Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jagnis 03-18-07, 08:18 PM	Hey, I was just wondering how one modest (well not so much) WisperGnome Rogue 2 Swashbuckler 1, would go about joining the trust, I talked about it with my DM but he said little about it. I was just wondering how a Gnome would be chosen. The most obvious thing I can think of is going to Zilargo and trying to showcase my skills in some way, but I'd rather not make too much of a scene. We are currently doing the shadows of the last war adventure neer the begining after the first excursion to the Mornlands. If it at all helps the party is composed of a Warforged wizard 3, Orc Fighter 2, Dwarf Cleric 2, Gnome Druid 2. Any ideas are welcome. Thank you. Long days and pleasant nights. Jagnis
Romulus LoneWolf 03-18-07, 08:44 PM	You don't go asking the Trust if you can join them. The Trust will be the ones sending someone asking you to join them, if they think you're Trust-worthy. (In My Honest Opinion, of course) Edit: In fact, I think the Trust might actually be suspicious of anyone wanting to join the Trust. What's his angle? Is he really dedicated to protecting the Nation of Zilargo, or does he have a different Agenda? Skill alone isn't enough: you have to be someone the Trust feel they can... well, Trust.
Jagnis 03-18-07, 08:49 PM	I wasn't really planning on asking them, I just want to find a way of attracting their attention so that they'd ask me... Long days and pleasant nights... Jagnis
Romulus LoneWolf 03-18-07, 09:01 PM	I wasn't really planning on asking them, I just want to find a way of attracting their attention so that they'd ask me... Long days and pleasant nights... Jagnis Hmm.. Find a secret threat to Zilargo and take it out discretely. That oughta get their attention.
goblin_pride 03-19-07, 02:14 AM	Hmm.. Find a secret threat to Zilargo and take it out discretely. That oughta get their attention. Not much of a secret threat if the Trust already knows about it, is it? That causes a bit of a problem, taking out a problem they don't know about before they know about it. Wouldn't that make the PC appear to be the threat? So you need to find a problem they do know about, eliminate it and hopefully they won't decide that you're powerful enough that you're a threat. One thing to consider, does the Trust feel that vigilantes are a threat to the public trust or do they consider them worthy of inclusion in their organization? It's a slippery slope, I think, trying to find a way to join an organization like the Trust without becoming one of the threats that they're chartered to eliminate.
Bluebrush 03-19-07, 06:51 AM	In Breland you join the Kundrak banking trust. In Zilargo The Trust joins YOU! Probably the best way to join the trust would be to make yourself useful by investigating crimes on your own initiative and reporting your findings to The Trust's overt agents. If you do this often enough, expect to draw a lot of attention from your aspired secret masters. Once they know everything about you (down to those copies of Playgnome you had in your secret sock drawer back in your 30's) they might contact you and offer a position as a corligano. Sending them info on what your group is up to and what you've seen on your travels. Being a member of an adventuring party may work against you (You've already committed yourself to them and it's harder to keep an eye on you) but as long as you haven't told them about your ambition too often, or burst into a musical number ("I wanna be a secret policeman") then you should be in with a shot.
Splendide 03-19-07, 07:17 AM	The biggest issue is being certain that you've joined The Trust and not some other clandestine organization that's using you for some other ends. Muahahaha. Anyway, evil aside, the most likely way to come to the attention of The Trust is to be related to a member of it. Your character quite probably has an indirect relative who is a member, and who probably hears of your character's exploits as part of the family gossip chain. In time, if you're suitable, you'll probably hear from them, or someone they've advised. Basically your character should just be concerned with the following: being a good Zil gnome, being good at what he does and not being in the thrall of any specific employer.
Wymarc 03-19-07, 03:04 PM	The biggest issue is being certain that you've joined The Trust and not some other clandestine organization that's using you for some other ends. Muahahaha. I thought The Trust was a clandestine organization that's using you for some other ends. Even the gnomes know not to trust themselves.....
Jagnis 03-21-07, 03:01 PM	Thanks for the information. I think what I'll end up doing is finding out about as small threat maybe a little goblin tribe or something and having people spread a rumor about that tribe making raids on a Zil town then assassinating the goblin leader and putting someone in charge who'll make a deal with Zil not to attack towns. It can't fail... Long days and pleasant nights Jagnis
goblin_pride 03-21-07, 03:11 PM	Are you certain that will work? The trust doesn't worry about things of that nature generally, their objectives are usually grander, aren't they?
Darth Syntax 03-21-07, 03:55 PM	I'm sure the Trust would 'monitor' the situation with the goblins, but I don't think they would be too concerned. Raids are fairly routine affairs and nothing to get bent out of shape about. I agree with several of the above posters: you don't join the Trust, the Trust finds you.
Salathiel 03-21-07, 11:19 PM	I hate to be the one to give the trivial answer here, but if the question is, "What does it take to join the Trust," the answer will always be "Whatever the DM says it takes." Make sure you're on the same page with your DM on this. If your DM is not interested in telling the story of your character joining the Trust, there is nothing you could possibly do that would get you membership. If your DM *is* interested in that story, however, he'll let you know what you need to know when he's good and ready. (DMs are sort of like the Trust themselves in that way.) In your original post, you mentioned that your DM "said little" when you brought the subject up the first time. You shouldn't be afraid of bringing this up with him again to get a straight answer, but be ready and open in case he doesn't see this storyline fitting in with his vision of the campaign. -Sal
Celas Evriamytholin 04-20-07, 03:22 PM	What I am wondering is... who knows anything about the trust? Does every gnome out there know that they exist? Even if his character is a gnomish rogue, would he know anything about this secret organization before they make contact with him? The group is level 3 and 4 now. In a group I am playing in, we are now level 9. At level 7, we had a run-in with a few puppets of the Trust, henchmen who were not gnomes. It happened again at 8th level and at our current stage we might think a Trustee is infiltrating our operation. However... even then, we know zilch about the trust. My character makes it his business to know things, and he knows nothing about them. He's an elven shaper with +10 gather info. I only know they exist because they signed a contract with us during a quest. House Phiarlan, for whom I am now an agent (no longer only an informant), has given me the mission of trying to figure out who the Trust is, and to possibly take them out if they are a threat to our own organization. He brought the subject up more than once... at first he wanted to _start_ his character being a Trust member... but to me, even if IRL I dont know much about the trust, I know enough to say that only the top, elite, cream-of-the-crop trustworthy agents are picked. Chosen. Without their knowing. The reason they have been so successful for so long is that the majority of their job is to make sure nobody knows who hit their mark, or to frame someone else so that no trail leads back to them. Kinda like a gnomish mob, except less direct. Also, the adventuring group (who they named the Shards of Obsidian) is stationed in Breland, Sharn most of the time. Even if the gnome is conveniently from Zilargo, he spends the majority of his time elsewhere. Since the Trust operates _mostly_ in Zilargo, wouldnt the young aspirant need to prove himself over there? But my most important question is: Does Ace, the little, 4th level whisper gnome, know _anything_ of the Trust? Even of their existence? Of their name? Customs? Methods to get noticed? Etc. etc.... because Jagnis (my player) knows everything there is to know about it. Much more than I as a DM know, and he's using that as covertly as possible, as a player, to guide the actions of his character who, in my opinion, should be oblivious that all of this is going on... I didnt tell much to my player about it because I don't think his character is anywhere near ready to grasp the attention of the Trust, nor should he have any information on their existance... whether he is a gnome, or not. Any feedback?
Bluebrush 04-20-07, 04:53 PM	What I am wondering is... who knows anything about the trust? Does every gnome out there know that they exist?Well, all the Zil do, yes. They're comfortable with sacrificing their privacy for security. It came up on the AKB thread that there are uniformed, visible officers around for your convenience. Why make it difficult for people to tell you about crime? Notably they're also unarmed. The implication is that messing with The Trust will get you in more trouble than any gnome with a short sword. Though I'd suggest they also have SWAT-like forces available for spontaneous acts of major violence.
Cloud Divider 04-20-07, 06:45 PM	Hey, I was just wondering how one modest (well not so much) WisperGnome Rogue 2 Swashbuckler 1, would go about joining the trust, I talked about it with my DM but he said little about it. I was just wondering how a Gnome would be chosen. The most obvious thing I can think of is going to Zilargo and trying to showcase my skills in some way, but I'd rather not make too much of a scene. We are currently doing the shadows of the last war adventure neer the begining after the first excursion to the Mornlands. If it at all helps the party is composed of a Warforged wizard 3, Orc Fighter 2, Dwarf Cleric 2, Gnome Druid 2. Any ideas are welcome. As others have mentioned, like any good Secret Society that aims to Rule the World, you don't call them, they call you. So your character, is not too likely to be able to choose things to do that will gain their interest (because more likely than not, he's probably got no way of figuring out what those interests are). If their security/cover identities are poor, maybe you can find someone who's (reportedly) a Trust member, and try to suck up to them. Since you've said you've started on the Shadows of the Last War arc, one option would be to hand over any of those Important McGuffins over to that person who's rumored to be a Trust member. The rest of the party might not like it. Lady Elaydren certainly wouldn't. But hey, you REALLY want to join The Trust, right? Otherwise, getting their attention is hard. That is, unless the GM wants you to. This is where a little chat about "Hey, Mr. GM... I'd like my character to eventually have some run-ins with The Trust, and maybe someday join them. Can you swing that somehow?" Then he comes up with ways to try and work that in - maybe you intercept a coded message being sent to a Trust member (the classic "dying dude pressed a letter into my hand and told me to deliver it to <coughsplutter> in Zilargo...It was sealed with wax, but the dude bled all over the envelope, so I can't read the delivery address" gag). That is of course assuming he wants you to start getting involved with them. For all we know, he might just be setting them up as the evil villains, so having you join could be problematic.
Cifer 04-23-07, 06:16 PM	Since you've said you've started on the Shadows of the Last War arc, one option would be to hand over any of those Important McGuffins over to that person who's rumored to be a Trust member. The rest of the party might not like it. Lady Elaydren certainly wouldn't. But hey, you REALLY want to join The Trust, right? I wouldn't advocate it, precisely because of what you said: If the characters and their clients don't like it, chances are they'll avoid adventuring again with you - noone likes to be doublecrossed.
Cloud Divider 04-23-07, 08:24 PM	I wouldn't advocate it, precisely because of what you said: If the characters and their clients don't like it, chances are they'll avoid adventuring again with you - noone likes to be doublecrossed. That much is true. However, it's precisely because of that, that it would make a phenomenal bargaining chip with The Trust. The Schema are just the kinds of items that would be an ideal thing to offer them - the influence/political value they have (the Cannith REALLY want it) is far more valuable to them than figuring out what the silly thing does. "We've got something we KNOW you'll want...I just want a membership card." It also certainly puts a price tag on just how much the PC wants to join the Trust. Being hardcore enough to betray some powerful people (perhaps you know they're that powerful...or maybe not), and be willing to face the repercussions. But yeah, it's sort of a high-risk maneuver. It'd certainly have the potential to derail the GM's campaign, assuming he was planning on running the Shadows of the Last War series. But hey, it wouldn't really take that much extra work to change the PC's backers from the Cannith/Lady Elaydren to the Trust. It just adds one more competitor for Xulo (Cannith vs...Emerald Claw? I forget who that changeling villain worked for) into the mix. I guess if he doesn't want to convince the rest of the party to screw over Elaydren, he can always try to sell them the information. "The Cannith just came into possession of a schema, and they are intending on mounting an expedition to Xen'drik to look for more pieces," might be enough to just get their attention (though it'd be unlikely to get you the membership, unlike the schema itself). But hey, it's a foot in the door.
Bluebrush 04-23-07, 09:05 PM	Also don't forget that if you do that, The Trust knows they're dealing with a double crosser. If you'll betray your current patron, why not them later?
Cloud Divider 04-24-07, 05:08 PM	Also don't forget that if you do that, The Trust knows they're dealing with a double crosser. If you'll betray your current patron, why not them later? Honestly, if you're hoping for a fair shake and an equal partnership in a power deal, trying to hook up with a World-Spanning Conspiracy is probably not the place for you. If you want to be on the big side of the equation, you've got to build your own organization. You're in way better shape if they approach you, rather than the other way around. If you are a SPY NETWORK, you are by-definition dealing with people who don't have the strongest loyalties. In the real world, most of the "real spying" is by Joe Average Traitors, who feed their information over to their foreign handlers, in exchange for money, drugs, feeding their ego, or similar perks (alternately, they're conceding to blackmail). It'd be just the same for The Trust and anyone they bring in from the outside. As had been noted by someone earlier - someone who wants to join your organization from the outside (and has no connections to the inside) is suspicious from the get-go. So yeah, they deal with double crossers (back to that whole "anyone can be corrupted for the right price" philosophy). But that said, they've got most of the cards, anyway. If they're an intelligence organization worth their salt, they'll only very, very, VERY rarely take the word of a single informant - any meaningful information is likely to be at least partially corroborated through their other sources. And they're likely to be planning to screw you over too - as soon as you're no longer useful to them, they'll leave you out to dry. You're an asset - a tool. You might be a really GOOD tool. But sometimes, good tools get broken, get left behind, get caught in the machinery. Such is life. Wow, there's some pretty dark espionage fodder for ya. On the other hand, if you want to run it more like Mission Impossible or James Bond, go for it. At that point, it really doesn't matter - whatever's happening is because the story needs it to, and not much else. Henchmen with EWP: Killer Hat? ROCK ON!
Nived 04-25-07, 01:46 AM	My personal take? You don't "join the Trust". The Trust decides to inform you that you've been doing nothing but working for them for the last couple of months, years, decades. They would scout perspective operatives by hireing them freelance for jobs through seemingly unrelated third parties, you do well they toss more work your way until they have you working regularly for them. Eventually they may like or trust you enough to inform you that you work for them.
Cloud Divider 04-26-07, 04:41 PM	You don't "join the Trust". The Trust decides to inform you that you've been doing nothing but working for them for the last couple of months, years, decades. They would scout perspective operatives by hireing them freelance for jobs through seemingly unrelated third parties, you do well they toss more work your way until they have you working regularly for them. Eventually they may like or trust you enough to inform you that you work for them. That's a good point too. That said, from the "gameplay" perspective, the original poster is still pretty much stuck with telling the GM that he wants his character to work for the Trust. And then it's up to the GM to either let it happen or not...
Celas Evriamytholin 04-28-07, 03:03 AM	"I'm the dungeon master, I control worlds, universes! Every potion you drink, I mixed! Every magic item you find, I put it there!" Thanks for your input guys, it helped me quite a bit.
ChaoticGood 04-28-07, 08:10 PM	Might not be useful, but... In my Eberron, Whisper Gnomes are the result of a secret Trust selective breeding program. They are automatically members of the Trust, and expected to perform all manner of black ops missions for them. Betrayal of this purpose is punishable by something worse than death...
shaft350x 05-24-07, 03:23 PM	Where are you all getting your information on the Trust? Is there any "official" word on how the Whisper Gnomes fit into Eberron? (I'm going to be playing a whisper gnome in an Eberron Campaign and had decided that his backstory is that he is part of the Trust) Any resources you could point me too would be helpful.
Bluebrush 05-24-07, 06:49 PM	In the Player's guide to Eberron, there's a sidebar suggesting that whisper gnomes are "rumoured" to have been created by The Trust for secret missions. Personally, I kind of like this idea, but add in that the whisper gnomes as a whole had a tendency to seek their own goals, so the project was abandoned. Also, I ignore the junk about chaos gnomes, since I'm not as interested in them. There wasn't, to my recollection, any mention of whisper gnomes automatically being members of The Trust. (Though you could do that by giving The Trust's full-timers some sort of psychic back door that allows the secret masters to controll them.)