While Illuminati was originally conceived as an omnipresent enemy for characters to face, it is conceivable that people would actually like to play characters involved in the great Conspiracy. Though compared to the Supernaturals in the World of Darkness, agents of the Societies are often pretty weak in comparison. However, they do have a very powerful organization, rich in resources and talent, actively backing them up on missions. Against the Abominations, a character Knight cannot hold his own in a direct fight. Yet the Illuminati have more tools at their disposal than mere guns or explosives. There are more subtle ways to harm your enemies.
Any concept is possible with Illuminati characters, the more unorthodox the better. Anything from Archbishops to Zookeepers are acceptable and encouraged. Stereotypical agents are not a good idea!
The character's Demeanour is the facade he puts up around him. Therefore the player is free to choose any Demeanour that fits his character concept.
Nature is another matter. Those illuminati of ranks Rook, Bishop, Queen or King; as well as those Pawns or Knights who were not brainwashed may choose freely. However, those characters who have been put through mind control techniques have Natures set by their captors. This is often Conformer, Fanatic, Conniver, and Loner; though it could be others too. Natures of Brainwashed victims are usually chosen by the Storyteller.
As far as characters are concerned there are only two ranks which will suit adventuring characters, that of Knight and Pawn. Rooks may be allowed as player characters, depending upon the particular Chronicle and Storyteller. Each Rank's duties will list special Character Generation rules and required skills/backgrounds. See part b) for more information on the ranking system of the Societies.
This author recommends that your Storyteller choose which Society you belong to, this especially if you a Pawn or Brainwashed Knight. Its almost never a matter of individual choice.
Societies will also recommend Backgrounds and Skills that would be of use to them (and why, perhaps, you were chosen by them).
Attributes: 7/5/3
Abilities: 13/9/5
Backgrounds: 7
Virtues: 9 (a personal house rule for all mortals; use 7 if you wish)
Freebie Points: Variable (Dependant on Rank)
Besides personal goods, most equipment and weapons needed for your missions will be provided to you by the Societies themselves. While individualism is tolerated (and sometimes encouraged), the Illuminati frown on equipment and clothing which draw attention to the agent (or his employers; ie. no heavy weaponry, explosives, tactical nuclear weapons, etc.)
Some unique gear is listed below.
At the lowest end of the hierarchy is the Pawn. Pawns are the workhorse of any Illuminati Society, a network of contacts and slaves that are given the most unimportant tasks. They are recruited from ordinary citizens, chosen specifically for their ability to integrate into society and their usefulness to the Illuminati. There are many types of pawns: Unwitting helpers, dupes, hired experts and consultants, members of front organizations.
The methods of Initiation vary among this rank, but Brainwashing is rarely done. Its not necessary for them, for they hold no information, nor are they a serious threat to security. Societies tend to follow the acronym M.I.C.E: Money, Ideology, Coercion, Ego. Blackmail, Bribes, and Persuasion using both beliefs and narcissism are (and have always been) quick and easy ways to ensure loyalty and obedience. Pawns are often controlled through a Society's holding (often a Holding they employed with). They are often totally unaware they are working for a secret society, let alone one as powerful as an Illuminati.
At best, a Pawn can be considered a "Sleeper" agent (not to be confused with the Mage term for unawakened humans). Continuing their lives unimpeded, they are only used when circumstances warrant it. Rarely are they used in sensitive operations (unless they have been Brainwashed) and are never combat trained. Typical missions for a Pawn are information gathering, shadowing/tailing suspects, research, and petty crimes.
Supernaturals are also recruited as Pawns (it's the only rank that allows them as members). However, they are chosen for their unique talents rather than their ability to fit in. They serve as defensive measures against magically endowed individuals or those creatures that can easily bypass the mundane security devices the Illuminati deploy. Other than the fact that Supernatural Pawns are always Brainwashed, they are quite similar to their mundane brothers.
Character Generation: No special skills required. Create a Mortal/Vampire/Werewolf/Mage/Mummy character as normal.
Freebie Points: Based on your breed (15 normally for Vampires, Mages, and Werewolves, 21 for Mortals, 30 for Mummies)
Knights are the elite shocktroops of the Societies, expendable agents with specialities in espionage and covert operations. Just above Pawns in the hierarchy of the Illuminati, these fanatical warriors are recruited from ex-service personnel, former agents and police officers, and anyone who shows who shows paranormal abilities (Numina).
Brainwashing is the normal procedure for Knights. Only rarely does someone show the devotion and self-sacrifice needed to be a Knight. Absolute loyalty is engrained in them throughout their year-long training in secluded camps throughout the world. The Knight is best suited for the tactical elimination of enemies. This elimination is ideally (according to the Pax Concordat) non-violent, but deadly force is also used.
Knights are experts in surveillance and entrapment, getting evidence which can be used to persuade or ruin an individual. The also have knowledge in commando and other special forces operations. Standard operating procedure is to make all covert operations look like routine terrorist actions. Sabotage is made to look like corporate espionage or "Eco-Terrorism"; Assassinations and Bombings are carefully staged to appear the work of extreme factions of such groups as the IRA.
The amount of information a knight knows is totally dependant on the skills and natural abilities he or she possesses. Those with Merits of Iron Will, or have extensive Numina abilities are often allowed more knowledge about the Illuminati than the mundane agents with no supernatural abilities. Normal agents may know they are working for the a secret society (and may even given a pseudonym to identify it), but has no knowledge of its personnel or practices. Knights endowed with the necessary special gifts may know a bit more, such as their immediate superiors and the influence the Society has over the local area he is assigned to . Though the exact number of Knights with Numina is great (around 75-80%), less than one in ten have the Merits or Transcendental powers to warrant even nominal insight into the Illuminati.
Character Generation: Knights have primaries in Physical Traits and Skills. They generally should have a good selection of espionage and military skills such as Firearms, Subterfuge, Survival, and Alertness. The also must take the Lingua skill, the spoken version of the Rook's Fabula. Background of use to the Knights are Contacts and Arcane (you ever notice on the X-Files that the enemy agents always disappear after rounding a corner and never seem to appear on cameras?) Numina is also very common with Knights but preferred supernatural abilities vary with Society.
Freebie Points: Standard 21
Rooks are the cornerstone of any Society, these "enforce" the Illuminati's will in their respective holdings. After a successful Acquisition or Challenge of Dominion, the Rook enters the scene and maintains order. Rooks are generally trusted Illuminati individuals (often born into the Society through hereditary lines) who were employed by the future Holding months or years before the Illuminati arrived.
The masters of subterfuge, manipulation and brainwashing, a Rook ensures that the Holding is completely "loyal" to the powers that be. Rooks are often given a Clique (Society version of a Cadre) of Knights to help in the pacification of the Holding. Often the Rook has an entourage of Brainwashing experts (themselves being brainwashed pawns) or Knights that have likewise have the required Intelligence background.
Using their special abilities, key personnel are Initiated as Pawns into the Illuminati. Rooks then stay in the Holding in small, unimportant positions, watching for insurrection or outside influence.
Of all agents in exposed or semi-exposed positions, the Rooks possess the most knowledge of their Society. They know they work for the Illuminati, its name, and their immediate superior (usually another Knight, but rarely a Bishop). They generally have no idea about the scope of the Illuminati but are still well protected (just in case...).
Character Generation: Social Traits are Primary, but may choose whether Skills or Knowledges are dominant. All Rooks must take the knowledge of Brainwashing, and most have the Allies, Contacts, or Resources. Some Rooks have the Merit Iron Will...
Freebie Points: 21
Keepers of Society dogma, masters of information, historians without equal. Bishops are generally not available to Player Characters because of their isolated existence. Bishops are the masters of the Basilica and has such have historical records dating back for into what the mundane world calls prehistory. Some of the older records include the written versions of the original human oral-histories, many of which date back to the latter end of the Impergium. Each individual Basilica has different records, depending on its age and original geographic location. Besides history, the Basilica holds the records of all Illuminati members, past and present, and details Society business and progress form the earliest times.
There are about a dozen Bishops in each Basilica, lead by one of their number (called an Archbishop). Bishops are chosen from the brightest of the mundanes in the general area of the Basilica. They are snatched from elite schools and from families who have shown a history of high intelligence. Many of the unsolved child abductions are not the work of child molesters or serial killers, but are in fact the latest inductees into the Illuminati. The children are taught from their earliest moments in the Society that they are the most important force in their organization and without it, humanity is lost. Loyalty and Sacrifice are engrained in their minds, and they are given the greatest secrets that the Societies have to offer.
For they learn Fabula, the ancient art of translating Basilica text. It is in a long-forgotten dialect, written in an ancient alphabet, and intricately encoded. Filled with false passages, and special paragraphs to mislead the uninitiated, it takes very intelligent and dedicated individuals to interpret and copy the text. In fact, Bishops are the only ones allowed to take the Fabula skill; it is taught to no other, under penalty of death. This system is so complex, that it took Corvus Beltane (see "Shamans of Beltane" in Chapter 5) over 350 years to decipher the code and translate the language and dialect. Even then, he did not manage to separate the true passages from the false. It's only by these special measures taken to protect the Society's knowledge that the Illuminati have survived for these millennia.
Bishops, due to their wide-spread knowledge of the Illuminati, are sequestered in their hidden Basilica, protected by some of the best Knights available. Mage, Vampire, and Garou Pawns are often used to prevent Supernaturals from finding the Basilica and penetrating it via mystical or spiritual means. So important are the Bishops to the Illuminati, they often never see the light of day.
Character Generation: Mental Attributes and Knowledges are Primary. Other than taking the Fabula skill, there are no prerequisites to being a Bishop.
Freebie Points: 21
Queens are the judges of the Illuminati. Sitting on the great and powerful Court, the Queen makes sure the rules of the Pax Concordat are followed to the letter and interpret the rules are they apply to new situations. [Author note: The "rules interpretations" are important generally if player characters pursue or inquire about an unorthodox method which may or may not break the Pax Concordat at (such as, say framing the target with murder, which might be considered a Hostile Takeover since violence has been used to gain a Holding). Remember, the Court's rule is law! No appeals. Players who ignore Court rulings better pray they don't get caught...]
Chosen from the ranks of the Illuminati (normally, an experienced Archbishop or trusted Rook), the Queen is inaugurated into the Court in a secret ceremony in one of the Courts meeting places. The Queen (or Quaesitor, using the archaic term) then looses any influence upon the Society they represent. Though they become the greatest power in the Illuminati, they only have nominal power in their old power structure. This discrepancy means that though the Court, as a whole, can reprimand Societies, individual Queens have no power to enforce the Concordat on their own (and often do not report observed internal breeches of the Concordat, due to loyalty to that Society).
Queens, though they must move to many secret locations, are almost never caught in the open. All Quaesitors have personal Virtual Adepts, other Correspondence Mages, or equivalent Garou/Vampires to "teleport" them from place to place. They are also accompanied by at least one Court-appointed Cadre for personal protection. If they must move in the open, they are given protection unequaled by even heads of state. Only Kings warrant greater protection, though they rarely leave their fortified offices.
Character Generation: They are picked from the ranks of Bishops, Rooks, or very rarely Knights. Create a character from those ranks, then give them an extra 30 freebie points.
Freebie Points: See Above
Legendary controllers of the Societies, they are the most mysterious of any of the ranks. They are the supreme rulers of their own Illuminati, with personal goals that can only be guessed at. Because of the secrecy and isolation involved with the King, the identity (or even gender) of the Society monarch has become a lasting secret. A strict hereditary system, Kings choose their favourite (and/or most gifted) children for their replacement. The succession is never announced to the crew and only the Queen and a special Rook (his "mouthpiece") know when the change occurs (and the Kings real identity, for that matter).
Cloistered in a special floor, exclusively tailored for the expensive tastes of the King, the Society's leader is never seen outside his domain. The floor is impregnable with massive technological, mystical, and spiritual barriers. In the history of the Illuminati, no King has been assassinated, attacked, or even approached without prior authorization. Then again, if a King had been killed, its doubtful they Society would advertize the fact...
Character Generation: They need no special skills besides being born into the "Royal" family. Anyway, player characters are not going to meet a King in their life time, are they?
Freebie Points: As much as they want...
As stated before, the Pax Concordat set a standard ranking system in times of emergency. Over time it has been integrated into the societies. However, the Societies are loathe to give up their traditions and even those Creeds who are supported by the Court are often resentful of the compromises placed upon them by the Pax Concordat. [Author note: Remember, though the Societies and Creeds believe the Court is a necessary evil, very few are staunch supporters. Unlike Vampire society, there are very few "Ancillae", save perhaps for the members of the Shadow Bank (whom few people trust anyway)]
Therefore, the Societies tend to have varied hierarchies which though superficially different, generally follow standard Concordat hiearchy. They are listed below:
The Blood Covenant has seven grades, linked to the planets and their symbols. Initiation into each grade is surrounded by complex mystical rituals and binding oaths (often variations of the Blood Covenant; the ancient ritual which gives the Society its name).
There are three grades of Pawns used by the Blood Covenant. Mundane people and those mundanes who are actively being manipulated by the Society are sometimes viewed as belonging to the grade of Earth. Two grades control the Pawns and are under the control of the Rook (Jupiter grade) they themselves are brainwashed pawns:
Moon: The Huntress, Queen of spirits, madness and nature. Mind control, hedge magic and occult matters.
Venus: The Seductress, manipulation and espionage.
Bishops are part of the grade of Mercury: Great Hermes, the God of magic and communication.
Knights are of Mars: The God of War, military power.
Rooks belong to grade Jupiter: The Lord of the world (Rex Mundi), worldly power (due to their direct influence of the mundane world).
Queens, because of their visible rulership as a member of the Court holds the rank of the Sun: The Glorious ruler.
Finally the King is called Saturn: The Hidden One, the dark unknown ruler.
Within the Society, characters are address using lastname and their rank. Nicholas Caliburn, a Knight, would be addressed as Caliburn of Mars. If he was a Queen, he would be called Caliburn of the Sun.
Enigmatic Stratagem. As will be said later in this supplement, not very much is known about the "official" hierarchy of the Stratagem. Pawns, in general, are identical to standard Concordat precepts (or so it seems). Knights, however seem to be divided into two distinct groups. One group dresses and acts very similar to the New World Order's Men in Black (Dark suits, mirrorshades, and black Cadillacs). They generally operate like any other Knight. The other group of Knights are actual Technomancer constructs (like real Men in Black and Hit Marks). They seem to be totally loyal to the Society and are most common when dealing directly with Supernaturals (in an obvious ploy to redirect blame to the Technocracy). Nonetheless, these "Techno-Knights" (as they have come to be called) make a lot of Illuminati very nervous.
Though no one knows about the higher ranks of the Stratagem, there is no reason to believe that they are any different than the Society norm.
The Global Elite only gives higher ranks titles, fitting with their aristocratic attitudes. Pawns are not worth of any moniker (and as such are often considered very expendable; Global Elite pawns are the worst treated of any of the Societies). Each of the higher ranks are considered separate institutions and as such are somewhat autonomous from each other (this is in contrast to the familiar "ladder" organization which is consistent with the other Illuminati). Knights are part of the "BlackStorm Brigades", the paramilitary assassins so feared by the Societies.
Rooks are divided up by the organizations they represent. Those part of the Political arena are part of the "Imperialists", while those involved in Corporate or Lobbyist activity are known as the Capitalists and the Arbitrators respectively. Each Rook division has its own areas of influence and a multitude of pawns.
Bishops, known as Coordinators, not only are information gatherers but act as intermediaries between the BlackStorm Brigades and the various Rook institutions. They are very influential in the Global Elite's affairs.
Queens are not well liked by this Illuminati. They are often quarrelsome members of the Society which have been granted this position to get them out of their hair. When referring to a Queen, they Global Elite simply refer to them as their "Representative".
The King (or "President") is no different from that of any other Society, though the Global Elite propaganda may say differently.
Keepers of Secrets. Rooks and Bishops are the most prominent in the Keepers of Secrets. Like the Global Elite, the Rooks ("Compilers") are separated in several divisions. However, they are not autonomous by any means; merely sub-divisions of the Rook/Compiler organization. Each Compiler division concentrates on a certain area: Some scan the printed media, broadcasts, and the more interesting areas of the Internet, while still others listen to phone lines and street "gossip". The Bishops (or Archivists) store the information gained for future "reference".
Pawns are unchanged from Concordat norm and are known in KoS circles as Allies and Contacts.
The Representative to the Court (the Queen) is known only as the Oracle. There is no known King, which leads to much speculation on who exactly rules the Keepers of Secrets. Some have even gone so far as to allude that the King
Pantheon, not surprisingly generally uses religious monikers for their ranks. Most pawns are referred to as "The Faithful", detonating their loyalty to the Society. Knights are often called the "Knights Templar" or just Templars to confuse them with the Throng of the same name (such as is listed in Nephilim: Occult RPG) and with the those of the Sabbat. Rooks are referred to as Archbishops and Bishops as Cardinals (again to confuse matters). Queens are referred to as a Hierophant, and the King is referred to as the Vicar.
The Vicar has often been linked to the true Pope of the Catholic church, but its unlikely they are one and the same. In fact, though the Pantheon has great influence in Catholic (and Protestant, Jewish, Islam etc), they keep themselves somewhat separate from religious hierarchies and positions.
Shadow Bank Hierarchy is very Corporate in nature. Pawns are the Employees, dutifully "working" this Illuminati. Knights belong to Society "Security", while Rooks are part of "Public Relations". Bishops are called Executives and the Queen is given the title of Press Secretary. There is no single Shadow Bank King. It is in fact made up of a council known as the Board. The CEO, the head member of the Board fulfils any duties of the King, while another member of that same Board represents the King at Court meetings (Note: This representation is separate from the Queen and other Societies send trusted Bishops and Rooks to act as the King's "observers" during Court proceedings).