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Old 01-19-2019, 03:54 AM   #121
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Default Re: [MH] Vile Vortices and Supernatural Threats

Entering their third cosmic horror game like this does remind me of the Charlie Stross fan who wants to be reassured that Bo and Mo will get back together and have a happily ever after ("I have the last scene of the Laundryverse stories clear in my mind. There will be at least one entity with a distant memory of having been human once." saith the Author).
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Old 01-19-2019, 05:26 AM   #122
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Default Re: [MH] Vile Vortices and Supernatural Threats

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Originally Posted by Polydamas View Post
Entering their third cosmic horror game like this does remind me of the Charlie Stross fan who wants to be reassured that Bo and Mo will get back together and have a happily ever after ("I have the last scene of the Laundryverse stories clear in my mind. There will be at least one entity with a distant memory of having been human once." saith the Author).
On the plus side, no PC or even a highly imaginative player has seen the slightest speck of evidence for the existence of Antarctic Space Nazis.

Yet.

Using Ken Hite's 'Six Degrees of Sir Francis Bacon', I suppose we could discover 'evidence'.

We could do either:

'Janus Eremus' switches his PhD studies to geophysics (leads to) Somehow being offered a position as research assistant at the Russian Vostok station (leads to) Mysterious Russian scientist sponsor (conjecture) Secret society of Russian and Societ scientists involved in Antarctic research (conjecture) With roots among POW scientists and the Soviet scientists assigned to continue their research after WWII (conjecture) The research into Dora, the Moonbase and the Polar Refuge of the Antactic Space Nazis.

Or:

'Gwen Delvano' is South American (leads to) So were the Boys from Brazil (leads to) Nazi ratlines helped many important scientists and leaders of secret projects escape the Third Reich and settle in South America (leads to) Where they continued their experiments and research (leads to) Maybe even becoming researchers for Argentina or Chile, both of which claim part of Antarctica and carry out research there (conjecture) Where 'Gwen Delvano' was born on Antarctica on a secret base of Antarctic Spazi Nazi scientists with Argentine or Chilean passports.
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Old 01-27-2019, 09:40 PM   #123
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Default Re: Suggestions for Occult Organizations in the World

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post

(SNIP)

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.

(SNIP)
Well, I picked exclusive social clubs as covers for various lodges in Facets, because they work really well for that sort of thing.

Make membership in the "Ancient and Honorable Society of Folklorists" (or something) available only to those with backgrounds and world-views shaped by extraordinary experiences, and you might have what you need.

Under U.S. law, they could qualify as 501c7 tax-exempt social clubs, which are discussed at:
https://cullinanelaw.com/nonprofit-l...-organization/.

Moreover, many clubs have reciprocal hospitality agreements with like-minded clubs in other parts of the world, and the ties between U.S. social clubs and their British counterparts are particularly close.

The nature of exclusive clubs make them perfect to host activities that require considerable finesse (and lots of political cover), and remain completely out of the sight of scruffy reporters and other nosy-parker types.

Of course, if you want strong ties between France and the U.S., look no further than the Society of the Cincinnati.
https://societyofthecincinnati.org/

The membership of the Society of the Cincinnati includes a long list of high military officers descended from the officers of the Continental Army and their French advisors, who fought together during the American Revolution.

While the membership rolls don't really single out those who might have served in the U.S. and French intelligence communities, you know there had to be some.

I could definitely see any number of "quiet little chats" taking place in the corners of Anderson House, or any of the nearby hotels in Washington, D.C., frequented by Society members.
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Old 01-28-2019, 08:43 AM   #124
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Default Re: Suggestions for Occult Organizations in the World

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Well, I picked exclusive social clubs as covers for various lodges in Facets, because they work really well for that sort of thing.

Make membership in the "Ancient and Honorable Society of Folklorists" (or something) available only to those with backgrounds and world-views shaped by extraordinary experiences, and you might have what you need.

Under U.S. law, they could qualify as 501c7 tax-exempt social clubs, which are discussed at:
https://cullinanelaw.com/nonprofit-l...-organization/.

Moreover, many clubs have reciprocal hospitality agreements with like-minded clubs in other parts of the world, and the ties between U.S. social clubs and their British counterparts are particularly close.

The nature of exclusive clubs make them perfect to host activities that require considerable finesse (and lots of political cover), and remain completely out of the sight of scruffy reporters and other nosy-parker types.
Indeed so.

That's a good point.

Are there any such clubs that you can see having become important enough, either because of numbers or unusual occult power, for them to need mentioning among the Great Powers of the occult world?

If I were imagining a summit of the leaders of the most powerful occult factions, who, if anyone, should represent the 'neutral' occultists who view magic as a tool and a fascinating a field of study, not a religious matter nor an existential threat?

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Of course, if you want strong ties between France and the U.S., look no further than the Society of the Cincinnati.
https://societyofthecincinnati.org/

The membership of the Society of the Cincinnati includes a long list of high military officers descended from the officers of the Continental Army and their French advisors, who fought together during the American Revolution.

While the membership rolls don't really single out those who might have served in the U.S. and French intelligence communities, you know there had to be some.

I could definitely see any number of "quiet little chats" taking place in the corners of Anderson House, or any of the nearby hotels in Washington, D.C., frequented by Society members.
Well, I don't want especially close ties between the United States and anyone, when it comes to occult matters, largely because I view the US response to the paranormal as balkanized, confused and with various factions too secretive and distrusting of others to cooperate effectively.

The PCs' Patron, J.R. Kessler, has good connections in France and at least some connections with various branches of the United States government, but while he'll make use of friendly contacts, his level of trust for any government is about the same as John Galt's.

And Kessler, at any rate, is very much not eligible for membership in the Society of Cincinnati, being born to immigrant parents in 1918. None of his family were Americans at the time of the Revolutionary War, at that time they were mostly Germans. If any ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, it would have been as mercenary Hessians, on the wrong side (and probably not as officers, at any rate).

That being said, I like the idea of the Society of Cincinnati very much and am tempted to use it somehow. Perhaps one of the informal factions of occult-aware people within the US government is concentrated around the Society.
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Old 01-29-2019, 10:39 PM   #125
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Default Re: Suggestions for Occult Organizations in the World

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Indeed so.

That's a good point.

Are there any such clubs that you can see having become important enough, either because of numbers or unusual occult power, for them to need mentioning among the Great Powers of the occult world?
What I did was search the list of U.S. clubs and find one in Denver that I could swipe and modify. I changed the name (but kept the club location the same), and made up my own floor plan of the inside of the building to suit.

I also made them a bit more politically active, as a group, than it actually is -- although a club such as that is going to have members on just about every official's list of callers who get rung straight through.

So, let's take a look. This is a basic list. If you look up the Web sites of the clubs, themselves (those that have them), they'll sometimes list reciprocity agreements.

This one is hilarious:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alibi_Club

This one begs to be used. I'm gonna find something to do with it, myself:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Club_of_Odd_Volumes

Another good choice for contacts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos_Club
-Meeting place of the Philosophical Society of Washington
-Lots of scientists and literary types, not just businessmen or politicians

This one has extensive archives of who knows what!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grolier_Club

The power-broker club in Houston. Kessler is probably a member:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Club


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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
If I were imagining a summit of the leaders of the most powerful occult factions, who, if anyone, should represent the 'neutral' occultists who view magic as a tool and a fascinating a field of study, not a religious matter nor an existential threat?
In the United States...? Erg, that's a tough one. Most New Age types are considered pretty flaky (albeit mostly harmless) here, for good reason.

(I got to know the pagan community in Colorado pretty well, about 15 years ago. Nice folks, who have a strong community that provides a great deal of mutual support. Doctrinally, though... I'd say most were somewhat lacking in philosophical sophistication. Which describes the adherents of most religions, really.)

The Native American Nations that actually have ancient indigenous traditions lack much in the way of resources to devote to disciplined, academic research into such matters.

You'd almost need a patron such as Kessler to get anything going. Maybe a Stevie Nicks Fan Club, somewhere, has a secret patron who funds more rigorous research?

(I'm only sort of kidding. I know of at least a few pagans who started such clubs in the 1970s, so as to avoid harassment. Use Nicks as a model for an NPC celebrity, who takes arcane research seriously enough to fund some scholarly investigations that actually turn up something? Saving the researchers' butts might just trigger an ongoing problem -- once they've got a whiff of something real, those folks will go all Wild Hunt on it. They will never stop. Ever.)


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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
Well, I don't want especially close ties between the United States and anyone, when it comes to occult matters, largely because I view the US response to the paranormal as balkanized, confused and with various factions too secretive and distrusting of others to cooperate effectively.

(SNIP)

And Kessler, at any rate, is very much not eligible for membership in the Society of Cincinnati, being born to immigrant parents in 1918. None of his family were Americans at the time of the Revolutionary War, at that time they were mostly Germans. If any ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, it would have been as mercenary Hessians, on the wrong side (and probably not as officers, at any rate).

That being said, I like the idea of the Society of Cincinnati very much and am tempted to use it somehow. Perhaps one of the informal factions of occult-aware people within the US government is concentrated around the Society.
That's how I'd use them, actually.

Any time the movers and shakers in any organization lack clear policies, or simply refuse to acknowledge reality, those who actually need to get stuff done figure out ways to accomplish their tasks by working around those who are supposed to be in charge.

In addition to allowing them to function at least somewhat effectively, success builds credibility and eventually forces the decision-makers to pull their heads out and pay freakin' attention. Moreover, it allows those out on the point of the spear to offer solutions or approaches based on practical experience (corporate pukes call this "managing upwards").

So, given that most of the U.S. government is so balkanized, clueless and perhaps drowning in denial, and given that field personnel have started to notice this nasty crap, some sort of informal networking will certainly have begun to take place.

The Society of the Cincinnati may be a place where a lot of ad hoc note-sharing takes place. Not all members will be in the know, but enough have recent military or intelligence backgrounds -- and a fair percentage remain on active duty.

That means an increasing number of them probably wake with shakes and cold sweats in the middle of the night.

Kessler could never belong to the Society of the Cincinnati. However, he's exactly the sort of guy that some of those old-money/old-military/third-generation "Company" men might use to poke into things.

Now then, I doubt Kessler is anybody's patsy or cat's-paw -- but he may find it useful to pretend to be one. Especially if files or thumb-drives "accidentally" get left on desks as the old acquaintances who sit in those offices get "called away" for an opportune few minutes.

Moreover, if Kessler is effective and his crews are discrete, then the Society chaps or chapettes might pretend they don't know Kessler's pretending. They might even arrange for the occasional prototype of a "silly item that would never work" to get overlooked for a month or so, during the next DARPA Warehouse inventory.
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Old 01-30-2019, 02:58 AM   #126
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Default Re: Suggestions for Occult Organizations in the World

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This one begs to be used. I'm gonna find something to do with it, myself:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Club_of_Odd_Volumes
One earlier campaign was set in Boston in 2010-2012. I've decided that the surviving PCs had made enough allegiances to make it plausible that they and their allies, de facto, represented the 'government' of anyone aware of the occult in New England by 2012-2013. The PCs had somehow stumbled into a role where anyone linked to the occult scene in Boston and environs would turn to the former policeman PC, Mike O'Connor, whose Charitable nature meant that his PI business tended to be pro bono much of the time.

So in the modern era, when this new campaign is set, Mike O'Connor, is the 'Sheriff of Boston', representing a council composed of several of the most powerful magic-users in New England, as well as a criminal organisation of vampires. Anytime there is a serious dispute between those aware of the supernatural or someone breaks the minimal laws that the charter members were able to agree on, the 'Sheriff' will deal with it.

I imagine that this would be set up as a benevolent charitable society, somehow. I haven't decided on the name, other than that in daily speech, almost everyone in the occult scene calls them the 'Mystic Society'.

One of the reasons why this was remotely plausible is that another PC, David Reynard, a Professor of Religious Anthropology at Harvard, was not only an awesomely powerful ritual magician, once he discovered magic, but also managed to be on friendly terms with people in the British conspiracy, the Vatican conspiracy and that segment of Israel's intelligence community aware of the occult.

Also, Mike O'Connor was a Knight of Columbus and a retired Master Sergeant of the US Army, with a formidable network of old army buddies and Catholic buddies with military, police and first-responder background. That proved vital during some early clashes with supernatural beings and less-than-ethical users of ritual magic (inc. a gang with Haitian roots called Kók Nwar, led locally by a powerful bokor). The Vatican learned about O'Connor from a sympathetic Jesuit (whom O'Connor had consulted for advice) and eventually decided to support him as the local lawman among the occult underground in New England, if for no other reason than that he kept the vampires from killing indiscriminately, in the US, at least.

Richard Ambrose Lawson, another PC, was a wealthy attorney with political aspirations and extremely good good connections, aided in no small part by his rich and influential family. He judged that no amount of connections would enable him to convince the public or even the federal government of the reality of the occult world, but over the eight years since becoming aware of it, he managed, at least, to position himself so that people sympathetic to him could inform him of all sorts of things.

Professor Reynard might very well have become a member of The Club of Odd Volumes, and if not, at the very least someone belonging to the Mystic Society would be.

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The power-broker club in Houston. Kessler is probably a member:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Club
Most likely, though when he obtained membership is going to depend on the attitude of the 1950s and 1960s era club toward Jewish members. J.R. Kessler isn't apparently religious himself, but Jimmy Kessler is his nephew. Great-nephew, possibly. Or a cousin. But a close relative, at any rate.

And in the 1950s, Kessler was still decidedly rakish, having just returned from various adventures abroad and establishing his first business ventures in partnership with people who were well known as associates of the Maceo brothers. Then again, probably a lot of Houston movers and shakers were more fond of the Maceo brothers than anything else. Certainly the cream of Texas society patronised the Balinese Room.

But there is perhaps a difference between socializing with mobsters at their dance club / illegal casino and inviting them to be part of your high-society club. Then again, Kessler was never a mobster, in that he never had a police record or was ever conclusively tied to illegal activity. He did run a casino in the 1950s, but that was in Havana and had all the legal permits necessary.

It isn't until the late 1960s or so that Kessler can be truly said to be respectable, if only because at that time, he is no longer merely a successful hustler with a hint of danger about him, he has actually become truly wealthy on a scale that even Houston oilmen tend to respect.

Never mind that Kessler is still an adventurer, basing a lot of his wealth on mineral, mining and petrochemical concessions in some dangerous areas in Africa, often profiting mightily by being willing to set up operations during hostilities, making murky deals with mercenaries and various factions in one civil war or another. In the US, at least, he had become the owner of significant stakes in various very successful banks, oil companies and multinationals, which, as everyone knows, confers instant respectability on even the most piratical rake.

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That's how I'd use them, actually.
[...]
So, given that most of the U.S. government is so balkanized, clueless and perhaps drowning in denial, and given that field personnel have started to notice this nasty crap, some sort of informal networking will certainly have begun to take place.
Yes, that's how the various occult-aware factions (which I have not as yet worked out fully) within the US government have come into existence.

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The Society of the Cincinnati may be a place where a lot of ad hoc note-sharing takes place. Not all members will be in the know, but enough have recent military or intelligence backgrounds -- and a fair percentage remain on active duty.
Really senior intelligence, security and military figures actually don't have as much chance of coming into contact with undeniable proof of the supernatural as first responders or soldiers on the ground do. And while analysis of statistics reveals that the world is somehow, inexplicably, a lot more dangerous in the 2010s than it was in the 1970s, the Facade means that almost any other explanation than the truth will ring more true to most people.

Ironically, when magic was less powerful and the signs of the supernatural more subtle, in the 1990s and 2000s, it seems that proportionally higher numbers of senior figures were prepared to entertain reports of the impossible, at least if they came from trusted underlings and/or numerous unconnected sources. There are numerous people in the UK, the Vatican, some other countries and even inside various US agencies, who came to accept the existence of the supernatural based on analysis and reason, rather than personal experience, but they tend to have done so some time ago.

Convincing new people of the existence of the occult seems almost impossible nowadays, unless they've had an encounter with it themselves. It might be, of course, that anyone mentally agile enough to be convinced by statistics and reports had already seen enough before 2010 and that those who remain in positions of power are those whose minds are especially resistant to the idea of the impossible. Certainly, young people are generally easier to convince.

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Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
Kessler could never belong to the Society of the Cincinnati. However, he's exactly the sort of guy that some of those old-money/old-military/third-generation "Company" men might use to poke into things.

Now then, I doubt Kessler is anybody's patsy or cat's-paw -- but he may find it useful to pretend to be one.
Of course, with Kessler's age these days, most outsiders probably believe that he is long past actually doing anything and any activity having to do with his companies is emanating from other people giving orders in his name. But back in his sixties and seventies, maybe into his eighties (i.e. in the early 1980s to the late 1990s), when he was old, but still not so old as not to be believably spry, it is very likely that Kessler found himself cast in such a role.

Kessler might also have found himself performing tasks somewhat analogous to the unofficial diplomacy of his former employee and then business partner Jean-Yves Ollivier. Kessler is a French citizen since WWII, when he was wounded while serving in the French Foreign Legion, and France seems willing to make use of the contacts of French citizens even if they hold no formal office.

While Kessler is too old now to frequent gentleman's clubs or make rounds of Washington (or Paris) cocktail circuits, he still has trusted friends in key positions who arrange to notify him of any information he ought to have. The PCs are probably not going to interact with them much, as they don't sail around on the Penemue, but Kessler has as many former intelligence and security personnel on the payroll as he has former SOF people. Not to mention a complex web of favors and obligations with a people who still hold positions in various government offices.

I imagine Kessler has much better contacts in the halls of power on various Caribbean islands, in Texas and other Gulf Coast states, and even in Paris, than he does in Washington, but still, fifty years of cultivating influence will get you some influence, even if you privately consider Washington D.C. a blight on a perfectly adequate bit of tropical swampland.
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Old 01-30-2019, 02:59 AM   #127
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Default Re: Suggestions for Occult Organizations in the World

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In the United States...? Erg, that's a tough one. Most New Age types are considered pretty flaky (albeit mostly harmless) here, for good reason.
If the most plausible answer is that no group or organisation in the United States is powerful enough to matter much to the British conspiracy or the Vatican conspiracy, that's fine.

I simply want to nail down other 'neutral' occult power groups that may have grown by design, but may have grown by accident, like the one in New England that had a nucleus in a group of PCs.

Note that while truly ruthless and power-hungry people who become aware of the occult usually carve out a sphere of influence in organised crime, 'neutral' groups covers a lot of ground. I imagine that 'neutral' occultists won't hesitate to use divination to help their own investments and Path of Chance rituals to arrange windfalls or unusual profits.

Even starting from a group of more or less doddering academics and eccentrics in the 1990s or early 2000s, it's by no means implausible that a group of occultists dedicated to using magic to secure worldly gain and advantage might be very rich and successful by the 2010s, if they managed to acquire enough knowledge to become good at divination and Path of Chance.

On the gray-on-gray morality scale of the campaign, they'd remain a 'neutral' power group even if they used Path of Mind and other magic to enrich themselves in ways that would be decidedly illegal if law enforcement had any chance of proving corporate espionage, fraud or coercion that was accomplished by magical means.

Whether that group is centered in the US or not, I think that I should include at least one analogue to the Cabal or the various Lodges of GURPS Voodoo, albeit one that only dates to the 1990s.

Does anyone have suggestions for such a group?

Real world organisations to use as cover?

Real people to make important NPCs connected to it?

Ideas about the history of such a group?


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The Native American Nations that actually have ancient indigenous traditions lack much in the way of resources to devote to disciplined, academic research into such matters.
Very true, but even if occultists are squeaky clean in personal morality, note that they do possess gifts that almost anyone who becomes aware of them might want. Anyone who can provide alternative medicine that actually works, for example, will not lack for clients, especially if there are any ailments that they can treat better than TL8 medicine.

Visions of the future, prophecies, protective charms, etc. There is a whole range of things that someone without magical gifts of their own, but plenty of money, might desire to buy if they come to believe in the occult.

Granted, most occultists in the 1990s and even the early 2000s did not have that sort of power. Becoming aware of the supernatural did not usually come with an ability to cast that kind of powerful magic. But those who did have Magery and who were capable magicians in a tradition that worked would essentially have to have a Code of Honour, Disciplines of Faith or Vow to avoid profiting of their talents in order to avoid at least becoming personally wealthy, if not mover-and-shaker level rich.

And, of course, Native Americans being as prone to human weaknesses as other people, I imagine that a group of occult-aware people might just as well have arisen among them as elsewhere. If medicine or ceremonial people in a Native American tribe were to start using traditional methods to ensure good fortune, for example, and one or more of them happened to be powerful mages, the tribal casino might become a whole lot more successful. When I was there, Foxwoods didn't feel very magical, but a casino is, almost by definition, a pretty good place to launder profits that are difficult to explain.

Certainly, the 1993 'Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality' at the Lakota Summit V could be interpreted to mean that there were both Native Americans and others making use of old traditions for some decidedly non-good things....

"Whereas sacrilegious "sundances" for non-Indians are being conducted by charlatans and cult leaders who promote abominable and obscene imitations of our sacred Lakota sundance rites; ... We hereby and henceforth declare war against all persons who persist in exploiting, abusing, and misrepresenting the sacred traditions and spiritual practices of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people."
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Old 02-16-2019, 12:52 PM   #128
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Default Vile Vortices and Ancient Astronauts, Mysterious Advanced People and Lost Continents

As should be obvious, just about any ancient myth can be 'true' in a setting with such Vile Vortices; various mosters, intelligent beings, lost continents and cultures actually being from other worlds that the Vile Vortices temporarily linked with our Earth.

We may even play around with Dänikerite 'Ancient Astronaut' fantasies, explaining the appearance of advanced people with mysterious abilities not as space-traveling aliens, but humans or human-like people from another world temporarily coterminous with a region of Earth, either visiting by design or being as much victims of the displacement as Earth people. This is especially suitable if there have in the past been more numerous Vile Vortices or they perhaps move with time, to give us options for the vast number of such legends that are set in the Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world in general.

I'm looking for ideas on which ethnographic, prehistorical or comparative linguistical mysteries seem especially suited for such explanations. Traditional ones include the Anunnaki and Sumerians in general, pretty much anything to do with Ancient Egypt, Etruscans, trans-Atlantean connections between ancient cultures of Central and South America and Egypt or other Old World cultures, and finally lost continents like Atlantis, Lemuria and Mu, complete with any theories on their colonies, refuges or merely cultural influence.

Some crackpots prefer a unified theory, like the Anunnaki/Elohim/[Whatever other words sound similar to 'El-' anything] 'Shining Ones' of Mesopotamia, the Bible, Egypt and everywhere to ancient Britain, if we ignore actual archaeology, anthropology and linguistics hard enough. That's obviously awful in a scientific context, even pop scholarship, but it's just the right variety of bad scholarship to inspire fantasy RPGs.

Less popular theories, but still solid draws among the right sort of crackpot, might revolve around Tartessos (refugee Atlanteans, clearly), the Dogon of Mali (Nommo aliens from Sirius by way of Egypt) or an enduring substrata of wise, pacifist, matriarchial 'Mother Goddess' worshipers who covered 'Old Europe' before the arrival of evil, patriarchal Indo-European 'Kurgan-building', horse-using 'Sky God' worshiping warriors from the steppe, who invented violence, social stratification and the patriarchy.

So, leaving the usual suspects somewhat to the side, what would be other candidates for otherworldly cultural migrations or influence in the pre- or proto-history of Earth?

At the moment, I'm looking mostly at Eurasia and North Africa in the Neolithic and early Bronze Age, but I welcome all speculation.

I'm also wondering which ancient cultures would be most appropriate to cast as places where otherworldly influence had been from some variety of 'Faerie', i.e. any kind of fey creatures or variations of Faeries, distinguished by a weakness for iron and powerful glamour, as well as often having strong associations with verdant nature.
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Old 02-16-2019, 11:23 PM   #129
Daigoro
 
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Default Re: [MH] Vile Vortices and Supernatural Threats

I'm not sure if you've mentioned them yet (or I might have already posted this myself...), but I offer for your consideration, the Pyramids of Bosnia. They have extensive tunnels and what looks like the world's smallest megalith.
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Old 02-17-2019, 10:01 AM   #130
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Default Re: [MH] Vile Vortices and Supernatural Threats

Quote:
Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
I'm not sure if you've mentioned them yet (or I might have already posted this myself...), but I offer for your consideration, the Pyramids of Bosnia. They have extensive tunnels and what looks like the world's smallest megalith.
Huh.

How interesting. It's especially weird that the main proponent of these pyramids being man-made, Sam Osmanagich, lives in Houston, TX, considering that the PCs work for a Galveston-born Texas businessman, with two PCs living aboard his yacht (currently moored in Galveston, TX) and one PC living in Houston.

And, ah, of course, there's not far to go to find that Osmanagich believes that the latest Indiana Jones movie, it of the crystal skull, might as well have been a documentary and that he suggests that the Maya were descendants of aliens from the Pleiades by way of Atlantis. Wonderful stuff.

Here's he's proposing a theory that is pretty much the one of Vile Vortices:

Quote:
It is my theory that the Maya should be considered watchmakers of the cosmos whose mission it is to adjust the Earthly frequency and bring it into accordance with the vibrations of our Sun;... Their ancestors, the civilizations of Atlantis and Lemuria, erected the first temples on energy potent points of the Planet. Their most important function was to serve as a gateway to other worlds and dimensions.
And, of course there are Nazis:

Quote:
In his book Alternative History (2003, published in Croatian), Osmanagić suggests that Hitler and other leading Nazis escaped from Germany at the end of World War II to an underground base in Antarctica.
Now, I just have to decide if Sam Osmanagich is an ally of the PCs' Patron, a rival or a poor deluded fool making everything more difficult by publishing pseudoscientific claims that sometimes draw attention to real Places of Power or connections to Vile Vortices that the PCs absolutely do not people ignorantly traipsing around.
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