The Modern Dispatch 033 - The Order of Saint Lucian, Podreczniki RPG, The Modern Dispatch
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The
Modern
Dispatch
The Order of Saint Lucian
By Gareth-Michael Skarka
Introduction
The Order of Saint Lucian is a secret organization run
by the Vatican. Depending upon the needs of your
campaign, it can either be the Secret Service of the
Holy See, a sinister conspiracy of fanatical assassins,
or a clandestine organization devoted to combatting
the forces of supernatural evil.
#
33
Content Manager:
Charles Rice, Chris Davis
Layout:
Chris Davis
This issue of Modern Dispatch details the Order,
gives tips on running the order in those various styles,
and provides adventure hooks and sample NPCs for
Modern D20 Gamemasters to use.
The History of the Order
In the Third Century A.D., there was once a demon-
worshipping sorcerer named Lucian. One day, so the
story goes, he saw one of his most powerful spells
turned aside by a Christian woman, simply by the
act of her making the Sign of the Cross. This shook
Lucian to his core. He came to see the error of his
ways, gave up his idolatrous life and sorcery, and
converted to Christianity. He was persecuted by the
Romans, and slain as a martyr in 250 A.D. The early
Requires the use of the d20 Modern Roleplaying
Game, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
d20 Modern and Wizards of the Coast are
trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the
United States and other countries and are used
with permission. ‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20
System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of the
Coast, Inc. and are used according to the terms
of the d20 System License version 6.0. A copy
of this License can be found at www.wizards.
com/d20.
About the Author
Gareth-Michael Skarka has been working in the adventure games industry since 1988. He is the designer
of several role-playing games, including
Hong Kong Action Theatre!, UnderWorld
and
Skull & Bones.
His design imprint,
Adamant Entertainment
, ventured into ePublishing in 2003, and produces support for
Skull & Bones
, the pulp d20 line
Thrilling Tales
, and more.
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Church canonized him as Saint Lucian -- the patron
saint of converts and of protection against evil spirits.
His Feast Day is observed on October 26th, but is
little-known, and most modern Catholics have no
awareness of the Sorcerer Saint.
possessed talents that suited them to the secretive
work, and who could be trusted with the deepest
secrets of the Vatican.
Griglio took 3 years to assemble the first 12 members
of the Order, together known as Il Dodici. To this
day, the 12 senior members of the Order are referred
to by this honorific title, and answer directly to the
Commander of the Order.
In 1189, Pope Clement III, embroiled in the chaos
of the Third Crusade, recognized the need for a
clandestine organization operating on behalf of the
Vatican itself, rather than depending upon the efforts
of client states. (The reasons
for this need vary depending
upon the campaign model
being used, and are detailed
in the examples which
follow.)
By this time, a new Pope, Celestine III, was seated in
the Vatican. Celestine greatly favored the knightly
orders -- the Templars and Hospitallers thrived under
his reign, and the Teutonic Knights were created by
him as well. The Order of St. Lucian, with it’s non-
knightly Commander and 12 members, was largely
ignored and left to fend for itself. Griglio used
his own wealth to establish secret Chapterhouses
throughout Europe, where members of the Order
could stay (and be equipped) while carrying out
missions. Unlike the other Orders, it was decided
that there should be no central headquarters.
Clement created the
Order of Saint Lucian
for this purpose.
Unlike the other
orders, the Order
of Saint Lucian
was not comprised of
noble knights publicly
taking the Cross.
Clement charged the
first Commander of
the Order,
a widely-
travelled
Venetian
merchant
named
Giacomo
Griglio, to
gather in his
travels men,
regardless of
standing, who
Such direct involvement in political matters increased
the need for trustworthy intelligence operations and
other secret efforts; tasks for which the Order of Saint
Lucian was ready-made.
The fortunes of the Order changed drastically with
the election of an active young Pope: Innocent III,
in 1198. Under Innocent, the Vatican became much
more involved in secular political matters, most
especially in the matter of crowning a Holy Roman
Emperor.
Also during this time, Pope Innocent III made heresy
a focus of his Papacy, setting out to destroy both the
Manichean and Albigensian heresies...another role for
which the Order was perfectly suited. This was the
beginning of the process that led to the legitimization
of the Inquisition in 1233.
With the death of Henry VI in 1197, two separate
emperors had been elected: Philip of Swabia and Otto
of Wittelsbach. The 37-year old Pope openly entered
politics, supporting first Otto, then Philp, threatening
excommunication to supporters of the opposition.
When Otto killed Philip, the Pope supported him
as Emperor, until Otto violated the agreements
made with the Vatican, at which point, Innocent
excommunicated him, and declared Frederick II of
Sicily the new Emperor.
During the Inquisition, the Order was a vital tool
of the Vatican, and grew considerably. Now, the
12 senior members of Il Dodici directed the efforts
of other agents, who reported to them, and they in
turn reported to the Commander. The Commander
answered directly to the Pope. This formed the
organization of the Order that has stood until the
present day.
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Using the Order
The political power of the Vatican waned
considerably during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Holy See is still a wealthy and influential
organization, but does not wield anything
resembling the secular power that it once did.
The Order had fallen into a period of stasis,
primarily concerned with the maintenance of
their files, the occasional operation to recover
items stolen from the Vatican itself, and internal
intrigues within Rome--such as the scandal
surrounding the alleged conspiracy between the
Vatican Bank and the Mafia, which led to the
death of Pope John Paul the First.
Depending upon the needs of your particular
campaign, the Order of Saint Lucian can be used as
either a Secret Service, operating as the Vatican’s
intelligence agency; a cabal of fanatical assassins
(perfect villains for a conspiratorial campaign), or
a worldwide network of secret agents dedicated to
fighting supernatural evil. The following sections
detail each option, provide an example NPC, and a
couple of adventure hooks for that campaign model.
On His Holiness’ Secret Service
It was the Order of Saint Lucian that discovered
the truth: That the Pope had been assassinated
by the conspirators within the Vatican Bank.
They undertook secret operations to rid the
Bank of Mafia connections, and enganged in
reprisal killings among the Sicilian Mafia as
well. A sleeping tiger had been awakened.
Pope Clement realized that the Crusades would
entangle the Church in secular politics more directly,
and with the stakes as high as they were (the taking
of the Holy Land, and the immense wealth that could
be gained as well), it was in the best interests of the
Vatican to have its own supply of information, as well
as operatives to carry out its wishes behind the scenes
(to maintain the appearance of being above worldly
concerns). Clement named the order after Saint
Lucian, patron saint of converts, as he envisioned the
ranks being filled by secular experts converted to the
Vatican’s cause.
Vatican sees the actions of Islamic fundamentalists
like Al-Qaeda as a modern continuation of the
Crusades...a counter-attack, essentially, in a
millenium-long struggle. Agents of the Order are
engaged in intelligence gathering operations against
Islamists, and more than one secret terrorist training
camp has been wiped out by Order assault teams
under cover of darkness.
Under Pope John Paul II, the re-vitalized Order was
used, behind the scenes, in his efforts to undermine
Communism in Europe. The collapse of the Soviet
Union and the release of its hold on Eastern Europe
stunned Western analysts, as they were unaware of
the actions taken by the Order throughout the 1980s
which sped that collapse.
Giacomo Griglio was a Venetian spymaster who
assembled a core cadre of 12 men, including
thieves, language experts, early dabblers in science,
and others. These men trained more men, and the
Vatican’s secret service was born.
The Order receives a great deal of its intelligence
(especially electronic intelligence - satellite data, etc.)
via agents that it has placed in almost every major
intelligence agency in the world. Often, these agents
are not full members of the Order itself, but rather
highly dedicated members of Opus Dei, the Catholic
equivalent of the Freemasons.
Adventure Hooks:
• The PCs encounter agents of the Order of Saint
Lucian while undertaking a mission of their own.
Today, the Order of Saint Lucian is a rumor among
the world’s intelligence community. There have
always been whispers of the Vatican having it’s own
Agency, but never any direct proof. It is taken as a
given assumption that it exists.
• The PCs, resourceful non-government
adventurers, are approached by the Order of Saint
Lucian and recruited as agents themselves.
Currently, the Order of Saint Lucian is largely
concerned with counter-terrorism efforts. The
• The Order of Saint Lucian decides to reveal
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The Wolves of Christendom
themselves to the PCs, because the Order has
uncovered intelligence indicating an apocalyptic
plot and cannot combat the threat alone.
This single-minded devotion to bringing about the
end of the world has led them in recent decades to
even attempt to murder the Pope. They successfully
assassinated John Paul I in 1978, and unsuccessfully
tried to kill his successor, John Paul II in 1981. (In
the Malachian Prophecies, there are only two Popes
to come after John Paul II. )
Pope Clement saw in the Crusades the forces of
Christendom opposed by the most powerful weapon
he had ever seen deployed: the fanatical followers
of “the Old Man of the Mountain”, Hassan i Sabah.
These selfless operatives where known as the
Hashhashin, which entered Western languages as:
Assassin.
Sample NPC:
Mario Orsini is a field agent for
the Order of Saint Lucian, and is representative
of the skill level of the average agent likely to be
encountered by Player Characters in the field.
Adventure Hooks:
Mario Orsini
Tough Hero 3/Smart Hero 3/Field Agent 3
CR 9;
Medium-size humanoid; HD 3d10+9 plus 3d6+9
plus 3d6+9 plus 6; HP 72; Mas 17; Init +1; Spd 30 ft;
Defense 16, touch 16, flatfooted 15 (+0 size, +1 Dex,
+5 class); BAB +4; Grap +6; Atk +6 melee (1d6+2
telescoping baton), or +5 ranged (2d6, Berretta 93R);
FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ ; AL Vatican, Order of
Saint Lucian; SV Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +6; AP 4; Rep
+-1; Str 15, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 10.
Occupation:
Academic (Computer Use, Gather
Information, Research)
Skills:
Bluff +10, Climb +3, Computer Use +10,
Demolitions +6, Diplomacy +2, Disable Device
+6, Disguise +8, Drive +2, Forgery +6, Gather
Information +10, Hide +4, Intimidate +4, Investigate
+9, Knowledge (Arcane Lore) +4, Knowledge
(Current Events) +8, Knowledge (Streetwise) +8,
Knowledge (Tactics) +6, Listen +3, Move Silently
+3, Read/Write Language +1 (Italian, English),
Research +8, Search +7, Sense Motive +3, Speak
Language +1 (Italian, English), Spot +2, Survival +2
Feats:
Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Combat
Expertise, Combat Martial Arts, Deceptive, Dodge,
Low Profile, Personal Firearms Proficiency,
Toughness
Talents (Tough Hero):
Robust, Stamina;
(Smart
Hero):
Savant (Investigate), Exploit Weakness;
(Field Agent):
Wetwork +1, Silent kill +1d6
Possessions:
Berretta 93R machine pistol,
telescoping baton. Wealth +8
• The PCs discover assassins of the Order of
Saint Lucian are behind a string of seemingly
unconnected murders.
Clement set about recruiting his own force of
Assassins, to be used in counter-operations against
those sent by Hassan i Sabah. This group he named
the Order of Saint Lucian, who, like their patron
saint, would offer protection against the evil of the
unbelievers.
• The Order of Saint Lucian has put a contract out
on one of the PCs, believing the PC to be a figure
described in the Malachian Prophecy.
Throughout the centuries, the Order of Saint Lucian
was used as a secret weapon against the enemies of
the Church. As time passed, however, they became
more and more autonimous, undertaking their own
operations without prior Papal approval or authority.
They became a secret cabal within the halls of the
Vatican, moving silently through the years, furthering
their own power and their own ends.
Sample NPC:
Antoine DeVillaret is a French
member of the Order, and one of their most
successful assassins.
Antoine DeVillaret
Fast Hero 4/Gunslinger 5
CR 9; Medium-size
humanoid; HD 4d8+12 plus 5d10+15; HP 73;
Mas 17; Init +4; Spd 30 ft; Defense 22, touch 22,
flatfooted 18 (+0 size, +4 Dex, +8 class); BAB +6;
Grap +6; Atk +6 melee (1d4, martial arts), or +10
ranged (2d10 (HKPSG1) or 2d6 (Berretta 93R)); FS
5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ ; AL The Order of Saint
Lucian; SV Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +3; AP 4; Rep +2;
Str 11, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 17, Wis 9, Cha 9.
Occupation:
Military (Hide, Move Silently)
Skills:
Balance +5, Bluff +2, Demolitions +5,
Drive +10, Escape Artist +12, Gamble +2, Hide
+14, Intimidate +0, Knowledge (Current Events)
+9, Knowledge (Popular Culture) +5, Knowledge
(Streetwise) +5, Knowledge (Tactics) +5, Move
Silently +13, Pilot +7, Profession +5, Read/Write
Language +2 (French, English, Spanish), Sleight of
In 1595, a document was doscovered, detailing the
prophecies of Saint Malachy, hidden for centuries
in the labyrinthine archives of the Vatican. Saint
Malachy detailed the succession of Popes until the
Apocalypse. The Church immediately declared
the prophecies as fraudulent. However, the Order
of Saint Lucian became very interested in this
document, and it soon fell into their possession.
Since that time, it has become the overriding goal of
the Order of Saint Lucian to bring about the events
described in the Malachian Prophecies, so, as they
see it, to more quickly bring about the Apocalypse
and the Second Coming of Christ.
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Hand +13, Speak Language +2 (French, English,
Spanish), Spot +3, Survival +1, Tumble +14
Feats:
Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Bull’s Eye,
Combat Expertise, Combat Martial Arts, Double Tap,
Far Shot, Personal Firearms Proficiency, Point Blank
Shot, Precise Shot
Talents
(Fast Hero): Evasion, Opportunist;
(Gunslinger): Close Combat Shot, Weapon Focus,
Defensive Position, Lightning Reflexes
Possessions:
HK PSG1, Berretta 93R Wealth +6
Simon Ashenfell
Smart Hero 6/Mage 3 CR 9;
Medium-size
humanoid; HD 6d6+-6 plus 3d6+-3; HP 23; Mas 8;
Init +2; Spd 30 ft; Defense 16, touch 16, flatfooted 14
(+0 size, +2 Dex, +4 class); BAB +4; Grap +5; Atk
+5 melee (1d6+1, sword cane), or +6 ranged (2d6+0,
Glock 17); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ ; AL The
Order of Saint Lucian; SV Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +8;
AP 4; Rep +3; Str 12, Dex 14, Con 8, Int 17, Wis 11,
Cha 12.
Occupation:
Academic (Decipher Script, Gather
Information, Knowledge [Arcane Lore])
Skills:
Computer Use +8, Concentration +2, Craft
(chemical) +11, Craft (pharmaceutical) +5, Craft
(structural) +8, Decipher Script +16, Demolitions
+8, Disable Device +10, Forgery +4, Gather
Information +8, Investigate +5, Knowledge (Arcane
Lore) +18, Knowledge (Behavioral Sciences)
+5, Knowledge (Civics) +6, Knowledge (Current
Events) +8, Knowledge (Earth and Life Sciences)
+7, Knowledge (History) +7, Knowledge (Physical
Sciences) +4, Knowledge (Popular Culture) +10,
Knowledge (Tactics) +5, Knowledge (Technology)
+9, Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) +8,
Navigate +5, Profession +5, Read/Write Language +4
(English, Latin, Aramaiac, Arabic, French), Repair
+7, Research +14, Search +9, Speak Language +7
(English, Latin, Aramaiac, Arabic, French), Spellcraft
+6, Use Magic Device +3
Feats:
Cautious, Combat Expertise, Educated
(Knowledge [History], Knowledge [Theology and
Philosophy]), Endurance, Iron Will, Quick Draw,
Studious, Vehicle Specialization (civilian aircraft),
Vehicle Specialization (civilian cars)
Talents
(Smart Hero): Savant (Knowledge [Arcane
Lore]), Linguist, Trick; (Mage): Arcane Skills,
Arcane Spells, Summon Familiar, Scribe Scroll
Possessions:
sword cane, Glock 17; Wealth +8
Arcane Spells:
4/3/2 (usually:
Detect Magical
Aura, Light, Mage Hand, Read Magic, Sleep, Magic
Missle, Shield, Knock, Levitate
)
They operate in secret, with the Commander of
the Order informing the new Pope personally as
to the existance of the tools at his disposal. The
Commander then directs the actions of Il Dodici,
the 12 main operatives of the Order, each of whom
directs a team of agents.
The Order uses the tools of the Enemy against it -
among its ranks, you can find sorcerers, lycanthropes,
psychics, and more. If you think of the BPRD from
the
Hellboy
comics and film, except working for the
Vatican instead of the US Government, you’re not far
from the truth.
Who Ya Gonna Call?
Pope Clement saw the rise of sorcery and mysticism
during the Middle Ages, and unlike previous pontiffs,
he recognized that the tools of the Enemy could be
used in the defense of God’s children.
To this end, he charged a Venetian magician,
Giacomo Griglio, with assembling a force of outcasts,
well-versed in the sorcerous arts, who would be able
to combat the forces of evil on their own terms. He
named the Order after Saint Lucian, a diabolist who
had been turned to the greater glory of God.
This version of the Order works best as a set-up for
a group of Player Characters in an Arcana campaign.
The PC group can be one of the agent teams, under
the direction of one of Il Dodici, who gives them
assignments and supplies them with whatever they
need for the mission.
Adventure Hooks:
• The Order sends the PCs to destroy a vampire
who has been preying upon the residents of New
York City.
Throughout the intervening centuries, the Order has
been the front line in the battle against monsters,
demons, devils and evil both human and inhuman.
• The Order has evidence that indicates that the
AntiChrist is about to be born again -- this has
happened every 50 years or so for the past few
centuries, and every time, the Order is there to stop
it.
• The PCs are sent to “take down” a rouge agent of
the Order -- one of their own who has gone bad.
Sample NPC:
Simon Ashenfell is a Mage who works
for the Order. He can be used as either a sample PC,
or as a resource made available to the PCs by their Il
Dodici.
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