External Factors: Organizations

Since prehistoric times, humanity has banded together in groups for raw survival in an unforgiving world. Even after the dawn of civilization, diverse groups of like-minded people have come together to advance agendas both grand and mundane, or to promote causes both large and small. In the interstellar era, such organizations still pursue agendas and promote causes; sometimes to the detriment of hero groups, sometimes to their aid or benefit.

External Factors: Organizations is the first of a planned series of publications intended to look at these entities in depth, explain where they derive their power and influence, why they wield it in their chosen direction, and what impact they have on player character groups. Organizations takes the approach of showing the Referee how to construct one of these antagonists from the ground up, using a generation system similar to that for creating individual Cepheus Engine and Original Science Fiction Roleplaying Game characters. The system allows the Referee to:

• Quickly describe the main attributes of an organization
• Determine how it adapts to influence and change
• See how it relates to the wider society
• Adjust the length of years in a term, to make for “flash in the pan” organizations, or solid, enduring ones
• Apply major events that can shape the organization’s worldview — or end it entirely
• Determine its material holdings and its financial health

External Factors: Organizations. The heroes are organized; why shouldn’t their allies and enemies be, too?