The world 's a big place, and it has a lot of stories that are just waiting to be told.

This is especially true in a world where heroes, villains, magic, fantasy and horror all abound for those willing to look for it.

Who knows there may even be a special brand of madness all for you.

Just remember to beware what lies beneath the masks of those who attend the Deviant's Masquerade.

---

Introduction to Deviant's Masquerade

The world of Deviant's Masquerade is filled with Deviants (Short for Human Deviations) people who through various means have gained access to unique abilities notably outside of the norm known by most people. Deviants naturally make up roughly one percent of the population, with only a tenth of that being notably active Deviants and the rest not even realizing they are in fact Deviants.

-Historical Presence- 

Historically Deviants have existed in secrecy for millenia one that was a sadly necessity developed by the historical frequency with which they were executed solely for the use of their powers as a growing fear of ‘witchcraft’ spread throughout the middle ages.

This secrecy remained in force until the 20th century when existing in more populated cities the Arcane began to be employed for a variety of simple tasks that were publicly written off as superstitious nonsense. A sentiment that was not shared by a number of the more successful crime leaders of the time, as demonstrated by the Voodoo Wars of the prohibition era when the various crime families would hire Deviants (referred to as Voodoo Boys at the time) to help push their various agendas.

These crime wars, alongside the various national wars of the following era led to a sharp decline in the more common Deviant populations (I.E. Arcane, M.A.D.s, Psychics, and Slashers) forcing Deviants as a whole back into secrecy until the Rift Riots when Rifts, Tears, and Bleeds began to form between realities causing untold chaos as the streets were flooded with inhuman monsters.

During this time the government would go on to form Asylum to deal with these threats as well as the numerous ‘Masks’ who were either protecting their people or claiming territory during the ensuing chaos, a difference they rarely acknowledged if at all.

One that incited the infamous rampage of Samhain the Tallman as over the course of two weeks he slaughtered two thousand Asylum agents across the country. A rampage that was mimicked around the world by a number of other Deviants as the organization was crippled beyond repair.

In response to these rampages a new organization was formed from the ashes of the first, giving rise to Sanctuary, an organization with the same purpose as Asylum but far more willing to work with Deviants than solely against them.

Alongside Sanctuary, two other Deviant organizations rose to public prominence in the form of the Heroes’ Guild (Formerly the Heroes’ Union.) and the Arcane Association.

The Heroes’ Guild, formed as the more heroic Masks began working together to protect each other, train each other, and form beneficial relationships with local law enforcement who couldn’t handle the surge in Deviant crime while wanting to avoid Sanctuary in case it became a second Asylum.

The third organization to gain fame during this time was the Arcane Association, a group that while having existed for thirty years up to this point, became responsible for a large portion of the goodwill towards Deviants. Largely in the form of outing themselves as a Deviant organization that had for several decades used their various media productions to fund charities across the U.S. and continued to do so while spreading educational courses for and about the various Deviancies. 

From this point we fast-forward roughly two decades into the present day where society has come to accept Deviants, Masks, Sanctuary, and Rifts as a fact of life, even if some still try to pretend it isn’t. 

-Primary Deviancies-

(Please Note: These are the most dominant and common Deviancies, and that that doesn’t mean that these represent all Deviancies.)

--Mentally Augmented Deviants (M.A.D.s)- Deviants who have had limitations removed from their minds allowing them to think and learn on a level beyond most, while also gaining the ability to hear the ‘Whispers’ that instruct and teach them how to build technologies far more advanced than the standard tech level of society.

--Arcane- Are those who have the natural ability to manipulate Anima in a number of phenomena most view as magic, thanks to an inherent Spell System allowing them greater control and connection to Anima than the Practitioners who have learned how to manipulate the energy through continuous study of how the Arcane manipulate Anima.

--Psychics- Possess the ability to manipulate the world around them through thought, be it setting objects on fire, moving them, getting glimpses of the future, or making the thoughts of others visible to themselves through a unique form of synesthesia.

--Deadmen- Are people who upon their deaths bonded with the substance known as Ectoplasm, generating a psionic imprint capable of granting them a new body made of the interdimensional Ectoplasm or merging it with their already existing bodies to grant them enhanced physiology and abilities. Unfortunately this resurrection comes at a dark price that forces them into a life of cannibalism if they wish to live.

--Wonderlanders- Those who have rejected reality so thoroughly as to create their own, have developed the ability to bring their thoughts into reality and overlay their ‘Wonderland’ with the world around them at the cost of slowly deteriorating their ability to tell reality and fiction apart as they slowly descend into Madness.

--Slashers- The most feared of the known Deviancies, all Slashers are serial killers who feel a psychological need to kill and every time they do they grow incrementally stronger as they gain the ability to manipulate the vile energy known as Malice. 

--Malcontent- A relatively new Deviancy as far as the world is concerned, and the last one to come into the public light. Little is known about them beyond their monstrous regeneration, feral like nature, and the fact that they need to eat people to survive.