The Cabal of Cyrauk
About the Cabal
The Cabal of the Cyrauk is an organization that thrives on the secrets, fears, dreams, and desires of all who hold power or influence in Idalos. The Cabal specializes in gathering information by means of espionage, blackmail, and threats. This information is meticulously coded using ciphers and transferred to various cells across Idalos. The Cabal is known for storing their secrets in multiple locations both above and below ground. More recently, the Cabal has adopted the use of stenography to hide their secrets within plain sight. The full name of the Cabal is hidden to all but the Hand, Fist, and Palms that work within the organization. The members of the Cabal dedicate a significant portion of their time to cultivating rumors to ensure that the image of the Cabal stays in line with their current goals and objectives.
The Cabal is not a group of thieves or assassins. As such, they prefer to gain their information by infiltrating powerful positions within cities or other organizations. The Cabal also favors members who can find information by intercepting and forging important documents, cracking ciphers of other organizations or networking. Above all else, the Cabal wishes to remain hidden and does not seek to anger those who uphold the law. They do not condone assault, ransacking, the use of easily detectable poison, or murder. Any members that are caught using ‘forceful’ methods to gather information are judged and punished by the Fist.
Structure and Rankings
The Hand and the Fist: The Hand and the Fist are two separate ranks within the Cabal that rule the organization together. The Hand is the ‘brains’ of the Cabal and dictates the targets, overarching strategy, and goals of the organization. The Fist is the ‘brawn’ of the Cabal. The Fist ensures compliance within the cells of the Cabal and also acts as the largest physical threat to those who would undermine the Cabal.
The names of the Hand and Fist are never static and change based on the favored technique, skills, and weapons used by the leaders of the Cabal. Prefixes and suffixes can be amended onto the ranks. This system is used to sow discord as the directives of one Hand might be entirely different from the next.
Current Ranks:
The Hand of Subversion
The Blood-Soaked Fist
The Palm:
Every cell within the Cabal is led by a single Palm. This member of the Cabal has risen within the ranks and caught the attention of the Hand or the Fist. As such, the Palm is afforded a large amount of freedom in how they train newcomers and collect information. The Palm is often given an overarching goal such as: ‘collect information on dissidents within your region’, but they are given complete autonomy over who they target and the methods used to gather secrets.
The Palm is expected to know the languages of their region (both written and spoken) and must always be aware of the current ciphers and codes that the Hand and neighboring cells favor. Disciplining and rewarding individual Vessels is the domain of the Palm, though Vessels can appeal to the Fist if they feel they are being treated unfairly. The punishment for abusing the chain of command to attract the attention and presence of the Fist is extremely steep.
The Vessels
The term ‘vessel’ is used for all other members of the Cabal. This term is not meant to be shameful, but is used to remind the Vessel of their purpose – to gather and hold secrets for the good of the Cabal. While all Vessels share the same rank, the Hand, Fist, and Palms all monitor the Vessels and look for those that show a high level of potential. Favored Vessels are often rewarded with their own cells, lucrative contracts, and valuable treasures.
Requirements to Join the Cabal:
- Knowledge of the Cabal
- Competent in one or more of the following: Research, Forgery, Persuasion, Politics, Deception, Linguistics, Investigation, or Seduction
- A combined total of at least 25 points in the skills listed above (not including the points used for the above ‘competent’ requirement).
- Fluency in Common or the language most commonly used in the area of the closest cell
First and foremost, the Cabal is not an all-consuming faction. Your PC won't be expected to put their life on the line, dedicate an extreme amount of time to the faction, or get a grizzly gang tattoo to prove their membership. In addition, there is no need for martial prowess, super stealth skills, or a mark from an Immortal. However, there is one position for a super martial/combat oriented PC, and that might expand in the future.
So, why would your PC consider joining?
I've designed the Cabal to be a faction for PCs that like ferreting out information and gaining a better understanding of the dreams and desires of those around them. While the information gained will occasionally be used to help advance PCs and/or the faction, a vast majority of the intel is kept until larger plots unfold. The Cabal doesn't take sides or support one coup or ruler over another. In war there is information to be found about both sides and limiting the members of the Cabal to some weird ideology doesn't benefit the faction. With that being said, members of the Cabal are free to support whatever political/religious/social causes they wish.
Your next question is probably... 'What does the Cabal do with this (supposed) vast hoard of information?' First, the Cabal uses any secrets, vices, and other personal information to find more information on any related parties (e.g. the 'lover' of an adulterer - what secrets does she have?). Then, depending on the scope of the information found, the Cabal will make a decision about how the information will be stored and what should happen.
Generally, you can expect one of the following to happen:
- Store the information for later - wait for a great opportunity to leverage it
- Use the information to strategically place a Cabal member in an organization or position of power
- Sell the information to the highest bidder (and note who bought it - that's useful too!)
- Extort the original target for money, resources, etc (though this is rarely used)
- Offer the services of Cabal members to help 'deal with the problem' (occurs on a case by case basis, profits benefit the cabal members individually)
- Follow-up on the information to gain a better understanding of future intrigues, events, wars, etc
Yes, you totally can. However, the Cabal provides a network of like minded allies and a solid base of information in the realm of secrets and topics beyond the secrets themselves. If a PC member of the Cabal is looking for information on an esoteric topic, the location of a scholar or bookseller that can help you find that information is very likely to be found somewhere in the Cabal's trove of information. Faction start-up information
Leaders: Inali & Alistair
Leader Skills:
Inali (The Hand): Linguistics: 50, Cryptography: 45, Forgery: 26, Negotiation: 26, Leadership: 25
Alistair (The Fist): Rupturing: 99, Necromancy: 91 Polearms: 106, Endurance: 100, Acrobatics: 100, Unarmed Combat: 95, Stealth: 58, Leadership: 100 and more...
Members: Damien Noch (NPC)
Leader Fame: +55 (Inali), +490 (Alistair)
Members Fame: +350 (Damien)
Total Fame: 895
Fame/Renown Level: Recognizable
Fame/Renown Rewards: Recognisable. - +4 NPC limit, 10% cost on items related to your factions function, +2 NPC limit, 1 NPC limit (Total of 7 NPCs allowed)
800gn faction payment: -400 from Inali & -400 from Alistair
Location: A cave 2 miles away from Etzos (awaiting approval from Maltruism)
