And would the Hellfire Club be their archfoes?
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nIFiEyLCPyg/T4v02PsndQI/AAAAAAAABAg/UWhYoVR0jHc/s1600/BAPHOMET.jpg)
or
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RNrl2Gr0VwI/S6rRU2a-sDI/AAAAAAAACVs/Sv4f_bMLZMo/s1600/cthulhu+statue.jpg)
¿ ??? ?
Maybe, if the weirdest rumors only reflect the tip of the iceberg, the Hellfire Club (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellfire_Club) providing a cover to a secret inner Lodge of Thelemites led by 'Frater Perdurabo' aka 'The Great Beast' (to be reincarnated, or to reappear publicly, as Aleister Crowley)?
While in a 2 players campaign the two 'factions' would be arch-enemies, in a multiplayers one there could be a multiplicity of factions (think 'Empire of the Dead') each with its own agenda, the opposition good - evil turning quite blurred as alliances switch. What is the officious position of the British crown with regard to the Knights Reliquar (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=44911.0)? The werewolves, at least some of them, can be ready to ally with humans against vampires and other undead 'monstrosities'; the same for ghouls (Crocodile Games have good 'Pickman' types (https://www.crocodilegames.com/store/itemList.cfm?catID=31&sort=prodID)) who are not undead but live beings. But even the vampires would not wish the world to be governed by the Great Old Ones, while fundamentalist Gnoticts may ally with worshipers of Azathoth, to speed up the 'dematerialization' of this Evil World created by the Demiurge...
As for 'human' rival groups, to the Crown's Reunited Occult Secret Services (King George II being the Supreme Governor of the Church of England) one can add at will:
- the French Cabinet Esotérique (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=49673.msg593028#msg593028): the 'X Files' section of the Secret du Roi (its field operatives led by one Guy De Vere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenore) known in some circles as El Desdichado (http://www.poesie.net/nerval3.htm)),
- the Jesuits of the Cella Rerum Occultorum Calcinationis (besides, their line being uninterrupted since Mary Magdalene went to Provence (http://t3m.voila.net/magdaleine_mm_prieres.jpg), the Pope has to have a Magdalena (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalena_%28comics%29) as his trump card),
- the Vatican's Officio XIII with its 'assassination group' Iscariota (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iscariot_%28Hellsing%29);
- the 'real' Freemasons if -as they claim- they are the heirs of the masons of the Temple of Jerusalem they could own the knowledge, or at least the practical know-how, of the builders of the pyramids. And this could be of importance, in the hypothesis: "'Elohim' = true plural (not 'emphatic' singular) thus 'CreatorS' = E.T.; 'Sons of G*d' (angels) mated with 'daughters of Man' -> Nephilim [-> Gibborim] (Elves / Melnibonéans?); educated Humankind -> Atlantis (& Mu); the Flood and the sinking of Atlantis caused by a war between E.T. colonies or hyper-advanced prehistoric 'half-breed' civilizations (the battle of Kurukshetra in the Mahabharata); knowledge partly saved (artifacts: the Ark, the Lance of Passion...) -->Pyramids builders." (of course you can add the Wichblade (http://fancydresscostumes.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Witchblade-worst-superhero-tv-shows.jpeg) to the list of Great Artifacts of Power: a golden excuse do field a female character (http://www.toys-collection.com/data/catalog/detail2/1611.jpg), since only women (http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/6672/255352-8778-sara-pezzini_super.jpg) can wield it)
(At this time were the -still underground- Illuminati an inner secret circle (http://www.bibleetnombres.online.fr/image9/dvdhexa.gif) or already a dissident branch (http://www.bibleetnombres.online.fr/images42/sceau_theosophique_s.jpg)?);
- the Prieuré de Sion (http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=256383). In addition to its first duty of protecting the Sangreal -the bloodline of the son of Jesus and Mary Magdalene who came to Provence with the Saintes Maries de la Mer. Not surprisingly the Priory's fiercest enemy originated as a dissident branch: during the Crusades some members who had joined the Knights Templar had an epiphany and understood the old French name of the Holy Grail as 'San Greal' rather than 'Sang Real'. Nowadays Die Zwielichthelden (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO-Jygx8aZk) are the secret descendant of those Templars having taken refuge in Germany. They compete with the Priory in all fields but specially to preserve (and [mis]use?) the Grail –and the Cathars' secret heritage; yet they hate the French Crown and the Vatican as feverishly as the Frères do, but because of curse placed on the French Bloodline and the Church by the last Grand Master Jacques de Molay when burnt at the stake;
- an earlier form of the Golden Dawn / Thule Society gathering a cluster of Mjölnir amulet (http://mainlymanx.co.uk/images/R328.jpg) wielders, neo-druidists, wicca adherents and worshippers of the Triple Goddess: likely to be in relation (or at least trying to make contact) with Agartha and Atlanteans Successors sheltered in the 'Hollow Earth'; members actively seeking 'old knowledge' in shamanist cultures around the Baltic Sea, in Siberia and as far as Mongolia and North America. An intriguing potentiality is the possible knowledge (and even -successful?- tries to use in practice) of the Vril.
The Rosenkreutz / Rose-Croix may have been an earlier form of the Golden Dawn / Thule-Gesellschaft based in Lutheran Germany; may survive as a weak 'fundamentalist / traditionalist' secret Church faithful to its Christian roots?
Note that according to their ethos these diverse companies / factions will vary in their attitude toward 'modern' weapons (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=62077.msg744799#msg744799): 'traditionalists' such as the Priory of Sion and the Templars (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V38-6LMqo0I) are likely to shun them, 'modernists' such as the Free Masons will probably favor them, for instance using 'galvanic' weapons (http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=278962), throwing Leyden jars rather than holy water at 'supernatural' creatures.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hF1vv3OXKLo/Ux4tqviX0WI/AAAAAAAAMiA/H6fE4ouWRWM/s1600/%C2%A3og0.jpg)
As other possible 'factions' what about La Fraternité de Jean le Presbytre (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=64347.msg775694#msg775694), the Sons of the Martyrs (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=64347.msg775695#msg775695), a kind of 18th C. Bene Gesserit (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=64347.msg775696#msg775696), the Bennet Circle (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=64347.msg776280#msg776280) and some very 'Lovecraftian' cults (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=64347.msg779078#msg779078)?
(http://www.atlanticajuegos.com/recursos/fotos-productos/3.5-280510-0060-reverend-moira-shock-ccw-multi-rifle.jpg)
:D :D :D
With her left hand weapon converted, this 'Reverend Moira' (Infinity) would make a perfect Magdalena:
(http://phoenix-forge.com/images/Reverend%20Moira%20%28Shock%20CCW,%20Multi%20Rifle%29.jpg)Shocking? Yes, I agree, her underwear is historically inaccurate for the 18th C. (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=49673.msg638837#msg638837)
:D :D :D