René Guénon - Weird War 1 Parisian academic and skeptic

René Guénon was born in Blois, a city in central France approximately 100 miles (≈160 km) from Paris. Guénon, like most Frenchmen of the time, was born into a Roman Catholic family. Little is known of his family, although it appears that his father was an architect. By 1904, Guénon was living as a student in Paris, where his studies focused on mathematics and philosophy. He was known as a brilliant student, notably in mathematics, in spite of his poor health.

As a young student in Paris, Guénon observed and became involved with some students who were, at that time, under the supervision of Papus. Under the name "Tau Palingenius" Guénon became the founder and main contributor of a periodical review, La Gnose ("Gnosis"), writing articles for it until 1922. From his incursions into the French occultist and pseudo-masonic orders, he despaired of the possibility of ever gathering these diverse and often ill-assorted doctrines into a "stable edifice".

 In his book The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times he also pointed out what he saw as the intellectual vacuity of the French occultist movement, which, he wrote, was utterly insignificant, and more importantly, had been compromised by the infiltration of certain individuals of questionable motives and integrity.

Around this time it is likely that René Guénon became acquainted with Hinduism, specifically via the initiatic lineage of Shankarâchârya, and with Taoism. He was also initiated in 1910 into Islamic esoterism, where he obtained the name "Abd al-Wāḥid Yaḥyá". His initiation into Taṣaw‧wuf, or Islamic esoterism, was effected by Ivan Aguéli (Abd al-Hādī Aqīlī al-Mālikī ash-Shādhilī, 1869–1917) and performed in accordance with ash-Shaykh Abd ar-Raḥmān Il‧līsh al-Kabīr al-Mālikī (عبد الرحمن عليش الكبير المالكي, d. 1930), an important representative of Islam in Egypt at the time.

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, Strength d4, Vigor d4

Skills: Fighting d4, Knowledge (Mathematics), Knowledge (Philosophy) d6, Notice d6, Shooting d4, Occult d10, Climbing d6

Pace: 6; Parry: 2; Toughness:4 Sanity: 7

Edges & Hindrances: Anemic, Curious, Pacifist (minor), Linguist, Scholar

Gear: Notebook, pen, camera