This is something I have been curious about ever since I first heard the Ring-Givers would now be a faction. Why they, of all sects, had been elevated to faction status? Why not the Order of the Planes Militant or the Communals (which had been a faction in the past) or any other sect, for that matter?
Also, if memory serves me well, the main difference between a sect and a faction was that the factions were part of the ruling body of Sigil, and therefore could easily spread their word. While sects simply lacked such an authority within the Cage. Now that most of the factions had been expelled from Sigil, what will make that difference?
Thanks on advance for the clarifications.
P.S.: I remember reading, I don't know where, that factions are somehow more deeply involved with the multiverse as a whole, if that is the case, ignore the second paragraph.
The guilds of Sigil have sprung up to handle many of the tasks previously run by the factions, and bloods such as Zadara the Titan (*makes a face*) and my most humble self, Shemeska the Marauder have gained more than considerable influence in the City of Doors.
But with regards to the Ring Givers... the sect gone faction has found itself with a new factol. Namely Jeremo the Natterer, who besides being the owner of the Palace of the Jester, the single largest building in all of the City of Doors, is among the single wealthiest bloods in all of the multiverse. Look no further than his influence in Sigil, and within the faction itself for a reason why they've increased in prominance so.
However Jeremo's push for power may yet run him afoul of Her Serenity if his own power and his factions power conflicts with the rather nebulous edict banning the factions from Sigil. As of yet he's not been mazed or struck down by Her shadow, but it shall be interesting to watch. He is a canny blood, and I find myself in avid respect of his charisma and skills of manipulation. He knows what he wants and he finds a way to bend the rules of his faction's philosophy to benefit him in such a way as to obtain it, whatever it may be. I wouldn't compare him to ME in any way, but he's a rising power in Sigil by any conjecture.
Perhaps I might find a way to bring him and that (edited) Titan into conflict.
look that planewalker people helped him.
sigh, they should had keeped the setting with the same time that the official 2nd edition, so people would be able to play using the info of the books and the new rules without modifications.
Fear not, there should be rules enough to handle running a game pre-faction war. In the descriptions of sites/individuals in the City of Doors the information is broad enough to include both before and after FW events and references. When it's released hopefully you'll find it to your liking. Tried my best
Been using Hobard and his current goals now as a subplot in my own campaign, it just happens to fit in smoothly with a plot of my own devising revolving around Aoskar's relationship with Fell, and Fell's protective nature towards the Shattered Temple after (in my campaign) the corpse of Aoskar was plundered with the Divinity Leech.
What truly defines a faction? From what they all have in common, it can be said that they are philosophical groups. However, so are are the sects, and they are still classified as something different.
As far as my knowledge goes, the difference between factions and sects was because the factions had their presence in the ruling body of Sigil. But that no longer holds true, since they have been expelled from the Cage.
No two ways about it.
I'm not saying all the changes are for the worse, I'm just saying that Sigil's complete overhaul has made a lot of things like this moot.
A couple of other sects were floated out as possibilities. The Ring-Givers are the only one that stuck. We had to focus on a small number of factions, just to move the project along.