Post by Soprano on Aug 26, 2010 12:08:00 GMT -6
Hunter Factions
Naturally, with more influx of demons, the tactics and philosophies for dealing with them have changed over the years. There have been many great factions in the past, but with time, the factions have dwindled to four main groups. No one group is strictly good or evil, their alignment varies member to member.
The Church of the Sacred Light
The Church of the Sacred Light was founded by a monk by the name of Friar Hughes in the Dark Ages. They are based in the philosophy that God will guide them and protect them from evil if they are pure. It has always been a secret monkhood since then, keeping quiet in the shadows. They have are the typical monks, they are celibate with no desire for human belongings. They often will wear plain clothes and shave their heads. There are also sisters of the Sacred Light, but they are less common. They are easy to spot, appearing as men and women of the cloth. Nothing really marks them as demon hunters.
Their preferred method of disposing of demons is to absolve them or exorcise them so they will cease to exist or are sent to heaven to be judged. The tools of their trade are silver, holy water, and crucifixes. Any sort of religious tool that the user believes strongly in.
It is possible to be a follower of the Sacred Light without being a monk or a nun, but they are generally not as effective as someone who has given themselves to the Lord. Every follower has a sin and a virtue, just as anyone else; and any monk or nun that falls to the way of sin will have their power affected similarly. Also, contrary to popular beleif, the Church of the Sacred Light isn't exclusively Christian. Many would have to believe this to be the case, but really a follower of the Church only needs to have a strong belief in something to fight demons.
Order of Eradicto Pravus
The Order of Eradicto Pravus is an old order of mages began by a group of mages before Jesus’ time. They seek to control and use demons to help them gain power over the underworld; often using demons to destroy other demons. They run under the philosophy that a man, or rather a mage, has the ability to control anything around him and should do so to obtain greater power. Unfortunately, they often will use demons to their own personal gain, not just the gain of humanity. A mage in the Order will often appear as an older person, though many have gained the magicks to appear younger. They are often powerful men and women in positions that could potentially shape the world. Young mages of the order are trained very hard from a young age once they are found to have the ability lying dormant inside them. It is very common for a fledgling mage to die before he makes it to the rank of Adept.
Mages have spells and wards that allow them to control and occasionally summon demons. Often, the mages with more of a sense of conscience will only control those that he comes across. The older and sometimes the cockier mages will try to summon a demon, often to disastrous results.
Seidhrfolk (SAY-thurhr-fohlk)
When the earth was young and monsters roamed the earth less frequently, there were demon slayers and dragon hunters. They were about as common as a knight in shining armor, which is pretty common. They pillaged and ransacked in the name of fighting monsters, though the people still adored them. These were the Seidhrfolk. The current Seidhrfolk took their name from a Norse word meaning ‘clairvoyance,’ which is slightly ironic considering their methods. They are tough and strong people, even in modern times, and they believe the old way of dealing with demons is the best way still.
Obviously, the Seidhrfolk depend on the strength of their muscles to defeat any demon that comes their way. This may potentially present problems with demons that are ethereal or fight psychologically. They typically have a distrust of anything magical, but will deign to use magical weapons or talismans for the use of demonslaying.
The funny thing about Seidhrfolk is that they really have no common appearances and vary greatly in walks of life. They believe that appearances are deceiving and likewise many of their warriors are so vastly different, it’s hard to consider them a guild. The one commonality between them is that they all use brute force to defeat demons. That saying, they are the largest hunter’s guild right now.
Chao Xi
The Chao Xi is a faction that is fairly new to the game. They believe that everyone is inherently good, even demons, and deserves to be sent home if they are lost. There are exceptions to this, but the general rule is they banish demons back to hell. They use several tactics that are popular with the other factions, but in their own style. Chao Xi are broken into two sub-factions, usually a pair of each one.
Ni Huo
The Ni Huo are the fighters of the pair. They are skilled in combat, either unarmed or with a weapon. They are passionate and typically have horrible tempers. They are the driving force behind a pair of Chao Xi.
Long Shui
The Long Shui are the more calm and placid of the pair. They use spell tags and ward symbols to banish a demon back to hell once their Ni Huo partner has weakened them. Their magic is not very strong, but they make up for it by being the smarter of the pair.
Despite the Chinese name, members of the Chao Xi need not be Asian or Chinese. They simply need to hold to the belief that demons should be sent home. A Chao Xi pair will function as a team, typically, but there are solo hunters out there. They are either a Ni Huo or a Long Shui, and if are solo it is not unheard of for them to become a part of a different faction completely.
The Wanderers (by dusk)
Not everyone who has potential is found, not everyone that has had experience with a demon has been recruited. These people are known as wanderers, they have the abilities and talents to fight demons but have chosen not to join any of the major guilds. There has always been a time when they have been called upon to help slay and drive back demons but never have they been associated with anyone else but their own. The wanderers come in all assortments from marksmen to mages, the one major factor that separates them from the guild is that they seem like any other person. There is no head quarters or base, not library of knowledge or any mystics to teach them. They have learned all that they know from what they can get their hands on.
Wanderers will often except help from others like them selfs but they often steer clear of the major guilds as certain techniques they use may seem unethical. Such things differ from hunter to hunter but the main instances are the killing of possesed victims and the practice of blood magic.
The best thing about the wanderers is that they are all over the world raging in experience and knowledge, they can appear at any point to help drive the demons back. This is especially helpfully in areas where the guilds cannot maintain a presence.
Naturally, with more influx of demons, the tactics and philosophies for dealing with them have changed over the years. There have been many great factions in the past, but with time, the factions have dwindled to four main groups. No one group is strictly good or evil, their alignment varies member to member.
The Church of the Sacred Light
The Church of the Sacred Light was founded by a monk by the name of Friar Hughes in the Dark Ages. They are based in the philosophy that God will guide them and protect them from evil if they are pure. It has always been a secret monkhood since then, keeping quiet in the shadows. They have are the typical monks, they are celibate with no desire for human belongings. They often will wear plain clothes and shave their heads. There are also sisters of the Sacred Light, but they are less common. They are easy to spot, appearing as men and women of the cloth. Nothing really marks them as demon hunters.
Their preferred method of disposing of demons is to absolve them or exorcise them so they will cease to exist or are sent to heaven to be judged. The tools of their trade are silver, holy water, and crucifixes. Any sort of religious tool that the user believes strongly in.
It is possible to be a follower of the Sacred Light without being a monk or a nun, but they are generally not as effective as someone who has given themselves to the Lord. Every follower has a sin and a virtue, just as anyone else; and any monk or nun that falls to the way of sin will have their power affected similarly. Also, contrary to popular beleif, the Church of the Sacred Light isn't exclusively Christian. Many would have to believe this to be the case, but really a follower of the Church only needs to have a strong belief in something to fight demons.
Order of Eradicto Pravus
The Order of Eradicto Pravus is an old order of mages began by a group of mages before Jesus’ time. They seek to control and use demons to help them gain power over the underworld; often using demons to destroy other demons. They run under the philosophy that a man, or rather a mage, has the ability to control anything around him and should do so to obtain greater power. Unfortunately, they often will use demons to their own personal gain, not just the gain of humanity. A mage in the Order will often appear as an older person, though many have gained the magicks to appear younger. They are often powerful men and women in positions that could potentially shape the world. Young mages of the order are trained very hard from a young age once they are found to have the ability lying dormant inside them. It is very common for a fledgling mage to die before he makes it to the rank of Adept.
Mages have spells and wards that allow them to control and occasionally summon demons. Often, the mages with more of a sense of conscience will only control those that he comes across. The older and sometimes the cockier mages will try to summon a demon, often to disastrous results.
Seidhrfolk (SAY-thurhr-fohlk)
When the earth was young and monsters roamed the earth less frequently, there were demon slayers and dragon hunters. They were about as common as a knight in shining armor, which is pretty common. They pillaged and ransacked in the name of fighting monsters, though the people still adored them. These were the Seidhrfolk. The current Seidhrfolk took their name from a Norse word meaning ‘clairvoyance,’ which is slightly ironic considering their methods. They are tough and strong people, even in modern times, and they believe the old way of dealing with demons is the best way still.
Obviously, the Seidhrfolk depend on the strength of their muscles to defeat any demon that comes their way. This may potentially present problems with demons that are ethereal or fight psychologically. They typically have a distrust of anything magical, but will deign to use magical weapons or talismans for the use of demonslaying.
The funny thing about Seidhrfolk is that they really have no common appearances and vary greatly in walks of life. They believe that appearances are deceiving and likewise many of their warriors are so vastly different, it’s hard to consider them a guild. The one commonality between them is that they all use brute force to defeat demons. That saying, they are the largest hunter’s guild right now.
Chao Xi
The Chao Xi is a faction that is fairly new to the game. They believe that everyone is inherently good, even demons, and deserves to be sent home if they are lost. There are exceptions to this, but the general rule is they banish demons back to hell. They use several tactics that are popular with the other factions, but in their own style. Chao Xi are broken into two sub-factions, usually a pair of each one.
Ni Huo
The Ni Huo are the fighters of the pair. They are skilled in combat, either unarmed or with a weapon. They are passionate and typically have horrible tempers. They are the driving force behind a pair of Chao Xi.
Long Shui
The Long Shui are the more calm and placid of the pair. They use spell tags and ward symbols to banish a demon back to hell once their Ni Huo partner has weakened them. Their magic is not very strong, but they make up for it by being the smarter of the pair.
Despite the Chinese name, members of the Chao Xi need not be Asian or Chinese. They simply need to hold to the belief that demons should be sent home. A Chao Xi pair will function as a team, typically, but there are solo hunters out there. They are either a Ni Huo or a Long Shui, and if are solo it is not unheard of for them to become a part of a different faction completely.
The Wanderers (by dusk)
Not everyone who has potential is found, not everyone that has had experience with a demon has been recruited. These people are known as wanderers, they have the abilities and talents to fight demons but have chosen not to join any of the major guilds. There has always been a time when they have been called upon to help slay and drive back demons but never have they been associated with anyone else but their own. The wanderers come in all assortments from marksmen to mages, the one major factor that separates them from the guild is that they seem like any other person. There is no head quarters or base, not library of knowledge or any mystics to teach them. They have learned all that they know from what they can get their hands on.
Wanderers will often except help from others like them selfs but they often steer clear of the major guilds as certain techniques they use may seem unethical. Such things differ from hunter to hunter but the main instances are the killing of possesed victims and the practice of blood magic.
The best thing about the wanderers is that they are all over the world raging in experience and knowledge, they can appear at any point to help drive the demons back. This is especially helpfully in areas where the guilds cannot maintain a presence.