Transformative Thought Initiative

The Transformative Thought Initiative is the working title for a postmodernist BBEG faction that is being fluffed out on 8chan. It is currently in the very beginnings of development.

Overview and Ideology

"Everyone is equal, but inequal, and some are more equal than others, so we have to strive for equality." - [Name of Leader guy/ slogan]

The Transformative Thought Initiative (TTI) is a shadowy pseudo-spiritual organization which seeks to infiltrate the institutions of a country and steer society towards their vision of 'equality' and 'justice.'

TTI is an extreme left organization that derives much of its motivation from postmodern discourse. They are heavily invested in

Postmodernism In Theory

Postmodernism is a philosophy designed as a reaction to modernism that places a greater emphasis on skeptical interpretations of culture, literature, art, philosophy, history, economics, architecture, fiction, and literary criticism. For the purposes of this article, we are using the "postmodern-ironist" variation, which considers truth to be a social construct. From a political perspective, this translates into the importance of one's subjective viewpoint (or "narrative") in political ideology and the ambiguity that is inherent in many social issues due to the many mutually irreconcilable viewpoints, which are themselves frequently interpreted in terms of who has power and who does not.

Postmodernism In Practice

However, many of its adherents go to far with the postmodernist ideology and become so reliant on relativism (in its cultural and moral forms) that they become functionally incapable of making a rational judgment on the issues they are particularly focused on, all while abandoning the concept of objective truth. Additionally, many of its most vocal proponents hold radical political views that are often untempered by genuine knowledge of the world around them, frequently leading them to correct "inequalities" that do not exist and acting on the behalf of minority groups who neither need nor genuinely desire their assistance. Even among the Marxists that it is often associated with, postmodernism is considered to be little more than "an old song long intoned by bourgeois historians", leaving it bereft of any real allies and all too quick to take offense at even the most insignificant of slights.

Setting

The Transformative Thought Initiative is best suited for campaigns set in RL, the near future, or an alternative history setting based in and around the late 20th/early 21st century. The basic ideas can, of course, be modified to suit any campaign in any setting - but they were originally designed for the stated setting and period. The core ideas and identity remain the same - outlined below are specific suggestions for Modern and Cyberpunk variations of the TTI.

Modern

In a modern campaign the TTI is likely to be still establishing its power base, allowing the PCs a wider range of options when deciding how to combat them. The propaganda is likely to be more focussed on traditional media, with the internet being home to a particularly vicious battle between the TTIs agents (social media platforms are largely home to the TTIs sympathisers, with many forms of the older geekier parts staging a strong opposition).

Best suited to campaigns focussed on exposing corruption, media lies and general political shenanigans.

Cyberpunk

The TTI has had decades (at least) to cement its power base, they don't just influence the government, they flat out control it - in some areas they literally are the government. Social media has expanded massively, it is almost impossible for anything that happens in public areas not to be recorded by at least 12 different cameras and streamed to the dominant social media sites. The TTIs opponents have either been eliminated or gone heavily under ground. They operate in independent cells, they're desperate, radicalised, and have little if anything to lose. Casualties are a regular occurrence, they're replaced by the men rescued from prisons and courts as they're charged or convicted of the ever expanding and restrictive hate crime laws (most of which carry the death penalty, and the burden of proof is a distant memory).

Best suited to high risk, high turnover, terrorist campaigns - blow up big sister for freedom.

Personnel and Assets

The TTI has direct control over very few actual assets and only a relative handful of personnel. Those that it does control are largely media gurus, spin doctors, and communications experts. Their power comes from their ability to slowly and covertly worm their way into both the public conciousness and the various institutions (public and private) within a community and a nation. Once they establish a foothold within these groups then their resources will serve the TTI. The real strength of the TTI though is their managing the media and popular culture to push "the narrative" the pre-ordained ideological truth that is used to subvert the actions not just of institutions but of individuals as well. Their manipulation of the media, journalism, entertainment and academia allows them to plant their ideas in almost every citizen from a very young age. This provides recruits, backers, and activists for the various institutions that serve the TTI.

The people on the ground, working for or supporting the subverted institutions, have almost certainly not heard of the TTI - indeed they are likely to dismiss it as a farcical "conspiracy theory" if the idea is suggested to them. This allows the TTI to work quietly in the background, and survive even when one or more of its front groups is attacked or otherwise adversely affected.

When the TTI has managed to subvert a nations government, judiciary, police etc. then their resources multiply massively, they are able to use the resources of the state to their own ends - everything from funnelling taxpayer funds into their front groups, to using police to harass, intimidate or arrest their critics or opponents. As the TTI slowly gains power in a country the resources, personnel and assets they have access to will grow and develop until they are all but unstoppable.

Leadership

The TTI is an authoritarian organization that has a very hierarchical structure. At the very top of this structure is the [name] Cabal. Exact information about the Cabal is hard to come by but it is generally believed to consist of approximately a dozen individuals who set the agenda for the entire organization. The 'CEO' of the Cabal is a shadowy woman known only as [insert name].

Long Term Goals

The ultimate goal of the TTI is to create their version of a "truly equal world". This seems like a noble cause, but because of their separation of humanity into "Oppressor" and "Oppressed" classes, this actually means that they seek to subjugate individuals they consider oppressors, and raise up those they consider oppressed, with their leaders considered most oppressed, and thus deserving of absolute power and social control.