History Main / TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness

** The Quintessence, consisting of Ganthet, the Phantom Stranger, Zeus, the Highfather and Shazam. However, they weren't any use at all, and eventually broke up.

* Control, the ruling body for the Technocracy in ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' is this, [[spoiler:at least until the "Time of Judgment" scenario]]. The council is supposed to be near-omniscient, all-controlling and extremely knowledgable about what happens in the organization (à la big brother). Meanwhile the identity of its members is a secret even within the technocracy and its agenda is nebulous. Revised edition with the avatar storm made this even more pronounced since communication become even scarcer and its goals even more mysterious.

* TheIlluminati in ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'', who end up giving their blackmailed minions tasks ranging from "kill this man" to "place a bucket full of paint in a dustbin in HPL Sector". [[spoiler:It's little more than a front for High Programmer activities in secret societies that need a lot of discretion. It's not an actual secret society and more of a joke between [=ULTRAVIOLETs=]... probably.]]

* ''TabletopGame/DeltaGreen'' is choke-full of these, since it's a ConspiracyThriller:

The result is a lot of [[CrypticConversation vague and pretentious doubletalk]] about how they know everything that's happening but don't actually mention what any of those things are, not even amongst themselves. Expect comments like "[[AllAccordingToPlan Everything is going according to]] [[EvilPlan Plan]]." and "[[VaguenessIsComing Great Darkness is coming.]] We will see if the hero can handle it." Except for what little tidbits the writer feels obliged to reveal, as little detail as possible is given. Also, as TheHero (and by extension, the audience) finds out more of "The Plan", The Omniscient Council Of Vagueness will have no problem discussing those parts directly, even when it was apparently taboo previously. (Though, of course, people tend not to talk in detail about things they all already know. Makes wiretapping a frustrating business.)

* The manhwa ''Manhwa/DorothyOfOz'' is notable for having a total of ''three'' Omniscient Councils of Vagueness so far, them being the other three Witches and their right-hand assistants. All of them are scheming against each other, and each seems to have some sort of plan in mind for Mara.

A [[SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands magic ball or screen on the wall showing the hero's every move]] is a required accessory.

* The closest thing ''Manga/OnePiece'' has is the Five Elder Stars. They're just a bunch of old men who allegedly run the World Government, but between the Council of Kings handling international affairs, and Sengoku controlling the Navy, there's really no telling what they do day-to-day. The Five Elder Stars have authority over everything and everyone under them, including the Kings and Sengoku, but most of the time they just vaguely comment on world affairs and focus more on perpetuating a conspicuous stalemate with their enemies. They have the larger goals which include ensuring that the government remains in control and continues to grow, dealing with those that seek to topple the government, and covering up their own history. [[spoiler:And it's later revealed they don't quite have that much authority either, as they secretly bow to ''one'' person by the name of Im, who is the true ruler of the World Government]].

* The Norwegian Labour Party has a CatchPhrase, referring to the party's inner circles, and beautifully coining this trope: "'''Some of us have had a talk'''". When ''that'' sentence popped up in a party discussion, people knew some serious shit was about to go down.

** The [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ethics-committee-orientation Ethics Committee]]. Several interpretations put them as even more powerful than the O5s, and even more mysterious. Ironically, they actively want to avoid this trope by being very open about who's who and [[DefiedTrope explicitly]] does not use [[DeadlyEuphemism euphemisms]] (unlike the O5s, we usually know the names of whatever member makes an appearance). Despite this, next to nothing is known about them, since their effect on the foundation is mostly limited to "you can do that, you cannot do that".

* The Season 3 premiere of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' features the [[WeirdTradeUnion Guild of Calamitous Intent's]] Council of Thirteen as they interrogate the Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend, in the process parodying this trope about as far as it can go. Over the course of the episode, they [[RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic trip over each other's sentences]], argue about what to call themselves, make gestures that can't be seen by their subjects, and complain about their lack of SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands.

** Marvel introduced the Commission on Superhuman Activities in ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' as one of these. Later we see who's in it. That doesn't stop them from meeting in a giant, not-well-lit conference room, though.

* ''Literature/{{Replica}}'': TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness was always plotting insignificant things, such as stealing from the heroine a piece of fingernail to make sure she's actually the clone. Because, yes, kidnapping some people and releasing them after cutting fingernails is the best plan not to be spotted. In the end, after being defeated for the zillionth time, they ended every action, because some government organization watched them. Duh.

* The ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series has both the Shadow Broker and Cerberus/The Illusive Man. Helping or following direct orders/requests from either group generally rewards [[KarmaMeter renegade points]].
** While both of these are powerful organizations, and their leadership is ambiguous in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1,'' in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' we find that [[AvertedTrope they are each led by individuals]]...
* The Inner Circle from the ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' games is mostly depicted as one of these. However, when questioned about what he knows about the organization in the second game, Vlad dismisses the idea of many of the characteristics integral to this trope as being characteristic of the Inner Circle; to him, they're just the next peg up the ladder in organized crime.

* Subverted with the Wisemen's Committee in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'', introduced as the upper legion of the conspiracy known as the Patriots, and shown as 12 mysterious faces with their eyes censored. They're not actually shown in person, though. [[spoiler:In reality, they died a hundred years ago, and the Patriots are inhuman computer programs who don't even need to discuss anything. The Patriots (or their predecessors, the Philosophers) are never actually shown meeting in any of the games]].

[[folder:Eastern Animation]]
* The eponymous ''Animation/TimeMasters'' are a group of strange space aliens who have vague but sinister reasons of sending a ragtag bunch of space travelers in time. They have a planet made up of SinisterGeometry to boot.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* The Shadow Council in ''WebVideo/TheOutCrowd''. Their agenda, if any, beyond maintaining TheMasquerade is vague and they're more LawfulStupid than evil.

* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', Cadmus serves as one of these initially, though their membership is exposed over the course of the season.

* The Shadow Board in ''WesternAnimation/InsideJob2021'' is an example of this. They're a council of 5, or sometimes 7 or 10 who are the ones which truly control [[EvilInc Cognito Inc.]] and most other global conspiracies. It's hinted that they uphold TheMasquerade to profit off it.

* Control, the ruling body for technocracy in ''TabletopGame/{{Mage The Ascension}}'' is this, [[spoiler: at least until the "time of judgment" scenario]]. The council is supposed to be near-omniscient, all-controlling and extremely knowledgable about what happens in the organization (à la big brother). Meanwhile the identity of its members is a secret even within the technocracy and its agenda is nebulous. Revised edition with the avatar storm made this even more pronounced since communication become even scarcer and its goals even more mysterious.

* The original ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' comic included a secret Pentagon faction that directed the Joes to serve their own ends.
* DC comics had The Quintessence, consisting of Ganthet, the Phantom Stranger, Zeus, the Highfather and Shazam. However, they weren't any use at all, and eventually broke up.
* The most recent Franchise/{{Batman}} relaunch brings the [[ComicBook/NightOfTheOwls Court of Owls]] into the verse, which is also an AncientConspiracy.
* Creator/MarvelComics had ComicBook/TheIlluminati and Osborn's Cabal.
* ''Nick Fury vs SHIELD'' gives us the SHIELD Executive Council.
* Marvel introduced The Commission on Superhuman Activities in ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' as one of these. Later we see who's in it. That doesn't stop them from meeting in a giant not well-lit conference room though.
* [[Comicbook/SuperboyNew52 N.O.]][[Comicbook/TeenTitans W.H.E.R.E.]] in the ComicBook/{{New 52}}.
** Not to mention the Shadow Lords of the Shadow Council, [[OverlyLongGag shadowy]] masters of ''ComicBook/{{Stormwatch}}'', who barely show up, and about whom almost next to nothing is known.
* ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'' parodied this in their Radioactive Man comics with the Secret Bonfire Club, some of the richest men in the world, who gathered in a darkened room to talk with a Russian scientist who looked like a crab, and included people like Richard Nixon. They have a grudge against Radioactive Man, who keeps accidentally foiling their schemes. At one point one of their members lampshades their tendency to meet in a dark room.

* ''[[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy Verse]]'':

* On ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', they had The Triad as the evil version and The Elders as the good.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Up until [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin "The Deadly Assassin"]], the Time Lords were sometimes presented as this, most blatantly in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E4ColonyInSpace "Colony in Space"]]. In "Assassin" they were {{Retcon}}ned as The [[NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering Blinkered Council of College Infighting]], and they never really recovered. Creator/RussellTDavies decided the revived show would be better off without them... [[spoiler:until they were brought back in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time"]], having become unambiguous villains under Rassilon's insane leadership. The Doctor then has to doom his entire race ''all over again''. Although it's been revealed since then that they still exist, sealed off in a separate universe, and also that ''every'' Time Lord didn't [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jump off]] with Rassilon. We've met a perfectly sane and respectable leader known only as the General, and civilian Gallifreyans that could be the civilians of any world.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/NeonGenesisEvangelion https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2012064_seele_logo.jpg]]]]

* Series/KamenRider555 has one in the movie, all portrayed by veteran [[CelebrityVoiceActor Celebrity Voice Actors]], who’ve [[ProductionPosse contributed to Showa-era Rider shows.]]

** ''VideoGame/HalfLifeAlyx'', the G-Man elaborates slightly on his employers: they want to change the fate of “our worlds”, and via the G-Man are capable of screwing with time to get what they want, but undoing the Combine invasion of Earth would run counter to their plans, whatever those are.

* The ''Website/SCPFoundation'' is run by a group known only as "the O5 Council" (there are actually 13 of them, despite their name; the O stands for Overseer and the 5 is their security clearance level). Every one of them is a total unknown: their names, genders, locations, and occupations are all blank. Their occasional entries on SCP information pages often go so far as to censor even their ID number, so that while it can be seen that an O5 member made the entry, it is unknown ''which one'' made the entry. And due to the wiki’s official “[[UnreliableCanon there is no canon]]” policy, stories that reveal their identities don’t have to agree on who — or what - they truly are.

* In ''Anime/LupinIIIPart6'', there's Raven, a secret society that emerged after World War II, and whose members are hidden within and dictate British society. Its treasure, whatever it may be, is Lupin's target now.

** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', the {{Beta Baddie}}s of Organization XIII form a similar omniscient council. They do avert EvilIsNotWellLit, as their home base and meeting place is the very bright, sterile, and white [[EldritchLocation Castle That Never Was]].[[/note]]) Enhancing the effect was the fact that the members each wore a hooded BlackCloak, which concealed their face until they became part of the story directly.

* ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'': The tendoshu had this role for a long time. A circle of elders amanto entirely covered by their capes and obscurity, and presented as the ominous peoples taking decisions behind the shogun. Appearing so rarely one might forget about them. This change in the Rakuyo arc where their goal and a lot of plot relevant informations are revealed, [[spoiler:and they are double-crossed by [[BigBad Utsuro]]. As for the reason why they where shrouded in thoses capes? They served to hide the decomposition of their bodies]] .

* Asimov's ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' series: The Second Foundation ({{Chessmaster}} extraordinares) [[ExaggeratedTrope take this to an extreme]]. One chapter ends with two Second Foundationers summarizing everything that just happened: "Intersection point?" "Yes! May we live to see the dawn!"

%% Needs Context * The Volturi in ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''.

* ''Series/TwentyFour'' '''loves''' this one: sometimes there will be multiple Omniscient Councils of Vagueness in the same season. "Loves" is an understatement. There's the so-called "Bluetooth Illuminati" in Seasons 5 and 6, the [[spoiler: super-secret council of private military companies]] in Season 7... not mentioning the dozens of others. Although most of these either got scrapped, were resolved offscreen, or specific members were thrown into random storylines just to be killed off. The one involving [[spoiler: Jack's long lost father and brother]] was even seemingly retconned altogether (though it was replaced by another). Despite all of these plotlines flopping, they constantly continued them. Many fans were particularly pissed by [[spoiler: Season 7's OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness]], because they were sick of this trope being used all the time, among various other things.