Entry 4: Forging Factions – Power, Fame and Infamy in your TTRPG World

Factions are a critical part of any TTRPG setting. Factions often are used to provide quests, intrigue, conflict and build on character backstories. But what exactly is a faction?

What is a faction?

A faction is a group that shares a purpose, ideology, or goal within your TTRPG world. Some factions can wield political power while others may be religious orders, criminal gangs, mercenaries, and even secret societies. Factions are truly all around us in the real world which is why a setting without some sort of organized group sharing a goal tends to fall a little flat (at least in my opinion).

Factions help to shape your world, just as your players will. An opposing faction could be causing a problem for one your players have allied with, and whatever the outcome there will be a change in the world due to that event.

Now that we’ve covered what a faction is let’s work on answering some key questions to develop a faction for your TTRPG world.

• What is the faction’s goal, purpose or reason for existing?

This is at the top of the list because without a goal driving the faction how is the faction going to interact with your world. Let’s start with a basic idea. Let’s say I want to create a guild of mercenaries in my world.

The first and valid reason could be that they fight for money. But maybe they are a group of individuals that were shunted from society and all they’ve ever done is fight and now that they’ve got numbers their main goal is to be large enough to carve out a territory for themselves where they aren’t seen as outcasts.

Looking at it that way can bring a compelling story line forward, but we’ll cover that a little later.

Here are some tips to help come up with some goals or a purpose for your world’s factions:

1. Tie the faction’s purpose to the world’s conflicts.

2. Consider what the faction wants vs. what it needs.

3. Think about power: How do they gain & maintain it?

4. Give them a moral or philosophical stance.

5. How can this faction involve the players?

   
   

• What role does the faction play in the world?

Let’s stick with our mercenary faction for this one. Based on the goal and purpose from number one, they want to be powerful enough to carve out a piece territory for themselves.

This sets up a potential large story beat, and there are largely three choices that can be made, assist the faction, stop the faction, or do nothing about it and ignore it completely (hopefully your players don’t…).

Let’s say that this mercenary faction has been amassing power and people for the last few years, and the leader of the country/province/state you’re starting in has been at odds with this faction for years. They’ve been relentlessly attacking the territory’s guard or military and have been winning and slowly gaining ground.

Now the mercenary faction has been given an opposing force tint, and the leader of the territory has started to hire adventurers to help combat this threat to their land. Just like that, there’s a pretty good story beat to follow for several sessions. Maybe the players start off by encountering the mercenary faction in a small group or raiding party.

This also provides some interesting chances for a player backstory, maybe they lost their family home to the mercenary faction, or a loved one ran away and joined them, or the player was once a member. There’s a lot of options, just based off one goal of the faction.

• How does the faction maintain power and influence?

Sticking with our mercenary faction again let’s examine how they may maintain this power they wield.

Let’s say their power in this instance comes the sheer number of people that they have as well as their ingenuity in combat. The mercenaries can defeat and overcome their enemies thanks to the knowledge of their commanders, the number of warriors they’ve recruited, and their ability to outthink and maneuver.

Their power comes from their ability to win these battles and win over the people they encounter. Perhaps one of their leaders is extremely charismatic and can convince or sway the common folk that the elite and leaders of the territory are using them.

• Who leads the faction, and how are they chosen?

Another important question. Faction leaders generally serve as key NPCs in your TTRPG world. Knowing how the leaders are chosen can help when something happens from outside the faction or within it. Let’s look at an example.

The mercenary faction’s leader is the top commander and was selected as the leader due to their knowledge of tactics, strength in command, and their intimidating presence. This leader was selected from a smaller band of lieutenants and placed in charge of the mercenaries.

With what we have so far, we know that the commander is elected by the lieutenants, and there is some semblance of a chain-of-command. What this means is that if the players managed to take out the commander, then you as the storyteller know that there are still others that could rise and take the commander’s place. Or even more intriguing is that one of the lieutenants issues a challenge to take control of the mercenaries, causing internal conflict within the organization.

• What ranks or roles exist within the faction?

This again leads to the structure of the faction. For better immersion into your world you need to know if there are any ranks to be achieved in your factions.

Our example:

The mercenary faction has ranks, much like a military force. They are led by a general or commander, and there are several ranks below those that have duties split among their roles, with the lowest being something like a foot solider who has very little overall commanding power but makes up the larger and overwhelming force of the faction. This could also include thing such as initiation rituals, and how one moves up through the ranks of the faction. Do they need to attain a certain standing with the faction or is there another way they move up?

• What beliefs, traditions, or values define the faction?

Does the faction have a code or creed? Are there specific rituals that are inherent to the faction? Is there a motto or some other phrase they recite?

Let’s go back to our example:

The mercenary faction has a strong belief in the strong survive and that knowledge of tactics is important. They may have a motto like “The strong survive.” Or maybe they are loosely aligned with a deity and have a “May [war deity’s name] guide your hand.” 

This could mean that they leave the weak behind or those that can no longer fight are left behind, if they survive then they may be welcomed back.

• How do they recruit?

Do they spy on potential new members? Are they cautious about new recruits? Do they take anyone that wants to join and help their cause? Do they find you?

For example, the mercenary group recruits its members in various towns and cities across the land. Including from within the territory’s military. They have charismatic leaders that speak to the values of the faction. They could also strong arm the folk that survive the mercenaries’ raids to join them or be killed.

• What symbols, colors, or insignia represent the faction?

Is there a uniform? Is there a sigil or banner they follow or gather under? Do they have a secret sign or code they use?

For me, this is a crucial and often frustrating step when looking at factions. Sometimes I will start with a clear idea of what their symbol and colors will be and others it’s a struggle to figure out how to best represent the faction.

Sometimes a simple dagger on a red and black background is all it takes.

Let’s say that the mercenary faction has some aggressive colors – dark and bright reds. They have a symbol that is a large war hammer.

• Do they have enemies or allies?

Who are their biggest rivals? Are there any allies or benefactors for this cause? How does the faction handle any conflict that arises?

This helps to build out some story detail in the world as well. If you know that the faction plays well with another one but not another then there is inherent tension that can be exploited.

The mercenaries, they don’t really play well with any other factions. They see most as insignificant and if they get in the way they would try to roll over them in a large show of force. They have several ex-nobles that are captives or joined and are providing coin hoping for better treatment if they do so.

• How does this faction affect the players?

Why should the players care about the faction? How can players interact with the faction or even join? What are some ongoing conflicts or challenges the faction faces?

Some of these have been answered by other questions so let’s look at the example.

The mercenaries pose a threat to the players if they join with the opposing faction. The players won’t likely be able to join the mercenaries if they are a known force working against the mercenary faction’s goals. As for ongoing conflicts, the leader of the territory has called for adventurers to aid them in eradicating the mercenaries who have been taking land for themselves.

• Finally, what is the faction’s name?

Naming the faction much like the symbol and colors is integral to your worldbuilding (at least in my opinion). For me coming up with a faction name is hit or miss, sometimes I have a great idea and then I introduce it in my games and after several session the name’s been changed because the players have called it something similar but not exactly what I named it.

As for the mercenaries, I think something simple like the Red Hammer Company will do.

That pretty much sums up my tips on creating your own factions. Now go forth and build factions for your world!