Nowhere Land is not ruled by governments but by factions—loose alliances of travelers, natives, and creatures bound by common goals. Joining a faction grants access to resources, allies, and enemies.
📊 FACTION POWER: TIER & HOLD
The Tier System
Tier measures a faction's overall power. When factions clash, the difference in Tier affects quality of opposition, available resources, and consequences.
| Tier | Scale | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Desperate | Refugees, isolated Travelers, small gangs |
| 1 | Modest | Small cult, merchant caravan, player Bastion |
| 2 | Established | Domain cult, trade company, mercenary band |
| 3 | Regional | The Partizan, Sanctuary Keepers, domain lords |
| 4 | Major | Ledger Keepers, Portal Breakers |
| 5 | Transcendent | The Count's organization, domain Willpowers |
Tier in Conflict: Lower-Tier factions suffer -1 die per Tier difference on relevant checks.
Strong vs Weak Hold
Hold represents how secure a faction's control is. Even a high-Tier faction can have Weak Hold if challenged.
Strong Hold
- ✓ Full access to Tier benefits
- ✓ Can project power into other territories
- ✓ Internal challenges easily suppressed
Weak Hold
- ⚠️ -1 die to all faction actions
- ⚠️ Cannot expand without stabilizing
- ⚠️ Vulnerable to coups and attacks
⏱️ CLOCKS: TRACKING PROGRESS
The Clock System
Clocks track complex situations that develop over time. Each clock has 4, 6, or 8 segments. When filled, the situation resolves.
⏱️ Progress Clocks
Track projects: "Build Bastion (0/6)", "Map Domain (0/4)"
⚠️ Danger Clocks
Track threats: "Romina Discovers You (0/6)", "Count's Interest (0/8)"
🎭 Faction Clocks
Track faction situations: "Partizan Civil War (0/8)"
✓ Racing Clocks
Two clocks compete: first to fill wins
📦 ASSETS & RESOURCES
Faction Assets
Assets are specific resources a faction controls. Each has its own Tier and can be deployed, damaged, or lost.
| Type | Examples | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Cohorts | Guards, spies, workers | Deploy as NPCs |
| Holdings | Bastions, markets, temples | Generate resources |
| Artifacts | Domain keys, weapons | Unique capabilities |
| Connections | Allied NPCs, Count's favor | Open doors, intel |
| Secrets | Blackmail, portal locations | Leverage |
⚔️ FACTION STANDING
Faction Standing
Your relationship with each faction is measured on a scale:
| Standing | Value | Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Hunted | -3 | Kill on sight. Bounty on your head. |
| Hostile | -2 | Attack unless outnumbered. No services. |
| Unfriendly | -1 | Suspicion. Double prices. No aid. |
| Neutral | 0 | Normal interactions. Standard prices. |
| Friendly | +1 | 10% discount. Basic aid. Information sharing. |
| Trusted | +2 | 25% discount. Safe houses. Faction missions. |
| Champion | +3 | Leadership access. Unique rewards. Faction secrets. |
Changing Standing
- • Complete faction mission: +1 standing
- • Major service to faction: +1 to +2 standing
- • Betray faction interests: -1 to -2 standing
- • Kill faction member: -2 standing (or worse)
- • Aid faction enemy: -1 standing
🏛️ MAJOR FACTIONS
THE PASSAGE KEEPERS
"Every portal is a door. We hold the keys."
Philosophy
Control passage between domains. Maintain portal stability. Charge tolls for safe travel. Knowledge is currency.
Territory
The Passage (headquarters). Major portal hubs throughout Nowhere Land. Waystation network.
Benefits (Trusted+)
- • Free portal passage in Keeper-controlled areas
- • Access to portal maps and schedules
- • Safe houses at waystations
- • Portal key lending (Champion)
Enemies
- • The Untethered (portal destroyers)
- • Smugglers who bypass tolls
- • Those who destabilize portals
Joining Requirements
- • Demonstrate portal knowledge (Arcane Resonance +2)
- • Complete initiation: safely guide travelers through 3 portals
- • Swear oath of passage (magically binding)
THE MERCHANT PRINCES
"Everything has a price. We set it."
Philosophy
Trade is civilization. Control commerce, control Nowhere Land. Profit above politics. Contracts are sacred.
Territory
The Partisan Market (primary). Trade routes between domains. Warehouses and caravanserais.
Benefits (Trusted+)
- • 30% discount at affiliated merchants
- • Trade caravan protection
- • Access to rare goods black market
- • Banking services (Champion)
Enemies
- • Thieves and raiders
- • Those who break contracts
- • The Ascetics (anti-materialism)
Joining Requirements
- • Pay membership fee (500 silver or equivalent)
- • Complete profitable trade mission
- • Guarantee by existing Prince
THE CHRONICLERS
"Memory is the only truth. We preserve it."
Philosophy
Record everything. History must not be lost. Truth is sacred. Knowledge belongs to all (eventually).
Territory
The Great Library (location unknown). Archives in every major domain. Traveling scribes.
Benefits (Trusted+)
- • Access to Chronicler archives
- • Free identification of items/creatures
- • Historical research assistance
- • Secret histories (Champion)
Enemies
- • Memory erasers and forgetters
- • Those who destroy knowledge
- • The Count (who controls truth)
Joining Requirements
- • Contribute unique knowledge to archives
- • Demonstrate literacy and research skills
- • Swear oath of truth (never falsify records)
THE UNTETHERED
"Nowhere Land is a prison. We will break it."
Philosophy
The Count's rule must end. Destroy portals to weaken him. Free all travelers. Chaos is liberation.
Territory
No fixed base. Hidden cells throughout domains. Safe houses in unstable regions.
Benefits (Trusted+)
- • Training in portal destruction
- • Safe houses off the grid
- • Anti-Count intelligence
- • Ledger manipulation (Champion)
Enemies
- • The Count and his agents
- • Passage Keepers (portal preservers)
- • Anyone who supports the status quo
Joining Requirements
- • Demonstrate hatred of the Count
- • Complete act of sabotage against Count's interests
- • Be vouched for by existing cell member
THE BOUND
"The Count's order is necessary. We enforce it."
Philosophy
The Count maintains balance. The Ledger is just. Order prevents worse chaos. Service earns redemption.
Territory
Count's Domain (inner circle). Outposts in major domains. Authority wherever the Ledger reaches.
Benefits (Trusted+)
- • Ledger debt reduction
- • Authority in Count-aligned areas
- • Access to Count's resources
- • Immunity to Ledger collection (Champion)
Enemies
- • The Untethered (rebels)
- • Ledger defaulters
- • Those who defy the Count
Joining Requirements
- • Audience with a Count's agent
- • Swear oath of service to the Count
- • Accept permanent Ledger mark
THE GARDENERS
"Domains are living things. We tend them."
Philosophy
Domains have natural cycles. Genii must be respected. Balance between domains preserves all. Heal the wounded lands.
Territory
The Verdant Tangle (headquarters). Presence in all natural domains. Healing sites at domain wounds.
Benefits (Trusted+)
- • Accelerated blessing gain in natural domains
- • Healing and restoration services
- • Genii communication assistance
- • Domain shaping rituals (Champion)
Enemies
- • Domain corruptors
- • Those who kill Genii
- • Exploiters of domain resources
Joining Requirements
- • Demonstrate attunement to a domain (+2 blessing)
- • Complete healing task for a wounded domain
- • Receive blessing from a Genius
THE HOLLOW
"Death is not the end. We prove it."
Philosophy
The boundary between life and death is fluid in Nowhere Land. The dead have rights. Undeath can be a choice.
Territory
The Bone Gardens. Necropolises throughout domains. Wherever the dead linger.
Benefits (Trusted+)
- • Speak with dead services
- • Undead non-aggression
- • Death's door survival (1/ever)
- • Controlled undeath (Champion)
Enemies
- • Those who destroy undead without cause
- • Necromancers who enslave the dead
- • Deniers of death's natural cycle
Joining Requirements
- • Experience death (and return)
- • Free an enslaved undead
- • Accept mark of the First Grave
THE MASKS
"Identity is fluid. We embrace all faces."
Philosophy
In Nowhere Land, you can be anyone. Why limit yourself? Deception is art. Truth is what you make it.
Territory
The Mirror Labyrinth (spiritual home). Theatrical venues. Nowhere and everywhere—they're anyone.
Benefits (Trusted+)
- • Disguise kits and training
- • False identity creation
- • Spy network access
- • Face-stealing magic (Champion)
Enemies
- • Truth-seekers and revealers
- • Those who unmask members
- • Rigid identity enforcers
Joining Requirements
- • Successfully impersonate someone for 24 hours
- • Surrender your "true" name to the faction
- • Receive your first Mask
🔗 FACTION RELATIONSHIPS
Alliance and Enmity Matrix
| Faction | Keepers | Merchants | Chroniclers | Untethered | Bound | Gardeners | Hollow | Masks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keepers | — | + | + | ✗ | ○ | + | ○ | ○ |
| Merchants | + | — | ○ | ✗ | + | ○ | ○ | + |
| Chroniclers | + | ○ | — | ○ | ✗ | + | + | ✗ |
| Untethered | ✗ | ✗ | ○ | — | ✗✗ | ○ | ○ | + |
| Bound | ○ | + | ✗ | ✗✗ | — | ✗ | ○ | ✗ |
| Gardeners | + | ○ | + | ○ | ✗ | — | + | ○ |
| Hollow | ○ | ○ | + | ○ | ○ | + | — | ○ |
| Masks | ○ | + | ✗ | + | ✗ | ○ | ○ | — |
Legend: + = Allied, ○ = Neutral, ✗ = Hostile, ✗✗ = Blood enemies
📜 FACTION MISSIONS
Passage Keeper Missions
- • Escort travelers safely through unstable portal
- • Investigate portal malfunction and report
- • Recover stolen portal key
- • Map newly discovered portal network
- • Eliminate creature threatening waystation
Merchant Prince Missions
- • Negotiate trade agreement with hostile domain
- • Protect caravan through dangerous territory
- • Investigate competitor's illegal practices
- • Acquire rare goods from exclusive source
- • Collect outstanding debts (by any means)
Chronicler Missions
- • Record oral history from dying NPC
- • Recover lost manuscript from dangerous location
- • Witness and document significant event
- • Correct historical misinformation spreading
- • Catalog creatures of newly discovered domain
Untethered Missions
- • Sabotage Count's agent or operation
- • Free travelers from Ledger enforcement
- • Destroy or corrupt monitored portal
- • Spread anti-Count propaganda
- • Assassinate high-ranking Bound member
"In Nowhere Land, you are never alone. The question is whether your allies are worth the enemies they bring."
— The Diplomat's Lament
🌀 DRIFT & FACTIONS
Faction Drift Effects
Factions have collective relationships with Drift:
Low-Drift Factions
Portal Breakers, some Chroniclers: Prioritize returning to the Outside. Members resist Drift through mapping. Limited Potential use.
High-Drift Factions
Domain cults, Settler communities, The Bound: Embrace Nowhere Land. Strong Potentials, no desire to leave. May view Outsiders as threats.
Players joining high-Drift factions face pressure to increase Drift. Low-Drift factions help with cartography but distrust Potentials.
See Also
- Factions (Lore) - Detailed faction backgrounds and NPCs
- The Partizan - Complete faction example with Romina and Ruthe
- Drift - How Drift affects faction membership
- Bastions - Building your own faction base
- The Partisan Market - Introductory scenario in Partiz