From the Game's Introduction:
Though it may have a fantasy setting like many RPGs, players in The Hermetic Order are not a like minded band of warriors going off on adventures together. Instead they are a group of back biting nobles trying to increase their influence and power by twisting the problems they encounter to their own ends and influencing powerful guilds to join their side.
The Hermetic Order is also different to a lot of RPGs in that there is no games master. Instead all players take the roles of player characters and any other characters that arise in play. The players set the scenes and narrate the results of dice rolls and character choices.
The game is also designed as a one-shot play, not for a continuing campaign. Although the players may sometimes work together in the end one noble will rise above the others to win the game.