The Brotherhood of Thought

The Brotherhood of Thought

An Insider's Account

By Rheinhold Vasco

Most of you think you know something about the Brotherhood of Thought. Here in Voyreem, you've had the scare stories and the Brotherhood troops in your very back yards, even. Your local sellswords have fought the Brotherhood, found the secret laboratories, and lived to come back and tell the tale. Queen Anissette and the Archmage have even told you what's going on with the Brotherhood and its plans to rule all of Jaastenland.

Well, I'm here to tell you that you don't know anything, yet.

I've spent the last six years inside the Brotherhood as what they would call an "Associate Member." It was great, at first. I got some excellent magical training, got to go places and see things I never would have otherwise, and made a tidy sum doing it. I also got to know how science and magic work together. I even learned a bit about technology that I never knew existed. Even so, there were some things that didn't add up for me, so I started poking my nose where it didn't belong about a year ago.

What I found out means I'm a dead man if they catch me.

I wrote parts of this as a pamphlet to describe the Brotherhood in a friendly way to outsiders. I was a chapter representative in Vargas for a time, and had liaison duties to the Chamber of Commerce. Some parts I added later, after I figured out what was really going on. Where I've added comments, I've written them in script.

So, read on and learn the truth. And watch your back.

The Brotherhood of Thought is a charitable society in Jaastenland that promotes the cause of science, logic, and rationality in all things. Many of its members gain great and well-deserved reputations as scientists, scholars, philosophers, and mentalists. The organization is not quite as openly welcomed in Smeisserand, but quite a few influential figures are members or quiet patrons of its activities.

The aims of the Brotherhood are the peaceful development of wisdom, discipline, health, and science. The last hundred years in Jaastenland has seen the rise of a philosophy that holds that we have a good life, and no longer have to work hard and think clearly, like our forebears did. This attitude weakens our society and makes it difficult to cooperate together to achieve great things. We believe that in order to make progress, to better ourselves, we must be able to hold ourselves to difficult tasks and to use our brains to solve the problems of today. We seek a society free from the common vices of greed, sloth, gluttony, and irrational thinking. Through a strong and clear-headed approach, we can build a better tomorrow.

We are pursuing this brighter tomorrow through scientific research, charitable works, and participation in our governmental process. Members sponsor promising research and exploration projects that might yield advances in public health, education, and an increased standard of living. They operate hospitals to heal the sick and injured, and provide food to the needy. Individual members might participate in other charitable endeavors. A small but influential percentage of the organization is active in politics. These members try to craft laws and policy that advance science, rationality, and appropriate controls upon individual behavior. Being active participants in the government allows us to dispel wrong-headed thinking and to help the country better provide for its citizens. The Senate of Kyriabor numbers 38 of its speakers as members of the Brotherhood. "Now that's up to 78, after the virtual takeover of the Senate by the Kraanichers after the gas attacks."

The motto of the Brotherhood is, "Ordered thoughts produce noble deeds."

Behind the Scenes

"It isn't all so rosy as they would like you to believe. Take a look at the notes I gleaned from my time in the Brotherhood behind the scenes." -- RV

Membership

Nearly all full members of the brotherhood are Kraanicher humans. They are smart, healthy, and attractive. This is because, as I've found out, Kraanichers are being bred for desirable traits. The Church of Pure Flame (you probably didn't know that Kraanichers have a secret, private religion of their own, did you?) keeps lists of every Kraanicher born and matches those up to charts and tables about who has these desirable traits. Kraanicher men and women cannot get married or have children unless they get permission from the Archivists of the Church. Ostensibly, this is to prevent unhealthy children. Actually, it is to continue the goals of making Kraanichers into an even stronger noble race. So, this is bigger than just the Brotherhood.

Many member are wizards, and quite a few are psionicists or technomancers. "Mindbenders," as they're called outside the Brotherhood, are very common in the ranks of full, active members. Prospective members must pass a battery of tests that determine their aptitude and suitability for membership. Any who pass the tests, but are of non-Kraanicher heritage, are enrolled as associate members. (Like me. I'm of mixed Kraanicher and Heidann blood, but I can pass for Kraanicher.) Others with useful skills might become adjunct members or employees of the Brotherhood. Associate and adjunct members who serve with distinction may be elevated to full membership status, despite their racial background. However, this accounts for less than three percent of their membership. (... and I think that a fair number of these are Kraanichers or others in disguise.)

Additionally, there are "Servant Races" who are unofficial members of the Brotherhood. Orogs are the foremost among these. They're big, hulking orc-ogre crossbreeds who serve as bodyguards and soldiers. Since most members of the Brotherhood are of noble or gentle birth, they have relatively few hardened warriors. They created the orogs in their genetics laboratories and bred them to be perfect soldiers. They are obedient, smart, obedient, tough, obedient, sturdy, obedient, and powerful. (Did I mention obedient?) Instead of names, baby orogs are given numbers. They are as proud of their numbers as most people are of their names. Go figure. (The highest number I heard of was 12659. The lowest was 243. He was a grizzled old coot serving as a bodyguard for a high-up member of the Inner Council.) Other servant races include the intelligent neo-percheron horses, called "Big Walkers," the ill-conceived (get it?) Black Unicorns, and several other guardian or laborer races.

Their Aims and Goals

The Brotherhood of Thought holds its real aims close to the vest. Most of the members are amoralists, believing only in intellectual mastery, racial superiority, and their fitness to rule. Their true goals are to bring Jaastenland under their own control and to eliminate the useless members of society by educating the lower races and selectively culling those who can't or won't comply with the re-education. (This includes everyone in Lebensbruke, practically, and all adventurers who don't already work for them.) The practical motto of the Brotherhood is "Sentiment and emotionalism are evidence of a weak mind."

A lot of the members of the Brotherhood seek to master their emotions through meditation, study, and rigorous exercise. This is a passion for the Kraanichers, and especially the mindbenders. The secret Kraanicher practices of selective breeding and culling of their own people produces many intelligent and capable, if twisted, individuals who are psionically talented. (I suspect that's the origin of the nickname "Brain Wussie" I've been hearing in Voyreem.)

In addition to its research and training centers in major cities around Jaastenland, the Brotherhood also has dozens of fortified enclaves in the frontier lands and remote rural regions of Kyriabor. These isolated enclaves are the locations of the Brotherhood's experiments in eugenics and biological engineering. They are also the training grounds for the Brotherhood's discreet but extremely powerful military arm. The orogs receive their education and training at these remote sites. Enclaves are also the center of operations for manufacturing the advanced weapons, armor, and other devices that the Brotherhood members and their servants enjoy.

Peeling the Onion

Here is what I've found out. Purely by accident, I witnessed a conversation between two people in an otherwise deserted library. I was there to get a spellbook that was reserved for only the higher ups, so I was sneaking about invisibly. By this time, I had already become aware that there was something not right with the organization. So I was doing more covering my rear, you see. There were a man and a woman talking in low voices in a vestibule behind the librarian's entrance I had used. I peeked in through a crack. I recognized the man as Jalustazor Shaadi, a senior advisor and bodyguard to Olmvar Trendaar. Olmvar is the castellan and chief geneticist of the Saffron Peak Enclave. I didn't recognize the woman, but I did catch a glimpse of her glowing red eyes and the vulture wings growing out of her back. She was radiating a malevolence I could feel from the other side of the wall. Oh, yeah. Her teeth were nicely sharpened, too.

Anyhow, I listened as these two talked about how to get Alain Torvaadi, a senior wizard, to open up the permanent gate to Hell so that they could get "their people" through. The female said that Alain had resisted her charm, and Shaadi said that they would have to do some more persuading. The female allowed as how the traditional methods would appeal to his pride, and Shaadi agreed. He said that he wanted a report as soon as she was able to make any progress. The female bristled at this, and said, "Out of courtesy, yes! But remember, Jalustazor, even a cornugon such as you doesn't outrank me. I work for Haecathal himself!" At this, Shaadi growled at the female to keep her voice down. She snorted, and changed form, becoming one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. The two exchanged parting glares and disappeared.

I decided to ignore the book for which I had come. Instead, I looked up the name Haecathal in the registers of diabolic lists. I discovered that the name belongs to a senior lord of Hell, a pit fiend who is reputed to be a lieutenant of Asmodeus himself. The notes in the book were of interest, too. Many had been recently updated with summoning notations. The style of writing and inks used indicated recent work done by senior (read, "wealthy") members of the Brotherhood.

Now that I knew what to look for, I began to find traces of diabolic influence throughout the rituals of the Church of Pure Flame, and in the internal policy statements of the Brotherhood. My own proof came when I found a secret altar in the basement of the genetics labs. This altar had clearly been used for human sacrifice within the last few days. There was even a slight odor of brimstone clinging to the walls. This induced me to leave the Brotherhood, quickly!

As I secured permissions to join the "front" at the Zharvil River Enclave, I had the opportunity to travel with one of the infantry regiments of the Brotherhood. A surrepticious astral scan of some of the commander's scouts and advisors revealed the presence of several devils! I joined a patrol, and staged my own death with illusions. I have since reached Voyreem, in order to spread news of what I have discovered.

At the highest levels of the organization, and deeply embedded withint its ranks, we must assume that there are minions of Hell seeking to use the Brotherhood to promote the enslavement and domination of this world.

Psionic powers trained by the Brotherhood masters

I made up a list of the different powers the masters liked to teach their students. I'm no mindbender, but I got enough of the jargon down to be able to relate this with some confidence. Everybody in the Brotherhood gets this stuff, and parents are overjoyed if their kids get accepted to the training schools. Here are some of the groupings of powers that the masters teach to their mindbender students.

Junior Level Powers (mostly telepathic, plus some telekinetic stuff)
Mindlink, ESP, Phobia Amplification, Post-hypnotic Suggestion, Invisibility, Control Light, Domination, Impossible Task, Molecular Agitation, False Sensory Input, Convergence, Telekinesis, Soften, Receptacle.

Journeyman Level Powers (adding more advanced telepathy, plus portation and dangerous telekinesis)
Mind Probe, Astral Projection, Phase, Teleport, Inertial Barrier, Cell Adjustment, Disintegrate, Deflect, Chameleon Power.

Master Level Powers (other stuff for master mindbenders)
Psychic Surgery, Magnetic Control, Static Discharge, Energy Containment, Accelerate, Danger Sense, Suppress Magic, Psionic Sense, Poison Sense, Mindwipe, Probability Manipulation, Psychic Blade.

The Brotherhood's Military Organization

I ask you, have you ever heard of a charitable organization with an army? Me neither. Well, the Brotherhood had at least eight regiments of troops, up until the time they tangled with the folks who are now calling themselves Lebensbruke. They lost four of those regiments in battle within about three weeks, around the start of Greening. Here is what goes into a regiment, starting with the line companies of infantry.

Infantry Company - (165 people) - A standard Brotherhood of Thought infantry outfit is 135 orog troops in three platoons of 45 soldiers, each with a platoon headquarters, and a company headquarters over all of it. The platoon headquarters is a mid-level mindbender lieutenant (Psi 7) with a wizard lieutenant (Wiz 7) and an orog platoon sergeant for support. Each officer will have an assistant (Psi 4 and Wiz 4, respectively). The company headquarters includes the commander and additional support and supply people. The commander is a mindbender who is also an experienced warrior (FT/Psi 8/8). His right hand men are a mindbender (Psi 8 or 9) and a wizard (Wiz 8 or 9). He has five lieutenants of various abilities (2 FT/Psi 5/5, 2 Psi 5, and a Wiz 5) and seven orog sergeants to handle logistics and things.

Infantry Regiment - (up to 1650 people):

8 Infantry Companies - (1320 people) - Complement as above.

1 Supply Company - (230 people) - 140 workers, 45 troops, 25 SGT, CO HQ (FT/Psi 5/5, Psi 7, Wiz 7, 4 Psi 5, 4 Wiz 5, 9 SGT).

1 Regimental Command Group - (100 people) - (FT/Psi 10/11, FT/Psi 9/9, 2 FT/Psi 7/7, Psi 12, Wiz 12, 2 Psi 9, 2 Wiz 9, 8 Psi 7, 5 Wiz 7, 5 Mindwalker 7, 32 SGT, 40 troops).

"I found out later, much to my surprise, that each regiment has some special advisors and scouts-devils! In the terms of those who study planar fiends, you can expect to find an erinyes, at least five abishai, and possibly a cornugon in scouting, supporting, and advisory roles. They are also supposed to track down and discipline deserters, like me." -- RV

Weapons and Armor

Be careful when facing the Brotherhood troops. Be very careful! They have equipment you won't see anywhere else. There's a special metal called duralloy that the Brotherhood makes their equipment out of. It looks dull white, and is about half the weight of steel of the same thickness. This stuff is extremely tough. Pound for pound, it's about twice the strength of steel, so platemail made from duralloy stops a lot more damage than regular steel (AC0 for platemail, shields are effectively +3, so orog troops have an AC of -4).

The standard weapons the orogs carry use a lot of electricity. The tingler is a metal baton with some different settings on the ring at the hilt. These can be set for kill, stun, or pain. There's also an on/off setting, too. The charge boxes fit into the hilt, and get recharged on a regular schedule. (You know the BoT; they're nothing, if not punctual!)

The dart throwers are rifled guns that have a good range. The guns electrify the darts, so they do a lot of damage and pass the charge right through metal armor. There are both shock rifles and shock pistols. (for officers and psionicists) Each type has the charged darts and the same stun, kill, and safe settings.

Tingler - D:Kill [1d6+4 and 1d8+4 shock and stun 3d4 rds, 2 ch], Stun [stun 3d4 rds, 1 ch], Pain [1d4 and pain 1d4 rds (-4 on AC, -2 to hit and save), 1 ch], 50 charges when full, ignores metal armor.
Shock Rifle - D:1d8+4 or stun 2d4 rds, ROF:2, Ammo:12, 6/12/24, ignores metal armor.

"The Brotherhood used to use electrically charged swords and such, but these weren't sturdy enough for field use. I guess they also drained dry pretty quickly and got broken and were too much trouble. Anyhow, these aren't in common use any more." -- RV

The Enclaves

Before the war with Lebensbrüke, the Brotherhood built each enclave for comfort and ease of defense. They were designed to be luxurious for the full members, comfortable for associate and adjunct members, and functional for employees and slaves. Each enclave is a strong fortified castle complex made primarily of duralloy-reinforced concrete and dressed stone. Windows, chimneys, and roofs were built with aerial defense in mind. There are no easy ways to gain entrance to an enclave from the air. All guardposts, towers, and marshalling areas have solid overhead cover. The duralloy reinforcing bars prevent astral travel into most of the interior rooms, and interfere with scrying attempts. All labor was supplied by the Brotherhood's own members, employees, and slaves and is of fine quality.

An enclave of the Brotherhood of Thought will be well defended, given the current threat that the Crown and heroes of Lebensbrüke pose to the organization. Charge of the defense will be in the hands of a Castellan, a Brotherhood member of the equivalent rank of Colonel. There will be at least three companies of Orog troops in residence. A full company will be on duty at any given time. In addition, the Castellan may call upon all wizards and mentalists of the Brotherhood who are present to defend the enclave, as needed. I also suspect that there are devils who advise and influence the enclave's leaders.

Recently, enclaves have been ordered to establish a psionic Convergence to deal with the threat of Sir Drake's flying machines, and to defeat any sort of dragon or heroic attack. This Convergence draws upon the abilities of at least nine journeyman or master psionicists (6^th level or higher). The Convergence allows the enclave defenders to destroy (by means of disintegrate, detonate, or other telekinetic attack) or manipulate (by means of telepathic attacks) any attacking force within line of sight of the enclave. I would guess that the powers of the Convergence have a practical limit of about five miles. Keeping the Convergence ready places a fairly heavy drain on the psionic resources of the Brotherhood, but virtually assures the protection of the enclaves while other members work in different ways to defeat the foes of the Brotherhood.

Psionics and mental discipline play an important role in the daily life of the Brotherhood. There will be a psionic training and research center in each enclave. Some advanced masters will be conducting psionic research to discover or unlock new powers. Others will be teaching students. Still others will be working with the geneticists and breeding masters to create or tame the Brotherhood's new species. Some psychokinetic craftsmen use their powers to develop special goods and materials. This was how duralloy was originally discovered.

The enclave is designed to accommodate the needs of an entire regiment of troops, as well as the research and economic activities of the Brotherhood. An enclave is required to be at least 50% self-supporting. It will have farmers to produce food, even though it may trade for or buy up to half of its food elsewhere. The enclave will produce materials and objects for trade, as well as weapons and luxury goods for Brotherhood members. As part of its mission, the wizards and psionicists of the enclave will breed and train new servitor races and monsters.

"How about this for a real eye-opener? The Brotherhood has built dozens of floating war machines to destroy its enemies. This is from the "training manual" I stole while talking with the mechanics who make these things work." -- RV

Series 1 "Penetrator" Hovertank

The hovertank is a sleek duralloy-plated war machine powered by four Sony garbage engines. (Yeah, the dwarves up north are selling these engines to the BoT.) It boasts a top speed of 60 miles per hour over a smooth surface, with an off-road cruising speed of 25 miles per hour. It carries a normal crew of four-a pilot, a gunner, a fuelman, and a commander. Very roomy for a combat vehicle, the Series 1 is built with the physical needs of the Brotherhood's orog troops in mind. It can remain combat effective for short periods with a minimal crew of a pilot and commander/gunner. It is surprisingly light for its size, weighing only fifteen tons. (And 15 tons is light? Makes me wonder whether they've got some heavy tanks sitting out there somewhere!)

Its main armament is the Mk IV heat ray gun, and it has two additional Mk II antipersonnel heat ray flamers to deal with targets too small for the main gun. (I think they designed and built the heat rays themselves. I never heard of the dwarves having that kind of stuff.) The commander also has a Mk XII high velocity electric slug thrower on a pintle mount. Each crewman carries a shock pistol for self defense.

Fuelled by organic garbage, wastes, or special high-energy fuel solutions, the Series 1 requires relatively little maintenance. Regular daily operations checks and maintenance will keep it in good fighting trim. Daily maintenance includes clearing the intake duct filters, checking the condition of the lift fans, and tightening all seals and electrical connections. In garrison, the Series 1 should receive weekly inspection and maintenance of all systems from a qualified armored vehicle mechanic. A fully fueled Series 1 should operate for a full 20 hours of batlefield operation before refueling. Field refueling is a simple matter, too. If the crew is short of the recommended high energy fuel mixture, the fuelman can scavenge the battlefield for any organic material. Several crews even take pride in operating their Series 1 hovertanks on the flesh of their dead enemies! (Messy and gruesome, but true!)

The Series 1 boasts four communications systems. A standard tactical radio allows the commander to keep in touch with superiors. He uses the internal communications headsets to give orders to his crew. He can also give warnings, instructions, or orders to ground troops with the external speakers. Finally, the commander also has a separate tactical radio receiver to monitor other units' transmissions.

Series 1 Hovertank stats (3rd Edition)

Huge Construct: 24d12 (156 hp), AC 24 (-2 Huge, +16 Armor), Hardness 20. Speed 80 ft. (hover). Face/Reach: 15 ft. x 30 ft.(wedge)/NA.

Weapons: operated by Orogs (Ftr 5 with applicable stats)

Main Gun (Heat Ray) +16 ranged (12d6 fire/heat damage), 19-20/x2, range increment 200 ft.
Antipersonnel Flamers (Heat Ray) 100 ft. fan in the area 60° port and starboard of the front of the tank, (6d6 fire/heat damage, Reflex DC 15 halves damage).
Heavy Bolter (electrostatic machine gun) +9/+4 ranged (3d6), 19-20/x2, range increment 150 ft., mounted missle fire penalties apply for movement.

"What the tank crewmen told me was that the tank could operate like the book says, but only if conditions were perfect. That means that you can expect the thing to run for only about 8-10 hours before refueling. They don't tell you that firing the guns uses up a lot of energy, too. I heard about one that got stranded without power because the gunner got trigger happy and used up all of the juice. The fuelman threw all of their rations into the engines, and still had to scrounge for extra fuel. That maintenance is really important, too. As good as the technology is on these things, it can fall apart pretty quick if something goes wrong." -- RV

Click here to find out the whole story, and what happened to finally break up the Brotherhood of Thought for good.