D&D 5E Need Factions for a Neo-Chainmail Setting

So...I recently stumbled across D&D 3e's Warband tie-in game, Chainmail, and the setting fluff (what little of it there was), combined with my limited knowledge of the videogame "For Honor", inspired me. So, I want to do my own setting in a similar "fantasy world at war" type of world.


Only problem is... I only got a few faction concepts, so I could use a hand in coming up with other neat countries to be at loggerheads with the rest of the world.


Oh, and whilst I'm sticking with Nentir Vale and the World Axis as the foundation, I intend to plunder lore from past editions too, such as the presence of Hutaakans and/or Aranea.


Anyone interested in helping out? These are the factions I have so far.




Survivors of Nerath
Before the Dark Time, the cataclysmic upheaval that had preceded the current Age of War, the human empire of Nerath was known as a bastion of light and justice. A theocracy sworn to Bahamut, Pelor and Erastil, its armies of paladin-knights strove to uphold peace and protect the weak.


When the Dark Time came, they were overwhelmed by malevolent forces. Besieged, they pleaded for help with old allies... but none came. Nerath fell, its churches burned, its people scattered, and the priest-kings slain to the last.


Humanity has never forgotten nor forgiven the treachery of supposed allies. Now, the Nerathians are a culture of mercenaries, working shamelessly alongside any other race that will provide payment.


(I have some vague thoughts that "Fallen Nerath" actually survived due to surprise help from traditional enemies - orcs or goblinoids - who sided with them because they didn't want to see *their* enemies beaten by somebody else, which has actually made them close allies in the present. Not sure if that's an idea worth pursuing, though.)




The Worldweavers
In the bitter north, the land is wild and dangerous. Storms lash the mountain peaks, carved by glaciers and riddled with volcanoes, and churn the frigid seas into froth. In this place, the powers of the elements are manifest, and so the dwarves have sought to prove their dominance through the binding of the forces of the primordial chaos.


Unlike on other worlds, sorcery and spellcraft are the backbone of dwarven culture. When they march to war, beings called myrmidions - elementals reshaped and remolded into killing machines - lead the charge. Some dwarven clans have embraced elementalism to the point of mutating into new forms; fiery Azers, stony Galeb Duhr, and frozen Eisk Jaat.


But most intimidating of all are the great living weapons of the dwarves; elemental fury bound to hulking frames. In this world, Giants and Titans are the slaves of dwarves - for it was the dwarves who created them.




The Darkwood Kingdom
Once, it is said, the elves were a peaceful race, who lived in harmony with nature, for they had been born to tend to it. That was before the Dark Time.


In the Age of War, the elves have become corrupt, arrogant and narcissistic. They see themselves as nature's masters, not its shepherds. Using their former titles as the source of their power, they have enslaved lesser fae and melded them with beasts and plants, creating slave-races with whose blood they will win back the lands of civilization and stretch their shadowed groves from sea to sea.




The Charnel Queendom
From blasted lands they come, legions of walking dead and screaming, sorcery-chained fiends. At their backs stride the true masters of the horde; jackals that walk like men, cold and cruel as the obsidian they wield, flanked by cackling, shrieking, demon-bred gnolls.


Worshippers of Mordiggian and Shub-Niggurath, the (Hutaakan) jackal-folk are an ancient and decadent race, who care for little beyond their studies of dark magic and the freedom to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh. But this Age of War is a temptation to expand and acquire ever greater territories, and how can they resist?


Doom may come from within, however, as their new creations, the gnolls, chafe under the dominance of their masters and yearn to be free.

Well, I don't know much about the actual setting information of Chainmail, but if you wanted me to break down D&D into factions that could war with one another?

First, one faction should be a primarily standard human kingdom. You could have it turn out to be darker if one scratches below the surface, for instance the Halflings might be peasants for the human kingdoms and their crusade against monsters might be a bit more of a self-serving genocidal quest than it initially appears. But, standard knights and priests human sort.

Elves would be the next most obvious faction. You could feel free to mix elements of high elves, wood elves and dark elves together for this. Masters of the woodlands, arrogant and convinced they are the superior race. While they would be rather content to keep to themselves and live their long lives of hedonism, the threats to their lands and resources have become existential-- they must eliminate those threats (and, yes, they includes humans and dwarves). They probably have various fae and animals at their beck and call.

Orcs would be the next obvious faction. In this case they should be invaders from the mountainous lands of the north, bringing with them Ogres and maybe even Hill Giants in toe. A rampaging, marauding force of chaos that creates little and simply seeks to devour the bounty and wealth created by those who live in the far more lush and fertile southern lands.

Dwarves would be next, maybe mix together Mountain, Hill and Duegar. They probably have Gnomes in this faction as well. They would be the primary suppliers of ore and gems to those who live on the surface, however are entirely dependent upon trade with the surface for food. Unfortunately, ever since these conflicts began, their old trade partners have cut them off-- now they find no choice but to invade the surface world lest their people starve to death. They would boast superior technology and enslaved horrors of the depths.

Undead would be another good faction, perhaps gathered under a single powerful Lich or Vampire King. The recent deaths from the current conflicts would lead to large scale death upon the surface and this faction would be raising those dead to serve their own purposes while spreading disease. Their ultimate goal would be to purge the surface world of life.

A Hobgoblin Empire would be another good faction, hailing from the east or the south, they would have the best organized, most discipline warriors with goblin peasants as shock troopers and Bugbears as heavies. They would lack in the technology department, but make up for it in both brutal strength and skillful tactics.

Another faction could be the demons, perhaps the ones initially responsible for all this conflict in the first place. Primarily using Tieflings, Gnolls and other twisted monstrosities as shock troopers, their whole concept in terms of a warband would be summoning in powerful demons mid-battle.

A Draconic empire would be another good thing to have. Serving the will of dragon lords, they would primarily field Dragon Born, Lizardfolk, Troglodytes and Kobolds as their troopers. Their goal would be to simply squash these upstart warm-blooded peoples and return to them to being chattel for the glory of their draconic overlords.

Outsiders, primarily characterized by Gith and Slaad along with other bizare aberrations. Conceptually, these invaders of the realm would be looking to escape some great catastrophe from their plain and have little care about the denizens of this realm.


Of course, with a better grasp of the setting, I am sure these rough ideas could be turned into something far superior. But basically I would break down the typical denizens of the D&D worlds in that way.

A truly ancient (but thinly-populated) Elven Empire that endured a Human volkerwanderung which populated some border provinces. The human-occupied provinces are semi-independent, based on how strong the Elven Emperor is.
Multiple-direction intrigue between Capital City, provincial leaders, whatever is across the border (and might want to annex the humans), outsiders, the 'barbarians' who supplied the volkerwanderung in the first place. If a bunch of orcs burrow up from the Underdark, can the Elves and Humans co-operate to defeat them?

A troglodyte invasion that follows river courses (because females look just like Giant Lizards and eat fish) but is natural / spontaneous not planned. Also works with Lizardmen.