Malebranche

People think the loud ones are the dangerous ones. No, dear—Malebranche kill loud because they want to be heard. The quiet ones? They kill because they’re bored.

— Soki Noles, A Tourism Manual for Places You Should Never Go

I. Nature of the Malebranche

Malebranche are the Secundi of Truculence—the pure Vice of wrath, destruction, sadism, and violent ecstasy.
Where other Secundi manipulate, bargain, hoard, or tempt, Malebranche simply break.

They live for:

war

murder

dueling

conquest

violence in all its forms

They are predators crafted entirely out of instinct and experience, forged in a dimension that rewards nothing but victory in conflict.

If Ragewights are soldiers—brutal, numerous, and expendable—then Malebranche are:

knights

assassins

generals

warlords

and armageddon in humanoid form

Their hunger is not for blood, but for the feeling of battle—
the intoxicating clarity of violence, the high of a perfect strike, the thrill of annihilation.

II. Apocalypse Made Flesh

In appearance, Malebranche present as beings built for war:

armor grown from Verminous RAIs

bone-like pauldrons

horned helms

chitinous talons

muscle like braided cable

spines and quills

integrated weapons

or entire bodies resembling bestial warmachines

However, Malebranche vary dramatically in expression.
Two broad categories are known:

1. The Brutes

The most common.
Loud, aggressive, ostentatious.
They wear every weapon imaginable—
broad swords, spears, guns, flails, talons, serrated claws—
all at once.

They resemble the entire animal kingdom’s arsenal
stitched together and dropped into a humanoid chassis.

2. Malebranche Argutiens — “The Subtle Blades”

These are the nightmares.

They carry only one weapon, their Sworn Object.
They wear simple clothing.
They do not roar, posture, or threaten.

They are walking avatars of:

precision

lethality

purpose

absolute mastery

Known Argutiens include:

The Swordsman — a basket-hilt broadsword; unmatched in blade combat.

The Fastest Gun — an antique revolver; has shot beings before the shot existed.

The Spider — a drone hive; never seen in person.

No record exists of any Argutien being defeated.

Even other Malebranche fear them.

III. The Battle Ecstasy

Malebranche possess a metaphysical combat field—
a contagious Battle Ecstasy that alters the behavior and physiology of everyone around them.

Effects on the Malebranche and all fighting alongside them:

Immunity to fear

Immunity to stunning and shock penalties

Perfect tactical awareness of allies

Shared instinctive coordination

Heightened bloodlust

Rapid adaptive aggression

A Malebranche-led band fights like a single martial organism.
They do not speak; they simply act in concert.

This is why Malebranche cults in realspace frequently become:

unstoppable gangs

berserker units

Terrorist cells with perfect coordination

conquering warbands

doomsday militias

And why they burn out quickly after their initial rampage.

Malebranche do not build.
They don’t care about ruling anything.
They care about winning.

IV. Protection and Prophylaxis

There are very few reliable methods of defending against a Malebranche.
The usual advice is “don’t.”

Fighting Excites Them

Every blow against them only empowers their ecstasy.
They grow stronger, not weaker.

Surrender Is Contemptible

A surrendered opponent is worthless.
They will usually kill you after a disappointed sigh.

Flight Is Viable—But Rarely Works

They pursue like predators.
Sometimes the pursuit is the fun part.

The Templar Doctrine: Fighting With Purpose

The Seekers of Wisdom have one method with anecdotal effectiveness:

Fight without:

rage

wrath

fear

thrill

vengeance

Fight with:

control

discipline

purpose

This “cold focus” disrupts the ecstasy resonance.
It is not a guarantee…
but it is the closest thing to a technique that has ever worked.

House Volkert’s Method

House Volkert allegedly deals with Malebranche by redirecting their attention
toward other Malebranche, creating subspace proxy wars.

This is unverified, but disturbingly plausible.

V. Dealings With Realspace

Malebranche do not seek worship.
They seek worthy opponents, proxy armies, and wars.

Their cults resemble:

martial brotherhoods

doomsday militias

war-gaming societies

anti-government insurgencies

Zealot fighting rings

paramilitary death squads

Contracts with Malebranche usually involve:

being granted strength, speed, or martial skill

being turned into a living weapon

being used as a vessel in the long term

being made an avatar of their patron’s war

The price is nearly always:

blood

suffering

violence

and eventually, your life

VI. Callings of the Malebranche

Little Soldiers

Regular

“Every wound tells a story. Make it a cursed one.”

For the duration, every wound inflicted by the supplicant becomes infected with subspace rot, dealing an additional 1d toxic damage after the initial injury.

The infection is supernatural and cannot be treated without anti-subspace measures.

Cost: 1 SP, 1 SP to maintain

Activation Time: 1 Action

Duration: 1 minute

Black Flag

Regular

“No fear. No mercy. No retreat.”

The supplicant and all allies within earshot become:

immune to Fright Checks

immune to stun

immune to pain penalties

gripped by ecstatic bloodlust

Allies must roll Will to retreat, disengage, or take prisoners.
Failure means they continue fighting.

This Calling is extremely dangerous for mixed-alignment groups.

Cost: 3 SP, 1 SP to maintain

Activation Time: 3 Actions

Duration: 10 minutes.

Victual

Regular; Resisted by Will

“Take something of them. Make the others watch.”

When an enemy falls, the supplicant may claim a trophy:

head

weapon

helmet

insignia

finger

anything identifiable

The trophy becomes charged with truculent resonance.

All enemies who witness the taking of the trophy must make an immediate Fright Check:

Failure: Nausea

Critical Failure: Paralysis for the duration

Enemies immune to fright are unaffected.

Cost: 5 SP

Activation Time: 3 Actions

Duration: 15 seconds