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Originally Posted by Mortality
The impression I gained from the book is that the Esoterrorists are working towards the point where their activities will give them everything they want.
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I might have agreed, but for this:
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Originally Posted by Esoterrorists Rulebook, Page 7
The Esoterrorists are a worldwide network of misfits and rejects from various occult traditions who've banded together to enhance their power at the expense of others. When these plots succeed, the personal power of the involved Esoterrorists increases. Many use the power they glean for personal gratification, whether their tastes run toward money, drugs or sex. Most enjoy power for its own sake, sadistically inflicting horror on an unsuspecting populace.
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Now, the last part of that paragraph makes some kind of sense. Esoterrorists unleashing unnatural horrors on people just so they can watch the ensuing chaos from a safe distance. That's achievable. It's the other part about money, drugs and sex that has be mystified.
There IS a brief section a little later in the manual that states that the Esoterrorists are hoping that the membrane will weaken enough to allow them to cast personal spells, but that until then they must rely on politics and stuff like that. It's this aspect of the organisation that I'm curious about. Basically, from what I can gather, the Esoterrorists are fooling around summoning dangerous monsters in the hope that they will eventually turn themselves into some kind of Gandalf clone, but in the meantime they are acting like low-grade Mafia with an occult twist. I get the impression that their magical shenannigans serve no immediately beneficial purpose and are, as it where, a sideline to their other criminal activities, a long-term strategy that may eventually pay dividends in the long run. This impression is enhanced by the fact that there don't seem to be any guidelines in the rulebook that cover Esoterrorists that have gained enough 'personal power' to cast real magic spells. Does Personal Power refer to magic, or is it simply power in the sense of political or social power over others?
I wonder if the Esoterrorists have thought that, by the time the Membrane is weak enough to allow them to cast real magic, it will also be weak enough to allow all those hideous critters to get into earth without assistance? Or for that matter that if they do finally achieve their goals, everyone will be able to use magic not just them.
Ash