What process do you use to write factions?

[nrg89]

I think my own process could be improved quite a bit and would love to hear how others tackle the problem of writing memorable, likable factions that also play a part in the game that's more relevant than plot point or exposition machine. My list of stuff to use as a starting off point is:

1. One sentence description
2. Purpose
3. Possible conflict with the PCs
4. Possible quest given to the PCs
5. Possible aid given to the PCs
6. Example of faction they are in direct conflict with

Two example factions:

Sorcerers of the Great Lake

One sentence description
Organization of sorcerers loyal to a demon
Purpose
To further the influence of their demon master over the world
Possible conflict with the PCs
Kidnapping a PC's loved one with the intent of sacrifice
Possible quest given to the PCs
Finding artifact used by demon in a past life
Possible aid given to the PCs
Bribing or extorting officials hindering the PCs
Example of faction(s) they are in direct conflict with
Church of the Light

Church of the Light

One sentence description
Priests and clerics preaching the word of the Light
Purpose
Protecting and extending the Rule of the Light
Possible conflict with the PCs
Passing judgement on a morally gray PC action
Possible quest given to the PCs
Bringing enemies of the Church to justice
Possible aid given to the PCs
Healing magic
Example of faction(s) they are in direct conflict with
Sorcerers of the Great Lake

Edit: These are just toy examples describing how I would get started.

[Eldan]

What I usually also do is sub-factions. I think they make the game more interesting and dynamic. I usually go with 2-3 subfactions for every faction. Like, a conservative faction and a modernist faction. Or a peaceful group and an aggressively expansionist one. Violent fanatics and pacifist core. Something like that.

Then, I like to add some NPCs to the short write-up as well. Good guideline here: two tiers of NPCs, subfaction leaders and low-level members who can interact with the PCs.

Example, a religion:

Church of the Earth-mother
Clergy and worshipers of a goddess of harvest, fertility and family.

Sub-factions:
Orthodox clergy:
Who they are: Generally good-natured, organized, slightly obsessed with ritual and tradition.
What they do: Organize feasts and marriages, offer healing, bless fields
Leader: The Archmother, old lady, likes feasts, but looks down on what she sees as impropriety and indecency. Very traditional.
Contact: your friendly neighborhood priest. Young, jolly, affable.

Brethren mendicant
Who they are: travelling lay priests who think the temple is too set in their ways and look for reform. Especially criticize the grand temples and the amount of money spent on grand feasts over helping the community.
What they do: traveling priests who live by begging and providing their priestly services
Leader: the cenobite, stern old ascetic, given to fiery preaching
Contact: a wandering monk encountered in the wilderness

Mystery cult:
Who they are: inner cult who practise secret mystic rituals that they claim are too important to share with outsiders.
Leader: the hierophant, a seemingly normal priest who holds a large amount of power but is never spoken about. May know dark secrets that could help the party advance their goals.
Contact: a nervous young novice who refuses to talk about what he's doing when confronted, while seemingly carrying occult items.

[daremetoidareyo]

I think about who would start the faction and then who would join the faction, as they may be two entirely different types of folks. What conditions make the faction founder find that it is more worthwhile to start a faction instead of spending time doing something better. Then, spiral out.

[Xuc Xac]

Two example factions:

Sorcerers of the Great Lake

Organization of sorcerers loyal to a demon
Purpose
To further the influence of their demon master over the world

Church of the Light

Priests and clerics preaching the word of the Light
Purpose
Protecting and extending the Rule of the Light

Other than the color of their team jerseys, these two are the same. Do you have a template that says "organisation of (spellcasters) loyal to (supernatural entity) and working to expand the power of the organization"?

What do the sorcerers and clerics get out of it? Why do they serve their masters? And what do their masters want with more influence? "Further the influence of their demon master"? What influence? What is he trying to do? Does he just want power for its own sake because he wants everyone to call him boss? What is the demon's motivation for trying to gain influence and why do the Sorcerers think it's a good idea to help? Same thing for the priests. Why does the Light want its word spread and why do the priests agree to spread it?

Two "organisations trying to increase their own influence at the expense of their rivals" isn't really helpful for making distinct and colorful factions. You're just describing Coke versus Pepsi.

[nrg89]

Other than the color of their team jerseys, these two are the same. Do you have a template that says "organisation of (spellcasters) loyal to (supernatural entity) and working to expand the power of the organization"?

Nope, they were just very, very short toy examples. I don't have any of those organizations in any of my settings, if I had then I'd make a much longer description and those lists would've been a starting off point. Those were just made up on the fly within the time constraint of a coffee break at work. I'll clarify a bit in the OP.

I guess answering the questions you asked is your way of starting off? Do you try to flesh out the motivations of the faction first, since that's what you asked about the most?

[Varon]

I tend to think of them in terms of other factions around a similar issue. For example, maybe one faction supports the king and wants his heir to take the throne. From there, I could spin off a few more factions with differing takes on that.

[Zorku]

I'm not sure I've really settled into how I want to do this, but I've been roughly using the adventure fronts from Dungeon World.

• What is it and who is part of it?
• 1d4 dangers associate with it.
• Bad stuff associated with each danger that will happen if the heroes ignore it.
• Bad end for the adventure if too much bad stuff piles up.
• 1d4 stakes the party have in this whole situation.

So this can be the classic: a necromancer trying to raise an army that will just kill everyone in some geographical region. He needs to claim two relics to make his undead army unstoppable, and the army itself is bad news. First relic releases a lot of blight (which he knows his army will be immune to,) and the second relic would greatly weaken his army with radiant energy so he wants to deny it to any opposition. The whole ordeal potentially ends in genocide, and the party has ties to at least a few people in the region.

Or, it can be something more like a rebel group that wants to overturn the king for mumble mumble political reasons mumble mumble. They dip into all of the kinds of stuff you'd expect a thieves guild to do but they don't go to any effort to keep it down to acceptable levels because they thrive on chaos and the government crumbling. There's a drug lord that's a small front of his own, but also a variety of societal ills that fund this whole operation. They also have some fight club style mayhem groups that love to dramatically destroy monuments or disrupt stuff like the marketplace, again, because they thrive on chaos. Because my mind is on necromancers, they especially like killing a bunch of people and then raising them as zombies in front of neighbors and family. And the rebels have the covert backing of a neighboring kingdom. That king doesn't want an overt war because mumble mumble politics mumble mumble, but is more than happy to engineer situations that the resistance can take advantage of. Leaving all of this unchecked will result in a general wave of crime and villainy and zombies that spirals downward until a point where even if the king could kill all of the rebels, the people wouldn't allow him to rule over them anymore... but really the rebels are eager to place their own guy on the throne, who obviously rules as a despot. The party's fighter has a sister that's tough to keep off of drugs and is being pressured to engage in prostitution, the rogue rather prefers the controlled chaos of a proper guild and is maybe trying to save the comparably honorable thieves while this competition edges them out, there's a necromancer with some weird ethical code that just really hates how these other necromancers operate, and the party cleric comes from noble stock so they just generally want to safeguard their high status and wealth.

I could probably make those stakes better if I wasn't also trying to imagine the party at the same time.


Anyway, it's simple and straightforward, but asks just enough questions to prime the pump and get me writing general plot points. If I'm feeling like a bastard then the party should have a roughly 50% chance of a good outcome for any particular danger (since they all get closer to the bad stuff over time,) but this will usually mean that one smaller bad thing has happened to change the face of their world, and possibly feature in a later adventure. 1/8th of the time the botch everything and I have to figure out what kind of adventure there is to be had in a world where the forces of good have lost.

[jqavins]

I think my own process could be improved quite a bit and would love to hear how others tackle the problem of writing memorable, likable factions that also play a part in the game that's more relevant than plot point or exposition machine. My list of stuff to use as a starting off point is:

1. One sentence description
2. Purpose
3. Possible conflict with the PCs
4. Possible quest given to the PCs
5. Possible aid given to the PCs
6. Example of faction they are in direct conflict with

As I so often do, I'm going to add some questions to the front of the list. And is so often the case, the first question is "Why?"

1. Why am I creating this faction?
   
   • For color is a perfectly good answer, but no one I often use.
   • Specific plot tie-in, expanded beyond initial plot demands
   • A particular NPC is a member
   • Etc.
2. What kind of faction is this?
   
   • Political
   • Organized crime
   • Religious
   • Etc.
3. One sentence description
4. Purpose
5. How large?
6. How influential (or otherwise successful)
7. Significant members
   
   • NPCs already known (e.g. the owner of a bar the PCs frequent, but now find out is a member)
   • NPCs not yet known (i.e. a new contact)
   • NPCs the PCs will never meet (e.g. the shadowy cult leader, the king, etc.)
   • PCs (This should work best at the start of a campaign or when a new PC is introduced.)
8. Possible conflict with the PCs
9. Possible quest given to the PCs by this faction
10. Possible quest given to the PCs by someone else regarding this faction
11. Possible aid given to the PCs
12. Faction(s) they are in direct conflict with (if any)

Having the first, Why?, answered often fills in some of the later ones for you.

• Why? Because I'm introducing a plot line where the PCs are sent to apprehend a rebel leader. The rebels are actually the good guys, fighting a corrupt royalty and the complacent nobility that supports it. If the PCs discover this they will probably switch sides.
• What kind of faction is this? It's both political and paramilitary
• One Sentence Description: See above.
• Purpose: To oust the corrupt royalty.
• How Large: <not yet answered>
• How Influential: <not yet answered, but not trivial or there'd be no quest to apprehend their leader>
• Significant members: The leader that the PCs are sent after
• Possible conflict with the PCs: Not wanting you to arrest the leader
• Possible quest given to the PCs by this faction: <not yet answered>
• Possible quest given to the PCs by someone else regarding this faction: To arrest the leader
• Possible aid given to the PCs: <not yet answered>
• Faction(s) they are in direct conflict with (if any): The government

Even though this faction exists for a plot, you can flesh it out well beyond the leader and his defenses, then use it later.

[St.Just]

Honestly, I usually just start with an interesting aesthetic or idea, and work out the social base, infrastructure, and goal that would lead up to them. (Also, reading/consuming as much trivia and weirdness as possible to fill you mind with aesthetics).

Like, reading about Sokushinbutsu and vat grown organs at the same time turned into a cult of eldritch transhumanists who strive to get as close to mystical transcendence as possible before being dragged back to reality with new revelations and an increasingly improved and artificial bodies.

Or reading Lovecraft Country and watching Daredevil S1 ends up with Russian gangsters whose tattoos are inscribed with mystics wards and words of the Primordial language granting them immunity from harm, written by a man they believe is Koschei.

(this was for a Delta Green game, for reference).

[Xuc Xac]

I guess answering the questions you asked is your way of starting off? Do you try to flesh out the motivations of the faction first, since that's what you asked about the most?

Factions need a reason to exist beyond just continuing their existence. But more than that, there needs to be a reason for the members of the faction to join.

If a cult exists to increase the influence of its god, what do they do to achieve that? Why do the cult members want to do that? What do they get out of it? No one is purely altruistic; even people that volunteer for charity do it because it makes them feel good to be helpful.