The Gauntlet of the Moon

Overview

The Gauntlet of the Moon was a religious and military organization devoted to Filtiarn, the self-styled god of wolves.

The Gauntlet operated throughout the southern regions during the later stages of the werewolf crisis. Its members were responsible for spreading Filtiarn's influence, organizing werewolves and other wolf-like creatures, conducting experiments related to the werewolf plague, and establishing control over towns and villages.

The organization operated a network of physical temples known as Temple of the Moon. The temples were connected by magical portals, allowing members and their forces to travel between distant locations.

The Gauntlet was not simply a collection of werewolves. Its membership included humanoid cultists, priests, werewolves, and other wolf-like creatures. At least some of its human members served as leaders, researchers, experimenters, or military commanders.

Name

The organization called itself the Gauntlet of the Moon, although members and outsiders commonly shortened this to the Gauntlet.

The name was associated with Filtiarn's holy symbol: a fist obscuring a sun or moon-like disc.

The Gauntlet's religious imagery consistently emphasized wolves, the moon, and the power of Filtiarn.

Worship of Filtiarn

The Gauntlet existed to worship and serve Filtiarn.

Its ceremonies centered on the Wolf god, and its temples were decorated with extensive depictions of wolves and wolfkind. One temple contained a massive mosaic depicting an enormous wolf seated upon a throne and looking over scenes of carnage.

The Gauntlet's religious ceremonies could involve large numbers of wolves, worgs, dire wolves, and werewolves gathered together while priests conducted rituals involving incense and blood.

One such ceremony was intended to transform a mortal into an Aspect of Filtiarn. When the transformation was completed, the newly created Aspect became a Large wolf-man and howled, with the howl immediately echoed by the creatures throughout the temple.

The Temple Network

The Gauntlet operated numerous Temples of the Moon.

These were enormous step-pyramid structures dedicated to Filtiarn. Each temple contained a magical portal connecting it to the other temples in the network.

This gave the Gauntlet an unusual degree of mobility. Forces could be moved between distant temples without having to travel the intervening territory normally.

The Gauntlet's members did not necessarily consider every temple to be their headquarters. When the party encountered one of the temples, the prisoner Orinder specifically stated that it was not the organization's main headquarters.

At least one member of the Gauntlet later believed that the organization's main temple to Filtiarn was located somewhere in Toreon. This was his belief and was never confirmed by the party.

The Werewolf Plague

The Gauntlet played a major role in the spread of the werewolf plague.

Villages encountered by the party described a recurring pattern: a disease spread through the population, followed by the arrival of suspicious outsiders and the eventual transformation of villagers into werewolves.

The Gauntlet subsequently exploited the resulting population of werewolves and expanded its influence through them.

The organization also experimented directly on people who were resistant to the disease in an effort to develop a more potent strain that could affect even the Chosen.

Captured Survivors

At one Temple of the Moon, the party discovered more than a dozen prisoners. Most were potential members of The Chosen who had not yet been recruited.

The prisoners came from different southern villages and had survived the werewolf disease without transforming. The Gauntlet had captured them because of this apparent immunity and subjected them to experiments.

The prisoners reported that there had originally been more than thirty of them. Many had subsequently been removed from the prison and never returned. The survivors believed they had been killed during the experiments. The experiments were described as horrific and effectively amounted to torture.

The Gauntlet therefore had an active interest in understanding or manipulating resistance to the werewolf disease rather than merely spreading the plague.

Expansion Through Conversion

As the werewolf plague spread, the Gauntlet used both supernatural infection and religious coercion to establish control over communities.

Later in the conflict, Filtiarn's followers would place one or more of his "clerics" in a town. The population was then forced to attend Filtiarn's temple, worship him, and follow his teachings.

Those who refused could be made examples of by being fed to wolves or forcibly transformed into werewolves by one of Filtiarn's followers capable of transmitting the curse.

This allowed the Gauntlet to control territory even when the entire population had not been transformed into werewolves.

The resulting control was described as less complete and less stable than an outright conversion of the population.

Wolves and Other Creatures

The Gauntlet's forces included a wide variety of wolf-like creatures.

Known members or allied creatures included:

• Wolves
• Worgs
• Dire wolves
• Werewolves
• Humanoid cultists
• Priests and "clerics" of Filtiarn
• Human mercenaries working alongside Filtiarn's forces
• Aspects of Filtiarn

A Temple of the Moon encountered by the party contained kennels for wolves and worgs, as well as large numbers of creatures participating in religious ceremonies.

The Gauntlet could therefore field forces that combined ordinary humanoids with supernatural and monstrous creatures.

Military Organization

The Gauntlet eventually became a major military force.

Its armies included werewolves, worgs, and human mercenaries. Forces were capable of launching coordinated assaults against fortified positions and could receive reinforcements through the Temple of the Moon portal network.

During the assault on the Tower of Plinth, additional wolves and mercenaries appeared through a portal that was connected to the network of step-pyramid temples. The commander of the attacking force was surprised by these reinforcements, demonstrating that the different elements of Filtiarn's forces were not necessarily under a single immediate commander.

The Gauntlet was therefore capable of functioning as both a religious organization and a distributed military network.

Command and Leadership

The surviving records do not establish a complete hierarchy for the Gauntlet.

There were clearly priests and religious leaders responsible for ceremonies, as well as individuals who commanded military forces.

One known military commander had previously served as Deskin's number-one subordinate. After Deskin's death, he assumed control of Deskin's operations and gathered an army for an assault on the Tower of Plinth. He claimed that Filtiarn communicated with him through visions and dreams and gave him instructions for the attack.

The commander did not appear to know the identity of the individual actually operating under the name Filtiarn.

This is significant because it demonstrates that the Gauntlet's apparent connection to Filtiarn did not necessarily give its members knowledge of his true identity.

The Hidden Filtiarn

The Gauntlet believed that Filtiarn himself was directing its activities.

Members received visions and dreams that they attributed to him. Some believed that he directly granted them supernatural powers.

At least one Aspect told the party that Filtiarn had appeared to him through visions and dreams and had granted him the power that transformed him into an Aspect. The man genuinely did not know who was actually calling himself Filtiarn.

This distinction became important once the party began investigating the true identity behind the Filtiarn movement.

The Gauntlet's members could sincerely worship and serve Filtiarn without knowing the identity or nature of the individual who had assumed that name.

Stegner's Connection

Later revelations established that Stegner was the hidden force behind the rise of the wolves and the attempt to bring Filtiarn back.

Stegner had discovered ancient records concerning Filtiarn's earlier attempt at ascension in the ruins of Aegea. He also discovered information concerning the werewolf plague and the means by which Filtiarn's failed attempt might potentially be repeated.

The Gauntlet consequently became part of a much larger plan than its members themselves necessarily understood.

The organization believed it was serving Filtiarn. The surviving evidence indicates that Stegner was using that belief as part of his own attempt to become Filtiarn.

The exact degree to which the Gauntlet's leadership understood Stegner's true identity and objectives is not established.

Relationship to the Aspects of Filtiarn

The Gauntlet possessed the ability to create or facilitate the creation of Aspects of Filtiarn.

The party witnessed a major ritual in which priests and hundreds of wolf-like creatures participated in the transformation of a man into an Aspect.

The exact process was not explained, but the ritual clearly involved the Gauntlet attempting to infuse the subject with an aspect of Filtiarn's power.

Aspects appear to have been significantly more powerful than ordinary werewolves and served purposes beyond simply spreading the plague.

The surviving records do not establish whether every member of the Gauntlet understood what an Aspect actually was.

Relationship to the Werewolf Plague

The Gauntlet's activities encompassed both the spread of the werewolf disease and the creation of more powerful servants of Filtiarn.

However, these should not be treated as identical processes.

The plague created large numbers of infected werewolves, while the Gauntlet separately conducted experiments, religious rituals, and the creation of Aspects.

The exact relationship between these processes remains uncertain.

Territorial Control

At the height of Filtiarn's power, his forces controlled much of the south and southeastern regions.

The Gauntlet used a combination of:

• Werewolf infection.
• Religious conversion.
• Forced worship.
• Local Filtiarn priests.
• Wolf and werewolf forces.
• Mercenaries.
• Temple portals.
• Fear and violence.

The party's possession and use of The Aegisstaff eventually disrupted this expansion.

The staff's curative power nearly eliminated the disease responsible for creating new werewolves. As a result, the Gauntlet could no longer rely on continual conversion of the population through the plague at the same rate.

Conflict with the Party

The Gauntlet became one of the principal enemies of the party during the later stages of Under the Bus.

The party's first major encounter with the organization occurred at a Temple of the Moon, where they rescued the prisoners being held there and disrupted the ritual creating an Aspect.

The party subsequently encountered Gauntlet forces repeatedly, including during the assault on the Tower of Plinth and throughout the period later known as Dark Times.

The conflict eventually expanded into a wider war involving the forces of Filtiarn, Cain, and the party's allies.

Decline

The Gauntlet's military expansion was eventually checked.

The party's use of The Aegisstaff dramatically reduced the spread of the werewolf plague. Existing infected populations remained a threat, but the number of new transformations diminished considerably.

The party and its allies then conducted guerrilla operations against Filtiarn's forces. Other groups, including the Dark Elves and the Knights of Demmazon, also fought against his territorial expansion.

The eventual defeat of Filtiarn was one of the three major faction defeats preceding Thorn's ascension.

Known Characteristics

The following characteristics of the Gauntlet are established:

• It was devoted to Filtiarn.
• It operated a network of Temples of the Moon.
• Its members included priests, humanoid cultists, werewolves, and other wolf-like creatures.
• It conducted religious ceremonies intended to channel Filtiarn's power.
• It could create or facilitate the creation of Aspects of Filtiarn.
• It participated in the spread of the werewolf plague.
• It captured and experimented upon people resistant to the plague.
• It used forced worship and forced transformation to control communities.
• It maintained military forces capable of coordinated attacks.
• It used the Temple of the Moon portal network to move forces.
• At least some members received visions or dreams that they believed came directly from Filtiarn.
• Individual members did not necessarily know Filtiarn's true identity.
• The organization formed a major part of the military power supporting Filtiarn's attempted return and rise.

Uncertain Information

The surviving records do not establish:

• The exact date when the Gauntlet of the Moon was founded.
• The identity of its original founder or founders.
• Its complete organizational hierarchy.
• The total number of members.
• The identity of its highest-ranking priests.
• Whether all of its priests were capable of creating werewolves.
• How much its senior leadership knew about Stegner.
• Whether all members believed Filtiarn was literally a god.
• Whether the Gauntlet understood that Filtiarn's original ascension had failed.
• Whether its members understood the true purpose of the Aspect rituals.
• How the Gauntlet acquired or constructed the Temple of the Moon network.
• How many temples existed.
• Where the organization's true headquarters was located.
• What happened to surviving members after Filtiarn's defeat.

These details should remain unresolved unless additional campaign records establish them.