Factionless Characters: When sometimes your concept dosnt link up with a Faction.

[Steve_MND]

You are looking for a job. Only 5 companies in town are willing to hire you. You turn them all down because they don't work with your "concept". [...] If the character you made is someone who is unwilling to work for any of the 5 companies that are hiring, then they aren't going to have anything to do with the party and are free to go live out on the street. Ask the player to create a different character who can manage to get along with the factions and party well enough that being part of an organization isn't the very antithesis of their being, while they needn't be an outspoken, zealous supporter of everything the faction does, they should at least be social enough that they are content enough to wear a badge and accept the benefits of doing so.

You seem to be missing the fact that by being factionless, you in fact do not miss out on any jobs. You'll still be going along on any adventures(modules), still getting paid, etc. Being a member of the factions are more a mechanical benefit than a requirement, altho there are concepts that fit well with them. There are also character concepts that do not fit well with them, and those still work just perfectly fine in AL.

Every module in AL I've played or run or read will work just as well with a full table of factionless character as much as it would with a full table of factioned, and I think that shows a lot about how extraneous the factions in the campaign really are.

 

[kalani]

That is only true if there is at least one member of the relevant faction(s) present in the party. Some faction assignments send the party on a slight sidequest, while other faction assignments happen concurrent with the main plot. The tier-2 secret missions however, almost always involve some kind of sidequest or added risk (such as not killing certain individuals which you first have to identify from a group). It is this added risk that allows characters to advance within their factions.

For example: In Season 1, one of the sidequests involved fighting a bunch of guys at the docks of Phlan..... If there was no rank 2+ representative of the required faction when you ran that adventure, going to the docks would find the location empty.

 

[Steve_MND]

That is only true if there is at least one member of the relevant faction(s) present in the party. Some faction assignments send the party on a slight sidequest, while other faction assignments happen concurrent with the main plot.

Yeah, but the point remains -- a factionless table would have been able to do that same module just fine. If there are no members of said faction at a table in a mod, that part of the mod typically just doesn't get run, and/or something else is run in it's place. Right now, belonging to a faction is more or less just window dresssing and/or an occasional minor mechanical benefit. There's no substantive reason to be one or the other aside from those two elements. You don't progress your faction to a position of influence more than the others, you don't see your faction backslide due to your missteps, etc.

But that's actually more related to the other thread on this subject that just popped up, so I'll comment more over there.

 

[Cascade]

I play a cleric of bane, with the acolyte background, so while in Mulmaster, the low levels weren't that intimidating for death.

To date the role playing aspect has been very enjoyable. The level 3 favors are nice but far from a disadvantage; of course that may change at 4 or 5.

It would be nice to see a factionless option; essentially to go more along with the new mercenary background but the "support the group" aspect still must be stressed when playing public games.

Pathfinder forces "the join the club" mentality, which I kinda frown upon. Much like evil charcters in AL, I think most people fit into the adventure the way AL and 5e have been run.

 

[Mirtek]

They are not.

That's a huge relief. I was worried that this would be the case.

 

[Coredump]

Maybe your "concept" is so antagonistic and anti-social that they deserve to be homeless on the street. If someone is so up their own rear that they are unwilling to accept sponsorship, then chances are they are going to be so WAY too much to actually get along with an adventuring party and go along with the group consensus.


If the character you made is someone who is unwilling to work for any of the 5 companies that are hiring, then they aren't going to have anything to do with the party and are free to go live out on the street. .

I *strongly* disagree. There is nothing about being in a faction, or not being in a faction, that will have such an effect on the game. In fact, it seems a bit absurd that *every* adventurer just happens to belong to a secret society.....

There are a lot of character concepts that don't really 'fit' into any of the factions..... that doesn't mean they are 'anti social' and it really doesn't mean they can't work within a party....

 

[Pauper]

That's a huge relief. I was worried that this would be the case.

If anything, the trend seems to be in the opposite direction -- more 2 hour adventures and fewer multi-slot adventures.

--
Pauper

 

[devlin1]

You are looking for a job.

Only 5 companies in town are willing to hire you.
You turn them all down because they don't work with your "concept".

Maybe your "concept" is so antagonistic and anti-social that they deserve to be homeless on the street. If someone is so up their own rear that they are unwilling to accept sponsorship, then chances are they are going to be so WAY too much to actually get along with an adventuring party and go along with the group consensus. It is almost certain that is going to be the person who is going to split the party by deciding to go their own way when they decide whatever the party is doing doesn't "fit" their "concept"... or worse, will be antagonistic and violent towards every NPC and generally take extreme actions on behalf of the party that none of the rest of them will agree to.


If the character you made is someone who is unwilling to work for any of the 5 companies that are hiring, then they aren't going to have anything to do with the party and are free to go live out on the street. Ask the player to create a different character who can manage to get along with the factions and party well enough that being part of an organization isn't the very antithesis of their being, while they needn't be an outspoken, zealous supporter of everything the faction does, they should at least be social enough that they are content enough to wear a badge and accept the benefits of doing so.

Well! That's... aggressive.

I don't need to be an employee of one of these five companies to get work. I work freelance. Sometimes I pick up a job because I have an associate who is an employee of one of those five companies, and sometimes someone from one of those five companies approaches me to help them out even though I'm not on their payroll! Sometimes they offer to make me an employee, even though if I were to take them up on it I wouldn't get any additional pay. And their ideologies don't tend to be a very good match for mine, so I've chosen to remain a freelancer. I know I don't have the safety net of one free Get Out Of Death card, but still, it's working out just fine.

Most of the time, though, whether or not I'm an employee of one of those five companies has no bearing on my adventuring life.

 

[GreenTengu]

I *strongly* disagree. There is nothing about being in a faction, or not being in a faction, that will have such an effect on the game. In fact, it seems a bit absurd that *every* adventurer just happens to belong to a secret society.....

There are a lot of character concepts that don't really 'fit' into any of the factions..... that doesn't mean they are 'anti social' and it really doesn't mean they can't work within a party....

Are the societies meant to be secret? I don't think they are.

As I understand it, the general crux of how the adventure league works is that within the world there is this job known as "Adventurer" and they are organized by guilds. The difference between a mercenary and an "adventurer" is the guild which more or less reviews the tasks before assigning adventurers to it and ensuring they aren't up to anything too nasty or brutal or illegal.

This helps neatly and easily explain how and why you can sit 5 random characters down for a random adventure and they can all be considered hooked and ready to engage with it. No session 0 every play session.

In order to gain membership into this guild, one needs to be vetted and doing so is done through these organizations who then sponsor the person. So if you are in the guild, you are at least loosely associated with one of those organizations as they are responsible for you and you owe them.

Now, if when you are making your character one of the first things you say is "I am a special snowflake lone wolf, screw all authority and organizations and affiliations. I do whatever I want whenever I want and all of those factions can go screw themselves if they think I'm going to follow anyone else's agenda!!" which is certainly what it sounds to me one is saying when they just outright reject the idea of working for any of the main organizations....

Well, if one has such a major problem being associated with a distant organization who don't really enforce their agenda and with whom membership provides only benefit, how exactly is that going to work with a much closer organization with people whose actions and direction are going to immediately affect where you go and who you talk to and how you relate to NPCs and the general choices you make?

What is the first thing this special snowflake lone wolf who tells all organizations to go screw themselves because they are their own thing who does things only their way and couldn't care less about anyone else's agenda going to do when traveling with a bunch of people whose agendas likely don't match their own and who are going to make choices they don't approve of on their behalf and do things that aren't their way more or less dragging them along and make choices that they wouldn't have made but not effectively made because someone else made that choice for them?

Of course they aren't going to stay with them. Why would they? If not metagaming and actually playing consistently, they are going to turn heel and abandon the others at the first opportunity they get... or when everyone else goes left, they will go right on their own because that's what they want to do and, as a special snowflake lonewolf, what they want to do is what they do and no one is going to tell them otherwise.

 

[devlin1]

Are the societies meant to be secret? I don't think they are.

The Harpers are explicitly secretive. I often see Zhentarim members play their faction affiliation as, if not secret, then not something they want to be overt about.

As I understand it, the general crux of how the adventure league works is that within the world there is this job known as "Adventurer" and they are organized by guilds.

They're not guilds so much as... well, factions who want to advance different agenda. "Guild" implies a professional organization that provides training and employment. Factions don't do that. You could count "going on an adventure" as "employment" here, but since those same employment opportunities would be just as available to a factionless adventurer as they would be to one who's part of a faction, it doesn't really seem relevant. The only thing you really gain out of performing duties for your faction is increased standing in your faction, which, y'know, doesn't exactly pay the rent.

This helps neatly and easily explain how and why you can sit 5 random characters down for a random adventure and they can all be considered hooked and ready to engage with it. No session 0 every play session.

There wouldn't be a chargen session anyway. It's a series of one-shots. Strict continuity about how we met, etc. is totally unnecessary.

In order to gain membership into this guild, one needs to be vetted and doing so is done through these organizations who then sponsor the person.

Who's vetting your 1st-level PC who's chosen a faction, then? No one has to give you permission to be in one faction over another. The only that matters is your interest and your PC's alignment.

Now, if when you are making your character one of the first things you say is "I am a special snowflake lone wolf, screw all authority and organizations and affiliations. I do whatever I want whenever I want and all of those factions can go screw themselves if they think I'm going to follow anyone else's agenda!!" which is certainly what it sounds to me one is saying when they just outright reject the idea of working for any of the main organizations....

Yes, let there be no middle ground.

Well, if one has such a major problem being associated with a distant organization who don't really enforce their agenda and with whom membership provides only benefit, how exactly is that going to work with a much closer organization with people whose actions and direction are going to immediately affect where you go and who you talk to and how you relate to NPCs and the general choices you make?

Because not all factionless PCs are sociopaths.

What is the first thing this special snowflake lone wolf who tells all organizations to go screw themselves

I'm not telling anyone anything! It just seems to make sense for my character, in light of his backstory, that he's not part of a faction. You make it sound like every new PC has to run through a career-guidance seminar put on by representatives of the five factions. On the contrary, it's totally conceivable to have led a pre-1st-level life that involved no contact with the factions at all.

Of course they aren't going to stay with them. Why would they? If not metagaming and actually playing consistently, they are going to turn heel and abandon the others at the first opportunity they get... or when everyone else goes left, they will go right on their own because that's what they want to do and, as a special snowflake lonewolf, what they want to do is what they do and no one is going to tell them otherwise.

I don't understand why you're so determined to make out factionless PCs as being so anti-social. It's like you're equating it with the old notion of Chaotic Neutral -- the old "do anything anytime for no reason" canard. You seem to have a real axe to grind, and I don't get why.

My factionless PC is perfectly willing to work with other PCs who have similar aims, but that doesn't mean it's ridiculous for him to not seek out and apply to be a member of a faction.