Illuminati in Eberron [Archive] - Wizards Community

Illuminati in Eberron [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Charles Phipps
05-05-05, 07:48 PM What groups do you think would make a good Illuminati in Eberron? I think it might be good to have an all-powerful conspiracy to fit the Pulp feel of the game.

I was thinking of for my next 13 or so sessions, having the games open with "Thunderball" like openers with SPECTER where the organization discusses the PCs last adventure and what to do about them.

I think it would help the game as well.

The best candidates for this of course are the Quori. The Quori already have a weird cultist feel and an all powerful network that stretches EVERYWHERE. They even have Inspired who can provide a nice name for "Illuminated"

Other options include making the Illuminati headed by Dragons, which would fit with their role as the Keepers of the Prophecy and the more interference minded could do almost anything they wanted.
Sir Elton
05-05-05, 10:26 PM Dude! Eberron is your world. If you want the Bavarian Illuminati in the game, or the Priory of Sion, or even the Society of Assassins and the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon, no one can stop you here. They can give their opinions, but who cares? Their opinion doesn't matter in *your* Eberron game.

Illuminating a fantasy game is going against type. Most Illuminated games take place in the modern world where you can play up to the conspiracy better. But all you are doing is changing the situation . . . er setting. You have to pretty much think low-tech.

While Eberronians can't put mind control sattelites to orbit their fair planet, you won't see very many Mr. Beamishes wearing tin foil hats. On the other hand, it's easier in a low tech world (meaning, a world without computers and transistors) to manipulate history via conspiracy, because it is theoretically easier to hide your manipulations from the common people.

But then, Eberron isn't your typical low tech D&D world. House Cannith created the Warforged using magi-tech. And the Eberronians harnessed the elements and created new technologies using magic as the base source of energy. And whose to say that no Eberronian wizard hasn't developed Spelljamming magi-tech, and have made the first test of the first Eberronian Spelljamming ship and flew to the Ring of Siberys?

Who knows? Maybe human Spelljamming magi-tech came from Eberron in the first place. So the Conspiracy works in different ways to hide themselves. Here are some suggestions:

1. House Cannith and the Lord of Blades are involved in a Conspiracy of Illuminati proportions. House Cannith was involved in manipulating history for a very long time. They secretly developed the Warforged a long time before the Last War, and have used their secret contacts in the government of the Five Nations to start the Last War and start production of their Warforged. At the end of the Last War, House Cannith completely co-opted the Lord of Blades' organization while feigning to be an enemy. Both are holding off Warforged production while silently manipulating political events for an even greater war.

2. The Changelings are considered a threat to several Illuminati groups, who have been sending out assassins to hunt them down and kill them. In response, a few of the Changelings form their own Illuminati group (see Races of Eberron, Cabinet of Faces prestige class) and have begun to infiltrate one illuminati group after another, misdirecting the assassinations.

3. The Half-Elves control air-travel. Whos to say that they haven't formed a secret power group?

4. Scrying spells have become annoying, so a few illuminated groups are taking steps to reduce their reliability.

5. Some idiot has found out that he's descended from a certain royal line that is no longer in power. He disappears for days, and returns with no memory of where he has been and what he had been doing. He has a strange tattoo on his person where before, there was none.

The point of an Illuminated campaign is to freak your PCs out. It's not out right horror, gore, and terror. It's more like *something is not quite right* fear at the beginning, and it should be enough to get people to investigate. At first, it's some kind of wierd hook that the Tabloids would print. Like -- Mind Flayers ate my husband's brain! -- sort of stuff. Or Bat Boy discovered among Shifter Clan. Or Jessithath and husband are splitting up!

After they investigate the conspiracy and start learning very weird things, like House Storm had recovered a crashed Alien ship and is developing new magi-technology from it; then they start attracting really wierd things. Like some coach tries to run them over, and the coachman is wearing black and the number "666" is painted on the back. Or a PC wizard's bag has been stolen and returned the next morning. Only to find out that the spell components have been replaced with nearly identical spell components. OR worse, one's spellbook has been swapped, and after a week, the spellbook has been returned.

There's lots of stuff you can do.
MysticTheurge
05-05-05, 11:43 PM If you want a group that's not super-human, just out to control the world, consider the Aurum.
Kobold Avenger
05-06-05, 03:43 AM I don't know which type of Illuminati you're referring to, whether its the ones directly from the game, or the one that exist(ed)s in the real world along with the other conspiracies said to exist in the real world.

If that's so, remember that many of those organizations existed in the real world for centuries...
The Illuminati itself could be the Aurum
The Knight Templars would obviously be a certain faction among the Knights of Thrane
The Freemasons are probably part of House Cannith
Charles Phipps
05-06-05, 04:15 AM Essentially, I'm referring to the idea of an organization that is shadowy and conspiratorial that the players never actually know where their influence ends and begins. A group bent on world domination that the players can't really stop the schemes of because its possible they already DO control the world.

Groups that are "Illuminatiesque" are to me...

* The Hellfire Club from the X-men
* The Technocracy from Mage: the Ascension
* SPECTRE the villains from "Thunderball, Doctor No, From Russia with Love, and You Only Live Twice"
* The Conspiracy from the X-files
* The Conspiracy from Nowhere Man

They are groups with no accountability that can result in the players being declared outlaws. One of the key themes also is the group operates through pawns.

In the world of Eberron, the Dragon Council might set up the Gatekeepers who set up the local druids who hire the players in order to take out a Daelkyr Lord, all the while the players only having the barest glimpse of insight into the enemy.
Grymar
05-06-05, 08:41 AM I'd say the obvious choice is the Aurum. When reading about them in the ECS, I felt like this WAS the Illuminati, or at least based off of that idea.

Other options could be the Inspired, the Chamber (with some work), the Trust (again, work would be needed), or a group of your own making.
chimpman
05-06-05, 12:48 PM Actually I think the Chamber fits the bill perfectly with little to no modifications needed.

Taken from wikipedia:
Since Illuminati literally means 'enlightened ones' in Latin, it is natural that several unrelated historical groups have identified themselves as Illuminati. Often, this was due to claims of possessing gnostic texts or other arcane information not generally available.

Just substitute Draconic for Latin and 'draconic prophecy' for 'gnostic texts' and you're done. The Chamber members have studied the Prophecy (at least to some extent). They are dragons who think that 'they know best' (and perhaps they do...) and are willing to expend their time and resources in order to shape the world around them more to their liking.

Maybe they are the only hope for the world. Maybe their machenations will end up destroying it. Even they don't know. And neither should the PCs. That's what makes dealing with a conspiratorial illuminati type organization so scary and dangerous.

Now the real fun begins when other groups start laying the same claim. The Aurum can claim to be illuminated (and that the Prophecy actually drives their actions) when in fact the only thing that motivates them is money. The Emerald Claw/Blood of Vol can likewise make the same claim. "The Prophecy indicates that only Blood and Undeath can save the world..." In fact they (Vol) are driven by revenge. Dhakaani heirs could also make that claim while trying to unite their people. The Twelve could view themselves as 'illuminated' because of their arcane studies. So could sects of the Arcane Congress.

Mix all of these organizations into Eberron and you've got the Illuminati. The one thing that ties them all together is the Prophecy. At some level each group should use that as a rationalization for their actions. It's the piece that gives weight to whatever claim the group makes about 'being right.'

The PCs of course should have to choose whether this is true or not, and the choice shouldn't be easy. I hope you let us know what you decide to go with in the end. Sounds like a lot of fun. [sneaks away with many of these ideas in tow.]
Siberys
05-06-05, 03:55 PM Aurum is the way to go. When I read it, my impression was that the Aurum was heavily based off of the real world Illuminati. In fact, "Aurum" may have something to do with light in the same way that "Illuminati" Does - You know Aura/light (A stretch, I know...). The best other option would be, as stated before, The Chamber, The Trust, and The Inspired.
chimpman
05-06-05, 04:18 PM Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Au (L. aurum) and atomic number 79.

You know at first glance I agreed with everyone. I would have jumped right onto the Aurum as a good parallel to the Illuminati, but the more I look at them the more I disagree. Aurum really does mean "gold"... literally. That's all these guys are concerned with. I always got the impression that the Illuminati were really more concerned with social change/architecture. Sure they might use gold to achieve theor goals, but it wasn't an end in itself. To the Aurum it is.
Charles Phipps
05-06-05, 06:33 PM You know at first glance I agreed with everyone. I would have jumped right onto the Aurum as a good parallel to the Illuminati, but the more I look at them the more I disagree. Aurum really does mean "gold"... literally. That's all these guys are concerned with. I always got the impression that the Illuminati were really more concerned with social change/architecture. Sure they might use gold to achieve theor goals, but it wasn't an end in itself. To the Aurum it is.

The Illuminati is based on the old saw of World Domination. According to some theories the Illuminati has some other goals than the simple acquisition of power....

1. Satanism (Lightbringer being Lucifer's title)
2. Elevation of Humanity to a Higher State of existence through under the table manipulation.
3. The raising of Atlantis
4. Preparing the way for Alien Invasion
5. The elevation of Human technology
6. The eternal condemnation of mankind to a state of endless war and suffering in order to be Darwinist.

and all other sorts of whacky motivations. The Illuminati are loosely based around the combination of a number of other secret organizations and some actual real world conspiracies.

Some of the ideas are offensive, some silly, some expressing real fears

1. The Masons are the big ones as the Bavarian Illuminati were born for them. A gentlemen's club that incorporates real world mysticism, religion, secret oaths, and vows to protect the world.

2. The Catholic Church ironically is associated with the Illuminati but usually in conspiracy theories, there's a secret cabal operating from inside it that is decidedly anti-Christian.

3. The Military-Industrial Complex, Haliburton and so forth are supposedly part of a grand scheme to line the pockets of the Illuminati and destroy weaker governments not influenced by the Illuminati

It is here that their involvement in coverups like in UFOS and the like is postulated.

4. Skull and Bones Society, the University Fraternity of Yale

5. The Mafia is oddly also occasionally associated with the Illuminati, and oddly occasionally against it, as the two groups dwell in the same circles for hidden puppetry

6. Swiss Banks

7. Media, our constant bombardment with images of sex/violence/lowest denominator humor and propaganda meant to destroy our brains so we can think less.

8. The Knights Templar being a group destroyed by Phillip but already ancient, secret, and not entirely destroyed is believed to have gone on to join the group.

and even other religious groups.

Weird stuff they've been involved with are such fun things as

1. The United State's creation
2. The Kennedy Assassination
3. The Inquisition was supposedly to eliminate them or done by them
4. Hitler's Third Reich (oddly never Stalin)

and even boybands

Essentially, the fun aspect of the Illuminati is the fact that they are supposed to have thier influence everywhere and it's really a Hydra. Even if the players eliminate one of their bases or even kill their leadership....they have no idea whether

1. They've killed the real Illuminati head or just dupes who THINK they head the group

2. They won't just be replaced quickly in the mammoth conspiracy.
Kobold Avenger
05-06-05, 11:53 PM You know one that has a lot on Secret Conspiracies is Dark Matter, that WotC put out before 3e came along. It has a lot of real world conspiracies (Freemasons, Templars, Knights of Malta, Thule Society), and made up ones (Hoffman Institute, Final Church) mentioned in it.
Isran_Imrador
05-07-05, 04:40 AM I like the original ida you had best...

But the could also be a group/fraction of the Dragon Bellow...
Masterful_Norg
05-07-05, 10:41 PM I'm glad to find this thread because my up coming campaign includes a very hefty illuminati inspired conspiracy.

I tend to think of the Aurum as the equivalent to Rockefellar's Trilateral Commision and the Bildeburg conferences which are supposedly illuminati related, but only represent a tip of the iceburg. The 12 dragonmarked houses are multinational corporations and fit perfectly with the Corporate rule conspiracies. Afterall there is very little competition between these houses (espionage excluded).

House Jorasco would conceal effective non lucrative cures for certain illnesses and revoke hospital licences to facilities which practise in alternative cures much in the same way Rockefellar was supposed to have done in order to put his german pharmaceuticle company on top (which could tie in with the recent Sharn Inquisitive article about the Red Scale Plague). The only problem with that Idea is that most magical cures are highly effective though rarely affordable to the masses. So there's probably some exoteric "treatment" widely available but mostly causing Iatrogenic diseases.

House Orien is perfect for transporting and selling whatever would normally be restricted in certain areas and reaping tremendous profit. In fact, the house of passage may have a prohibitionist lobby group whose job it is to outlaw products in order to create a lucrative criminal market, though usually this is what the governments are supposed to do to pay for black projects. House Medani would engage in the same activity.

House Deneith is the perfect organization for Problem/Reaction/Solution "Peace Keeping" conspiracies. In this scenario private money secretly props up a freedom fighter organization in one country or another and funds both sides of the conflict. Those in charge manipulate the media to report the incident in such a way as to provoke public out cry. Then peacekeeping forces are sent in and they never leave. Now the countries resources can be exploited and the people dissenfranchised. Meanwhile house Tharashk determines which areas are to be targeting in such a way by evaluating local dragon shard resources.

The Gnomes of house Sivis say they can't recall a message after scribing from the message stone but that doesn't preclude the House's roll in helping the All Seeing Eye's agenda progress. House Thuranni and Phiarlan are instrumental in gathering information from sources world wide. Perhaps they were split up with the intention to prevent an information monopoly because the powers that be know that information is the most valuable commodity in Khorvaire.

House Cannith works to produce a secret military completely loyal and unquestioning of its Corporate masters while propping up the Lord of Blades in hopes to eventually reduce Khorvaire's living population to a more managable size via genocide.

Kundarak will generously loan funds to any country in need thus establishing such an extensive record of debts that any countries that fall into bankruptsy shall come under their financial management. In any case Kundarak will finance countries intrested in the arms trade because the money will go straight to the Mror Holds where the precious Iron ore lies. It is Kundarak's main goal to prevent any of the 5 nations from acheiving financial independance.

House Ghalanda would have the menial task of planning conference locations for the Corporate Elite and poisoning certain diplomats to furnish the various Problem/Reaction/Solution conspiracies.

The Real World Illuminati derive their heredity from intangible noble blood lines whereas the Eberronian Illuminati derrive it from the very tangible dragonmarked bloodlines. Just as in the real world, the Illuminati of Eberron are likely to adopt an inclusive philosophical structure which is eventually corrupted. As I understand it, Freemasonry was a pretty good idea at the time Pope Leo XIII made his encyclicle of condemnation which can be read here (http://www.halexandria.org/dward344.htm). Its a good read because Leo basically describes what Freemasonry is and why he finds such masonic ideals as equality intolerable.

Thus far I've only mentioned the corporate side of the Eberronian Illuminati. While I think its unlikely that the royal families are in on the conspiracy its possible that Boranel's Parliament and Zilargo's government have been infultrated. As to who's running the corporate side from the shadows the Quori probably fill this roll the best.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Charles Phipps 05-05-05, 07:48 PM	What groups do you think would make a good Illuminati in Eberron? I think it might be good to have an all-powerful conspiracy to fit the Pulp feel of the game. I was thinking of for my next 13 or so sessions, having the games open with "Thunderball" like openers with SPECTER where the organization discusses the PCs last adventure and what to do about them. I think it would help the game as well. The best candidates for this of course are the Quori. The Quori already have a weird cultist feel and an all powerful network that stretches EVERYWHERE. They even have Inspired who can provide a nice name for "Illuminated" Other options include making the Illuminati headed by Dragons, which would fit with their role as the Keepers of the Prophecy and the more interference minded could do almost anything they wanted.
Sir Elton 05-05-05, 10:26 PM	Dude! Eberron is your world. If you want the Bavarian Illuminati in the game, or the Priory of Sion, or even the Society of Assassins and the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon, no one can stop you here. They can give their opinions, but who cares? Their opinion doesn't matter in your Eberron game. Illuminating a fantasy game is going against type. Most Illuminated games take place in the modern world where you can play up to the conspiracy better. But all you are doing is changing the situation . . . er setting. You have to pretty much think low-tech. While Eberronians can't put mind control sattelites to orbit their fair planet, you won't see very many Mr. Beamishes wearing tin foil hats. On the other hand, it's easier in a low tech world (meaning, a world without computers and transistors) to manipulate history via conspiracy, because it is theoretically easier to hide your manipulations from the common people. But then, Eberron isn't your typical low tech D&D world. House Cannith created the Warforged using magi-tech. And the Eberronians harnessed the elements and created new technologies using magic as the base source of energy. And whose to say that no Eberronian wizard hasn't developed Spelljamming magi-tech, and have made the first test of the first Eberronian Spelljamming ship and flew to the Ring of Siberys? Who knows? Maybe human Spelljamming magi-tech came from Eberron in the first place. So the Conspiracy works in different ways to hide themselves. Here are some suggestions: 1. House Cannith and the Lord of Blades are involved in a Conspiracy of Illuminati proportions. House Cannith was involved in manipulating history for a very long time. They secretly developed the Warforged a long time before the Last War, and have used their secret contacts in the government of the Five Nations to start the Last War and start production of their Warforged. At the end of the Last War, House Cannith completely co-opted the Lord of Blades' organization while feigning to be an enemy. Both are holding off Warforged production while silently manipulating political events for an even greater war. 2. The Changelings are considered a threat to several Illuminati groups, who have been sending out assassins to hunt them down and kill them. In response, a few of the Changelings form their own Illuminati group (see Races of Eberron, Cabinet of Faces prestige class) and have begun to infiltrate one illuminati group after another, misdirecting the assassinations. 3. The Half-Elves control air-travel. Whos to say that they haven't formed a secret power group? 4. Scrying spells have become annoying, so a few illuminated groups are taking steps to reduce their reliability. 5. Some idiot has found out that he's descended from a certain royal line that is no longer in power. He disappears for days, and returns with no memory of where he has been and what he had been doing. He has a strange tattoo on his person where before, there was none. The point of an Illuminated campaign is to freak your PCs out. It's not out right horror, gore, and terror. It's more like something is not quite right fear at the beginning, and it should be enough to get people to investigate. At first, it's some kind of wierd hook that the Tabloids would print. Like -- Mind Flayers ate my husband's brain! -- sort of stuff. Or Bat Boy discovered among Shifter Clan. Or Jessithath and husband are splitting up! After they investigate the conspiracy and start learning very weird things, like House Storm had recovered a crashed Alien ship and is developing new magi-technology from it; then they start attracting really wierd things. Like some coach tries to run them over, and the coachman is wearing black and the number "666" is painted on the back. Or a PC wizard's bag has been stolen and returned the next morning. Only to find out that the spell components have been replaced with nearly identical spell components. OR worse, one's spellbook has been swapped, and after a week, the spellbook has been returned. There's lots of stuff you can do.
MysticTheurge 05-05-05, 11:43 PM	If you want a group that's not super-human, just out to control the world, consider the Aurum.
Kobold Avenger 05-06-05, 03:43 AM	I don't know which type of Illuminati you're referring to, whether its the ones directly from the game, or the one that exist(ed)s in the real world along with the other conspiracies said to exist in the real world. If that's so, remember that many of those organizations existed in the real world for centuries... The Illuminati itself could be the Aurum The Knight Templars would obviously be a certain faction among the Knights of Thrane The Freemasons are probably part of House Cannith
Charles Phipps 05-06-05, 04:15 AM	Essentially, I'm referring to the idea of an organization that is shadowy and conspiratorial that the players never actually know where their influence ends and begins. A group bent on world domination that the players can't really stop the schemes of because its possible they already DO control the world. Groups that are "Illuminatiesque" are to me... * The Hellfire Club from the X-men * The Technocracy from Mage: the Ascension * SPECTRE the villains from "Thunderball, Doctor No, From Russia with Love, and You Only Live Twice" * The Conspiracy from the X-files * The Conspiracy from Nowhere Man They are groups with no accountability that can result in the players being declared outlaws. One of the key themes also is the group operates through pawns. In the world of Eberron, the Dragon Council might set up the Gatekeepers who set up the local druids who hire the players in order to take out a Daelkyr Lord, all the while the players only having the barest glimpse of insight into the enemy.
Grymar 05-06-05, 08:41 AM	I'd say the obvious choice is the Aurum. When reading about them in the ECS, I felt like this WAS the Illuminati, or at least based off of that idea. Other options could be the Inspired, the Chamber (with some work), the Trust (again, work would be needed), or a group of your own making.
chimpman 05-06-05, 12:48 PM	Actually I think the Chamber fits the bill perfectly with little to no modifications needed. Taken from wikipedia: Since Illuminati literally means 'enlightened ones' in Latin, it is natural that several unrelated historical groups have identified themselves as Illuminati. Often, this was due to claims of possessing gnostic texts or other arcane information not generally available. Just substitute Draconic for Latin and 'draconic prophecy' for 'gnostic texts' and you're done. The Chamber members have studied the Prophecy (at least to some extent). They are dragons who think that 'they know best' (and perhaps they do...) and are willing to expend their time and resources in order to shape the world around them more to their liking. Maybe they are the only hope for the world. Maybe their machenations will end up destroying it. Even they don't know. And neither should the PCs. That's what makes dealing with a conspiratorial illuminati type organization so scary and dangerous. Now the real fun begins when other groups start laying the same claim. The Aurum can claim to be illuminated (and that the Prophecy actually drives their actions) when in fact the only thing that motivates them is money. The Emerald Claw/Blood of Vol can likewise make the same claim. "The Prophecy indicates that only Blood and Undeath can save the world..." In fact they (Vol) are driven by revenge. Dhakaani heirs could also make that claim while trying to unite their people. The Twelve could view themselves as 'illuminated' because of their arcane studies. So could sects of the Arcane Congress. Mix all of these organizations into Eberron and you've got the Illuminati. The one thing that ties them all together is the Prophecy. At some level each group should use that as a rationalization for their actions. It's the piece that gives weight to whatever claim the group makes about 'being right.' The PCs of course should have to choose whether this is true or not, and the choice shouldn't be easy. I hope you let us know what you decide to go with in the end. Sounds like a lot of fun. [sneaks away with many of these ideas in tow.]
Siberys 05-06-05, 03:55 PM	Aurum is the way to go. When I read it, my impression was that the Aurum was heavily based off of the real world Illuminati. In fact, "Aurum" may have something to do with light in the same way that "Illuminati" Does - You know Aura/light (A stretch, I know...). The best other option would be, as stated before, The Chamber, The Trust, and The Inspired.
chimpman 05-06-05, 04:18 PM	Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Au (L. aurum) and atomic number 79. You know at first glance I agreed with everyone. I would have jumped right onto the Aurum as a good parallel to the Illuminati, but the more I look at them the more I disagree. Aurum really does mean "gold"... literally. That's all these guys are concerned with. I always got the impression that the Illuminati were really more concerned with social change/architecture. Sure they might use gold to achieve theor goals, but it wasn't an end in itself. To the Aurum it is.
Charles Phipps 05-06-05, 06:33 PM	You know at first glance I agreed with everyone. I would have jumped right onto the Aurum as a good parallel to the Illuminati, but the more I look at them the more I disagree. Aurum really does mean "gold"... literally. That's all these guys are concerned with. I always got the impression that the Illuminati were really more concerned with social change/architecture. Sure they might use gold to achieve theor goals, but it wasn't an end in itself. To the Aurum it is. The Illuminati is based on the old saw of World Domination. According to some theories the Illuminati has some other goals than the simple acquisition of power.... 1. Satanism (Lightbringer being Lucifer's title) 2. Elevation of Humanity to a Higher State of existence through under the table manipulation. 3. The raising of Atlantis 4. Preparing the way for Alien Invasion 5. The elevation of Human technology 6. The eternal condemnation of mankind to a state of endless war and suffering in order to be Darwinist. and all other sorts of whacky motivations. The Illuminati are loosely based around the combination of a number of other secret organizations and some actual real world conspiracies. Some of the ideas are offensive, some silly, some expressing real fears 1. The Masons are the big ones as the Bavarian Illuminati were born for them. A gentlemen's club that incorporates real world mysticism, religion, secret oaths, and vows to protect the world. 2. The Catholic Church ironically is associated with the Illuminati but usually in conspiracy theories, there's a secret cabal operating from inside it that is decidedly anti-Christian. 3. The Military-Industrial Complex, Haliburton and so forth are supposedly part of a grand scheme to line the pockets of the Illuminati and destroy weaker governments not influenced by the Illuminati It is here that their involvement in coverups like in UFOS and the like is postulated. 4. Skull and Bones Society, the University Fraternity of Yale 5. The Mafia is oddly also occasionally associated with the Illuminati, and oddly occasionally against it, as the two groups dwell in the same circles for hidden puppetry 6. Swiss Banks 7. Media, our constant bombardment with images of sex/violence/lowest denominator humor and propaganda meant to destroy our brains so we can think less. 8. The Knights Templar being a group destroyed by Phillip but already ancient, secret, and not entirely destroyed is believed to have gone on to join the group. and even other religious groups. Weird stuff they've been involved with are such fun things as 1. The United State's creation 2. The Kennedy Assassination 3. The Inquisition was supposedly to eliminate them or done by them 4. Hitler's Third Reich (oddly never Stalin) and even boybands Essentially, the fun aspect of the Illuminati is the fact that they are supposed to have thier influence everywhere and it's really a Hydra. Even if the players eliminate one of their bases or even kill their leadership....they have no idea whether 1. They've killed the real Illuminati head or just dupes who THINK they head the group 2. They won't just be replaced quickly in the mammoth conspiracy.
Kobold Avenger 05-06-05, 11:53 PM	You know one that has a lot on Secret Conspiracies is Dark Matter, that WotC put out before 3e came along. It has a lot of real world conspiracies (Freemasons, Templars, Knights of Malta, Thule Society), and made up ones (Hoffman Institute, Final Church) mentioned in it.
Isran_Imrador 05-07-05, 04:40 AM	I like the original ida you had best... But the could also be a group/fraction of the Dragon Bellow...
Masterful_Norg 05-07-05, 10:41 PM	I'm glad to find this thread because my up coming campaign includes a very hefty illuminati inspired conspiracy. I tend to think of the Aurum as the equivalent to Rockefellar's Trilateral Commision and the Bildeburg conferences which are supposedly illuminati related, but only represent a tip of the iceburg. The 12 dragonmarked houses are multinational corporations and fit perfectly with the Corporate rule conspiracies. Afterall there is very little competition between these houses (espionage excluded). House Jorasco would conceal effective non lucrative cures for certain illnesses and revoke hospital licences to facilities which practise in alternative cures much in the same way Rockefellar was supposed to have done in order to put his german pharmaceuticle company on top (which could tie in with the recent Sharn Inquisitive article about the Red Scale Plague). The only problem with that Idea is that most magical cures are highly effective though rarely affordable to the masses. So there's probably some exoteric "treatment" widely available but mostly causing Iatrogenic diseases. House Orien is perfect for transporting and selling whatever would normally be restricted in certain areas and reaping tremendous profit. In fact, the house of passage may have a prohibitionist lobby group whose job it is to outlaw products in order to create a lucrative criminal market, though usually this is what the governments are supposed to do to pay for black projects. House Medani would engage in the same activity. House Deneith is the perfect organization for Problem/Reaction/Solution "Peace Keeping" conspiracies. In this scenario private money secretly props up a freedom fighter organization in one country or another and funds both sides of the conflict. Those in charge manipulate the media to report the incident in such a way as to provoke public out cry. Then peacekeeping forces are sent in and they never leave. Now the countries resources can be exploited and the people dissenfranchised. Meanwhile house Tharashk determines which areas are to be targeting in such a way by evaluating local dragon shard resources. The Gnomes of house Sivis say they can't recall a message after scribing from the message stone but that doesn't preclude the House's roll in helping the All Seeing Eye's agenda progress. House Thuranni and Phiarlan are instrumental in gathering information from sources world wide. Perhaps they were split up with the intention to prevent an information monopoly because the powers that be know that information is the most valuable commodity in Khorvaire. House Cannith works to produce a secret military completely loyal and unquestioning of its Corporate masters while propping up the Lord of Blades in hopes to eventually reduce Khorvaire's living population to a more managable size via genocide. Kundarak will generously loan funds to any country in need thus establishing such an extensive record of debts that any countries that fall into bankruptsy shall come under their financial management. In any case Kundarak will finance countries intrested in the arms trade because the money will go straight to the Mror Holds where the precious Iron ore lies. It is Kundarak's main goal to prevent any of the 5 nations from acheiving financial independance. House Ghalanda would have the menial task of planning conference locations for the Corporate Elite and poisoning certain diplomats to furnish the various Problem/Reaction/Solution conspiracies. The Real World Illuminati derive their heredity from intangible noble blood lines whereas the Eberronian Illuminati derrive it from the very tangible dragonmarked bloodlines. Just as in the real world, the Illuminati of Eberron are likely to adopt an inclusive philosophical structure which is eventually corrupted. As I understand it, Freemasonry was a pretty good idea at the time Pope Leo XIII made his encyclicle of condemnation which can be read here (http://www.halexandria.org/dward344.htm). Its a good read because Leo basically describes what Freemasonry is and why he finds such masonic ideals as equality intolerable. Thus far I've only mentioned the corporate side of the Eberronian Illuminati. While I think its unlikely that the royal families are in on the conspiracy its possible that Boranel's Parliament and Zilargo's government have been infultrated. As to who's running the corporate side from the shadows the Quori probably fill this roll the best.