TEXT: 1
  
  2
  The Red Sangha mercenary company is the legacy of a zealot’s blind 
  fanaticism and the biochemical excesses of a fallen age. Condemned 
  to short, neurochemically straitened lives of cold-blooded serenity, 
  the Red Sangha endures its particular damnation as best it can. 
  Its services in conflict resolution and personal defense are famed 
  throughout the sector, and many petty kings and local tyrants seek 
  their assistance in resolving untoward rebellions. Still others seek 
  the lost arts that created the Red Sangha and the secrets that would 
  forever cement their grasp on the brains of their wretched subjects.
  Augmented Buddhism and Liberation
  The latter days of the Second Wave of human colonization planted 
  many strange blooms of humanity on the distant worlds of the 
  frontier. Virtually every form of human faith and ideology could 
  find at least one world wholly dedicated to its principles, and many 
  familiar creeds grew in ways scarcely imagined by their ancestors. 
  One such growth was the “augmented spirituality” movement.
  By use of elaborate neurochemical conditioning, a believer could 
  artificially eliminate certain urges or impulses in his own mind. 
  Unchastity, gluttony, sloth, anger, and a host of other primordial 
  passions could be tamed and suppressed by the correct mix of bio-
  chemical supplements or neural surgery. Unfortunately, these artifi-
  cial methods invariably had severe physical and mental drawbacks, 
  to say nothing of the very questionable technological status of the 
  more extensive modifications. Perimeter agents often considered 
  such innovations to be out-and-out maltech due to their potential 
  for the creation of brainlocked slaves.
  Still, some faiths developed a cult of reverence around those who 
  received the treatments. Their sacrifice of health for the sake of 
  suppressing their sinful natures was considered a noble and pious 
  choice. One such world was Jivaka, a dry, poor world colonized 
  by Reformed Theravadin Buddhists. The world was poor in metals 
  and edible organics, but some of the native plants proved a rich 
  source of pharmaceuticals. A dedicated and devout corps of Jivakan 
  monk-scientists gradually developed “Liberation”, a drug that was 
  to change the course of society on their world.
  Liberation was an exquisite cocktail of chemicals that was admin-
  istered during six weeks of neural therapy. At its conclusion, the 
  subject would be permanently locked into a state of calm serenity, 
  capable of modest pleasures, gentle happiness, and measured con-
  cerns. Rage, panic, lust, dread- all these old, savage emotions and 
  attachments would be severed permanently. The only emotion that 
  the Liberated could feel strongly was a deep and abiding love for 
  those people, places, and ideas that earned their devotion.
  Liberation came with a cost, of course. Subjects could expect to 
  die of assorted exotic brain cancers within forty to fifty years of 
  modification. Given the great human longevity achieved by pretech 
  anagathics, the price was a real one, but some of the most pious 
  Jivakans received Liberation all the same.
  The elder monks of Reformed Theravadinism maintained that the 
  chemical state induced by Liberation made it impossible to accrue 
  merit. A practitioner who no longer felt passion could not be hon-
  ored for his lack of attachment, and the other conventional means 
  of acquiring merit were no longer efficacious for the Liberated. 
  However, the act of choosing to undergo Liberation was exceed-
  ingly meritorious and could make up for all that was sacrificed 
  thereafter. The act of encouraging others to accept Liberation was 
  also a notable means of accruing merit toward eventual freedom 
  from the cycles of the world.
  Mantheesh the Damned
  One monk-scientist became consumed by this idea of borrowed 
  piety. Mantheesh Thilak’s own life was in ruins. Ejected from the 
  sangha of monks, the association defrocked him for his dissipated 
  ways and unbecoming behavior. He burned to find some way to 
  redeem himself, some feat so dramatic that the others must acknowl-
  edge his worthiness. He labored long years in obscurity, importing 
  rare pretech carrier nanites and ‘recruiting’ assistants from among 
  those who would never be missed. After fifteen years of passionate 
  labor, he had what he had desired.
  Water was a rare and limited resource on Jivaka. It was simple enough 
  for him to infiltrate the nanites into the few major water supplies, to 
  let the carrier spread undetectably in every sip. The effects did not 
  begin to show for six weeks, by which time the consequences were 
  irrevocable. The entire population had been retrogenetically modi-
  fied. The death toll was enormous. Thirty percent of those modified 
  died within the year from systemic immune collapse. Mantheesh 
  had aimed for a greater return on this price, but he got some of what 
  he was after. Two percent of all Jivakan offspring were going to be 
  born Liberated. Surely Mantheesh’s merit would be unimaginably 
  great for ushering so many generations into serenity.
  He earned the universal hatred of his fellow Jivakans and the 
  name “Mantheesh the Damned” that follows him even today. 
  Whatever merit Mantheesh had earned by bringing so many into 
  non-attachment was overwhelmed by the tragedy that was to befall 
  those children. Born as they were, they could not hope to acquire 
  merit from spiritual growth, and could not be credited with the 
  choice to become as they were. They were to be condemned to a life 
  of terrible spiritual stasis, unable to gain merit toward true libera-
  tion. The enraged Jivakans were never able to capture Mantheesh, 
  who vanished somewhere deep in the system’s thick asteroid belts 
  and took his forbidden research with him. Despite this, a certain 
  number of Jivakans nurse a secret conviction that Mantheesh was 
  right, that his plans were flawed only in that they did not go far 
  enough. This “Left Hand of Enlightenment” still quietly seeks 
  Mantheesh’s laboratory and the ancient secrets of mass Liberation 
  locked within.
  Mandate archive: red Sangha Mercenary corpS
  heirS to a Bloody nirvana
  
  3
  The Scream and the Red Sangha’s Rise
  This hatred for Mantheesh did not have much time to fester. Five 
  years later, the Scream destroyed the links with the core worlds and 
  cast Jivaka on its own resources. The harsh life became harder still 
  as pretech agricultural equipment and industrial materials began to 
  break down before the Jivakans were able to develop alternatives. 
  For decades, the planet experienced a slow, inexorable decline in the 
  number of colonists it could support. Increasing pressure caused 
  fissures to form in Jivakan society, hunger and fear driving the cities 
  and statelets into open conflict.
  The sangha of Jivakan monks tried desperately to maintain peace 
  and amity among the city-states. Their cause seemed lost until one 
  among them thought to enlist the Liberated. Pitied for their unfor-
  tunate births and inability to accrue merit, they had never found 
  a solid place in Jivakan society, and tended to gather together in 
  isolated communities to live among their own kind. The desperate 
  monks gathered them together and argued the necessity of their aid 
  in the face of Jivaka’s impending catastrophe. After brief consulta-
  tion, the Liberated agreed. The monks presented an ultimatum to 
  the warring states; either they accepted the guidance of the sangha 
  and the peace they would impose, or the Liberated would be un-
  leashed upon them.
  Some refused. The Liberated understood the necessity of the 
  moment, the need for Jivaka to stand together if it was ever to 
  survive as something more than benighted barbarism. And know-
  ing no true fear of the enemy and no true distress at the killing, 
  they unleashed such merciless violence against the resisters that all 
  opposition crumbled within six months. The “Red Sangha” was 
  born there in the ruins of burning temples and shattered cities. A 
  grotesque mockery of the sangha of monks, the Red Sangha would 
  be the bloodied fist of salvation.
  The Liberated were perfect guardians for the monks who were to 
  guide Jivaka. They craved neither wealth nor families nor power, 
  and were content to exist in calm, serene peace, motivated solely by 
  love for their faith and their world. They were impossible to bribe, 
  fearless in the face of the enemy, and unflinching in their devotion 
  to their people. Were it not for their tendency to unhesitatingly 
  commit the most extravagant acts of violence against anyone not 
  included in benevolence they felt, they might have been perfect as 
  leaders as well as guardians.
  Jivaka’s poverty left it trapped within its own atmosphere until 
  the Silence began to wane, and a tramp freighter from a more 
  advanced neighboring world finally managed to reestablish contact. 
  The freighter captain made a king’s ransom in pharmaceuticals in 
  exchange for providing the first bootstrap system ships to reestablish 
  mining facilities in the asteroid belts and slowly haul Jivaka’s indus-
  try back up to postech standards.
  Despite the pharmaceuticals derived from Jivakan plants, the planet 
  remained desperately poor. After due consideration, the leadership 
  of the Red Sangha volunteered to establish a band of mercenary 
  monks, Liberated men and women willing to leave their home 
  system and fight on distant stars in order to bring back foreign 
  wealth to their beloved homeworld. The monastic leadership of 
  Jivaka made ritual objections to the inevitable loss of human life, 
  but the Red Sangha would not be dissuaded. As they were already 
  condemned to further cycles of existence, who was better suited to 
  make such sacrifices?
  In the years since, the Red Sangha has earned a ferocious reputation 
  among the worlds of the sector. While their equipment is somewhat 
  lacking compared to the wealthier interstellar mercenary organiza-
  tions, the absolute fearlessness of Red Sangha troopers gives them 
  a strength far out of proportion with their numbers. A Red Sangha 
  brother never panics, never freezes up, and never experiences the 
  gnawing torment of fear, stress, and anger. They retain calm and un-
  troubled hearts even amid the thunder of an orbital bombardment 
  or tactical nuclear strike. Their avoidance of wanton destruction 
  and misuse of the locals is also a point in their favor, though guerilla 
  activities are suppressed with a brutal thoroughness that respects 
  neither age nor sex.
  Presently, the Red Sangha is based off of the Peerless-class orbital 
  station Lower Heaven above Jivaka, with the station serving as the 
  heart of the poor world’s makeshift stellar navy as well as its central 
  command for the Red Sangha brotherhood. A dedicated troop 
  transport ship has been assigned to the mercenaries, but much of 
  the rest of Jivakan navy can be enlisted at need.
  
  4
  Corps Organization
  The Red Sangha is technically comprised of two percent of the 
  entire Jivakan population, over 8,000 men and women of ages 
  ranging from newborns to those in the final throes of brain cancer 
  at age fifty. Eight hundred of these are fit for offworld military duty, 
  and these combat-trained members form the Red Sangha as it is 
  known to outsiders.
  The organization is built around almost monastic lines rather than 
  those of a conventional military. Much of the common discipline, 
  rigorous social control, and focused effort to build an esprit de corps 
  that military structures allow are unnecessary with the Liberated. 
  They simply lack the urges and weaknesses that make traditional 
  military structures so important.
  The leader of the Red Sangha is the Abbot, a position appointed 
  by a council of the eldest sangha members. The word of the Abbot 
  is law within the Red Sangha. Beneath him are appointed the 
  rectors who oversee each company of one hundred brothers and 
  sisters, the rank and file of the Red Sangha. Within the rank and 
  file, authority generally shakes out along time in service, though 
  occasionally a squad will recognize the special talents of one of 
  their more junior members. Discipline problems are extremely rare 
  among the Red Sangha, though when they happen, they can be 
  brutal. Most brethren reserve their dearest love for the Red Sangha 
  and the homeworld, but those who conceive different attachments 
  can respond with unmeasured violence to threats against them.
  Roughly fifty of the brothers are left to man the Lower Heaven, while 
  three or four of the companies are aboard the station in training or 
  refitting after a mission. No more than three or four hundred Red 
  Sangha brethren are out of the system at any one time. Each com-
  pany of one hundred brethren is usually composed of one quarter 
  logistical and support troops and three quarters combat troops. The 
  mercenaries tend to rely heavily on local support for their logistical 
  needs, though they can get by on surprisingly limited supply when 
  necessity requires it.
  Individual companies are broken up into ten-man squads led by an 
  Elder Brother or Sister, with the second most experienced brother 
  assisting. These ten-man squads can break into five-man fire teams 
  when necessary, one led by the Elder Brother and the other by his 
  second-in-command. The Red Sangha is highly reluctant to detach 
  troops in less than fire team strength, and where one is found, four 
  more are almost invariably close by.
  Five of the companies are mechanized infantry, relying on simple 
  battery-powered armored personnel carriers to get them to the 
  fight. These carriers are relatively low-tech, but they can be kept in 
  operation with refitted local parts on any world with tech level 3 or 
  better. A drop pod, cargo lighter, or other landing craft can usually 
  keep an entire company’s APCs powered by refreshing expended 
  type B power cells. Keeping more than that operational requires 
  setting up a fusion plant facility, fossil fuel power plant, or tapping 
  into a town’s power grid. A company carries enough spares to go 
  three or four days between charging opportunities.
  Sixth Company is artillery, detailed to fire and support an array of 
  heavy self-propelled guns. These guns are significantly slower than 
  the all-terrain APCs that the Red Sangha uses, but their effective-
  ness against the fortifications of low-tech enemies is undeniable. 
  Even enemies on more advanced worlds are rarely equipped to deal 
  with tracked artillery unless they too are military personnel. The 
  guns are often used to wreak fearsome destruction on the villages 
  and towns of those locals who find guerilla warfare preferable to 
  open confrontation.
  Seventh Company is officially the recon company, trained and 
  equipped for scouting and local liaison. In practice, it is also the 
  home of the Deep Black operatives that belong to the Red Sangha. 
  These men and women are trained for deep infiltration into enemy 
  territory, and they carry out covert operations for the Jivakan gov-
  ernment as well.
  Lotus Company is comparatively short on strength, comprised 
  of only fifty staff officers and support personnel. The abbot’s ap-
  pointed representative on the world generally leads the company, 
  though for exceptionally important or delicate contracts, the abbot 
  himself might leave Jivakan space to personally oversee affairs. This 
  company is often split off in smaller parcels to oversee individual 
  contracts, and at least ten of them are almost always back in Jivakan 
  space to manage affairs in the home system and serve as a training 
  cadre in case of catastrophic losses. Those who manage to inflict 
  such catastrophic losses can expect these survivors to diligently seek 
  the culprits’ transmigration into their next existence.
  Red Sangha Deployment
  The corps is most often deployed in company strength at a 
  minimum, transported aboard the company’s cantankerous second-
  hand troopship, the Hinayana. The Hinayana is easily capable of 
  transporting up to six thousand troops at a time, but it severely 
  undergunned compared to other cruiser-class vessels. As such, the 
  Hinayana almost never leaves Jivakan space without an escort of 
  one or two frigates, or patrol boats if the additional drill range is 
  necessary.
  The Hinayana does not normally remain in orbit around a world 
  unless the locals are unable to pose a significant threat to it. Even 
  in that case, it will only remain as long as its hydroponic supplies 
  or medical bay are necessary. Air support is normally provided 
  by helicopters, with an atmosphere-capable frigate dispatched for 
  heavy support.
  The Red Sangha will deploy into a hot landing zone only under 
  circumstances of dire necessity. The Hinayana is equipped with a 
  Thunderhead grav pod system that can launch a cloud of six hun-
  dred ten-man landing pods, making it all but certain to get the 
  vast majority of her troops onto the surface, even through ferocious 
  anti-air defenses. However, the Thunderhead system costs 625,000 
  credits to refit- a sum amounting to slightly more than four percent 
  of Jivaka’s entire annual naval budget. Under most circumstances 
  the crew are ferried down by the Hinayana’s drop pod.
  red Sangha organization and reSourceS
  
  5
  On the surface, liaison personnel set up local sources for food 
  and spare parts while the Hinayana provides the logistical slack to 
  support the corps while it sets up. Earthmovers and plasticrete are 
  used to put together a fortified encampment for the troops, as the 
  Red Sangha prefers to barrack well away from the locals for security 
  reasons.
  When charged with guarding a site or VIP, the Sangha will always 
  detach troopers in multiples of five. Inclination and experience 
  have taught them that small groups of mercs have a habit of going 
  missing on foreign worlds. Kidnap attempts are useless against 
  Red Sangha mercs, however. The corps regretfully writes off any 
  kidnapped troopers as casualties, and simply preferences targeting 
  their kidnappers with no special concern for retrieving their people 
  alive. It is a variety of mercy to usher a Liberated one into their next 
  cycle, after all.
  The Red Sangha are remarkably well-disciplined in many regards, 
  compared to the usual run of interstellar mercs. They do not pillage, 
  torture for sport, rape, recklessly destroy property, or kill civilians 
  thoughtlessly. They pay for what they take and they can be relied 
  upon to keep their word even when it is inconvenient.
  In other respects, however, the Red Sangha is monstrously brutal. 
  Their respect for human life tends to be abstract, a general appre-
  ciation for the value of compassion and nonviolence. If the most 
  convenient way to accomplish an end is to kill every living thing in 
  a town, they’ll pile the corpses in the market square without batting 
  an eye. They respect neither sex nor age when “cleansing” an area, 
  and some frankly prefer clearing noncombatants as being easier 
  work. Their theological justification for this coldness rests on an 
  appreciation of existence as being a commingled skein of suffering. 
  The skillful means of liberation can be gentle teaching or it can be a 
  quick dispatch to the next cycle. The choice of means is determined 
  by convenience.
  Many other Buddhist faiths in the sector find the Red Sangha to 
  be unutterably depraved, but the Sangha is unconcerned. The sole 
  attachment remaining to them is that of love- love for their world, 
  their brethren, and their faith. As they can progress no further 
  toward enlightenment in this life, they are fit and correct sacrifices 
  to the necessities of the world. What they do is necessary, as they 
  understand it, and they say that they would not regret it even if 
  they could.
  Jivakan Naval Forces
  Under the rules provided in the Skyward Steel naval sourcebook, 
  Jivaka is a planet with 400,000 people living at a Poor standard of 
  living. As such, they have 70 budget points with which to build 
  their fleet. The Red Sangha live aboard the Peerless space station 
  Lower Heaven, while a Bannerjee-12 orbital provides coverage for 
  the other side of the planet and a terminal for the limited trade 
  conducted with other worlds.
  The Jivakan fleet consists of the troop transport Hinayana, the three 
  frigates Vajra, Prajna, and Bhavana, the two patrol boats Vinaya 
  and Sutta, the naval couriers Sutra and Khor, and the free merchant 
  Maya. Three or four of these ships are docked at the Lower Heaven 
  at any one time for refitting and maintenance. The naval couriers 
  are generally used to keep in contact with dispersed Red Sangha 
  detachments, though they also find use in Deep Black operations. 
  The free merchant runs supplies to the smaller corp units, and is 
  occasionally impressed for covert operations that require a suitably 
  innocent civilian vessel.
  Details on the troop transport and naval courier ship classes can 
  be found in the Skyward Steel naval sourcebook, along with infor-
  mation on creating planetary naval forces and conducting orbital 
  assaults.
  Using the Red Sangha in a Campaign
  The Red Sangha work well as enemies for experienced groups of 
  adventurers. While their equipment leaves something to be desired, 
  their lethal aim can make them a threat even to well-armored and 
  hardy freebooters. Most novice adventurers should have the sense to 
  avoid tangling with them, especially since they are rarely found in 
  groups smaller than five.
  The Sangha can be guardians of a person the PCs need to kill, 
  protectors of a place they need to infiltrate, or even the opposing 
  force across some backwater world’s smoking battlefields. Repeated 
  clashes in which the Sangha is foiled or embarrassed are likely to 
  result in Deep Black operatives being dispatched to cause terminal 
  problems for the PCs. There’s nothing personal about the act to the 
  Sangha; it’s just necessary business to clear away inevitable future 
  problems.
  The Sangha might be used as patrons or allies as well, perhaps 
  requiring the help of the PCs to salvage some vital mission or 
  avenge themselves on a treacherous employer. The Sangha might 
  be decimated by some disastrous reversal, and be in desperate need 
  of outworlder help to fill out their numbers or maintain their ob-
  ligations until more Liberated can be mustered. While the Sangha 
  is merciless in many ways, they lack the megalomania and arrant 
  cruelty that can put a group firmly onto the “implacable foe” list 
  for some players.
  Aside from this, the secret biochemical lore of Mantheesh the 
  Damned still lurks somewhere deep in Jivaka’s asteroid belt, and 
  certain zealous Jivakans are looking for it. This Left Hand of En-
  lightenment might well contain a number of renegade Red Sangha, 
  all of them dedicated to infecting new worlds with the synthetic 
  enlightenment of Liberation.
  
  6
  Red Sangha Brother
  Armor Class 5 (Woven Armor)
  No. Appearing 5
  Hit Dice 1
  Saving Throw 15+
  Attack Bonus +4
  Movement 30’
  Damage 1d12 combat rifle
  Morale
  12
  Skill Bonus +1
  The Red Sangha lacks the money and infrastructure to supply all 
  its troops with advanced postech armor and weaponry. The corps 
  spends enough time on low-tech worlds that more primitive combat 
  rifles and woven armor are much easier to supply from local materi-
  als. Their chief advantage is in the quality of the troops rather than 
  that of their gear; Red Sangha troopers never rout and never panic. 
  This serene efficiency in the midst of roaring chaos makes even the 
  least experienced brother exceedingly dangerous, with their shots 
  squeezed off as calmly as if they were on a firing range.
  Red Sangha Covert Operative
  Armor Class 4 (CFU)
  No. Appearing 1-6
  Hit Dice 3
  Saving Throw 14+
  Attack Bonus +6
  Movement 30’
  Damage 2d8+1 mag rifle
  Morale
  12
  Skill Bonus +2
  These brothers are those chosen and trained for highly sensitive 
  Deep Black operations far behind enemy lines. All of them wed 
  years of field experience to the Sangha calm, and have their pick of 
  the best equipment available on Jivaka. No more than fifty Sangha 
  are qualified for such operations at any one time, and as many as 
  half of them are on long-term deployment as personal security 
  for well-paying officials and foreign rulers. Due to their rarity, the 
  Sangha cannot always deploy five of them at a time.
  Red Sangha Psychic
  Armor Class 2 (Deflector Array)
  No. Appearing 1
  Hit Dice 3+3
  Saving Throw 14+
  Attack Bonus +3
  Movement 30’
  Damage 2d6 thermal pistol
  Morale 12
  Skill Bonus +2
  With as few as the Sangha are, there are rarely more than two or 
  three psychics available to them at any one time. Such combat 
  psychics are often drawn from personnel otherwise far too young or 
  old to serve with the corps, such is the need for experienced psionic 
  experts. They are protected jealously and never exposed to danger 
  unless necessity demands it. Other Sangha will readily give their 
  lives to save a brother psychic. Psychics normally have 21 psi points, 
  Telepathy 5 (with levels 1-3 mastered) and Teleportation 5, with 
  their duties largely revolving around interrogations and bypassing 
  enemy defenses. For exceptionally sensitive covert missions, a psy-
  chic will form a mental link with the participants and then go into 
  deep hiding in a system’s asteroid belt or on some lifeless moon. So 
  long as the psychic remains in the system, the Deep Black team can 
  use him as an undetectable, untouchable communications channel.
  Abbot Daniel Balavrata
  Armor Class 2 (Deflector Array)
  No. Appearing 1
  Hit Dice 9 (52 hit points)
  Saving Throw 11+
  Attack Bonus +12
  Movement 30’
  Damage 2d6+2 mag pistol
  Morale 12
  Skill Bonus +4
  Abbot Balavrata has led the Red Sangha since his predecessor’s death 
  to brain cancer eight years ago. With his fiftieth year approaching, 
  Balavrata understands that his own time is growing short, and 
  he feels concern over the prospects of the Sangha after his death. 
  A catastrophic betrayal by a treacherous employer four years ago 
  killed both of the potential successors that he was grooming to 
  succeed him, and the remaining candidates all lack the seasoning 
  and accomplishment that Abbot Balavrata finds necessary. Almost 
  as regrettably, the traitorous employer remains unrebuked for his 
  treachery, and his example is doubtless giving unfortunate thoughts 
  to others in the sector.
  Balavrata is even considering gathering in some of the renegades 
  that have left the Red Sangha in hopes that some few of them might 
  have manifested the leadership skills and prowess he requires. Un-
  beknownst to him, several of those renegades have gone over to the 
  Left Hand of Enlightenment, and the consequences of their ascent 
  could be catastrophic. Outside the order, a few native Jivakans have 
  found evidence to suggest this spiritual cancer, but it is insufficient 
  to prove their case. Outsiders may be necessary in order to acquire 
  the proof that Abbot Balavrata would doubtless require.
  red Sangha npc StatiSticS
  
  7
  Those afflicted with Liberation have short lives, with few living 
  much beyond fifty before succumbing to brain cancer. Still, some 
  do leave the Red Sangha to find a different path, most often those 
  who can no longer subscribe to the Sangha’s interpretation of Bud-
  dhism. Their brothers do not challenge these departures. They feel 
  only pity and sympathy for their wayward friend.
  The advantages and flaws of the Red Sangha have no mechanical 
  effect on player characters, as PCs already effectively have unshak-
  able morale and can choose to react to situations as they see fit. The 
  natural talent Red Sangha members have for violence and bloodshed 
  tends to blend in well with the usual pastimes of player characters.
  In terms of roleplaying, the average Red Sangha PC will be calm, 
  polite, patient, and devoted to their friends and chosen companions. 
  They will not be terribly interested in physical pleasures or material 
  rewards, but can become fiercely fixated on ideological goals and 
  religious obligations. They simply do not feel the darker emotions 
  as more than mild notions- no fear, no hate, no anger, no lust, no 
  greed... and certainly no regret.
  Brother of the Red Sangha
  Background
  Even those Liberated that are expected to fulfill different duties as 
  they age are often posted to the Red Sangha during their youth. 
  These acolytes of battle spend their days in serene meditation and 
  study of the arts of war.
  Skills: Combat/Projectile, Culture/Jivaka, Religion, Tactics
  Veteran Sangha Infantry
  Training
  After a period of four or five years of training, even the least 
  promising brother has seen some action planetside and mastered 
  the essentials of war. Veteran infantry such as these are superb 
  soldiers, easily the match of any ordinary mercenary trooper. The 
  bloodless calm and focus of the Sangha make them extraordi-
  narily effective under circumstances that would leave a normal 
  man shattered with panic or excitement. Infantry with a knack 
  for technical pursuits often are made drivers and mechanics for 
  the armored personnel carriers favored by the Sangha.
  Any class can choose this option for a training package. Psychics 
  gain the first four skills, warriors and experts gain the next two, 
  and experts get the last two.
  All characters gain: Combat/Projectile, Combat/Unarmed, 
  Religion, Tactics
  Warriors and Experts also gain: Athletics, Stealth
  Experts also gain: Tech/Postech, Vehicle/Land
  Martial art: upaya
  The traditional unarmed martial art of the Red Sangha, “Upaya” 
  refers more widely to the entire corpus of military knowledge and 
  expertise the corps has cultivated. Outsiders have been known 
  to master the art, but much of it is cloaked in complex Buddhist 
  religious terminology and arcane physical exercises. Observant 
  Buddhists from other religious traditions in the sector abhor 
  it, and consider its practice prima facie evidence of unspeakable 
  spiritual degeneration.
  The style itself focuses on indifference to personal suffering in 
  order to achieve victory over a foe. This feat is substantially easier 
  for Liberated humans than those who retain the full scope of 
  emotional reactions, but it can be sustained by sufficiently de-
  termined outsiders. The style uses numerous sacrifice moves and 
  demands motions that can occasionally strain or harm the user. 
  Damage inflicted on oneself by using the novice level of the art 
  cannot reduce the stylist’s hit points below 1.
  Martial arts styles are intended for campaigns in which the GM 
  wishes to make unarmed and melee combat an reasonable alter-
  native to firearms. For details on learning and using martial arts, 
  consult Mandate Archive: Martial Arts.
  Weapon Groups
  Unarmed
  Level 0
  Novice
  The novice’s strikes do 1d8 damage. The 
  novice can declare an unarmed sacrifice strike 
  before rolling; if the attack is successful, the 
  strike automatically does maximum damage. 
  Whether or not it’s successful, the user takes 
  1d6 damage himself.
  Level 1
  Intermediate
  After a miss with an unarmed attack, the 
  stylist can push the assault and gain a reroll 
  on the attack roll. However, the next melee 
  attack by the target against the stylist will 
  automatically hit.
  Level 2
  Master
  The master’s strikes do 2d6 damage. When 
  missed by an enemy in melee, the stylist may 
  grant the enemy a reroll on the attack roll. 
  Hit or miss, if the stylist survives the second 
  attack roll he may make an immediate un-
  armed counterattack.
  red Sangha aS player characterS
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Stars Without Number/Stars Without Number Supplements/Mandate Archive/Mandate Archive Red Sangha Mercenary Corps.pdf