Factions

**Introduction:**

 Factions on TDN are In-Character interest groups meant to help align players with the active elements of the setting. Factions are entirely optional, and exist to help give an idea of who the major players are that many stories will revolve around, as well as allow players the chance to be involved in events that could very reasonably concern their character. While the TDN team has aimed to make sure the Faction list provided enough diversity, Factions will not be able to capture every character. In all cases, Factions are niche orders that exist specifically to help players find a place, and help DMs guide stories for their characters. These groups may be at times allies, and at other times enemies, with plenty of ways to share stories and leave their mark on the world.

**Rules:**

 - The first rule regarding Factions is to help others within them have fun and enjoy the slice of the setting they've chosen to be a part of, whether or not you're playing alongside or against other groups. Factions never should be simple excuses for PvP and conflict, but rather as a means to create stories that can then lead to conflict or resolution.

- While a player can have multiple characters in multiple factions, it is clear that this can lead to metagaming, so we would ask that any player choosing to play multiple alts in multiple factions be very conscious about what information they may be privy to in order to minimize metagaming.

- A single character may not join multiple factions, although exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

More Rules will come to support factions within TDN as we develop them deeper.

**Structure:**

We will try to preemptively answer a few of the questions that we expect to see early on.

- No character can claim prior history in a Faction. Every character starts at the lowest level in any faction and can work their way up with consistency and good RP.

- Factions will be led by NPCs, but players can rise very highly in some Factions. This may vary Faction to Faction.

- Every Faction will have a DM permanently assigned to its oversight to ensure that no Faction goes without support, even if it contains only one player or no players at all.

- In the case of low Faction attendance, the Faction DMs will work to append members to other groups (e.g. Mercenaries may be permanently assigned to be guards to a member of the Council of Eleven).

- Factions will come with In-Game perks such as Public or Secret Faction Bases, unique merchants selling unique gear, and access to a great many other things, depending on the Faction.

- Factions will be privy to their own Forums for the distribution of news and communication.

- Players may absolutely make their own groups, and the presence of these Factions listed here does not preclude ones started with player initiative. However, these setting-based Factions will have considerable DM support and backing in terms of areas and NPCs out of the gate, while we cannot promise similar support to player-started Factions concurrently, if only because of the logistical challenges of it. DMs will still aid player-started Factions as well as they are able.

- At Launch, some Factions may be more developed than others in terms of support such as areas and NPCs. The DM Team sought to reveal Factions early in order to help new and incoming players understand who the major players are and ways to align character ideas to something that already exists within the setting. Factions will be prioritized based on the level of Player interested, but will still be limited in some cases by Dev schedules and backlogs.

## **The Swords of Darromar**

The last Decade had been witness to the resurgence of influence at swordpoint, and the dying practice of hiring mercenary companies made a strong resurgence. It became a fashion to ply the trade of a sellsword, and many an aspiring soldier or adventurer dreamed of their own company, not only to emulate the recent successes of Queen Zaranda Star, but also to profit from a time of uncertainty and threats in every direction. Scores of mercenary companies sprang up in Tethyr and Amn, most not reaching past 20 individuals in size, and some numbering in the hundreds.

The Swords of Darromar was a new company under the command of Captain Neravel Trosbann of Darromar. The company consisted of many of Darromar’s regional mercenaries, some soldiers, and those hired along the way. The small group had grown larger with their mission to go and reinforce Tulmene against the threats from the Sea of Swords. While so far the company was little more than two-score strong, it was very well led and efficient, representing the fastest-acting arm of Tethyr’s interest, for a price.

The Swords of Darromar were varied in their specializations, but allowed for freedom while keeping to a militaristic rank structure that was kept to very stringent. Employment in the mercenaries allowed for the taking of smaller jobs and delegation to niche postings on the Company’s behalf. The company’s flag was a field of Tethyrian blue overlaid with three crossed swords wrought in bronze. The tips of the blades formed a crown, representing the Crown of Tethyr. While they were an independent company, their loyalty was to country first, and by all reports that was heavily enforced by the young Captain Trosbann.

// The Swords of Darromar are meant to be a small but capable mercenary faction, hired to act as Bodyguards to Nobles, as marines to support Privateer forces, additional muscle for mages or Adventurers, and many other tasks. The mercenary Company also represents Tethyr's interests, and may yet be called into matters of politics. This Swords of Darromar are, aside from the Starspire Accord, the most "militant" of the Factions.&nbsp;[/font]

## **The Council of Eleven**

The Council was a coterie of nobles with common interests drawn from both Tethyr and Amn and intentionally parroting the title of the Council of Six, which has been defunct since Athkatla’s fall. Known informally as the “Merchants’ Council,” the Council of Eleven was a fair representation of the nobility and influence in the region.  Due to their cohabitation of the valley between the Small Teeth and Starspire mountain ranges, these two nations’ respective aristocracies have become generously mixed with one another. Murann and Port Kir held the highest concentration of gentry in the area, but the countryside and key cities such as Velen held their share.

In large part, the nobility in the region was impotent. They had trade empires through land and sea, but little in the way of dedicated martial forces to protect them in either case now that troubles have arisen in all directions. Their influence on the actual politics of the region was slow and subtle, and so most were content to profit however they could. Those few that had the drive to change the world, local and wider, had to be clever.

The Council had quarters in both Murann and Port Kir, a dual representation in Tethyr and Amn alike. The council chambers were always lavish, surrounded by the rest of an aristocratic manor in either case with rooms for visiting gentry, merchants, and their guards if necessary. Each Council chamber held a table with Eleven chairs, one for each of the 9 permanent and formal Councilors who held any true influence in the region, and one for visiting representatives of particular merit. The eleventh chair was always reserved for the local ruler as an open invitation to attend the Council’s meetings in good faith and transparency. Though the Council could not decide and act on behalf of either nation, their unified interests held sway, carrying with it money and force of arms in some cases. Access to the Council was not restricted to the 11, however; minor nobles and merchants or influential local figures could be given floor to speak and attend meetings, though they had no votes. Instead, those not on the Council worked to gain the Councilors’ ears, through bribes or other means outside of Council sessions. If there were a unified hotbed of intrigue in one place, it was at the meetings of the Council of Eleven.

// The Council of Eleven is meant to be the default Noble and Political faction that has a presence in local events and wider politics. Their individual wealth and powers are limited, but a Faction member may influence decisions and events through guile, bribery, and intrigue.

## **The Muranni Alchemists' Guild**

Murann boasted Amn’s largest alchemist’s guild, and it had only grown with the rise of alchemy as a legitimate field of study. The guild boasted more success, they claimed, than the best in Waterdeep and Thay. Due to the considerable overlap between the fields, wizards flocked to the growing alchemists’ guild since the Longest Year, adding their own research and mercantile options and expanding the sale of potions and salves with wands, scrolls, and trinkets. By this point, the Alchemists’ Guild had a near monopoly on the dealing of magical goods south of the Small Teeth. Without the oversight of the Council of Six in the last year, the Guild embraced more members and opened up their craft to a wider body of students. Their potions were still among the most expensive, but also offered far more compelling variety than any other regional alchemists or herbalists.

Outside of Murann and the Alchemist’s Guild, the pursuit of magic was still stymied and quiet, rarely performed openly in Amn. Murann took some pride in their local Guild and thus had more tolerance for magic than the rest of Amn, but open practice and easy discussion of it was still primarily performed within the Guild’s walls.

// The Alchemists' Guild of Murann is the default arcane Faction, combining Alchemists, Enchanters, and mages of all sorts under one roof. The Guild Hall in Murann is known to be one of the safest places to publically discuss and practice magic in Amn, and membership among the Guild is seen as a mark of status. Faction members may be brought in to act as arcane consultants on adventures or plots, and may lead events themselves, hiring mercenaries or adventurers to aid them.

## **The Servants of Greywell**

Since the fall of Athkatla and the violent separation of North and South Amn, the Shadow Thieves had gone quiet, slinking back into safety and anonymity without much of their supposed wealth and subtle political backing.

Out of the growing city of Port Kir, a criminal enterprise rose to fill some of the gaps, spreading with alacrity and ruthless intent into every major city between the Starspire Mountains and the Small Teeth. While Port Kir was their origin, the small gangs of Velen and the Bilge Rats of Murann seem to have been subdued since the introduction of this new brand of criminal. Even the law enforcement of the cities seemed reticent, slow to act against any of this new group’s interests for now.

The group’s name was only recently known, the modest monicker of the “Servants of Greywell” preceding them. Their trademark was a simple grey cloak and cowl rather than the more concealing black, letting them vanish amongst stone streets and into crowds with ease.

This new brand of criminal was a dangerous one, and their quick growth and efficient takeovers spoke to their ruthlessness.

// This Faction is fairly secretive, but will serve as the overall Criminal faction, with room for thievery, thuggish enforcement, and assassination. The Servants' interactions with other Factions are circumspect, and none would admit to openly dealing with the criminal element.

## **The Starspire Accord**

Tethyr was home to a number of prestigious knightly orders, most of which were dedicated to one of the Goodly or Lawful faiths. Although the numbers within orders were significant, they were largely chartered out of Tethyr’s lands South of the Starspire mountains, and were never short of duties there. The grievous tragedy that befell Amn during the Winter of Teeth and the Ironprow Fleet drew attention to the lands of Northern Tethyr and South Amn, territories that were the most besieged and in need. Rather than trickle without leadership into these territories, the four great Orders in Tethyr came to an agreement, forming the Starspire Accord.

The Starspire Accord was initially composed of members of the Champions Vigilant of Helm, The Knights Kuldar of the Triad, Loyal Order of Innocents of Torm, and Order of the Silver Chalice of Siamorphe. Further wisdom from the Accord’s founders, representatives of each of these orders, allowed the inclusion of good-aligned errant adventurers, knights, and other servants to Good and Lawful deities into the Starspire Accord. The result was a militant, capable force for Good and Law with the backing of many faiths and much of the local nobility, all operating out of a Chapter House ceded to them by the Champions Vigilant in Velen. Together, the members of the Accord, some hundred strong across Tethyr and Amn, worked to reduce the burden on the very limited martial forces in the two nations. Supporting and even joining the Accord was a recent fashion among the peerage, even if many such assignments were symbolic only.

Much of the Accord’s work was done inland, and involved actively seeking out dangers rather than passively wait for them to arise. The Starspire Accord had a noble purpose, and a fair amount of freedom in how to accomplish it. The leadership was slim in the group, an effort to compromise between the normally heavy-handed control of Lawful gods that sponsored such ventures; it was hardly needed, as most of the members were already diligent and dutiful. The Starspire Accord was backed by many known names in politics, and was seen as a progressive step towards utilizing the uniques skill sets of adventurers. In a way, the Starspire Accord was similar to the Firedrake Lodge, which would further incorporate the skills of adventurers into national defense.

 // The Starspire Accord is generally focused on LN, NG, and LG characters with a knightly persuasion. They are a well-sanctioned force for Good and Law in Tethyr and Amn, and as such will be highly respected by NPCs within the setting.

## **The Black Skull Privateers**

On the Sword Coast, the once-feared pirates had become the underdogs, pinned between a fearsome and merciless fleet that had little place but the oars for humans, and the very coasts they had raided for decades. The Pirates’ Pardon was the gesture of good faith needed to point many pirates towards a common cause, making them Privateers in Tethyr’s name. Their targets were the fringes of the monstrous fleet, the isles that supported it, and any wedges that could be driven between unstable elements of Balura Ironprow’s armada. Profit was as good as it had ever been, thorisks now were greater still.

While many pirates remained uncertain of their ance with Tethyr's Navy as a Privateer, his manner and command brought many sailors under his flag, most of whom only wanted the best for Tethyr and felt that they would be too constrained within the country's Navy. Some others simply longed for adventure and the high seas, and the freedom being a part of such a crew entailed.

The three ships in the fleet of the Black Skull Privateers had a captain each, through all deferred to Eamon Blaskul, who wisely tempered the ruthlessness of the Scimitar of Fire’s "Captain Ornshield" with the cold lethality and diligence of the Sea Wraith’s "Bahija the Fair". Eamon himself captained the largest ship of the lot, the Queen’s Pardon, and the one most in need of crew. Captain Eamon Blaskul seeks to fill out that crew, one that will help him sail against monsters and humans alike, and win more support to his banner; a crew that will help him navigate the pitfalls of pirate diplomacy, and perhaps one day sail under the flag of the Black Alaric himself.

// The default Seafaring faction, which will be able to support general sailing RP, adventuring on the high seas, and clandestine events supporting both good-aligned Sailors and black-hearted pirates. There will be elements of naval battles and Privateer politics involved with this faction, allowing a very diverse cast to succeed within it. While the faction has an inherent association with piracy and evil characters, it will be able to support Good-aligned characters equally well.

## **The Firedrake Lodge**

There had always been a very casual view of “advenutring” from much of the community. All across Toril, the horrors and dangers of delving into dungeons deep were second place to the glory, the riches, and the opportunities. The Firedrake Lodge was no new group,  established half a decade ago as a “boys’ club” to host adventurers and help supply them, all the while being a good pass-through for their deeds and riches. The group had always boasted a quiet success and prestige, and could claim membership of several notable locals.

The Firedrake Lodge had grown in fame and size in the last 5 years, especially with Tethyr and Amn formally legitimizing adventurers and offering registration and some status to them. The Lodge was by no means exclusive, but it was an open gathering of many that offered benefits to the few that decided to join the loosely formal “Guild.” Through the Lodge came contracts, rumors, and many opportunities adventurers couldn't find on their own. It asked for some small tithes, an occasional portion of adventuring contract earnings that the Lodge helped to facilitate, and drew in further benefit by offering many services adventurers valued under one roof. To most, what it offered was a community, one that might indeed go looking if one failed to return from their latest adventure.

// The Lodge is meant to serve as a catch-all adventuring faction with a slightly Good-aligned member base. It will act as an excellent hook to discover new and unique dungeons and initiate plots, as well as helping to provide more structure to the adventuring community.