Blessed be he who takes it upon himself to embody God's will, to become his sword, and thus smite the daemon, the witch, and the heretic. Let there be no mercy, nor respite, for we do this work in his name. We are the Hand of the Papacy, join us, and deliver the Lord's justice!
History
Formed in 380 AD with the Edict of Thessalonica, The Hand of the Papacy stands as one of the oldest, if not the oldest, institutions mandated by the Catholic Church. At its inception, The Hand was designed to replace a far older organization which had originally operated within the governmental structure of the old Roman Empire and had aimed to combat paranormal threats to the Emperor himself. A small sub-clause within the Edict transferred power and protection from the Emperor to the pope and what had once been an organization primarily concerned with ensuring the Emperor's life became one noticeably marked by an extremist christian fervor. Where those with paranormal powers or origins were once viewed as blessed by the gods these same individuals were cast in a far different light and separated into distinct polarized categories: Blessed and cursed, saints and heretics, angels and daemons. In other words, good and evil. Although The Hand was supposed to protect the Pope, and only the Pope, it slowly spread its wings over the following centuries to the point where it permeated nearly every level of medieval society and eventually manifested itself noticeably during the crusades in the form of various Christian military orders. Although none of these were directly representative of The Hand itself they carried out its work in various forms until the waning years of the crusades when the Pope ordered their removal from the public eye. From then on, until what is now known as the Spanish Inquisition, the Hand of the Papacy remained hidden but as powerful as it had ever been.
In the Modern World
Today, the Hand of the Papacy is one of several groups highly interested in Paranormal activity and, as one of the oldest involved in such matters, has a strong foothold in the way they are viewed not only by the public but by paranormals themselves. The Hand views the world strictly in terms of god and thus strictly categorizes the paranormal into good and evil; the latter of which must be combated through all available means. Thus, The Hand sees it as its duty to cleanse the earth of what it perceives to be evil. The only problem here, is that many are inclined to disagree. The Hand of the Papacy remains mostly covert and, although barely linked with the Papacy in its modern form, maintains a rigid structure intended to keep members obedient and loyal to the cause. Technically speaking the entire organization is precided over by the Pope, though since it's formation The Hand has drifted further and further away from the church's scope of influence. Today seven individuals called "Rectors" control most of The Hand's activities and while they put on a show of the utmost faith their hidden intentions are rarely matching. While the Rectors are united in their deviance from the church they are by no means united in cause. Each works to better himself and, on occassion, his closest followers whereas the majority of those serving The Hand of the Papacy are seen as little more than means to an end. Of course, if this attitude were to be overwhelmingly obvious the organization would cease to exist and as such each Rector plays a careful game walking the fine line between maintaining the illusion of faith and maximizing gains.
Classes and Races
The Hand of the Papacy has a highly prejudiced view of the world and believes very strongly that it stands as the only measure against the ever encroaching forces of satan and chaos. To members of the organization, they stand amidst a war waged in the shadows, the back streets, and alleyways, but also a conflict which will decide the fate of the world. As such, most of these men and women are unshakable in their faith and devotion unto their cause. This has also resulted in a somewhat warped view of many other groups and the renaming of others entirely in order to avoid heresy. Instead of viewing the powers of many agents as natural, they claim that these are gifts of god to help fight the never ending war against the enemy.
Investigator - Inquisitor
Occultist - Prelate
Deva - Angel
Daemons - N/A
Saviour - Savior
Witch - Blessed One
Visionary - Prophet
Mystic - Empowered
Contractor - Contractor
Apparition - Spirit
Animate - Animate
Shaman - Diviner
Vampire - N/A
Lycan - N/A