faction-creator

Faction Creator

Create complete, playable factions with narrative depth, mechanical systems, and plot integration for any TTRPG setting.

What This Skill Does

Generate factions at multiple complexity levels:

Basic: Core identity, goals, structure, and a few hooks (5-10 minutes) Standard: Everything in Basic + resources, relationships, key NPCs, multiple hooks (15-30 minutes) Comprehensive: Everything in Standard + detailed history, internal factions, extensive hooks, mechanical systems (45+ minutes)

Works across:

• Settings: Velnaris (noir fantasy), Zarathar (volcanic cultures), generic fantasy, homebrew
• Tones: Heroic, grimdark, noir, pulp, epic, morally complex
• Scales: Local gang to continental empire
• Types: 8+ faction templates from criminal to religious to revolutionary

Workflow

1. Receive Faction Concept

Accept any input format:

• Brief: "Thieves guild in the Pleasure Quarter, morally gray"
• Detailed: Complete faction idea with specific requirements
• Template: "Use the Religious Order template with X modifications"
• Conversion: "Turn this NPC into a faction they lead"

2. Determine Faction Template

Ask user if not specified, or recommend based on concept (see references/faction-templates.md):

Available Templates:

• Criminal Organization (guilds, cartels, smugglers)
• Religious Order (churches, cults, monasteries)
• Noble House/Dynasty (aristocracy, merchant dynasties)
• Revolutionary Movement (rebels, reformers, resistance)
• Merchant Consortium (trade guilds, corporations)
• Arcane Society (wizard colleges, magical orders)
• Military Order (knights, mercenaries, elite guards)
• Scholarly/Artistic Circle (universities, artist collectives)

Templates can be combined: "Religious Order + Military = Crusading Templars"

3. Confirm Complexity and Mechanics

Ask user:

Complexity Level:

• Basic (quick reference for session prep)
• Standard (full faction for campaign use)
• Comprehensive (central campaign faction with extensive detail)

Mechanical System (optional):

• None (pure narrative)
• Narrative Tiers (qualitative power levels)
• Resource Tracks (3-5 resources rated 1-10)
• Domain Control (territory-based)
• Influence Web (relationship-focused)
• Action Economy (complex, turn-based)

See references/power-and-influence.md for system details.

4. Build Faction Structure

Generate based on template and complexity:

Core Elements (All Levels):

Identity

• Name (fits setting and tone)
• Symbols (heraldry, colors, icons)
• Public face (how they present themselves)
• Reputation (how others see them)

Purpose

• Stated goals (public mission)
• Actual goals (true objectives, may differ)
• Methods (how they pursue goals)
• Values (what matters to them)

Structure

• Leadership (who's in charge)
• Hierarchy (organizational tiers)
• Membership (how one joins)
• Size (scale appropriate to setting)

Resources

• Assets (what they own/control)
• Income (how they fund operations)
• Capabilities (what they can do)
• Weaknesses (vulnerabilities, limitations)

Standard Additions:

Key NPCs (2-5)

• Faction leader
• Notable lieutenants
• Interesting members
• Use your NPC creator skill or brief descriptions

Relationships

• Allies (who they work with)
• Enemies (who opposes them)
• Neutral (potential future relationships)
• Complex (simultaneous cooperation and conflict)

Secrets (2-4)

• Internal secrets (members don't all know)
• External secrets (hidden from outsiders)
• Vulnerabilities (exploitable weaknesses)
• Hidden agendas (true goals vs. stated)

Comprehensive Additions:

History

• Founding (how faction began)
• Key events (defining moments)
• Evolution (how they've changed)
• Current situation (where they stand now)

Internal Factions

• Moderate vs. radical wings
• Reformers vs. traditionalists
• Competing power bases
• Secret cabals

Detailed Operations

• Day-to-day activities
• Recruitment process
• Training/advancement
• Standard operating procedures

5. Generate Plot Hooks

Create 3-10 hooks depending on complexity (see references/hook-generation.md):

Hook Categories:

• Recruitment (faction wants PCs)
• Conflict (PCs caught between factions)
• Investigation (mystery involves faction)
• Betrayal (deception and double-cross)
• Protection (guard someone from faction)
• Sabotage (disrupt faction operations)
• Rescue/Extraction (save someone from faction)
• Succession (leadership crisis)
• Discovery (PCs find faction secrets)
• Resource (faction needs what PCs have)

Scale hooks to party level:

• Low level: Local, personal, direct
• Mid level: Regional, political, complex
• High level: National, historic, world-shaping

Ensure variety:

• Mix hook types
• Some favor different PC approaches (combat, social, stealth)
• Different urgency levels
• Multiple entry points for different PC backgrounds

6. Add Setting Integration

Customize for specific setting if requested:

Velnaris (Noir Fantasy):

• Emphasize moral complexity
• Corruption touches everyone
• Sensuality, desire, and secrets as motivators
• Intimate, personal stakes

Zarathar (Volcanic Island Cultures):

• Memory forms as faction resources/techniques
• Cultural diversity across eight distinct groups
• Volcanic activity as resource and threat
• Colonial tensions

Generic Fantasy:

• Flexible moral alignment
• Standard fantasy power structures
• Clear good/evil or complex as desired
• Traditional tropes or subversions

Custom Setting:

• Incorporate setting-specific elements
• Use established lore and NPCs
• Honor tone and themes
• Maintain consistency with setting rules

7. Format and Deliver

Present in organized format:

# [Faction Name]

## Identity
[Symbols, motto, public face, reputation]

## Purpose
[Goals, methods, values]

## Structure
[Leadership, hierarchy, membership]

## Resources
[Assets, income, capabilities, weaknesses]

## Key NPCs
[Leader and 2-4 important members]

## Relationships
[Allies, enemies, complex relationships]

## Secrets
[2-4 hidden truths]

## [Optional: History, Internal Factions, Operations]

## [Optional: Mechanical System Stats]

## Hooks
[3-10 plot hooks with variety and scaling]

## GM Notes
[How to run this faction, common mistakes, integration tips]

Key Principles

Setting Agnostic Core: Templates work anywhere. Customize for specific settings in final step only.

Morally Complex: Avoid cartoon villains. Even evil factions should have understandable motivations, relatable members, and internal disagreement.

Playable Depth: Include enough detail for GM confidence, not so much it's overwhelming.

Integration Hooks: Factions should create problems and opportunities for PCs, not exist as background flavor.

Dynamic Organizations: Show factions as living, changing entities. Leadership struggles, resource problems, external pressures.

NPC Faces: Abstract organizations are forgettable. Give them specific people to interact with.

Scalable Threat: Faction should challenge PCs at multiple levels—physical danger, social manipulation, moral dilemmas.

Usage Examples

Input (Basic):

Criminal organization in the Gilded Exchange. Smugglers who started 
legitimate but can't escape their past. Standard complexity, Resource 
Tracks system, Velnaris setting.

Output:

# The Crimson Tide Trading Company

## Identity
Officially: Respectable merchant consortium specializing in exotic goods
Actually: Smuggling operation with legitimate front
Symbols: Red ship on gray waves (legitimate), black anchor (criminal)
Reputation: Reliable traders (public) / Dangerous smugglers (underworld)

[Full faction details following template...]

## Resources
- Wealth: 7 (strong financial position)
- Influence: 5 (adequate political connections)
- Force: 4 (limited muscle, mostly hired)
- Information: 8 (excellent intelligence network)

## Hooks
1. Recruitment: Crimson Tide needs "independent contractors" for 
   discrete delivery...
2. Conflict: PC's legitimate employer is unknowingly receiving stolen 
   goods through Tide...
[etc.]

---

Input (Comprehensive):

Religious order for Zarathar. Worship memory itself as sacred. Split 
between traditionalists and reformers. Comprehensive detail, Influence 
Web system.

Output:

# The Keepers of Echoes

[Full comprehensive faction with 2000+ words including:]
- Complete history from founding
- Eight Forms of Memory integration
- Internal faction between Archivists and Liberators
- Relationship web with other Zarathar factions
- 10 detailed hooks scaled across levels
- Memory-based magical capabilities
- Influence web showing relationships
- Extensive GM notes on running memory-focused intrigue

Common Requests

"Make them more morally complex": Add internal reformers, sympathetic members, understandable motivations, gray-area goals

"Add more hooks": Generate additional hook types, scale existing hooks to different levels

"Integrate with existing NPCs": Connect faction to NPCs from your NPC creator skill

"Make them more powerful/threatening": Increase resources, add capabilities, expand territory

"Create rival faction": Generate opposing faction with mirrored strengths/weaknesses

"Connect multiple factions": Build relationship web showing alliances, conflicts, secrets

Integration with Other Skills

With NPC Creator:

• Generate key faction NPCs with full stat blocks
• Create faction leader as major NPC (Tier 3)
• Lieutenants as significant NPCs (Tier 2)

With Settlement Toolkit Creator:

• Factions control districts/locations
• Multiple factions compete for settlement control
• Faction presence affects settlement atmosphere

With Read-Aloud Crafter:

• Transform faction descriptions into atmospheric read-alouds
• Create dramatic faction introduction scenes

With Backgrounds Skill:

• Player characters can have faction backgrounds
• Faction membership as character option
• Built-in plot connections

Resources

References

• references/faction-templates.md: Eight detailed faction archetypes (criminal, religious, noble, revolutionary, merchant, arcane, military, scholarly) with identity, structure, resources, relationships, secrets, and hooks for each type. Includes template combination guidance.

• references/power-and-influence.md: Six mechanical systems for tracking faction power (narrative tiers, resource tracks, domain control, influence web, action economy, hybrid systems). Includes guidance on choosing system based on campaign type and examples of each.

• references/hook-generation.md: Ten hook categories with multiple variations each, scaling guidance by party level, multi-hook campaign structures, and practical GM deployment tips. Includes example hook cascades showing faction interconnection.

Load these references when:

• Creating faction with specific template
• Implementing mechanical system for faction tracking
• Generating diverse, scalable plot hooks
• Building complex multi-faction scenarios
• Need inspiration or structure for faction elements

Setting-Specific Guidance

Velnaris: Emphasize corruption, desire, secrets. Use noir tone, moral complexity, intimate scales even for large factions.

Zarathar: Integrate Forms of Memory, volcanic resources, cultural specificity, colonial tensions.

Generic Fantasy: Flexible alignment, traditional or subversive as desired, scalable to any fantasy setting.

Grimdark: No purely good factions, survival trumps ideals, victory requires compromise.

Heroic: Clear moral lines possible (but internal complexity recommended), honor and ideals matter, hope persists.

Custom: Request setting-specific elements, tone matching, lore integration, consistency with established facts.