Masquerade

Overview

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.

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.

Notable Characters

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