Urist Mcmage
2015-10-25, 08:02 PM
So I designed a bunch of factions and groups for my campaign setting, and I would like some feedback on them as well as suggestions for new factions.
The Shadow Cabal
The Shadow Cabal is an organization of magic users, psions, assassins and thieves that operate from the shadows, manipulating events from afar, and hoarding secrets and information. Many wars have been started or finished by their covert operatives, and they are always watching, gathering information on their targets, always to fulfill their own inscrutable motives. Unlike other such organizations, they almost never take jobs from others, and when they do, the price is staggering. The Shadow Cabal is ruled by a council of shadowy figures who’s names are never revealed. The organization is divided into multiple cells, each specialized in a specific aspect of espionage, manipulation or assassination. Each cell is comprised of ten to a hundred individuals, not counting thralls, pawns and cannon-fodder. The goals of the Shadow Cabal are inscrutable and mysterious. What is known is that any time talk of peace between the various warring kingdoms is proposed, those suggesting it invariably meet a mysterious end. The Shadow Cabal worships an obscure pantheon of gods known as the Severak-nul, which is Askadarian for Gloaming Host. The Gloaming Host’s tenets emphasize the importance of secrets and teaches that to kill without being detected is the ultimate form of worship. In addition, some sort of moral code seems to guide the process by which the cabal leaders choose their targets, although few outside the inner circle are able to figure out its parameters. The Shadow Cabal was originally a spy network set up by the now deceased Askadarian arch-mage Talnûr.
Order of Askadar
The Order of Askadar is an order of mages that rules the lands of Askadar. They are famed for their warmages, evokers, and kineticists, who rain death upon their enemies, but are also known for the fierce discipline and skill of their foot soldiers, the most famous of which are the Fireblades, an elite group of soldiers skilled in both blade and spell. The organization is ruled by a triumvirate of arch-mages who each rule one aspect of the Order’s military might. The military of the Order is divided into cadres of a hundred men and women, which contains at least twenty-five magic users of various types backed up by at most seventy-five elite shock-troops. The balance of power between the three arch-mages is tenuous at best, and is kept in check mostly due to the fact that any magical combat between any of the arch-mages would devastate the lands of Askadar for miles around, and would also leave it easy pickings for Askadar’s enemies. The three arch-mages are Savok the Burning One, a warmage and pyromancer of phenomenal power, Nashul, a sorceress who wields the power of lightning and wind against the enemies of Askadar and Ermorak, a powerful half-fiend evoker. There was once a fourth arch-mage, a mysterious wizard named Talnûr, who was betrayed by the other three arch-mages and slain, although not before he founded the organization of spies and assassins that would go on to become the Shadow Cabal.
The Dead City of Kalshas
Ruled by the Cult of the Ancient Dead, Kalshas is a theocracy of dread necromancers, evil clerics and intelligent undead. They rule the lands north of Askadar and are constantly at war with both the warmages of Askadar and the knightly orders and inquisitions of Sereth. They are masters of undead legions, summoned fiends and unholy amalgamations of flesh and bone. They are ruled by a demilich, a former high priest named Akarath the Dark. The living citizens of this land view Undeath as a blessing to be sought after at all cost. Because of the ravenous hunger for blood, souls or flesh that grips much of the upper and middle classes of Kalshas, as well as the need for flesh and bones to fuel their military machine, there is a tithe in place where a certain number of people, chosen by lot each year, are sacrificed to feed the undead nobility and the necromancers of the military. Most of the labor in this land is performed by the mindless animated dead, who are the lowest on the social ladder, and this gives the living citizens time to perfect the necromantic arts. Those who become intelligent undead gain phenomenal power, immortality, and the promise of immunity from the tithes for their loved ones. The process of becoming undead is different for each person, but in some cases the process goes wrong, and the result is a ghoul, a cannibalistic undead abomination driven by ravenous hunger. Within their dark cities, the Kalshan organization known as the Gravekeepers hunt down and kill any ghoul that makes its presence known, while the Kalshan military makes use of captured ghouls as weapons of terror, unleashing them on enemy civilians to spread fear and panic.
The Empire of Erin-Dûn
The Empire of Erin-Dûn is an empire of dwarven smiths, human artificers and the occasional sentient constructs. Located high in the mountains in great forge-citadels, they are constantly fighting a defensive war against the green skin hordes to the south of their mountains and against the horrors of the caverns below. The citadel-forges of the empire are guarded by legions of golems, hordes of deadly constructs and gauntlets of traps, as well as rank upon rank of heavily armored dwarven warriors
The Flesh-Shapers of Aresh
Ruled by a twisted surgeon and wizard named Shinor the Twisted, the flesh-shapers of Aresh are an infamous group of surgeons, flesh-grafters, and alchemists who seek to perfect their experiments on the human form. Many of the monsters of the world have their origins in the laboratories of these depraved individuals. The flesh-shapers are often paranoid by necessity, since their organization is one of the most hunted organizations in the land. Most flesh-shapers are also egotistical narcissists to whom no boundaries are sacred in their quest to further their knowledge of flesh. The Flesh-Shapers of Aresh are loathed by all but the most vile individuals, and even a rumor of their presence on the mainland is enough for all nearby faction to put aside their differences and hunt the flesh-shapers down. Their strongholds in the jungles of the Areshi islands are defended by hordes of cloned warriors, twisted experiments and flesh-warped abominations. Responsible for both the creation and dispersion of the Bloodfire Plague in Sereth which killed 30,000 people before a cure was found, the Sarkovian Death-Camps in Felnar, in which nearly a million people were killed or experimented on, and many other atrocities, even the Dead City of Kalshas views them as reprehensible. Although they present a unified front to outsiders, internecine squabbles between flesh-shapers are very common, with individual flesh-shapers often attempting to eliminate their rivals with specially blended poisons, pathogens, and monstrous horrors. For those both desperate or uncaring enough to deal with them and willing to stomach their vile methods, the Flesh-Shapers of Aresh are the best in the land at curing illnesses both mundane and magical, although anyone who deals with them must be careful, as they refuse to be paid in gold or treasure, instead demanding living specimens, tissue samples, rare alchemical ingredients and other such unsavory things.
Holy Kingdom of Sereth
The Holy Kingdom of Sereth is a small but powerful nation that borders the Dead City of Kalshas. Though once ruled by a king, the lands of Sereth have been ruler less, for the last two decades. Their previous king, Agorost the Just, disappeared into the west on a quest whose goal only he knew, leaving behind no heirs to the throne, only a cryptic note saying that “ When ancient doom stalks the land, when the dead wake for the final stand, I shall return with blade in hand.” Some say that he is seeking the lost blade of Fardel the Conqueror, the first king of Sereth, which was lost when the first capital of Sereth was sacked by marauding dragons nearly three centuries ago. In the king’s absence, a council of inquisitors have taken power, and their secret police abduct and kill anyone who voices dissent. The people of Sereth worship a god known as the Shining Child, who is usually depicted as a golden skinned child, outlined by radiant light. While the council of inquisitors controls most of Sereth, the different knightly orders of Sereth are beyond their jurisdiction. These orders follow their own codes of honor, loyalty and faith that ties them to the kingdom, but with the departure of the king and the rise to power of the council of the inquisition, they have often clashed with the new order, though they would never openly rebel. The knightly orders of Sereth often embark on dangerous quests to prove their worth. Currently the Kingdom of Sereth is engaged in a war with the Dead City of Kalshas, who are their mortal enemies, and the council of inquisitors has grown more paranoid, suspecting everyone to be undead spies or sympathizers.
The Great Horde of Kalat-dul
• • Live in frozen steppes in the far north.
• Ride giant sabre-tooth cats, mammoths, polar bears and wooly rhinos
• Master of mobile warfare, the only reason that they have not conquered the known world are that they have no interest in creating an empire
• Are nomadic
• Often raid other nations.
• Have minor cat features, such as cat's eyes, unusually sharp canines or nails, manes of hair etc.
• Worship wind and storm spirits, magic users often conjure blizzards or thunderstorms to bog down the enemy.
• Warrior lodges of sacred berserkers who in battle fly into a bloodthirsty rage that makes them practically unkillable and who take on the features of big cats.
• After a battle the shamans of the tribe search the battlefield for wounded enemies who fought particularly well. They ritually sacrifice these warriors and eat their hearts so that they can gain their power.
• Mongol and Viking themes, with a bit of Aztec and Neanderthal thrown in for good measure
• Have sacred caves where they burn their dead. These caves are decorated with cave paintings of the hunt, so that the dead can still hunt in the next life. These caves are the only permanent shelters that the tribes build.
The Shadow Cabal
The Shadow Cabal is an organization of magic users, psions, assassins and thieves that operate from the shadows, manipulating events from afar, and hoarding secrets and information. Many wars have been started or finished by their covert operatives, and they are always watching, gathering information on their targets, always to fulfill their own inscrutable motives. Unlike other such organizations, they almost never take jobs from others, and when they do, the price is staggering. The Shadow Cabal is ruled by a council of shadowy figures who’s names are never revealed. The organization is divided into multiple cells, each specialized in a specific aspect of espionage, manipulation or assassination. Each cell is comprised of ten to a hundred individuals, not counting thralls, pawns and cannon-fodder. The goals of the Shadow Cabal are inscrutable and mysterious. What is known is that any time talk of peace between the various warring kingdoms is proposed, those suggesting it invariably meet a mysterious end. The Shadow Cabal worships an obscure pantheon of gods known as the Severak-nul, which is Askadarian for Gloaming Host. The Gloaming Host’s tenets emphasize the importance of secrets and teaches that to kill without being detected is the ultimate form of worship. In addition, some sort of moral code seems to guide the process by which the cabal leaders choose their targets, although few outside the inner circle are able to figure out its parameters. The Shadow Cabal was originally a spy network set up by the now deceased Askadarian arch-mage Talnûr.
Order of Askadar
The Order of Askadar is an order of mages that rules the lands of Askadar. They are famed for their warmages, evokers, and kineticists, who rain death upon their enemies, but are also known for the fierce discipline and skill of their foot soldiers, the most famous of which are the Fireblades, an elite group of soldiers skilled in both blade and spell. The organization is ruled by a triumvirate of arch-mages who each rule one aspect of the Order’s military might. The military of the Order is divided into cadres of a hundred men and women, which contains at least twenty-five magic users of various types backed up by at most seventy-five elite shock-troops. The balance of power between the three arch-mages is tenuous at best, and is kept in check mostly due to the fact that any magical combat between any of the arch-mages would devastate the lands of Askadar for miles around, and would also leave it easy pickings for Askadar’s enemies. The three arch-mages are Savok the Burning One, a warmage and pyromancer of phenomenal power, Nashul, a sorceress who wields the power of lightning and wind against the enemies of Askadar and Ermorak, a powerful half-fiend evoker. There was once a fourth arch-mage, a mysterious wizard named Talnûr, who was betrayed by the other three arch-mages and slain, although not before he founded the organization of spies and assassins that would go on to become the Shadow Cabal.
The Dead City of Kalshas
Ruled by the Cult of the Ancient Dead, Kalshas is a theocracy of dread necromancers, evil clerics and intelligent undead. They rule the lands north of Askadar and are constantly at war with both the warmages of Askadar and the knightly orders and inquisitions of Sereth. They are masters of undead legions, summoned fiends and unholy amalgamations of flesh and bone. They are ruled by a demilich, a former high priest named Akarath the Dark. The living citizens of this land view Undeath as a blessing to be sought after at all cost. Because of the ravenous hunger for blood, souls or flesh that grips much of the upper and middle classes of Kalshas, as well as the need for flesh and bones to fuel their military machine, there is a tithe in place where a certain number of people, chosen by lot each year, are sacrificed to feed the undead nobility and the necromancers of the military. Most of the labor in this land is performed by the mindless animated dead, who are the lowest on the social ladder, and this gives the living citizens time to perfect the necromantic arts. Those who become intelligent undead gain phenomenal power, immortality, and the promise of immunity from the tithes for their loved ones. The process of becoming undead is different for each person, but in some cases the process goes wrong, and the result is a ghoul, a cannibalistic undead abomination driven by ravenous hunger. Within their dark cities, the Kalshan organization known as the Gravekeepers hunt down and kill any ghoul that makes its presence known, while the Kalshan military makes use of captured ghouls as weapons of terror, unleashing them on enemy civilians to spread fear and panic.
The Empire of Erin-Dûn
The Empire of Erin-Dûn is an empire of dwarven smiths, human artificers and the occasional sentient constructs. Located high in the mountains in great forge-citadels, they are constantly fighting a defensive war against the green skin hordes to the south of their mountains and against the horrors of the caverns below. The citadel-forges of the empire are guarded by legions of golems, hordes of deadly constructs and gauntlets of traps, as well as rank upon rank of heavily armored dwarven warriors
The Flesh-Shapers of Aresh
Ruled by a twisted surgeon and wizard named Shinor the Twisted, the flesh-shapers of Aresh are an infamous group of surgeons, flesh-grafters, and alchemists who seek to perfect their experiments on the human form. Many of the monsters of the world have their origins in the laboratories of these depraved individuals. The flesh-shapers are often paranoid by necessity, since their organization is one of the most hunted organizations in the land. Most flesh-shapers are also egotistical narcissists to whom no boundaries are sacred in their quest to further their knowledge of flesh. The Flesh-Shapers of Aresh are loathed by all but the most vile individuals, and even a rumor of their presence on the mainland is enough for all nearby faction to put aside their differences and hunt the flesh-shapers down. Their strongholds in the jungles of the Areshi islands are defended by hordes of cloned warriors, twisted experiments and flesh-warped abominations. Responsible for both the creation and dispersion of the Bloodfire Plague in Sereth which killed 30,000 people before a cure was found, the Sarkovian Death-Camps in Felnar, in which nearly a million people were killed or experimented on, and many other atrocities, even the Dead City of Kalshas views them as reprehensible. Although they present a unified front to outsiders, internecine squabbles between flesh-shapers are very common, with individual flesh-shapers often attempting to eliminate their rivals with specially blended poisons, pathogens, and monstrous horrors. For those both desperate or uncaring enough to deal with them and willing to stomach their vile methods, the Flesh-Shapers of Aresh are the best in the land at curing illnesses both mundane and magical, although anyone who deals with them must be careful, as they refuse to be paid in gold or treasure, instead demanding living specimens, tissue samples, rare alchemical ingredients and other such unsavory things.
Holy Kingdom of Sereth
The Holy Kingdom of Sereth is a small but powerful nation that borders the Dead City of Kalshas. Though once ruled by a king, the lands of Sereth have been ruler less, for the last two decades. Their previous king, Agorost the Just, disappeared into the west on a quest whose goal only he knew, leaving behind no heirs to the throne, only a cryptic note saying that “ When ancient doom stalks the land, when the dead wake for the final stand, I shall return with blade in hand.” Some say that he is seeking the lost blade of Fardel the Conqueror, the first king of Sereth, which was lost when the first capital of Sereth was sacked by marauding dragons nearly three centuries ago. In the king’s absence, a council of inquisitors have taken power, and their secret police abduct and kill anyone who voices dissent. The people of Sereth worship a god known as the Shining Child, who is usually depicted as a golden skinned child, outlined by radiant light. While the council of inquisitors controls most of Sereth, the different knightly orders of Sereth are beyond their jurisdiction. These orders follow their own codes of honor, loyalty and faith that ties them to the kingdom, but with the departure of the king and the rise to power of the council of the inquisition, they have often clashed with the new order, though they would never openly rebel. The knightly orders of Sereth often embark on dangerous quests to prove their worth. Currently the Kingdom of Sereth is engaged in a war with the Dead City of Kalshas, who are their mortal enemies, and the council of inquisitors has grown more paranoid, suspecting everyone to be undead spies or sympathizers.
The Great Horde of Kalat-dul
• • Live in frozen steppes in the far north.
• Ride giant sabre-tooth cats, mammoths, polar bears and wooly rhinos
• Master of mobile warfare, the only reason that they have not conquered the known world are that they have no interest in creating an empire
• Are nomadic
• Often raid other nations.
• Have minor cat features, such as cat's eyes, unusually sharp canines or nails, manes of hair etc.
• Worship wind and storm spirits, magic users often conjure blizzards or thunderstorms to bog down the enemy.
• Warrior lodges of sacred berserkers who in battle fly into a bloodthirsty rage that makes them practically unkillable and who take on the features of big cats.
• After a battle the shamans of the tribe search the battlefield for wounded enemies who fought particularly well. They ritually sacrifice these warriors and eat their hearts so that they can gain their power.
• Mongol and Viking themes, with a bit of Aztec and Neanderthal thrown in for good measure
• Have sacred caves where they burn their dead. These caves are decorated with cave paintings of the hunt, so that the dead can still hunt in the next life. These caves are the only permanent shelters that the tribes build.