NaGaDeMon / RoleVember 2019 - Designing the Factions


In my last post, I went through a basic interpretation of how I see the factions running in this game, and how that has related to similar methods of character delineation in other games that have been around since the dawn of the hobby. Now that I've got a better understanding of what I'm after and how they specifically work, I'm looking at how those factions are more specifically conveyed to the readers and players of the game.

Like vampiric clans, magickal traditions, corporate affiliations, or other forms of character delineation in other games, there are a few key elements that will describe factions, and make them enticing for players to choose, there may similarly be a couple of negative aspects applied for thematic or balance reasons. I'm not overly concerned with balance here, because a good GM can take almost any level of inequality and still make a good narrative out of it.

In Vampire: the Masquerade, every clan has 3 disciplines and a blood weakness. In most cases there is a physical discipline common among many clans (Potence which boosts strength, Fortitude which boosts Stamina, and Celerity which effectively boosts Dexterity), a general discipline which is often common among a few clans (which reflect common elements of vampiric lore, such as the abilities to hide, to sense beyond the natural, to commune with animals, to have a degree of hynotic charm, etc.), and there is a specialist discpline typically restricted to a single clan.

For this game, the disciplines are effectively the magical books that a faction has access to. Where lesser factions have fewer books than more powerful factions... the counterbalance is that characters start off as smaller fish in a bigger ponds if they join one of the more powerful factions, and they'll probably have to grant bigger favours in exchange for access to mystical lore if they belong to one of these larger groups.

So, the first descriptor for the factions will be the books that they have access to. In a similar vein to vampire (yes, pun intended), the first book that most factions will have access to will be a general book that is reasonably common among various factions, the second book will be something more obscure, and any books after the third may be as uncommon as the second, or may be quite obscure (possibly even limited to the one specific faction who uses them). Characers in this game may join multiple factions to gain access to multiple assortments of books, but such characters will be less trusted because they are inherently less loyal to the groups to whom they belong.

The second descriptor will be a source of magical energy that the faction has developed an affinity for. Such things might be blood magic, herbalism, pseudo-science, meditation, artifacts, specific ingredients, vows, etc. Again, a character may have access to multiple ways of opeing themselves to the magic of the world, the designated source is simply the specific method favoured by the group being described, and the method they have a tendency to master above others. There are two points to note here. First, the sources of power are typically desccribed in the books access by the faction, so there is a good chance that the first book permitted for students provides details on that source (and there will probably be mutliple books among the faction's library relating to that source). Second, there may be splinter groups shooting off from the main faction who promote the use of alternate energy sources. The various sources of energy come with their own inherent problems, so this covers the "weakness" angle too.

The third descriptor will describe the types of character concepts typically drawn to the faction. This not only provides descriptors about how the faction operates in the world, but also helps to prevent some of the "blank page" syndrome where new players have no idea what kinds of character concepts might be appropriate for the setting.

Then we need a couple of aspects that tie back into the driving themes of the game. It's always good to tie the mechanisms of play into the narrative elements of the game if your want to create a coherent system with a consistent feel.

Because the focal point of the game is the familiar spirits who catalyse the magical potential in mortals, it's probably a good idea to describe the types of familiars who are commonly associated with a faction. Is there a common type of mundane animal they pass as when manifesting in the mortal world? Do the familiars associated with a particular group have a particular agenda that they tend to pursue? Do they trace their lineage to a particular pantheon of old gods, or some other religious tradition? Not all familiars may adhere to the specific qualities outlined here, they might only have two out of three (or even one out of three, but they just feel more comfortable associating with this paticular faction than any of the others in the region).   

Then it's probably worth looking at the greater goals and agendas that the faction may have in the world? All the awakened mystics in this game desire some kind of change in the world, and it is this desire for change that fuels their powers. It would make sense that a group of individuals with the ability to manipulate the fabric of reality would work together to invoke that change... there will always be politics as different people argue about the nuances of that change, or the best means to achieve those ends. Just like the earlier comments about different splinter groups and subfactions choosing to use different sources of power, it's likely that different subfactions will fracture a group based on their ideology.

The final thing I've always liked to do is describe what different factions think of one another. This is one of those things that White Wolf did really well, but I remember the various factional opinions of the groups in Planescape too. Descriptions like these can be used to show which factions have a tendency to associate with each other,  and the nature of that association (do they like one another? are they at war? Did they start as splinter groups of a common ancestor faction? This has the added advantage that it allows us to build up a bit of a history for the setting as well. 

Describing a group any more than this is probably just overkill.

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