Memento Mori: a New Secret Society

[DeepShadow of FoS]

So, going even farther into the realm of wishful thinking, what would MM hve to do to sneak into Avernus and destroy the Book of Names, thereby restoring all the lost memories?!

[HuManBing]

For what it's worth, I think a literalist reading of the spell ability is not warranted. This is a clearly overpowered version of the spell, with no saving throw and no time limit to his manipulations. The only limitation seems to be that the target be in Darkon at the time.

Azalin got the ability from being merged with the land. Therefore it should apply to anything that has the capacity to have memories and which is within the domain. Thus the only arguable exception would be an outsider with a reality wrinkle. I hold the modify memory ability to be just as widespread in its power as the Book of Names, which could in theory write down the history of an undead or other sentient being and thereby wipe its memories clean.

[Lanus]

Hi, this my first post here on the forum so, Hello to everybody!

I just finished reading the thread and fell in love with Memento Mori and i'm planning to include it as a very important organization in my upcoming Ravenloft campaign. Here are some random thoughts i've come up with.

-> MM is an organization eveyone hates. In my campaign MM has already expanded to several domains in the core and the general populace (at least the higher ups who must be aware of the latests political developments) think of them as terrorists and vandals: Membership is secret, they have complex codes and formulae to identify themselves, work in cells and attack goverment elements.

-> Domains:

Dementlieu: In Dementliue the work in cells of five elements (adventuring party!) and basically try to undermine the political influence of Dominic, purge the mind control of his subjects (don't know if its posible) and cope up with all the negative propaganda (that has already become common talk in the fancy places of the western core). Several noblemen are secretly part of MM so they have quite decent funding.

Darkon: They work in cells of three darkonese members, two foreign members, for kinda obvious reasons. Also, they've have to deep into Darkon so this cell arrangement keeps it funtional: Couple of thoughts: When a foreign cell member falls pray to the memory change, the new "personae" is quickly introduced as a cell member. The other members let him/her believe he's new to the cell and everything (since the personality and skills don't change imo, he would still be willing). After they leave the Darkon the will realise that they're are the 4th man!

-> Modus Operandi: I think there could be a lot of travel for MM members; first of all, they have to keep moving because they might have the Kargat and Dominic men on their tails. Second, because exchange of information between far away members (and cell member swap) keeps the organization fresh and prepared.

I just realized some of my ideas might've been secretly influenced by Warren Ellis

Comments? Thoughts?

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Hi, this my first post here on the forum so, Hello to everybody!

Hello and welcome! Glad you like my stuff!

-> MM is an organization eveyone hates. In my campaign MM has already expanded to several domains in the core and the general populace (at least the higher ups who must be aware of the latests political developments) think of them as terrorists and vandals: Membership is secret, they have complex codes and formulae to identify themselves, work in cells and attack goverment elements.

Yeah, this is close to my image of MM. Actually, since they are such a loose network, I've decided IMC that many cells have specialized in one form or another. What you're descibing here is what I call "String Cutter" cells that are more anarchic in their approach: they cut the strings of powerful puppets, sit back and watch the sparks fly. They try to do this from a safe distance and don't try to take credit for what happens. As far as they are concerned, the blowback that results is simply a kind of karmic repurcussion that they only nudge a little bit.

One technique they might use is to spike someone's drink with a spiritual purgative, so that they vomit out the enchantment but have no idea what broke them free. The string cutter MM can then monitor the person from a distance and let the freed puppet lead them to the puppetmaster. Depending upon the reaction, they might approach the person with membership, give them additional info from secrecy, or run parallel gambits using the freed pawn as a distraction.

Dementlieu: In Dementliue the work in cells of five elements (adventuring party!) and basically try to undermine the political influence of Dominic, purge the mind control of his subjects (don't know if its posible) and cope up with all the negative propaganda (that has already become common talk in the fancy places of the western core). Several noblemen are secretly part of MM so they have quite decent funding.

Compte Tomas D'Alour from the Lights in the Fog might make a great patron. Then again, would these folks fare better against Dominic or the Brain?

Darkon: They work in cells of three darkonese members, two foreign members, for kinda obvious reasons. Also, they've have to deep into Darkon so this cell arrangement keeps it funtional: Couple of thoughts: When a foreign cell member falls pray to the memory change, the new "personae" is quickly introduced as a cell member. The other members let him/her believe he's new to the cell and everything (since the personality and skills don't change imo, he would still be willing). After they leave the Darkon the will realise that they're are the 4th man!

But why doesn't Azalin destroy these cells?

-> Modus Operandi: I think there could be a lot of travel for MM members; first of all, they have to keep moving because they might have the Kargat and Dominic men on their tails. Second, because exchange of information between far away members (and cell member swap) keeps the organization fresh and prepared.

This sounds more like the doppelganger hunter cells.

[Lanus]

Hi, this my first post here on the forum so, Hello to everybody!

Compte Tomas D'Alour from the Lights in the Fog might make a great patron. Then again, would these folks fare better against Dominic or the Brain?

But why doesn't Azalin destroy these cells?


This sounds more like the doppelganger hunter cells.

Good points! The Brain seems a better fit but Dominic will still find a group that is against mind control "pesky", at least, dangerous, at worst so they will have a hard time on both fronts.

Beign away from books and with memory failure due to workload, i don't remember exactly if Azalin is automatically aware of everything inside Darkon. He has the skull eyes and the Kargat, I remember that. Well, if he has omniscience or practical omniscience then i'll have to change tactics for the darkonian cells.

And the doppelganger hunter cells, i like that idea. They migth be the most fighty (as in level) and paranoid of all the cells; bordering on neutrality and maybe evilness perhaps?

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Azalin can read and/or rewrite the thoughts of anyone in Darkon simply by concentrating. Of course, this requires that he know to do so, because something has drawn his attention to the matter. So the general rule is to fly under his radar. The big problem as I see it for MM in Darkon is that once Azalin notices one of the members, he knows about the entire guild and can search the memories of all of Darkon for other members. I can't see it taking him longer than an afternoon to mindwipe the entire guild.

[Strahdsbuddy]

I can't see it taking him longer than an afternoon to mindwipe the entire guild.

That jerk!

Well that being the case, MM cells with a bent on Darkon would probably have to set up camp OUTSIDE the domain and close enough to Avernus to make their crack at the Big Book feasible. A decade or two's worth of research leading up to the assult seems like a good plan. That way, they could cross the border (from Falkovnia most likely) and make a slightning strike at Avernus, keeping their memories out of range of prying until the very moment of the mission.

Alternatively, they could utilize an non-MM adventuring group with very little knowledge of the nature of Darkon or the Book of Names to go in and destroy it for them. That way if they did fall under Azalin's sway, they wouldn't have enough information to really be dangerous to the MM as a whole.

[HuManBing]

Bear in mind too that Azalin does not necessarily GAIN anything by having his subjects become Mindlost. The domain does that automatically (including to himself, when he first came to Darkon) and he has no say in it.

Azalin may be willing to allow certain august individuals to regain their memories if it's beneficial to his interests. He may even have set up a secret and seemingly independent agency to restore those memories to individuals... for a price.

This would serve several purposes.

1. It provides a source of revenue. Not a huge benefit, given that he practically owns all of Darkon.

2. It reveals possible allies or enemies. All of whom are not your average Darkonian peon.

3. ???

4. Profit!

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Other ideas for Darkon:

What about a simple magic item that stores the wearer's memories? When someone puts it on, any memories they have from that point on are stored in the device rather than the person. This would protect the person's stored memories from tampering, and tampering with prior memories would be easy to catch if they contradicted current ones. There's the obvious risk that the magic item will come off and you'll get amnesia, but there are simple countermeasures as well.

I like the idea of a group of minutemen waiting just across the border for the right distraction, so they can sneak through in the confusion and infiltrate Avernus while Azalin is preoccupied. Presumably they would do some recon runs before the big day.

On the other side, I can see another cell accepting a deal from Azalin himself to be the clearinghouse for people who want their memories restored, like in HMB's idea.

In other news, I'm wondering about the expense of a spiritual purgative. It's perfect for their purposes, but 1200gp each is a lot of cash to cough up just to unstring one puppet.

[High Priest Mikhal]

What about a simple magic item that stores the wearer's memories? When someone puts it on, any memories they have from that point on are stored in the device rather than the person. This would protect the person's stored memories from tampering, and tampering with prior memories would be easy to catch if they contradicted current ones. There's the obvious risk that the magic item will come off and you'll get amnesia, but there are simple countermeasures as well.

The crown of summation from VRGttLich could serve as a base for an idea. Maybe a variant psicrown that copies the memories of the first person who dons it, then releases those memories back into the next person who dons it (whether or not it's the original owner of said memories). Didn't the Sensates from 2e Planescape have something where their memories were recorded? Crystals or something?

[Lanus]

okay, i just came up with a dread posibility:

A Memento Mori cell can operate all across Darlon since the joining of two new members: A brother and a sister who keep a talisman, heriloom from their father. They always thought his father was a Darkonian man but in his will he revealed that he was from a land far from the mists and the talisman shielded his mind and heart from the land of Darkon and his ruler, Azalin Rex.

Of course, that's what they tell the other members of the cell. The truth is that the brother is a powerful evil outsider, trapped inside Ravenloft, his sister is the dominated wizard that accidentaly brought him in. He is currently manipulating the MM cell to move forward his own agenda and triying to corrupt the rest of the members, specially the lider who is fond of his "sister"

[DeepShadow of FoS]

okay, i just came up with a dread posibility:

A Memento Mori cell can operate all across Darlon since the joining of two new members: A brother and a sister who keep a talisman, heriloom from their father. They always thought his father was a Darkonian man but in his will he revealed that he was from a land far from the mists and the talisman shielded his mind and heart from the land of Darkon and his ruler, Azalin Rex.

Of course, that's what they tell the other members of the cell. The truth is that the brother is a powerful evil outsider, trapped inside Ravenloft, his sister is the dominated wizard that accidentaly brought him in. He is currently manipulating the MM cell to move forward his own agenda and triying to corrupt the rest of the members, specially the lider who is fond of his "sister"

I think it's a great idea for an individual cell. The scattered nature of the cells makes each cell a potentially unique entity.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

The crown of summation from VRGttLich could serve as a base for an idea. Maybe a variant psicrown that copies the memories of the first person who dons it, then releases those memories back into the next person who dons it (whether or not it's the original owner of said memories). Didn't the Sensates from 2e Planescape have something where their memories were recorded? Crystals or something?

Another prospective base would be the memory-storing techniques of Steel Dragons, from Dragon ecologies. They spend lifetimes as humans and then shed them in a meditative process. Dragon Annual #3 has an ecologty article about this.

(pardon the thread resurrection, it's becoming relevant again IMC)

[DeepShadow of FoS]

PC IMC just discovered something MUCH better than a spiritual purgative. Churchsteeple root, an herb discovered by Rudolph Van Richten (Dragon article "Wicked Garden") gives the bearer the effects of a "protection from evil" spell while fresh. This spell suspends charm and compulsion spells while it lasts, which could be days under the right circumstances.

I can see string cutter cells arranging for a little of this root to wind up in corsages and boutonnieres at Dementlieu festivals, and then sit back to watch the sparks fly.

[The Giamarga]

Bluebeard--As I read the entry in Darklords, Bluebeard's forgetfulness power works on all the locals at once. Think of it as a decree that he gives: "From this day forth, my subjects will not have any recollection of my last wife."

In Sight & Sound it doesn't work this way as Lord Henredon mentions what the townspeople told him about Bluebeard's wives "misfortunes". So he actually doesn't make them forget the wives. The loyal populace jsut tends to believe his official statements regarding the cause of their death. Interestingly this also implies that he does not in fact openly reveal that he punished them for a transgression, but that he hides his deeds.