Mage Venatores
The leading experts when it comes to mage hunting. All members swear a blood oath to hunt down renegade mages & warlocks and eliminate them. The Venatores are often the first step in dealing with dangerous mages, however if the mage is found to be too strong or too evasive for the hunters of the Venatores then the Overseer will reach out to The Psionic Nightmare for assistance. Most of the more intelligent mages will tend to cease their rogue activities and go into hiding due to fear of the Nightmare. Those who don't or are too arrogant in their skills do not last long once the Nightmare has marked them.
Structure
The entire organization is lead by someone titled the Overseer. The Overseer is the only person who knows the full resources and safe house locations for the Venatores.
The Mage Venatores are broken down into different Cells, each on a need to know basis for all of the other Cells. Each Cell is lead by a Hunt Master. The Hunt Masters organize their Cells, dispatch hunter teams, review intel & bounties, and oversees training. They are held at high standards by the Overseer but mostly have free reign on their individual Cells as long as they continue to effectively deal with rogue mages. Should a rogue mage evade capture from one Cell for too long and the Hunt Master shows signs of incompetence, then the Overseer will step in and replace the Hunt Master with someone more qualified.
The rest of the members are simply called hunters, and make up the bulk of the Mage Venatores. Most hunters have some sort of training prior to joining but additional training is provided to new members.
Public Agenda
Magic is a powerful and dangerous tool that should be regulated and monitored. Since it is not, then it is our duty to eliminate those who use magic recklessly or for selfish desires.
Assets
Funding is mostly relied upon donations, bounties, and seized assets. However given the danger of rogue mages, plenty of donations are given to the organization from government officials and wealthy nobles / merchants.
As for troops and buildings, the exact number is not publicly known. It is the nature of the Mage Venatores to keep an air of mystery around them, mostly to take rogue mages by surprise and to avoid counter attacks.
It is widely known that the Mage Venatores have a safe house in all major cities, it's just the location of these safe houses that are kept secret. Popular rumors circle around claiming that the Mage Venatores have at least one agent in every single town and village. Most believe that this claim is ridiculous, however there have been several reported cases of Hunters from the Mage Venatores defeating rogue mages mere hours after the mage arrives in town (even if they are in a disguise)
History
In the year 562 AS, a sorcerer known as the Faceless Destroyer became public enemy number one. The Destroyer had an obsession for chaos and destruction, he was responsible for the death of thousands of people due to his use of magic to destroy entire towns or districts in a city. Using a combination of illusion and abjuration spells, the Destroyer evaded capture for over five years. The Destroyer had an reputation for using invisibility and disguise spells to infiltrate the targets of his destruction. This lead to the "Faceless" part of his nickname. In the months prior to his death, it was reported that over 50 people were inadvertently killed due to mistaken identity and fear mongering.
In the later part of the year 563 AS, a disciple of the Arcane Master of Divination abandoned her training to become the next Arcane Master in order to track down the Faceless Destroyer. This student recruited five other individuals who lost family to the Destroyer and formed the organization that we now call Mage Venatores. The student took the title of Overseer (later renamed as the 1st Overseer) and she began to train her new team on how magic works and how to best defeat the Mages that wield it.
The first team of Mage Venatores collected as much information as possible of the Destroyer. Dates, times, & locations of attacks, identify victims & missing property, descriptions of known disguises, and the interrogation of known associates to the Destroyer. By the Year 564, the team identified a pattern in the Destroyer's attacks and set a trap in a small village. Using a Drawmij's Instant Summons spell on an item desired by the Destroyer, the team was able to identify the Faceless Destroyer's real name, the team then located the Destroyers home and then ambushed him once he returned.
Due to the high profile of the Destroyer, the Mage Venatores were greatly rewarded for their services. The 1st Overseer and her team used the reward to establish a safe house and continued to expand their origination across Coalition territories.
563 - Present
Type
Guild, Professional
Alternative Names
The Venatores
Training Level
Semi-professional
Veterancy Level
Experienced
Leader
Notable Members
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