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| − | THE ONCE-DEAD
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| − | <b>Overview</b>
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| − | <i>I have tasted death,</i> Jak o' the North Wind is said to have remarked, <i>and I spat it out upon the ground.</i>
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| − | Of course, few in the Haslanti League believe that Jak was a real person (though certainly none suspect the true origin of the legend), but his romance with Saturn, the Maiden of Endings, is well known in the League. It's said that when it was time for Jak's life to end, Saturn cut the cord that bound him to Fate, but couldn't bear to throw him away. His beauty moved even she, always the coldest of the Maidens, and she mended the Loom yet left his thread within. Having tasted death, Jak, known now as Jak Once Dead, no longer feared it, and no longer believed it could come for him. Of course, all Haslanti know how that tale ended, but that's a story for another day.
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| − | This story doubtlessly weighed heavily on the mind of Grandmother Deer, the woman tasked by the Haslanti Council with creating a paramilitary force to operate on behalf of the entire League in RY 723. The resulting unit was known officially as the Watchers of the North, but everyone came to call them by their nickname - the Once Dead. Intended originally to contain only the most motivated patriots to the Haslanti cause, the make-up of the Once Dead changed once it was discovered that the casualties inflicted by the training regimen and the demands of combat often exceeded the capabilities of the local population to supply. The ranks were opened to volunteers of all nations, particularly those running from some past, burdened with some crime. The name Once Dead came to hold a new meaning - a man or woman whose previous life had been destroyed could find a new one, living again within the unit.
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| − | It's a dangerous job, and it's one that most members hold for the rest of their lives. As members become more senior, they attain higher command ranks. The maimed are shuffled to noncombat duties where possible or shuffled into other parts of the Haslanti government. After age sixty, members are allowed to retire but remain available for active duty at any time. Few make it that long. Signing up with the Once Dead means signing up for a short, glorious, and brutal life. Most members are motivated by love for the League or dire desperation - sometimes both. The granting of Pardons by the Once Dead has given the unit its share of rogues.
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| − | The Once Dead get results, or they wouldn't still be around. They don't get them bloodlessly, or flawlessly, as you might expect considering the makeup of the unit, but ultimately the Once Dead get the job done nearly every time, no matter what the cost.
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| − | <b>Appearance</b>
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| − | There is no overall uniform for the unit - although each member does have a set of dress clothing for rare formal occasions. Weapons are not standardized, nor are kit loadouts - the members of the unit who make it through training tend to either be good enough to take care of themselves, or crafty enough to fool everyone into thinking they are. The unit's color is black, and its symbols are the raven and the skull. Each member is required to carry at all times (but not to display) a black skull badge. Each member has a small raven tattoo somewhere on their body. In situations where discovery of such a tattoo on their potential corpse may be a problem, members may be allowed to remove these tattoos themselves.
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| − | <b>Organization</b>
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| − | The Once Dead is a small active unit, numbering (on paper) no more than a wing, or 250 troops. In reality the size of the unit is both smaller and larger - the turnover rate and possibility for injury means that it's very rare for the Once Dead's active members to equal their full strength. On the other hand, injured and retired agents still exist and could prove to be an asset beyond this number, as well as those in training.
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| − | These 250 are divided into two talons of 125, called the Left Talon and the Right Talon. The Right Talon, the unit to which the characters belong, is based in Icehome. It is under the command of Athela Ironheart, a woman of about fifty from old Haslanti stock, ruddy faced, loud, ugly, and reliable and direct in her command - in all respects a competent officer. The Right Talon is further divided into Scales of 25 soldiers each, rather unimaginatively named the First-Fifth Scales.) The PCs are members of the Fourth Scale, and have a new commanding officer, Scalelord Soldas. He is a newcomer and should by all rights not have his position, being both inept, overblown, and cowardly (he's often called "Trembleshanks" behind his back). He's the son of a wealthy noble family, and a lot of money must have greased a lot of palms to put him where he is. One might ask what noble family would doom their son to such a life, but you'd understand if you met Soldas. His presence in the unit is not a good sign and suggests increasing corruption in the Once Dead. The way it looks now, Soldas is probably going to get someone killed the first time he's in charge of real fight.
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| − | Below this organization is rather ad hoc. Scales CAN be broken into smaller units of 5 soldiers called fangs, but this will usually be on an operational basis, and the commanding officers can and often do vary.
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| − | The Left Talon is headquartered officially in Ironfall, but keeps only two scales there. Another two are assigned to the city of Crystal, and one each to Diamond Hearth and Tuskstad
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| − | At any given time, around 100-200 recruits are in training at the Forge in Icehome. Most will eventually wash out of the brutal program, but the assurance of certain death for many can prompt them to push themselves to success. They are brought into the unit piecemeal to replace losses.
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| − | <b>Mores</b>
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| − | The Once Dead are separate from the military command structure and have limited ability to affect it - certainly, they can demand a meeting with the city watch, but they can't order its members around. Their reputation, if known, garners a healthy amount of fear and respect, but also resentment, particularly from authorities who resent their overall prestige. Members receive a generous salary (Resources *** - your character can be assumed to have this automatically, so you can spend those points elsewhere if you want. Having more than this will still cost you) but are expected to equip themselves from their earnings. Members may live in private residences when off duty but can expect to sleep in the barracks when on duty.
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| − | <b>Lingo</b>
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| − | Nicknames: Corpses, Deadmen, Ravens, Watchmen, Walkers
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| − | To have "died a pauper" means that one volunteered for service in the Once Dead. To have "died a prince" means that one's life was such a catastrophic ruin that joining the Once Dead was nearly mandatory for survival. One killed in the line of duty is sometimes, in a spot of black humor, dubbed "Twice Dead."
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