Masquerade

Overview

"Grim figures looming at the ball

Shadows dancing, grinning tall

Don the mask that you have made

And smile for the Masquerade"

Founded on: April 1st, 2023

Activity Status: Dynamic

The Masquerade are a troupe of loosely allied drug fiends, psychopaths, and sadists who view the apocalyptic setting of the current world as their own personal playground, with members of humanity being toys that they would play with. Though they roam the world often seeking entertainment at the cost of others, with no morals or regards for human life - even between their own members - their truest purpose is to rise above humanity and those that have wronged them before the world fell, to lord and reign over all they consider beneath them. They wear masks not to hide their identities, but instead to further separate themselves from their broken past - fully embracing the murderous personas their new faces signify.

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Caption

Alignment

Their lack of morals, restraint and care for human life, going hand to hand with their insatiable desire to torture, maim and kill, places them at the farthest borders into the Chaotic Evil alignment. The Masquerade have no intentions of making friends or allies, as they themselves would not even consider each other as such. Only bound together by a common cause, they tolerate each other's company for the benefits of achieving their common goals more effectively.

Appearance

The Faceless Troupe - a name signifying the collective of Masquerade members - often wear gray-scaled clothing, ranging from articles of white, gray and black - never wearing any colors - with the exception of Armband Trophies earned in battle. Every member of the troupe wears a mask that conceals their face. Though their signature look is wearing the Mime Masks, they are not limited to wearing only those should they want a different face.

Origins

When the apocalypse struck, a lower-class man seized the opportunity to witness his masters burn in the ashes of the new world. Not wanting to hold onto the past, he let go of his name and his face, taking on a new identity behind a mask. No longer a slave to those whose birthrights held his shackles, Anodyn - as he now called himself - created “The Faceless Troupe” – a collective of like-minded and broken people, who would together rule over others as their self-appointed superiors. Alongside Calico and Na’im who him joined willingly, the first three members of the troupe went on to spread word of their spectacle, entertaining themselves with the pain of others and adding new members to their cause, under the name of “The Masquerade”.

Territory

Though the Faceless Troupe would often build a fighting ring at the Altar Radio stations - calling it the "Abusement Park" - their real den of villainy has yet to be discovered in Chernarus.

Goals & Values

Every member of the Masquerade has their own motives and desires, but they share the same common goals - wishing to reign over humanity with a crown soaked in blood, to entertain themselves by the suffering of those they deem to be lesser than them, and to never let the world smile without them allowing it to do so.

Above all else, they value:

Chaos - The Masquerade thrive within the Anarchy of the broken world, taking both pleasure and entertainment from the suffering of those who try to rebuild it. They constantly try to find those broken enough who share their love for the horror they inflict, often rewarding them in order to encourage behavior similar to that of the members of their troupe. If something or someone remains unbroken, it is up to the Masquerade to finish the job.

Death - Humanity would always resist death, especially its advance coming from a group such as the Masquerade, but the Faceless Troup relishes in that fleeting resistance. They are an enemy of life itself, being closer allies with death compared to anything else. Often throwing themselves against impossible odds in combat, the Masquerade welcome the pain and suffering that they would either inflict or receive during their conflict. They consider themselves as agents of both Death and Chaos, happy to greet both with open arms.

History

Arrival of the Masquerade

They arrived in Chernarus on the 1st of April 2023, believing that this region of South Zagoria was full of life, deeming it to be perfect for a spectacle such as them. In the beginning, the troupe consisted of Anodyn, Calico and Na'im, though their numbers began to rapidly increase over the course of the next few weeks. The Faceless Troupe has two main ways of adding members to their ranks, as there are those broken enough to willingly join them, and those who need to be broken first.

The Witch Doctor's Experiments

"The Thing" was what they called the first who was molded into submission for the purpose of serving the Faceless Troupe. Na'im, also known as The Witch Doctor, used various means of torture in order to snuff out whatever was left of the personality and free will of a man that had been captured by the Masquerade. After countless hours of lobotomizing and subjecting his victim to high voltages of electricity, there was eventually no traces left of the man he was beforehand. This Thing that remained behaved as if it was primal and barely sentient, though it was surprisingly loyal to its creators. Apart from a few side effects, such as it screeching and screaming randomly with no explanation, Na'im's first creation had been a success - at least, until it changed. During a conversation the Masquerade we having with another victim of theirs, one of their members got fed up with the Thing's moaning and screeching. They swung and punched it with such a heavy force to the head, that something within its mind shifted - awakening someone else who was created along side of Thing. It began speaking clearly with a well-mannered voice, showing a personality that neither Thing nor the person he was before the torture possessed. This new person gave himself the name Artemis, continuing to willingly serve the Masquerade from that day forth.

"DOG" was the second to be forced into the will of the Masquerade. Going through a similar process that Thing did, he emerged just as broken after the Witch Doctor's experimentation. Though unlike Artemis, DOG never regained his sentience - instead, he began acting like an animal. He growled and barked like a dog, which is where his name came from. Though he was incredibly primal, he seemed to be able to understand his master's commands and followed their words loyally. Apart from being able to understand human speech and respond to it with noises, DOG could also draw things in order to communicate, such as locations and people. Anodyn was very cautious of DOG, finding his situation disturbing. He felt as if when looking into his eyes he could see a sentient being, trapped inside the personality of DOG, but unable to regain control. Having a habit of running away and going off on his own adventures, DOG eventually got caught up in a game of fetch with some survivors he came across. The game of fetch included a live grenade, which the survivors threw and DOG ran towards, ending in his demise. It is unknown as to why the survivors decided to blow up a mentally unstable man who acted like a dog, or whether or not the Masquerade ever learned of their pet's death.

The Faceless Troupe now had amassed five members: Anodyn, Calico, Na'im, Artemis and DOG, though it was not long before more had willingly joined their cause. With the addition of Marder, Jericho, Cassius and Freak, the Masquerade were ready to make their name known.

Making Their Names Known

As the Faceless Troupe struggled finding entertainment they deemed worthy in their early days in Chernarus, picking through people they deemed “leftovers”, their spectacle seemed as if it would remain unseen – that was until the day the Masquerade made their name known and the world learned of the severity of this new threat.

The Faceless Troupe roamed in the forested hills east of Pulkovo, looking for more victims for their sickly games, when they stumbled upon a Justice of the 506^th – who had separated himself from his squad as they were returning to the West. The captain of the 506^th was tied and questioned before several unknown individuals approached the holdup from the North. Jericho of the Masquerade reported a pink armband being among these people, before he himself sustained a severe gunshot injury from the same unknowns. Calico naturally returned the favor to Justice, and the captain fell limp to the ground before the rest of the Troupe rallied behind Anodyn and charged into the fray – bloodthirsty and excited for combat. The hills of Pulkovo sang with gunshot after gunshot. The battle raged on as the Masquerade realized they were not fighting one group – but an alliance of three: The 506^th, The Carnival and The Outrider Caravan Company. Though they were outnumbered as every enemy they put down seemed to be replaced with another showing up out of nowhere, the Faceless Troupe – Anodyn, Calico, Na’im, Artemis and DOG – triumphed against their adversaries. What remained of the enemy forces scattered, and the Masquerade managed to pull Jericho out of the warzone, though his bad luck did not end there.

The Faceless Troupe arrived at the summer camp south of the Sobors, where they were hoping to nurse Jericho back to relative health. Though the injured madman rushed ahead and was met with a squad of another group taking refuge at the pub. He had attempted to threaten them into submission, though outnumbered he was yet again severely injured. A second bloodbath occurred, several soldiers in long-coats with armbands that bore a red star littered the floorboards of the pub, along with a curious man with an armband that had a Black Sheep etched onto it. Later finding out that these men belonged to a group called The Lost Legion, the Masquerade was intrigued as they had finally found several groups to entertain them and feed their bloodlust.

That day the threat and the name of the Masquerade spread throughout Chernarus like wildfire, and the residents of the land became cautious of anyone who wore their masks. Of course, this was perfect for the Faceless Troupe, as they loved the prey that fights back. The days that followed were bloody and dark, as the Troupe found more and more victims for them to torture and break - such as members from Odyssey and the Merry Men. After a few months of bloodbaths, the Masquerade disappeared from Chernarus overnight - leaving bored as its residents were ultimately not deemed worth the time spent hunting them by the Troupe.

Where Are They Now?

Though the Masquerade have disappeared from Chernarus after their initial arrival and successful reign over its residents, they have since returned for another round of slaughter, torture and all-round fun - only to vanish once more when their bloodthirst was sated. It is inevitable that the maniacs in mime masks wearing black and white will return to Chernarus again, as nothing but death would stop the Faceless Troupe.

Notable Characters

Anodyn - Creator of the Faceless Troupe, Frontman of the Masquerade. The formally dressed man in a tophat with a broken voice - he created the Troupe and rallied the first members to rise up and break the shackles of their morality, taking on a new face to call their own. Though he was the creator of the Troupe, he had little control over its members. They would listen to him on occasion, but nothing and no one could truly control the Masquerade. Anodyn was the only member among the troupe one could ever hope to negotiate with, though that often did not matter as he was never alone to negotiate with.

Calico - The Brute - a hot-headed maniac whose blood boiled for combat or a good old fashioned torture at any given moment. He would break any attempts to negotiate with the Masquerade and demand a part of someone to consume for dinner on a daily basis.

Na'im - The Witch Doctor - a man with a raspy high-pitched voice who wore a witch hat and used various methods of torture to lobotomize his victims and strip them of their formal personalities in an attempt to turn them into slaves for the Faceless Troupe.

Artemis - formerly known as The Thing - a man with a soothing yet earie voice who takes a disturbing amount of pleasure in the pain of others.

DOG - also known as DOG - was a victim of Na'im that was successfully turned into a thrall serving the Masquerade. He behaved and barked like a wild dog, yet he was incredibly obedient to his masters in the Troupe. Dog died playing fetch with strangers due to successfully retrieving the unpinned grenade which they threw.

Relationships

Though most that have met the Masquerade have ended up cowering from them or attempting to fight back at the next encounter, there were a select few whom the Troupe considered interesting enough to not only let go unharmed - but also aid - as they themselves were sowing chaos in Chernarus. One person as such was Friar, formerly of the Lost Legion, who had amassed a group of revolutionaries and planned on starting a war in the West.

Groups such as Odyssey, the Merry Men, Black Sheep, Lost Legion and Order of the Isle were prime victims for the Masquerade to seek out and capture for their entertainment, while others - such as 506th, Carnival or ORCC - only ever engaged in combat with the Troupe, despite multiple attempts for the masked men to capture members of this group alive.