Grass Spiders

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Background

What They Are

For starters, refer to pages 68-69 in the Dragon-Blooded 2e book. Broadly, the Grass Spiders are an elite order of assassins and covert operatives, dedicating themselves to a mastery of the clandestine arts. More than half of their jobs are direct contract killings, although exotic thefts, kidnapping, and military intelligence are also common. They also maintain ties to arms and drug trade in the East, though most of these ties are initiated by members, rather than the Elite Fiends. Once again, although it is not a hard rule laid down by the Organization's leadership, there tends to be a strong opposition to slavery within the Organization - the prevailing attitude of the made membership lends itself to a lifestyle of freedom, and slavery is inherently antithetical to those practices.

In some ways, they resemble any other workman's guild - they set price ceilings and floors, collaborate on large projects, and band together to protect one another in times of struggle. In other ways, they are far different - the Grass Spiders live together, train together, fight together, and die together. In many senses, they resemble a family as much as an organization - the bonds between many members extend beyond merely being coworkers, and the Grass Spiders enjoy the off time spent at the range home complex spent in the company of their surrogate brothers and sisters.

From the outside, the Grass Spiders represent the cleanest solution to a problem (for those willing to pay). They promise a quick, untraceable job, and no unrelated disturbance of the status quo. In an overwhelming number of cases, they have succeeded - although hits have failed in the past, such "saves" are only temporary; fewer than a dozen people have ever permanently escaped a contract on their life in nearly a thousand years of operation. To have the Grass Spiders on one's trail is akin to a death sentence.

What They Aren't

The Grass Spiders are not a business. They do not always work for the highest bidder, nor the same side of a conflict they worked for the previous day. The Three Elite Fiends can and have turned down contracts for reasons known only to themselves, although they've never selected the bids they do accept with any semblance of an agenda - simply, the Three Elite Fiends, and along with them, the Grass Spiders, always act in favor of progressing the arts of assassination and thievery. Just as the progressive artist pushes boundaries and redefines the very nature of his work, so too do Creation's most feared assassins, executing their work with a fanatical devotion to pushing the envelope. That said, the Three Elite Fiends are not bad businessmen - the Order has sizable overhead costs, and such quality work fetches a high price. The Order itself has a considerable stockpile of jade (and weaponry, including some exotic First Age weaponry used in infiltration), and all of its members, if they so choose, are able to drape themselves in the finest silk and drink only the most exotic wine.

The Grass Spiders are not a democracy. Although the Three Elite Fiends don't often get involved in day-to-day affairs, their word is absolute, up to and including having total control over who lives and who dies - even within the Order. Formally, all made members have an equal say in running in the organization - there are no ranks beyond associate, made member, and Fiend. In practice, this isn't the case - many senior members control the flow of services critical to keeping the organization running (medical services, recruitment, training, blacksmithing, spy networks, etc.), and can much more easily hold the ear of the Three Elite Fiends. These members tend to hold more sway in the Order, although the nature of the contract-based work is such that decisions affecting the status of the entire group are not entirely common.

Members

Circles

In addition to the Three Elite Fiends and a large network of associates, five circles make up the core membership of the Hallowed Order of the Grass Spiders.

The Lankhmar Harvestmen

In terms of combined age, the Lankhmar Harvestmen make up the senior-most circle in the organization. Although they are still assigned contracts from the Fiends, they do field work less often than the other four circles in the Order of the Grass Spiders. Many of them carry out internal administrative work, which includes managing the Order's surprisingly vast network of safehouses and associates in the East and Confederation of Rivers, as well as assisting in the development of new charms, spells, Manses, and so forth.

  • Anton (Aspect: Fire) (Player: NPC)
  • Iron Shatters Oak (Aspect: Earth) (Player: NPC)
  • Rizuka (Aspect: Wood) (Player: NPC)
  • Ruk (Aspect: Water) (Player: NPC)
  • Tiamat (Aspect: Air) (Player: NPC)

The Red Hoods

Minstrels of Eden

The Shaded Templar

The Circle With No Name

The youngest circle in the organization, this circle has been formed from recently made members of the Order.

Defining Quote: "It's not a perfect job, but it's a beautiful job."

Associates

The Grass Spiders' organization, as well as many of the individual members have many influential and notable associates.

  • Ravenous Moon, Waning Heart - A close ally to Lord of the Ashen Cloud who commands and takes care of his airship when he cannot be onboard.
  • Naru Irugawa - The Grass-Spiders' resident astrologer and technology expert. Opal's on-again, off-again girlfriend.
  • Thanatos & Libitina - Brother and sister pair of morticians from Sijan that specialize in unique funeral rites, perform rites for deceased Grass Spiders and any special acquaintances The Grass Spiders deem worthy.

The Three Elite Fiends

Little is known about the organizations mysterious paragons - they are ancient, powerful masters of disguise. The information shown below represents the forms they most commonly take when dealing with members of their own organization, but they can and do appear in almost any form imaginable, particularly when venturing into Creation to recruit members and negotiate contracts.

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