Exile Game Studio

Ali Shadow · Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 11:12 am Post subject: New secret society?

OK, I am trying to hammer out some details for a secret society I want to make and I could use some suggestions. What I have so far:

Groups purpose is to keep the world's powers in balance.
It contains representatives of all govermental and religious factions.
Members do not know who each other are, only what faction they each represent.
Only leader(s) of group know who members are.
All members are high ranking in thier factions, but not the highest, usually 3 to 4 ranks lower.

What do you think? Any suggestions?
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quinchris · Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 7:14 pm Post subject:

Sounds like the UN!

That might be an idea worth looking at, sort of a shadow organisation behind the UN. Syphoning off a portion of the budget to finiance their own twisted version of world peace.

Each nation and/or religion submitting half a dozen men who are known only to, and answer only, answer to thier board member.

(I think it was called the League of Nations back then. I know the UN was not formed until after the 2nd World War. One of the others on this site could tell you what existed before).

Ali Shadow · Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:20 pm Post subject:

Brajah · Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:29 pm Post subject:

Your society reminds me of a group called "The 21 Old Men of Gramercy Park" from the old time radio serial "I Love Adventure". In the first episode the speaker for the 21 Old Men gives this recruiting speech to the hero.

"In this world of Chaos, which is our heritage of World War 2, there is banditry and piracy and madness abroad in every land. Much of it is too delicate, too touchy for the official government of any nation to handle. A formal government could plunge it's country into new wars overnight if it even looked in certain directions today. But much can be done by 21 Old Men, each representing the country of his nativity. We are men who would do for the people of the world what their own governments know should be done but cannot do because their hands are tied."

The 21 Old Men of Gramercy Park are basically an international secret society of ultra rich men who recruit and send out agents to battle evil and injustice in the world. The show is set just after WW2 but almost all of it is pure pulp. There are quite a few scenes that could be "borrowed" for a pulp adventure especially first meeting with the 21 Old Men and their headquarters.

You can listen to some of the episodes here.

Another resource for Secret Societies, although most aren't of the benevolent type is Secret Societies: A History by Arkon Daraul.

Although this book is considered by most to be mostly fictional hackwork most of the groups described inside could be used in a pulp campaign. My favorite group would have to be the Order of the Peacock Angel which of course Google books doesn't allow access to. I always thought they would be perfect for the heavies in a Near East adventure. Those of you who have read some Robert E Howard or William B Seabrook might know who the pulp Yezidis are.
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John Aynge · Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:30 am Post subject:

REPPP!!!!

A link to radio shows that I have not heard of, and sounds AWE---SOME!

There you go. The 21 Men sounds perfect. Hell, I could see it even before WW2 when the US was sticking to the Monroe Doctrine like newly washed socks to a sheet.

I'll have to check and see if that is in the public domain.
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dan daly · Joined: 27 Nov 2006 Posts: 333 votes: 22

The UN wasn't around yet, but the League of Nations was. Except that the US congress rejected the League treaty and so was not a member nation. Perhaps your secret society was founded by some powerful people who saw this move as a mistake. I'd also have the movers and shakers involved in the organization have some sort of powerful personal connection to the Great War that gives them motivation to try and ensure nothing like it ever happens again- maybe one was crippled in a poison gas attack, maybe one lost all 4 of his sons on the fields of Flanders, maybe one is Armenian who is the sole member of his family to escape the Ottomans, etc.

Ali Shadow · Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 3:38 pm Post subject:

Brajah: From the little I heard. The 21 sounds like what I want. But my PS3 that I am using in replacement of my dead computer doesn't like it, so I am going to attemt to get them on a mp3 player so I can hear them all. Thanks for showing me!
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'Anyone, no matter how far in the dark they are, can see the Light and choose to embrace it.'
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