THE ASSASSINS' GUILD:

The Head of the Assassins' Guild is currently a misharr male named Heshyn. He rules with an iron fist, one of the few of his race to attain any great physical strength in addition to his other, more subtle abilities. Below him are his officers, whose ranking there depends solely on Heshyn's whim. If Heshyn were to die, his officers would likely ally or fight amongst themselves until one came on top and became the new head of the Guild.

The Assassins' Guild is spread among each of the five Kingdoms, more common in MIrg and Korresh but with a presence everywhere. The Main Chapterhouse, where Heshyn is said to reside, is said to be within one of the many ruins that dot the plains of Korresh. No one 'accidentally' finds their way to this chapterhouse; those who come near are led away by subterfuge or killed if subterfuge is impossible. The Assassins encourage the spread of the rumour that the ruins are haunted; since most ruins in Korresh are thought to be haunted, however, this can be no clue to its location.

Assassins hold to a strict heirarchy and code of conduct. First punishment for breaking the rules is a flogging; second punishment is death. Surprisingly, assassins who have broken the rules welcome the punishment; they are incredibly loyal to their Guild, which rewards its members handsomely.

Assassins may never reveal the name of the person they are working for, their place within the Guild, who their superior is, or who their target is. They are taught stealth and martial training, and those few with magical skills have been known to use them to aid in completing their contracts. Assassins are a brotherhood, but always work alone. The reasons they are given a contract may be moral or immoral, but it is up to their superior to accept it on their behalf. The Guild will do everything its power to free an assassin within three days of being imprisoned, unless the Assassin has misconducted himself or has revealed what he should not reveal. While any man can be broken through torture, Assassins can usually last those three days. If for some reason the Guild cannot reach them, the Assassin will likely kill himself.

If the Guild is betrayed by one of their members, every Assassin takes it very personally. There are no excuses for betrayal, and any assassin will gladly hunt down his ex-brother free of charge--though returning the traitor to the Guild often results in great rewards.

Tested Skills:

The Assassins' Guild tests in the following skills: knives, martial arts, garrotte, crossbow, bow, light sword, darts, club/mace/hammer, herbalism, medicine, tracking [urban], stealth [urban], disguise, sleight-of-hand, and pick locks. An NPC with one of these skills will always be available to test the PC.

Entrance into the Guild:

Entrance into the guild is almost always as a purchased slave-child. In this way can the assassins perpetuate their brotherhood. The child is raised among the Assassins and when he or she comes of age, they take the Guild Trial to enter the actual Guild. Failure means death. Note: PCs normally must enter the Guild through IC means. A character who has submitted a well-detailed and interesting history may claim in their history to have been raised by the Assassins, but they will still have to take their Guild Trial in character, and failure will mean death.

Occasionally, the Assassins will recruit outside of their own. A PC who wishes to join the Assassins but was not raised by them must discover an assassin, make friendly contact with them, and then make their wish to join clear. The Guild will survey the PC's actions for an unspecified amount of time, and if they are satisfied, the PC will be permitted to prove his or her loyalty to the Guild. If they are successful, then the PC will be permitted to take the Guild Trial, which consists of doing something distasteful, painful, or sacrificial, in order to prove that no pain or moral will get in the way of following a Guild's Orders.

Advancement:

When first accepted, the Guild member is an acolyte. They may not take their own contracts, and they are supervised and ordered about by a mentor. The mentor, or the mentor's superior, provide any and all contracts to the PC, and the PC is never permitted to slay someone alone. The PC is taught the use of weapons and the tolerance of pain.

Advancement to Independant requires that the PC successfully fill out a contract on their own, without blundering or being caught in any way, and no suspicion that there even was an assassin--unless the contract specifically requested that it be known the target was assassinated. The PC must be Advanced in at least two skills tested by the Guild before they will be permitted to try the contract on their own. At this point, if successful, the PC is allowed to take on their own contracts, but most of their contracts will still be passed to them through the Guild. The PC begins to learn the use of poisons, medicines, torture instruments, and is pushed through many physical trials.

Advancement to Officer is never on the PC's own initiative; the Guild must believe that the PC is worthy enough to test him and strong enough to survive it. The PC must be advanced in at least three skills tested by the Guild or Expert in one and Advanced in another. If the Guild believes the PC is ready, they will set a PC up in a position where he is able to betray the Guild, then capture him and put him to Inquisition, exactly as they do to members who betray them. The PC does not know until he passes that it was not an inquisition; if he fails, the character will die. An Inquisition puts the assassin to torture, compulsion, and magic if magic is available, testing the assassin's loyalty to the guild through the release of pain. An assassin that fails this test is often broken, and in this case is put to death. The purpose of this final test is to prove, beyond a doubt, the Assassin's loyalty, because the Officer is the arm of the Guild and is privy to many secrets, names, and information.