Module: Disciples of the Crimson Hand

This post is a module, meaning it cannot stand alone as a setting.  It can form a key story element or be a bit of world background filler.  Regardless it can be fit into just about any setting with ease, and has a great deal of room to work.

The Disciples of the Crimson Hand are a secret society.  Unlike most so called secret societies, they are actually secret.  There are no rumors among common folk of their existence, though the name may be whispered in halls of power.  Any given body at any level of society is as likely as not to contain at least one member of the Disciples, but few know the identities of each other.

The power of the Disciples is twofold.  First, they influence the course of world events by being seated in the worlds houses of power.  Members of the Disciples are frequently advisors to rulers, but rarely rulers themselves.  Even though they keep their membership in the Disciples hidden even from other members, they also keep their involvement in public affairs as individuals as hidden as possible from the public eye. This is how the Disciples keep their secrecry.  In some cases, Disciples who are positiononed among the common people will start rumors of secret societies that control world affairs.  The Disciples of the Crimson Hand are not the societies that are rumored, but fictional societies.  Many so called "conspiracy theorists" are actually Disciples of the Crimson Hand spreading misinformation that furthers the agenda of the Disciples.  Even the Disciples have no idea how widespread the society is.
  The second aspect of the power of the Disciples is knowledge.  The Disciples have some secret knowledge that gives them the upper hand.  The Disciples can exist in any setting and what the secret knowledge is depends on that setting.  If magic exists at all in the setting the Disciples have magical knowledge far beyond that of the rest of the civilization they exist in. Perhaps magic is only available to the Disciples, or if magic does not exist perhaps the Disciples have access to forgoten ancient knowledge or alien technology.
  The Disciples of the Crimson Hand are led by the council of masters, and it is only these masters know the secret knowledge in it's entirety and know the orginization of the Disciples.  The masters also know that the leader of the Disciples, known as the Old Master is actually immortal.  The masters know the secret of his immortality, but the price of immortality is to high for anyone else to pay or unachievable for anyone but him.  Regardless the Old Master is hundreds of years old and works to keep the world in balance.

  The agenda of the Disciples is one of balance, they strive to keep world powers in balance and in harmony with the world.  When their subtle influences fail to keep things in check, the masters will incite more direct influences such as ecoonomic collapse or internal rebellions.  When things
progress further more drastic action is taken.

Coming eventually:
Module Expansion: The Tree of Brass and The Shadow of Creation
The origin of the Old Master, the power of the Crimson Hand, and the undercurrent of all possibility will be explained.  As will the true purpose of the Disciples of the Crimson Hand.