Adherents of Tarentum's Necromantic powers who specialized in combat and direct application of Necromancy through the onset of disease or other immediate debilitations.
Introduction
Unlike their brethren the Watchers, Death Dealers devoted their time not towards study, but instead combat. Where the Watchers sought to advance their powers through research, and in turn advance the goals of the Keepers, the Death Dealers were the militant arm of the elusive Keepers. It was the direct application of Necromancy - through fear, disease, debilitation and death - that were the goals of the Death Dealers.
The Death Dealers were marshaled by the mysterious Ghost Lady and Lord Khyven, and trained by Tarentum's own Field Marshal, Maxamillian von Oberst-Tarentae.
Harbingers of Doom
There was no one defining ethos for the Death Dealers. Instead, individual Dealers adapted themselves to roles they and their superiors believed they were best suited for. So while two members may have been Death Dealers, they were by no means similar in training, outlook or role. All Death Dealers identified themselves with a tattoo corresponding to their role and function.
Dagger
The sect's assassins. These Dealers maximized stealth and subterfuge. The most feared of the Death Dealer sect because they were the most secretive and elusive. While they were fully capable of digging a knife under the arm and into the heart, or delivering the killing blow with a sniper's rifle, they were just as versed in the studied application of poisons and even the subtle influence of the Necromantic arts. A healthy individual suddenly struck down with a rare and debilitation disease, after all, could send a clear message to the true target. The Ghost Lady took personal charge of this sub-sect of the Death Dealers.
Scimitar
The Clan's executioners. These individuals used brute force and terror to get their point across. Where one of the Clan's assassins would allow you a quick death of sorts, these sadistic individuals plied their craft slowly. Oberst was, quite possibly, the most best example of his Clan's executioners, capable of dragging an execution on for days, much less hours, victims degenerate into babbling masses of blood, flesh and tears. Rather than use Necromancy to speed the death of their victims, they sustained the poor soul's life. It was only at the discretion of the Keepers, the Prince or the Sith King that one would be turned over to Death's mercy.
Mace
The true martial arm of the Death Dealers, these individuals were soldiers guided by Death. As one advanced, pain slowly became a non-issue. Death was no longer the end. They, like Lord Khyven, served the Clan in perpetuity.
The Death Dealers and House Tarentum
While the study of Necromancy was shunned publicly for some time, there were certain members of Tarentum who remained dedicated to the darkest arts, and who continued to practice and study Necromancy. Sith Bloodfyre was perhaps the most public about remaining a practitioner of the former arts of Tarentum, and with his return to the head of Tarentum's Household, there has been a shift to the public acknowledgment that some of Tarentum still practice these arts heavily. And yet, while individual members may choose to study Necromancy, as a whole, the Keepers remain in the past.
However, the former sects that many of Tarentum adhered to, that being the Watchers and Death Dealers, remains to some effect. As they are returning to the public eye, it remains to be seen what role they will play in the coming future of the House.
The Death Dealers of Tarentum
Powers of the Death Dealers
While the Necromancers of Tarentum varied in skill and ability, there were some powers that were common among each sect of the Clan of Life and Death. The following list of powers were those used most-commonly by the Watchers, but each individual would sometimes vary according to personal tastes and which Master they learned from.
- Level One
- Level Two
- Level Three
- Festering Wounds (or)
- Touch of the Recluse
- Level Four
- Level Five
- Level Six
- Armor of Death (or)
- Cannibalism
- Level Seven
- The Doom Within (or)
- The Presence of Anubis
- Level Eight
- Avascular Mass (or)
- Blackflames
- Level Nine
- Destruction (or)
- Shattering
- Level Ten