The Secret Societies & Organizations FAQ

The Hollow Earth Expedition (HEX) roleplaying game has been in existence for about five months now officially, and there are many elements of the game system that have aspects to them that make the players, and GMs, think a little bit. This Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page is designed to answer some of the commonly asked questions about one of the more interesting HEX game elements - the various secret societies and other groups and organizations found in the game.

Secret Societies & Organizations Frequently Asked Questions

Just how well-acquainted is the Terra Arcanum with the Hollow Earth? Do they have a rough idea of the lay of the land?

Considering that the Terra Arcanum were founded by actual Atlanteans, I would say that they would have a very well hidden vault somewhere that may have a map of the Hollow Earth inside it. This would be a closely guarded secret, however, only known about by the upper echelons of the Terra Arcanum.

As for dealings inside the Earth, I'd imagine that they focus more on operations on the surface world - preventing expeditions, discrediting explorers, that kind of thing.

Would the Terra Arcanum have equipment specifically adjusted to the Hollow Earth enviroment?

I suspect that they would have more in the way of devices based on Atlantean technology, but absolutely. It's probably more in the line of devices that can still work on the surface world for the reasons I gave above, but they've probably got some more fantastical ones stashed away for those "special occasions". <g>

Given the reference to Von Wartenburg appearing in a painting centuries earlier, and the subsequent silencing of the student that made the discovery, do members of the Thule Society know of the Terra Arcanum, and do they hunt them down?

While both organisations seem to approach the Hollow Earth from different angles, so to speak, it does stand to reason there may have been some headhunting of Terra Arcanum members by the Thule Society. Who better to lead them to the "promised land" than one who knows about it?

What would the Terra Arcanum look for in a person before asking them to join?

There are probably a number of "keep this secret or disappear" types of agents out there, but I would say that most people recruited by the Terra Arcanum are recruited for a particular talent or ability they posess without ever being told who they are really working for.

Assuming there is an Atlantean Talent, is it possible that the Talent only affects humans from the Hollow Earth?

Considering that it is stated in the adventure in the HEX rulebook that the players are all able to understand what Roald is saying when he speaks Atlantean, I would say that the Atlantean Talent affects anyone who can hear the words being spoken. As for why he wasn't using it on the Cargo Cultists, that could have been because he could converse with them in his native language and that they weren't hostile towards him.

I would offer players wanting to create Terra Arcanum agents the chance to learn Atlantean, but I'd only let them start with one level in the Talent (unless they had a very good reason why they would start with more). One of the folks wrote up some rules for the Atlantean Talent (that will likely be redundant once the Mysteries of the Hollow Earth book appears), which basically provide an extremely powerful ability and should be handed over to the control of players with great caution.

Special thanks to Jeff Combos, Melissa McNally, M. Sechin Tower, and the folks on the Hollow Earth Expedition (HEX) forums for their help in the compiling of this FAQ information.

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