So I've started looking into making factions for my Greyhawk campaign, and I'm not sure if they really need to be multi-national, as the ones listed for the Forgotten Realms. It seems that national or even local factions are much more likely to have an impact in the average game.
For example, one of the factions I've designed is the local noble House. Obviously you don't have to be a noble to be part of it, as they have soldiers, bureaucrats, spies, etc. that all work towards the House's ends. Having a PC that is part of the faction might benefit the party if they need help in their area of influence. Alternatively, they can be an opposition faction if the party supports a different noble house. Unlike the example factions, however, they will have little to no impact outside of the country of origin.
Also, one thing I've considered is to make each Church (i.e. faith) into a faction as well. The interesting aspect of this is that all of them would have the same overall goals and motivations (based on their deity), but local churches are going to have different issues to contend with based on their location. The downside of this is that requires me to make a LOT of factions, most of which will likely never matter.
I've also created two multi-national factions that are in opposition to each other. They are basically the spy network of an empire in decline (Great Kingdom), and the states that are in rebellion against that empire (Iron League). The area the party is based out of is allied with the Iron League, but the PCs could decide to support the Great Kingdom. In either case, a lot of intrigue is happening between the two factions in the region, so they seem important enough to create.
TL;DR: do factions really need to be huge organizations, or is it better to have a mix of large and small factions that will have an impact on the PCs?
For example, one of the factions I've designed is the local noble House. Obviously you don't have to be a noble to be part of it, as they have soldiers, bureaucrats, spies, etc. that all work towards the House's ends. Having a PC that is part of the faction might benefit the party if they need help in their area of influence. Alternatively, they can be an opposition faction if the party supports a different noble house. Unlike the example factions, however, they will have little to no impact outside of the country of origin.
Also, one thing I've considered is to make each Church (i.e. faith) into a faction as well. The interesting aspect of this is that all of them would have the same overall goals and motivations (based on their deity), but local churches are going to have different issues to contend with based on their location. The downside of this is that requires me to make a LOT of factions, most of which will likely never matter.
I've also created two multi-national factions that are in opposition to each other. They are basically the spy network of an empire in decline (Great Kingdom), and the states that are in rebellion against that empire (Iron League). The area the party is based out of is allied with the Iron League, but the PCs could decide to support the Great Kingdom. In either case, a lot of intrigue is happening between the two factions in the region, so they seem important enough to create.
TL;DR: do factions really need to be huge organizations, or is it better to have a mix of large and small factions that will have an impact on the PCs?