I may be wrong in this, but I remember someone (Tony?) stating that a Dark-Kin could have a listed secret society and still be a part of the Brotherhood of Light and Dark. This led to the ruling I'm thinking of.

What is interesting about "Confraternity of Solidarity across Empires (CSE)" is, as I understand it, it is a collection of PC's that belive that the greater good can be achieved by overlooking national, church, and societal goals. As a player created society, I don't know how 'secret' it is or if it is just a heroic philosophy any player can subscribe to. Granted I am baseing this on a brief converstaion I had with Thomas at UCON so I may be off base.

Personally I see it as a philosophy without an adjenda not a Secret Society. So I don't think that "membership" is strictly prohibited. Key to this is the absence of any NPC membership or NPC driven goals. BUT, as with many things player created, if it gets enough traction it could turn into something offical. The Legion of the Watchful Hunter's prominance in mods (post illuhan betrayal) is clearly an example of player driven change. Likewise the Brood of Ven are another example. Once it is offical, then membership should be exclusive. Ahh, the wonderful corrupting nature of temporal power....

This society, the CSE, is focused more around a philosophy than an agenda. Still, it was originally created by a Sarishan PC who was deep into the secrecy aspects of Sarish [that is OOC knowledge, and few, if any, people know IC who created it], and as such it was definitely founded as a secret society rather than an adventurer's club or other informal group. We have secret passwords, levels of membership, secret messages, etc. We organized at LARPs and BIs and accomplished more together than we could have individually. Our planning ahead is what led to our encouraging Milandir and Coryan to work together at the Battle of Five Armies when our plans enabled a Milandisian knight to talk with General Menesis. We were the behind-the-scenes group that shared some information publicly about common enemies at some BIs. In Living Arcanis, some of the secrecy was done by players and we had a mailing list, though we're now treating it like the other official societies. That said, we're *not* an official group, and as such it is within the campaign rules to belong to our group and another secret society as long as you are sincere about both groups and don't abuse either one to help the other (the later being our rule).

The above info is all out-of-character and much of it's secret in-character. Most people in-game don't have a clue that it exists.

The Confraternity of Solidarity across Empires (also known as the Confraternity of Solidarity or the CSE) is an organization that puts the greater good of the peoples of Arcanis above squabbles over politics & religion, and they believe that grand issues call for solidarity. The confraternity encourages looking ahead to see potential larger results of short-term events. They value collecting knowledge and taking proper actions but discourage neutrality in the face of suffering by innocents. They will make personal sacrifices for the sake of long-term benefits to a broader group.

The Confraternity cites historical examples of the need for unity. In the Gods’ War, the Gods of Men put aside their squabbles and only together could defeat the strongest and worst foe that Men and Gods have ever faced. The First Emperor of Coryan united city-states to drive out the Infernal Horde and forge a shining new nation. At the Battle of Four Armies, three nations fought together against the Swords of Nier. At the end of the Coryani Civil War, rivals Emperor Calsestus and General Menesis put aside differences and sacrificed their lives for the sake of all people. Volunteers of multiple nationalities, races, and religions joined the Fifth and Sixth Crusades of Light. Prophecies from several disparate sources mention the need to work together as the End Times approach.

This secret society was founded by players of the shared Arcanis campaign. As such, members do not receive Fame, Experience Points, or other in-game rewards. The main reward is the satisfaction of working towards a good and righteous cause. Unlike official secret societies, members are allowed to belong to another secret society. Members rarely receive explicit orders but are expected to think on their feet. Members who take special actions in a game (e.g., delivering an item or sharing news with this society) should tell their GMs (especially for critical events summaries) and mark their campaign certificates. This organization had a positive impact on Living Arcanis and can continue to affect the Legends of Arcanis campaign.

Goals: Encourage union of peoples of all backgrounds when needed to help everyone on Arcanis in the greater good. “Actions have consequences that go beyond today.”

Detailed descriptions: (PDF files on DropBox)

• Short (1/2 page): https://www.dropbox.com/s/u04gik7ptruhl ... t.pdf?dl=0
• Medium (1 page): https://www.dropbox.com/s/z8s7k00qmwve8 ... m.pdf?dl=0
• Long (2 pages): https://www.dropbox.com/s/31emwuffbai6p ... g.pdf?dl=0

Any players interested in joining the Confraternity of Solidarity across Empires (also known as the Confraternity of Solidarity or the CSE), which is the unofficial secret society some friends and I started years ago, can contact me (via private message) to inquire about our private discussion group.