Red Masks

From: David Cake (davidc@cs.uwa.edu.au)
Date: Wed 06 Nov 1996 - 12:17:38 EET


>* Anyone willing to give me details on the School of Red Masks?

        Well, I've always assumed they were just a school of shamans that
acknowledged the Red Goddess. There are plenty of local shamanic traditions
within the various outskirts of Peloria (can't remember any of the names,
the old Gloranthan lore must be slipping, but there are Darjiin ones
mentioned in GRoY IP edition, and various Pelandan ones in the Entekosiad,
for example). I guess it could simply be a group that was set up by a few
shamanic RG converts early in history, or it could be a creation of the
Lunar College of Magic administrators.
        I have generally suspected that they are relatively few in number.
        In rules terms, a shaman can become an initiate of the Red Goddess
providing they are illuminated, and have mastered Ceremony and (a ritual
magic skill?). Assuming the School of Red Masks are drawn from such ranks,
they are both
a) very few in number
and
b) hell on wheels individually. RG magic complements a shamans skills
terrifyingly well, not to mention illumination. And they are all very
skilled just to enter the cult.
        Alternatively, they can be let in if they have priest status is a
Lunar cult - but I thought that this would be very difficult for practicing
shamans.

         In Nomad Gods, they were a relatively weak magician unit,
(2/4/4/5, if that means anything to you). The Lunar spirits that they are
likely to access in Prax include the Redwood, the Watchdog of Corflu, and
the otherwise unknown (to me) Little Moon.
        They was a partial attempt at writing them up in the RQ:AIG draft
but I wouldn't go out of your way to track it down, as it was mostly just
an example of using the RQ:AIG shaman rules, which will probably never
resurface in any form (if we are lucky) and bore little resemblence to any
shaman rules before or since.

        My players may end up fighting them, if they don't go out of their
way to avoid them. They will hate it more than they can imagine.

        Cheers

                David

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