NPC Factions and NPC's

[DreamWeaver]

My advise to Davin would be to set up the basics for the NPC factions like the Skelt. They basically are modeled after the Celts, but are within the massive Forests that covers most of the southern continent of Southern Midgard. Design them as having Ambush, Tracking, Scouting, Torture, and Tactics. In the forest they would be frightful and scary and maybe even give them a bonus in combat in the Forest. They worship Moorlock or the old Gods, but would have no love for any of the One True God faiths. Make them Head - Hunters and Cannibals.. Call them the evil Ghosts of the woods. Make them cousins of the Barbarians, and maybe they have a slight relationship with each other.

The Barbarians  should be similar and flushed out better to be NPCs that raid and harras Midgard as well. Maybe the Skelts stay to their forests mostly and hardly ever raid but that can still happen. You need to work these two factions out even to use them as NPCS,

Now you need to have Bandits and Pirates both worked out as well. At least get some details to make them better NPCs for use in the game. I would also consider doing the same with the Religious factions as well too. Now once you have these all, we will have very good enemies to fight against too

[Davin]

Don't forget Penn, that within that core group of 7 factions, there is a lot of hatred between some of them.

To say that the Roder would like to see the Banner wiped out is a given.

Is it necessary that the families have that much hatred between one another, so they want to see the others completely wiped out?  Or is it sufficient to want to see them simply "beat down" to impotence?

The Getham uses their economic clout in an attempt to reign in the Boda.

This would be more like what I was thinking about.  Each family would want to be mostly "in charge" with the others more "under control" rather than "wiped out".

I do think though, that the three OTG religions needs a religious opponent from the start.  Whether that be a strong NPC heretic opponent or a player led faction (ie... the B&F) is the question.  Banner and OOH players from the Ring join those factions for a reason.  To fight.

I agree that the religions need direct opponents as well as competition between themselves.  I'd like to see a disorganized NPC "faction" for them to fight in general, rather like bandits.  You can think of bandits as small unrelated groups making a local nuisance of themselves pretty much anywhere you go, but without an overarching "faction" with a "plan" to which they report.  Some sort of heretical "faction" might fill the bill here, if we can keep organization minimal or nonexistent.

OTOH, organized factional religions (probably based on other gods) are of a different flavor and may provide for new opponents after we get started.  We may want them as just NPCs or we may open them up for the players to have fun with.  I was originally thinking of the B&F as the general religious opponents, but I think perhaps they'll require too much organization to fit the previous category and they might be better off coming in (eventually) as a full faction (PC or NPC, as we feel is appropriate at the time).

[Davin]

See I agree with Brian completely, we need to have the other factions at least as NPC factions like.

Of course we do.  But I don't think that it's necessary to have a lot of them while there are only a relatively few players to oppose them.  I'd like to start off with some general-purpose NPC enemies that will always exist scattered around and then build up some organized NPCs as our player base increases.