Conspiracy X Fan Faction: The Grigorim.
This one is based off of the old TTRPG Conspiracy X, by Eden Studios. See video linked and here for the TLDR as I ramble, because I was somewhat inspired by a few sources, one funnily enough being a music video of Agent Bishop from the old TMNT cartoon.
Conspiracy X was supposed to have a sequel series titled 'Invasion', where the Saurians broke the masquerade by openly invading Earth and the various MIB agencies and friendly aliens put their BS aside to save the day. We never got that, and so the setting was still locked into a secretive Cold War between different MIBs and Aliens all fighting for their own desires and interests. Yet there was always an implication of humanity actually being able to come out victorious as we are an odd hybrid of all three species (Grays, Saurians, and even the Atlanteans/Alan'ns). While each of the aliens has their own advantage, humans (and human-alien hybrids) are good enough at everything to be a threat to each one, and the MIB factions of Aegis and Black Book (and any other groups out there) were able to succesfully combine the technology of humans, Alan'ns, Saurians and Grays together to build advanced fighters and computers that managed to blow the others out of the water.
So I ran with that idea when designing a third faction to the war, another group of secretive agents in black who are helping Aegis in defending Earth from the shadows, since even the corebooks themselves imply that there is another group out there doing things which sometimes shock even them (meant as a GM/Player way to create their own fanfiction faction, as I myself have done now with the Grigorim).
The fact that Conspiracy X drops some heavy hints of there being a third faction always kept vague but with goals similar to those of Aegis (Aegis is like the XCOM equivalent, but more espionage focused) in opposing the invaders. (Such as how the unknown third group were the ones to strike the killing blow on JFK because he was secretly turned into a pawn of the aliens and risked tilting things in favor of the Grays infiltrating Earth).
All of this together put an idea in my head of a third faction in the Con-X setting. One that is made up of a sect of the ancient Atlanteans who have been watching over and safeguarding humanity since time immemorial. Once they were just their minders and herders...but would eventually become so much more.
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The Nameless created Alanāns to breed gods. āAtlantean proverb
Long ago the ancient Atlanteans (real name Alanāns) fled their dying world as their home was destroyed after their war with the Grays, and came upon Earth, finding the primitive and still evolving Neanderthals, they took some of their DNA and implanted it into us, uplifting humanity into Homo Sapiens and using us to rebuild their lost empire in the great cities which we would know in myth and legend as "Atlantis" "Lemuria" and "El Dorado", even if the truths of them were long since forgotten and muddled.
The Atlanteans had long since mastered Nanotechnology which gave them biological immortality and regeneration against damage. But it still wasn't enough to end the threat of the Grays, as the grays reproduced in numbers far faster than the Atlanteans (who bred even slower than humans) so they needed warriors to fight this war for them and work the difficult tasks they had forgotten how to do thanks to generations of hedonism and comfort. Some even took it a step further and added Gray DNA into the human genome in hopes of making us into the perfect counter for the psychic powers of the Grays, which the Atlanteans had no capability of.
Humanity would fulfill both roles of Warrior and Laborer, and worshiped the Atlanteans as gods as they used their nanotech to bestow upon us long life, food, and taught us simple secrets of science, medicine, astronomy, and mathematics.
Yet this further made the Atlanteans callous, lazy, and cruel. Instead of leading us to war against the hated Nemesis, they sat back in luxury and soon came toĀ expectĀ to be treated as living gods. Some of them even began to believe their own propaganda.Ā
With their numbers so few and their lives so long lived and full of decadence, inbreeding soon began to corrupt them further with many suffering from mental disorders, especially among the Priesthood of their people who were a caste that was given borderline unchecked power.
The "Nameless Priests" who worship the unnamed creator of all things. The priests now sound more akin to madmen than the wise sages they once were. Especially as they rejected Nanotechnology and wished to 'maintain their purity', and only further drove them to be the Atlantean equivalent to the Hapsburgs.
The only ones who were different, were those who took the path of The Watchers and lived far from the Atlantean cities, and began to see a better way to live, a Golden Path.Ā
They were the Grigorim, and they would one day be our secret protectors in the long war between aliens, even into the modern age. Separating from the decadence of the home cities and living among the humans had actually done wonders for the Grigorim, showing them a better life, giving them reason to appreciate others beyond themselves and giving them purpose which was lacking among the other Atlanteans.Ā
They were able to put their powers to use and find joy in doing so, guiding humans and even protecting them from anomalous monstrosities which seemed to come from the darkest corners of the Earth. (Created unintentionally and sometimes intentionally by Atlantean experiments and uncontrolled Psychic resonance from humans, as all humans are in truth psychic but only some can actually tap into the ether and affect the world with it).
The Grigorim, grew to love their time with humanity far more than they enjoyed even a single second with the out of control indulgence of their hedonistic brothers and sisters, and even as centuries turned into millenniums, the Grigorim continued their duties of watching over humanity, and even began to take on humans as lovers,Ā no matter how much it would hurt them to lose their beloveds.
There used to be 300 of them, now there are only 13 of the Grigorim left. Most of their losses came from fighting the other remnant Atlanteans and in stopping their various insane schemes to limit and control humanity (such as the bubonic plague), but some have also been lost from fights with Grays and Saurians (Reptilians) to keep them from gaining too much power over Earth.
Despite their best efforts, the Grays and Saurians have infiltrated much of human society and begun their efforts at turning it to their own purposes, and their fellow Atlanteans have not stopped in abusing or leading mankind astray for the sheer pleasure and thrill of such power.
It's forced the Grigorim to take a backseat in the conflict and rely much more on human agents and on hybrids between the various races (particularly Human-Atlantean Hybrids or Human-Gray hybrids as they see the Saurians as competitors and echoes of 'The Ancient enemy, Leviathan' from their own holy texts. Though that has not stopped them from fighting Grays as well).
Their name from ancient Ata'lan, was 'Grigorim'.Ā Known today as 'The Watchers'. And like the ancient angels who fell in love with humanity, these Atlanteans committed the cardinal sin of laying with one outside their own race and fathering or mothering their own 'Nephilim'.
They created a line of humans who carried enough Atlantean DNA to make use of the genetic and nano technology of the Atlanteans as easily as their slave masters coupled with some of them having the Psi potential bestowed upon them by their Atlantean 'gods'. These were the Nephilim who would become so hated and feared, with their name cursed for eons afterwards.
Yet these same people were also the basis for countless famous myths throughout human history. The great heroes of legend and even in the modern day who pulled impossible acts and saved people from certain doom are all descendants of the Grigorim and have further helped push humanity towards what the Grigorim call 'Ascension'.
They were once meant to be weapons in the long war between the Atlanteans and the Grays. But during the ancient days they were rising up and demanding to be more than just slaves. They demanded to either be treated as equals, or to be let free to decide their own fates.
It led a terrible war which came to a head when the Atlanteans acted under orders from the insane 'Nameless Priests' to destroy all in the great cataclysm which wiped all trace of themselves and the Nephilim from Earth as punishment for decadence and disobedience to the Nameless One.
Yet some Atlanteans survived and refused to abandon mankind. These were the Grigorim, who had worked in the shadows in one form or another since the fall to raise humanity up to be more than slaves. To see them rise up and be what they wereĀ trulyĀ meant to be.
Ironically, the Grigorim are led by one of the last of the Nameless Priests. The only one to not yet fall to madness, yet who was a 'sinner' in the eyes of his order for using Nanotech to prolong his own life, to properly watch over humanity. He had long ago abandoned the others of the priesthood, declaring the rest of the priesthood as the true heretics and blasphemers, taking with him any who would follow in a religious schism.
To this day he leads the Grigorim and justifies his work against the other Atlanteans with one quote from their holy scriptures.
'The Nameless created Alanāns to breed gods!'
"And when we are done, the humans of this worldĀ shallĀ be Gods greater thanĀ weĀ had ever hoped to be. They shall be more powerful than the Grays, than the Saurians, and one day eclipse even theĀ Alan'ns. We are but the steppingstone to creating living gods. We must finish our work, no matter what it takes."
The Nameless Priest of the Grigorim is the head of the remaining 13 Atlanteans, and while not a general, he's had plenty of time to learn the arts of war, espionage and manipulation as he's kept the Grigorim working together and bringing in human and hybrids agents to make up for their own losses.
His greatest success was in planting a Nephilim (Psi capable Human-Atlantean hybrid) into Aegis Prime, the leadership Cell of the Aegis group, in the 80s and using them to help facilitate his own plans. (Its also why Aegis had the 'Hermes system', an AI computer system which neither the alien serving NDD nor the other alien races have been able to break into. Because in truth it is advanced Atlantean tech with human improvements and its given Aegis an advantage which has kept the group alive all these years despite them being outnumbered by their foes).
He is using Aegis as a cat's paw, a cover for his own actions and those of his own chosen immortals who share the idea of raising humanity up to be their inheritors.
"So is the will of The Nameless! The Uncreated Creator!"
The time is drawing near, call it ascension, awakening, rapture, whatever you want. But the Nameless one can feel it. Soon, perhaps today, tomorrow, or in ten thousand more years. He shall be there to witness our true potentials and issue out a sacred proclamation.
"The Sleepers HaveĀ Awakened!"
Just as the Nameless One (the creator of all things) awoke from their own eternal sleep, and spoke the universe into existence, so too shall humanity awaken. Perhaps...they shall even become as one andĀ beĀ the Nameless, to begin the process over again as a cycle, just as night turns into day and back again.
"So, it has been written, so it has been foretold. So, it shall be."
But they are not thereĀ yet. They must still take action and safeguard humanity.
They can no longer just sit back and watch us self-destruct or to see the interlopers meddle in affairs not their own.
The Grigorim need to take a direct hand in leadership, and so begin their own plans to undercut Black Book and their alien benefactors, as well as preventing the latest insane plan from the disparate alliance of enemy Atlanteans. (Who long to be worshipped as gods again and the last time the enemy Atlanteans got close was when they began supporting Nazi Germany with scientific knowledge).
The watchers are here, and they are done fucking around. They will drag humanity kicking and screaming into godhood if they have to. Apotheosis, willĀ notĀ be stopped!
The Grigorim are already putting their plans into motion, bringing in new agents and finding other Nephilim to bring into the fold, for what is planned to be a series of active operations, hunting down supernatural threats, eliminating assets for the Grays and Saurians, and even playing the political game.
The Nameless Priest himself is taking a direct hand in replacing the current American administration with a newcomer to shake up the comfortable politics the Grays and Saurians have, while playing more into their own hand.
A sudden unknown Independent candidate of David Estevan Becerra is suddenly the talk of every news channel. Former USMC Gunnery Sargeant who served in Desert Shield (and had a few supernatural encounters in the desert, which led him into contact with the Grigorim, who he believes are biblical Angels acting on behalf of the one true God. That his presidency is to forestall the will of the devil. Heh...in a way he's notĀ entirelyĀ wrong.)
America loves a war hero, and the Grigorim gave them a man of action, who puffs his chest and walks tall. Almost perfectly the all-American archetype, the American dream made reality. As if he'd been groomed for this for years, who sometimes wakes up in the night with inspiration for a new speech, and just the right thing to say, as a Grigorim Psi agent implants ideas into him on what to do.
It gives Aegis (and the Grigorim) a more powerful position to use against the NDD and their Gray and Saurian benefactors. It's time for the guardians of humanity to stop being on the defensive, and to put pressure on their foes.
The final Nameless Priest is eager to get to work, using Aegis now to find Nephilim and bring them into the fold of Aegis, or outright bringing them into the Grigorim circle.Ā
The Grigorim have money, connections, Psi powers and Atlantean nanotech on their side. But they lack numbers to the same level as Black Book (The NDD) and their alien rivals. The Grigorim were originally focused just on fighting the Atlantean Secret Masters. But now they have to balance more plates to account for everything.
Still, they haven't given up and they aren't dead yet, they have been fighting this war since before language existed on Earth and will continue until either they are all dead, or until the time which was promised has arrived.
They do have one major point of failure though. The only thing really keeping the group together is the Nameless Priest and the hold he has over the other members. His unified vision and continued love for humanity has stopped infighting and always directed hostility towards their shared foe.
If he was not around to keep the other Adlanāns under control, then the group would collapse into internal strife. He has gone above and beyond for humanity, suffering the constant stress (though he oddly feels as if the work has kept him sane, as opposed to the other priests who lived in luxury and fell to madness), and even sometimes putting himself at risk for the sake of the mission.
Yet he'd do it all again, and again.
"What father would not fight for his own children?" He says with a smile.
And that's the Grigorim. The ancient Atlantean Watchers who fell in love with mankind and are one of the reasons we've yet to be conquered by the enemies from the stars. Feel free to use them in your own games of Conspiracy X if they are suitable. I didn't give their organization actual stats as I'm not that good at figuring this out and its better to keep them a bit nebulous and mysterious to suit the needs of the plot.
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AZEKāAL: GUARDIAN OF HUMANITY When the Atlanteans first created humans, a dispute arose over what role the humans would play in Atlantean society. They were designed to be a defense against Grey psychic abilities, but were they to be limited to the role of living weapons? Azekāal, a member of the Builder family, was among those who felt that humanity deserved to be treated with the same respect an Atlantean enjoyed. After all, humans came from Atlantean genetic material. These humanitariansā views did not carry the day, however. Most Atlanteans feared that if the humans were allowed nanotechnology, they might think themselves superior. Governed by Nameless edict, Azekāal was forced to accept that view.
Still, over the millennia, Azekāal has nurtured feelings for humanity. He thinks of them as his children and would have no ill done to them, though he refuses to interfere in any of mankindās internal squabbles. Instead, he looks out for the well-being of humanity as a whole, protecting human society from other, more malicious Atlanteans, as well as from supernatural and extraterrestrial threats. His true purpose, however, is to raise humanity up to the level of the Atlanteans.
Only when humans enjoy the benefits of nanotech will they be truly safe. The Nameless have forbidden giving nanotech to humans and Azekāal risks grave punishment should he simply hand out the technology. In fact, at the dawn of human existence, he tried just that and was sentenced to a three thousand year mind-wipe, something he does not want to go through again. Instead, Azekāal is determined to help humanity discover the secrets of nanotechnology on their own.
Azelāal has laboriously worked to advance human scientific aware ness. The process is slow and has suffered many setbacks. Countless times a new discovery would be forgotten a generation later because no one saw the value in it. Only in the last fifty or sixty years has Azekāal made significant progress.
