Red Mantis
Some say the Red Mantis are death cultists,
others believe they are members of an ancient
and incredibly secretive thieves’ guild, and
still others think they are fiends from some dark plane
beyond our ken. The truth is, the Red Mantis are the most
tenacious and efficient assassins the world has ever known.
The timeline of recorded history is stained with the blood
of their victims.
One rarely has to wonder if an assassination is the work of the Red Mantis; they usually kill with a sacred sawtoothed sabre, so victims often drown in their own blood before their hearts cease beating. No palace, fortress, hidden safe house, or underground cavern is secure enough to keep out the Red Mantis. A hundred years ago, they killed Duke Kotaros of Cheliax, and history is replete with tales of generals and heroes slain in their own tents by the Red Mantis the night before a key battle. Victims of the Red Mantis stay dead—no matter what.
One rarely has to wonder if an assassination is the work of the Red Mantis; they usually kill with a sacred sawtoothed sabre, so victims often drown in their own blood before their hearts cease beating. No palace, fortress, hidden safe house, or underground cavern is secure enough to keep out the Red Mantis. A hundred years ago, they killed Duke Kotaros of Cheliax, and history is replete with tales of generals and heroes slain in their own tents by the Red Mantis the night before a key battle. Victims of the Red Mantis stay dead—no matter what.
Public Agenda
As reliable as they are, even the most desperate plotters
think twice before calling on the Red Mantis. One never
knows what price they will ask—it varies widely based on
the client and the target. They might request a handful
of coins, a priceless artifact, or an unspecified favor to
be redeemed at a future date. In every case, the price is
nonnegotiable. Even those who get apparent bargains often
end up feeling that the price cost more, either in gold or in
conscience, than they originally thought.
Getting the attention of the Red Mantis is no simple task, either. There is no one sure method to contact them directly. One has to spread word in the seediest, most disreputable quarters and wait for the Red Mantis to take notice (if, indeed, they ever do). On the other hand, individuals who might be in need of the assassins’ services sometimes find themselves approached by a business-like agent who presents an offer for the Red Mantis’s assistance. How the Red Mantis come by this information is unknown, but they seem to have a supernatural way of knowing the name and details of anyone wronged or offended in a manner that calls for revenge. personages are considered viable targets, however, as are rulers of non-monarchies and any other sort of leader. The prohibition is as specific as it is sacrosanct.
Once an assignment is accepted, the Red Mantis stop at nothing to locate, isolate, and strike down their target. They have, either openly or covertly, connections in nearly every government, guild, religious order, and merchant group throughout Avistan and Garund. There is practically no piece of information so obscure or well guarded that they cannot learn it. And once the target is found, they do anything necessary to ensure his death. No decoy, magical duplicate, or sacrificial lamb fools them for long. What’s more, the Red Mantis see to it that anyone they mark for assassination not only dies, but remains dead. Through means mundane and magical, they keep track of their victims, and if by some happenstance one of them returns from the land of the dead, the Red Mantis mark the target again and pursue him with renewed vigor. Assassination is not merely a job or even an artistic endeavor as far as they are concerned.
The Red Mantis take on any assassination of any kind, save one. They do not commit regicide against a rightfully sitting monarch. It is said that this is because kings and queens, due to their divine right to rule, are the closest mortal approximations of the gods. Since the Red Mantis’s own deity works for the gods as an assassin, it would be blasphemous to strike down a ruler whose rule has holy sanction. Princes, princesses, dukes, and all other royal
Getting the attention of the Red Mantis is no simple task, either. There is no one sure method to contact them directly. One has to spread word in the seediest, most disreputable quarters and wait for the Red Mantis to take notice (if, indeed, they ever do). On the other hand, individuals who might be in need of the assassins’ services sometimes find themselves approached by a business-like agent who presents an offer for the Red Mantis’s assistance. How the Red Mantis come by this information is unknown, but they seem to have a supernatural way of knowing the name and details of anyone wronged or offended in a manner that calls for revenge. personages are considered viable targets, however, as are rulers of non-monarchies and any other sort of leader. The prohibition is as specific as it is sacrosanct.
Once an assignment is accepted, the Red Mantis stop at nothing to locate, isolate, and strike down their target. They have, either openly or covertly, connections in nearly every government, guild, religious order, and merchant group throughout Avistan and Garund. There is practically no piece of information so obscure or well guarded that they cannot learn it. And once the target is found, they do anything necessary to ensure his death. No decoy, magical duplicate, or sacrificial lamb fools them for long. What’s more, the Red Mantis see to it that anyone they mark for assassination not only dies, but remains dead. Through means mundane and magical, they keep track of their victims, and if by some happenstance one of them returns from the land of the dead, the Red Mantis mark the target again and pursue him with renewed vigor. Assassination is not merely a job or even an artistic endeavor as far as they are concerned.
The Red Mantis take on any assassination of any kind, save one. They do not commit regicide against a rightfully sitting monarch. It is said that this is because kings and queens, due to their divine right to rule, are the closest mortal approximations of the gods. Since the Red Mantis’s own deity works for the gods as an assassin, it would be blasphemous to strike down a ruler whose rule has holy sanction. Princes, princesses, dukes, and all other royal
Type
Guild, Assassins
Parent Organization
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