runelords are called Assassins and are responsible for all important killings by the cult. Assassins are subordinate only to the High Priest.

A prospective Assassin must have any three skills form Acting, Disguise, Move Quietly, Hide in Shadows, Climbing and Listen plus SIlent Kill, Shortsword and Dagger Attacks all at 90% and 15+ POW. He must pass a test of (INT+DEX+CHA)×⁵⁄₃%, failure is of course fatal and usually messy.

An Assassin is automatically a member of the Temple's elite hierarchy and therefore involved in whatever internecine politicking is current; he should watch his back. He may choose to live at the Temple or find his own lodgings which the Temple will pay for. He is expected to keep in intimate contact with the High Priest. He may keep a favored initiate as a personal henchman, but will be held responsible for his conduct.

An Assassin will be given one iron item of his choice, usually a weapon for injecting systemic poisons. He will ally a cult spirit, but he is not allowed to use familiars. He gains all the normal benefits of his status save that he may not claim his status openly, of course. He must be sure to maintain a vigorous cover and alter-ego in case of his discovery, particularly by Humakt or Rhadamanthus. He should-not engage in indiscriminate mayhem for, despite his title, he is a master of extortion and terror, and assassination is merely another tool in his armoury for the purpose of power and influence. It is common for Assassins under-cover to take an overt part in politics though most prefer to manipulate others behind the scenes.

Runepriesthood

The Priesthood is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the cult and are subordinate only to the High Priest. They usually live in the main Temple or Sub-Temple precincts.

A prospective Runepriest must have been an initiate for at least two years, have 18+ POW, Brew Poison at 90% plus Hide in Shadows and Move Quietly at 75%. They must pass a test of (Read/Write + INT×5) ⁄ 2%. As usual, failure is not healthy.

Runepriests have all the normal benefits and restrictions of their status save that their Stealth Skills are not limited to DEX×5%, all other DEX skills, including weapon skills, are so limited - however DEX is trainable.

Runespell Compatibility

The cult Runemagic is very specialised and suited to their usual operations. Standard Runemagics available are Dismiss Elemental I II & III, Divination, Divine Intervention, Matrix Creations, Spell Teaching. Small Shades are used as elementals. The cult has the following special Runemagics.

Cult Special Runespells

One Point Spells

Create Skeleton: Range: 40m; Duration: Instant; Non-Stackable; Reusable
Raises dry bones capable of fighting at DEX×5%. The Assassins are careful with their undead and generally use them as temple guards.

Darkwalk: Range: 160m; Duration: 15 mins; Stackable to 4pts; Reusable
Improves recipient's Stealth skills by adding 10% per point stacked to both Move Quietly and Hide in Shadows, but not Hide in Cover.

Fear: Range: 160m; Duration: Instant; Non-Stackable; Reusable
Allows the caster to attack one victim, as the initial attack of a shade, with a POW equal to that of the caster's at the time of casting.

Mask of Darkness: Range: Unlimited; Duration: Unlimited; Non-Stackable; Reusable
Functions as a special Divine Intervention to hide completely one object or operation from the Divinations of the other Gods. Runepriests using such Divinations, no matter how highly stacked, will see only swirling blackness.

Two Point Spells

Cloak of Many Shadows: Range: Touch; Duration: 15 mins; Non-Stackable; Reusable
Cloaks the recipient in wreaths of darkness which cover an area of several square yards. Subject to the recipient successfully hiding in shadows, the spell has several effects; firstly, detection magics and skills always register negative; secondly, the recipient is totally invisible by normal sight or even Trollish sound-sense; thirdly, the recipient can move slowly at movement rate 1 and the shadows will move with him, seemingly natural, sentries only noticing if they roll POW as a percentage, (POW×5% if already alerted). The spell can of course be dispelled and it will function imperfectly or not at all if exposed to direct bright-light.

Create Zombie: Range: 40m; Duration: Instant; Non-Stackable; Reusable
Raises a recently dead body as a Zombie which can fight at DEX×5%.

Walk-Thru'-Walls: Range: Touch; Duration: 15 mins; Non-Stackable; Reusable
Functioning as a limited dematerialisation rendering the recipient's body permeable to solids save for horizontal surfaces enabling him to walk on floors, but to pass through any non-horizontal surface without harm. He can still cast spells and be affected by those of others, but in melee, only criticals hit him and cause normal damage and the same applies to his attacks. If he wishes to physically attack effectively, he must dispel the spell which he may do voluntarily at any time. Obviously, the spell has no effect on falling damage or Move Quietly as they both use the horizontal surface. The Walker is entirely visible and open to all normal detections save trip wires. A horizontal surface can be sloped shallowly up to about 15°.

NOTE: Shades, Salamanders and Lunes can still hit him, but Undines, Gnomes and Sylphs can't for they all use the physical environment.

Three Point Spells

Warp: Range: Self & 1 Person within 15 yds; Duration: 15 mins; Non-Stackable; Non-Reusable
This spell is the most fearful of Ma Fear's abilities. When cast with a successful POW vs POW roll, it distorts the fabric of the world in the vicinity of the caster and his victim. To outsiders, they will appear englobed in black, swirling shadow; detection spells will register their presence but as if from far away. They will be inaccessible from outside for the duration of the spell save by Divine Intervention to a God of Light to dispel it. However, inside the Warp, time itself is distorted to flow at 1 round inside for 1 Strike-Rank outside. Within the area of effect, the antagonists face each other (metaphorically speaking), for both are cut-off from bound and allied familiars and direct intervention by their Gods so that inside Divine Intervention of any form will not work, though Runemagics will still function, as does Battlemagic. Runelords of Ma Fear use this spell to isolate victims from their bodyguards and familiars and ambush them alone, usually the full battery of specialist spells will be used to ensure the success of the assassination by Silent Kill, Poison or weapon-damage. It cannot be dispelled from outside or inside although Countermagic VI will prevent the casting of the spell. Usually the fight is over very quickly, before even Divine Intervention can rescue the victim, the extra time is invariably used to doctor the body messily, removing organs, entrails, head, heart etc. or else raising it as an undead. The assassin usually escapes by Divine Intervention afterwards if normal exits are barred.

Note: The 15 minute duration refers to time outside the Warp; inside the subjective duration is much longer.

Subservient Cults

Spirit of Reprisal

In each shrine, behind the alter, there is a man-sized closet wherein is housed the Spirit of Reprisal in darkness. This Spirit is purported to be a fragment of Ma Fear herself; it has an INT of 21 and a POW of 6D6+6 and can attack one person at a time as a shade, only every round instead of just once, even if the victim is asleep or unconscious. Cultists who transgress, or who are captured by other, particularly lawful, cults and cannot be rescued before talking will be visited by their Temple's Spirit of Reprisal at night if there are any shadows near them or a window onto the night. The poor wretch's only defence is light. If the Spirit fails the first night then it will return again and again until the victim is dead. The victim can only find permanent relief by destroying and desecrating the Shrine itself and the Temple Hierarchy; otherwise it may only be temporarily dispelled till the following night by powerful fire magics (e.g. Salamander doing damage = HP, Sunspear etc, normal weapons will not harm it, but a Lightsword does 1pt / point of spell stacked per hit).

Associate Cults

Primal Chaos

The cult is chaotic and chaos-features are of course found in many initiates. However, overt chaos-features render covers difficult. These are considered dangerous to the cult and are weeded out by the Hierarchy, nevertheless Primal Chaos offers the usual spell to those seeking Chaos to all those of initiate status or higher.

Chaos Feature: Range: Touch; Duration: Instant and Permanent; Non-Stackable; Reusable; 3pt
Causes the willing recipient to gain a chaos feature rolled randomly. The creature must roll CON×5% to avoid collapsing into a Gorp. Also, any non-Broo must roll 1D100 and if the result is equal to less than the sum of his chaos features×10% then he becomes a Broo.

Shadowjack

Though not associated, Shadowjack thieves are often found in the company of Assassins, (usually coerced), for their skills at Lockpicking, Pickpocketting and Trap Disarming are valued.

Zadok & Banuril

The Chaos-Twins nursed Ma Fear in the Wilderness and afterwards gave her the following spell as a token of their pact.

Wounding: Range: Touch; Duration: 15 mins; Non-Stackable; Reusable; 2pt
When cast upon any weapon, natural or not, any wound caused by that weapon will bleed at 1 pt of Total Hits per round. Such Wounds require double healing, i.e. Healing IV to stop bleeding, Healing XII to restore a severed limb. Such a wound is extremely painful and the victim must roll POW×5% every round or else do nothing save writhe in agony and heal himself.

Miscellaneous Notes

Cult Skills

Silent Kill: Stealth Skill (00%) 500/1000/2000/EXP
The instant death skill feared by all other cults. May be attempted verses any unsuspecting victim from behind, success enables an automatic hit with the specified weapon in the location of choice with a critical hit. The skill is learnt with a specific small 1-H weapon, usually Dagger or Shortsword. If the skill is itself criticaled then the hit is an automatic impale. If the skill is failed, but the roll is below the weapon skill, then a normal hit ensues. Fumbles are calculated based upon the Silent-Kill skill which may not be higher than the weapon-skill specified. No bonus is gained for rear attack, the skill is used per se. The users damage bonus is not used in calculating the damage done to the victim.

Assassin's Crossbow: Weapon Skill (10%) 250/400 /800/EXP
A 1-H dart-gun normally carried disassembled and dispersed about the body of the cultist. The parts will not generally be recognised as a weapon saved by a skilled armourer or weaponsmith. The darts it fires are similar to normal darts but have poison chambers with impact pistons recognisable by weaponsmiths and poison-makers. The crossbow takes 5 full minutes to assemble, when it has the following characteristics.

Starting Player Characters

Only characters with parents in Ma Fear may have experience as starting characters; the commonest method of entry otherwise is with starting criminal experience, but it takes time to convince the cult hierarchy.

Someone born into the family will receive a basic training in the cult skills plus a grounding in a group of skills to provide a cover. For starting characters, roll 1D100 and consult the following tables, starting characters will receive the skills outlined for that cover and the following basic training.

Shortsword and Dagger Attacks at 50%+ bonuses, these Parries plus Assassin's Crossbow and Silent Kill at 30%+ bonuses. Non-weapon skills of Hide in Shadows, Move Quietly, Climbing and Listen at 50%+ bonuses and Spot Hidden, Brew Poison, Acting, Disguise and Pick Locks at 30%+ bonuses. Spells of Bladesharp II, Invisibility II, Silence and Darkwall. 1D10 shillings, and a raise roll on each stat save CHA and 1 extra roll on DEX.

The covers give the skills and trappings outlined below

Cover Skills

Scribe R/W Manic 50 Listen 30 Speak Other 30 Map Making or Speak Other 30 Speak Other or Map Making 10 Speak Other or R/W Other 10 Oratory 10 Speak Other 10 Writing Utensils, No Armour	Apothecary Herb Lore 50 Preserve Herbs 30 Evaluate Treasure 30 Bargaining 30 Taste Analysis 10 Brew Poison +5 Brew Antidote 10 R/W Manic 10 Bottles, Test Tubes, 100sh of Glassware, No Armour	Brewer Fermentation 50 Distillation 30 Story Telling 30 Evaluate Treasure 15 Bargaining 15 Spot Hidden +5 R/W Manic 10 Brewing Kit, No Armour
Militia Hide in Shadows +10 Move Quietly +10 Spot Hidden +10 Listen +5 Oratory 15 Spot/Set Ambush 15 Set/Disarm Trap 15 Spot Trap 15 Light Infantry Armour	Painter Drawing 50 Painting 30 Stone Sculpture 30 Pottery/Modelling 30 R/W Manic 10 Painting/Drawing Gear, Thief Armour	Minstrel Singing 50 Stringed Instrument 50 Wind Instrument 30 Percussion Instrument 30 R/W Music 30 R/W Manic 10 2 Instruments, Sheet Music, Thief Armour
Thespian Acting +5 Oratory 30 Disguise +5 R/W Manic 30 Scripts, Make-up, Thief Armour	Jester Jesting 50 Rhyming 30 Juggling 30 Tumbling 30 R/W Manic 10 Make-up, Clown Gear, Thief Armour	Dancer Dancing 50 Miming 30 Jumping 30 Tumbling 30 R/W Manic 10 Percussion Instrument +10 Dancing Shoes, Casternets etc., Thief Armour
Merchant R/W Manic 50 Evaluate Treasure 30 Bargaining 30 Listen +5 Jumping 25 Animal Husbandry 15 Map Making 10 Riding 15 Work in Merchant's Shop, Thief Armour	Healer First-Aid 50 Diagnosis 30 Treat Poison 30 Treat Disease 30 Find Healing Plant 10 Brew Poison +5 Brew Antidote 10 Taste Analysis 10 Bandages, Unguents, No Armour	Thief Move Quietly +10 Hide in Shadows +10 Hide Item 30 Pick Pockets 30 Climbing +5 Lockpicking +5 Spot Trap 15 Set/Disarm Trap 15 Thief Tools, Thief Armour
Craft Guild Primary Skill 50 Secondary Skill 30 Riding 15 R/W Manic 25 Full Set of Tools