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The Underground Mods ([personal profile] undergroundmods) wrote in [community profile] abovegrounds2015-11-15 04:57 pm
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Fun with Factions

Afternoon, folks! The game has now been open for nearly six months, so it's time to do a quick review of faction information. Plus, a second opportunity to create characters who will be your faction leaders.

Factions
I'd love to get a snapshot of where you see your factions being at right now: what are their goals? Who are their allies? Enemies? Biggest threats and opportunities? Are they in good shape or suffering from in-fighting or lack of direction?

This is partly because I'd like to update the faction information to take account of recent game developments, so please do let me know if there is anything on the Faction pages that you would suggest updating. For example, has your faction allied with another that isn't listed on this page? (It does have to be a faction-wide strategy in order to count, not just individual characters choosing to help out another faction for personal reasons.)

If you'd like to use this post as an opportunity to discuss the overall state of your faction and bounce around ideas, please feel free to do so!

Elites
You may recall that a few months ago we created a list of NPC Elites, the most powerful characters in the game. Some factions have better representation of Elites than others, and given the shifts in player characters over the last few months, I'd like to throw this out there again to give you another opportunity to create NPCs.

Please note: these NPCs are not designed to be played*. This is about world building and establishing the status quo of the game. Why make up NPCs if they won't be played? Because it gives you the players the chance to decide what sort of character you want to lead your character's people. The personalities and beliefs of the NPCs will influence the overall direction of the game. It also gives you a target to eliminate gently dislodge in the future when your character gets ambitious.

*That's not to say they could never be played. I've done a thread with one so far, and if other players would be interested in playing NPCs for one-off threads, you're definitely welcome to do so!

Choose your Leaders
Let's make up some NPCs! There are a few guidelines to follow, namely that the characters you submit should 1) be original characters; 2) match up with the game information about their factions; and 3) be consistent with the game information about their type.

Here are some suggested roles to fill for each faction:

Circle Daybreak: Maiden (age under 30), Crone (age 60+). Norrell, submit yourself!
Circle Midnight: Abigail, submit yourself!
East End Pack: They've been missing an alpha for a while, you guys could really do with one!
Hillingdon Clan: Faolan, submit yourself! If you like, you could also submit a level 4 faction leader.
Islington Nest: None required, but if you want you could add the Marquess/Marchioness of the various boroughs under Islington control.
Night Council: None required.
Redbright Institute: None required.
Seelie Court: None required.
Unseelie Court: None required.

To submit an NPC, fill in the form below:



I recommend that you get together with other players in your faction to discuss the NPC(s) you'd like to create. Feel free to use this post to discuss before you make your final submissions!

You have until 23rd November 20:00 GMT to submit your character(s). The final roster will then be announced with the next plotting post on 28th November, as well as any updates to the game and setting information.

NIGHT COUNCIL

[personal profile] brightwitch 2015-11-17 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
The Night Council is different from all the other factions because a) it has a policy of non-expansion and b) it's really meant to be the legal body that represents all* the other factions more than an entity in itself. In short, it's the Underground's version of the government.

What that means is that the shifting politics of the game itself affects the Night Council, and vice versa. The most significant development thus far has been the new law which forbids the killing of any witch, and thus extends Night Council protection to Circle Midnight witches as well as those in Daybreak. There is some sympathy amongst certain representatives in the Night Council for Circle Midnight, but the prevailing opinion is to tolerate rather than support them.

Most recently, the fae have been the biggest threat to the interests of the Night Council representatives, but with Islington moving to counter them, this threat is now less significant. More significant will be the interplay and rivalries between the Night Council members as they continue to pursue the goals of their own factions. I am expecting this to get more interesting as player characters get involved, so watch this space!

*not all