The Marching Men have a simple premise: Just as Lower and Sewer Town has had its loyalist groups the Marching Men are a loyalist group dedicated to the ideals of Old Sanctuary. They exist to protect democratic freedom and thus serve the Council. They work against all those who threaten the law, order or stability of Sanctuary.

The Marchers are also striving to become the elite defenders of Sanctuary. Whereas the Watch Patrols the streets keeping law and order, and the Spellguard researches the Machine to aid in the cities defense, the Marching Men believe in taking the fight directly to the enemy. They fight to do battle with the Chosen of the Sewers, the Beholder's of Chazbash, the Mind Flayer's of Ysinode, and the Drow of Traensyr. They seek to free slaves, promote the prosperity of Sanctuary, and assist the defense organizations and the Council in any way that they can.

If you wish to join this faction on a day-to-day basis we focus heavily on exploring the Machine and the Underdark. We seek to go places that most other people on EfU never get to see, and do things that most people on EfU never get to do.

Almost any PC can join so long as they seek to promote democratic freedom and are loyal to the Council. Not all roles in the faction are combat roles, other roles may be supportive such as the role of playing a merchant, or someone seeking to join the Council. We are, first and foremost, a loyalist group as well as a paramilitary group. So let me reiterate: Not everyone who joins needs to perform a combat role.

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For those seeking to create a character to join, I am going to outline what types of characters will find themselves to be a "best fit" for the faction. This does not mean characters who differ from those outlined below could not work, only that they may have a slightly harder time.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral, Lawful Good, Lawful Evil

Classes: Any, except Paladin, Druid and some Clerics

Deities: Helm, Red Knight, and Gond are all good choices but other deities are acceptable as well such as Torm. Out-and-out evil deities such as Bane, Shar and Cyric followers would not find a place in the faction if they openly follow such deities.

Races: Any race that can legally walk around Upper Sanctuary. Some races will have a harder time than others, such as Gnomes, as we are supportive of Sanctuaries Allies, including the Shadow Tribe.

Background: This can be almost anything, although ideally it will be a background that reflects your character and that has led him to hold some sense of loyalty to Sanctuary.

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What do we need in our faction right now?

- Merchants: We require someone whose main focus is on selling goods, but that doesn't preclude you from being someone like a Councilor.

- Scouts: We need someone who is good at scouting, picking locks and disarming traps.

- Loyalist Spies: If you're going to be a spy, please consider investing in bluff as a skill! This can be either a combat or non-combat role.

- Fighter-types: We need fighters - those with good AC who can hold the frontlines and do decent damage.

- Wizards: We require wizards who focus on becoming battle mages or a wizard who becomes a supporter for other members in our groups.

- Engineers: All of the above does not preclude you from also becoming an engineer. Almost every class has access to Craft Trap and that is all that is needed to work with the Machine. Therefore, anyone can become an Engineer who makes the investment in the skill.

- Clerics: Clerics of Helm, Red Knight and Gond are the most suitable. A Cleric of Helm who takes an oath to defend Sanctuary and her democratic way of life is a good candidate. A cleric of Red Knight who devotes himself to bettering Sanctuary's defense organizations and training new recruits is also a good candidate. A Cleric of Gond who is dedicated to learning all he can about the Machine, and in turn, defending the Machine from its enemies is also a good candidate.

You just described Olivia Brent...

Is there somebody to seek out IG, or is this new PC’s only?

It can be any PC new or old. If you already have a PC who might be interested in the idea, you should see ways to find us in game soon enough. There will be public recruitment announcements made.

Blast you Meldread!!

Depending on the application stats I sent in, I would play the Quartermaster.

This has the DangerousDan stamp of approval.

I'm very interested in joining this PC Faction with my current character, Audunn Halgard. Currently, he is a dwarven warrior and monster-slayer.

Have you considered joining the Knight's Confederate?

They are an existing group rather closely matched to the ideals that you described, and could use the support. It's almost exclusively player run with the caveat of being headed by NPCs who are largely MIA. That is rarely a problem if you know how to handle it. Also you get one of the nicest faction HQs in all of the city, seriously.

Feel free to PM me to discuss this further, or set a time to meet on IRC. (btw my PC in that group is largely retired, I'm just thinking of stimulating collaboration between people already interested in this group and players working to maintain the Archibald group)

I was just about to say the same thing. The Confederacy lines up well with what you're working on and has three different noble houses as stages for your mercs, scientists, and merchants. Just food for thought!

New factions are always tasty though, and the less needed DM attention the better. I would definately whip up something for this group were I not already so dreadfully occupied otherwise.

The Knights Confederate is a decidedly differant faction to this!

In with a Waukeenar Bardic merchant by the name of Ebon Greyhawk as Quartermaster

Very interesting!

Random_White_Guy Very interesting!

But stupid!

Actually, I like it.

Kotenku

Random_White_Guy Very interesting!

But stupid!

Actually, I like it.

Hey, stupid ideas are usually rather interesting if they work.

Anyway, I think Damien Ormsby would be useful for this Legion, as either a Quartmaster or helping on the frontlines seeing as he is a transmuter and therefore soon to be combat capable! :wink:

I have taken the first IC actions to bring the Legion into existance. Depending on how things play out ICly expect a public announcement within less than 48 hours.

It took slightly longer than I had hoped, but the faction has been announced IC.

Here is the announcement post.

The name has been changed from the Sanctuary Legion to the Marching Men as it ties into the cannon lore for Sanctuary.

I've updated the original post to better reflect IC developments as well as to make it more clear. Anyone who is interested in the faction is encouraged to either post here, PM me or create their character and look to join in game!

View the updated post here.

Why not allowing paladins?

Because we allow evil aligned PC's to join. Our conflict is more of a law / chaos one rather than a good / evil conflict. There can be evil people, dedicated to the goals of the Marching Men, who use less-than-good methods to accomplish their goals.

Example: Assassin of Helm. This would be an assassin who does not work for money, but instead has dedicated themselves to killing those who threaten Sanctuary and its democratic way of life. The means that they use to defend Sanctuary and its democracy may be considered evil, but their goals and intentions do not conflict with the goals of the Marching Men. However, Paladin's cannot remain a Paladin and work with such individuals... so...

But that would be a matter for the paladins in question. It would be up to them to realize some of the faction members are evil, and then act in consequence: leaving, for sure, but also publicly denouce it and even work against the faction. It could lead to nice rp.

Since IC there is no restriction on paladins joining (at least that is what I think after reading the in game info about the faction) nor is there any IC element that could lead anyone to think evil people will enter that faction, I believe it is logical to let paladins join, discover the truth from themselves, and act in consequence.

But it may actually create some OOC problems for people that are not so well versed in FR, like me. After all, would not the paladins be bound by contract?

Just putting something out there.

Yes, the Paladin's would be bound by the contract just like everyone else. It would certainly create interesting problems for the Paladin.

That being said, most people are completely aware IC that Paladin's have uppity moral codes that preclude them from working with certain individuals. Additionally, the faction is not a religious one. Nearly 80% of Cleric's are blocked from joining as well plus Druids.

Of course, none of this stops a Paladin (or Cleric of Bane) from attempting to try and join in game. They'll just have to find a way to get around my PC who runs the faction or convince him of their worth. However, there are other IG elements in play that will likely see them refused and redirected elsewhere.

The information that is recommended is just that: recommended and not required. Any one is free to try to join IG. For example: Non-lawful people will have a hard time in the faction, and with luck will receive alignment shifts toward lawful. However, individuals who play up the chaotic aspects of their alignment could face being removed. The same goes for others who struggle to meet the recommended status. I placed that there so individuals who truly wanted to "fit" with the faction would have a template in which to create a character.

We are still looking for more members. In particular we are looking for the following:

1. Fighter Types. 2. Wizards. 3. Cleric's of Helm / Gond / Red Knight. 4. Scouts.

However, you don't have to play a combat character to join us. The Marching Men is a diverse faction, with loyalists as well as Marchers.

In particular, for a non-combat related character, I am seeking someone who focuses upon the more detailed management of the Marching Men. (Recruitment, political meetings, and other such things, etc.)

The alignment for the best fit is Lawful Neutral.

Private Message me if you're interested or have a character concept you want to run by me. We really need players who have the time to dedicate themselves to the faction and who are pro-active.

I'm giving this a serious bump. We are in total and desperate need of players with good hours that can play daily.

Our faction has a good deal of DM support and we're at the center of a lot that happens on the server regarding Upper. If you want to be involved in things, you are encouraged to join.

Alrighty, folks. Since we're in a serious need of characters in the Marching Men, I figured I'd make this nifty little post here!

The Marching Men: They are essentially a group bent towards the protection of Sanctuary from both outside and within. They lack the law enforcement abilities of the Watch, despite their similarities. However, the Marching Men, unlike the Watch, actually go out of their way to engage enemies before they reach Sanctuary, or wherever in Sanctuary they're hiding.

Benefits: We currently have a barracks, believe it or not! This means that we have a sort of player housing, limited persistent storage, as well as a headquarters for us to plot and plan. There are also a few other things that are not ironed out yet, but very soon, will be happening. We need more players to speed it along, though! We also receive a great amount of DM attention (thank you Dan, and other guys!), as well as increased ease when it comes to getting involved in shizzle.

Requirements: We are very open to plenty of concepts and character types, really. You don't necessarily have to be entirely lawful, so long as you don't go about breaking every law. Anyway...

a) Race: Race is not an issue at all. Everything from Gnomes to Half-Elves is fully welcomed into the Marching Men, and given equal ground to stand on. However, this is with the exception of Half-Orcs, for obvious reasons. A Half-Orc Marcher would experience mild prejudice. However, this could make for a very awesome concept, imo.

b) Class: Currently, we need fighters and clerics, guys. We have plenty of rogues and roguish types. This isn't to say that we aren't accepting rogues at the moment, however, just that we would greatly prefer to have a few people of other classes. b ii) Clerics may experience some difficulties getting in. Gond, Helm and Tyr (I think) are the preferred deities, but recently it's come up that a fair bit of tolerance will be present for halfling deities. Other deities could very easily be welcomed aboard, however!

c) Alignment: Meldread has stated that Lawful Neutral is preferred. However, a character does not necessarily have to be lawful or neutral. We presently have one member that I believe is chaotic good, one that is neutral good, etc. All sorts of alignments would be very welcome. However, I will state that openly evil characters aren't going to be able to join all too easily, as the faction has a mild bias towards good. (Yes, Meldread, we want to protect people. It's biased towards good.)

Goals & Plans: Before Dr D has a chance to get to it, yes, plenty of this is FOIG/C information. However, the Marching Men are focused towards removing enemies of Sanctuary, freeing slaves, and ensuring that everyone is nice and safe. This means we are in opposition with Drow, Duergar, Goblins, Montezzis, Kobolds, Lions, Tigers, and Bears. This means that the Marching Men can be excellent for conflict between players. However, it is also fantastic for stirring up some political strife, if the mood strikes you.

Really, boys and girls, I'm asking you to honestly consider making a Marching Men character. This is such a cool faction and idea, I would hate to see it go down the drain because everyone else was interested in other stuff.

I will state that openly evil characters aren't going to be able to join all too easily, as the faction has a mild bias towards good. (Yes, Meldread, we want to protect people. It's biased towards good.)

I just want to point out that someone can be evil and defend people, provided it is *his* people. Being evil wouldn't mean you don't defend what is dear to you, it means you will do whatever is necessary to defend it.

Yes. Evil people are the most patriotic ones...