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THE WORLD'S GORIEST BOARD GAME TM |
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PART 4: THE FACTIONS OF SLASHERS |
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The general rule of AMPUTHEATRE combat is that only one Slasher ever leaves the arena. Most of the Slashers are satisifed, even happy, with this arrangement. Others were associated with each other before their incarcerations, while still other Slashers share the most tenuous of truces within the arena itself. Of course, a sudden stray hit with a knife or a fist could change all of that in an instant. Some Slashers even belong to more than one of these loose-knit alliances. (Despite this information, players are entitled to attack anyone they want during the game.) A few of the different Slasher factions are as follows: |
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AGENTS OF THE FoURTH |
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It should come as no surprise that a group as diabolical and foul as The Evil Wardens would stock their own AMPUTHEATRE arenas with ringers. These Agents of the FoURTH- professional assassins, hired thugs, but most notably monstrosities bound under unholy control- do their best to keep combat lively in the arenas. Some of these Slashers wear earpieces, and are in direct contact to the Wardens themselves. The Wardens will instruct them as to when to gang up on one target, or ease up on another- as to not kill them too quickly. |
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THE ROOKER FAMILY |
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| Brought about by the trysts of a drunken bait shop owner and an abusive prostitute in the Okefenokee swamp, the Rooker family is comprised entirely of sinister, backwoods serial lunatics. Neglected and abused by their parents until their deaths, the Rooker boys were taken in by their drug-running uncle- who resumed the beatings. Values mean nothing to this family: the Rookers will turn on each other in a heartbeat. Even more distressing is how every one of the Rookers has a first name beginning with "CL" and the middle name of either "Wayne" or "Wynonna". | ||||||
MANDIBLE INCORPORATED |
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The #1 name in food processing and capital punishment, Mandible Incorporated saved the AMPUTHEATRE project from financial ruin and endless lawsuits after the troublesome Allergy Scandal. The Wardens were only too happy to let Mandible Inc. testing both their latest line of traps and their Render series of terrifying robots. The executives of Mandible take full advantage of this trust. In clandestine employ are agents posing as Slashers, on orders to steal the Amputech formula for Mandible Inc.'s upcoming war division. |
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THE SPIDER CULT |
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| Formed out of despair and madness by the man now known as Lycosus, the Spider Cult are an eerily calm and tranquil order of bloodthirsty murderers. Their holy number is 828 (denoting the quantity of legs, body parts, and eyes of a common spider.) Neophyte Spider Cultists wrap crucifixes in silk as a mockery, while abbots and zealots earn bizarre arachnid powers. When forming his twisted congregation, Lycosus had no clue that he had tapped into a terrible, otherworldly power - which will manifest with the Spider Cult's eight hundred and twenty-eighth human sacrifice. | ||||||
THE CIRQUE DU SANG |
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A travelling circus that once toured the United States, the Cirque Du Sang was in fact the front for a child pornography ring. Those kidnapped children who refused to step before the cameras were drugged and fed alive to the giant dancing bear Sunderella. A petty "accident" caused by the arrogant, oblivious dancer Bathsheba enraged Sunderella, and the chaos saw the circus fall during a live show. While not everyone involved with the Circus Of Blood has met justice, persistent manhunts have seen many an evil circus performer enter the AMPUTHEATRE to stand trial. |
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THE ANCIENTS |
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This is not a true alliance, but rather a category for those Slashers who were somehow alive at the genesis of the powerful Arcanuum Ex Mysteriius Spell Book. Indeed, these Slashers have nurtured over three thousand years of hate towards one another. However, the Ancients' knowledge of the power within the Spell Book forces the Evil Wardens to take nothing for granted. It is not inconceivable that these Slashers might combine their powers against those who possess that which they seek. As keepers of the Arcanuum, the Wardens must prepare for any contingency |
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VARIOUS STREET GANGS |
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Lawlessness reigns as vigilantes scour the streets in their search for worthy AMPUTHEATRE competitors. This has forced young thugs to band together for survival, and as such gang violence and activity have never been fiercer. Led by Loggerhead, the Shrikes are the country's largest and most terrible gang. The cruelty of California's Third Eye gang has forced the entire city of Los Diablos into a perpetual state of martial law. The cities of the southwest are troubled by Limbas 13- a small gang whose lack of manpower is compensated by their knowledge in the occult. |
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THE KNIGHTS OF NEO-LEMURIA |
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| Upon his freedom from his frozen tomb, the Lemurian sorceror Y'Shakaa vowed revenge on all humanity for the death of his race. Fuelling his vengeance was the realization that the Arcanuum Ex Mysteriius spell book still resided in the hands of that inferior race all this time. Y'Shakaa uses his arcane powers to summon mystical servants from ice, nightmares, and the grave. As these Knights battle AMPUTHEATRE's Slashers and distract the Wardens, Y'Shakaa's neophyte human followers will storm the prisons and reclaim every last page of the coveted book.. | ||||||
LOYALISTS TO VARGA |
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| Anastassia Varga was formerly an Evil Warden herself, until her practice of forging criminal records for innocent people- only the tip of the iceberg regarding her atrocites- saw her forced into AMPUTHEATRE combat herself. Her twisted henchmen at Tyburn Maximum Security Prison would also see arrest as willing accomplices to her crimes. An uneasy alliance at best, the Loyalists' mutual fear of Varga is both its glue and its Achilles' heel. They all, however, share one goal: slaughter the man that sold them out to the Wardens- Loggerhead. | ||||||
THE CHURCH OF THE CLEANSING MOON |
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| Known as La Iglesia de La Luna de Limpieza in its native Mexico, the Church of The Cleansing Moon is a coven of witches in the guise of a Catholic convent. Its Mother Superior, Erzabet Cattivo, is a centuries-old selenomancer who has managed to retain her youth and beauty through the capture and destruction of many runaway girls. But these effects are temporary, and Madre Cattivo knows eternal youth rests within the pages of the Arcanuum Ex Mysteriius. Sorcery from the Evil Wardens shrouds the spell book from Cattivo's scrying magicks, but only at its current location. The witches of the Church are poised to strike if ever the Arcanuum is stolen from Correctional Facility Alpha. | ||||||
| BACK TO PART 3 : THE ARCANUUM EX MYSTERIIUS | ||||||
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| All photos and characters: Copyright 2006 by Gil Merritt. All rights reserved. | ||||||