Villains: Agents of Ordo Ultima Thule

Original inspiration for the Ordo Ultima Thule

Storyteller's note: In this post I will try to sum up what is known about the OUT. No new information will be presented, but I will make an attempt at putting the pieces gathered so far, on the table.


The Thulists are based on the simple concept Space Nazis. As Argos is an Early Enlightenment-era world, where magic and creatures from beyond play a big role, I needed a faction of super-villains. Aliens have never tickled me, and demons are too cheap, I believe. Thus the choice fell on evil Nazis from outer space. In stead of ray-guns, they use machine-guns.


The OUT has been a part of the Book of Worlds almost as long as Cthulhu himself.

~o~

It is believed that they originally came from Argos, and that their forefathers left this world sometime during the First Age - probably after Maleastra fell onto Argos. Varanger, the world they thereafter called their own, was destroyed in a great war many hundred years ago, and its final death was witnessed by Franko da Cola and William the Black Staff of Argos. Those Thulists who are now involved in the Great War are believed to be the descendants of those who fled the original destruction of Varanger. Since then they have hidden in Constructs deep in the Void, mined fringe-worlds for resources, and bided their time.

The doctrine of the OUT was first laid down by one Hellmand Döner, who viewed all spirits to be resources to be tapped into. His greatest work, and the downfall of his world, was the binding of Bazrak the Eater of Souls, a fallen, and possibly corrupt Daeva. Now they are devoted to somehow, and for some reason, awakening Cthulhu himself - so say those who are learned.

The OUT's thaumatechnology is by far superior to that of any other known civilization. Among the power-sources known to be used by them are electricity, dieselkraft, clockwerk and Goethic reactors. They command motorcarts, flying vessels, as well as Void-ships. The latter two apparently constructed from a mystical metal called Graviton, making them buoyant in the very air itself. The most feared weapons of the Thulists are those that use Shadarkeem ammunition, a metal so vile that exposure to it can make a human mortally ill. 

The first time agents of the order was encountered on Argos is recorded in the works of Franko da Cola, and names one Dr. Mörbius. This source dates back to the last years of the 10th century of Enlightenment. In these texts, Morpheus, Prince of Nightmares, has a dream that shows him a burning tower in the ocean to the west. Thus writes da Cola: "When Morpheus ventured there, I found it to be a metal construct, placed above Kraken's Deep. Here was encountered the mysterious Dr. Mörbius, a man so decrepit that nothing but his brain, sustained in a glass tank connected to some type of machine, remained."

What further can be gleaned from the text, is that inside the Burning Tower there was a great drill, boring deep into the Abyss and releasing black corruption into the world. The Tower was razed by the Morpheus, the Dreamlord, together with Agamon, the Second Dragon. Afterwards, Morpheus placed his Castle of Nightmares over this portal to the Deep, thus sealing it.

Dr. Mörbius escaped the destruction of the Burning Tower, and it has later been discovered that he is central in the Ordo Ultima Thule's Deep Command. One of the projects under the command of the doctor is Operation Black Spear - little is known about this evil plot, but it is believed that an ancient artifact plays a crucial part in its success.

The most feared agents of the OUT are the Hellghasts; elite warriors with thaumatech-equipment and extremely advanced weapons, whose souls have been merged with demons from the Abyss. Fortunately, they are relatively few in number, but even one is capable of posing great danger, even to an Exalted. See also this post.

Another type of OUT agents - perhaps minions is a more covering word - are the Cyclopes. They are humans who have been augmented with a clockwerk-electric ocular device, known as a Monocle, that is connected to their brains. As far as anyone knows, some type of malignant spirit is also integrated with this contraption. The Monocle appears to make them able to see in the dark, as well as through some type of Arcane vision. The Cyclopes encountered so far have shown tenacity, but little initiative.

The Men of Science are an important part of whatever evil the Thulists are working. They employ advanced machines, and follow complex Goethic methodologies to reach their goals, and have been encountered on every base so far breached. On one occasion, a Man of Science was even encountered in the field, digging up artifacts on the Dark Continent. See this post for details.

The OUT can call upon armed forces beside the Hellghasts. Little is known about these troops, but they have been encountered in bases, and, by logical extension, on vessels. These minions appear to be normal humans.

The last type of Thulist encountered thus far is the Fomori, or Hollow Men. These hideous creatures are have given up their soul to an Abyssal entity, and have displayed powers beyond that of any normal human. These powers, as well as the physical size and appearance seems to vary from specimen to specimen. The corruption does however appear to warp the host into a perverted image of its normal self. One such manifestation had a morbidly obese Hollow Man spew forth a terrible insectoid, killing its host as the entity came into the world. See these chapters for details. Another one, of enormous size, proved able to withstand a terrible amount of punishment before being brought down.

Finally, although not an agent in the same fashion as the above, there are the Zaprophytes. These pseudo-spirits are attached to the neck of a host, and are able to cloak their presence. Once attached, they control the host, and its removal will kill the bearer. The Zaprophytes were first encountered when the Pius Cabal abducted the previous Arch Primarch of the Temple of Man Supreme. See this chapter for details.

[Picture source: 1 Per Haagensen; 2 Xah Lee Web; 3 Castle Brimstone; 4 Young Actress Reviews; 5 Cyberpunk Review; 6 Peter Fendrik; 7 Fear Net; 8 The Babylon Project]