We have a Tytalus maga in our saga, and obviously, the house's cabals are too good a plot device not to be used.
I'm struggling a bit with how to play them out though. Obviously, the differing agendas, plotting and backstabbing will come across far better if it's not just me and one player, so I arranged for the other players to play one of the other Tytali, and I'm going to bring in some friends to guest-star as the rest of the bunch. That should give the advantage of enhanced atmosphere, but it'll also make it a bit more difficult to control where things are going. But hey, we're all Tytali, we like a challenge.
Anyway, I'm just wondering how other people have tackled this. Is there anyone who's used the cabals and willing to share how it went?
Plots within plots within plots. Nothing is as it seems or is it?
All depends on how deep you want to use it. By this I mean that everything that they encounter/do could be part of a cabal plotting. Or they could be made to think that is the case by another cabal no no cabal is involved.
Get the picture yet?
Make three cabals. Two of them with vying in goals. The third might have a different goal that has nothing to do with the two but active in the Player's covenant area. Names some of the Cabel members. Mix them together. It is interesting if one mage is on all three cabals.
Try to recruit players into plots. Use the 3 ( or more) cabal names liberally. IF the players are "helping " a cabal they should not know which one they are really working for.
\I could go on but just play it lose and let the players make up more to the plot then is there. At least one cabal will help them believe they are right and very important to the order/plot/cabal.