The Shroud-Bearers
Founded three centuries ago during the Great Silt Fever. When the dead began to rise from the riverbeds due to a lingering necrotic miasma, a group of bereaved citizens realized simple burial was insufficient. They developed the Silvering Rites to bind souls to their rest. Over decades, this civilian militia evolved into a sanctified order of memento mori, eventually constructing the House of Passing to serve as a fortress against the restless. Their most defining moment was the Great Sealing of the 14th Flood, where they successfully suppressed an army of river-ghouls at the cost of half their membership.
The Shroud-Bearers
- Type
- Funerary Guild and Occult…
- Size
- 250 members
- Reach
- High in Mire's End
- Base
- Mire's End
Overview
Founded three centuries ago during the Great Silt Fever. When the dead began to rise from the riverbeds due to a lingering necrotic miasma, a group of bereaved citizens realized simple burial was insufficient. They developed the Silvering Rites to bind souls to their rest. Over decades, this civilian militia evolved into a sanctified order of memento mori, eventually constructing the House of Passing to serve as a fortress against the restless. Their most defining moment was the Great Sealing of the 14th Flood, where they successfully suppressed an army of river-ghouls at the cost of half their membership.
How it began
Legend speaks of Widow Valeska, who lost her children to the river-blight. When they returned as husks to her doorstep, she did not flee. Instead, she crafted the first Silver Funeral Mask to guide their spirits back to the beyond. Her stoicism in the face of absolute loss became the spiritual blueprint for the order.
How to know them
Charcoal Grey, Polished Silver, Ashen White
The Silver Funeral Mask, The Upturned Shovel, The Extinguished Torch
Standing
What they say they want
What they are doing now
Where it leads
A world where the cycle of life and death is absolute and uncorrupted by the desperate or the power-hungry.
How others see them
Grim, unsettling protectors who are tolerated because no one else wants to deal with the river's rot.
People
5 ranks
Grand Custodian of the Final Sigh
Possesses a voice like grinding stones and an unnerving calmness. She believes that panic is an insult to the dead and views the cult as a cancer that must be excised with surgical precision.
- The Matriarch1 member
Supreme authority on strategic defense and religious doctrine
- Mask-Smiths7 members
Crafting and enchanting the silver burial masks used in high rites
- Vigil-Keepers42 members
Leading the seven-day mourning rituals and managing the archives
- Shroud-Bearers120 members
Field operatives tasked with body recovery and undead extermination
- Acolytes of Ash80 members
General maintenance of the House of Passing and corpse preparation
Other key members
- Brother Kaelen Head of Field Operations
- Sister Miria Chief Mask-Smith
How they are organised
- Must have suffered the loss of a close family member
- Must undergo the Trial of the Silent Chamber (48 hours of total isolation)
- Must renounce all personal property and swear a vow of perpetual mourning
Relations
4 factionsFerrymen who report sightings of the dead to the Shroud-Bearers in exchange for ritual protection.
Operations
What they do
How they do it
Services for hire
- The Silvering Rite500 Gold in Silver BullionEnsures a soul cannot be reanimated for a century.
- The Vigil of Rest100 GoldGuarding a corpse for three nights against spiritual possession.
What they can do
What they have
Where they are weak
Territory
Headquarters
Mire's EndThe House of Passing is a sprawling complex of grey stone and iron built over the town's oldest catacombs. Its narrow windows are barred with silver, and the air inside is heavy with the scent of incense and damp earth.
Lands they hold
Outposts
- The River WatchThe Southern DocksTo intercept drifting bodies before they reach the town
- Sallow Point GuardhouseThe Whispering MarshesObservation of cult activity and marsh-ghoul containment
Secrets
Plot hooks
3 hooks- 1The Stolen ShroudModerateReward: Gold and Faction FavorA sacred shroud used to bind a powerful wraith was stolen by The Echoing Life. The party is hired by Matriarch Elara to reclaim it from the cult's riverfront warehouse.
- 2The Weight of the MaskHardReward: Unique Magic Item: Silver Funeral MaskA party member finds a Silver Funeral Mask on a corpse in the marshes. It hums with power but also carries a heavy emotional burden that slowly exhausts the wearer.
- 3The Traitor in CharcoalMediumReward: Favor with Brother Kaelen and access to the order's smithyBrother Kaelen believes one of the Mask-Smiths is selling secrets to the cult. He hires the party to conduct a covert investigation within the House of Passing.
Work they offer
What gets in the way
Rumours
Media
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