A more open ended Good DM faction

[Egon the Monkey]

Since the Fleet and then the Order (which I always saw more LN than Good anyway) went bust, there's not been a more generally Good-related DM faction on the server. The Pallid Mask are by nature rather jobsworthy, with advancement being via whacking PC or powerful NPC undead, and the goal being "behead the undead". The Order were alright, but beween the friendliness towards a slaving, generally evil Old Port, and several spoilers that I won't go into about their methods and true nature, didn't quite fit the bill either IMO.

Dm factions are a ready made set of goals and influences for a PC to build on, as well as providing funding, gear, friends and enemies. I think that the current lack of a more open-ended Good faction, especially a waged one, is a notable gap on the server, especially with the necromancy update making it Zombie Season, gangs all over the place etc. Surely one of the new Noble Houses could be opened up as a DM faction to fill this gap. We've got fairly strong or interesting DM-led organisations for most concepts,but not for NG/CG morally driven PCs specifically.

[Dr Dragon]

Why not form your own good aligned faction like many Pcs have done in the past? If  no groups match your philosophy/char make ur own!

-DRD

[Egon the Monkey]

Because that, my dear Doctor, misses the point. There are a couple of PC factions that fit the bill (Order of the Steel Fist and the Beating Heart). In fact a "Team Good Recruiting Sergeant" PC is somewhere in my next couple of planned PCs, too.

However, there's nothing that promises long-term involvement and stability like a DM faction does. Pc factions are always at risk of burnout from members permaing/players being out of the game. The Union of Clans for example didn't fall to PVP or hordes of Wild Orcs. It broke because 3 core members all had to be out of game over the best part of a month and the faction couldn't keep involvement going. A DM faction offers good concepts a chance to wield influence out of proportion to the number of  PCs they can actually recruit within the faction, a number that's often more influenced by OOC issues such as who's actually rolling up new PCs at that time. The Stygians for example have often had just 1 or 2 PCs in the faction, but because of the faction's NPC power were more influential than PC factions with 3-4 members.

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

I would really be for this, on the condition the Pallid Mask is incorporated, or destroyed before this move is made.

[djspectre]

to be honest, I like the idea if there is an equally perpetually evil faction that comes in direct contact with the good one all the time with power tilting back and forth between the two.

Honestly, i always thought that two factions (one good and one evil) who were directly pitted against one another and whose battles primarily took place in the ziggurat would be great. partially because fighting in the ziggurat is so much more interesting....Good Guys trying to spare innocents amid the battle that breaks out while evil doesn't give a damn about the collateral damage.

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

Let's not forget that we want to avoid a clear and evident cliche' here. GOod versus evil is getting boring.

[Caddies]

We have zero interest in creating DM factions based on alignments. Rather, we will be creating DM factions based on philosophies. So long as they ascribe to that philosophy, PCs may join irregardless of alignment; indeed, the varying methods of realizing such philosophies employed by PCs of oppositional alignments will breed the conflict and storytelling that is supposed to define EFU:A.

The truth is that generic "evil" and "good" DM factions are just awful, both conceptually and practically.

[Drakill Tannan]

I hate black/white morality. It's lame, it's stupid and it's boring.

[Meldread]

I tend to agree with Caddies.  I think factions that are good or evil for the sake of being good or evil are boring, but I don't think that's what Egon was suggesting.

A faction allied around a common philosophy or goal that naturally tends toward good is something worth considering.  If my apps pass then I'll be playing a Paladin.  Hopefully, if people like my concept, they'll find something to rally around regarding him.  It wouldn't be a DM faction, of course, but hopefully it'll still be fun.

[DangerousDan]

We have zero interest in creating DM factions based on alignments. Rather, we will be creating DM factions based on philosophies. So long as they ascribe to that philosophy, PCs may join irregardless of alignment; indeed, the varying methods of realizing such philosophies employed by PCs of oppositional alignments will breed the conflict and storytelling that is supposed to define EFU:A.

The truth is that generic "evil" and "good" DM factions are just awful, both conceptually and practically.

This is all well and good, until some DM decides to create an order of protectors who want to save the Ziggurat. Let me be the first to say that Calculor and I are eagerly looking forward to presenting our new and exciting ideas for 'Gren, Blade of the North' and his horde of righteous barbarians very soon.

[Egon the Monkey]

Meldread pins it down better than I. Really, I miss the Fleet. That was a faction with ostensibly noble goals of fighting the scum of the ocean (and stealing all their stuff, y'arr). It offered clear opportunities for idealistic "I want to make the seas a better place" PCs in the spirit of the faction, Chaotic Neutral "Hey look a chance to live free and rob people" concepts and more. It did however rather fall down when Old Port, the main target of their piracy, took over.

The Armada is a brilliant faction for allowing a lot of different concepts on the Neutral/Evil axis to pursue goals with support. Trannyth was trying to amass power to kick Garagos's divine ass, Marsk wanted to get rich, Belm wanted a legion of beasts. It offers pay, power, access to ships and resources, but is restricted to non good/non chaotic. Sharboneth offered a lot of options for PCs wanting to make a name for themselves, but was again non-chaotic.

What I'm fishing for here is ideas for a faction that welcomes PCs on the NG to CN side of the alignments. Not "The Mighty Order of Torm, Crushing Evil Since 1356 DR, over 1 million Smited", but a faction that officially has a Good philosophy, but is open to a variety of concepts wanting to use the faction to pursue their own goals. There are plenty of factions and plots offering Neutral/Evil PCs a chance to get some power and involvement, but nothing that specifically backs many potential Good concepts by its nature, rather than stating "That alignment won't stop you getting in".

[Yalta]

I do think something to go up against the Stygians directly would be good. Obvious candidates would be a docks gang.

[Caddies]

You can join the Stygians as a chaotic and/or good PC. The majority have just been evil/lawful. The Stygians have a philosophy, we accept any PC so long as they make room for that philosophy in their concept/agenda.

[derfo]

are you even ever inclined to do chaotic shit

[sylvyrdragon]

You can join the Stygians as a chaotic and/or good PC. The majority have just been evil/lawful. The Stygians have a philosophy, we accept any PC so long as they make room for that philosophy in their concept/agenda.

Faction Requirements:

Application required.
Recommendation from current faction characters.
Survive the rite of induction.
Recommendations:

Classes: non-cleric, non-druid, non-wizard, non-sorceror.
Races: non-elves, non-monstrous races (exception for Sahuagin).
Alignments: non-good, non-chaotic.


(Yes it is under recommendations.. but it pretty much lets you know the way it's going to be.)