Factions

The factions represent the place of belonging to each resident. Each faction is expected to cooperate for the good of the safe zone but retain their autonomy and thus cannot be ordered to do anything by other factions. Only a decision by the safe council (each primary head of staff) can force a faction to follow an order. Residents can only belong to a singular faction (excluding freeblades) and may perform any job they are qualified for. For a example, an exalted could also be the speaker or a seeker but not an ashwood agent. No exceptions.

Player Factions

The Safe Zone Council

“We need to maintain unity if we want to survive out here. The people within need direction or they will fracture and turn on each other. Our external threats would want nothing more for us to weaken so they, like so many vultures before them, can opportunistically pick us clean of our life and wealth.” -Ashlord Tarkus, during the first meeting that formed the council.

Owner: Joint ownership by each acting faction leader.
Leader: None.

The council represents the combined leadership of the factions within the safe zone headed by a triumvirate. The acting council members are made up of the current leader of each faction or, in place of them, a subordinate acting in their place should they not be present. In this way the acting directors of each faction are allowed to pursue their own interests and tasks and the day to day operations are delegated to those they trust with the responsibility. The council is formed strictly for the cooperation between factions to handle greater disputes and events concerning the safe zone as a whole. Nobody is considered the head of the council as each member holds equal sway and voting power. Decisions are decided by majority vote (2/3 as there are three factions) and leaders cannot abstain from a vote under any circumstance. The council answers only to the faction leaders, who rarely visit the safe zone for varied reasons, but are largely expected to be autonomous.

Safe Zone Factions

The Breakers

“Who but we stand between order and chaos? Who but we fashion for ourselves an armor with which we protect our people? Many of us who were cast into this hell are guilty, yet that does not mean we cannot find redemption. My people do not just hold the line against the horrors below, they dive into the darkness with weapon in hand ready to face the lurking evil.” -Ashlord Tarkus, in conversation with Sad King Briareus.

Owner: Ashlord Tarkus
Acting Leader: Hammerlord
Second in Command: Master of the Forge

The breakers are a faction formed as the first and last line of defense for the safe zone. They make up the more militant individuals interested in both keeping the peace and delving into the dungeons below. Breakers focus on armor, weapons, and pragmatic means of building themselves into a strong and fit fighting force to keep the safe zone safe. Breakers range from the heavily armored Sledge to the expert marksmen making up the Ashman and Firebrand teams. Maintaining their weapons and equipment is the master of the forge, lead by the hammerlord.

Breakers are more deeply tied to the Ashwood than the Ascendant, as they rely heavily on agents for the pursuit and investigation of criminals. A secondary but no less important matter to the breakers is enforcing and aiding in the investigation, detainment, and arrest of rule breakers within the safe zone. A common motto among the breakers is 'carry a big hammer and swing it hard', though the best breakers have as much muscle as they do brawn.

The Ashwood Syndicate

“He who has a will to live can bear almost anything. And I am not just quoting something His Majesty told me, after all it was my own arrogance that lead me here, rebuilding an entire new market and economy from the ground up is my why now.” -Bagman Herod, in conversation with Ashlord Tarkus.
“I don’t mind being the villain in your story because you're a clown in mine.” -Boss Yaga, speaking to Bagman Herod.

Owner: Bagman Herod and Boss Yaga
Acting Leader: Merchant
Second in Command: Penumbra

The ashwood make up the hospitality of the safe zone by concerning themselves with creature comforts like food, drink, and supplying others through their depot. The ashwood controls the tavern, kitchen, ranch, and warehouses that deal in coin created and minted by the ashwood to give a stabilized currency. The merchant heads the Fixers and Beast Masters who respectively cover a wide variety of trades ranging from ammunition to food to various types of creature comforts. This represents the biggest face of the ashwood but in truth they are split into turn rather autonomous roles.

The second half of the ashwood is lead by the penumbra and their Agents which serve as detectives and gumshoes focused on keeping the safe zone properly safe by investigating potential crimes and breaks in the agreement. Agents catalogue, record, investigate, and recommend fines and arrests for the breakers to carry out to detain those causing trouble within the safe zone. While most of the ashwood is friendly by nature with other factions, the penumbra and their agents work closely with the breakers both in the safe zone and beyond, as agents are expert locksmiths and skilled with their daggers, a valued trait when in dangerous areas.

The Ascendant

“When I first became a magi, my fellow apprentices were filled with wonder, the potential, the power, the limitless bounds of what magic could and would be if we only dreamed. Yet in the end, we shackled ourselves to our own self-imposed limits. A rune lantern will make a magi, but it will never give them what magic truly needs, the realization of dreams. Magic is art and so few artists like myself are left...” -Sad King Briareus, bemoaning the state of magic.

Owner: Sad King Briareus
Acting Leader: Exalted
Second in Command: Speaker

The ascendant are the magical back bone of the safe zone by making up the magical research and creation through the Rune Masters, alchemical and magical healing by the Rosaria, and magical offensive and defensive might of the Seekers. The ascendant are a wildly varied faction, focused upon all fields of magic from ancient, clockwork, runic, supernatural, and weaving. Because of their less ordered nature and a greater focus on research and creation, the ascendant are considered less disciplined than the ashwood and breakers but more than make up for it with the magical powers they bring to the table.

While powerful, the ascendant are very aware of their weaknesses and thus work with the other factions to make up for their short comings. After all, a magi without spells is not worth much besides their intellectual ability and that rarely matters in the brutal realm of Hammer's Fall.

The Freeblades

“The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself.” -Unknown, a saying commonly carved into the walls of Freeblade areas.

Owner: None
Leadership: None

The freeblades represent the faction-less residents working within the safe zone, providing useful skills and auxiliary separate from the three primary factions. Some freeblades, such as the Prospector provide an incredible use to the safe zone through the obtainment of materials for the various forges needing to churn out constructed items. Others, such as the Gardener and Jester are merely present so some freeblades have work. Residents and other freeblades might also be off-duty members of factions, looking to make a bit of coin for themselves or merely take a break from their usual faction business. The Custodian is the most valued of all the freeblades and is thus paid and equipped by every faction to keep the safe zone clean and livable.

External Factions

These factions are ones outside the safe zone, either outside of Hammer's Fall itself or simply outside the safe zone. They are notable enough to be common backgrounds for some and can be treated as common knowledge by most.

Sons of Baitaal

WIP