House Rules: Factions

The following house rules modify the rules of Ultimate Factions.

Glossary

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Alignment: All factions have an alignment which represents the faction’s attitude towards its members, non-members, and the nation. Lawful factions gain a +2 bonus to resources, Chaotic factions gain a +2 bonus to power. Good factions gain a +2 bonus to reputation, Evil factions gain a +2 bonus to power. Neutral factions gain a +1 bonus to resources and reputation. Factions which are neutral with respect to both Good-Evil and Law-Chaos apply the bonus twice.

Faction: A faction is an organization or group within a nation which is attempting to assert political, economic, or social control over the entire nation, or some part of it. A nation may have any number of factions of each type, however if the combined size modifier of all factions in the nation exceeds 10 times the nation size, then the nation gains Unrest every month equal by how much the combined faction size modifiers exceed the nation's size. Not every type of faction will be represented within a nation, but all nation should start with at least one Civil faction representing the citizens, and one Judicial faction representing the nation’s government including its leaders.

Goal: A goal is something that the faction is attempting to achieve through use of its resources and personnel.

Operation: An operation is a task that the faction chooses to attempt during the faction turn. The number of operations that a faction can perform is determined by the faction’s size.

Power: Power represents the faction’s ability to make things happen as they wish, through persuasion, guile, threats, or other means.

Reputation: How the faction is viewed by people outside it. This attribute is commonly used when the perception of the faction matters.

Resources: This attribute represents the productivity of the faction’s members when they are working towards the faction’s agenda. It measures the faction’s ability to obtain goods and property, as well as use its wealth effectively when working towards the faction’s agenda.

Size: A faction’s size is an indicator of how many members the faction has, as well as the breadth of its impact. Faction size may change during play, and is equal to the number of faction members. This number is purely to give an idea of the number of members of a particular faction – since people can be members of more than one faction, it’s possible for the total membership of all factions to exceed the population of the nation. A faction receives a size modifier to faction checks equal to the 1/100 of the faction’s size, rounded down.

Tension: Tension measures the level of dissatisfaction the members of the faction have with the direction and leadership of the faction. Tension applies a penalty to all faction checks equal to -1 for every 10 points of tension the faction has. Certain operations and events can raise and lower the amount of tension the faction has. If the amount of tension reduces any faction check modifier below zero, the faction splinters.

Type: A faction’s type describes the members of the faction and may give a broad idea of the aspects of the kingdom which are of greatest interest to the faction.

Wealth Points: A faction’s treasury is measured in Wealth Points (WP). Each WP is worth approximately 400 gp, making 10 WP equal to 1 BP in the Nation Building rules. WP may be purchased by members for 400 gp each, during the Income Phase of the Faction Turn.

Creating Factions

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A new faction may be created by any like-minded group of individuals within a nation. Factions do not start with any WP, and the members must find a way to pay for one month’s worth of WP as part of the faction creation process. If a faction is created composed entirely of NPCs with no PC influence to start with, it begins with 10 WP.

Calculating Initial Size

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Factions begin with a size of less than 10 (which indicates that they do not exist, or are too small to have any impact on the nation). Certain buildings within the nation can increase the maximum initial size of the faction. The Building Effect on Maximum Starting Faction Size table shows how nation buildings can affect the size of each faction type. A faction of at least size 10 it can launch Operations, earn income, and increase its size. Factions may not wish to start at the maximum possible size, and are not required to do so. If a faction starts a faction turn with size less than 10, the only operation it may perform that turn is a recruitment operation.

Table: Building Effects on Starting Faction Size

Building	Academic	Civil	Foreign	Judicial	Legal	Magical	Military	Religious	Social	Trade
Academy	+20	-	-	+20	-	+10	-	-	-	-
Aerie	-	-	+10	-	-	-	+10	-	+10	-
Alchemist	+10	-	-	-	-	+10	-	-	-	+10
Arena	-	+40	-	-	-	-	-	-	+40	-
Assembly	+20	+20	+20	+20	+20	+20	+20	+20	+20	+20
Bank	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20
Bardic College	-	+20	-	-	-	+10	-	-	+20	-
Barracks	-	-	-	-	+10	-	+10	-	-	-
Baths	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10	+10
Black Market	-	-	-	-	+20	-	-	-	-	-
Brewery	-	+10	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10	-
Brickyard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10
Brothel	-	-	-	-	+10	-	-	-	+10	-
Bureau	-	-	-	+20	+20	-	-	-	-	-
Caster’s Tower	+10	-	-	-	-	+20	-	-	-	+10
Castle	-	-	-	+40	-	-	+40	-	-	-
Cathedral	-	-	-	-	-	+10	-	+40	+40	-
Courthouse	-	-	-	+10	+10	-	-	-	-	-
Dance Hall	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20	-
Exotic Artisan	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20
Fire Station	-	-	-	+10	-	-	-	-	-	-
Foreign Quarter	-	-	+40	-	-	-	-	-	+40	-
Fort	-	-	-	+40	+40	-	+40	-	-	-
Gambling Den	-	-	-	-	+10	-	-	-	-	+10
Garrison	-	-	-	-	+20	-	+20	-	-	-
Graveyard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10	+10	-
Guard Station	-	-	-	+10	+10	-	-	-	-	-
Guildhall	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20	+20
Hanging Gardens	+40	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+40	-
Herbalist	-	+10	-	-	-	+10	-	-	-	+10
Hospital	-	+20	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20	-
Hotel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20	+20
Inn	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10	+10
Jail	-	-	-	+10	+10	-	-	-	-	-
Library	+10	+10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lighthouse	-	-	+10	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10
Lumberyard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10
Luxury Store	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20
Magic Shop	-	-	-	-	-	+20	-	-	-	+20
Magical Academy	+20	-	-	-	-	+40	-	-	-	+20
Market	-	+20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20
Military Academy	+20	-	-	-	-	-	+20	-	-	-
Mint	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20
Monastery	+20	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20	-	-
Museum	+20	+20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Observatory	+10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10
Orphanage	-	+10	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10	-
Palace	-	-	+40	+40	-	-	-	-	-	-
Pier	-	-	+10	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10
Restaurant	-	+20	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20	-
Sacred Grove	-	-	-	-	-	+10	-	+10	+10	-
Sewer System	-	-	-	-	+20	-	-	-	-	-
Shop	-	+10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10
Shrine	-	-	-	-	-	+10	-	+10	+10	-
Smithy	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10
Skyport	-	-	+40	-	-	-	-	-	-	+40
Tavern	-	+10	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10	-
Temple	-	-	-	-	-	+10	-	+20	+20	-
Theatre	+20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20	-
Town Hall	-	-	-	+20	+20	-	-	-	-	-
Trade Shop	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+20
Tunnels	-	-	-	-	+20	-	-	-	-	-
University	+40	-	-	-	-	+10	-	-	-	+40
Warehouse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+40
Watchtower	-	-	-	+10	+10	-	-	-	-	-
Waterfront	-	-	+40	-	-	-	-	-	-	+40

Calculating Faction Attributes

The individual faction attributes receive bonuses based upon the type of the faction (see Types), the alignment of the faction (see Alignment), the size of the faction (+1 bonus per 100 faction size, rounded down)

Faction Check

Factions have three attributes: Power, Resources, and Reputation. Many actions a faction performs require a faction check using one of these attributes. It is not possible to take 10 or take 20 on a faction check. Unless otherwise noted, the base DC of a faction check is 15. A faction check automatically fails on a natural 1, and automatically succeeds on a natural 20.

Faction Checks are made by rolling 1d20 and adding the faction attribute, plus the faction’s size modifier. The faction may spend additional WP on top of any cost already present; every additional +1 WP spent grants a +1 bonus.

Faction Types

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Academic: Academic factions are generally college or university boards, in control of the education of the general populace. Academic factions gain a +1 bonus on Reputation checks and a +1 bonus on Resources checks.

Civil: Civil factions are typically public bodies made up of common citizens of the nation. They usually represent groups of citizens who work towards a common goal. Civil factions gain a +2 bonus on Reputation checks.

Foreign: Foreign factions represent organizations from other nations. These are usually foreign diplomatic entities, but can represent almost any other type of faction (trade, religious, and military are the most common). Foreign factions gain a +2 bonus on Power checks.

Judicial: Judicial factions represent groups who are working to affect the overall legal structure of the nation. Examples include the current rulers, the judges, as well as groups trying to overthrow the current rulers, or trying to create new laws. Judicial factions gain a +1 bonus on Power checks and Reputation checks.

Legal: Legal factions are groups with an interest in maintaining or breaking the law. This includes police forces, city watchmen, border patrols, and thieves’ guilds. Legal factions gain a +1 bonus on Power checks and a +1 bonus on Resources checks.

Magical: Magical factions are groups that focus on training, developing, and using supernatural powers. This includes mage guilds, magic schools, and sellers of magical goods and services. Magical factions gain a +1 on Power checks and a +1 on Resources checks.

Military: Military factions are directly involved in the application of power through armies. They are typically the high command of the military (nations with multiple branches of armed forces may have more than one Military faction). Military factions gain a +2 bonus on Power checks.

Religious: Religious factions are concerned with the spiritual wellbeing of the citizens of the nation. They typically represent a specific faith worshipped in the nation. Heretical groups within a faith are separate factions. Religious factions gain a +1 bonus on Power checks and Resources checks.

Social: Social factions are typically groups of citizens who have joined together because of a shared culture, economic standing, or recreational activity. Generally these groups are formed so that the members can feel as though they are part of something special and unique. Social Factions get a +2 bonus to one type of faction check, a +1 bonus to a second, but a -1 penalty to the third.

Trade: Trade factions are business or trade organizations involved in the manufacture, buying and selling of goods. Examples include guilds, coalitions of shopkeepers, and merchant companies. Trade factions gain a +2 bonus on Resources checks.

Other faction types: The GM is free to create any other type of faction, if they have one that does not fit within the above types. The bonuses to checks for new faction types should not exceed a total of +2.

Secrecy

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A faction can have one of three Secrecy states: Open, Covert, or Disguised.

Open

An Open faction is one that is publicly known. Any citizen may have heard of them, and it is easy to locate the faction. Knowledge checks to learn things about the faction have their DC decreased by 2.

Covert

A Covert faction is hidden from the public eye. People might be aware of the existence of a Covert faction (such as a thieves guild or secret police), but won’t know anything about its members, structure, or base of operations. The DC for Knowledge checks or Diplomacy checks to gather information about Covert factions is increased by 5.

Disguised

A disguised faction is a group or organization which publicly claims to be one thing, while in secret is something else entirely. A network of black market merchants appears to be a Trade faction, but is actually a Legal faction. A disguised faction gains bonuses on checks based on its actual faction type, not the public one. The DC to learn information about the public faction type is decreased by 5 (since the faction is putting effort into making that information available), while the DC to learn information about the actual faction type is increased by 10.

Goals

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All factions have one or more goals (which may change over time). When a faction is first created, it must set at least one goal.

A new goal is set for the faction with an Operation. Goals may be public or secret, and each goal consists of an Aim, a Scale, and a Subject.

A goal requires a faction to make progress towards it in order to achieve it, using the Advance Goal operation.

Subject

The subject of a goal is whatever person, place, or item at which the goal is targeted. This can be almost anything the faction wants, except for abstract concepts (which may be allowed at the GM’s discretion). So, a faction could set a goal to “Control the Nation Treasury”, but could not set a goal to “Control the King’s Honor”. The subject may not be the faction itself, but can be another faction.

Aim

Control: The faction is exerting control over the subject of the goal. This may be simply using the faction’s power of persuasion to get the subject to do what it wants, but also extends to direct threats and intimidation, or even the use of money to buy the subject.

Boost: The faction is increasing the subject’s impact on the nation. For example, a Trade faction may be trying to promote a particular business. When a successful Advance Goal Operation is completed for a Boost goal, the subject gains a +2 bonus to any nation or faction checks made before the end of the next nation turn.

Reduce: The faction is reducing the subject’s impact on the nation. A common example would be a Legal faction (representing the local police force) trying to reduce crime. When a successful Advance Goal Operation is completed for a Reduce goal, the subject suffers a permanent -1 penalty to a single type of nation or faction check.

Eliminate: The faction is removing the subject completely from having any impact on the nation. It does not necessarily mean that the subject is destroyed or killed. Eliminate aims are extremely powerful, but also very difficult to achieve.

Scale

The scale of a goal represents the amount of impact caused by influencing the goal’s subject. The ultimate decision about the scale of a particular goal is up to the GM. For goals whose subject is a place, the size of the area affected by the place determines the scale. For goals with a subject that is a person, or group of people, the scale depends on the size of the group. However, if a subject has a higher level of influence within the nation than the scale would normally indicate, the GM should increase the scale of the goal. For example, a nation’s leaders should always be considered to be nation Scale, as a group and individually. Likewise, the head of a guild might qualify as a district in scale (or even a faction), rather than an individual. When unsure, use the highest suitable Scale.

Table: Faction Scale

Scale	Examples
Individual	A single merchant; a temple
District	All merchants in a settlement district; all churches in a settlement district; a respected elder
Faction	Merchants’ Guild; A church hierarchy for a single religion within a settlement; a city councilor
Settlement	All traders in a city; all religious institutions in a city; the town mayor
Nation	All trade in the nation; all religious institutions in the nation; a king

Privacy

A goal may be set as either Public or Secret when it is created by the faction. A public goal is something that the faction has made available to all faction members. If the faction is Open, then public goals can also be determined by an appropriate Knowledge check. If the faction is Covert, then public goals are not typically known outside the faction. Secret goals are things that the faction is trying to achieve, generally known only to the faction’s senior members.

Goal DC

Goals have a Difficulty Class (DC) indicating the difficulty to achieve that goal. Unless otherwise noted, the base DC to accomplish any goal is 15. Use the following table to calculate modifiers to that DC.

Table: Faction Goal DC

Aim	DC Modifier
Control	+2
Boost	+0
Reduce	+0
Eliminate	+5
Scale	DC Modifier
Individual	+Individual's CR
Faction	+Faction's size modifier
District	+2
Settlement	+number of districts
Nation	+nation's size modifier
Privacy	DC Modifier
Public Goal	-1
Secret Goal	+3

Goal Progression Points

When a goal is set, the faction has 0 goal progress points (GPP). The faction must gain enough GPP to equal or exceed the goal's DC in order to achieve it. The goal's GPP decreases by 1 every Faction Turn in which the faction does not perform the Advance Goal operation. The faction may delay their goal from being achieved, but its GPP still decreases if the Advance Goal operation is not performed. If the goal is abandoned, all GPP for that goal is lost.

Goals and Nation Events

Certain goals trigger nation events when the faction achieves them (see House Rules: Nation Building Events). The faction may choose not to trigger an event, but if it does so, the goal DC is increased by 10, and the The following nation events occur during the month the faction achieves the goal with the listed specific requirements. Some events require the faction to be a certain type. The faction does not necessarily have to be involved in the event, merely act as the backers and organizers of the third-parties actually involved.

Table: Nation Event Goal Requirements

Event	Aim	Scale	Faction Type
Archaeological Find	Boost	Nation	Academic, Social
Assassination Attempt	Eliminate	Individual	Foreign, Judicial, Military
Bandit Activity	Reduce	Nation	Legal, Military
Boomtown	Boost	Settlement	Trade
Building Demand	Control	District	Civil, Social
Crop Failure	Reduce	Nation	Magical, Religious
Cult Activity	Reduce	Settlement	Academic, Magical, Religious
Diplomatic Overture	Control	Faction	Foreign, Judicial
Discovery	Boost	Nation	Academic, Magical
Drug Den	Control	District	Legal, Social, Trade
Economic Boom	Boost	Nation	Trade
Entertainers’ Troupe	Control	Individual	Foreign, Social, Trade
Festive Invitation	Control	Faction	Foreign
Feud	Control	Faction	Any
Food Shortage	Reduce	Nation	Judicial, Legal, Magical, Religious
Food Surplus	Boost	Nation	Magical, Religious
Foreign Spy	Control	Nation	Foreign, Judicial, Legal, Military
Good Weather	Boost	Nation	Magical, Religious
Improvement Demand	Control	Faction	Civil, Social
Inquisition	Control	Faction	Religious, Social
Justice Prevails	Boost	Settlement	Judicial, Legal
Land Rush	Control	Faction	Civil, Social
Large Disaster	Reduce	Nation	Judicial, Legal, Magical, Military, Religious
Localized Disaster	Reduce	Settlement	Judicial, Legal, Magical, Military, Religious
Mercantile Contacts	Control	Faction	Foreign, Trade
Monster Attack	Reduce	Individual	Foreign, Judicial, Legal, Military
Natural Blessing	Boost	Nation	Magical, Religious
New Subjects	Control	Faction	Foreign
Noblesse Oblige	Control	Individual	Social
Outstanding Success	Boost	Settlement	Academic, Civil, Social, Trade
Pilgrimage	Control	Faction	Foreign, Religious
Plague	Reduce	Nation, Settlement	Magical, Religious
Political Calm	Boost	Nation	Civil, Judicial, Legal, Social
Public Scandal	Reduce	Individual	Civil, Judicial, Legal, Social
Remarkable Treasure	Boost	Settlement	Academic, Religious, Social, Trade
Sensational Crime	Reduce	Settlement	Legal, Social, Trade
Slavers	Reduce	Settlement	Foreign, Legal, Social, Trade
Smugglers	Reduce	Nation	Foreign, Legal, Trade
Squatters	Reduce	Settlement	Civil, Legal, Social
Unexpected Find	Boost	Settlement	Academic, Religious, Social, Trade
Vandals	Reduce	Settlement	Civil, Legal, Social
Visiting Celebrity	Control	Individual	Civil, Foreign, Social, Trade
Visiting Diplomats	Control	Nation	Foreign, Judicial
Wealthy Immigrant	Control	Individual	Civil, Foreign, Social, Trade

Downtime Organizations

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Factions can be made up of organizations (see House Rules: Downtime), which reflect different groups of members that the faction has brought together to help it. For every 10 full points of capital bonus that organizations would provide under the downtime rules, it provides a +1 bonus to the relevant faction attribute (see Table: Expanded Faction and Kingdom Attribute Equivalencies). The downtime system bonuses from all organizations should be added together before the faction attribute bonus is calculated. The Earn Capital operation may be used to spend WP to acquire capital, either purchased or earned (the organization must spend the time to earn the capital).

Table: Expanded Faction & Nation Attribute Equivalencies

Faction Attribute	Nation Attribute	Capital type
Power	Stability	Magic
Reputation	Loyalty	Influence
Resources	Economy	Goods, Labor, Gold

The Faction Turn

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Faction turns take place during the nation's Upkeep phase, before Unrest is calculated, and any results which occur from the factions' actions take effect for the rest of the nation's turn until the start of the next Upkeep phase. All factions in a nation should perform each phase of the faction turn before moving on to the next phase. The order in which the factions act in each phase should be determined by each faction making a Power check (this check has no DC), and they act in reverse order of the checks. In the event of a tie, the faction with the smaller size goes first. If factions are still tied, roll Power checks again until the tie is broken.

Upkeep Phase

The faction must pay its upkeep and maintain control and stability of itself before it does anything else.

1. Check tension—If the tension of the faction has reduced any of the faction’s attributes below 0, then the faction has a chance of splintering. Make a special Tension Check, which is a 1d20 roll +1 for every 10 points of tension (rounded down). The DC for this roll is 10 plus the faction’s size modifier. If the tension check exceeds the DC, the faction splinters. See Splintering Factions.
2. Pay costs—A faction costs WP equal to its size modifier each turn. If it is unable to pay (due to insufficient WP), it loses all remaining WP, and gains tension equal to the amount not paid. This penalty may be reduced or removed in future faction turns by use of the Reduce Tension operation.

Income Phase

Based on its activities, size, and patronage by PCs or NPCs that support it, a faction brings in money and other resources each faction turn.

1. Add Wealth—Any character may choose to add wealth to a faction. Every 400 gp added to the faction’s treasury adds 1 WP.
2. Determine Income—The Faction makes a Resources check. This check has no DC, add the result as WP to the faction’s treasury.

Operations Phase

The faction may undertake a number of Operations based on the Faction’s size, as detailed in Table: Faction Operations by Size. For each Operation launched, the Faction pays the cost of the Operation, and makes any checks required. The faction may launch Operations in any order. All effects for a single Operation are resolved before the next Operation is launched.

Operations

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Each faction may undertake a number of Operations in a given faction turn. These operations either boost their own power, or limit the power of other factions within the nation. The number of operations a faction may perform per turn is determined by faction size and set at the beginning of the Operations Phase. Size increases occurring during that turn do not affect the number of operations a faction may perform.

There are two types of operation, Maintenance and Active. Maintenance operations are activities that the faction performs where the result is a change to the faction itself, while Active operations alter the nation or other factions. Maintenance operations may be performed more than once per faction turn, but only one of each type of Active operation may be performed in a given turn.

Several operations apply modifiers to nation and faction attributes, with larger modifiers costing more WP. A faction can always choose to use a modifier lower than the maximum result generated by their faction check.

Sometimes an attribute from the nation (or a modifier to a nation attribute) is used for faction checks. Unless otherwise stated, this is in addition to the existing faction bonus. Use the following table to determine which faction attribute is modified by bonuses and penalties to which nation attribute.

Table: Faction Operations by Size

Faction Size Modifier	Operation Per Turn
+0	1*
+1-10	1
+11-25	2
+26-50	3
+51-100	4
+101-200	5
+201	7
+(+100)	(+2)
*Factions with size modifier +0 may only make Recruitment operations.

Table: Faction and Nation Attribute Equivalencies

Faction Attribute	Nation Attribute
Power	Stability
Reputation	Loyalty
Resources	Economy

Abandon Goal (Active)

The faction no longer wishes to pursue this goal. The faction makes a Reputation check against the Goal DC + its current amount of GPP. If successful, the goal is abandoned and may be removed from the faction’s goals. If the check failed, Tension increases by 1.

Advance Goal (Active)

The faction works to advance one of its existing goals. Choose one existing goal for the faction and make a Resources check against the Goal DC. If successful, the faction gains 1 GPP towards that goal. For every 5 points by which the check succeeds, the faction gains an additional GPP. The WP cost for this operation equals the goal's DC.

Aid, Faction (Active)

The faction attempts to support the work of another faction. Make a Power check. If successful, you may choose to either remove a point of tension from the target faction, or apply a +1 modifier to one of the target faction’s attributes. For every 5 points by which the check succeeds, you may remove another point of tension or add another +1. The benefit of this operation does not have to apply to the same attribute from a single operation. Each point of tension removed or attribute bonus applied costs 3 WP. Bonuses to attributes last until the start of the next Faction Turn.

Aid, Nation (Active)

The faction tries to help one of the leaders of the nation. The faction chooses one of the nation’s leaders and makes a Reputation check. If successful, the faction applies a +1 bonus to the target leader’s nation leadership bonus, increasing by +1 for every 5 points by which the check exceeds the DC. Multiple Aid operations do not stack – only the highest modifier applies. Each point of bonus costs 5 WP, unless the leader affected is the Ruler, in which case it costs 7 WP. The cost must be paid at the time the bonus is applied. This bonus applies until the start of the next Faction Turn.

Alliance (Active)

The faction joins forces with another faction. The two factions must have a Goal subject in common (though the Aim and Scale of the Goal do not have to be the same) and agree to the alliance. Each Faction makes a Reputation check. The Faction which gets the highest result is the dominant partner, and can choose whether the alliance is balanced or unbalanced. If the alliance is balanced, both Factions gain a bonus to all Faction attributes equal to 50% of the bonus the other faction has. If the alliance is unbalanced, the dominant partner gains a bonus equal to 75% of the bonus the other Faction has, while the other partner gains 25%. These bonuses are lost if the alliance dissolves. At any time two Factions are in an alliance with each other, either of them can attempt to absorb the other Faction. This requires another Alliance Operation. The allied Factions make opposed Power checks. The winning faction permanently gains Power, Resources and Reputation equal to half the losing Faction’s attributes. Add together the Size of the two Factions to determine the new Faction’s size. The winning Faction may make a Reputation check to remove any of the losing Faction’s Goals (one check may be made per Goal). Success means that the goal is removed entirely. Failing the check by less than 5 means that the Faction may reduce the Scale of the Goal by 1 step (for example from Nation to Settlement). Failure by 5 or more means that the Goal is added to the winning Faction’s Goals in full. Since a faction cannot have itself as the subject of a goal, all goals from either faction with the other faction as a subject are automatically removed. An alliance costs each faction 10 WP, plus 2 WP per turn thereafter. Merging factions which are already allied costs 10 WP.

Earn Capital (Maintenance)

Factions earn capital by spending WP. Convert the WP to gp to purchase or earn the desired capital.

Earn Wealth (Maintenance)

The faction’s members work to obtain money for the faction’s coffers. The faction makes a Power check. If successful, the faction gains +2 on the determine income roll during the income phase. For every 5 points by which the check succeeds, the faction gains an additional +1 to the determine income roll.

Faction Conflict (Active)

The faction mobilizes its members to compete with an opposing faction. This is not necessarily a violent altercation, but can be resolved either using a modified version of the House Rules: Mass Combat rules, or the normal combat rules (GM’s choice).

The number of members of each faction involved in the contest is equal to the size of the faction. If using the Mass Combat rules, create an army unit of 1st level warriors based on that size (rounded down to the nearest unit size). Damage done is solely used to determine the success or failure of the faction in the contest, though a faction can choose to deal lethal damage during a contest if it wishes. The winning faction gains +2 Reputation until the start of the next edict phase, and the losing faction suffers a permanent -1 Reputation. If the faction has an organized militant force (created using the downtime system Organization rules, see optional rules), then the army may be created using the appropriate levels presented in those rules. This costs WP equal to the army’s recruitment cost.

The operation causes the Feud event to occur in or the nearest the settlement of the faction conflict.

Improve Secrecy (Maintenance)

The faction puts in additional effort to keep itself and its goals secret from the public eye. The faction makes a Resources check. If successful, the faction add +1 bonus to all DCs to gather information on it if it is a covert or disguised faction, and to learn all of its secret goals. For every 5 points by which the check succeeds, the bonus increases by 1. Each point of the bonus costs 1 WP. This bonus applies until the start of the next Faction Turn.

Lobbying (Maintenance)

The faction chooses one leadership role (except Ruler) in the nation, and makes a Reputation check. If successful, they may apply a bonus to one single appropriate faction check equal to the leadership bonus the leader in that leadership role is providing, as described in Table: Faction and Nation Attribute Equivalencies. Each point of bonus costs 1 WP.

New Goal (Active)

The faction creates a new goal for itself. Make a Reputation check against the Goal DC. If the check is successful, then the new Goal is added to the Faction’s list of Goals.

Publicity (Maintenance)

The members of the faction spend their time making speeches and kissing babies. Make a Reputation check. If successful, the Faction may apply the Ruler’s leadership bonus to one of their Faction attributes until the start of the next Edict phase. Publicity costs the faction 2 WP per point of bonus applied.

Reduce Upkeep (Maintenance)

The faction invest funds in a variety of properties and businesses within the nation, for the benefit of their members. This results in them being able to maintain the faction at a lower cost than normal. The upkeep cost for the faction is permanently reduced by 1. The upkeep cost may never be reduced below zero. This operation costs 10 WP.

Recruitment (Maintenance)

The Faction works to recruit new members and increase its Size. Make a Resources check. If successful, the Size of the Faction increases by 1d6 members, and may be increased an additional 1d6 for every 5 points by which the check beat the DC. Recruitment operations cost 1 WP per attempt.

Relieve Tension (Maintenance)

The faction takes some time to demonstrate to the members that they are progressing towards their goals, and makes its members feel valued and useful. The faction makes a Reputation check. If successful, the faction may reduce its current tension by 1. For every 5 points by which the check beats the DC, an additional 1 tension may be removed. Each attempt to relieve tension costs 2 WP.

Spying (Active)

The faction attempts to learn information about a known target faction. Make a Resources check. If successful, the faction learns information about one Goal of the target faction. Choose one of Aim, Scale, or Subject. For every 5 points by which the check beats the DC, the faction may learn one more piece of information about the goal, or may learn one piece of information about another goal of the same faction. Alternatively, the faction may choose to learn the Power or Resources attribute of the target Faction. Each piece of information obtained costs 3 WP.

Spying can also be used to learn of the existence of covert factions. Make an opposed Power check, if successful, your faction learns of the existence of a single covert faction operating in the nation, but learning any further information requires another Spying operation. This use of Spying costs 3 WP.

Subversion, Faction (Active)

The faction attempts to undermine the work of another faction. Make an opposed Power check. If successful, add 1 point of tension to the target faction. For every 5 points by which the check beat the target faction’s check, add an additional point of tension. Each point of tension caused costs 2 WP.

If the opposed check fails, add 1 point of tension to the initiating faction. For every 5 points by which the check failed to beat the target faction’s check, add another point of tension.

Subversion, Nation (Active)

The faction works to undermine one of the leaders of the nation. The faction chooses one of the nation’s leaders, and makes a Reputation check. If successful, the faction applies a -1 penalty to the target leader’s nation attribute modifier, increasing by -1 for every 5 point by which the check exceeded the DC. Multiple Subversions do not stack – only the worst penalty applies. Each point of penalty costs 5 WP, unless the leader affected is the Ruler, in which case it costs 7 WP. The cost must be paid at the time the penalty is applied. This penalty lasts until the start of the next faction turn.

Splintering Factions

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Sometimes the tension within a faction causes the faction to fall apart from internal pressures. If splintering occurs, immediately increase the nation’s Unrest by the faction's original size modifier. Then make one faction check of each type against DC 10. If all three succeed, the faction splits into two equal size factions. Share the original faction’s current goals and tension evenly between the two, and recalculate all other faction attributes. If one check fails, one of the resulting factions is ¾ the size of the original, and the other is the remaining ¼, and the goals should be shared in those proportions (if the original faction didn’t have enough goals to share in these proportions, the smaller faction must take at least one goal of the original faction). If two checks fail, the faction splits into three equal parts (with goals and tension shared evenly). If all three checks fail, the faction dissolves entirely, adding a further amount of Unrest equal to the faction's original size modifier to the nation.

Factions and Skills

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PCs can learn about faction mainly through the use of Knowledge skills and the Gather Information use of the Diplomacy skill. The most common Knowledge skill used is Knowledge (Local), but the GM may decide that other Knowledge skills are suitable for some types of faction, such as Knowledge (Religion) for Religious factions. To determine the DC of a check, subtract the size modifier of the faction from 15, and modify this result based on the secrecy of the faction (see Table: Faction Secrecy DC).

Generally speaking a successful check should result in one piece of information about the faction being learned by the character, with additional information being revealed for every 5 points by which the character beat the check, in the same fashion as the Spying operation. Additional information a character could learn includes size, alignment, and type, with other details at the GM’s discretion.

One special situation that needs careful adjudication is disguised factions. The character should make a single knowledge or diplomacy check, and the result of that check is compared to the DC for the apparent faction and also for the disguised faction. The character learns information about each independently.

Table: Faction Secrecy DC

Secrecy	Knowledge Check DC Modifier
Open	-2
Covert	+5
Disguised*	-5/+10
*The number before the slash is for checks based on the apparent faction type, the number after the slash is for checks about the actual faction type.

Quick Faction Play

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Below is a shorthand method of running factions which condenses the full rules into a single die roll per faction, and results in a single effect on the nation or another faction.

For each faction being used, create a simplified faction stat-block, containing the name of the faction, the size of the faction, and a goal that the faction is attempting to achieve.

During the Faction Turn, each faction should make a check modified only by the size modifier of the faction. Whichever faction gets the highest result may permanently increase or decrease any nation attribute by their size modifier, increase or decrease the nation’s Unrest by their size modifier, or increase or decrease the size modifier for the nation or another faction by their size modifier.

Factions and Intrigue

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[Edit]

The following rules allow you to take a faction and generate Organization stat block for use with the Organization Influence rules.

Step 1 - Determine Prominence

Add together the faction’s total Power and Reputation modifiers, see the Faction Prominence table, below.

Table: Faction Prominence

Power + Reputation	Prominence	Prominence Modifier
Less than +5	Weak	-5*
+6 to +10	Moderate	+0
+11 to +20	Strong	+2
+21 or higher	Preeminent	+5
*May not reduce the level of a key member below 1.

Step 2 - Key Members

If the faction’s most important members have already been created as part of the roleplaying experience, then use those, however should the key members need to be determined, do the following: To find the highest level key member, roll 2d6 and add the Prominence modifier. The next-highest level key member will generally be 2 levels lower than the highest level. Further key members will be 1–2 levels lower than the previously created one. Any number of key members may be created, but 2–5 is usually sufficient.

Step 3 - Values

The values of a faction should be determined by consideration of what the faction looks for in a member. This is not easily quantifiable, but virtues (such as loyalty, honesty, or obedience) and ability (skillfulness, demonstrable power) are probably the most common, since they are things that almost any group will appreciate in its members and affiliates. The specific values should ideally be tailored to the group by the GM.

Step 4 - Public and Private Goals

The faction’s goals should be its public and private goals (secret goals under Ultimate Factions become private goals for the Organization influence system).

Step 5 - Allies

Any alliances that the faction has are automatically considered allies, but other factions may be considered allies at the GM’s discretion.

Step 6 - Enemies

Choose 1 or more factions which oppose the main goal of this one. Those factions are the enemies.

Step 7 - Membership Requirements

Every organization’s membership requirements will be unique, but the more prominent the organization the more valuable or restrictive the membership requirements will be. For weak organization, an activity with a small value (less than 100 gp), or an occasional commitment of time (a short meeting once per month for six months) is suitable. For a moderate organization, a more valuable activity (between 100 and 500 gp) or a greater commitment of time (a weekly meeting for three months) would be acceptable. Strong organizations need a much greater level of dedication, so a value of up to 2,000 gp or several days of dedicated time to the organization, even at the expense of the character’s other activity. Preeminent organizations demand much greater sacrifice, which should rarely be quantified in monetary terms (unless the organization is particularly interested in money), but instead be a demonstrated willingness to take risks on behalf of the faction, even at the possible expense of the character’s life.

Step 8 - Influence Limitations

Most organizations require a formal acknowledgement of membership before they will allow a character to increase their influence rank to 2, and further influence rank increases may require more elaborate demonstrations of allegiance to the organization, with more prominent organizations having more elaborate and frequent requirements (a preeminent organization is likely to have a requirement to increase each influence rank, while a moderate organization may only need something extra to get to rank 4).

Step 9 - Benefits

An organization’s benefits are unique to that organization, and GMs are advised to consider unique benefits where possible, but the common benefits can be easily used where necessary. Use the Table: Faction Benefits to determine appropriate common benefits for a faction.

Step 10 - New Benefits

New benefits should be chosen to match the theme of the organization, and should be roughly equivalent in worth to the benefits in the table above. The benefits can be as much as one rank better, if they are something the organization is particularly focused on, for example a wizard’s guild might allow its members access to the guild library of spells.

Table: Faction Benefits

Benefit	Rank 1	Rank 2	Rank 3	Rank 4
Borrow Resources	Resources x20 gp	Resources x100 gp	Resources x500 gp	Resources x1000 gp
Command Team†	-	1-4 HD	3-12 HD	6-30 HD
Gather Information	Reputation +3	Reputation +3	Reputation +3	Reputation +3
Put in a Good Word	Never	Yes	Yes	Yes
Reciprocal Benefits	No	No	Yes	Yes
†These are for strong or preeminent organizations. For every level of prominence below strong, increase the rank required for a particular team by 1. Military factions may reduce the rank by 1, and add an army of 100 1st level fighters to the available teams at rank 4.