### **Basic Information** - **Name:** The Shadow Consortium - **Alias/Nicknames:** The Consortium, The Black Coin, Whispering Traders - **Type:** Secretive Syndicate & Black-Market Guild - **Symbol/Emblem:** A stylized silhouette of a raven clutching a silver key in its claws, often subtly marked on hidden tokens or secret missives. - **Headquarters/Base of Operations:** No single permanent base, but known to operate clandestinely across Restov, Pitax, and the River Kingdoms. - **Scale & Reach:** Regional with significant influence in major cities and trading hubs of the River Kingdoms and bordering nations. --- ### **Purpose & Goals** - **Primary Objective:** Acquisition and sale of rare and forbidden magical artifacts, with wealth and influence as key goals. - **Core Ideology:** Pragmatic opportunists, valuing discretion, profit, and the leverage of information over brute strength. - **Methods & Operations:** Operate through covert means: black-market deals, heists, infiltration, espionage, and manipulation. - **Notable Activities:** Trading stolen relics, smuggling contraband, intelligence gathering, and orchestrating sophisticated thefts from noble houses and magical repositories. --- ### **Structure & Leadership** - **Leader(s):** A shadowy, anonymous figure known only as "The Obsidian Broker," whose true identity remains carefully concealed. - **Hierarchy & Ranks:** Loosely hierarchical, with members gaining status through success, wealth acquisition, and cunning. Trust is scarce, alliances fleeting. - **Recruitment & Membership:** Highly selective and secretive. New members are typically criminals with exceptional skill, disgraced scholars, or ambitious nobles. - **Key Figures:** - **[[Lysander Nightshade]]**: Prominent relic hunter and negotiator. - **"[[The Whisperer]]"**: Unknown identity; known for expertise in espionage and secrets. - **[[Marla the Coinspinner]]**: Mastermind behind most economic operations and gambling enterprises. --- ### **Purpose & Goals** - **Primary Objective:** Accumulation of wealth, power, and influence through control of magical artifacts and forbidden knowledge. - **Core Ideology:** Pragmatic opportunism. Loyalty is bought, power is taken, and secrets are the true currency. --- ### **Influence & Power** - **Allies & Affiliations:** Loosely aligned with corrupt elements within noble houses of Pitax and certain circles in Brevoy. - **Enemies & Rivalries:** Opposed by lawful governments, House Medvyed’s anti-smuggling operatives, religious orders guarding relics, and particularly law-focused factions in Restov. - **Reputation & Public Perception:** Feared and respected within criminal circles; publicly unknown but whispered about in noble courts and amongst the underworld. - **Military/Magical Strength:** Relies heavily on skilled covert operatives, spies, magical trickery, and occasionally hired muscle from local banditry. --- ### **History & Lore** - **Founding & Origins:** Founded decades ago by a mysterious group of exiled nobles and scholars seeking to exploit the chaotic conditions of the River Kingdoms. - **Major Historical Events:** Known for the theft of the Crown of Voices from a Brevic noble, destabilizing political power structures temporarily. - **Scandals & Secrets:** Rumored to hold dark magical secrets from lost civilizations, and whispered connections to otherworldly patrons. - **Current Struggles:** Internal power struggles occasionally flare up, as trust is rare, and backstabbing common. Recently facing intensified crackdowns from Restov authorities. --- ### **Culture & Traditions** - **Core Values & Ethics:** Flexible ethics, emphasizing profit and knowledge over morality. - **Rituals & Initiations:** Prospective members undergo a trial of skill, secrecy, and betrayal known as the "Veil's Trial." - **Notable Sayings/Mottos:** "Shadows conceal the truest gold." - **Symbols of Authority:** A shadow-etched coin, given only to those who have proven indispensable to the Consortium. --- ### **Additional Notes** - **Vibe & Inspirations:** Inspired by shadowy criminal syndicates, thieves' guilds, secret societies, and morally ambiguous historical merchants. - **Adventure Hooks:** - PCs discover a stolen artifact tied directly to The Shadow Consortium. - Rivermarch council receives intelligence indicating The Shadow Consortium plans a heist during the upcoming festival. - [[Lysander Nightshade]] contacts PCs discreetly with an "opportunity" to recover a stolen artifact before The Shadow Consortium can deliver it to King Irovetti.