Creating better factions

[aramis erak]

What is your advice for creating factions?

I usually think of factions as being defined by the following:
A common identity - what is it that unifies them?
A range within which they operate.
A set of 1-4 primary goals.
A list of key assets they can invoke against other factions.

If you know who they identify as, and their goals and assets, many times, one can readily see what their next move should be.

Knowing their leaders is nice, but not really essential at outset unless they're rulers of the civil government or of the church hierarchy (equivalent to hierarchical Christian churches' bishops, archbishops, metropolitan bishops). When they become relevant, they should have some goals of their own, say 1-3, which may or may not line up with the group... and whether or not they actually consider themselves within their faction, or consider the faction to be pawns.

 

[Tonguez]

Knowing their leaders is nice, but not really essential at outset unless they're rulers of the civil government or of the church hierarchy (equivalent to hierarchical Christian churches' bishops, archbishops, metropolitan bishops). When they become relevant, they should have some goals of their own, say 1-3, which may or may not line up with the group... and whether or not they actually consider themselves within their faction, or consider the faction to be pawns.

you dont need to know the leaders (and in many cases shouldnt know the leaders) but there should always be an NPC representative that the PCs can interact with: Maggot O'Reilly, the scrawny street urchin whos always trying to scrounge a smoke or a penny might be your only contact for Fagans Gang, he's not important unless you ever need to find them, but it'll cost yah...

 

[Jd Smith1]

What is your advice for creating factions?
Representing the working parts of a setting.
Fueding and competing.
The tension between grounded and fantastical.
Creating the big personalities that give a face to the factions.
Not getting silly and creating a faction for ever single thing.
(I am trying to get to the meat of the subject without being too verbose.)

Pick RL factions, and file off the serial numbers.

In a long-term zombie campaign I ran, I created a 'save the zombie' organization based entirely on PETA, right down to tactics, personalities, and (slightly adjusted) slogans. It was a breeze to put together (mostly just cut & paste, and a little editing), and it had a tremendous impact on the players and campaign.

Never re-invent the wheel; no matter what you need, there's a group or organization now or in history that just needs a bit of tweaking. Good, bad, annoying, or just 'there', there's something for everything.