Anaphéxie
| Anaphéxie | |
|---|---|
| (Organisation) | |
| Alignment | Neutre Mauvais |
| Headquarters | Monastery of the Veil, Ustalav |
| Goals | Assassination, veneration of Norgorber |
| Members | Assassins dédiés à Norgorber |
Source: Occult Mysteries, pg(s). | |
Those who travel the narrow paths of the New Surdina Road through the Hungry Mountains might catch a glimpse of lights high upon Mount Laophis. The very perceptive might even notice a vague outline of spires and sharp roofs, seemingly as weathered and ancient as the mountains that enclose them. Most hurry past the lonely compound, but those who ask about it at the nearby Slit o' the Sun inn or who question travelers along the trail about it receive the same answer, a name and a warning: "The Monastery of the Veil, where they live for death."
According to the records of Cryptgate Cathedral in Kavapesta, the Monastery of the Veil was founded as a Pharasmin hermitage in 3882 AR, built by a splinter group of the faith whose members sought to better prepare themselves for death and protect the greatest works of their faith by isolating themselves from the concerns of everyday life. All other records relating to the monastery, its clergy, the donations it collected, and other holdings are inexplicably missing, and any public information about the monastery comes directly from the only member of the brotherhood permitted to leave the sanctuary's walls: Bishop Yasmardin Senir, who also holds the title Count of Ulcazar. Senir portrays his brotherhood as religious anchorites, utterly devoted to Pharasma and fiercely protective of their isolation. However, only the latter is actually true.
In 4144, the monks of the Monastery of the Veil were exterminated. When the sons of Countess Robeskea were stricken by the plague known as the Whitherswhich haunted the shores of Lake Kavapesta, its curse of lethal somnambulism reaching even the slopes of Ulcazar-the desperate mother called upon the priests of the Monastery of the Veil for aid. She received no reply. When she sent her guards with an official decree, the monastery refused her messengers entry. When finally she traveled with her unconscious sons to the monastery itself, the bishop denied her, repeating his order's mantra, "We live only for death." The countess's sons died on the monastery threshold soon after.
What followed is a mystery of blood and shadow: Countess Robeskea courted the cult of Norgorber and set them upon the monastery in vengeance for her dead children. The Pharasmins fell and the worshipers of the god of secrets claimed their library of mysteries. But the assassins did not depart. In the catacomb-libraries of the Monastery of the Veil, their leader found something the Pharasmins had kept secret for centuries. He emerged with a new charge and a single word: "Anaphexis." To the outside world, the Monastery of the Veil appears to continue as it always has, hosting a secretive order of mysterious monks. But for half a millennium, Norgorber's followers-now known as the Anaphexiahave held this redoubt amid the Hungry Mountains.
They claim new knowledge before it spreads, killing the vast catacomb-libraries hidden beneath the Monastery of the Veil. When they take a life, agents of the Anaphexia remove the corpse's head, preventing others from using magic to compel it to reveal its killer, and allowing the cult members to conduct their own magical interrogations. Beneath the Monastery of the Veil, layers of catacombs bore into the mountain depths, lined with the skulls of countless unrecognized geniuses and nameless prodigies who tell their secrets only to the Anaphexia.
Secrecy is of paramount importance to the Anaphexia. Any members of the cult who leave the Monastery of the Veil for any reason leave behind their tongues, ensuring that if captured while doing their god's shadowy work, they will not easily give up their secrets. Members' tongues are severed at the roots-an act that deals id2 points of damage and leaves the individual unable to speak (even to cast spells). Upon their return to the monastery, their tongues are restored by the regenerative magic of highranking cult members. Only the leader of the cult, Bishop Yasmardin Senir, is permitted to leave the monastery withhis tongue intact.
In this manner, the Anaphexia has operated for centuries, collecting secrets not just to indulge use its god's divine obsession, but also to continue the work of the monastery's Pharasmin founders, preserving this wisdom in trust for some mysterious age or event yet to come, and for which the modern world is not prepared.[1]
ANAPHEXIA[1]
The Norgorberite assassins of the Anaphexia pose as ascetic monks of Pharasma, and travel the world killing and stealing to amass a wealth of secrets known only to themselves. Location Monastery of the Veil in Ulcazar (Ustalav)
REQUIREMENTS
Initiation Fee knowledge of the Anaphexia and an offering of a valuable non-personal secret the assassins do not already possess.
Initiation Test Knowledge (any) or Stealth DC 20
Offerings 300 gp/service period
MEMBERSHIP
Obeisance Check Acrobatics, Bluff, Intimidate, Knowledge (any), Perception, Stealth
Service Period 6 months
Excommunication 2 consecutive failed Obeisance checks (assassination at the Anaphexia's hands)
TASKS
Espionage (+1 Fame) Successfully learning a secret of national, scientific, or esoteric importance that has not yet been recorded within the Monastery of the Veil's records and adding it to the Anaphexia's repositories increases your Fame score by 1. You can increase your Fame score through this task three times per service period. (What counts as a valuable or new secret is determined by the GM.)
Sequester (+2 Fame) You erase all knowledge of a particular secret through assassination and the destruction of documents, ensuring that only the Anaphexia retains that information. You must return the skulls of those you kill to the Monastery of the Veil. Completing a sequestering increases your Fame score by 2. You can increase your Fame score via this method once per service period. If supposedly suppressed information emerges later, evincing a botched effort, your Fame score decreases by 4.
AWARDS
Blessing of the Tongue (10 Fame) You can cast spells from the cleric and inquisitor spell lists that have a verbal component even when your tongue has been removed.
Deepest Secret (75 Fame) You are committed to keeping the Anaphexia a secret from the world. You immediately know the name of any creature within 1 mile who speaks the words "Anaphexia" or "Anaphexis." A creature speaking under the effects of nondetection or any other spell that stymies dairaudience prevents this ability from functioning.
Fatalistic Faith (10 Fame, 5 PP) Each time you gain a level in the assassin class that grants you a bonus on saving throws against poison, you can exchange that class feature for an increase in your spells per day and effective caster level as if you had gained a cleric level. You can choose this option only if you had cleric levels before becoming an assassin. You do not gain any otherdericdass benefits.
Sacred Confidant (50 Fame) You are a veteran member of the Anaphexia. You no longer have to pay offerings to the cult, and every time you would normally pay offerings, you instead earn that amount of gold in credit. Whenever you leave the cloister, you can exchange credit for gold, but any unspent wealth or riches gained must be donated to the cult upon your return (you do not earn credit for this amount). Additionally, you take no damage from cutting out your own tongue.
Scholar of Secrets (20 Fame, 1 PP) You are granted access to the upper levels of the Monastery of the Veil's library-catacombs. You can spend 1 PP and conduct 1 day of research there to gain a +10 circumstance bonus on a Knowledge check.
Scholar of Skulls (30 Fame, 2 PP) You are granted permission to interview any of the skulls held within the Monastery of the Veil's library-catacombs and are supplied with an attendant capable of casting speak with dead if such assistance is required. You can spend 3 PP and conduct 1 hour of research there to gain a +20 circumstance bonus on a Knowledge check.
Silent Speech (5 Fame) You learn the secret speech of the Anaphexia, a language of postures, gestures, and glares known only to members of the cult. You can communicate in absolute silence with other members of the Anaphexia as long as you can see each other clearly and the other Anaphexia members also know this language.
Using the Anaphexia[1]
The Anaphexia holds no allegiance to any nation or group, and so might arise to confront agents of any knowledge seeker.
Secrets to Tempt: The Anaphexia is always watching scholarly communities, government bodies, ambitious mercantile ventures, and similar far-reaching groups for whispers of unusual new ideas, research, and explorations. Its agents monitor such groups' actions closely, extorting informants for news on provocative developments. Some of the most noteworthy sites they're currently monitoring include archaeological sites connected to the Whispering Tyrant, Technic League laboratories in Numeria, Oppara's Kitharodian Academy, the Sincomakti School of Sciences in Versex, the House of Liars in Nidal, and various Pathfinder lodges. They also keep regular tabs on several secretive groups operating around Lake Encarthan, such as the Aspis Consortium, the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye, the Old Cults, the Royal Accusers of Ustalav, the Sleepless Agency, and the Whispering Way.