Saturday, December 26, 2009

New Template: Organizations and Secret Societies...

Good Afternoon, All:

I've been trying to come up with a simple format for laying out information on Organizations and Secret Societies. What follows is the basic template:

Name Of Organization
@Brief paragraph describing the organization and its place in the setting.
Headquarters: @Location(s) of the major headquarters of the organization.
Members: @Approximate number of members in organization. Also includes notes on recruiting practices.
Organization: @Notes on leadership, hierarchy and even secrecy.
Goals: @The motivation of the organization, as well as the obstacles that challenge the organization.
Symbol: @The symbol of the organization.

What follows is an example of an Organization from one of my future product releases, a campaign setting I am calling Hammersong's Legacy:

Ancient Order of War Sages
The Ancient Order of War Sages is a fairly widespread order of battle-mages originating from the City-State of Thorjak. Known for their talents in both battle and sorcery, the War Sages are often sought as specialists and consultants by mercenary bands and noble courts.
Headquarters: The City-State of Thorjak houses the Library Arcanum, the campus of the Ancient Order of War Sages where young battle mages gain competence in both spellcraft and warskill.
Members: The names of approximately a thousand battle-mages appear on the public records of the Ancient Order of War Sages, and perhaps half that many are secretly members. The War Sages approach only the most virtuous and accomplished of battle-mages and eldritch knights to join their ranks.
Organization: Under the guidance of the Grand Magus Thaelandreus, the Order's Lord-Savant, the War Sages are organized by the towers with which they have declared their membership. Members bear the title of Savant, and study both the arcane and martial arts from Master-Savants on campus.
Goals: The Ancient Order of War Sages is dedicated to the preservation and protection of civilized territories from forces, both external and internal, that might disrupt the population of civilized lands. Due to their generally public status, the War Sages are often targeted by those that support humanoid hordes, enemy armies, infernal legions and other forms of brute force that can be brought to bear against the civilized territories.
Symbol: The War Sages use the white phoenix as a symbol of their Order, demonstrating that through purity, the Order shall always overcome the threat of darkness.

So, what do you think? Does the format work? Does it provide enough information to inspire adventure without stifling creativity? Any constructive feedback would be appreciated.

With Regards,
Flynn

1 comment:

James said...

I really like it Flynn - It's nice and concise, but still gives a great feel to many facets of the organisation.

Sounds like you have an interesting setting coming along too...