Re: Magi in Black

Just say the movie Men in Black. Here's a rendition of the fantasy equivalent
that I whipped up for the heck of it, done utilizing terminology from the
Complete Ninja's Handbook...

Magi in Black

     Nickname: MiBs
     Known For: Not being well known.
     Ruler: Omega, one of the original founders.
     Symbol: None. They don't like to leave ANY evidence of their
existence.
     Territory: Global, possibly interplanetary.
     History: The Magi in Black organization was founded five
decades ago after the first contact between the groundlings of
the native planet and a group of Spelljamming refugees from a
neighboring crystal sphere. The organization was founded in order
to keep knowledge of Spelljamming out of the hands of the world
at large, as well as to contain any contact between alien beings
and groundlings. The primary reasoning behind the actions of the
organization was the xenophobic nature of the native races and
nations; distrust between the native races and nations had
already lead to several devastating wars, and the group of
wizards that first contacted the aliens felt that discretion and
secrecy would be the best course. However the genie was, so to
speak, out of the bottle, and other Spelljammers quickly came to
the groundlings Crystal Sphere. They were met by the local group
who had first contacted the Spelljamming refugees (who had allied
with the MiBs in order to maintain the neutrality of the
groundling planet). An exchange of information was engendered,
and a treaty was signed on the first moon of the native planet.
All other spacefaring immigrants and merchants have become
signatory to the treaty or met with the wrath of the MiBs. The
treaty basically stipulates that all interplanetary and
intersphere contact must go through the MiBs organization; any
unauthorized contact or trade will cause the perpetrator to be
hounded by the MiBs.
     The MiBs are not attached to any one groundling nation or
race; they are a global organization. They do not seek to control
or subvert local governments any more than is necessary to keep
information on Spelljamming out of the hands of others. They
utilize their special contacts to introduce new magical
developments to their world as they see fit; they use monies
gained through this and other similar activities to fund their
efforts.
     The MiBs operate in a very high-handed yet non-obtrusive
manner. They have developed powerful enchantment/charm magics to
erase and implant memories, as well as numerous alteration spells
to eliminate any sort of evidence that they cannot take away.
They also have the most powerful destructive magics on their
planet, necessary for dealing with some of the kinds of things
that drop by unexpectedly. Regardless of their powerful
abilities, the MiBs have entered into the legend and lore of
their planet, as a group of mysterious beings who appear after
even more mysterious activities. Their black robes and face-
obscuring cowls are their trademark, to such an extent that the
more superstitious peoples frighten their children into going to
sleep with the claim that "if you don't, the Magi in Black will
come to take you away!"
     The MiBs are not exclusively wizards, though almost all
those in the upper level ranks are. Their mission requires all
types of talents and abilities, so they have numerous members of
other classes among their ranks. A new breed of agent has
developed over the past generation; these types "grew up" in the
organization, and thus have learned various tricks of the trade.
Thus, the organization boasts a fair number of ninja and shinobi
classed agents, to the tune that 1/5 of the members are of those
classes. 2/5 of the members are wizards, while 2/5 are of other,
more common classes. The MiBs recruit only the best of the best
of the best, but do so indiscriminately, so that members of all
races can be found among their ranks.
     Goal: To keep the groundlings oblivious to Spelljamming and
Wildspace society and races.
     Organization Alignment: Neutral.
     Range of alignments: LN, NG, N, NE, CN.
     Races: Any, including a number of non-native life forms.
     Size: Leaders: 1 (Omega). Middlemen: 23. Low Ranking: 576.
Others: 2,880.
     Resources: Wealth: Fantastically Rich. Available Resources
by Mission Type: Major/Critical: Lavish. Important/Profitable:
Lavish. Typical: Good. Minor: Good. Nonmission: Good.
     Clan Status. None. They don't exist, remember?
     Allies: Several Spelljamming organizations that profit from
the restricted nature of trade with the groundling planet.
Includes the Elven Fleet.
     Enemies: All others that the MiBs have interfered with in
the past, including local Spelljamming humanoids and several
Neogi and Mindflayer groups.
     Demands: Everything. They own you. You can leave, but you
won't remember anything about the time you were with them.
Depending on how you performed for them, you might be well
rewarded or you might "wake up" as a slave on a galley, possibly
on another planet!

Let me know what you all think!

Mystaros