Faction decision

[ZorroGames]

Trying to decide about faction for a character:

Mountain Dwarf from a tight knit urban city that has an attitude that the worse sin is lying. Very Lawful, moderately Good, merciful for first time bad behavior. The law/authority is openly active preferring to prevent evil and social chaos but moving quickly to shut down crime. Now this character is taking off for adventure to mature/season himself as an adult citizen.

To avoid wall of words I will mention each faction separately.

[ZorroGames]

The Harpers is an old organization that has risen, been shattered, and risen again several times. Its longevity and resilience are largely due to its decentralized, grassroots, secretive nature, and the near-autonomy of many of its members. The Harpers have “cells” and lone operatives throughout Faerûn, although they interact and share information with one another from time to time as needs warrant. The Harpers' ideology is noble, and its members pride themselves on their integrity and incorruptibility. Harpers do not seek power or glory, only fair and equal treatment for all.

Harper agents are trained to act alone and depend on their own resources. When they get into scrapes, they don’t count on their fellow Harpers to rescue them. Nevertheless, Harpers are dedicated to helping one another in times of need, and friendships between Harpers are nigh unbreakable. Masterful spies and infiltrators, they use various guises and secret identities to form relationships, cultivate their information networks, and manipulate others into doing what needs to be done. Although most Harpers prefer to operate in the shadows, there are exceptions.

BELIEFS

One can never have too much information.
Too much power leads to corruption.
No one should be powerless.
GOALS

To gather information throughout Faerûn, discern the political dynamics within each region or realm, and promote fairness and equality by covert means. Act openly as a last resort. Thwart tyrants and any leader, government, or group that grows too powerful, and aid the weak, the poor, and the oppressed.

This seemed too indirect. His culture saw "Reconnaissance - Good, Espionage - Bad. The presence of an active threat would result in confrontation from his city.

[ZorroGames]

The Zhentarim seeks to become omnipresent and inescapable, more wealthy and powerful, and most importantly, untouchable. The public face of the organization appears much more benign, offering the best mercenaries money can buy. When a merchant needs an escort for his caravan, when a noble needs bodyguards to protect her holdings, or when a city needs trained soldiers to defend its honor, the Zhentarim provides the best-trained fighting men and women money can buy. However, the cost of doing business with the Black Network can be high.

The Black Network wants to make it necessary—and preferable, even—to deal with its members. It wants to secure, over time, an iron-fisted monopoly. Members must be the best—the cheapest, the fastest, and the most secure—at providing services and goods both legal and illicit, willing to lose coin if it means destroying a competitor, and securing profits from everyone they deal with, except when to do so would work against the Black Network's ultimate goal: to make everyone dependent on it.

A member of the Zhentarim thinks of himself or herself as a member of a very large family and relies on the Black Network for resources and security. However, members are granted enough autonomy to pursue their own interests and gain some measure of personal power or influence.

BELIEFS

The Zhentarim is your family. You watch out for it, and it watches out for you.
You are the master of your own destiny. Never be less than what you deserve to be.
Everything—and everyone—has a price.
GOALS

To amass wealth, power, and influence.

This seemed a bit Evil - wealth is good but wealth for individual power over others seemed a bit more chaotic than he would be taught to be bedrock behavior. Power over others eventually leads to bypassing the structured order where all benefit.

[ZorroGames]

The Lords’ Alliance is a coalition of rulers from cities and towns across Faerûn (primarily in the North), who collectively agree that some solidarity is needed to keep evil at bay. The rulers of Waterdeep, Silverymoon, Neverwinter, and other free cities in the region dominate the Alliance, and every lord in the Alliance works for the fate and fortune of his or her own settlement above all others. The agents of the Alliance include sophisticated bards, zealous paladins, talented mages, and grizzled warriors. They are chosen primarily for their loyalty, and are trained in observation, stealth, innuendo, and combat. Backed by the wealthy and the privileged, they carry quality equipment (often disguised to appear common), and spellcasters tend to have a large number of scrolls with communication spells.

To seek out and destroy threats to their homelands, agents of the Lords’ Alliance must be highly trained at what they do. Few can compare to their skills in the field. They fight for the glory and the security of their people and for the lords who rule over them, and they do so with pride. However, the Lords’ Alliance can only survive if its members “play nice” with one another, which requires a certain measure of diplomacy. Rogue agents within the Lords’ Alliance are rare, but defections have been known to occur.

BELIEFS

If civilization is to survive, all must unite against the dark forces that threaten it.
Glory comes from protecting one’s home and honoring its leaders.
The best defense is a strong offense.
GOALS

To ensure the safety and prosperity of the cities and other settlements of Faerûn by forming a strong coalition against the forces that threaten all, eliminate such threats by any means necessary whenever and wherever they arise, and be champions of the people.

This superficially looks good but if you look at the current FR setting like AL does then many Dwarf entities have lost trust in how bilaterally such "champions of the people" acted in the recent past. I wonder how much inherent trust a Dwarf would have initially.

[ZorroGames]

The Emerald Enclave is a far-ranging group that opposes threats to the natural world and helps others survive the many perils of the wild. A ranger might be hired to lead a caravan through a treacherous mountain pass or the frozen tundra of Icewind Dale. A druid might volunteer to help a small village prepare for a long, brutal winter. Barbarians and witches who live like hermits most of the year might defend a town against marauding orcs or barbarians. Members of the Emerald Enclave know how to survive, and more importantly, they want to help others do the same. They are not opposed to civilization or progress, but they strive to prevent civilization and the wilderness from destroying one another.

Members of the Emerald Enclave are spread far and wide, and usually operate in isolation. They learn to depend on themselves more than others. Survival in a harsh world also demands great fortitude and mastery of certain fighting and survival skills. Members of the Enclave who dedicate themselves to helping others survive the perils of the wilderness are more social than others who are charged with defending sacred glades and preserving the natural balance.

BELIEFS

The natural order must be respected and preserved.
Forces that seek to upset the natural balance must be destroyed.
The wilderness can be harsh. Not everyone can survive in it without assistance.
GOALS

To restore and preserve the natural order, keep the elemental forces of the world in check, keep civilization and the wilderness from destroying one another, and help others survive the perils of the wilderness.

Initially this one seemed least likely since the image of Dwarf culture in 5e seems very urban over rural oriented. Yet, while many Dwarfs would take umbrage as comparisons to tree hugging elves, keeping a balance (balanced from a Dwarf view) between city and "Wild" is a good thing.

[OracularPoet]

You forgot the Order of the Gauntlet. (I don't have enough posts yet to embed link.)

[ZorroGames]

Finish later, my brother just called to say his wife finally succumbed to cancer. Been on the phone for over an hour according to my phone timer.

[Ventruenox]

My sympathies to your family. Grief takes a heavy toll.

[ZorroGames]

Back briefly.

All my (few) current other characters are in this faction.


Many paladins and clerics of Tyr, Helm, Torm, and Hoar have joined the organization, seeing it as—finally!—a way of making common cause against the evils abroad in the world. The Order of the Gauntlet is ready to lash out the moment evil acts, and not a moment before. When evil breaks laws, agreements, or commonly accepted codes of conduct, the Gauntlet strikes hard and fast, without waiting for the blessings of distant temples or the permission of rulers. Evil must be met in the field and smashed, or it will swiftly overcome all.

The Order of the Gauntlet is a dedicated, tightly knit group of like-minded individuals driven by religious zeal or a finely honed sense of justice. Friendship and camaraderie are important to members of the Order of the Gauntlet, and they share a trust and a bond normally reserved for siblings. Like highly motivated soldiers, members of the Order of the Gauntlet seek to become the best at what they do and look forward to testing their mettle. There are few, if any, “lone wolves” in this organization.

BELIEFS

Faith is the greatest weapon against evil—faith in one’s god, one’s friends, and one’s self.
Battling evil is an extraordinary task that requires extraordinary strength and bravery.
Punishing an evil act is just. Punishing an evil thought is not.
GOALS

To be armed, vigilant, and ready to smite evil, enforce justice, and enact retribution. This means identifying evil threats such as secretive power groups and inherently evil creatures, watching over them, and being ready to attack the moment they misbehave. (These are always retributive strikes, never preemptive.)

I was thinking this was a "definite default" for this character but I was wondering how much my selection of faction for my characters are a product of my pre-retirement years - in the military, then nursing, then back to federal service in DOD as a Cartographer then IC (Intelligence Community.) would a wandering underground urban dwarf find his/her experiencies enough to lead him to choose another faction? What kind if backstory events would cause his L/N upbringing to slip into one of the not so obvious choices?

Harpers, Zentarim, Gauntlet, Lords Alliance all are more common then Emerald Enclave in AL locally yet it is the ER than seems to be drawing my thoughts

[Herobizkit]

IMO, Lord's Alliance would be the best fit if you take the attitude of "it takes a Dwarf to raise a village". Humans tend to be flighty and reactionary and never seem to agree on one stance for very long. Your Dwarven wisdom would come in handy and you'd likely rise in power quite quickly there.

[ZorroGames]

My sympathies to your family. Grief takes a heavy toll.

Thank you for you words of sympathy. Appreciated.

[ZorroGames]

IMO, Lord's Alliance would be the best fit if you take the attitude of "it takes a Dwarf to raise a village". Humans tend to be flighty and reactionary and never seem to agree on one stance for very long. Your Dwarven wisdom would come in handy and you'd likely rise in power quite quickly there.

Gave me a pleasant smile just now, thanks!

:smallsmile:

[ZorroGames]

Just for closure of the thread, I am going with Emerald Enclave because it seems the one least likely to try and impose itself on his city/culture though there are lots of reasons for Lord's Alliance and much comfortable security in Gauntlet.

Thanks.