The Ordo Veritatis

History

The exact origins of the Ordo Veritatis are unknown to all but its most senior members. Field agents know that it arose in response to the nascent Esoterror movement, and that its activities have on several occasions prevented them from decisively piercing the protective barrier between the natural and the supernatural.

Structure

The OV, as insiders call it, is organized in a cell structure, to limit the potential damage of Esoterrorist infiltration. Members typically perform investigations under assumed identities, which last for only the duration of a single case. Mistakes in maintaining cover can lead to disaster: Esoterrorists love nothing better than to send assassins and creatures to torture and kill investigators’ families and friends. Teams stick together and rarely meet their peers. New teammates are shuffled in as old ones are killed. Rookies may be entirely new to the OV, or transferred out of defunct teams. Briefings are conducted on site by high-ranking operatives, many of them ex-investigators. They invariably introduce themselves as Mr. (or Ms.) Verity.

Sweeper Teams

Investigators are fact-finders first and enforcers of the unwritten laws of civilization second. Once they’ve determined the dimensions of an Esoterror plot, identifying its principals and their bases of operation, they can step aside and call for back up. When the perpetrators are easily taken down, the team may perform mop-up duties on its own. In the case of large concentrations of enemies or supernatural creatures, they instead call in Ordo Veritatis sweeper teams. These heavily armed paramilitary units perform the necessary killing, destroying, and burning, while the team heads back to a rendezvous point for debriefing. Efficient and overwhelming force is a hallmark of a Sweeper Team operation.