'QUEST'ION OF THE MONTH - AUGUST 2019

Jynx001

What’s your favorite, fictional organization, guild, association, federation, secret society, or members-only club?

Like the Pathfinders of Golarion, groups of like-minded members make an appealing addition to many game worlds and other realms of the imagination. Tell us about the ones you like best and why. What organizations have you originated for your own stories? Your gaming community wants to know!

thaen

The first that comes to mind is the Gentleman Bastards from The Lies of Locke Lamora.

I love the way they used a temple to a minor deity as their front.  And then focused their larceny on sophisticated targets with detailed and intricate plans.  It's a much richer story than the standard "This city's thieves guild is a bunch of thugs that just roll people in the alleys for their pocket change.  Try not to go out alone at night."

Conan_Lybarian

The SPC Foundation has always been a favorite for me. The logistics of locking down anomalies and the general documentation of the proceedings isn't just cool, but really gives a sense of a truly huge organization. 

Kallak

I'll have to see if I can find it again, but I remember reading in a sourcebook somewhere about a group that was comprised of people who had drawn one or more cards from a deck of many things. I like the idea of a group coming together around the usage of a rare magic item.

twiggyleaf

The Emerald Order of the Priests of Thoth-Hermes

One of my players started out at first level as a Were Lion Priest of Thoth-Hermes and chose to be part of a secret sect dedicated to finding the Lost Emerald Tablets of Wisdom.  This seemed such an interesting idea to me, that I decided right from the outset to inject it in some way into every mini campaign within Mysteria, played over three continents.

In each continent, there are several guilds and sects, although they do tend to be different for every place in my game.  However, I have always run a secretive Emerald Order theme through every place, adapting published dungeons like the "Lost Library of Thoth" to include clues for the character to chase.

When I bought the Kobold Press, "Demon Cult: The Emerald Order", I adapted this as well, so that by now, the player can always be sure there is something in the adventure specifically for him.  He has already found himself a "Moonlight" scroll, taken from Kobold Press's "Deep Magic", and, as well as having discovered much of the history of the missing tablets, he is currently pursuing clues to the whereabouts of one of the "150 Sacred Rituals" mentioned in the "Midgard Worldbook."

The player's enthusiasm for his eternal quest is a constant inspiration to me when designing each next stage of the adventure; and so I humbly present the Emerald Order as my favourite "secret society".

 

twigs

 

cgregory

One of my favorites is the Universal Brotherhood from Shadowrun.

Unlock the potentials of your mind and body. Turn your back on the shallow and mundane — join the Universal Brotherhood and be a part of something wonderful!

Who are the Brotherhood? Possibly the largest humanitarian organization in the world? To the grime-encrusted inhabitants of the sprawl they are a shining ray of hope in an otherwise hopeless world. This is their way out of the darkness, their key to personal fulfillment and understanding. They are on every corner. They knock on every door. And they want to save you too!

In reality, the members were being turned into Insect Spirits of all kinds, and the multiple-queen insect hives used the Brotherhood to spread their brood across the world.

 

Jynx001

The Baker Street Irregulars from the Sherlock Holmes stories. London street-kids who spy for Holmes and feed him news. They're led by Wiggins (did that name inspire Orson Scott Card to call his main character Ender Wiggins?) and earn a small daily wage, plus a prize for the discovery of a particularly good clue. A unique idea at the time when detective methodology was still new and clever because they can go essentially unnoticed by the rest of the world -- providing a different perspective.

Omegabase

Council of Esus and the 'Nightwatch' from Fall From Heaven lore (which i'm using for a d&d campaign setting).  World-spanning secret religion pulling levers behind the scenes.  Like the Illuminati which are my other favorite.

 

twiggyleaf

I'm loving all of these.....

Jynx001

The same question was posed on the Insta-Tweet-Books and here's some of what they said:

"Ralph R.: I always liked the Musashi Flex from Steve Perry's Matador series. Informal group of martial artists bound only by their membership in this dueling society. The Matador's themselves are very cool too, but I like the 'elite group, but not a group' vibe of the people who walk the Flex.

Alan W.: The Five Timers Club

 

Bill J: The Agency - The Agency is the Federal Government’s answer to the increasing amount of Supernatural activity around the world. Originally started as a nondescript, underfunded, and unbelieved branch of the FBI, consisting of only two agents (Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully), The Agency has grown to become a separate, Federally Funded, Black organization (meaning it publicly does not exist).



Agents Mulder and Scully co-headed The Agency for 10 years from 1993 – 2002, increasing its resources, research facilities, size, and even recruiting supernatural beings to work side by side with the Pure Mortal agents and operatives. It is rumored that amongst the projects performed by the Agency, they have found a means to counter the ’Murphyonic Field" generated by full wizards, as well as a means of providing a man with the capability of achieving complete invisibility through non-magical means.



Agents Mulder and Scully were succeeded by Veteran CIA Agent Napoleon Solo, upon their deaths at the hands of, or more appropriately the gaze of, Medusa, somewhere in the New Jersey Pinelands. Director Solo continued to strengthen The Agency’s power and influence (Securing it’s funding under the Umbrella of the Patriot Act and the Department of Homeland Security (Which it is autonomous of), and relocated it’s Headquarters out of Washington DC, relocating to New Yorks, first beneath Fort Wadsworth, and later, in the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel Authority (upon the dissolving of the Army’s Initiative Project).



Director Solo retired recently, due to health issues (He actually was murdered, but the new Director thought it best to keep that secret even from the rest of The Agency), turning the Directorship over to his trusted assistant, Ariadne Moskavina, who it is rumored is not human, but a creature of shadow.



Agents of The Agency are traditionally highly trained in Investigation techniques, psychological profiling, and Criminology, as well as trained in Martial arts and Marksmanship. All Agents are at least familiar with the major powers and players within the Supernatural World. All Agents have access to the resources, weapons, technologies, and Supernatural resources of The Agency."

Keryth987

Guess I dont need to report The Agency here then :)

Kallak

Just means you have to come up with another one *whip crack*