Faction Rules - What do we like?

[Fenris-77]

Thread #2 in my ongoing urban play series.

Lots of games have factions and the rules used to represent them are all over the map. It might be the most diverse item in RPG design, or one of them at any rate. The range of ho mechanical vs descriptive vs detailed is really quite breathtaking.

So a few examples that I like that influence my own writing and design:

REIGN - probably the best mechanical take on factions for RPG play ever written (it's pretty much the whole point of the game) - very crunchy
Blades in the Dark - maybe the best pick up and play faction system in any RPG
Spire - a game the runs on its factions - super evocative and very well focused on the overall power structures and even better integrated into the overall system design than Blades (in some ways)

There are lots more, but this isn't supposed to be a Fenris-77 bibliography.

So, for your games, in any genre, what are you looking for in faction write ups, mechanics, and other related whatsits?

 

[VHawkwinter]

Hmm.

Ideally I want a writeup of the factions' goals & resources; and a writeup of the sorts of benefits they give their members with different levels of seniority. If the faction membership comes with a duty or membership dues, I want the details of that spelled out as well.

 

[Fenris-77]

Hmm.

Ideally I want a writeup of the factions' goals & resources; and a writeup of the sorts of benefits they give their members with different levels of seniority. If the faction membership comes with a duty or membership dues, I want the details of that spelled out as well.

So factions as joinable? I get that. Some factions you can't join though. Take, as a random example, the noble families of city X. A faction? Yes indeed. One you can join? Not so much. Not all factions map to the thieves' guild model.

 

[dbm]

Take, as a random example, the noble families of city X. A faction? Yes indeed. One you can join? Not so much.

As to what I personally want from faction rules? I guess that depends on how they relate to the game; are the PCs going to run the factions, be in the factions, or stand outside (oppose?) the factions? I’d want different kinds of representation for them in each case. Ultimately it’s about tracking what the factions want, what they can do, and how they relate to each other. The PCs will stir the pot in one way or another.