Flintlocks & Fancy, LLC

Renaissance World: The World

Humanity’s caretakers struggle with demonic entities for humankinds’ souls.

Whether the conflict’s setting is intimate, like at a party celebrating the end of the War of 1812, or expansive, like treacherously navigating isles within the Bermuda Triangle during the Golden Age of Piracy, themes of heroism, infamy, betrayal, and trust abound.

Factions

You may belong to one of a variety of factions; all have rich history and a deep variety of goals.

Perhaps you are a demon-slaying Templar, an artifact creating Architect of Seshat, a demon exorcising Febraurum, a demonic entity, an independent magic-user, a ghost, or a “spirit”.

• Templars

• • AKA: Masonic Society; Freemasons; Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon
  • Purpose: Dedicated to destruction of demons, the Templars deeply distrust magical Artifacts and all forms of magic. Templars do, however, grudgingly work alongside magic-users to obtain greater end results.
  • Publicity Level: A semi-secret society. At certain points in history membership may be more secret than in other times.
  • Leadership Organization: See here.
    
  • Factions:
    • All of the following factions are considered heretical by the High Grand Templar and the Organization’s leadership.
    • Artiphiles: Secretly use Artifacts (Artiphiles, or The Legerdamned-insultingly);
    • Paleoartiphiles: store artifacts rather than destroy them (Paleoartiphiles, or Hoarders-insultingly);
    • Templexorcists: support exorcism rather than killing demons (Templexorcists; Herexicists-insultingly).
  • Relationships:
    • Demons (Enemies of humanity who must be killed);
    • Architects of Seshat (Oppose their foolish schemes that cause more harm than good–their artifacts often break and free demons–the artifacts also evilly influence their holders–and many evil people have used artifacts to bad ends);
    • Exorcists (Often misguided and obstinate but they can be worked with);
    • Mages (Dangerous deviants often in league with demons);
    • Spirits (these are just demons in disguise or are very skilled individuals);
    • Ghosts (likely affiliated with demons- be wary).
  • Historical links: Templars, Masons.
  • Roleplaying Guidance: Anti-Demon (kill them; exorcism is unreliable), Anti-Magic, Anti-Artifact (because they may be misused by humans), Pro-Order, Pro-Humanity, Arrogant (usually), Greedy (sometimes), Cliquish, Driven, Bold, Righteous
  • Click here for more information about the Templars leadership structure.

Demons

•  Purpose: Besetting humanity for millennia, Demons undermine human success and feed off its vices. Demons enter into bodies at the invitation of the vessels and employ them for their dark purposes.
• Publicity Level: Most people consider them mere myths which speaks to the general success of the demons in keeping their presence hidden and at the Templars and other organizations at ultimately defeating them time after time.
• Organization: There are two general sets of demons–demons who live in the world and demons who seek to destroy the world. The latter type are rarer.
  • Typical Demons that seek to subvert humanity are known by how their powers relate to classical vices: Envy, Pride, Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Sloth, and Wrath
  • Known members of the latter type, those who seek to destroy the world, are the historical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Death, War, Famine, and Pestilence, which, if gathered together, have the power to destroy the world.
• Relationships:
  • Templars (Our enemies, but since they only kill the host body, they are our least dangerous enemy. We reform quickly after their actions, so we see no reason to kill them);
  • Architects of Seshat (A great danger to our existence, but also the source of artifacts of significant power!);
  • Exorcists (Their exorcisms are infuriating);
  • Mages (Powerful individuals who can be manipulated to be our allies);
  • Spirits (Powerful individuals who can be manipulated to be our allies);
  • Ghosts (unpredictable dead humans).
• Destruction: Demons can be destroyed when their host is killed, but if destroyed in this manner, they can after several months begin searching for a new host–it will take time though to find an appropriate match. Demons can also be exorcised and when destroyed in this manner, the host survives and the demon may not appear for several years. The Architects of Seshat have discovered another method whereby a demon can be destroyed, which the Templars see as heretical, the Architects want to bottle demons into items, creating Artifacts that hold the demon and which may be used against until the artifacts are destroyed.
  
• Roleplaying Guidance: Secret Affiliation; Undermine Others; Lie; Manipulative

• Architects of Seshat

• • The Architects of Seshat are an ancient order, dating back to Egyptian Times. They are creators and custodians. They create Artifacts from the essence of defeated demons, sealing the demons’ inside the items, binding them and using their power to wield weapons against other demons or enemies.
  • Publicity Level: The Architects are a very secret and secretive organization. They have had bad experiences working with Templars who have slaughtered many of them and who destroy their artifacts, believing them to be unwitting tools of demons–giving artifacts to madmen and others who have misused the powers.
  • Organization: The Architects lack a formal organization. Generally, the more experienced and skilled Architect leads when there is call for several to gather. Ultimately, they tend to be solitary and communicate by letter or through published works in academic journals and cryptographic clues in newspaper-published poetry.
  • Relationships:
    • Templars (They often seek to oppose and/or kill us, believing us to be a danger. Misguided guardians of humanity.);
    • Demons (enemies of humanity who must be imprisoned in artifacts);
    • Exorcists (well-intentioned but often mistrustful of us);
    • Mages (potential allies);
    • Spirits (Amazing creatures who have humanity’s best interests at heart);
    • Ghosts (as unpredictable as any human).
  • Roleplaying Guidance: Secretive; Manipulative; Pro-Artifact; Anti-Demon

• Exorcists: the Purificatum and the Jesuits
  

• Exorcists are comprised of two types; members of the Jesuits (Society of Jesus), and unaffiliated exorcists-the Purificatum.
  • Purificatum/Februarum (Exorcists)
    • Individual Purificatum often do not use the term because Purificatum are often unaffiliated, unorganized, and unaware of other exorcists’ existence. For ease of reference, we refer to them by the term early Templars devised. Some earliest Purificatum were members of the Knights Hospitallier and wise sages of Saladin.
    • The practice of exorcism has often been written down, but demons wage a constant war of destruction against the literature, supplemented by Templar purges since orthodox Templars put little stock in the success of exorcism in ultimately defeating demons. Only a few exorcism manuscripts have survived.
    • Purificatum, whether religious or not, hold these common beliefs: demons exist; exorcism works; and faith in something has power, whether it be faith in a Deity or goodness of Human nature that allows transcendent power to draw out a demon from and save the human that had been trapped within.
  • The Society of Jesus (Jesuits), a special order of Priests have often attempted to check Demons’ depredations.
    • Publicity Level: Many know its members; few know of its war against Demons.
    • Organizational: Not all Jesuits are demon-hunters; specifically only Priests inducted as Daemonium Interfectorem (Demon Slayers) specialize in exorcisms. They are subordinate to the Superior General of the Order. Beneath him are the Twelve Apostolic Missionaries. Below them are rank and file Interfectorem priests.
    • Roleplaying Guidance: Keep artifacts but generally do not use; Exorcise Demons; Master Orators; Obstinate; Righteous; Peacemakers between Non-Demon Factions.
  • Relationships:
    • Templars (Arrogant guardians of humanity);
    • Demons (enemies of humanity who must be exorcised for the host is not the criminal, the demon-parasite is);
    • Architects of Seshat (brave and clever, but not always correct in their methods);
    • Mages (unpredictable; often self-serving and supportive of demonic ends);
    • Spirits (Possible angels sent from God to help humanity);
    • Ghosts (unpredictable. Must be helped to eternal rest with the Deity).
  • Roleplaying Guidance: Keep artifacts; Exorcise Demons.

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Less Organized and Less Common Groups

• Spirits of Humanity (Angels)
  • Purpose: Spirits can inhabit people and bring benefits to humanity. The source of these spirits is unknown. It could be religious, they could be Angels sent by a deity. They could be emanations from nature. Or they could be the counterpart emanations to the Demons-emanations from the collected deceased souls of humanity.
  • Examples: The Spark of Invention, which is used to inspire wondrous inventions can be passed from person to person on the death of the previous holder.

• Ghosts
  • Ghosts, which may be related to the Spirits of Humanity (Angels), can exist on the material plane for a time after a person’s death. The soul-energy of a person tends to disappear almost immediately after death and ghosts have often not affected history but in certain cases, like on Tortuga, near the Bermuda Triangle (see Dark Age of Piracy), they have had greater involvement in affairs.

• Mages
  • A very few people have figured out how to cast magic without affiliating themselves with Demons or Angels. These people are often possessed of indomitable will or have had exposure to powerful artifacts.

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Other Assorted Information

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