Writing Practice Nov. 7th, 2001

Another installment in the ungoing series. In Ki news works proceeds. Still pretty much in the die rolling stage. Then comes the easy work of being creative (said he sardonically). Today I'll be writing about an adaptation of GURPS Cabal to the world of Ærth, the offical campaign world for Dangerous Journeys: Mythus. I won't be going into GURPS Cabal itself much, simply pointing out some of the ways in which my Cabal is different from Ken Hite's. If you want to learn more about the GURPS Cabal you're going to have to buy the book. Wortht the money. With that plug for Steve Jackson Games out of the way we now go on to today's essay. The first difference to note between the Cabal as presented in GURPS Cabal and the Cabal of Ærth is that the latter is certainly not a secret society. It is especially not a secret society dedicated to ruling the world, gaining immortality, or cultivating advanced paranoia in its members. Ærth's Cabal is a loose association of people bound together by common interests, and a common enemy. This last is known as, The Accursed. A cacophony of vile creatures, people, and beings who are dedicated to the same things the original Cabal is, with a few variations where some members are concerned (why try to become immmortal when you already are?). Fortunately for the people of Ærth The Accursed are not organized, and show about as much sign of becoming organized as the typical t-ball team. If The Accursed were organized then Ærth would be a dark place indeed. Still, those who do evil are still a danger good people must take action against. Thus the Cabal. In Ærth's case "cabal" comes from "Q'bhaal", an ancient Canaanite word which has no real counterpart in modern English, but can be taken to mean, "hidden truth". Ærth's Cabal, as I noted before, is a loose association of people with common interests. Thwarting The Accursed is one such interest. Swapping travellers tales, doing arcane research, and attending wizards conventions are among the numerous others. The Cabal of Ærth is primarily a good-old-boys network (with a fair share of the ladies). A net of contacts, information sources, and emergency crash-pads open to any member in good standing. Broke in Delhi and need a place to sleep? Look up a fellow member of the Cabal. Of course, you are expected to provide space in your house for any fellow Cabal member visiting your home polis. The Cabal is open to anybody willing to share information and provide assistance against The Accursed and other enemies of humanity. In fact, most Cabal members have no innate magickal talent at all. Though those with talent do make up a larger proportion of Cabal membership than in the general population. In addition, magi and priests have greater representation in the Cabal as well. There are two groups of humans membership is closed to. They are, sorcerers and witches. To become a sorcerer or a witch on Ærth a person must make a pact with a demon, netherling, or similar thing. In effect giving himself over body and soul to The Accursed. Having members of The Accursed in a society dedicated to fighting The Accursed sort of defeats its. Furthermore membership is closed to undead of any kind. On Ærth the undead are not nice people at all, with the possible exception of a few legendary (one or two even mythical) liches of a time long ago. Where living non-humans are concerned, membership is open to any inhabitant of Ærth not associated with The Accursed. At present only gnomes are found in the Cabal, for the gnomes are the only non-human race living on Ærth. Since they are still new to Ærth and an insular people even in the best of times, gnome membership in the Cabal is still small. Should any communities of dwarfs, elves, fae, hobgoblins, or centaurs become established on Ærth members of those races would be welcome to join the Cabal, but such as slaugh, goblins, and drow would be barred (evil creatures, the lot, especially the slaugh). The Cabal's main work is centered around gathering information on The Accursed. Numbers, kind, strengths and weaknesses. Plots and devices in progress. How and when to take action against The Accursed, and when taking action would be the worst thing to do. To further this work members of the Cabal engage in research, practice their respective arts (mundane and arcane), and share. That is the Cabal's greatest strength, the ability to share. To join together in a common cause against an evil that is too close to overwhelming them for anybody's peace of mind. So we come to the end of this installment of Writing Practice. Tomorrow I will be writing more on Ærth's Cabal, focusing on the Cabal's relationship with the major nations of Ærth and possibly a few private groups. A revised version of the whole thing may get submitted to GO for inclusion in the pay article section, so send in your feedback and suggestions. Finally, my article on Buffy: The Vampire Slayer is getting closer to completion. It might actually appear before the middle of the decade. Till tomorrow. Alan That which does not kill me could leave me in a vegetative state.