Teaser #3: The Four Members of the Council of the Obscured [Archive] - Wizards Community

Teaser #3: The Four Members of the Council of the Obscured [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Skerrit
06-28-06, 02:20 PM This will be the last background teaser posted to the forums, as I am told that the website will be able to be used soon.

Today, as you all drive to Origins, I thought I would explain how the Cabal is run, and the four groups that make up its leadership. The leaders of the four largest Obscura each sit on a body called the Council of the Obscured. Their identities are secret, and known only to the Obscura that sent them; indeed their true faces are even hidden from the other members of the Council. The Council of the Obscured then debates amongst itself and guides the Cabal. Their decisions are final, though their even number often leads to ties. In such cases individuals often due as they please; ignoring any directives not supported by a majority. The four largest Obscura are open to PC membership and are described in brief here. Expanded descriptions will be available at Origins, and eventually on the XE website.

Mourners of Yore
“They hate us because we’re different, but we can’t help but miss what we have lost.”

Not all that fall in with the Cabal of Shadows are vicious murderers or zealots of the Traveler. Eberron is a hard world, and many feel lost in it, unable find a safe purchase upon which to base their life. The Cabal of Shadows offers a home where all are welcome, no matter their appearance or strange behaviors and the Mourners of Yore represent a significant portion of such people. Those who where born what they are through no fault of their own, and were driven out of their homes by paranoid or violent neighbors often find a place with the Mourners of Yore. The Mourners derive their name from the sadness most carry with them of a childhood lost.

In many ways, Mourners are glue that holds the fellowship of the Cabal of Shadows together. They are accepting of differences, and indeed often relish the diversity that is the Cabal’s strength. Members of this Obscura strive to build a home that the rest of Cabal can be safe in, and when the rest of the Cabal is driven to war, none fight harder then the Mourners of Yore, as none have a more defined goal than they.
Members: Those accidents of birth such as half-drow or those manifesting an aberrant dragonmark are often found among the Mourners. Those that choose to join this Obscura do so because they seek a home away from home. Someplace they can feel safe among others who have similarly lost a home and family because of how they were born.
Alignment: Members of this Obscura are often neutral. Evil members of the Mourners are rare and are usually characterized by those given over to madness and despair.

Defiance
“So be it, then. Let all Eberron be agreed, we are wicked through and through.”

Some are born to be bad, and others just have the worst expected of them. Those who wallow in what they might have had often join the Mourners of Yore, but those who embraces darkness out of spite are frequently found among the Defiance.

Members of the Defiance might have matured to be wholesome neighbors, but were instead persecuted by for their looks or parentage. Where the Mourners run and hide, members of the Defiance embrace their darker heritage to spite the so-called heroes of light who see them as monsters. If the world expects them to be evil, the Defiance will show them what true evil is.
Of all the Obscura, the Defiance is the smallest. It is however, the most organized and claims some of the most ancient and powerful among its members. Their entrenched power structure of elders often gives the Defiance a leadership role and an advantage in intelligence gathering over other Obscura.
Members: Those given over to spite or anger, such as shifters or tieflings are common members of the Defiance. Anyone likely to embrace evil in order to force change and teach a lesson to the rest world would make a good member of this Obscura. In general, members of the Defiance tend to be the least religious of the Cabal, though there are exceptions, particularly among those that follow the Mockery.
Alignment: Members of the Defiance tend to be lawful, and this clarity of thought often becomes evident in their complex plans. While the Defiance is not a large Obscura, they make up for their lack of numbers by their organization and forethought.

Instruments of Change
“The Traveler comes. Choose to be the instrument of his change, or the victim of it.”

If the Defiance is the organization of the Cabal of Shadows, the driving force is the Instruments of Change. To many in the Instruments of Change, the coming dark age spoken of by the Caldyn Fragments is precisely the sort of gift one would expect from the Traveler, and they plan to bring it about as befitting his the agents of his divine will.

The members of the Instruments of Change are as diverse as the guises of the Traveler, but all have some faith in his supremacy over the rest of the gods, as the world only advances through change. Instruments seek to improve the world through radical change, and sometimes act with what appears to be random behavior, but they see themselves as the chosen of their god; those who will be the masters of the New Age.
Members: Members of the Instruments are most likely to be changlings, spies, assassins, or clerics of the Traveler. This Obscura motivates the Cabal of Shadows to bring about the coming of the Traveler and to remake the world according to his desires. Almost every member of the Instruments of Change follow the Traveler in some way, though a minority also give praise to the Shadow.
Alignment: As followers of the Traveler, nearly all members of this Obscura are chaotic with slightly more being neutral than evil. It is hard for members of this Obscura to promote radical and sometimes random seeming change without being somewhat chaotic themselves.

Children of Xoriat
“Embrace your fury, and share it with your enemies.”

The Children of Xoriat are the nightmares that children’s tales are made of. The Children embrace the worst aspects of darkness. Many believe that all members of this Obscura are insane madmen, but that is not true. Many of them can no longer be called men.

Those that have been given over to madness and rage find a home among the Children. They seek to visit their pain and rage upon their enemies in an orgy of blood, mutilation, and death. Where the rest of the Cabal is subtle, and may even have some redeeming characteristics, not so with this Obscura. The Children of Xoriat are the militant arm of the Cabal of Shadows and while never truly controlled, the other Obscura at least direct the force of their violence against the Cabal’s enemies.
Members: Members of the Children include those who have gone insane such as half-daelkyr tortured by their otherworldly symbiotes or weakened kalashtar who now serve the Dreaming Dark. The Children also call to those who follow a warrior tradition such as full blooed drow or those with the fighter or barbarian base classes. Those skilled primarily in spellcasting are rare. Given the membership, in addition to Traveler that is the patron of the Cabal of Shadows, there is a small but significant following of both the Devourer and the Fury among members of this Obscura.
Alignment: Given the rage and twisted behavior of the members of this Obscura, nearly all members are chaotic in alignment with a strong majority embracing evil over neutrality. In the end though, all members of the Children are deviants given to violent behavior.

Greg Marks
Cabal of Shadows Factionmaster
kiddoc
06-28-06, 02:36 PM Crud.

I'm Lawful Evil.

:D

I've seen these before, but I hope the players appreciate what a great opportunity is available to them to develop their characters with even more depth. I'd have a hard time choosing, but damn if my Player doesn't have "Defiance" written all over me. ;)
Herrbard
07-03-06, 11:02 AM Wow. I wish we had these going into Origins. Cabal of Shadows was te first faction adventure I played on Thursday, and we had no info on the Obscura at that time. Others said they had gotten the choices later in the Con. :weep:

But all of the factions were extremely cool!
LachlarlanIII
07-03-06, 04:25 PM I guess if the Defiance are the organizers and the Instruments are the doers, that puts my character on the middle ground of both.

Funny thing is, I was gravitating towards a neutral evil alignment.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Skerrit 06-28-06, 02:20 PM	This will be the last background teaser posted to the forums, as I am told that the website will be able to be used soon. Today, as you all drive to Origins, I thought I would explain how the Cabal is run, and the four groups that make up its leadership. The leaders of the four largest Obscura each sit on a body called the Council of the Obscured. Their identities are secret, and known only to the Obscura that sent them; indeed their true faces are even hidden from the other members of the Council. The Council of the Obscured then debates amongst itself and guides the Cabal. Their decisions are final, though their even number often leads to ties. In such cases individuals often due as they please; ignoring any directives not supported by a majority. The four largest Obscura are open to PC membership and are described in brief here. Expanded descriptions will be available at Origins, and eventually on the XE website. Mourners of Yore “They hate us because we’re different, but we can’t help but miss what we have lost.” Not all that fall in with the Cabal of Shadows are vicious murderers or zealots of the Traveler. Eberron is a hard world, and many feel lost in it, unable find a safe purchase upon which to base their life. The Cabal of Shadows offers a home where all are welcome, no matter their appearance or strange behaviors and the Mourners of Yore represent a significant portion of such people. Those who where born what they are through no fault of their own, and were driven out of their homes by paranoid or violent neighbors often find a place with the Mourners of Yore. The Mourners derive their name from the sadness most carry with them of a childhood lost. In many ways, Mourners are glue that holds the fellowship of the Cabal of Shadows together. They are accepting of differences, and indeed often relish the diversity that is the Cabal’s strength. Members of this Obscura strive to build a home that the rest of Cabal can be safe in, and when the rest of the Cabal is driven to war, none fight harder then the Mourners of Yore, as none have a more defined goal than they. Members: Those accidents of birth such as half-drow or those manifesting an aberrant dragonmark are often found among the Mourners. Those that choose to join this Obscura do so because they seek a home away from home. Someplace they can feel safe among others who have similarly lost a home and family because of how they were born. Alignment: Members of this Obscura are often neutral. Evil members of the Mourners are rare and are usually characterized by those given over to madness and despair. Defiance “So be it, then. Let all Eberron be agreed, we are wicked through and through.” Some are born to be bad, and others just have the worst expected of them. Those who wallow in what they might have had often join the Mourners of Yore, but those who embraces darkness out of spite are frequently found among the Defiance. Members of the Defiance might have matured to be wholesome neighbors, but were instead persecuted by for their looks or parentage. Where the Mourners run and hide, members of the Defiance embrace their darker heritage to spite the so-called heroes of light who see them as monsters. If the world expects them to be evil, the Defiance will show them what true evil is. Of all the Obscura, the Defiance is the smallest. It is however, the most organized and claims some of the most ancient and powerful among its members. Their entrenched power structure of elders often gives the Defiance a leadership role and an advantage in intelligence gathering over other Obscura. Members: Those given over to spite or anger, such as shifters or tieflings are common members of the Defiance. Anyone likely to embrace evil in order to force change and teach a lesson to the rest world would make a good member of this Obscura. In general, members of the Defiance tend to be the least religious of the Cabal, though there are exceptions, particularly among those that follow the Mockery. Alignment: Members of the Defiance tend to be lawful, and this clarity of thought often becomes evident in their complex plans. While the Defiance is not a large Obscura, they make up for their lack of numbers by their organization and forethought. Instruments of Change “The Traveler comes. Choose to be the instrument of his change, or the victim of it.” If the Defiance is the organization of the Cabal of Shadows, the driving force is the Instruments of Change. To many in the Instruments of Change, the coming dark age spoken of by the Caldyn Fragments is precisely the sort of gift one would expect from the Traveler, and they plan to bring it about as befitting his the agents of his divine will. The members of the Instruments of Change are as diverse as the guises of the Traveler, but all have some faith in his supremacy over the rest of the gods, as the world only advances through change. Instruments seek to improve the world through radical change, and sometimes act with what appears to be random behavior, but they see themselves as the chosen of their god; those who will be the masters of the New Age. Members: Members of the Instruments are most likely to be changlings, spies, assassins, or clerics of the Traveler. This Obscura motivates the Cabal of Shadows to bring about the coming of the Traveler and to remake the world according to his desires. Almost every member of the Instruments of Change follow the Traveler in some way, though a minority also give praise to the Shadow. Alignment: As followers of the Traveler, nearly all members of this Obscura are chaotic with slightly more being neutral than evil. It is hard for members of this Obscura to promote radical and sometimes random seeming change without being somewhat chaotic themselves. Children of Xoriat “Embrace your fury, and share it with your enemies.” The Children of Xoriat are the nightmares that children’s tales are made of. The Children embrace the worst aspects of darkness. Many believe that all members of this Obscura are insane madmen, but that is not true. Many of them can no longer be called men. Those that have been given over to madness and rage find a home among the Children. They seek to visit their pain and rage upon their enemies in an orgy of blood, mutilation, and death. Where the rest of the Cabal is subtle, and may even have some redeeming characteristics, not so with this Obscura. The Children of Xoriat are the militant arm of the Cabal of Shadows and while never truly controlled, the other Obscura at least direct the force of their violence against the Cabal’s enemies. Members: Members of the Children include those who have gone insane such as half-daelkyr tortured by their otherworldly symbiotes or weakened kalashtar who now serve the Dreaming Dark. The Children also call to those who follow a warrior tradition such as full blooed drow or those with the fighter or barbarian base classes. Those skilled primarily in spellcasting are rare. Given the membership, in addition to Traveler that is the patron of the Cabal of Shadows, there is a small but significant following of both the Devourer and the Fury among members of this Obscura. Alignment: Given the rage and twisted behavior of the members of this Obscura, nearly all members are chaotic in alignment with a strong majority embracing evil over neutrality. In the end though, all members of the Children are deviants given to violent behavior. Greg Marks Cabal of Shadows Factionmaster
kiddoc 06-28-06, 02:36 PM	Crud. I'm Lawful Evil. :D I've seen these before, but I hope the players appreciate what a great opportunity is available to them to develop their characters with even more depth. I'd have a hard time choosing, but damn if my Player doesn't have "Defiance" written all over me. ;)
Herrbard 07-03-06, 11:02 AM	Wow. I wish we had these going into Origins. Cabal of Shadows was te first faction adventure I played on Thursday, and we had no info on the Obscura at that time. Others said they had gotten the choices later in the Con. :weep: But all of the factions were extremely cool!
LachlarlanIII 07-03-06, 04:25 PM	I guess if the Defiance are the organizers and the Instruments are the doers, that puts my character on the middle ground of both. Funny thing is, I was gravitating towards a neutral evil alignment.