"They who have defiled men will (continue to) lead men astray so
they sacrifice to demons as unto gods until the great day of judgment,
in which they will be judged, and an end made of them." - Book of Enoch

Between the time periods outlined in Sanctum: Imperial Rome and Sanctum: The Burning Times, there was the Sanctum Inquisitorum. It was an era marked by rebirth and change, a time when the forces of Good and Evil clashed in the open. This was a time when peasant and noble alike feared Warlocks and Demons. Yet, it was also that epoch when the Sanctum came together and was able to do much good for a time and a season.

Then, something happened. The secular powers that be, ever vulnerable to corruption and greed, were infiltrated. Thus, the Inquisition's dark legacy of witch hunts, religious oppression, and indefatigable wars against heresies real and imagined. It was during this time that the true Sanctum Inquisitorum worked behind the scenes of history to help clean up and shape our world. It is this Now in which the players find themselves. It is here, in this article, that the veil shall slowly be lifted on this dark age of our history.

This article spans the time period roughly circa 1000 AD to 1400 AD and covers those events that occurred between the Dark Ages and the Renaissance.

In the Year of Our Lord 1095, Pope Urban II called upon the faithful to recover Jerusalem from the heathen armies of the occupying Moslems. Historians centuries later would refer to this as an incendiary call to arms that wafted the flames of base greed and holy righteousness in noble knight and common soldier alike. What uninitiated historians will not say, because they couldn't possibly know, is that a great and terrible battle was being fought against powers of a greater darkness. A darkness which began to take root some two centuries before with the ravings of a sun baked Arab named Abdhul Alhazred. An enigma so terrible that only a select few are granted access to the Sanctum's top secret archives on the matter.

What is not public knowledge, but which the Sanctum is able to reveal to its initiates, is that mysterious demonic forces were indirectly to blame for much of the turmoil in the world during this period. Alas, the Sanctum was not then as cohesive a force as it would later become. Events necessitated that Sanctum's members remain quietly in the background.

The Grand Sanctum

Game Masters should remember that the time period in which they choose to set their Sanctum Inquisitorum game is very important. The influence and activities of the Sanctum are as different as the centuries themselves. In the beginning, circa 1098 to 1295, the Sanctum is able to operate virtually in the open and work very close with most religious authorities. During this period, Sanctum members are afforded the same consideration as clerics, meaning they receive some protection from secular authorities by being under canon law. This can be very important for a group fighting a clandestine war who may not be able to explain why it was necessary to kill someone's aunt or uncle.

In spite of this precaution, events began to alter this arrangement as the divide between religious institutions widened into a chasm of fear and mistrust, due in part to the Medieval Inquisition instituted by Gregory IX circa 1231. With a Frenchman, Clement V, winning the papal election in 1305, the Sanctum suffered a minor set-back as the papal court was moved to Avignon. This setback was further compounded when, in 1314, Jacques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned at the stake in Paris. This event forced the Sanctum Inquisitorum to reevaluate itself.

By the death of Gregory XI, in Rome (an event that marked the end of the Avignon Papacy in 1378), and the first stirrings of the Great Schism, the Sanctum had initiated an internal reformation. While it still maintained an office within the Vatican, the Sanctum began a shift toward becoming an independent organization with secular arms. The ultimate goal was to have eyes and ears amongst the people, as well as within the Holy See. However, this reorganization away from reliance upon the Holy See became paramount as many within the Church suddenly began to care more and more about maintaining and extending their authority and amassing wealth.

Obviously a strong demonic influence was at play during this period. (GMs should flesh out the specifics as they wish.) The growing problems became further compounded by the Great Schism of the 14th century and set the stage for events that eventually led to a breech between the Sanctum and the Office of the Inquisition that became untenable by the 15th century, with the advent of the Spanish Inquisition.

While officially established to investigate heresy, the Medieval Inquisition was intended as a cover for the activities of the Sanctum Inquisitorum. During this time, the Sanctum was occupied seeking out, identifying, and dispatching warlocks. While encounters with demons in physical form tend to be rare in the modern era, during this time demons manifested themselves with far more frequency. Thus, the Sanctum was kept very busy.

Alas, overzealous Bishops required that Rome dispatch Dominican friars to conduct inquests into matters of heresy. These quickly devolved into a panicked mass hysteria. Events began to spiral out of control in the years leading up to the new century (1300). This is when the Sanctum began to become more of a "behind the scenes" player, and none too soon.

What the Initiated Know

The "Sanctum" is roughly equivalent to a secret society, its orders open only to the initiated. There are many competing orders, each claiming to hold a "truth" or be in possession of secret knowledge, and each have their own disparate goals. What sort of campaign your characters get involved in will depend largely on which regional branch of the Sanctum they belong to. Players will have to be vigilant and keep track of the activities of orders that may be working at cross purposes, in addition to being on guard against enemy agents of the Sanctum Diabolus.

Office of the Inquisition

An uninitiated front for the Sanctum Inquisitorum. While the Office actively works to root out heresy and witchcraft, they are not initiated into the true battle being waged "behind the scenes" by the Inquisitorum.

Sanctum Inquisitorum

The Sanctum Inquisitorum are the true body of the (original) Office of the Inquisition. Each arm of the Inquisition follows strict procedures as laid down in their Order's Directorum Inquisitorum (loosely translated: Directions of the Inquisitor). These are manuals containing information on magic, witchcraft, and secrets of the Sanctum that only the initiated can properly decipher and interpret. The manuals of the Directorum should not be confused with the Malleus Maleficarum, an entirely uninitiated text written in the vulgar Latin (see below).

The Directorum

The acknowledged "public" goals of the Sanctum Inquisitorum are simple: Weed out profanation in all its forms and suffer not a warlock to live. While this eventually came to be confused with the sort of heretic hunting that meant wiping out any competing viewpoint, the Directorum originally served as a primer for initiates. As such, each arm of the Inquisition had it's own Directorum that outlined specific regional goals and policies. These should be outlined by the GM for the players.

Malleus Maleficarum

Written circa 1487, the Malleus Maleficarum was a simple text for uninitiated Inquisitors, both secular and ordained, designed primarily to aid in the identification, prosecution, and dispatching of witches. The text is, in essence, a witch-hunter's manual. It has also proven to be a severe headache of the Sanctum as it has lent itself to the worst kind of misuse and abuse (cf. Matthew Hopkins).

Sanctum Diabolus

All things have their opposites- black and white, night and day, yin and yang- and so it is that the Sanctum Inquisitorum has its counterpart, dubbed the Sanctum Diabolus. (The organization's true name is unknown.) While little hard evidence exists about this warlock secret society, its uncanny ability to shadow Sanctum operations has led many to wonder if rogue members of the Sanctum might not be involved. Its assassination attempts on initiated popes, monarchs, and scientific freethinkers over the centuries are well documented in the Sanctum archives. Diabolus is considered a very real, if not an immediate, threat and initiates are thus warned to be on guard against unfamiliar field agents claiming to be members of the Sanctum.

Dramatis Personae

Lady Godiva (c. 1040-1080)

Godgifu, wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia, is perhaps most famous for her bareback ride through Coventry. A ride she undertook, according to uninitiated historical documents, in protest against unfair taxation. This popular myth that has become a true folk legend. However, the facts are a bit more complicated. While exploitation of the peasants was, in part, what led to her boldly baring herself, the root of the matter involves demonic influence. An unexpurgated record of the event (including the fact that two Sanctum initiates, either garbed in the livery of soldiers or dressed as handmaidens, accompanied the Lady for protection) can be found in the Sanctum archives.

Note: only initiates cleared for the information know the true account and why it is so important that truth remain hidden. That she founded a monastery at Coventry, which also serves as a sanctuary for initiates, speaks volumes.

• Horsemanship - An expert rider.
• Intellectual - At a time when women were little more than cattle, she immersed herself in the study of the arts and society.
• Charisma - She was well spoken and had a strong, spiritual center that imbued her with an authority few women of her time possessed.

Albertus Magus (1205-1280)

Born in the town of Larvigen, located along the Danube, Albertus was a theologian of some note and eventually became Bishop of Ratisbon. Early in his life, his curiosity about the workings of the world and nature led him to the study of alchemy and, indeed, he may have discovered the Philosopher's Stone. Albertus Magus is reputed to have been both an agent of the Sanctum and a high ranking official during his lifetime. However, the ultimate nature of his associations with the order are left to the discretion of the GM.

• Theologian - Well versed in theological subjects.
• Master Alchemist- Consider by many to have become a Master Alchemist.
• Weather Sense (Meteorology) - Has studied the weather and is able to provide a (limited) forecast of potential weather patterns.

Konrad von Megenberg (1309-1374)

History records Megenberg as a minor scholar and author of numerous works who taught philosophy and theology at the university in Paris from 1334 to 1342. However, he was also an associate of the Sanctum who helped organize and catalog the texts in what would eventually become the Sanctum's archives. Megenberg is an invaluable source of knowledge both secular and arcane, or rather he has access to a diverse variety of tomes. It's worth noting that Megenberg died at Ratisbon. (cf. Albertus Magus)

• Scholar - Wrote treatises in German and Latin on diverse subjects.
• Theologian - He was a well-versed preacher and priest during his lifetime.
• Sanctum Inquisitorum - A known associate and possibly lower ranked initiate who knows all the right people.

The Daimon Haunted World

During these dark times, evil rarely bothers to hide its face. Warlocks plague the world of men, giving rise to complex hierarchies of demons and devils.

Afrit

A form of Djinn first encountered in the East by crusaders. Knowledge of the nature and deeds of these "fire spirits" is limited, though Sanctum archives indicate that they were "large in stature" with a "great girth" and physically appeared "diverse as the grains of desert sand." It is likely that the term was simply used to describe any Warlock with an affinity for the desert sands.

• Whirlwind - They are able to take the form of a desert sandstorm.
• Immaterial - Said to be able to take/or appear in aetherial form.
• Radiate Dread - To be in their presence was to stand in the shadow of fear.

Enepsigos

This demon is known as the many-named one, for hers is a spirit of deception and thus has assumed many names. Her abode is said to be the Moon and, like the moon, her powers shift and change with the lunar phases. So it is that, to men, she is most often perceived as a moon-goddess. However, her true form is that of a woman with 2 heads, each controlling its own set of arms.

• Deception - Master of deceit and trickery.
• Metamorphosis - Enepsigos is a shape-changer with abilities closely tied to the phases of the moon.
• Moonstruck - Can bewitch the weak minded. (This power is especially effective against males.)

Incubus

Latin for "nightmare," the Incubus was an infamous spirit of medieval European folklore that visited women during the dead of night while they slept. While its purpose was apparently to engage in sexual intercourse with its victims, the Incubus also inflicted terrible dreams upon those it visited, perhaps as a way to cover it's activities. It was believed that the children that resulted from such visitations would ultimately grow up to be doers of great evil or powerful warlocks. As, indeed, the most famous child of such a union was said to be Merlin the Magician.

• Dream Walker - Ability to enter and influence sleepers' dreams.
• Seduction - Incubi are well versed in the art of seduction.
• Aetherial Shadow Form - Useful for gaining entry to closed rooms.

Succubus

Succubae were the female counterparts of Incubi. In fact, Sanctum scholars speculated that they were merely two masks for a single, infernal entity. The leading theory was that a warlock, or warlocks, were trying to create more of their kind the old-fashioned way: by breeding them. However, the official Sanctum archives state that Succubae and Incubi are separate demons, in accordance with the demonology of the time.

• Magical Knowledge - Succubae are reputed to possess arcane knowledge.
• Seduction - Succubae are well versed in the arts of seduction.
• Aetherial Shadow Form - Useful in gaining entry to closed rooms.

Sanctum Inquisitorum continues in Part the Second: Darkness

Next Stop: The European Renaissance, as Sanctum Inquisitorum continues...