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The Beginner's Guide to Factions

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 2:39 am
by The Rambling Midget
The Beginner's Guide to Factions

Why start a faction?
Factions have a number of helpful uses, mostly involving organization and sharing. Factions have member lists, which allow players to easily find other like-minded characters to travel and interact with. Faction messages are helpful for organization. Funds can be shared among all members, for the purchase of equipment, supplies, and properties. Shops can be shared, to bring profits to the faction. Fixtures can be shared for easier management.

Getting Started

How to create a faction
  • Enter "-factions" in chat
  • Enter the name of your faction in chat
  • Select "Create new faction"
Basic Functions

Adding a Member
  • Open the -factions menu and select the appropriate faction
  • Enter the name of the character to be added, in chat
  • Select the "Add Member" option
Creating a Rank
  • Open the -factions menu and select the appropriate faction
  • Enter the name of the rank to be added, in chat
  • Select the "Create Rank" option
Changing a Member's Rank
  • Open the -factions menu and select the appropriate faction
  • Select the "View Members" option
  • Select the name of the Member to be altered
  • Select the "Change Rank" option
  • Select the appropriate rank from the list
What is the purpose of this faction?

Foremost in the mind of the creator of any faction should be the question of why. It will be much easier to decide who should be in the faction and what privileges they should have, if you've decided on a purpose.

What you can do with a faction:
  • Track Members with the Member List
  • Create a Command/Organizational Structure with Ranks
  • Post OOC Messages to Schedule Meetings and Events
  • Share Communal Funds through Faction Bank Accounts
  • Share Shop Access
  • Attach a Shop to a Faction
  • Share Fixture Control
  • Pay Salaries
  • Collect Dues
The Faction Owner can do anything faction related, but any member added to the faction must be given permissions.

Permissions can be given to each faction member, individually, but the easiest way to define permissions is by assigning them to ranks, and then assigning the appropriate rank to each member. The reasons for this are because each time a character leaves the faction and rejoins, permissions must be added again, while rank permissions are persistent, and it is very likely that multiple members will need the same set of permissions.

Editing Permissions
  • Open the -factions menu and select the appropriate faction
  • Select the "View Ranks" or "View Members" option
  • Select the rank or member to be altered
  • Select the "Set Powers" option
From here, the full range of available permissions can be accessed through sub-menus. Active permissions will appear green, while inactive permissions will appear red.

Track Members
Faction Owners can automatically see a full listing of current members, however all other members will need permission to see the list. The faction Owner must decide whether or not it is best for members to be able to view all available ranks.
  • Under "Faction Management Powers", select the 'View Members' and/or 'View Ranks' options.
Recruit Members
It may be a helpful to give other faction members permission to recruit. Organization is much easier if recruiters are also able to see rank powers, so that they can assign the appropriate rank.
  • Under "Faction Management Powers", select the 'Recruit', 'Change character's rank', and/or 'View rank powers' options.
Post OOC Messages
Factions Messages are very useful for organizing events, meetings, and outtings. When there are active messages in a faction, all members will be notified via the in game console. The Owner may wish to restrict permissions to add and remove messages, to reduce clutter and avoid removal of important information.
  • Under "OOC Message Powers", select the 'View Messages', 'Create Messages', and/or 'Remove Messages' options.
Share Communal Funds
Anyone can give money to any faction at will, via bank transfer. However, faction members will need permission to view their faction account's balance or withdraw funds. Faction members can also access the faction bank account via any Arelithian bank, and deposit funds directly.
  • Under "Bank Powers", select the 'Check Balance' and/or 'Withdrawal' options.
Share Shop Access/Attach Shop to Faction
By attaching a shop to a faction and assigning the appropriate permissions within said faction, members can be allowed to add and remove items from the shop, as well as altering prices. Permissions should be given with great care and forethought, as they may allow members to take items which belong to others. All profits from the sale of any item in the shop will go to the owner of the shop, unless the shop is set to give all or a percentage of the profits to the faction. Those options can be found by the owner of the shop, via the shop sign. The faction permissions are as follows.
  • Under "Shop Powers", select the 'See Shop Owned By Faction', 'Place Item in Shop', and/or 'Remove Item from Shop' options.
Share Fixture Control
Any Fixture can be attached to a faction by adding the {faction name} tag to the end of its name. Brackets [ ] are used for character names, while braces { } are used for factions. Fixture control can allow faction members to rename and redescribe any fixture with an appropriate faction tag, or remove messages from any message board with an appropriate faction tag. Care should be taken in giving the latter permission, as it can result in the unwanted removal of important messages.
  • Under "Fixture Powers", select the 'Rename/Redescribe Fixtures' and/or 'Remove Messages from Message Boards' options.
Pay Salaries
Salaries are handled by character and not by broad rank. The chosen salary is paid in gold pieces, once per IG month. A total of all salaries can be found under the View Members menu, while individual salaries are found in parentheses, in gold text, following the names of each faction member.
  • Under the main faction menu, select the "View Members" option.
  • Select the member to be altered
  • Enter the IG monthly salary to be paid, in gold pieces, in chat (enter 0 to reset)
  • Select the 'Set Salary' option
Collect Dues
Dues are handled by each individual character, and deposited directly into the faction account, once per IG month. A total of all dues can be found under the View Members menu, while individual dues are found in parentheses, in white text, following the names of each faction member. Dues cannot be forced by a faction, however, members who fail to pay their dues may be demoted or removed from the faction as punishment.
To pay a due to a faction, of which you are a member:
  • Open the -factions menu and select the appropriate faction
  • Select the "View Members" option
  • Select the name of your character from the list
  • Enter the IG monthly due you wish to pay, in gold pieces, in chat (enter 0 to reset)
  • Select the 'Speak the due you wish to pay' option.

Re: The Beginner's Guide to Factions

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 3:01 am
by Valo65
As someone who has led a few minor factions here and on other servers, a few tips. I'm certainly not the authority on how to run a faction, but these are things that I and others I know regularly do and advise.

-Find unique ways of rewarding your henchmen. Potions are preferable to gold in most cases. Gear is preferable to potions in most cases. Valuable gems and unique relics are preferable to gear in most cases.
Honestly, would you rather be given 1k gold or a few stacks of Cure Serious Wounds potions?
Would you rather be given a few stacks of cure serious wounds potions or a nice steel sword?
How about a steel sword or a Gold Ingot that was renamed and given a new description about how it's actually a medal?
Keep in mind your underlings unique needs when handing out rewards, and be generous. Some people will kick their own grandmother for a heal potion.

-Always give your underlings something to do, and make sure that goal is something that matches up with their concept. Giving a rogue a mission to patrol the mountain with dragons on it isn't going to work! But if you send them down to the nearby city to improve relations and work out trade agreements, they will be happy.

-When giving underlings difficult missions, or things that may require a bit of luck (like investigating thieves' guilds in Cordor), assign them help. Putting them in charge of a team of investigators for instance will not only give them some buddies to work on the problem with, but they may form an adventuring team as well.

-Have long-term goals for the faction that you guide it toward. Enlighten your underlings on at least some of these goals, as necessary. Leave them with room to proactively pursue them. A faction without goals is a waste, in my opinion.

-Strive to offer perks to joining. A sign-up bonus is about the most basic thing you can do. Uniforms (yes, hold people to these) and equipment are a step above that. Find something memorable to offer new recruits that will keep them engaged. One of the best things you can do in my opinion is assign someone a mentor immediately. Not only will they get a more experienced friend and ally, but their more experienced friend and ally will have a cool henchman.

-Recruit at every opportunity. While secretive groups like thieves' and assassins' guilds will have difficulty finding members and maintaining secrecy at the best of times, it is important to take every opportunity to recruit new members. Most players out there are on their own and have nothing special going for them plot-wise.

-Be aggressive in pursuing your goals. For me, burn-out happens not when you're giving it your all, but when it feels like there's nothing to do. Go out there and pursue your goals. Going and clearing out the Forest of Despair again is fine once in a while, but when you've got people online it's good to make your presence known.

-Don't keep people in the dark. Sure, it's great if you're running a secret organization that limits the spread of information to avoid intelligence leaks, but the more you share information and make people feel like part of the team the more included they'll feel.

Re: The Beginner's Guide to Factions

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 12:58 am
by Valo65
Also, I cannot stress enough how awesome it is to be a part of a faction. Even if you're only a casual player who doesn't have time for intricate plots, being a lowly grunt has its own rewards compared to hanging out on your lonesome.

Don't hesitate to look for like-minded people to join. Keep an eye on message boards and talk to people IC about the different groups on the isle. Many of the more experienced PC's would like nothing more than to share their vast knowledge of politics to bloat their ego and feelings of being important. Even if you don't find a group, you might get inspired to make another character or discover that you yourself want to make a faction.

Making a faction itself is HARD WORK. But very much worth it and you have nothing to lose in the end. Some ideas will fall through while others will be an astonishing success, and it's never entirely clear which one of these a faction will wind up as. Keeping your ideas consistent with the setting while also fresh, unique and interesting is the best advice I can give here. For instance, if you're playing a religious PC, having a heretical bent to established dogma is an excellent way of going about things, or at least being an aggressive fundamentalist.

For instance, a Tyrran who holds EVERYONE on Arelith to Cordorian law by virtue of it being legally owned by Vetinari, and sets up a faction that aims to be integrated into the Cordor Guard that deals with justice beyond its borders. ("But Valo, they would have no legal sway beyond the borders!" Yes, exactly, and this is why you get into politics.)

Re: The Beginner's Guide to Factions

Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:35 pm
by Chelomo
I've run a few factions myself, Valo makes some very salient points. Here's my personal philosophy when it comes down to running them, in short aphorisms.

-The more people you have, the better known you will be, the more influence your faction will have. Furthermore, heavy recruitment often stimulates activity within the faction itself, as new people bring new ideas.

-Find what type of faction you want to run, either something within a niche, or something with broad appeal. It will affect your number of members and how open your faction will be to the outside world.

-Have at least one epic goal for your faction.

-No matter the size of your faction, have a core of 2-4 players that you know can keep things running with you.

-Buy a quarter, and set it up as the HQ of the faction. Encourage use of this quarter as a meeting place. It can be anything, I started The Cleaved (Probably long forgotten) on Rosaire out of a dingy Cordor Commons Room.

-This is a matter of personal taste, but as a leader, you're a facilitator (See Watchtower's guide to characters). This means that you will have sometimes to bend your rp to help the rp of people in your faction. You help their story grow, perhaps at the expense of a bit of your own.

-Give the spotlight to others as often as possible, but make sure you really shine when you use it for your character.

-Give your members things to do, all the time. Every small thing like sending them to get someone for a meeting, instead of sending a speedy yourself, give a sense of activity to the faction. (Credits to MoneyTalks for that one)

-Offer rewards for joining, but make them dependant on dedication. Don't whore yourself out for new members, the roleplay should be the primary motivator of membership. Create a fun environement, and people will throw themselves at you.

-This is important to me: Don't discriminate on an OOC level, about anything. If someone wants to join your faction, and you know they're probably trying to infiltrate it, so be it! If someone is a bad roleplayer (in your opinion) and has poor sportsmanship, you should give them a shot anyway. The bits and pieces I've learned on Arelith, about roleplay and sportsmanship, I've learned from mentors, spread the love.

Perhaps most importantly: Don't make it out to be more than it is. It's a game, have fun, allow yourself time off if you need. If it gets too much like work, go for a run, do something else, because you're not going to be fun anyway.

I'll probably think of more, but these are the ones I can think of right now.

Re: The Beginner's Guide to Factions

Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 3:41 am
by Valo65
Give the spotlight to others as often as possible, but make sure you really shine when you use it for your character.
This here, in my opinion, is very important. Let Darth Vader (your level 18 fighter PC henchman) terrorize the rebels, and save the Emperor (You, the level 30 wizard/pale master.) for the finale. Saving the big guns for last not only helps your underlings become better defined and recognized on Arelith but is more aesthetically pleasing as far as I'm concerned.
Don't discriminate on an OOC level, about anything. If someone wants to join your faction, and you know they're probably trying to infiltrate it, so be it!
If it's obvious to you, it's probably obvious to your character. I've gotta disagree with this one, as well as the sentence prior to it which suggests OOC discrimination (aka: metagaming).

Re: The Beginner's Guide to Factions

Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 5:58 am
by Chelomo
Valo65 wrote:
Don't discriminate on an OOC level, about anything. If someone wants to join your faction, and you know they're probably trying to infiltrate it, so be it!
If it's obvious to you, it's probably obvious to your character. I've gotta disagree with this one, as well as the sentence prior to it which suggests OOC discrimination (aka: metagaming).
I really don't want to turn what's meant to be a ressource into a debate thread, but I don't think you understand what I meant by that comment, so I'll clarify. Let's be honest here, everybody has friends they play with more often, and many people know who other people play. What I meant by that comment is to open your horizons, and let IC determine who you let in, not your OOC friends. Even if you run a good aligned faction and you know that player always plays evil characters eh?