Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Jun 18, 2003 14:40:04	Two month ago I thought that I understood spirit of Planescape and Sigil and I decided to DM PLanescape. I was making plans for my Planescape campaign and waiting for rules. But then I read that new official faction rules would be after-FW. And now I'm confused: some factions are gone, some in exile etc. Where I can find free canon (or close to canon) info about Faction War?
#2 primemover003 Jun 18, 2003 19:09:49	OK alexius here's the short of it. Duke Rowan Darkwood, factol of the Fated, basically engineered the faction war as a diversion for his big battle agains the Lady of Pain. Well he failed. As a result of the war, the Lady basically banned the factions from running the day to day operations of the city and they could no longer be based there. Many factions were close to splintering and falling apart before the war, and the conflict proceeded to finsih the job. Others left the Cage because of the Lady's decree. Still others decided to just disband and carry on doing what they always did. Those Who left: The Athar fled to the only other refuge against the Gods they knew of. The Spire The Fated left for Ysgard, as most people blamed all of them for their Factols hubris. The Fraternaty of Order returned to the Fortress of Disciplened Enlightenment on Mechanus. The Harmonium returned to Melodia on Arcadia (and Fortitude on the Outlands) The Revolutionary League holed up in the Bastion of Last Hope in Carceri. Those Who Disbanded: the Bleak Cabal, the Dustmen, the Free League, the Society of Sensation, the Transcedant Order, and the Xaositects. Each of these factions didn't really care about being a faction enough to leave the cage. The Bleakers still run orphanages and soup kitchens, the Sensates still run all the entertainment in the city, the Indeps never called themselves a faction to begin with, the dustmen still take care of the dead, and the Xaositects disbanded probably a hundred times BEFORE Faction war, so why's today any different! Those Who Splintered: The Believers of the Source and the Sign of One found enough common ground between them to consolidate their loses from the war and created a new Faction called The Mind's Eye or the Seekers. The Doomsguard followed their philosophy to the letter and nearly wiped themselves out in the War. Now only a handful of them cling to life in the 4 negative quasi-elemental fortresses (see new faction stuff). The Mercykillers fractured into the Sons of Mercy led by Arwyl Swan Son, mostly those who fight for the spirit of Justice. The other remnants either joined similar factions of banded together to create the new Minders Guild, a mercenary or bodyguards guild. I think that pretty much covers where they went. The new Faction material being released by the PS3E team should hopefully begin to plant the seeds for the Factions Future!
#3 factol_rhys_dup Jun 19, 2003 14:00:51	One other thing, some of the Mercykillers became the Sons of Mercy, but others created a new faction called the Sodkillers, who still carry on the proud, overly-brutalizing tradition of punitive justice that worked for them for so long. They're based in Acheron.
#4 zombiegleemax Jun 22, 2003 2:20:39	Thank you for help And what is current political situation in Sigil? Anarchy?
#5 zombiegleemax Jun 23, 2003 17:35:07	The Lady of Pain and her dabuses have things working quite nicely now..... for the first time in history she is really governing Sigil, instead of just keeping things in check. By the way.... with all the disbanded factions I guess we will be needing some new ones (maybe Sects which raised in power?) if we are to keep with the same number, or at least a multiple of three, after all, we can't forget the rule of three.
#6 wyvern76 Jun 24, 2003 23:15:36	Originally posted by Zearoth By the way.... with all the disbanded factions I guess we will be needing some new ones (maybe Sects which raised in power?) if we are to keep with the same number, or at least a multiple of three, after all, we can't forget the rule of three. Well, if primemover's summation of events is accurate, there are nine surviving factions, which is three threes... can't get much better than that! The tally: 1) Athar 2) Fated 3) Guvners 4) Harmonium 5) Anarchists 6) Sons of Mercy 7) Sodkillers 8) Mind's Eye 9) Doomguard
#7 moogle001 Jun 25, 2003 0:25:14	Actually our position is most of the factions survived the Faction War, though their position in the multiverse is much less secure. The number of factions currently is 16 or so.
#8 Alzrius Jun 25, 2003 1:22:49	Originally posted by moogle001 Actually our position is most of the factions survived the Faction War, though their position in the multiverse is much less secure. The number of factions currently is 16 or so. Could you expound on this please?
#9 zombiegleemax Jun 25, 2003 17:09:51	Originally posted by moogle001 Actually our position is most of the factions survived the Faction War, though their position in the multiverse is much less secure. The number of factions currently is 16 or so. Originally posted by Wyvern76 Well, if primemover's summation of events is accurate, there are nine surviving factions, which is three threes... can't get much better than that! The tally: 1) Athar 2) Fated 3) Guvners 4) Harmonium 5) Anarchists 6) Sons of Mercy 7) Sodkillers 8) Mind's Eye 9) Doomguard Hmm... who's missing in that list? If we are still counting the "disbanded factions" then we will have six more, making it 15 factions.... but that isn't 16.... the Minders Guild perhaps? But that wouldn't be a faction, at least they don't seem to hold any philosophical belief.
#10 Shemeska_the_Marauder Jun 25, 2003 20:50:50	The Minder's Guild was formed by Sodkiller members, with a very thin but distinct line between the two groups. The faction ban within Sigil prevents a faction from holding any official power in the city. Guilds are a step closer to real power in the city, especially given the new power structure in the Cage. Not all minders guild members are sodkillers, but a very very large percentage, and it exists more or less as the public front for the sect going faction until the ban is lifted evntually. In that case the build then already provides the Sodkillers with an established power base to draw upon for a full fledged faction.
#11 wyvern76 Jun 26, 2003 16:05:11	Originally posted by Zearoth Hmm... who's missing in that list? If we are still counting the "disbanded factions" then we will have six more, making it 15 factions.... but that isn't 16.... the Minders Guild perhaps? But that wouldn't be a faction, at least they don't seem to hold any philosophical belief. One split (the Mercykillers) and two combined (the Signers and Godsmen), so it balances out. Wyvern
#12 primemover003 Jun 28, 2003 16:26:05	don't forget some prominant Sects, like the Order of the Planes-militant, the Ring Givers (Jeremo the Natterer, the Lady's Jester is a golden lord and a "factor" of the RG's), the Daughters of Light(?)... Even other planar organizations want to carve up the Cage, especially Estevan the Ogre Mage Trade Lord of the Planar Trade Consortium, Shemeshka the Marauder's network, Zadara the Titan of the Merkhants.
#13 willard_the_bard Jul 12, 2003 1:51:38	Are these rules the rules that we are going to have? If so, too bad. I liked the factions (Sensates! WOOOO!) and the whole idea behind them. This disbanding seems to create more anarchy than anything else. So the lady and her mute buddies are running things. Right. WHy am I not convinced? This breaks up power and sets up more of a monarchy than before. Not a good thing. I don't see how this simplifies matters at all. For my part, I'll stick to the factions as they were. If I wanted normal D&D, I'd get into Grayhawk. I want Planesacpe, so I want factions, planes, and the Blood War. Anything less, and you have broken the rule. These halfassed factions don't cut it, I'm afraid.
#14 zombiegleemax Jul 12, 2003 18:22:33	Hey hey hey Willard, relax, the factions didn't cease to exist, they just aren't allowed to act in the Cage, so the focus of the whole game shifts to the planes themselves, instead of our beloved Sigil... which still plays a major part, mind you.
#15 willard_the_bard Jul 13, 2003 14:24:18	Oh, sorry. I got out of hand there, I see now (posting too late at night is my excuse). Hmm... my thinking is that, wouldn't it be wisest to start new characters out with the factions in place, and introdue the War at a later date? In that way, they are forced to move out of the Cage and onto the planes as you suggest is the aim. But since Sigil is such a hub, it is easiest to use it with factions entrenched at first. Also, I tend to use the Sensates as a behind-the-screen driving force in my adventures, and if they no longer exist as a true faction, their power is diminished. Furthermore, if characters join opposing factions... confilct, chaos, and possible spilt to soloing. Cool.
#16 zombiegleemax Jul 19, 2003 8:42:23	Faction War was,IMHO,a good opportunity wasted and not Planescape-ish in the least(I'd offer proof of this,but I do not want to bore you)...the factions were,IMHO,perfect for the mood of the setting...in my continuity,Rowan Darkwood (or the ol'bastard,for short ) was demoted and killed by his faction members when one of the groups I DMed found out that he sold Nilesia in slavery,so that the war was prevented from happening in the first place Swan's Son now is the Mercykillers' factol and the Fated have another Prime as their factol (the shame,the shame!:D )
#17 willard_the_bard Jul 19, 2003 10:22:56	Hmmm... I like that. I think that if the PCs can stop the war, more power to 'em. As I said before, I like the factions, they are a true embodiment of the idea of Planescape; philosophy as a driving force in the multiverse.
#18 zombiegleemax Jul 19, 2006 19:32:18	Does any one know of the date of the start of the Faction War? Just the one tid bit of information I've not been able to dig up.
#19 ripvanwormer Jul 19, 2006 19:41:15	Does any one know of the date of the start of the Faction War? Planescape adventures and supplements are all assumed to progress in real time - if a year passes in real life before a book was published, a year passed in Sigil. The Factol's Manifesto was published in the 127th year of Hashkar's reign, so the Faction War happened in year 130. That said, the Faction War should happen whenever you've gotten to the point in your game where a war would naturally evolve from the tensions and subterfuge of the factions, and not before.
#20 bob_the_efreet Jul 20, 2006 15:14:50	Hmm... who's missing in that list? If we are still counting the "disbanded factions" then we will have six more, making it 15 factions.... but that isn't 16.... the Minders Guild perhaps? But that wouldn't be a faction, at least they don't seem to hold any philosophical belief. The Ring-Givers are no longer a sect.
#21 calmar Jul 21, 2006 6:29:31	This excerpt from Lord of the Iron Fortress has a few bits of information about the Mercykillers.