I thought about it some more this weekend, and I'm not happy with the "bankers" concept. As I wrote them up in the last post, there was the strong implication that there was some place where insane wizards didn't rule the land. I don't like that. Denethix should be a bright light in a wilderness dominated by malformed wizards - if there are kingdoms not dominated by the wizards, then that is diminished. So the bankers don't have to go, but their scope has to be seriously reduced. They'll be a local influence, their giant fighting robots will be re-purposed wizard weapons, and they will function as a counter to the Tax Collectors. The tensions between the corrupt Tax Collectors and a Bank holding big piles of cash should be obvious. The Bankers primary motivation would still be the stability of the city.
It was also pretty late at night when I wrote that last post, so I didn't give any thought to naming the factions. They're pretty bland right now, so I'm going to gussy them up a bit.
Koyl Yrenum - the Vizier
Marcus Tyro - Captain of the Unyielding Fist
The Unyielding Fist - the Wizard's Guard.
Exalted and Chosen Brethren - the City Council
Council of Proper Apportionment - the Tax Collectors
Commonweal Secure Holdings - the Bankers
Society of the Luminous Spark - the Abolitionists
And another faction, one sure to enrage my players:
Blessed Expeditionary Company - an adventurer's guild that will form up once loot starts flowing out of the megadungeon. The company will bribe certain powerful Brethren to gain a charter, giving them a monopoly on exploring the megadungeon. They will confiscate an enormous percentage of valuables from sanctioned expeditions, and will have permission to violently deal with "illegal" expeditions. There will be tension between the BEC and the Council of Proper Apportionment, as the BEC both reduces their influence, and doesn't pay their fair share of taxes.
Any money my players have to pay off in bribes or taxes won't be counting towards experience, so they'll have some incentive to undermine both the BEC and the CPA.
This looks promising--especially the Blessed Expeditionary Company. We've run similar factions/set-ups in the past with great success. Players might groan at first, but then they either figure out how to beat the Company's agents, or become agents themselves...both ways lead to some really fun adventures inside and out of the local megadungeon.
ReplyDeleteSancioned delvers is a fun way to bring the politics right into the heart of things, and it allows for some real swashbuckling, claim jumping, opportunities for bribery...it's just a lot of fun.