Hi there everyone.
First let me say that I already post here under another ID.
The reason for all the subterfuge is that I want to ask about a new organization without my players seeing it.
If they don't know it's me, they won't bother to look at the post.
On to the question.
I am looking for a replacement for Viper.
Not that there is anything wrong with them, especially since the new Viper book came out, but I want to post some things about my campaign on a website I am working on, and I don't want to step on any of DOJ's I.P.
And I want to be able to take my snake-based organization in whatever direction I want without worrying about what the "official" version is doing.
So, I need something to take the place of Viper/Cobra/Hydra in my campaign, but with a different enough twist to make it my own.
Well, when I started working on an acronym, I kept plugging in random words until I got something that sounded pretty good. But it didn't really "mean" anything. (Like most Comic Book Acronyms;)) Then I came up with the following concept.
First let me state that I am in no way anti-religious.
I consider myself a Christian. This organization is considered to be a group of fanatic nuts that got started around the same group of centuries that the Inquisition and Witch Hunts were considered good ideas too.
It is not intended to reflect on any actual Church, Religion, Group, etc.
It is no more representative of any real Religion, than Timothy McVeigh is representative of the average American.
Now, with no further delay,
May I present:
S.E.R.P.E.N.T. !
SERPENT is the: "Secular Ecclesiastic Rectification Program Ensuring Natural Transition"
What?
Let's go through it, shall we?
Secular - Not bound by monastic restrictions
Ecclesiastic - Consecrated to the service of the church
Rectification - The act of offering an improvement to replace a mistake
Program - A system of projects or services intended to meet a public need
Ensuring - Making sure or certain
Natural - Established by moral certainty or conviction
Transition - The act of passing from one stage to the next
So what does all this add up to?
Basically a group of powerful religious figures, in the fairly distant past, grew tired of waiting for the Second Coming of Christ. Since the Second Coming was intended to make all things right, it was the duty, they believed, of good Christians to try to make sure that all things happened in their "due time".
But there was a catch.
The Second Coming was not supposed to occur until the proper Signs had been observed. But it seemed that something was causing a delay.
Surely the world was intended to end exactly 1000 years after the Birth of Christ.
No doubt Satan was at work.
He was keeping the world just pure enough, just stable enough, that the Signs were not coming to pass.
Satan was using God's own ways against the world.
He was doing just enough good to prevent the decline that would ultimately lead to Rebirth for mankind.
What were Good Men to do?
They must fight Satan!
They must fight him using his own tools.
So they founded an organization that would increase the level of sin and chaos in the world to the point where the Signs could finally come to pass, allowing the world to be Cleansed.
They would use Satan's tools against him, tipping the scales in favor of Evil, so that Good could finally triumph!
Even though the mission was Holy, it had to be carried out by men who were not members of the Christian clergy. After all, some Clergymen might not be able to recognize the necessity of the Holy Mission. And, if they were exposed, the Christians of the world might be confused by their actions.
So, this must be a separate organization of its own.
And since they were using Satan's own ways against him, they would take his symbol for their own.
They would become Serpent!
Their campaign function is much like Viper or any other similar organization.
They want to sow chaos, doubt, hatred, fear, etc. They think they are doing it for a "good" reason, but that makes them no less vicious than any other group. They do have some restrictions, that clever players may eventually notice. They will not attack churches of any sort, or religious figures.
Some they respect, and some they consider the "false prophets" that are supposed to be building up. This may throw off the players a bit, since they are a "religious" organization that will have absolutely no interaction with "religion" in the campaign world.
Okay, let's hear your opinions.
The Serpent
By the way, if anyone figures out who I actually am, (not really trying to conceal it, other than from a search on "member name") please don't say anything in this thread. Send me a P.M. or an email, and I will be glad to satisfy your curiosity.
