Just to clarify: If you are already a member of a faction and you join another, they will demand that you denounce the faction you are already in, so you can only be in one faction at a time. I think the difference between being a Harper and a member of a Planescape faction is that Planescape factions are actively trying to change the universe - or allow it to function according to their philosophy - in a setting where those kinds of actions actually can change the universe. Now in Rigus post Faction War the original Mercykiller influence is going to still be largely controlled by the Sodkillers, given that they took over most of the old Mercykiller operations in Acheron, which Rigus is the gatetown of. After reading it up, I thought it was just hilarious to create a faction of them I should mention, though, that as much as I loved reading about the Planescape factions, I didn't feel they were actually playable. Joining the Dustmen makes certain areas friendlier, but isn't really necessary. In some cases it might be easy. Nah. I used to DM Planescape a lot when I ran 2e, had a 3-4 year long Planescape campaign, read Pages of Pain, was a contributor to some articles on Mimir.net and Planewalker.com (like the Bytopia Planar Renovation Project & Gehenna Planar Renovation Project), played Planescape: Torment probably too much, and started a Planescape 5e … There's really no reason to have archetypes for the factions any more than there's a reason to have a specific archetype for the Harpers or the Emerald Enclave if you were playing in the Realms. So its finally here the last of the Planescape Faction Videos! As there is no formal setting out at this point worry less about mechanics matching the structure of background, feats, or sub classes and make the feel of the game include extra power. The factions are described in the Planescape boxed set. The site may not work properly if you don't, If you do not update your browser, we suggest you visit, Press J to jump to the feed. And so on and so forth for each of the factions. Factions wouldn't make as much sense as backgrounds I think because they are "actors" in the story. You can also rejoin them after quitting. Joining the Sensates doesn't get you much, but I believe you gain an ability and you get some dialogue. I want factions that involve themselves in the war between heaven and hell (or the cold war between the abyss and hell). Original factions Athar I really dig this idea, but I also like that any class can hitch their wagon to these philosophies. Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Looks like you're using new Reddit on an old browser. These are usually ones where the Namer lavel grants more powerful abilities. Their divine magic was channeled from "The Source" that they believed to be origin of all divinity, and that all the known gods were merely pretenders or inferior. It's just a dedication towards the faction philosophy. Using sub-classes you would "automatically" gain ranks within the hierarchy but not necessarily political ranks. As the whole party has these sorts of abilities, you have a way of controlling if the members keep them, and you control the strength of the encounters they meet nothing is out of balance. I think the Factions would be Backgrounds instead, maybe with optional Feats. A place to discuss the latest version of Dungeons and Dragons, the fifth edition, known during the playtest as D&D Next. It could be done via a generic 'Faction namer' background or earned in play. Check for not faction 1 or faction 2 or faction 3 but an anarchist 8. There's going to be more videos on other Planescape topics though. The Fated hold an odd position in the perception of the people of Sigil.On the one hand, grumbling about the Takers is a common pastime among Sigilians, nearly as much so as griping about the Hardheads hassling citizens over nothing, or the Chaosmen disrupting a person's day in the name of nothing whatsoever. You can switch up your allegiance, so if your curious you can try a faction out and switch later. IMO that is the essense of a sub-class. I wrote a blog post I think you all may enjoy, a big list of Planescape faction abilities for Dungeon Crawl Classics. If you're not interested in the first part, please skip to "Designing Moderate & Extreme Wings for Each Faction," below. Something like a skill prof at level 1, a specific level 2 spell at level 5 1 per long rest, a feat at level 11 that matches the faction, and a level 5 spell at level 17 that is once per long rest and the level 2 spell becomes 1 per short rest. Remember, most people in a faction are just normal people without a class, and those that actually go up in rank within the faction would gain the benefits of the Faction Agent, not special abilities. I think you might be thinking in terms of 3e and its endless prestige classes. Now you can be join but not really. Factions are led by a Factol. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Like a Champion, Wild mage, lore collage, ... four themed additions to the basic class. The Planescape setting was published in 1994. It puts mechanics around the method. Say for example if you'd join the Fated you'd have access to training as a sub-class of fighter, ranger, rogue, sorcerer and warlock. It's mostly just a roleplaying experience, so do whichever one sounds right to you from their philosophy. Yes, this is why I suggested that each faction would have several sub-classes. It takes a very skilled GM to make the whole setting clear without setting some required reading. Probably the one that gives the best benefit is being in the Godsmen (Believers of the Source), who you'll meet in the later areas of Sigil. In my game, I have found four scrolls, so now both the Nameless One and Dak'kon know the spell, and I even have two scrolls spare to cast from. After all, the person who controls the city also controls access to the known multiverse! Definitely my favorite faction ever! The story, the humor, the characters, the dialogues, the philosophy, the music, everything is exceptional. I've been playing around with ideas for the Planescape factions myself and I've decided that they shouldn't be one-size-fits all. Designing Moderate & Extreme Wings for Each Faction. The Factions are fictional philosophically-based power groups in the Planescape campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Also, if you install a few fan patches to repair broken quest options, there's a secret area in the Vault of the Ninth World that you can access. But faction-specific archetypes? In the second part, I list the new subfactions themselves. Otherwise, the factions merely attract people who subscribe to their philosophy. As for being a Xaositect, there are at least a couple places where you get different dialogue options when you're a member of the faction, but it may only be when talking to other Chaosmen. When this dual-faction thing happens, you can click on the faction symbol on the status screen and cycle between the two. The lowest-ranking members are called Namers because many of them have only a tenuous faith in their faction's philosophy and are thus members in name only. The Athar could have any class that doesn't use Divine Magic. As its name suggests, the setting crosses and comprises the numerous planes of existence, encompassing an entire cosmology called the Great Wheel, as originally developed in the original 1987 Manual of … The Factions' Planar Headquarters are described in the Boxed Set according to the Plane in question. Like, if there was a feat that boosted damage but reduced healing, a Doomguard that took that would be higher status than a Doomguard that shares the philosophy but doesn't take feats. r/planescape: For the game Planescape: Torment. Plus 4 states to again offer a choice in leaving each faction. The Beginning Pre-Sigil Post-Sigil Post Faction War Intro Calendar Great Upheaval Key A Chronology of the Factions and the Planes by William James Cuffe Version 1.1 Planescape is a setting of grand scope. Well, I say that while acknowledging that a "faction initiate" could be a background in addition to factions having sub-classes. Look to the scaling of power in class abilities, but don't make a brand new class. The aware a few special perks that are gained as the member levels. Thematically it would work great and it harmonizes well what has been done in 5e, like the Purple knights. Honestly, all you really need for Planescape are racial stats for gith and bariaur, and maybe for petitioner (although that might be weird). The other factions at least let you buy stuff from them. I've always loved Planescape, and I've always loved DCC, so porting all those weird faction powers to the system was an easy decision. I ended up doing that on one of my runs, and was surprised when I didn't lose my Godsman status when I joined the Anarchists. From the Planes of Chaos Travelogue: "Planar Politics. Since everyone in a Planescape game can have a faction no one feels left out and it doesn't effect game balance because the DM just assumes slightly more power from the party. Even a life cleric could be a Dustman, if she thinks her purpose is to understand the folly of life or believes that only when one becomes truly dead could one then be reborn into actual life. At one time, there were perhaps a hundred different factions, all scheming for control of the city. There's no reason that the Harmonium can't include Fighters, Wizards, Clerics, and Barbarians. All would carry the hindrance that you're signing up and may have responsabilities for membership. Between this, and the fact that the "array of rings" theme is carried over whenever one looks at either the Inner Planes or the Outer … Ironically it was a post about the mystic (and subclasses in general) that triggered the idea: "Each faction should have it's own subclass(es)". Anyone can be a Sensate; they just have to believe that the only way to understand the universe is to experience. The purpose of this is to collect ideas to compile into something concrete - crowd source ftw! 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