The Guild of Jrosu'rau - An Enemy Faction For 'Old Mars' & Your Old School Campaigns

In the back alleys & deserted ancient red sea bottom ruins of cities of  evil lives on. Brotherhoods of assassins & thieves gather to pay tribute to the father of devils & falsehood. His master assassin/priests wear the faces of ancient Martian devils that haven't been seen in millions of years. His assassins wear the  face of their victims in  a barbaric & hated practice among the Martians. Necromancy, black magick, & the use of 'the mnemoka' among certain guilds is not looked on favorably by true Martians and seen as another sign of the decedent Earthmen's influence. The children of Jrosu'rau have arisen again. The sign of the ruby mace in blood  is a very dark & taboo thing among Martians. It is the sign of a depraved thieves & assassins guild in the oldest quarters of Mars. The father of  falsehoods, & ancient devils is the god of a cult of last resort among the Martians. These assassins never appear the same way twice. It is said that they use forbidden magicks & techniques culled from the ancient Aihai devil worshipers of the seas of dust. Once the sect of Jrosu'rau the children of 'the devil' allied themselves with the nameless ancient Martians. They made war on many of the races in their forbidden god's name but were destroyed. 


Planet Comics #28 (Jan '44) cover by Joe Doolin
The guild of Jrosu'rau has taken on the mantle & name of these cursed monsters. They kill any without honor or mercy in the name of their god.To this guild the deed justifies any means of making the murder happen. Enemies, family, bystanders, it does not matter for the guild will have its due in blood & coin. They operate in the shadows often using black technologies not seen for a thousand years. Their mad scientists toil in laboratories and back alley factories turning out weapons & technologies that defy logic. Even the Green hordes will not tolerate these mad men & exterminate any nests of them they find. For the Green Martian  Jeddaks & princes have felt their sting from time to time.


It is rumored in the lower quarters of Igarth that certain more noble assassins guilds have made 'shadow war' with the guild of Jrosu'rau. Over two hundred Martians & human colonists were killed when a sonic bomb took out the grand temple to take out the heads of the Igarth's guilds.
Those who join the guild of Jrosu'rau pledge their souls to devils who swallow the life essence of these fools.. They lose all moral conscience, fear, & obey their superiors in all things. The member gains a series of twenty three soul marks upon their aura which enable them to wound or do damage to aliens or creatures which are immune to normal weapons.  They gain a +2 to all hand to hand & weapon damage due to their infernal fury. The infernal spirits that infect their minds often teach them strange martial arts or sword styles not seen on Mars for many centuries.


They pay for these advantages because guild members upon death will have their mortal remains evaporated in a gout of  hellfire. Never will they see the afterlife also the sign of flame is a hated & taboo thing among certain species of Martian. The name of Jrosu'rau is never even mentioned among Martian mothers to scare their children. It is a name without respect,honor, or even a soul.
1d20 Random Encounters With the Guild Of Jrosu'rau

1.  A beggar is strangely armed with two swords & seems hell bent on trying to reach some strange ahead of you. Its actually an assassin armed with two poisoned swords. 
2. Two strange men are nearby & behaving strangely they're actually 5th level necromancers trying to get to their target. Don't get in their way. 
3.  An unhinged man wanders by you but looking at his neck reveals some strange sort of device cybernetically attached to him! A bomb will go off in 1d6 rounds for 1d8 points of damage from a strange nuclear fire! 
4.   Weird & strangely crazed devil like little monsters swarm across your location their claws are poisoned with a dangerous virus. Save vs disease or acquire a rotting disease of a heinous nature.
5.  A drive by biker peppers a nearby crowd with blaster fire & then turns it in your direction. 
6. Strange mystical religious pilgrims wander the streets looking for someone and all at once they will attack the nearest being with iron knives!  
7. A rain of blood comes from the sky as two dozen Martian horrors from beyond erupt into the desert or street! 
8. The body of a man erupts with dozens & dozens of slug like creatures as two nearby warrior's eyes glow and the laughter of an evil wizard resounds nearby! 
9. A weird glowing ball of evil consumes some victim while it chants your PC's name! 
10. Two weird bone like devils step through a dimensional rift for the body and soul of a nearby red princess. 
11. Two dozen assassins exit a flyer that has set down nearby and begin to randomly murder anyone nearby including your PC's! 
12. Weird flying monkey like infernal monsters target a nearby minor noble & begin to tear into him. He pleads for his life! Will you help or stand by. 
13. A fist sized jewel pulsing with life and the soul of a guild victim rolls into your PC's hands! 
14. Two cybernetically enhanced warriors shout the names of ancient devils & then your PC's names. They mean to kill each and every member of your party! 
15. A small boy's eyes glow and he races toward your PC to 'hug' you! 
16. There is a sound like tearing metal and dozen imp like devil like red things exit reality. They seem intent on some poor fool in the nearby crowd! Will you help? 
17. A giant piece of black magick parchment flutters from the sky containing the soul of a minor nobleman. 
18. A black magick book fall from the sky inscribed with the names of two dozen minor nobles, the PC's and their relatives. That's when the hooded devil drops in asking to have the book back
19. A single statue of one of the PC's appears where the party is bleeding! 
20. Two swordsmen/assassins teleport in to the PC's location and challenge them to a duel for their souls!               

The guild of Jrosu'rau was inspired by the Quest For The Star Stone by C.L.Moore.