u/MechanicalBeanstalk

Curious to see what everyone’s take is on them. I was thinking about running them as a solid, established Faction, fighting for power with the guys at the top.

I’m not sure how I see them as a Faction though. “Magic is the ultimate power in the planes” is just the logo of any major magical group in a campaign. Their belief just doesn’t seem as thought provoking as the other Factions in Planescape.

Thoughts?

Howdy.

I DMed some short 3.0 campaigns back in the day and since then I've just been running Rogue Trader for my friends, so my 5.0+ experience is lacking a bit. That said, I've still wanted to run a scenario that I have been itching to do for awhile.

The campaign is going to be set mostly in the elemental plane of water. The players are going to take a steampunk submersible and various planar tools through a mostly unexplored realm on the plane to dredge up wealth and catalog discoveries for certain wealthy academics. There is more to it than that.. but that is the brief rundown of the premise.

The party will be starting at level 1, with lower CR encounters until they delve "deeper" into the watery realm. My mind goes to old timey diving gear for when they'd have to go somewhere very treacherous, but I'm also considering that the Plane of Water wouldn't necessarily have the same physical rules to diving into it as a real life ocean and stuff like water pressure might not even come into play.

Would anyone have some tips to send me on my way?

Based on a topic where a couple people mentioned that the 15 Faction cap might not be in effect anymore, I was wondering how often Her Serenity goes back on or ends enforcement on one of her decrees?

I assume the banishment of the Factions was one example, though as other people have said that seems to be an oversight on WoTC's part.

The wiki says the "ascendent" factions are Athar, Bleak Cabal, Doomguard, Fated, Fraternity of Order, Hands of Havoc, Harmonium, Heralds of Dust, Mercykillers, Mind's Eye, Society of Sensation, and the Transcendent Order. Thats 12. It says that the remaining 3: Free League, Incanterium, and Ring Givers are "minor factions."

I know Free Leaguers don't consider themselves a faction, though most put that label on them. If they say they are not a Faction, couldn't a growing Sect or Faction-aspiring group just state that FL can't operate as one of the 15 that are allowed per the Lady's Law and come in to take their place?

Also, I feel like I encounter some YouTube lore sources now and then that act like the Ring Givers are still minor Factions in 5th edition and are not part of the 15. The Ring Givers also operate out of The Nowhere, though the Jeremo the Jester still resides in the Lady's palace... which is odd. Are they a secretive organization? If they are, how can they claim to be part of the 15 allowed Factions in Sigil?

Fire cannot operate on the Plane of Water correct? Even in bubbles of air or enclosed, water tight structures?

If so, how far does that extend? Is there no combustion at all? Would a blunderbuss just not fire and a campfire not light up?

Hopefully I’m phrasing this right. I just wanted to gather people’s opinions on the subject.

An example: An elf who has existed for hundreds of years, but only has the stats of a low level adventurer. Did he not just not gain the right applicable experience to be a formidable opponent? Was he a higher level at one point and his skills grew stagnant from years of peace? Do you even address it at all?