The Bloody Rites & Rituals Of The Flesh Rippers of Mu For Your Old School Campaigns

As the legacies of the old world die away, new horrors have come to replace them among them are a secretive Ebony Lodges Of Mu. The lodge is composed of thirty three brothers & sisters all survivors of Mu who were hidden in the interior of the Earth before 'The Fall of The Ancient Ones'. These survivors used arts of the blackest stripe to hide among the human societies of 'Old Earth' between the spaces of reality's skein. With the falling away of the old world the cult of the flesh rippers is flourishing once again at unprecedented numbers of cultists & monsters of the worst kind.


These thrice damned shamans & priests serve several dark demonic entities who have taught them dangerous black arts through the centuries. These cult cells flourish at the remotest corners of society fueled by murder & outrageous crimes. Those wishing to join in the Ebony Lodges Of Mu must make a blood sacrifice of a loved one or someone precious to the caster this is seen as commitment to the path of the lodge. The potential member is then spirited away via teleportation to a meeting with the senior members of the lodge where a further sacrifice of one point of permanent wisdom is made to the dark gods of the lodge. The lodge member is given five animal skins to choose from ala the monster section of the retroclone system of the dungeon master's choosing.
The member then chooses between these five skins & magically these skins become a false part of the member's black soul. From this moment on the member forever more belongs to the lodge & their soul is forfeit to the forbidden gods of the lodge. Once on each new moon the lodge member must ritually murder someone in the name of their lodge's forbidden deities. There is a 70% chance that by using the bloody magicks of  the Ebony Lodges Of Mu the member will develop homicidal tendencies & want to commit a murder every two weeks.



Unlike werewolves or beserkers these flesh rippers are able to choose between five animal shapes & within five to ten rounds assume these false animal forms. They gain all of the abilities of the chosen form & several more powers from their connection to the negative material plane. These automatically involved once the animal or a half man form is assumed; they include: claws at as a +2 weapon, immunity to normal fires & cold, taking half damage from non magical weapons, a gaze attack which acts as a charm spell three times per day with a ten foot radius, & the ability to become  ethereal three times per day. The armor class & hit points are the same as the animal forms assumed.
There are several dark prices to pay for these powers:

• The drawbacks of these abilities include only being able to assume an animal form for five hours a day. Should the flesh ripper continue within their assumed form for more then that there is a 60% chance of them fading from reality & their dark god's minions claiming their souls before their appointed time. 
• The flesh ripper is a disciple  of dark magick & must be invited into a home, lodge, tent,etc. to claim a victim otherwise they are barred from entering by the laws of their own rites.
• Any shaman, priest, cleric, of a powerful deity  may rebuke them from a house hold or location for a day & a night.
• Should they be seen by ten or more people in broad daylight the chaotic nature of their magics may warp & twist them into showing their true forms in reality. The flesh ripper will need a wisdom roll to assume their animal forms again & gain their benefits again. 
• There is a 40% chance of the flesh ripper fading from reality or being caught in the other dimensional tides of the Outer Blackness if they abuse their powers for 1d6 years or more. Those who become veteran members of the Ebony Lodges Of Mu must return to them for the inner lodge secrets.

Many tribes upon 'Old Earth' have instinctive hatred for these murderous shape shifters & have developed their own internal forces for dealing with them. Such a group will consist of a ranger, several experienced fighters, a wizard & or shaman, plus a knight or paladin if such are available. The Ebony Lodges Of Mu have their own alien agenda for their members & often send members on estoretic missions of mayhem & blood letting against certain targeted tribes or targets. Their reasons & agendas are as alien as the methods they use to recruit new members.



There is said to be great enmity between the Ebony Lodges Of Mu & certain tribes of Keltic warriors, Picts, & a very militant tribe of Amazons on Old Earth.