Organization

The first thing that Haunters will tell their new recruits is that they are not a Concord - they are a Calling.

The difference is not merely semantic: "Concord" has come to mean any large, socio-political grouping of Wraiths across the Deadlands, however disjointed and uncommunicative it may be. As the Haunters see themselves as a religious order, and hate the idea of petty politics getting in the way of their veneration of Mania, they desire to distance themselves from even the slightest appearance of being like The Order or the Freewraiths.

{Plus, their distaste for the notion of the first Concord - The Order - is so overpowering that they refuse to give it the "honor" of thinking themselves its linguistic equal.}

That said, the differences between the Haunters' Calling and the other Concords is slight. They are as fractured as the others, and just as vulnerable. And they have no central body of authority, either - who amongst them would dare to usurp their Goddess' place?

It is true that they tend to be more uniform in their beliefs than other Concords - other than The Order. But even that isn't a guarantee that what goes on in one city will be an exact mirror of what goes on in its immediate neighbor.

 

Alliances

A group of Haunters within a Necropolis is referred to as an Alliance. They use these words because, just as they see themselves as part of a Calling, they recognize that everyone must agree to come together and worship - it cannot be forced. Once a Haunter has joined the Alliance, she had better tow the line, though.

The Alliance works within a Domain, as do the other Concords. However, they claim ownership over everything and everyone within it, which includes not only the Deadlands and its Haunts, but the Liveworld side of their Domain. This means they also "own" all mortals who live and work within it.

They also claim dominion over any Anchors that might be in the zone, and deny all passage - in, our or through - to outsiders. If a Wraith has an Anchor in a Haunter's Domain, she had best see someone about sneaking it out, somehow.

The Road to Madness

There is no mistaking a Haunter Domain for anything else. Those who manage to make it past the Fear wards at the borders - or the horrid, still-screaming Terms - soon find themselves in a nightmarish landscape. And if they don't turn right around and leave as soon as they realize their mistake, there is a good chance that they will become a part of that landscape, forever.

Almost every foot of the Domain is decorated with some grotesque, Shaped icon of the Haunters' dark faith. Tiny representations of their past victims hang from strings of ghost viscera, whimpering as they sway in the dead wind. Previous intruders are ensconced in jails and gibbets made from their own bones and flesh, and left to scream and beg at horrors only they can see. Every so often, a large statue of a long-gone and {in}famous Haunter adorns a corner or square, providing inspiration to the current crop.

And if all that wasn't enough to inform a fool that she's gone too far into the wrong Domain, a life-size mask of the face of Mania hangs from every building there. Each one's crazed eyes move to watch the intruders' progress, and more often than not, these masks are linked to a central one back in the Alliance's Citadel. This is part of why intruders are found and "welcomed" so quickly.

 

The Pit

An Alliance operates out of the strongest, most imposing Haunt they can find within their Dominion, which they refer to as a Pit.

This term hearkens back to ancient times, when it was believed - sometimes correctly - that the Maniae came up from the Underworld through a sealed pit in a town's center. On various occasions throughout the year, the high priests of these cities would roll away the stone that covered the pit, and let the Maniae out. It's the same idea, in modern times, except that - thanks to the Goddess' last orders - no mortal may ever claim dominion over them again.

Pits should be horrid and sickening affairs: the more insane and degenerate its past, the better it is to act as a conduit to the Goddess Mania. As a result, Haunters tend to hole up inside corrupt prisons, cursed mansions, abandoned sanitariums and the like. If these places come with their own Ghosts, it's a bonus, but if they don't the Maniae can always see about making one or two, or maybe three...

In downtown areas, the Haunters favor oppressive apartment blocks. If it's the sort of place where people might move into a room less than a week after the previous occupant killed her entire family with a shotgun, and then blew her own head off, they'll want it. And, as with the above examples, if they can't find such a place, they'll make one.

The most sacred spot in a Pit is referred to as the Gateway. It is a Shaped representation of a stone-lined, open pit, set in the floor of the largest or most frightening room in the building. It is here that the Alliance holds its Induction and Falling ceremonies, with the new or soon-to-be-gone Haunter standing in the center of the Gateway.

This House is Cursed

Unlike most other Concords' central Haunts, the Haunters prefer to have mortals sharing the space with them. It's something of a game for an Alliance to see how far they can push their "roommates" before they crack, and have to be replaced. Conversely, some see how long they can keep the mortals completely oblivious to what's going on, to the point of prohibiting the use of any Numen on them at all.


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