friends and foes: another d66 factions and orgs

I just couldn’t help myself, I needed to write up another pile of odd folks for PCs to join, NPCs to represent, and plot hooks to fall off of.

And then I took ages to actually get to writing them because that’s how I roll, alas. Lol.

Just like the last time around, each faction/organization/guild/whatever has a name, a slogan/quote, a line or two explaining them a bit more, faction colours and symbol, and a list of five bits of gear. Also like the last time around, don’t limit a PC’s starting stuff to just the kibble listed here; this is for flavour. Give them half (or all, why not?) beginning funds, or “rations+bedroll+backpack+clothes+1 weapon if desired+2d10 [currency]”, or a starting character package, whichever you’re using — having a few more gribbles won’t break anything.

d66	Faction Name	Faction Details
11	Glass Tears	“Life, like glass, is both fragile and wounding, beautiful and wrought from common stuff. As our craft, so goes the world.” Lampworkers and glassblowers, dedicated to perfecting their craft and using it as an allegory for improving themselves and the world – coal black and orange; phial – handful of glass billets, several glass bottles and baubles, blowpipe, shard collection, heavy leather apron
12	Icemeisters	“The cold soothes well, delights well, preserves well, hides well.” Tenders of ice-houses and hidden freezes, caterers of frozen confections and whispered repositories of other, more concerning objects needing kept on ice – silver and pale blue; icicle – winter cloak, ice-knife, sweet syrups, logbook of requests, coded lists and map of hidden ice-houses
13	The Lion’s Paw	“Be mighty. Be proud, not prideful. Most of all, be aware of those who look to you when you roar.” Hedge-knights and self-proclaimed heroes happy to step up for a flower as much as for riches and glory – gold and brown; lion’s pawprint – tawny mantle, flashy outfit, letter of recommendation from high or noble house, signet or seal, token of favour
14	The Flicker	“The shortest moment, the tiniest crumb can be of the utmost importance. Don’t blink.” Gatherers of secrets and connectors of dots, organized into loose cells with connections in the wildest of places – white and orange; candle-flame outline – pouches of small trinkets and bits, scrollcases of scribbled notes, deadletter drop-box, vial of lemon-ink, glass lens
15	Absolution	“May darkness be cleansed, may the spirit be lifted on milky clouds heavenward.” Confessors and confidantes who offer listening ears without judgement and a release from secrets and emotional turmoil – amber and milk; loose spiral – brazier, charcoal, paper twist of myrrh, pouch of amber nodules, chapbook of blessings, exorcisms and wardings
16	Coiling Path	“Whisper and tend, carry prayers and curses, and leave no tether behind you as you move on.” Wandering tenders and menders of consecrated locales in out of the way places, ever ready to replace stones, touch up paint, or murmur a re-dedication – grey and green; shrine-rune – node-map of shrines and holy sites (work in progress), skin of pure water, carpenter’s or mason’s tools, carved bowl, holy oil
21	Crucible	“Disparate parts, and peoples, are ever stronger when combined.” Sweet-tongued courtiers and middlemen, dedicated to fostering links between individuals, groups and communities — and ever ready to remind others of existing links – bronze and blue; crucible – bronze brooch, folio of observations, invitation to society function, copy of historical treaty, puzzlebox
22	Greentouch	“Not to worry, I’m sure I have something for what ails you.” Herbalists, with all that that can imply; one man’s meat is another man’s poison, after all. Sometimes literally. – pale green and dark green; sprout – paper-twists of seeds and dry herbs, sleepmint, silvered snips, kettle, toxic blossoms
23	Farwander	“There’s always more to see.” Sometimes people just want to travel to the horizon and beyond just to make the trip and tell about it. These are those people. – brown and violet; footprint – sturdy footwear, well-patched shoulderbag, several packets of letters, cairnstone, coloured cords
24	The Letterflies	“Everything opens up with the written word, so spread it — secretly if necessary.” Staunch believers in literacy and what it unlocks, happy to teach letters, draft texts, carve typefaces, and create all manner of small, useful, and sometimes contraband documents to do it – dark green and white; butterfly – satchel of pamphlets and lesson sheets, slate and chalk, writing kit, portable press, current ciphers
25	Wardens of Years	“The march of time must never be forgotten.” Keepers of history’s events and the passing of days, dedicated — some might say obsessed — with the passing of time – sand and silver; timepiece – annals logbook, personal diary, hourglass or hour-candles, year-staff, tally cords
26	Knights of the Brine	“There’s nothing like the quest for the perfect pickle.” Pickle enthusiasts united in sharing samples, locations of excellent fruits and vegetables or salts and spices, and iterating on endless recipes while caching crocks across the countryside – yellow and green; crock – pickling crock, pouches of salt and bran, bottle of vinegar, pickle samples (extra rations), twists of spices
31	Fireheart	“In the flame, find yourself.” Adherents of a meditative philosophy centred around silent self-contemplation while gazing into a single flame, believing it to soothe emotion and reveal one’s future – orange and red; tongue of flame – lamp and oil, brazier, personal notes, small pouch of ashes, charcoal
32	The Queen’s Hands	“Look to the bee, and know grace and gratitude.” Beekeepers and harvesters of wild honey who wax lyrical about the virtues of the bee and its produce at the drop of a pin; often distributors of both hive produce and new colonies – gold and golden-brown; bee – logbook of wild hives, bee skep, satchel of beeswax blocks, crock of honeycomb, dozen beeswax candles
33	The Last Dance	“Save the last dance for me.” These are dancers, yes, and sometimes singers and sometimes musicians, united in the goal of bringing liveliness and entertainment (and maybe a pointed tale or two) to any who offer a coin or a wish, whether in taverns, high halls or the open road – medley of any colours; ring – bright outfit, musical instrument or dancer’s rings, weighted shawl or scarf, hidden knife, shoulderbag with secret pocket
34	Scrapsnipes	“There’s nothing that can’t be repaired, reused, or repurposed.” Scavengers of discards and maestros of rusted metal who don’t turn up their noses at any object, no matter how broken or battered; if it can’t be reused, it can be remade. And they often think the same about living beings. – rust and black; broken nail – sack of metal bits, tiny anvil, mallet, sewing kit, crock of lacquer, patchwork cloak
35	The Scarlet Bough	“The days grow short and we must all prepare for what’s coming next. in order to see the days grow long again.” Harvesters and preservers who descend on a crop to help with the reaping and butchering one day, string up drying fruits and meats the next, and know reliable ways to prepare and preserve nearly anything edible – scarlet and orange; treebranch – smoked joint, sickle, knowledge and access to several storage caches, sack of seedcorn, portable quern
36	The Silver Key	“Swift, and proper, application of all law is the only just application of law.” Whether barristers or archivists, self-informed sages or those who learned in the trenches, all members agree on one thing; that the law of a land must be just, and it must apply to all equally, or it is no law at all. – silver and white; key – law codes for several cities and kingdoms, packet of letters, set of skeleton keys, cipher book, carrier pigeon
41	Openers of the Way	“There are worlds beyond this one, and it’s just a matter of finding where intersections are.” Tracers of essence-lines and mappers of weak barriers between existences, whether for curiosity, wariness, power, or simple verification – colour spectrum; rainbow – homemade map of lines and nodes, pendulum, glass bell, iron wand, silver-tipped wand
42	Heartweave	“Have you heard the latest from the Grey Wind? Or received a copy of their writings? What did you think?” A network of poets and storytellers committed to spreading their works by written copy and formal gatherings both – cream and lavender; eight-petaled flower – hand-bound collection of poems, seal engraved with pseudonym, letter of introduction, packet of fancy papers, writing gear
43	Heaven’s Blood	“I’ll do what you cannot.” Sin-eaters, pursuers of vengeance, and upholders of the most visceral of oaths – crimson and gold; droplet – sealed contract, consecrated balm, black razor, crimson veil, sinner’s chalice
44	Daysend	“At the border between day and night lie revelations.” Mystics and muses fascinated with the flow of colours and light in the twilight hours and the inspiration — the tingle of spirit, some day — that those hours grant the fervent – pink and orange; disc – sitting-cushion, prism, dew-collecting cloth, twilight-dyed sash or scarf, scroll of personal revelations
45	Walkers at Midnight	“None who prey on heart’s blood will be suffered to exist. I swear it.” Dedicated hunters, these, targeting the worst of the blood-drinkers, soul-eaters and others of their ilk. Those who feed lightly and with care are spared … usually – black and moon-yellow; dagger – silvered resin, rowanwood stakes, holy water or oil, warding charm, wineskin
46	The Winding River	“Tell me who someone is, and I will tell you where they hail from.” Tracers of genealogies of all sorts — bloodlines of people, of beasts, even of crops — and ever dedicated to noting every side-branch, secret and dead-end – grey and blue; water braid – salvaged letters, work ledger, illuminator’s gear, maps to several catacombs, copy of chosen genealogy
51	Wyrmstouch	“We claim the great beasts’ mark as our own.” Dragon hunters of a different stripe, linked to the wyrms — and, for some, to each other — through being anointed with, or consuming, dragon’s blood – dark red and midnight blue; flame – dragon scale, wax-lined drinking horn, packet of soothing herbs, tally-notched torc, map to dragon’s lair
52	Garden Eternal	“Somewhere out there lies the source of eternal life; waiting to be plucked, perhaps even in plain sight.” The fruit of eternal life grants immortality, these folks believe — but which fruit, and consumed in what manner? And where will it be found? The quest continues — – rose and emerald; stylized fruit tree – lidded basket, several kinds of fruit (fresh and preserved), scraps of pomery manuscripts, cutting from fruit tree, scrawled recipe notes
53	Eyes of the Cat	“Where the cat leads, we follow; what we discover, the cat must know.” Not quite cat worshipers but not far from it, being staunch believers in feline wisdom — and feline bestowing of secrets and curses – bronze and black; cat’s eye – cat companion, riding satchel (for cat), pouch of smoked fish, tiger’s eye amulet, libation dish
54	Bonescribes	“The departed live again through the new voices we give them.” A tightly-knit organization of copyists, scribes and illuminators who create their works with bone black pigments and pens carved from bone, all obtained from those who were lost – ivory and black; skeletal hand – pouch of bone black cakes, inkstone and water well, case of bone pens and styli, sheaf of parchment, femoral scrollcase
55	Canticle	“Inspiration, composition, at any cost.” These poets, songsmiths and authors chase after dreams and visions, throwing themselves into the pursuit of new enlightenments with which to feed their ravenous muse – teal and gold; teardrop – draft of current work, skin of spirits or poppy, pilgrimage badge, instrument or manuscript, diary of revelations
56	Black Heralds	“None so mighty once they’ve been laid low in mud and blood.” Battlefield scavengers who bring rough mercy and mercenary gain in equal measure, trading trophies and mementos as readily as they ransom their catches to the high folk – black and grey; raven – sturdy carry-pack, chopping dagger, bloodstained noble’s blazon, collection of battlefield oddments, pennant
61	The Verdurance	“Bring the entire world into the comforting embrace of all green things.” Planters of seeds, couriers of sprouts, grafters of limbs; if a plant can be encouraged to grow wherever they pass, these dedicated souls will place at least one before moving on – leaf green and brown; sprout – seed pouches; sheaf of cuttings; small shears; folding trowel; logbook of plantings
62	The Stone Egg	“We find what sleeps within the stone.” Carvers of alabaster and greenstone, chert and serpentine, who divine deeper meaning in the forms that their work creates – dark gray and white; egg – small chisels, mallet, grease-stick, satchel of stone nodules, finished statuette
63	Roaring Mice	“Everything ends, but only if we allow it. Fight back.” Doesn’t matter if it’s crumbling structures, corrupted infrastructures, or the forces of entropy itself; these would-be rebels push against the notion that there’s nothing that can stop the fall – violet and flame; mouse – bead-code, chirurgeon’s satchel, purloined document, shining-knife, crafter’s toolkit
64	Tomorrow’s Rose	“Lessen pain by sharing it, redirecting it.” Artisans of roses, yes, and every rose symbolizing a scar that’s been shared, accepted, and assimilated; for them people, like roses, continue long past being cut down – burgundy and dark green; rose – skin of rosewater, vial of attar, rose petal preserves, briar torc, bundle of rose seedlings
65	Imperishable	“The heavens hear those who give their hopes and dreams to eternity.” Instead of searching for fates amongst the stars, these dreamcrafters choose to chart their own chosen destinies and hang them on the jewels of the night sky – royal blue and silver; scatter of stars – star charts, miniature orrery, collection of notes, paper twist of starcrystal, dream scrolls
36	The Final Light	“We will lead them home.” Psychopomps bearing a soft glow and a quiet wish through the dark — whether true or metaphorical — to grant wandering spirits their final rest. – pale gold and dark grey; pumpkin – lantern staff, shroud-shawl, foxfire candles, chalice, pouch of consecrated ashes