Denn du bist was du isst
-Rammstein
The organization that became the Order began as a pair of Knights of the Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem, more commonly called the Teutonic Knights. Long ago a group of Teutonic Knights had gone out to battle pagans. Two of the knights became sepa- rated from their brethren. These knights were injured and lost when they came upon a small vil- lage near what is now Kalingrad.
The village leader was a shaman and a cannibal. Although he considered killing the knights instead he introduced them to magic and his culinary stylings. The Knights would hide all evidence of the village and recruit some of their brothers. The Order slowly and carefully expanded its power base. When Grand Master Albrecht dissolved the Teutonic Knights and created the state of Prussia, several members became German nobles. The conspiracy took the short name of the knightly order as their own.
Over the centuries the Order has expanded to other countries and created layers of secrecy to hide its practices from the world.
MOTIVES
The Order exists to protect the leaders and advance their agenda and to a lesser extent do the same for the common members. The leaders generally have individual goals, as a group they are power hungry and sometimes just hungry. The inner circle views themselves as superior to other sentients. People are tools or food, only occasionally recruits.
MEMBERS
The Order is divided into three tiers. The lowest level has little to no idea about the upper levels. It consists of a variety of members ranging from business people to criminals. This level has several front groups, not all of them aware of each other. They act as a mutual aid society for the members also some assistance flows down from the upper levels (successful pawns are more useful). Unfortunately for the bottom level their real purpose is as a tool and buffer for the upper levels.
The second tier believes they are the Order. They work to advance the Order’s and individual’s power. The majority of members are after occult power and knowledge but exact goals differ. Some want success, some are hedonists, and some are occult scholars. The exact goals of mem- bers do not matter as long as they maintain the Order’s goals first. Members are selected on what they can bring to the Order. Magical and psychic abilities are particularly valued. The Order recruits from around the world, but a bias to the upper class and certain old Prussian blood lines still exists.
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The first tier is the true Order. Some members believe that sufficient power, occult or otherwise will lead to promotion to the inner circle, but actual selection is rare and largely due to the whims of the current leaders. They will groom potential recruits for years before the recruit is told any of the Order’s history or eating habits. The Order will aid and protect mem- bers to a large extent, even some of the lowest members can benefit from this. This larges ends if any threat, no matter how small, to the leadership is perceived. The leaders are ruthless in ways only magic using cannibals can be. The weakest of them is a least a prolific murderer, others are centuries old and mon- sters in every sense of the word.
RESOURCES
The Order has extensive occult libraries as well as knowl- edgeable members. Despite the mystical power of the Order, the more mundane assets should not be underestimated. The Order is very wealthy. It has ties to many old families of the world and was involved in the earliest days of trade and bank- ing. The ties to crime are just as old. Characters can suddenly find they are being sued in several different courts while at the same time explaining to their boss and the press about the mys- terious large deposit made to their bank account. Not to men- tion what politicians are willing to do for the right contribution.
Submitted by Kickstarter Backer: Derrick Smith
THE ORDER
PULLING STRINGS
Accomplices, Criminal Resources, Library, Occult Library, Supernatural Lore
CHARACTERISTICS
Criminal Syndicate: Territorial Magic Circle: Territorial Paramilitary: Individual
Philosophical Movement: Territorial
PROFILE
Group Identity: Covert Leaders Identities: Shadow Members Identity: Covert Goals: Covert/Shadow
Structure: Territorial Multiple Entities (Global) Size: Large Loyalty: Dedicated
INFLUENCE
Law: 1 Criminal: 3 Paranormal: 2 Civilian: 3CONTACTS
Criminal: 3 Paranormal: 2 Civilian: 2THE PAC
HISTORY
In 1977, an analyst nobody noticed within the NSA began to piece together information, form- ing a small but revealing exposé into the activities of agencies such as the Watch, Aegis, and the NDD. He transmitted the data to a financial news reporter. The reporter forwarded the informa- tion to an executive of an oil company. The analyst and the reporter were silenced. The executive was not.
The executive coordinated with fellow executives of multiple major corporations, discovering the corporate financial backing of the NDD, the private sector funding the Directorate's top secret research facilities. They hired some “specialists” and quietly exerted pressure on the NDD back- ers, waiting for the dogs to come sniffing. The result was a nightmare of minor public disclosures and actual wetwork by agents of the “unknown corporate conspiracy.”
From then on agents of “the PAC” have sometimes hounded Aegis, the NDD, and other organi- zations' agents with no fear of turning the public’s eye onto shadowy matters, agents who resist bribery, coercion, and intimidation. The organization, as a while, has committed acts of market manipulation to "bias" the markets against the NDD's backers. While these operations are limited (to avoid visibility), they strain the relationship with the NDD.
The PAC maintains a corporate-like structure, making their organization almost painfully effi- cient. The PAC's leadership is patient and opportunistic, viewing itself as a form of insurgency. Overall, the PAC is the kind of enemy any covert agency dreads.
The organization had no name, and to this day does not. The standing policy within the organ- ization is that no member will refer to it by any proper name or nickname. Referring to "the group" or "the organization" is a borderline case. The NDD calls them the "SpookyPAC," while Aegis dubbed them "the PAC." This furthers their own agenda, since the name others use for them is a clue to who the speakers are. They are called "the PAC" hereafter.
MOTIVES
The PAC seeks to wipe out all traces of shadow government from the United States, and to put an end to the “civil war of shadow governments.” While they see themselves as the “white hats” doing public good, they aren’t naïve about what they do, and are ready to sacrifice themselves and others for their cause. That said, they prefer to sacrifice their enemies instead of themselves.
MEMBERS
The PAC’s leadership is a covert consortium of executives of multiple businesses who are afraid of what might happen to them if shadow government becomes the government. Their permanent agents are people with special skills and the willingness to fight for their vision of the United States. These agents have lives paid in full by the PAC. Their lives are comfortable, their families cared for and protected, and their favorite charities receive regular donations. They are all but immune to bribery. The fact that everything gets taken away if they betray the PAC makes it unlikely they can be intimidated or coerced by threats.
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bribery. The fact that everything gets taken away if they betray the PAC makes it unlikely they can be intimidated or coerced by threats.
RESOURCES
The PAC has one thing in excess – money. They have a great deal of money siphoned through line items in dozens of corpo- rate spreadsheets. Their working capital source rivals that of DARPA. Practically any request for financial assistance goes heeded. "Graft" is a specific line item in fiscal estimates, planned for, expected, and tacitly approved. The PAC's accountants do go over the records and will take corrective measures if the spending becomes excessive, but "excessive" usually means "blatantly obvious" or "spent improperly."
Otherwise, the most specialized resources they can manage are corporate data resources and travel accommodations. Some of the corporations involved in the PAC are defense and intelligence corporations, but defense and intelligence resources are difficult to commandeer without drawing atten- tion. They restrain themselves to proprietary regional data and
"backward" satellite surveillance of a kind most major corpora- tions can claim.
To make up for those shortcomings, they have outlets for leaking virtually anything they discover into the news. Make it worse, they are reserved enough to wait until the evidence is solid. They can also use the news media to spin facts, manipu- late public awareness, and generally do all the things corporate marketing can do. Agents also gain access to some of the best lawyers in the country or even the world. If a trial for their actions leads to more exposure for shadow government, the PAC will make sure the media gets involved for as long as it takes shadow government to silence the agent. If an agent gets into less substantial legal trouble, that agent typically still gets a good attorney.
In terms of information resource, there are a great many holes in the PAC’s understanding of the world at large. However, they know more than enough to be dangerous, and they’re sufficiently ignorant to be indiscriminate.
Submitted by Kickstarter Backer: Edmund Wilfong
THE PAC
PULLING STRINGS
Attorney, Ear to the Ground, Front Page News, Funding 4, Mobility, Satellite Surveillance: Standard
CHARACTERISTICS
Civic Organization: Territorial Financially Motivated: Territorial Investigation: Universal Mutual Protection: Universal
PROFILE
Group Identity: Shadow Leaders’ Identity: Covert Members’ Identity: Covert Group Goals: Covert
Structure: Territorial
Territory: Multiple Entity (Country, with Global reach) Membership Size: Large (around 2,000 to 2,500 people) Membership Loyalty: Dedicated
INFLUENCE
Science & Research: 2 Law: 1 Civilian: 4