Here's what I came up with for a chapter of the Veiled Alliance - others could easily be done by changing some of the criteria and benefits gained.
Comments are welcome as always.
Veiled Alliance - Nibenay Chapter
Symbol: None.
Background, Goals, and Dreams: Nibenay’s Alliance was created 300 to 350 years ago by a reformed royal defiler named Khmal Langgan.
Having little hope of affecting directly the Shadow-King, the Alliance instead opposes common defilers with an hatred almost unseen in the other chapters.
The current leader of the chapter, Thagya Phong (LN male human Wizard (preserver) 7 / Veiled One 10), oversees the different projects he ask to be developed by his followers and set the various missions to be accomplished by the cells of the chapter.
Enemies and Allies: The Nibenay Veiled Alliance opposes the Sorcerer-Monarch and all its servants, and have a particular hatred for defilers.
While there is no contact between the Nibenay chapter and the other city-states Alliance’s chapters, a member can count on having a minimum of help while in need in another city, once he has contacted the local chapter.
Members: Preservers make the bulk of the Alliance, but all other classes except defilers can be member too provided they complete the tasks asked from them and prove their loyalties. Non-wizard member are known as auxiliairies. Members are divided into 3 to 5 persons cells, whose members only know of each other and a contact from another cell, so that if one cell is caught by the templars and questionned, the Alliance survival is not immediately at stake.
Secrets: Wizardry outside the Sorcerer-Monarch’s purview is illegal in the city-state, so the chapter’s chief purpose was to to help and protect preservers from the wrath of the Shadow-King.
The Nibenay Alliance has successfully contacted the zwuun - the collective consciousness of a cabal of powerful and ancient preservers – that resides in the Plain of Burning Waters. They use the seemingly limitless knowledge possessed by the spirits to further their aims.
Type: Cabal.
Scale: 6 (city).
Affiliation Score Criteria: No defiler can become a member of the Veiled Alliance, unless they succeed in hiding that they are, as is the case for most myrmeleons.
A member wizard that defile, regardless of its affiliation score, and gets caught, risk immediate expulsion and thus exposing himself to requital, the ‘quit and die’ policy enforced by all chapters of the Veiled Alliance.
One thing though. I quibble with your massive negative value for being evil.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: The Veiled Alliance is not a good organization. Organizationally, at their best, they are neutral. At their worst, organizationally, the VA are evil.
If you're not a preserver, or not directly working for them, the VA doesn't give a crap about you. not Good. At their worst, they've been known to lob fireballs in the middle of a crowded city street, in fighting with Templars. Regardless of damage to civilian property or life. That is evil.
It may be instructional to consider the VA is organized very much like a terrorist organization (and no, this isn't a recent revalation ... there have been discussions on this dating back to the days of the DSML) -- a cell structure, recognition signs, missions where you don't necessarily know the reasons, an opressed minority fighting back against the powerful rulers, using whatever means they can ...
There are certainly differences between the various VAs, and some ore more aggressive in nature than others. But, as an entire organization, they have two rules: Protect our members, and bloody the Sorcerer Kings. that's it. The complete disregard for non-members disqualifies them from being, institutionally, a Good organization.
I wished to stay true to the original material(in this case VA) as much as possible, but this restriction can be deleted, or reduced to -10 or even -5depending on one's campaign, I really see no problem to that.
I gave a big negative modifier to reflect that instead of completely forbidding evil characters from getting into the organization, they would have to try harder to get to the same point as a ''good or neutral'' character, in term of title and benefits. I didn't see why evil preservers could not be in there, so I tried to find some middle ground.
Looks good, although I agree with Flip about the evil thing (Edit: although you give a good rebuttal to this in your next post, so maybe it's not such a bad thing). I'm also not sure about the freebie magic item - I'd make lower-level affiliation benefits more social in nature, or provide bonuses to certain skills and the like. The magic item could make for a good higher-level benefit, but then you might want to use it to replace one of the other two. As the highest level benefit is pretty powerful, I'd also add in a duty as well (a monthly tithe, social skill check requirement, or similar). Other than that, looks pretty cool.
In the area where symbols would go - maybe for the VA you could have recognized symbols for a save house or hand gestures to help ID a VA member - something that would help members ID other members if there was a need.
As for weekly meetings - well this is not AA - and seeing as they are a highly secret and hunted orginization - I would not make it weekly - maybe a monthly meeting the is pretty regular would be better.
Overall - I like it and good job
About the good and evil dilemma, please take a look at my reply to Flip.
Also, I took the weekly meeting info on VA p.10. I did do some homework before writing this up :P .
RedKank: thanks for the comments about the realtive power of the benefits, I'll look closely into that.
Kal, good ideas for the symbols.
About the good and evil dilemma, please take a look at my reply to Flip.
Also, I took the weekly meeting info on VA p.10. I did do some homework before writing this up :P .
RedKank: thanks for the comments about the realtive power of the benefits, I'll look closely into that.
You must have been writing this reply when I was editing my response - I have seen reply and agree with you on the points you made and agree that the penalites might need to be reduced.
(I love that they have added more smilies to the selection for the boards).I realize that yes you have done the research - but like I pointed out, this is not a social club or an AA meeting - I think that the orginal meeting times us just flawed in that meeting that often is just begging the templars to find them - in and in the wake of the recent events, there is nothing to stop us from changing the meeting schedule IMO.
Just my two bits.
I realize that yes you have done the research - but like I pointed out, this is not a social club or an AA meeting -
Athasians Anonymous: "Hi my name is Rikus, and I've been an Athasian for 21 years. Quitting is hard, because I just can't seem to leave this place behind. Everytime I try to leave, I get lost in the Grey. Athas just won't let me go!":P
Athasians Anonymous: "Hi my name is Rikus, and I've been an Athasian for 21 years. Quitting is hard, because I just can't seem to leave this place behind. Everytime I try to leave, I get lost in the Grey. Athas just won't let me go!":P
Ohhhhh - how you will pay
!!!lol
I don't have PHB2, so I'm unfamiliar with the afiliation system. Looks like it could be interesting though.
One thing though. I quibble with your massive negative value for being evil.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: The Veiled Alliance is not a good organization. Organizationally, at their best, they are neutral. At their worst, organizationally, the VA are evil.
If you're not a preserver, or not directly working for them, the VA doesn't give a crap about you. not Good. At their worst, they've been known to lob fireballs in the middle of a crowded city street, in fighting with Templars. Regardless of damage to civilian property or life. That is evil.
It may be instructional to consider the VA is organized very much like a terrorist organization (and no, this isn't a recent revalation ... there have been discussions on this dating back to the days of the DSML) -- a cell structure, recognition signs, missions where you don't necessarily know the reasons, an opressed minority fighting back against the powerful rulers, using whatever means they can ...
There are certainly differences between the various VAs, and some ore more aggressive in nature than others. But, as an entire organization, they have two rules: Protect our members, and bloody the Sorcerer Kings. that's it. The complete disregard for non-members disqualifies them from being, institutionally, a Good organization.
don't forget 3: no defiling, and they are pretty ideologically clean on that level.
But otherwise agreed. The book VA was quite transparent about organizing in "cells" like a terrorist group. One might point out that this is also the organization type used in Heinlein's "Moon is a harsh mistress." But IIRC, in real life, this is the organization of terrorist groups.