The Order of Silence

Alignment: True Neutral

Founding: 137 AF (218 years ago)

Membership: ~400

Influence: Regional (Northern Wastes, Satha Laylanuha)

Key Class: Cleric

Standard Member: Human Cleric 2

Entry Requirements
  • Possess a non-Chaotic alignment (switching to a Chaotic alignment later is grounds for expulsion from the organization).
  • Wisdom 15+.
  • The ability to cast 1st level divine spells.
  • Sponsorship from a current member of the organization in good standing.
  • Taking a pledge to protect the Holy Secret with one’s life, if needed, & to do anything necessary to keep it hidden, even from order Initiates.

Identifying Item(s): a close-mouthed mask, a blank scroll

Overview
In the badlands of the Northern Wastes, & the foothills of the Sathan Range, there are tales of mysterious priests, who seem to come from no known church. They are as silent as a grave, moving about without making a sound & refusing to speak when addressed by others. They mostly keep to themselves, & have a habit of disappearing when approached, making them seem to be nothing more than an illusion. Wearing mouth-less masks, these strange figures have become the subject of several local legends, & many visitors to the area consider them to be nothing more than a myth.

These mask-wearing mutes are all too real, however, despite the opinion of some skeptics. They belong to a cult of ascetics known as the Order of Silence, a group dedicated to preserving a Holy Secret of unimaginable magnitude & value. They believe that this knowledge must be protected at all costs, even at the risk of their own lives. For this reason, members of the order remain in self-imposed seclusion, only contacting the outside world to buy supplies & to recruit new defenders of the faith.

There was once a small sect of the church of Waharim, near the city of Qulzai, that discovered a great & profound secret, an insight that utterly changed their worldview. This hidden knowledge was obtained via some unknown means, forgotten by history, but once the cult had it, they vowed to protect it by any means necessary. For over two centuries, they have guarded their Holy Secret with their very lives, letting none other than their own fellow members of the order learn of it or its significance.

They have kept their order small, yet strong, the better to maintain the veil of secrecy. Those who know of the order & their mission are dubious of them, as well as their intentions. The church of Waharim long ago cast them out for heresy, something that the order neither denied nor seemed concerned about. Many believe that whatever secret they may have once possessed has been lost to time, or that the order’s elite use the promise of a vital secret as a means of controlling their underlings. The members of the order themselves are zealous in their beliefs, though, so they will not be swayed in their conviction.

One does not leave the order, once one has learned the Holy Secret. Expulsion from the order is a death sentence. Likewise, voluntary departure is forbidden, upon penalty of death. Running from the order will incur the attention of an assassin, hired by the order to track & kill any traitor to the cause. Knowledge of the Holy Secret is a lifelong commitment, & even attempting to leave negates all benefits of membership, permanently.

Notable Members
  • Gnostic Akila (True Neutral, Druid 1/Monk 9), human female
  • Gnostic Ulima (Neutral Evil, Cleric 7), kobold female
  • Keeper Hakim Utt (Neutral Good, Paladin 5), gnoll male

Leader(s)
  • High Mysterion Alim Faysal (Lawful Neutral, Cleric 2/Wizard 5/Loremaster 6), narsabi male
  • High Mysterion Banan Sirraya (Chaotic Neutral, Cleric 3/Sorcerer 3/Mystic Theurge 7), human female

Hierarchy
  • Initiate: The lowest-ranking members, they do not know the Holy Secret. Initiates are in training, learning the ways of the order, while their superiors evaluate their ability to keep lesser secrets, & to keep them safe. They perform menial tasks for the order, such as farming, carpentry, or tending livestock. Initiates are the most numerous members, & over half of them leave the order within a year. Benefit: A +4 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate, & Sense Motive checks when dealing with members of the organization.
  • Keeper: Initiates who have persevered & proven themselves to the order are told the basic tenets of the Holy Secret, enough to be considered full-fledged members of the organization. They don’t know the finer details of the secret, & the implications that the secret has for the world are mostly lost on them. Those who have risen to this level are not permitted to leave (see Leaving the Order, below). Keepers perform mostly administrative tasks for the order, such as bearing messages, preparing safe havens, & maintaining contacts outside the order. Benefit: A +4 morale bonus on saves versus confusion, fear, & other such mental conditions, including mind-affecting magic.
  • Gnostic: Keepers who have excelled & upheld the core values of the order are told the full consequences of the Holy Secret, meditating on its impact in the world at large. While some exceptional underlings may have deduced some of this, only a full Gnostic is trusted to act upon this additional knowledge. There are only a few such luminous & privileged minds in the order, & they are charged with organizing the sect’s affairs. Gnostics coordinate members’ movements, enforce the order’s imperatives, & seek out new potential Initiates. Benefit: A +2 inherent bonus to one’s Intelligence or Wisdom score (choose one).
  • High Mysterion: At any one time, there are only two members of the order who have the whole truth, who know the entirety of the Holy Secret & what it means for the world. Only the most dedicated, most trustworthy, most capable souls can hope to attain such an exalted position. The previous High Mysterions personally choose their successors from among the best Gnostics, & they are prohibited from being in the same place at the same time, to prevent them from both being lost at once, & potentially taking the Holy Secret with them. The Mysterions rule the order, & indeed, they are the order. Benefit: A +10 insight bonus to all Knowledge checks.