Grave Council

Summary

The Grave Council is loose confederation of the various outcasts and unwanteds in the wastes whether they are of the monstrous Gorger lineage, Retrogrades, Remnants, recently awoken Semper Morts, or the scattered remains of the Unborn tribe known as the Imixin. The oldcestors once said that nothing is certain in life but death and taxes. The Council is a representation of both, but also represents the memory and conscience of the Lonestar itself. With the intention of preventing the apocalypse that Hiway Rob abused, The Grave Council works to keep the Gravemind in check. Through their tireless efforts The Council has earned a place of respect and power amongst the ranks of those that seek power in the Lonestar. With the revelation of the ancient ruins under Bravado and in the aftermath of the Fountainhead incident, they have a renewed sense of purpose. The Grave Council is now focused on solidifying their control and understanding of the Fountainhead and the after effects so that they can prevent any group or person from abusing it for their own ends.

Key Phrases

  • Bureaucracy, Stoicism, Faith, Gravemind Cult, Grave Tax

Why Should I Join?

If you are interested by the mysteries of the Grave Mind, the immutable certainty of death and rebirth in the world of Dystopia Rising, or you have a desire to explore concepts of faith and death, the Grave Council is a great faction to join!

Faction Objectives

  • Maintain the Balance - The primary motivator of the Grave Council is to prevent another calamity like the Hiway War and Robb’s manipulation of the Gravemind. The Council watches for signs of this type of manipulation by using and monitoring the Midnight Orrery, an ancient relic left in their care by the Imix Tribe. The device displays alien and almost maddening information, but the Mystagogues believe they can interpret this data to give them a window of insight into the health of the Gravemind. 

  • Keep Intact the Sanctity and Mysticism of Death - The Council was built around and by the remnants of the Imix Tribe of Unborn, and the belief structure of that group was used to build a reverence around the Gravemind and its keepers that permeates every level of society in the San Saba territories. Both the enforcement and culture around the Grave Tax are crucial for the Grave Council, and they have worked since their inception to ensure that the Tax was accepted and honored across the region. This tradition has given the Council the ability to separate the masses from the messier bits of the Mortis Amaranthine and replace it with mysticism and wonder.  Their control of the grave must be maintained no matter who is in charge of the San Saba territories, even if it means going against the Board.

  • Forward, into a New World - The Mystagogues of this organization work to enforce an order on the world and keep the past from repeating itself. But after the Fountainhead incident, the Grave Council has had to adapt to the new environments left behind in the wake of the ecological reformation of Essex and the Lone Star. Their current focus is on making sure that they maintain power by using the new resources and technology to keep their position in the new world order of the Board and the reformed Railroad Conglomerate. The new order of the world must be respected, but the Council only maintains the power they possess if none rise against them.

Casted Characters (NPCs)

  • General Rampart

  • Mother Mayhem

  • Deadeyes Chiipi

  • Esca

  • The Eightfold Mother (Takheeta Firstborn, deceased)

Subfactions

  • Sanctioned Graverobbers — While others outside the council can practice the art of graverobbing, those that become Sanctioned by the Council enjoy a special status as those that can work on behalf of the shadowy organization.  Backed by the money and resources of the Council, the Graverobbers stay neutral in the politics of the region, only seeking to serve their purpose in maintaining the balance and care of the Gravemind.  It is a noble and necessary, if misunderstood, profession.

    • Groundskeepers — Within the ranks of Sanctioned Graverobbers, Groundskeepers of the Grave Council are graverobbers assigned to a specific morgue. They are responsible for the common task of helping guide an unfortunate soul through the Mortis Amaranthine and provide the support necessary to complete the transition in one piece. The Groundskeepers interview the dead and assess the correct level of tax based on the manner of death, and provide a friendly face for those that have undergone the trauma of the Mortis Amaranthine. You can find a list of our current Groundkeepers on our Staff Listing. These are the staff members who are trained in how to perform Gravemind scenes.

  • Tax Collectors — While the Graverobbers are the working class of the Grave Council, the vast majority of the faction serve in some role in keeping the flow of money and power in the hands of the Council by traveling the wastes collecting the contracts of those dispossessed that have died.  Each time a Graverobber performs a service for a town, the Collectors are there to assess the cost of the services.  While acts of the gods or nature might be resolved for a few Brass, crimes of passion are punished much more severely.  If there was a way to avoid the death, the fee for the Council increases in an order of magnitude.

  • Mystagogues — The tribe of the Imixin still hold sway in most parts of the Grave Council.  Each of the Unborn cultists has shown a natural inclination towards necrokinetics and their silent observation of those within the Mortis Amaranthine is the key to maintaining dominance over the morgues and Sunless Gardens of the Lonestar.  The Mystagogues help provide a spiritual focus for the Gravemind itself and interpret the balance of biomass within the ground using an ancient artefact known as the Midnight Orrery. Takheeta Firstborn was the head mystagogue of the cult, known as the Quiet Path, before her death.

  • The Reckoners — The militant army of the Grave Council, these are stoic and merciless killers in pursuit of a higher cause.  Assassins and secret enforcers of the Grave Council, the Reckoners seek to avoid feeding the Gravemind recklessly by using surgical strikes and ruthless power plays to remove threats to the Balance. They use their psionic powers and repurposed heretical technology to do the dirty work of the organization.  Now standing triumphantly at the head of the various agencies of the Council, the Reckoners are led by General Rampart.

  • Auditors — The Auditors have become the public face of the Grave Council, and work to make sure all the parts of the Grave Council works like a well oiled machine.  They make sure each faction can perform their function and duties, and act as both middle management, and internal investigators. Mother Mayhem is currently the head of the Auditors.

  • The Quiet Path — While most of the Grave Council embrace the mysticism of the Gravemind, the zealot adherents of the Quiet Path take it a step further.  Following the philosophies of the Imix tribe and the teachings of the Mystagogues, they lean deeply into studying the interactions between the Mortis Amaranthine and the rest of the world. The monks and aesthetics of the Path seek to transcend the fear of death and reach a place of Apotheothis and self improvement.

Traditions of the Faction

  • Collection Day — A “holiday” of sorts, Collection Day is when the taxes come due, once a year.  The forces of accountants and taxmen take to the towns and cities of the Lonestar to upkeep the ledgers of life and death, collect interest on the debts they are owned, and keep tabs on those who would irritate the balance of power in the Wastes. During this time, the fees for Graverobbers skyrocket in price, and people across the land strive to avoid an untimely death that could earn them a trip to prison, or worse.  Pay your debts, or else the Collectors could attempt to “close your account”. This event normally occurs during the oldcestor month of April.

  • Morgue Building, or the Ritual of the Undying — The Mystagogues of the Council have developed a unique means with which to rebuild a lost Morgue or create a new one from scratch.  The Ritual involves a Mystagogue giving their life to create a catalyst for the opening of a morgue, though the exact process is a trade secret of the Imix tribe.  This ritual was instrumental in the formation of the Council and is the primary means of their success in negotiating the exclusive rights to maintain and tax Morgues through the Lone Star on behalf of the Railroad Conglomerate.

  • The Reckoning — The Council searches out technology and reclaims it for their own sinister purposes. The bomb that the Braves used to stop Hiway Robb was equally as dangerous as the Stampede itself. Only they can be trusted with the oldcestor technology that could end the world again, and they must keep it safe from the madmen that would attempt to use it. The Council is not technophobes, per se, but they are viscerally aware of the dangers that science and learning can do without being checked by an outside voice of reason. The Reckoners also enforce a quick and brutal end to any that would seek to use the undead as a weapon, and ruthlessly kill those that try to weaponize plagues or diseases to inflict death on a mass scale. When a Reckoning is called, the forces of the Grave Council known as the Reckoners descend quickly on the offending party and reclaim the contraband that has earned their attention. If the target is willing to deal in favors or tax credits, the Council can negotiate peacefully. But they will end up with the weapons one way or another, even if it means incurring a trip through the Sunless Garden for their victims. They will be there to present a certificate of the Grave Tax for the victim when they emerge, of course.

Key Story Points

  • Plague of the Unfinished — Just like people, the morgues and Sunless Gardens are vulnerable to disease. The Plague of the Unfinished is a virulent disease and frequent opponent of the Grave Council.  The disease is extremely fatal if left unattended as the victim literally melts into a pile of flesh over a few days.  If caught early, the disease is treatable, but there is no cure once it advances to a later state save for another trip through the Mortis Amaranthine.  The Council has developed a technique to cleanse portions of the Gravemind that are infected that they jealously guard.  An outbreak of this disease during the first season was thought to be tied to the ruins underneath Bravado. For now, the disease is controllable but the Council is always vigilant for threats of a new outbreak.

  • The Fountainhead Incident — The Grave Council was irrevocably changed by the events in Essex.  Chosen by “the Scientist” as Stewards of the Fountainhead, the Grave Council enjoyed a brief moment of envy by the factions of the Lone Star.  As the Fountainhead awoke and became a tiny god, the Grave Council became fractured with how to handle the event.  Factions like the Reckoners sought to control the Fountainhead and exploit the power of the terraformer, but Takheeta kept the faction focused on understanding the newest morgue of Essex and its connection to the place beyond the Mortis Amaranthine.  When the Fountainhead began the terraforming of Essex, the entire city was transformed into a verdant green forest of mushrooms and trees.

  • The Assassination of Takheeta — In the backdrop of the Fountainhead, a struggle for power grew deadly as Takheeta Firstborn was publicly killed by a poison in the middle of a Council gathering in the Grave Bureau.  While at first blamed on a group of outsiders, it is alleged that Commander Rampart and his most loyal Reckoners were behind the attempted coup.  Deadeyes Chiipi kept control of the various subfactions in the wake of the assassination until Takheeta returned, but the incident scarred the group as the infighting between the groups claimed several lives unnecessarily.  During the chaos of that night, Rampart escaped the compound with a small army and took several powerful weapons from the Vaults of Reckoning in his escape.

  • The Essex Incident — During a grand card tournament known as “Dead Man’s Hand”, the new proprietors of the Brass Rose employed the mystagogues of the Grave Council to aid the wealthy High Rollers by performing their patented Pallor Mortis rituals to restore infection to the elite.  While the partnership was very good for the faction as a whole, a significant core of the Graverobbers and Auditors found the hypocrisy too obvious to ignore.  In the emergence of the terrible Archons at the end of the tournament, the Grave Council released Commander Rampart from a secret prison to aid them in destroying one of the creatures on the steps of the Grave Bureau.  Takheeta attempted to use a heretical psi-tech weapon for her own ends, but the weapon was destroyed by purposeful sabotage by Rampart and his allies.  Rampart was formally “pardoned” for his assistance, but Takheeta remains furious at him for preventing her plans for the weapon he destroyed.

  • The Lost City — When the Lost City of Barogue was found in the deserts of the Dune Sea, Felicity uncovered a trove of psi-tech secrets that have attracted the attention of the Grave Council.  The Imix have welcomed the new Unborn from Barogue into their fold, declaring them the Firstborn and helping them transition to a life in a world so far removed from the one they remember.  The artifacts and dangers of the city of Barogue will be instrumental in the future of the Grave Council.

  • Collection Day - Takheeta Firstborn enacted a “great work” to heal the morgues across the San Saba, finally resolving the terrible wasting sickness known as the Plague of the Unfinished. Using an ancient Barogian artefact, she completed a dangerous ritual to create an temporary morgue in the Near Death and offered to accept organ and bone, memory or blood, in place of Brass for the Grave Tax. However, the ritual was interrupted before it was completed, killing Takheeta and her three closest mystagogues in the process. She was reformed within the morgue as a new “gravemind shard”, known as the Eightfold Mother.

Favored Skills & PFAS

  • Projectile (Marksman)

  • Medical (Graverobber)

  • Mental Endurance (Mind Killer)

  • Necrokinetics (Grave Attuned)

  • Artisan (Techno Savant)