Joining forces with the Eben Cabal means that you speak the language of power. You're comfortable operating among the ruthless and the ambitious - and those are your allies. You might profess noble ideals when it suits your over all plan, and you always have an overall plan, but those ideals can be cast aside whenever doing so gets you what you desire .
Because the Ebon Cabal functions like a mutual aid society, joining it has an ironic twist . The more powerful you are, the less powerful the Ebon Cabal can make you. Further, the more power you wield, the more your fellows in the cabal ask you for aid.
 

Combat: Most members of the Ebon Cabal are wizards or sorcerers, so battles with them are flashy and brief. Many Ebon Cabalists are accomplished conjurers; thus, they are capable in melee combat, using summoned and called creatures to do their blood letting for them.
Not all members of the Ebon Cabal are spellcasters, however. Some cabalists use stealth and prowess at arms, suitably enhanced by nightmarish supernatural abilities, to accomplish their goals. These dark warriors are known as the Twisted Lords.
The Ebon Cabal h as no standing levy of troops, nor does it need one. Instead, it bends the will of the local nobility to muster the soldiers it needs, using threats, promises, or enchantment spells to ensure cooperation.

Advancement: If you have some power the Ebon Cabal wants, its members come to you. After studying you from a distance, often using magical surveillance, those members decide if you would be a worthy addition to the cabal. They know better than to offer memberships to people who aren't likely to say yes.
If you accept an invitation to join the Ebon Cabal, you receive a tour of the cabal's Black Tower. You are issued black robes that you're expected to wear within the tower walls. Then members start approaching you individually, offering aid in exchange for future favors or asking for assistanee in some ongoing plot.
Working with others is the only way to move ahead in the Ebon Cabal - the name of the game is mutual aid, after all. As you perform more tasks for your seniors in the cabal, you receive greater rewards. Eventually,  you reach the point where you look forward to the arrival of new members: You have a few simple jobs for them to undertake .

Missions: Few tasks that Ebon Cabalists undertake are actively evil, although it's common for a new member to receive requests involving questionable morality. Those who do the asking rarely pay any heed to the finer points or even the broad strokes of legality. Working for the Ebon Cabal often means working against laws and avoiding the scrutiny of established authorities.
For example, within weeks of her arrival at the Black Tower, a new member might rec ive the following requests and offers :
"The Sumberton Minstrels Guild h as weak leadership and is primed for a takeover. I'd like your help."
"Would you like the services of an assassin anytirne in the next month?"
"One of the fragments of the Balurerria Tablet is being held in a manor north of Jewelford . Let's steal it."
"It would suit my purposes if a certain army patrol near the headwaters of the Marrilach River were delayed from returning for three days."
'The great dragon Olthamaathran has reopened negotiations with us, and we need attaches capable of surviving the journey."
"I can craft powerful staffs, and I'll do so for only the cost of materials. Surely you'd like such a potent weapon?"
 

Responsibilities: You don't have to take every offer presented by your fellows, of course. No cabalist does. But others in the cabal always remember that you refused.
Those who decline to help their black-robed comrades too often are eventually excluded from the more worthwhile plots. Members who continually spurn others might find the doors of the Black Tower shut against them one day.