Faction Interplay

Dungeon Master Monty Martin has revealed some information on behind-the-scenes development for the factions of Drakkenheim. His original inspiration for the campaign came from Mordheim, a game where Warbands explore a city ruined by a fallen comet of Wyrdstone. Mordheim, after expansions, included 12 of these Warbands (mostly cut along racial lines), and similarly, DM Monty Martin originally conceptualized as many as 12 unique factions, and these were later reduced to 5, with the introduction of the Caspians as a faction only as a matter of course.

In several Q&As, Monty revealed that in creating each faction, he wanted each faction to have reasons to work with any of the others in the short term, but reasons not to work with them in the long term. He also expressed that a single faction rising to power would spell a bad ending for Drakkenheim, but also all five working together would be a bad ending, though one might question under what circumstances all the factions would work together.

## The Hooded Lanterns

Monty has said that the Hooded Lanterns are the prime axis faction, because they are open to working with or against any of the other factions. The Lanterns' main goal is the restoration of the city and the royal lineage of Drakkenheim. In the Queen's Game (episode 36), Elias Drexel exclaims "There cannot be [Westemär] without Drakkenheim!" To that end, they may work with any of the other factions.

* The Paladins of the Silver Order have their own vision of a restored Drakkenheim, one where the city is first mostly demolished, and the Delerium expunged. Afterwards, the restoration of the city could go forward as planned. In the long-term, the Silver Order's supreme leader, the Hierarch in Elyria, may seek to make Westemär a vassal state of Elyria.
* The Followers of the Falling Fire have an antidote to the effects of the haze: their "sacrament" of embedding delerium into the chest. If the Hooded Lanterns were to ally with them, they could make the city livable, a new Drakkenheim where a new class of people could live and the monsters would over time be expelled as new faithful populate the city. This would, unfortunately, leave Lucrecia Mathias and her successors as a dominant political force in Drakkenheim ever after.
* The Amethyst Academy must adhere to the royal line of succession, as per the Edicts of Lumen, so allying with them could be helpful in making good use of the delerium, finding an heir, and understanding the arcane power. However, access to the Academy Tower and the quarry that is Drakkenheim could give the Amethyst Academy the *carte blanche* to start making dreadful weapons, powerful arcane effects, and on top of that, their official position on the city is that the city is impossible to restore; only after decades or centuries when the delerium is all harvested could the city be livable again.
* The Queen's Men could be a powerful ally in keeping other encroaching factions out of Drakkenheim ***Spoilers***: The Queen of Thieves is also an heir to Drakkenheim, and could be the ticket to restoring the throne. However, they are an untrustworthy ally, and should the Queen take the Throne, the Lanterns would lose all control in the city.

## The Silver Order

The ultimate goal of the silver order is to expunge the delirium, burn the city, salvage what holy relics they can, and then Westemärians can come back and rebuild their city as they please, under the guidance of the Sacred Flame's representative, the Hierarch, of course. In that goal, they are one of the most confrontational of all the factions.

* It has already been mentioned why they might work with the Hooded Lanterns. Suffice it to say, each may work together to kill the monsters of the city, and the Silver Order is not opposed to restoring Drakkenheim - once it has been purged of evil.
* The Followers of the Falling Fire are a strong enemy of the Silver Order. Though they are unified in their belief in the Sacred Flame, they have strong disagreements about the nature of delerium, and the Hierarch names Lucretia Mathias a heretic partway through the campaign. The two factions could hypothetically work together if another faction, like the Amethyst Academy, were to gain primacy in the city. Hypothetically, the Falling Fire could also convert enough of the Silver Order so as to weaken their current presence in the city. Overall, however, there are irreconcilable differences between these two groups.
* The Amethyst Academy is likewise a strong enemy of the Silver Order. They are distrustful of magic-users, as mage-kings from the last age were terrible tyrants who ruled large territories with an iron fist. The Silver Order vehemently opposes the Amethyst Academy's collection of delerium, as it can create terrible powers and weapons that could threaten to make them the strongest force on the continent. The two factions are nearly irreconcilable.
* The Silver Order would likewise not be a ready ally to the Queen's Men either. In their eyes, a pack of lawbreakers, thieves, backstabbers, and goblinoids are not good allies, and subterfuge and hidden alliances aren't their style either. Allying, even to work against their great enemies, would be difficult.

## The Amethyst Academy

The Amethyst Academy's main objectives in Drakkenheim include the recovery of their Tower, the extraction of delerium, and keeping up the appearance that they are non-threatening and ambitionless. The status quo is beneficial to the Amethyst Academy; they are buying delerium at a fair enough rate, and though the Tower remains out of reach, they remain mostly undercover in the expansion of their power.

* The Academy believes that the Hooded Lanterns' goal of a restored Drakkenheim is a pipe dream. They are bound by agreements to find heirs, but they will refuse to do so until the Tower is recovered, as jurisdiction of the Tower is part of the city's promise to the Academy. Open alliance with the Lanterns is disadvantageous to the Academy because the Lanterns want to restore the city while the Academy largely wants to maintain the status quo.
* The Silver Order are enemies of the Amethyst Academy. Though bound to cordiality and peace by the Edicts of Lumen, the Academy believes the Order is a dangerous threat to the most important magical resource in centuries: The Order has found a way to destroy delerium, and a destroyed Drakkenheim and the loss of delerium would be a very bad outcome for the Academy. The two factions would only work together in very dire circumstances.
* The Followers of the Falling Fire have strong disagreements with the Amethyst Academy. Both factions see the delerium as valuable, but for different reasons, and the Followers of the Falling Fire would be hard-pressed to overlook the Academy profaning the "sacred stones." The Academy at first dismisses the faction as superstitious and empty-headed zealots, but their ability to escape the effects of the haze and the creation of golden delerium later intrigued the Academy. An alliance between the two factions would mean a shaky agreement at best on how to distribute delerium between the two.
* The Queen's Men could be a potent ally to the Amethyst Academy. They easily sow confusion and harass any other faction that may be arising in Drakkenheim, meaning the status quo is maintained. Their access to the city means they can be commissioned to collect delerium. ***Spoilers:*** the leader is even a former member of the Amethyst Academy. However, the lofty aspirations of the Queen of Thieves would be a large thorn in the Amethyst Academy's side, so the Academy might try to stop the Queen's rise to power.

## The Followers of the Falling Fire

The Followers of the Falling Fire only have one goal: the proliferation of their interpretation of the Sacred Flame, and thus of the golden sacrament. They are utterly focused on the collection of delerium for use in their rituals.

* To the Followers, the Hooded Lanterns' goal of a restored monarchy is meaningless. They are not interested in political pursuits, only in the expansion of their religion. However, if the new ruler were to take the sacrament, or sacred sites in the city were restored (such as the Cathedral of Saint Vitruvio), the Followers would be happy to work with the Lanterns, in return asking for formal recognition.
* The Followers of the Falling Fire are nearly diametrically opposed to the Silver Order. The Order believes the delerium to be unholy, profane, and dangerous, while the Followers profess that the delerium is holy, sacred, and important to salvation. The two factions have very few agreements, besides sharing their loyalty to the same overall religious belief system, the Sacred Flame.
* The Amethyst Academy also have strong disagreements with the Followers of the Falling Fire. They disagree on the nature of delerium and whether it is an arcane resource or a holy gift. However, the two groups' non-confrontationalism means that open war between the two would be unusual.
* The Queen's Men especially target the Followers of the Falling Fire, as most pilgrims have brought their life savings and are mostly unarmed common folk. They make easy prey. However, killing them is uncommon, as most will fork over their meager possessions. Lucretia Mathias has expressed apathy toward the Queen of Thieves. The Queen's Men remain focused merely on fleeting material gain, while the Amethyst Academy and the Silver Order threaten the "sacred stones."

## The Queen's Men

A force of chaos and lawlessness, working with the Queen's Men is difficult. However, the Queen herself has her own agenda for the city of Drakkenheim. She may play any of the factions against each other so that she might pursue her enigmatic goals in peace.

* The Hooded Lanterns and Queen's Men are united in that they want Drakkenheim to be their home going forward, and as such, they might be inclined to work together to expel incoming threats, like the other three factions. ***Spoilers***: The Queen may also be the key to restoring the monarchy of Drakkenheim. However, the thieves worry that the Lanterns represent the return of the old order, a time of stifling laws, and a loss of freedom, so full restoration of the city is distasteful to them.
* The Silver Order are zealots and would probably not be inclined to work with the lawless thieves under any but the most dire circumstance. However, the Queen would be happy to play the Order against any of its rivals.
* The Amethyst Academy could be a good customer to the Queen's Men, exchanging delerium and recovered treasures to gain magical items. However, the Queen distrusts the international power of the Academy, and she has found other buyers for delerium. The two factions each have goals that are enigmatic to the other, however, so establishing long-term trust would be an unlikely goal.
* The Followers of the Falling Fire are easy plunder for the Queen's Men, and their lack of resistance and apathy has kept the two at arm's length. The two would probably not work with each other explicitly.