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The Black Fang Tradition

By Greg Stafford and Ian Thomson
Additional material by Stephen Martin and Mark Galeotti

Two hundred years ago a deeply troubled young man named Jadavan wandered the Big Rubble. He had been born with an affinity for spirits among folks who only worshipped gods. He had no place amongst them, and no spiritual comfort, even though he was initiated into the cult of Pavis. Whilst hiding from trolls amidst some tumbled ruins he met the spirit Black Fang, which saved his life. Black Fang convinced Jadavan that he owed loyalty to nobody, and that the way to prosper was through ruthless and direct action. Jadavan's fortunate find gave him a powerful spirit ally, and soon he convinced others to join his way of life. Another gang had a place to hide and a way to survive.

Black Fang had been a man a century earlier, a noted warrior among the pitiful violent tribes of humans that lived there. But he went too far when he killed his own people too, including his sister, others in his clan, and even his own cult members. He became a notorious outlaw, robbing anyone regardless of race. Eventually he was slain, He became a vengeful ghost for a time, but before he was exorcised or faded away, the survivors of his old gang returned and worshipped him. He helped them, they helped him, and another spirit cult began in the Big Rubble, though its last members were all ambushed and killed by trolls.

Although fear of the Brotherhood is great these days, the nature of its work means that cult numbers remain low, and thieves are employed as extra operatives for the more complex missions. The Brotherhood's reputation as ruthless professionals has spread as far as Dragon Pass. This has allowed them to slowly increase their business and membership over the last few decades. This is a specialist gang, organized as an extended family, with initiates being 'adopted' in. They pride themselves in being far above the other bandits and thieves who operate around Pavis and the Rubble, and have their own codes and procedures unknown to any other local criminals.

Entry Requirements:	The Brotherhood has exceptional standards, and only recruits those who already excel in subterfuge or agile martial prowess. Their new recruits are normally from amongst local thieves, but the Fang may also pick and choose from other sources as they see fit.
Physical Abilities:	Close Combat (Garrotte), Disguise, Feign Death, Ranged Combat (Thrown Dagger), Shadowing.
Mental Abilities:	Big Rubble Survival, Black Fang Tradition Knowledge, Bribery, Poison Lore.
Virtues:	Cold, Patient.
Traditional Spirits:	None.
Special Spirits:	Assassin Spirits (see below).
Spirit Allies:	Black Fang himself is the spirit ally of the single Sacred Assassin that leads the Brotherhood. When the Sacred Assassin dies, Black Fang selects a new assassin to lead the cult. The Sacred Assassin is not a shaman, and cannot enter the Spirit World, but Black Fang sends assassin spirits to him as they are needed, and acts through him to create fetishes for members. Black Fang uses his Might of 15w3 to resist magic, but generally acts only through the Sacred Assassin.
Secret:	Flying Dagger (An assassin may use this secret only against a victim he has been employed to terminate. It acts as an integrated passion spirit, giving a bonus of 1/4 the secret's target number when throwing the assassin's ceremonial dagger. Additionally, the target may be around a corner, or otherwise partially obscured. The throw will suffer no penalty, as the dagger guides itself through the air, seeking the best route. The dagger does not float or otherwise pursue the target, who must still be within normal throwing range. Normally, the dagger is coated with a deadly poison.)
Fetishes:	Members of the Brotherhood always use black-painted daggers as fetishes.
Worshippers:	Professional assassins. The Brotherhood has no general members, only dedicated worshippers. All members are trained to use maximum subterfuge and minimum combat. For instance, it is considered shoddy workmanship to hack a person to death when a single dose of poison or a swift and silent strangulation would show far more skill.
Other Side:	As with other thief cults, it is guaranteed that retribution for crimes will not follow beyond death. Black Fang's Headquarters is on the Spirit Plane, somewhere in the Underworld.
Other Connections:	In Pavis, Black Fang assassins are employed sporadically by the Lunars, Sun Folk, and trolls. The assassins not only work in Pavis and the Rubble but up and down the River of Cradles, and occasionally further afield throughout Prax or even into Sartar. The Brotherhood is unofficially tolerated by the Lunars, and even encouraged, as long as they serve their ends. The Chaos god Krarsht receives propitiatory worship, since the paths of its followers and Black Fang assassins sometimes overlap. This gives many folk another reason to hate and fear the Brotherhood, although individual assassins usually have as great a haterd and distrust of Chaos as does the average city dweller.
Disadvantages:	Membership in the cult is extremely dangerous, as the authorities routinely execute any member they can apprehend.

Special Spirits of the Black Fang Tradition

Assassin Spirits are usually the spirits of former Black Fang assassins, and will not have Might of less than 1w. They may have any one advanced specialist thief or assassin skill that they may use independently or to augment the assassin's own abilities, or an appropriate trait (such as Cunning, Patient, Convincing or Fearless). All must be bound into a dagger, and cannot be integrated.

There are some exceptionally powerful assassin spirits known, including Werenella Dancing-Blade (First Strike 1w2); Bad Old Bide-a-While (Hide in Plain Sight 3w2); and Cruikshank the Climber (Cling to any Surface 5w2).

Advanced Experience Keywords