Actually, before I said to check out the wiki, but I changed my mind. There are lots of spoilers there. Instead, check this out for world info:
This is a link to the player's guide to Varisia (the nation we're adventuring inside), with brief details on the region, the major towns, and some NPCs. The bulk of this guide is how the different races live in the region, with info about the different gods/faiths, and unique local equipment.
http://files.meetup.com/1325975/RiseOfTheRunelordsPlayersGuide.pdf
This secondary guide gives a big more info on the details of the region and the local towns and cities. It also contains available traits.
http://www.gforcecomp.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Rise-of-the-Runelords-Anniversary-Edition-Players-Guide.pdf
This group is part of the campaign (hence, you not reading the wiki/internet and spoilers), and should work great for our idea of the group backstory. Share your thoughts.
The Brotherhood of the Seven is a secret society in Magnimar, and their headquarters is the Seven's Sawmill on Kyver's Islet. They are like the Freemasons or the Templars, at least how they're portrayed in popular fiction. Folk in Magnimar know about them, but they don't know MUCH about them. They're basically a small group of aristocrats, nobles, and successful businessmen who had too much free time on their hand and decided to form a little secret club. The names of the founding seven men are unknown, and the identities of the current leadership are kept separate and unrecorded at all times.
Your character has a flaw/weakness being exploited by a member of the Brotherhood of the Seven so that you were obligated to join the Brotherhood and perform duties for the time being. Each person can outline one NPC member of the Brotherhood (who are Magnimar aristocrats, nobles, merchants) that has taken advantage of their character in some way. The only other member of the Brotherhood that your character knows about is Justice Ironbriar, a Forlorn elf and recently promoted to the Magnimar Justice Court. Your research helped you find out that Ironbriar has a beautiful mansion in the luxurious Alabaster District, and that he is one of only 13 Justices on that highest court and third branch of the government of the city. With members like that, you are sure that the Brotherhood could make good on whatever threats or promises they offered to get you to join and follow orders.
The first set of orders was to head to nearby Sandpoint, create yourself as a cover adventuring company (you were told to come up with a name so that it didn't link back to the Brotherhood), and make some gold coins. You are under orders to not reveal your membership in the Brotherhood (except to each other), and to send half of the gold/treasure back to the Brotherhood by carriage once every fortnight.