AMONG CATS AND BOOKS

In this series, we take a deep dive into the various factions Dolmenwood has to offer, exploring how to make them active participants in a campaign rather than static background elements.

The Setup

Each faction in the Dolmenwood setting is featured in this series. However, Human and Longhorn Nobility factions have been split into individual noble houses, increasing the total from 9 to 16 factions.

This series is built around my Faction Turn framework, heavily inspired by Mausritter, with additional elements. Each post uses the same structure:

• Goals: Each faction's major objectives, categorized as Landmark, Hidden, or Secret for gameplay guidance.
• Resources: A look at what makes each faction unique, showcasing key assets and their narrative uses.
• Actions: Examples of what factions actively do during Faction Turns. Each faction has three actions tied to Goals, Missions, or Tasks.
• Agents: Named NPCs assigned to each mission. These characters give factions personality and are opportunities for player interaction.
• Further Thoughts: My musings on each faction's role, conflicts, and potential narrative hooks.
• Potential Alliances: Possible partnerships or rivalries with other factions.
• Example: A short snippet from my own campaign, showing how factions evolve over five Faction Turns.

Additional Details

Goals
Each faction's goals highlight their driving motivations. While most are drawn from the Dolmenwood Campaign Book, I've added a few of my own. These goals are categorized into Landmark, Hidden, or Secret, offering guidance on what players can uncover during play. I've also included potential milestones for each goal to spark inspiration—though they're not set in stone.

Resources
Factions' resources reflect their narrative strength and what makes them unique. Each faction starts with three or four resources, which can grow or shrink during play. Losing all resources typically removes a faction from the Faction Turns.

Actions
Actions keep factions dynamic. While missions are broken into Tasks here for clarity, in play they're more fluid. Missions complete when the narrative makes sense, not necessarily when tasks are finished.

Agents
Each mission has a named Agent, an NPC responsible for carrying out tasks. These characters are opportunities for player interaction. When necessary, I create unique Agents with detailed descriptions; otherwise, I use NPCs from the Dolmenwood Campaign Book.

Further Thoughts
This section dives deeper into each faction's role, providing ideas for new conflicts, missions, or tensions.

Potential Alliances
I outline how factions may work together—or against each other—in a campaign, exploring likely partnerships and rivalries.

Example
Each post concludes with a short example from my campaign, showing how the faction's activities evolved over five Faction Turns.

#dolmenwood #faction turns #index