As my campaign world was substantially supernatural-free for the majority of the 20th century, there really aren't any ancient and esoteric orders secretly ruling the world behind the scenes. That is, the odd ancient and esoteric order might survive to the present day, but between the 1900s and the 1980s, they were likely be have more in common with real world Freemasons, Oddfellows and Benevolent Lodges of one or the other than the Cabals, Lodges, Conspiracies and Secret Societies of Ken Hite's writings.
Besides, I want to avoid rubber psychology and sociology, even as I have areas of elevated mana cheerfully take physics, biology and any other scientific disciplines that interfere with preternatural predators quietly behind the woodshed. So, no conspiracies with unrealistic competence and perfect track records. Even the small 'c' conspiracies of my campaign world that have only been active since the 1980s or 1990s, once people with the proper gifts began to notice preternatural phenomena, have in their short histories experienced plenty of failures, defectors, whistleblowers and turncoats. Which is why the larger ones tend to be well aware of at least the existence of each other, even when the public position of most governments is that nothing is happening, there are no monsters, magic is superstition and the rapidly increased crime rate and deteriorating international situation is empathetically the fault of someone else, probably their predecessors in office.
In other campaigns set in the same setting, I've featured the obligatory British conspiracy, dubbed with tongue in cheek the
Shadow Court of HM Queen Elizabeth II and the inevitable Vatican-based counterweight, supernatural-savvy Catholic clergy backed up by at least one strike team recruited from the Knights of Malta and the Swiss Guard, as the players in my
Boston Mystic game found out. As far as any earlier PCs who have encountered members of these organisations in play can tell, both of them seem to have altruistic motives in investigating and combating the supernatural, seeking to protect Great Britain and to a lesser degree the Commonwealth nations on one hand and the Catholic Church and its adherents on the other hand.
I'm looking for suggestions on other organisations, whether altruistic or less so. I am, of course, particularly interested in any organisation that might become the allies, rivals, antagonists or enemies of the PCs. What organisations exist that accept the existence of the Vile Vortices? And what kind of organisations might there be that reject the theories of Ivan T. Sanderson, and, by extension, the thaumatological hypotheses of J.R. Kessler about a symmetrical system of twelve Vile Vortices around the world, prefering instead to categorize and classify supernatural stuff through the prism of an entirely different worldview?
Does anyone have suggestions for regional organisations, analogous to Kessler's private network, but focused on a different Vile Vortex? They might be secret government agencies, international NGOs or simply fellowships of like-minded individuals, but one way or another, they'd be defined through a preoccupation with the concentration of anomalous occurances in their environment. Perhaps they, like Kessler, claim to have no motives beyond the protection of humanity and the defense of our way of life, a sort of Volunteer Fire Department, and perhaps their goals are more mercenary, real-politikal or guided by the professional paranoia of intelligence and security agencies.
A Cabal Without Ancient and Esoteric Origins?
In fact, I really need to detail one part of a loose network that might be described as a Cabal-precursor. It basically consists of personal relationships, research collaborations and allegiances between various private scholars, occultists and mystical talents who independently discovered the supernatural at some point after 1980 and the present day, and instead of trying to convince the public of its existence or set up an organisation to combat supernatural threats in secret, simply try to use it for their own selfish ends.
I'm featuring a black magician in the game. He started out as part of a some variety of New Age/Satanic cult at UC Berkley, consisting mostly of the kind of people who get involved in cults in the real world, as well as a charismatic leader who somehow was in contact with a genuine supernatural entity (though not necessarily one that corresponded in any specific way to the ridiculous faux-doctrine of that particular cult). Our anti-hero left UC Berkley to finish his PhD somewhere else and it was there that he came into contact with someone, one or more people, who were truly knowledgeable about the supernatural and able to teach him the dark arts he is practicing now.
The only thing I have established about him is that he relies on the services of demonic entities whom he has summoned to inhabit 'bodies' made of black mud mixed with blood and other exotic ingredients. A ghostly spirit referred to these entities as 'the Cold Ones', but the significance, if any, has not yet been revealed to my players or their characters. The ritual to bind the spirits to the created bodies made use of a rich variety of occult symbols and mystical objects, as well as blocks of ice and the aforementioned blood, as well as requiring, apparently, a human sacrifice.
Now, where did he learn to do this?
In what language is he speaking with these things?
Who is his master and tutor in dark magic?
When the PCs start investigating reports of his movements, the contents of his hastily vacated hotel room and any other clues they might find, what connections to various Vile Vortices will they find?
What adumbral hints will they discover pointing at the unhealthy company he was keeping and what unearthly esoterica and secrets he was seeking?
Et cetera ad nauseum.