Factions In The World of Adel I

Though there are always some true lone guns out in the world, most adventurers in Adel are aligned to one of several groups that provide a variety of services to adventurers. For some people, it might be an alliance of convenience, such as the mercenaries in the hire of the Archeological Society. For others it is their livelihood, such as the soldiers of the national military, or the cartographers of the Looking Glass guild. For others it is their life’s calling, such as the female Paladins of the Seraphim Order. Adventuring groups might encompass members of several factions, and some factions require more loyalty and exclusivity than others – but the overall point is that most people in Adel pledge allegiance to some power greater than themselves.

In this series of articles we’ll look at some of the factions in Adel, including a quick look at the organization and modus operandi of each, and a brief explanation of their interplay with other organizations and their overall goal. For the first article, we’ll look at some of the benefits involved with joining an organization, and why lone wolves are uncommon.

Information

The World of Adel is vast, and though its civilizations have advanced, still very mysterious. There are vast holes still in its cartography; its encyclopedias are still vastly incomplete; billions of pages worth of its lore, both ancient and new, comprising folk tales, legends, spirit myths and divine liturgy, truth and fiction, requires a discerning eye to interpret. What the Adelians know about their world comprises only the base of a vast monument that future generations must continue to build. Knowledge is power and confirmed facts are more valuable than gold. A lone wanderer or even a group of unaffiliated mercenaries are unlikely to even know where to begin to look for a task worth their labor. The face of Adel is vast and each region plays host to many secrets. The information networks, research libraries, and even just the access to more sets of friendly feet, that have traveled the region before, are all important reasons adventurers join a faction, and also all things a faction will dangle in front of potential recruits.

Of course, a faction’s information is never perfect – but it is more than a solo act will have access to.

Equipment

Often, the monetary situation for a faction can be somewhat dire. The running jokes about the budget of the Archeological Society are not merely jokes – as a whole the organization can at times be a money pit. That being said, equipment is less a problem for an organization than for a single individual in Adel. It would be hard for the average person to afford a good sword, a suit of armor and anything larger than a handgun. All Adelian factions, however minor, or however inoffensive their trade, tend to have some form of armory, even if it only consists of two old crossbows and a mace.

If not, they will at least have the funds to give adventurers a basic compliment of materials to begin the task. Often, adventurers must forage through the local urban flora to be truly ready for an expedition, but a faction can at least give them enough to get started on doing so. This is more than one would have by oneself.

Training

Adel plays host to a vast collection of styles and skills, of specializations and professions. Many of these are often out of reach to the average Adelian, no matter how prodigal, due to their complexity, the need for a license, or the need for equipment. A young, bright-eyed cartographer will likely get nowhere on his or her own, because all the teachers are part of the Looking Glass guild. A teenager looking to protect his or her village can’t simply find a firearm and shoot stumps all day, and expect to become an expert – he or she has a much better chance instead of joining the military during their bi-annual recruitment expeditions to the various villages. Though there are always exceptions, often people will find they can’t reach their full potential without the training available to faction members. Often, when a faction member teaches another outside the faction’s purview or without permission, he or she also recruits them, in order to increase his or her own prestige and value to the faction in question. One way or another, it is likely that an intrepid Adelian will find him or her self aligned someday.

Motivation

One is not born with an inherent calling, not even those who most believe in destiny. A person’s predilections as he or she grows will naturally sway one way, or another, even many ways. But it is a rare person who grows  knowing exactly what he or she wants to accomplish, and how to do so. For those who seek a rewarding and challenging livelihood, factions provide an open door. The organizations in Adel give people something to strive for, a path to follow. They have lore and fame surrounding them that attracts the developing mind. They have clear and established goals and work towards them. They have key figures that the young will idolize, and whose mantle they will carry once these heroes have passed. There are families who have been in the military for seven generations – and then the eighth finds the lure of the arcane instead.

Not only do factions provide goals, they also provide their own social ladder to someone who has never had one. Adelians are social creatures, even the most brooding and mysterious of them. Factions provide bonds, reputation, fame. One can discover brothers and sisters, guardians, even lovers within the halls of a guild or society. For people who may come from very limited social circles, a faction provides a sudden influx of people to impress, to fight for, to love.

Culture

Adel has a true culture of adventuring, with stories being traded, stars rising (and falling), fortunes being made (and lost), and rivalries constantly built (and toppled). Though it remains a subculture, and sometimes an obscure one, there are enough stories and they spread around fast enough that numerous impressionable people get the sense that they can join in. And they can – if they get in with the proper crowd. The mystique of adventuring is alluring. Adel’s adventuring culture is truly a culture, with its own symbols, its own history and some would even say its own language. This is something that people can do, even if fewer succeed than fail. Living to tell the story is its own reward – having a story to tell the greatest of all.

Sometimes the greatest explorers, the bravest soldiers, the most expert wizards, and the most devout of oblates may have joined  simply because of the allure of the profession, the idea of being part of something larger.

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Ultimately it is up to the individual to play with the setting as he or she pleases. Fantasy games tend to thrive on the idea of the lone wanderers, the only hope for the world, who are above submitting to authority and are starkly independent of society. Rugged individualism tends to be the norm, and having a “job” or a “boss” is seen as antithetical. Having a character as part of a faction needn’t be the exact opposite of all those factors, even if it is often mischaracterized as such.

When I think about the World of Adel I don’t simply think of a vast empty wilderness to explore. I think of people and organizations and how and why they explore it. I try to think beyond just the player characters. Some people might find it uncomfortable to have their character reporting to a higher authority, but the dependence goes both ways – the higher authority also needs you back. It might need you personally more than it needs any of the others, but both you, the authority and those others are all part of something. That is one of the things I like to explore about settings.

If you don’t like it, ignore these articles. Your adventurers can scrounge up equipment, find information and set out on Adelian adventures all by themselves, no problem. But perhaps give future articles a look, and see if you don’t find the organizations we will soon discuss interesting and entertaining, and want to be a part of their interplay.