Faction Procedures

Below is a HEAVILY plagiarized adaptation of a procedure from the blog of Newt Young. Hats off to Newt for doing an incredible job with the procedure, making the process of adaptation pretty simple for me. I encourage everyone to read that post first, as their introduction will not be repeated in my post. In their version, they deal with Figures, but I felt that the entire framework makes an equal amount of sense when applied to Factions, which are the major political forces in the game I'm currently running. My version reflects that perspective rather than one regarding individuals, but you can easily replace every instance of the word Faction in this piece with Figure and it will function identically. 

The majority of the changes I made were with regard to the numbers; I didn't like how granular the original version was with its math. The numbers have been scaled down and much randomness has been removed in favor of more consistent, incremental value changes. I have also removed a few sections which I didn't feel were as strongly defined or as useful for my game.

These procedures and the ones outlined in Newt's post are compatible with any game system in which you feel the need for procedures to simulate politics.

Information

Before play, note down each secret as a distinct piece of Information. Assign all Information a score – the higher the score, the less people know about it.


This score is malleable, and will change throughout the game. You can use the table below as a guide: 


Score Knowledge

1-2         Public knowledge.

3-4         Common gossip.

5-6         Open secrets.

7-8         Court whispers.

9-10         Secrets spoken only in confidence.

11+         Buried secrets.

Factions

A Faction is an institution or collective force of political power. Before play, detail each Faction with objectives, secrets, desires, a reputation, a history, etc. These will drive their decision-making moving forward.


Usually, a Faction is a collection of people, but in rare cases it may be an individual.

Status

A Faction’s status describes the authority they wield: Minor, Major, or Supreme. Create a handful of Major Factions who wield greater authority than the more numerous Minor Factions.


If the system of government allows, create one Supreme Faction who wields ultimate authority.


Status may change as the fiction demands.

Attributes

Each Faction has three attributes: Knowledge, Riches, and Influence. 


If Factions are being randomly generated, Minor Factions roll 2d4 to determine their attribute scores, Major factions roll 1d4+1d6, and Supreme Factions roll 2d6. 


Alternatively, select scores on a scale of 1-12, with 1 being the lowest.


No attribute score may be higher than 12 or lower than 1.


You can estimate a Faction’s political power by adding their attributes together and comparing them with others’.


Knowledge

The Knowledge attribute reflects a Faction’s awareness of hidden information.


Each week, a Faction may freely learn one piece of Information with a score equal to or under their Knowledge score. They may instead learn two pieces of Information if both have a score equal to less than half their Knowledge score.


Riches

The Riches attribute reflects a Faction’s weekly disposable resources.


A Faction may spend an amount of Riches equal to their attribute score per week. If they spend no Riches in a week, they add +1 to their Riches score permanently. Riches may be loaned between Factions, if desired.


Sway

The Sway attribute reflects the percentage of the population that are loyal to the Faction or their ideas.


Once per week, a Faction may freely attempt to control the public's opinion on a matter by rolling 2d20 on or under their Sway score, modifying the roll by up to ±5 at the Referee’s discretion. If multiple Factions are coordinating, they may combine their Sway scores together, then roll. If a Faction contests this – and both succeed – the one who rolled higher wins.

Relationships

Before play, note down who each Faction considers an ally, and who they consider an enemy. They may have as many allies as they wish, but may only choose up to three enemies of the same status or higher. The rest are regarded neutrally. Relationships are generally public information – even a false alliance must be upheld for appearances’ sake.

Traits

If Factions are already well defined, select any traits which may apply according to the fiction. If not, randomly determine those factions’ Traits. Each Minor Faction has a 2-in-6 chance of a random special trait, Major and Supreme Factions have a 4-in-6 chance.


  1. Beloved: When attempting to sway public opinion, subtract 30 from the d100 roll.

  2. Despicable: Enemies have no effect on relationship modifiers. Sway cannot be higher than 0. Allies apply a -3 relationship modifier to Sway.

  3. Fearsome: May demand Factions to take actions as though they were one status higher.

  4. Libertine: Must take the Gamble action each week, but may take an additional action. All actions have a 4-in-6 chance of being public information.

  5. Loose-tongued: Each week, add -1 to the score of all known Information.

  6. Observant: May learn an additional piece of Information each week.

  7. Secretive: May take the Obscure action each week, in addition to other actions.

  8. Stalwart: Provides double relationship modifiers to allies. Cannot break an alliance without losing this trait permanently.

  9. Spiteful: No limit to enemies of the same status or higher.

  10. Two-faced: Allies and enemies are kept secret.

  11. Wealthy: May spend up to double their Riches score each week.

  12. Unremarkable: Count as one status less than actual. Begin with no enemies. Cannot make enemies without losing this trait.

Actions

Each week, a Faction may take an action to achieve their objectives. Consult the list below for possible actions, or adjudicate more specific ones as you see fit.


  • Gain Knowledge: Roll a d6. On a 4-5, add 1 to the Knowledge score and subtract 1 from another attribute score. On a 6, add 1 to the Knowledge score.

  • Gain Riches: Roll a d6. On a 4-5, add 1 to the Riches score and subtract 1 from another attribute score. On a 6, add 1 to the Riches score . 

  • Gain Sway: Roll a d6. On a 4-5, add 1 to the Sway score and subtract 1 from another attribute score. On a 6, add 1 to the Sway score.

  • Investigate: Choose a piece of Information to Investigate. Multiple factions may cooperate in a joint Investigation. If the information is being Investigated for the first time by involved factions, give that Investigation a score equal to the highest Knowledge score of all factions involved and note it down. Subsequent investigations increase that score by 1. Once the Investigation score meets or exceeds the Information score, the Faction learns it. For each additional faction Investigating, the Investigation score increases by 1

  • Obscure: Permanently add 1 to any piece of known Information’s score. Multiple factions may cooperate in Obscuring Information. For each additional faction involved, add 1 to that Information’s score

  • Exchange: Subtract up to a total of 2 points from any Attribute scores and gain an equal amount of points in any other single Attribute. (For example, 1 point could be subtracted from Sway and 1 point from Riches to gain 2 Points in Knowledge, or 2 points could be subtracted from Knowledge to gain 2 points in Riches.)


Actions not found on this list may often require Riches to accomplish, or multiple weeks of investment.

Issuing Demands

Major and Supreme Factions may demand lesser Factions take actions on their behalf. 1-in-6 chance this reduces their relationship from ally to neutral, or neutral to enemy. Enemies do not obey demands.


In the face of conflicting demands, Factions generally follow the desires of the one with whom they share a better relationship. In the event that they have the same level of relationship, the one with a higher Sway score will generally be obeyed. 2-in-6 chance this reduces their relationship with the unfulfilled demanding Faction from ally to neutral, or neutral to enemy.


Note that any Information gained as a result of taking actions on another’s behalf becomes known by both parties.

Concluding the Week

After the week ends, log all actions as Information. The Information score generally depends on the Faction’s status. Use the following as a guideline:


Minor Factions: 7-8 points

Major Factions: 5-6 points

Supreme Factions: 3-4 points


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