North America Inc wrote:(Image)Faction Name: The Guild
Faction Location/Territory: Has City Based Chapters and operations that span the Globe.
Tech Level: MT/PMTDescription/Lore:
Founded at the turn of the previous century, the Guild came into existence during a peculiar time in human history. The era of the Gilded Age and rampant European Imperialism had left the world in a perverse position; the worse impulses of man had allowed destructiveness to fester in every avenue of civilization. These social ills guaranteed the eventual destruction of the current order either through either war or recession. A group of well-endowed progressives came together at a lowly London Apartment in 1900 to discuss various ways for each of them to address 'the negativity of man'. From Samuel Clemens to Oscar Wilde attended the meeting, however, what was the most odd was the attendance of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. These fierce rivals had been instrumental in orchestrating the Spanish American War; why they were invited, much less attended, is still up for debate. Some state it was due to their guilt, others state it was their progressive leanings, while a few say it was due to their opportunistic tendencies.
While the meeting was engaging, not much was actually accomplished on that day. Most of the original thirteen attendees went on with their lives, and that was that. It was not until the First World War that the Guild formed into a clandestine organization. On 1917, the first Pulitzer Prize was assigned to French Ambassador Jean Jules Jusserand but the Prize itself was a ruse; the purpose was to allow the surviving attendees to meet with and discuss with their international colleagues. Pulitzer, posthumously, had it revealed that he left his vast fortunes to the attendees; his wealth would soon be used as initial capital for the Guild. This international fraternity discussed the destructive behavior of the war, as well as, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. With a sizable minority of the group being Newspaper Owners, the idea of a socialist revolution was seen as abhorrent and the demonstration of man's failing. Interestingly enough, Marxist-Leninism would provide one coherent feature of the new guild: an educated class of the revolutionary vanguard. Much like the Communist Party in Moscow, the new group vowed to be the eternally vigilant on man and his failings. They would work in secret but ideas such as racism, sexism, and Marxism would be targeted and eventually done away with. This new group would choose the moniker of the Guild which would be led by a Council of Thirteen.
From the 1920s and 30s, the Guild spent most of its energy spreading and growing its influence in the Anglo-American Spheres. They were instrumental in electing FDR in 1932, highlighting the incompetence of Hoover and his economic policies. Although they were not successful in preventing the Second World War, they were provided a new opportunity that none could of have predicted: The Superhero. Captain Steel and, more importantly, Libertys' inhuman abilities captured the imagination of the entire planet. They were not bound by the frailty of man and this perplexed the Guild; demigods existed and now that were known, what should they do? The Guild, correctly, decided to position their moral character to be as steadfast as their frames. The idea of an all-American hero was routinely sold to the people, and they loved it. People love something to aspire too, and the success of the superhero made it an imperative to do so. After the war, more and more heroes would reveal themselves to the world and the Guild would package them and sell them as the ubermencsh the Guild had always dreamed of. A man without limits, and without flaws. It was this behavior in the 1940s that allowed for commercialization of superheros to continue on into the modern day.
Until they couldn't. Governments and their ilk had shunned the ubermencsh away from the spotlight. They had many arrested, for fear of losing their powers. This enraged the Guild, but their numbers were too small to adequately do anything. For now, they fought to usher in the Civil Rights Movement and turned their sights on the evils of the Government, they displayed the Pentagon Papers and the Watergate break-in for all to see. They also absorbed American Entertainment Industry and revolutionized it. If they can't display the perfect man, than they will create films that will. From Sinatra to Brando, films and songs were created for all to flock too. The stagflation of the 1970s and the weakening trust in government finally allowed the Guild to expand from a private enterprise to a public one, members were created or hired, as to push their goals. The feebleness of Carter allowed them to become a beautiful parasite within the western world and soon they pushed they flexed their muscles with the Super Human Rights Act of 1979.
Superheroes and Super-heroines came out and became a mainstay in the 80s and 90s. While these meta humans were covering the spotlight, the Guild began to grow and grow beyond their original charter. From the fifties onward, the Council had shifted most of its original powers to a singular person; said person would be known as either the Sovereign or Leviathan, for an unsubtle Hobbesian reference. But with the growing powers of the Supers, as well as total control over the Western Entertainment and Journalism Industries, the newer members began to have a fundamental shift in their views. They no longer saw their actions for the betterment of man, but rather the benefit of themselves. Corruption and favoritism was rampant, and the Guild began to participate in the various ills that it once fought to end.
The growing strength of the California Chapter saw the rise of a new block within the organization: the tech leaders. These individuals saw the benefits of controlling information and data, the mitigation of evil through social engineering. The growth of this block was also in tangent with the arrival of the Hadrians from beyond the realms of Earth; the presence of an unknown quantity caused fear to spread through the rank and file. They had been controlling the cultural zeitgeist for the past sixty years, the arrival of an extraterrestrials meant the possibility of cultural exchanges that would be unfavorable for them. Action and more direct methods needed to be taken. And to that end, they turned to a man they didn't fully understand. A Shape-Shifter that promised lofty goals among over things, he integrated the once loose organization into a coherent structure. He spent billions on various fields such as meta human DNA, information warfare, and for the first time, a paramilitary force. And so far, loyalty has paid off. The Guild stands at the precipice from its goals, the uplifting of the human race. What that will look like, remains to be seen.Population Size: 1000 active members, ten of thousands of unknowing participants
Army Size (If any): 12,000 mercenaries of various groups
Races that are part of the faction:Humans and Meta-HumansAdditional Info:
1. It is not known who led the first Council meeting in 1900.
2. Although the current Sovereign is named David Bowie, how he gained his ability is unknown. Due to his abilities, internal investigations can not find a record of him before 1970.
3. His success in creating Shihong Smith and the 'other batches' have been implied to been related to his own abilities; which seems to imply he developed them after his birth. Extraneous pain is the only guaranteed variable.
4. Predictive analysis and data mining have been the highest priorities for the 'tech leader' block of the Guild. Several large Fortune 500 companies that have grown to prominence in the 2000s are led by Guild members.
5. Diamond Dogs have become internal slang for both the mercenary groups under their employ as well as robotic dog units.
6. While the group has become centralized in the last few years, some chapters such as the Toyko and Las Vegas Chapters still hold a degree of autonomy.
7. How they have been able to prevent any leaks within any organization full of colorful personalities remains unknown. What is known is that they tend to heavily discredit individuals who are displaying an affinity to reveal. Drug overdose is also common within the organization.
8. Despite a shadow of its former self, the organization still fights to curtail various ills and promoting democracy throughout the world. The Guild routinely provides hard hitting journalism on authoritarianism, corruption, and populism. The group is also a major supporter for many superhero organizations and usually is a secret benefactor to insure that up and coming superheros can receive a sponsorship.
I think this is a very good app, am a little weary of how powerful you have made them seem at times, phrases like "total control" and other things like saying they were solely responsible for the superhuman rights act is a bit much because other player and NPC factions also influence and have influenced society a lot. Not sure I necessarily need you to change the app but just keep that in mind as you you use them.
Oh and why is David Bowie the leader? Mind explaining that part?
With that said, accepted.
