Faction's Accord

## The Accord

**The Faction's Accord** was first created and signed in 280AS. It is uncertain when the spell was originally conceived of by Lord Antonius Canterbrooke, but it serves as a basis for all Varian law, setting statutes and ordinances for each faction so that each of them has its own place. The Consortium, the Felstriders and the Verdant Sphere pooled their magic to create a treaty that could enforce itself, to be signed by all official faction leaders. Certain agreements in the accord, if broken, brought automatic magical consequences on those who defied them, however, the accord is designed to govern senior faction members and thus its effects are felt more significantly as one works up a faction's hierarchy. Its magic is enforced especially in the most significant representatives of the factions, such as the Archmage of The Consortium. However, all members of a faction are bound to it in some way. For instance, if a member of The Order of Vindication wishes to imprison someone who has directly violated a **Faction Accord** law, they are likely to find it much easier to restrain them, as the accord empowers their attempts to do so, or weakens the criminal's attempts at fleeing.

As a failsafe, **The Faction's Accord** can be altered with the agreement of **all** faction leaders.

**The Faction's Accord** itself is focused upon an ancient, primeval living document signed with blood and magic by each of the leaders to represent their willingness to work together to hold the cities together. The first draft of the accord, pressed under three inches of magic-treated glass and authored by Canterbrooke himself, is still kept preserved in the **Old Laws Library** of the The Cathedral of Knowing. Each faction leader signed the accord at the time it was created.

## The Laws

Not surprisingly, since its signing the leaders since then have worked hard to find loopholes in which to set forward their own plans, many of which have been found. For example, The Consortium are allowed to actively hunt Felstrider members and even kill them, as it is within their remit to hunt, detain or kill rogue mages. The classification for '**rogue mage**' was never truly defined in the accord except that if an arcanist that was not acting in the' best interest of the community and using their magic for selfish gains or to the detriment of others' they were considered 'rogue'. **The Consortium** now claim that their policies of registering and monitoring arcanists is in the best interest of the community at large. Any arcanists that are not part of their own order or on their registers, or taught by the order, are untrained, dangerous, unlicensed, and classified as illegal. This fact has been widely accepted for some time, and thus the accord allows it. This has lead the **Felstriders** to become a very secretive organisation that hides its intentions from **The Consortium** and other factions at all times. This loophole is the most glaring of the **Faction's Accord**, though others do exist in similar ways.

The specific details of the accord are not clear, nor are they publicly available. However each of the faction leaders understand it thoroughly. Some common rules across all of the factions are followed. It is unclear which of these rules are actively enforced by the accord, as laws are enforced in subtle ways, such as ones luck changing causing them to slip and fall when trying to escape from pursuing guards. Due to this, many people revere or even fear the accord, feeling it is ever watching them. Some view and worship it as a deity, claiming that it has manifested itself beyond the power of a spell, others claim that it was created by divine magic, a power beyond that of mortals.

**All Faction Members**

* Breaking a faction law may result in your arrest, you will be magically compelled by the accord to comply to this arrest.
* You must, where possible, abide by your remits and not knowingly interfere with the remit of other factions, without evidence of good cause or direct orders from a faction superior.
* You will not knowingly disrupt business dealings or damage reputations of other factions, without evidence of good cause or direct orders from a faction superior.
* You must not harm a member of another faction without evidence of good cause, or direct orders from a faction superior.
* You may not be a member of more than one faction at a time.
* You must not in any way act as a double agent for another faction, this includes providing inside faction information and secrets to other factions as well as working to undermine your own faction for the benefit of another. Violation of this rule will lead to immediate imprisonment and trial for execution, there are no exceptions.

**Faction Hierarchy**

* You are responsible for the welfare of their faction members, as such, basic needs of food, water and a place to rest should be provided were reasonably possible and not intentionally withheld.
* You are expected to provide faction members with a reasonable salary where a member is not otherwise benefiting from membership (such as being provided free education). This salary is paid from the Faction's treasury.
* You are, where relevant, responsible for the administration of the faction's leadings. This includes but is not limited to tasks such as keeping financial records, managing the treasury, ensuring the faction is working within the laws, and more.
* You are responsible for the activity within your faction, once you have been made aware of an indiscretion, you must discipline any member found to be breaking accord laws. If you are unable to resolve this indiscretion yourself, you are then expected to escalate it to the faction leader.

**Faction Leader**

* You are expected to provide a scaling benefits system which, over **five tiers**, will provide members beneath the leader's rank an increasing incentive to work towards being dedicated to their cause and rising through the ranks. These benefits are paid for by the faction's treasury.
* You are ultimately responsible for the activity within the faction, once you have been made aware of an indiscretion, it is your sworn duty to discipline any member found to be breaking accord laws.
* You cannot can grant orders or act yourself in a way which will harm members of another faction, knowingly disrupt business dealings or damage reputations of other factions or knowingly interfere with the remit of other factions, without evidence of good cause, unless it falls with in your own faction's remit.

## Character Creation

You do not pick a background in this setting, instead, you pick a faction.

The ten Factions are each bound to the magically infused Faction's Accord. Most adventurers align with a faction to gain the added benefits they provide. Each faction has specific areas they are responsible for, and because of this division of duties, a certain balance in intended to be struck across Vari. Unfortunately, each faction has its own agenda, so there is often political intrigue, disagreements and even direct conflict between factions. Your faction will have **5 reward ranks** to progress through, which contain magical items, features, proficiencies etc. They also have hooks to help you get into the role of a faction member, by giving you some examples of goals or future quests.

Check the faction's page to find out more information about them and the rewards they offer:

* 🧙 The Consortium - A collection of mages, scholars and inventors that follow a strict structure and law.
* 💀 The Felstriders - A collection of rogue mages, warlocks, necromancers and outlaws that embrace freedom and chaos.
* 🗡️ The Ivory Chalice - Information brokers, Assassins guild and Thieves guild rolled into one!
* 💪 The Iron Herd - A herd of brave wandering barbarians and other wild folk that venture outside the walls.
* ⚔️ The Order of Vindication - An organised religious group of law and peace keepers.
* 🪙 The Paragon and Western Mainland Banking Corporation - A banking guild that also regulates religion.
* 🩸 The Sanguine Syndicate - An elite group of Monster Slayers and Blood Hunters.
* 🌠 The Shadowstars - A guild of musicians, artists, actors, diplomats and nobles.
* 🪦 The Tomb Keepers - Archeologists that seek to find and hide the secrets of the past.
* 🟢 The Verdant Sphere - A druid lead circle of protectors and guardians of the natural world.

## Remits

#### The Consortium🧙

* The Teaching and Regulation Arcane Practices *(Except Blood Magic)*
* Giving Advice and Council to Vari's Leaders
* Ensuring the Prosper of Technology and Civilisation
* Safeguarding Vari from Threats of Magical Origin.

*As part of their duties, it is written in the accord that **The Consortium** have the legal power and freedom to regulate, capture, interrogate or even kill Rogue Mages, provided doing so falls under the above remits.*

#### The Felstriders 💀

* Enacting Positive Change Where Possible, Promoting Freedom
* Being a Voice to the Voiceless and a Defender of the Defenceless
* The Understanding Consequences of Death, Undeath and Resurrection
* Regulating and Controlling the Influence Other Planes and Their Denizens Upon Vari.

*Examples: Dealing with Devils or Demons and their influences. Dealing with Outer Realm Entities. Providing alleged criminals with legal representation. Correcting injustices. Help to represent the poor or underprivileged in the political sphere.*

#### The Ivory Chalice 🗡️

* The Protection of the Homeless and Street Urchins
* The Proper Regulation of Assassination Contracts
* Re-Acquiring Stolen and Lost Property
* Promoting Equality for the Poor

*Examples: Providing and managing homeless shelters and supported housing. Administration Level of Regulation of Bounties and Assassin Contracts. Help to represent the poor or underprivileged in the political sphere. Assisting the unemployed and helping find work.*

#### The Iron herd 💪

* Promoting Strength and Demanding Honour
* Travelling Around Vari, Protecting the Wilds, Surviving
* Protecting the Roads Between the Nine Cities of the Mainland
* Defending the Mainland from Outside Invasion

#### The Order of Vindication ⚔️

* Bringing Protection to the Innocent
* Bringing Redemption to the Sinners
* Bringing Justice of the Irredeemable
* Remembering the Mistakes of the Past

#### The Paragon and Western Mainland Banking Corporation 🪙

* Banking and Safeguarding Treasuries
* Money Lending and Recovering Debt
* Regulating Business and Trade
* Regulating the Churches

*As part of their duties, Paragon & Western have the legal authority to close down or heavily regulate churches that do not meet approved standards. Only specific gods are allowed to be openly worshipped in Vari. The worship of non-approved gods can result in prison time or worse, depending on the severity of the crime. Paragon and Western are responsible for handing out this justice.*

#### The Sanguine Syndicate 🩸

* The Hunting of Beasts and Monsters
* Knowledge of Beasts and Monsters
* Regulating Syndicate Contracts
* The Regulation of Blood Magic

#### The Shadowstars 🌠

* Entertaining the People
* Regulation of Art and Artistry
* Spreading the Truth
* Spreading Happiness

#### The Tomb Keepers 🪦

* Finding and Securing Forbidden Knowledge
* Protecting Vari from Ancient Evils
* Studying the Past
* Prophesizing the Future

#### The Verdant Sphere 🟢

* Sealing Tears to the Void & Tracking and Hunting Void Entities
* Preventing a Second Severance
* Ensuring Natural Balance Across Vari
* The Regulation and Teaching of Druids