How do you feel about factions in RPGs?

[Imaculata]

I use factions in my 3rd edition pirate campaign mostly to create a framework of possible alliances the players can pursue. They are under no obligation to do so, but befriending factions opens up new story developments, new resources and allow them to build a larger coalition of like minded people. The factions I use are all independent small nations with their own unique cultures. They are generally all already allies to one another, so the players are free to just befriend them all.

To make a faction loyal however, the players must complete a loyalty quest for that faction first. The goal is to eventually build towards one big climactic battle where all their allies matter.

 

[Tonguez]

I use factions and start by the players creating their own faction NPCs explaining why the faction and npcs relevant and how they might work in the game.

Factions are great structure that allow the PCs to become a part of the setting and play in it within set guidelines for action and adventure. Afterall a knightly order or religious sect is different to an artisan guild, an outlaw band, a towns poor tenants or a mercenary company, the differences can be fun. Factions need to be diverse and importantly treated as characters in their own right with their own actions and reactions to the world.
Those reactions can even create whole adventures in themselves

 

[Derren]

I also dislike mandatory or heavily suggested factions. Especially if the faction do not have much of an agenda and are just there to spend bonus points/influence on them for boons. D&D and Pathfinder are both guilty of this, with the latter one heavily relying or suggesting that the PCs are Pathfinder/Starfinder

 

[Umbran]

It is all about the implementation, to me.

When factions are essentially several organized crime syndicates vying for power, I find them terribly uninteresting.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I refuse to join any faction that would have me as a member.

 

[Fenris-77]

I find factions far more interesting when their design indexes motivation, purpose, and action. Really, that usually means that they're defined more like characters than anything else with comparable rankings or stats of some kind. As mentioned above, this is far more useful when it's specific and when there's conflict. Having a faction called "the kings court" is pretty bloody useless IMO. But if a noble faction is the traditionalists, say, who are trying to overthrow the current king and return the realm to a republic, now you have something interesting. Same thing with things like the Thieves Guild. That's a crap faction most of the time I've seen it done up, it's just a list of some NPCs and an overview of some illegal activities. Blargh. I want to know where the conflict is. Not even necessarily between organized crime groups, but things like, 'currently stacking the senate with candidates they either already control or have suborned'. Whatever the specifics, I want them. I don't need a list of NPCs and a name. I want to know where they're influential, what their resources are, and how they go about 'conflict'. The Inquisition, for example, flexes it's influence a lot differently than the Guild of Mercers. Anyway, that's my two cents.

 

[Doug McCrae]

I am not keen on games where players are expected to join a faction, particularly if they are expected to join different factions that may be opposed to one another.

How about Paranoia, where every PC has to be a member of an (illegal) secret conspiracy?

 

[payn]

Political intrigue is a huge factor in our games, so factions are as necessary as swords and magic. Though, PCs are never required to join one. Factions will act independently of the PCs if necessary. Sometimes they can be interesting obstacles, other times strange bedfellows. The best is when the factions use the PCs as a catspaw and seeing how the PCs decide to deal with that.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Pretty much this. My Tyranny of Dragons campaign was continually on the verge of some of the more vocal PCs managing to utterly alienate every single faction. Some players just can't help but try to push authority figures as far as they can.

These days, I really try to avoid running adventures where the main hook is "someone in power asked for your help" for this vary reason.

1/3 of PCs will join a faction, another 1/3 will fight all the factions, and the last 1/3 will just ignore them

 

[innerdude]

I find that games with active factions with known motivations, agendas, and agents/figureheads are a nearly crucial element to enjoyable RPG play.

Random murderhoboing with no motivation other than "phat lewt" is the very definition of RPG hell to me.