P3:
Are all of the redcaps messengers, or do certain individuals play other specialized roles?
Annnnd cut & pasted from Houses of Hermes- True Lineages...
Redcaps
After the death of Mercere, the House suffered a period of great decline. While the Founder lived, his unGifted followers were respected by association, but without his influence they soon came to be regarded as a plebeian class within the Order. For decades they remained a small and insular House, before they began to take on many of the administrative duties that are now associated with the term “Redcap.” They performed these duties so well, in fact, that the other Houses came to depend upon them. In particular, a Redcap named Belin became famous for always getting her messages through even the most dangerous of wars and weather, and it was because she wore a loose red cap like Mercere’s that those without the Gift came to be favorably associated with the title.
As magi relied more on Redcaps, so the Redcaps relied more upon magi, and many began to join other covenants, leaving the Mercere-only houses in which they had always gathered. They maintained strong ties to their House, usually spending about half of the year serving the Order and carrying messages, but the rest of the time they were devoted to their covenants, and greatly contributed to their growth. Many magi benefited from this association, and a lot of them came to think of the Redcaps as their sodales, rather than as lesser citizens in their magical community, some even going so far as to consider themselves their patrons and protectors.
By the time of the Schism War, House Mercere had become so integral to the smooth running of the Order that it was able to influence the outcome of the conflict in very small ways. Some Redcaps learned that by controlling the flow of information — taking a long time to deliver unfavorable news, or conveniently losing some messages while expediting others — they were able to help those whose causes they favored, and hinder those whom they did not wish to succeed. In this way, the Merceres believe that they were able to prevent many atrocities from occurring, and brought about peace much more quickly than it otherwise would have come to pass.
In 1220, House Mercere is probably too disorganized to unite like that again, though groups of them certainly have great influence, and one or two Redcaps working together can disrupt enough communication to be a major hindrance to their enemies. However, Redcaps don’t generally get involved in politics, and prefer if anything to use their positions to maintain the status quo. Many Redcaps have developed a peculiar independence, though they still serve the Order, and are notoriously indifferent to any personal causes but their own.
Thus, Redcaps are something of an anomaly in the Order of Hermes. They are not really part of Mercere’s lineage, in that not all of them are descended from the Founder. Some of them are, however, so they cannot be said to belong to a completely independent society, either. Redcaps may not have the Gift, but they do have full rights and privileges, and while they do not usually vote at Tribunal out of respect for true magi, they have sigils and could participate in a vote in dire need. In effect the Redcaps are like Hermetic companions: their role in the Order is to support magi, and help them perform the tasks that The Gift makes difficult.
To fulfill this mission, Redcaps take on many different duties, described below. Most of these duties do not exclusively belong to Redcaps, not in the same way that, say, Quaesitorial duties belong to official Quaesitors. Redcaps just tend to be the ones who do these things that other magi would think beneath them, to justify their membership in a magical Order. Since Redcaps visit almost every covenant, and any covenant might have a resident Redcap, the ideas that follow can also easily be adapted into story hooks for any saga.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:46, Fri 24 Feb 2023.
