In the 1970's, the Vatican became aware that elements of the criminal underworld across the world had become infiltrated by Satanic influence. To root out the demonic presences controlling certain criminal fraternities, a group of enforcers to exist covertly in the criminal underworld was established. Thus the Reliquary Dogs were born. They live as criminals, members of crime families across the world, but their true allegiance is to the Church. They are given special Papal permission to maintain their covers, allowing them access to the seedy underbelly that men of the cloth can never truly know. It is here that they seek out only those illegal operations under the direct control of Satan and his minions. They are funded by the Vatican and use confession to report to a priest who reports through the church heirarchy up to the bishop who goes to archbishop who goes to the cardinal who goes to the leader of the Dogs. It is at these secret meetings in confession booths that they are given their funds and any intelligence the Church can provide them. However their true resources come from their membership in unknowing criminal enterprises, which give them the contacts and illicit materials required to do their duties.
No murder.
No theft.
No adultry.
No idolatry.
The Dogs are given Papal forgiveness for lying; coveting; and not giving to Caesar (the Law) what is Caesar's, covering everything from breaking the laws of men to not respecting the authority of the police.
If the Dogs are the Jesus Mob, then Big Brother is their Don. He is the senior Dog and reports directly to the Vatican. He's been trying, since the formation of the Dogs in the 1970's, to get Papal forgiveness allowing the organization to steal, so to better infiltrate the criminal underworld, but he has been unsuccessfull so far.
The Dogs are all lay members of the Church, baptised and confirmed but not bound to the restrictions of priesthood. Men and women are recruited from the Church's membership, often those who are already criminals themselves. Those who wish to serve a higher calling and abandon their sinful lives to put their particular skills into divine service are given one final confession for all their past misdeeds before being sworn to the stricter code of the Dogs. The Church forgives most of it's lay members of any crime, including mortal sins. However the Dogs, being directly funded and backed by the Vatican, are held to the afforementioned code that strictly forbids the killing of another human being, the theft of another's property, sex with someone who is already married, and the worship of pagan gods. Those among the Dogs who violate the code are issued a red letter by the local Cardinal and then put down by their comrades from within the organization. This policy is so strict because the Vatican recognizes that the Dogs could not exist as an organization with the Church constantly investigating their internal affairs, as it would break their agents' cover as common criminals.
Dogs address each other as Brother or Sister.
Dogs operate in cells, infiltrated into existing criminal organizations, and use the diocese and church heirarchy to communicate directly with the one person to whom they are accountable, Big Brother, who is headquartered undercover as the crime lord of the Vatican City underworld. Each diocese acts as Big Brother's eyes and ears, and he's the one who gives the Cardinals the go ahead to dispatch Red Letters when it's reported that one of his Dogs have broken the Code.
It's difficult, to say the least, to be a secret agent of the Vatican within a mob family and to both maintain your cover and obey the Code. However this is what is neccesary to gain access to the demons hiding within the criminal underworld. These demons are not human, and are not protected by the God. In fact is is the duty of the Dogs to find them and to either destroy them or cast them back into Hell. The Church provides them with instruments of god, and their unwitting criminal families provide them with the tools of man; which together provide a potent arsenal against the agents of Satan.
To maintain their criminal covers, Dogs are allowed, and even expected, to use violence and intimidation against human beings; both sinners and the innocent. Any methods not in violation of the Code are used. Because of the restrictions on theft and murder, most Dogs serve the purpose of "collection agents" for their criminal employers. They break bones, burn down bussinesses, and generally scare the bejesus out of people. This gives them access to the undeworld rumor mill, allowing them to investigate and approach criminal organizations believed to be controlled by demonic presences.
All men are sinners, but most recruited into the Dogs were far more so than others before they reformed their ways and swore to the Code. Their criminal backgrounds allow them to reconnect with the seedy underbelly of society as moles for the Vatican, but it also burdens their hearts with a calling to sin. Each Dog feels the particularily strong tug of one of the seven deadly sins, their own personal struggle that occurs within their hearts during the course of their work.
Each dog is defined by three traits and a weakness, with the usual 3/4/5 point split. Their weaknesses always relate to one of the seven deadly sins: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride . The three traits usually represent their individual criminal expertise (extortion, arson, wheelman-ing), their role or expertise as Dogs (exorcism, witchfinding, demonic asskicking), and then some additional talent or aspect of themselves.
Here's two sample Dogs and a sample demonic mobster nemesis:
Brother James Fitzpatrick
Concept: Legbreaker for the Lord
religious expertise- Demonic Asskicking 5
criminal expertise- Underworld Repo Man 4
additional expertise- Badboy Charm 3
weakness- Wrath: James came to the service of the Church after killing his own cousin, who he had been dispatch to hospitalize to make an example to all the others in debt to the Corelli Crime Syndicate. Things went too far, he became too enraged, and he beat his own flesh and blood to death without meaning to. That made him see the error of his ways, but that incredible rage still exists inside of him.
Sister Claire Sparatza
Concept: Mafia Exorcist
religious expertise- Holy Rolling (exorcism and the tools for such: including holy water and a blessed ceremonial demon-purging knife) 5
criminal expertise- Vicious Mob Lawyer 4
additional expertise- Friends in High (and Low) Places 3
weakness- Greed: Being a lawyer, Claire has robbed people indirectly throughout the years. But to this day she is often tempted to "take the money and run", easy opportunities for such often trying her loyalty to the Church and the Code.
Primo "Bub" DeFranco
Concept: Mobster Possessed by Beezlebub
Lord of the Flies (able to transform into swarms of different types of vermin, control the minds of vermin, hide in shadows, hear thoughts of those nearby him, sneaky shit like that) 5
Made Man 4 (a valuable, if possessed, member of the Vincenzo Family, the rivals of the Correlli Syndicate.)
The Art of Murder 3 (even before a demon crawled into him, Primo was the go to guy for eliminations disguised as accidents, muggings gone wrong, and so on)
weakness- Sadistic Bastard: Some villains can't resist going into egomaniacal monologues, others can't resist torturing the goodguys, wounding the injured, and preying on the weak. Primo was always one of the second kind, and Bub has inflamed that dark passion.
That does indeed rock, and Wushu sound sperfect for this setting.
John
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Playing: Nothing
Running: Trail of Dee, Judge Dee using Trail of Cthulhu
Just Finished: playing Reign of Midnight (Reign in the Midnight setting)
Reading: Trail of Cthulhu, 4E DMG2, WFRP 3E Designer Diaries, Judge Dee novels (again)
Planning: D&D 4E Fallcrest based campaign, or WFRP 3E
This variant takes things to a whole other playing field. Whereas the previously mentioned Dogs infiltrate crime families to take on other crime families that have a disguised demon leader, in this alternative option the Dogs are heavenly instruments of a different sort.
Instead of the "undercover for the God squad" bit previously mentioned, the Part II variant operates on a new premise: The Reliquary Dogs are essentially globe trotting hitmen with religious relics that grant them each a single limited supernatural power, tasked with taking out simmilarily empowered humans on the other side of the God/Satan divide. The goodguys are Reliquary Dogs, the badguys are Contractors to demonic forces.
Each dog has a Relic, the source of their individual supernatural ability. These Relics are one of their traits (or perhaps a special trait in itself) and can be activated for a Scene. However the Relic trait cannot be used in another Scene until until a ritual requirement, called an Indulgence, is performed. The Indulgence is different for each Dog: it can take the form of anything from having to say twelve Hail Maries to self-flagellation.
For an example, we have a Reliquary Dog named Esteban Fidelio, known in the unwitting world of international contract killing as One Eyed Jack. It's known that he only takes contracts on other assassins, but what isn't known is that all the assassins he targets are Contractors, superpowered lapdogs of Satan.
In Fidelio's case his Relic is the Holy Trigger-Finger, the skeletal remenant of some saint or another. It hangs in a small vial on on a chain around his neck. When he activates the Relic, for one seen his Holy Trigger-Finger trait is active, allowing him to use it. This trait covers the supernatural ability it grants him: in this case preternatural quickness and reflexes, allowing him to do incredible feats of matrix style gun-fu.
However once the Scene is over, Fidelio will have to at some point perform his Indulgence or he will not be able to activate his Holy Trigger-Finger trait again. In his case, his Indulgence is recieving confession from from a priest.
On the opposite side of the fence are Contractors. They don't have Relics to keep track of, their power traits are their Contracts (verbal agreements with demons, not actual pieces of paper). Fidelio's nemesis is a Contractor called Mike the Toon, an infamous hitman known for his mental instability and death-defying overkill hits that often take out many innocent people in the process. Mike's Contract gives him the ability to survive massive dangers not specifically targetting him. So, for instance, he can drop a dozen grenades at his feet and not worry. Things get more troublesome, with perhaps just partial immunity or a tendency for dramatic escape when it's someone else whose causing the catastrophe. This power does not work on attacks targetting him, it only keeps him from being collateral damage.
Contractors call their indulgences Obseisances. And while they don't have to keep track of relics and in emergencies can use their powers repeatedly between Obseisances, this risks upsetting their demonic patrons, which can be extremely hazardous to one's health. Mike the Toon's specific Obseisance requires him to specifically break his fingers: three normally, though if he pissed of his demonic patron, he'd probably break them all just to keep from being flayed alive.
I didn't use this variant as my main idea, as I think the Contract idea works better outside of the heaven vs. hell vibe. To see where I get the idea of amoral superpowers with strings attached hitmen, check out the anime series Darker Than Black.
If you wanted to run higher powered reliquary dogs I'd go with the Holier Than Thou proposal from a while back. Search it.
However I think the point with this was to have a more Boondock Saints kind of feel, as opposed to being Gangster Nobilis or Dogma with more blood and violence.
It's as much about being Vatican molls in the mob as it is about taking out demons. Sort of the ultimate moral compromise: doing god's work by being a criminal so you can find the Devils hiding among criminals.
I decided on having killing and stealing still be forbidden (and death-penalty worthy within the Dogs' organization) to add a layer of "oh crap" to the situation of being molls within the mob.
To list my inspirations: The Shield, Boondock Saints, the Sopranos, Goodfellas, Good vs. Evil, and the general bad-taste that made me try to come up with a comicbook series idea of the same name that would of been about Christ's modern day bastard son. I thought that this would be a better use of the name Reliquary Dog, though to be honest you could probably Wushu a game of goldenhearted assholes who possess a gene capable of activating holy relics via touch too (think the Ancients gene from Stargate SG-1/Atlantis, but applying to the Shroud of Turin and the Holy Grail).
Personally I think possession should be one case where the organization says it's ok, but it can be sometimes troubling for the Dogs own morality.
In general I think that the thing I was going for is a situation where your an ex-criminal thats posing as a mobster but not allowed to actually kill people, even guilty ones, or rob a bank (without later giving the money back, perhaps). I think I'd probably even allow a situation where it doesn't count as theft if they just find a way to return their shares later, at least if they DID prevent their fellow robbers from killing anyone (which wouldnt violate the Code if it wasnt them doing it, but it's the right thing to do).
I think that once you get to the Satanic influenes, that's why the Dogs exist, to take them out. I'm not out to potray a shadowy Vatican organization as being especially humane, just tied to the religious dogma really. No killing or adultry because it's a mortal sin, not because not doing them is the right thing to do.
That may be a bit pissant of me, but I think that it fits the tone I was going for. The organization has strict rules but isnt really neccesarily run by good guys, whereas the heroes are very flawed, but probably will possess a greater sense of right and wrong and morality.
That is morality isn't in the flawless adherance to a Code, it's in knowing whats the right thing to do and doing it, even when it gets you into more trouble than it seems worth.
Bassically the situation is purposefully exhasperating in order to paint the Dogs as righteous anti-heroes in a morally gray world that tries to pretend it's black and white.
I mean, isn't it more gritty to have to cover up murdering a psychotic made man that even the mob didn't like from both the mob (can't kill a made man) and the Vatican (Dogs can't kill normal humans), and then be PRESSURED by the Vatican to kill a nonviolent offender career thief with a sick daughter possessed by an evil demon?
Personally I think possession should be one case where the organization says it's ok, but it can be sometimes troubling for the Dogs own morality.
In general I think that the thing I was going for is a situation where your an ex-criminal thats posing as a mobster but not allowed to actually kill people, even guilty ones, or rob a bank (without later giving the money back, perhaps). I think I'd probably even allow a situation where it doesn't count as theft if they just find a way to return their shares later, at least if they DID prevent their fellow robbers from killing anyone (which wouldnt violate the Code if it wasnt them doing it, but it's the right thing to do).
I think that once you get to the Satanic influenes, that's why the Dogs exist, to take them out. I'm not out to potray a shadowy Vatican organization as being especially humane, just tied to the religious dogma really. No killing or adultery because it's a mortal sin, not because not doing them is the right thing to do.
That may be a bit pissant of me, but I think that it fits the tone I was going for. The organization has strict rules but isnt really neccesarily run by good guys, whereas the heroes are very flawed, but probably will possess a greater sense of right and wrong and morality.
That is morality isn't in the flawless adherance to a Code, it's in knowing whats the right thing to do and doing it, even when it gets you into more trouble than it seems worth.
Bassically the situation is purposefully exhasperating in order to paint the Dogs as righteous anti-heroes in a morally gray world that tries to pretend it's black and white.
So our redeemed assassin from the post I deleted would be free to do a Boondock Saints style hit on a dude like "Bub" DeFranco, but accepting a contract on anyone else (even a certified scumbag or another assassin) would be right out because of the Code.
Cool. Looks like you and I are in agreement then. Just got a bit confused, is all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CasperLions
I mean, isn't it more gritty to have to cover up murdering a psychotic made man that even the mob didn't like from both the mob (can't kill a made man) and the Vatican (Dogs can't kill normal humans), and then be PRESSURED by the Vatican to kill a nonviolent offender career thief with a sick daughter possessed by an evil demon?
Oh absolutely. :evil grin:
And in the case of the thief, having that exorcist on hand is going to be a serious asset, lemme tell ya...
__________________ "The Earth is the greatest repository of Bad Luck in the Universe. Even if you've been around for billions of years, this little planet will screw you up like nothing you've encountered before. Your aeons-old law enforcement organization will fold. Your loyal scouts will suddenly start deserting you like there's no tomorrow. If you eat planets, you will not be able to digest this one. The queen of your vast empire will fall for a guy from this world."
- Mark Mohrfield, from this thread on Comic Book Universes, summing up Earth's role in sci-fi rather well.
In this exciting episode of Reliquary Dogs, we go back to the 1930's for pulp adventures around the globe, where the ancient order of the Knights of Wisdom guide a loose network of dashing 20th century explorers in their goal to recover relics Jesus Christ left when he travelled all over the world in the part of his lifetime unaccounted for in the Bible. The Hand of God in Tibet, the Serpent Rod in India, the Speaking Stones in Arizona- They should be used for the benefit of humanity, but they risk being taken by those with nefarious purposes.
Mary "Ace" Nightengale
Concept: Bi-Plane Bombshell
Barnstormer 5 (if it moves, she can pilot it)
Daredevil (acrobatics, leaping onto a moving train from a horse, fistfights in precarious places) 4
Truth, Justice, and the American Way 3 (for inspirational speeches, resisting mind control, and persuading people to help her for the sake of the greater good)
Weakness: Short Temper
Dr. Darius D. Diabolik
Concept: Science Fiction Antichrist
The Stolen Hand of God 5 (a big metal gauntlet that can call down thunder, rend the earth, and nasty stuff like that)
Evil Genius 4 (For disarming the traps in the tomb, building bombs, and coming up with cunning evil plots)
Self-Proclaimed Perfect Human 3 (for swimming, running, catching bullets, ect.)
Weakness: Egomaniacal (the monologuing type)
Reliquary Dogs IV: The Z-Collection
Sarcastly called the "Reliquary Dogs", you are esoterica mercenaries: historians, antiquitarians, collectors of rare books and ancient knowledge; all in the service of the Vatican Library. Your paid exorbant amounts of money and given access to bits of forgotten lore so shocking they could break the earth in two in exchange for putting your pale Liberal Arts major arse on the line collecting and varifying ancient relics and forbidden tomes that the Church has an interest in keeping out of the hands of the public, and the nasty beasties that hide behind the public.
Dean "Sell Out Cut-throat Rat Bastard" Corso
-Expert on Rare and Antiquitated Books 5 (for the recognizing of the real Necronomicon from the "eat your hand" copies, and for knowing where in the world you might find an English translation of The Book of the Nine Gates)
-Weasly 4 (for bribing, lying, cajoling, persuading, misleading, tricking, outhinking, conning, and lifting things that don't belong to you)
-The Price of Being Weasley 3 (for fleeing, hiding, dodging, anticipating, taking a punch, struggling for the gun, and generally being able to survive the people you piss off)
-weakness: Curious (takes to forbidden knowledge like candy)
A final variant would be to combine the Relics/Contracts of part two with part four to bassically play a combination of "The Da Vinci Code" and "Read or Die". In fact, I'll have some sample characters for that sort of thing up next.
Linear Mode
