Underground Factions

The primary factions of the underground are the Canal City Nobility, the Scrap Town Rogues, The Guild, and The Mercenaries. While most pokemorphs are just trying to live their lives as they are, these factions rub against one another and form the main political forces.

Canal City Nobles

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“We trace our lineage back to the original settlers of the underground, to heroes whose story forms the basis of our society. We, alone, remain pure to that ideal, and with it’s purity, comes our right to rule.” -Canal City Stories, State of Address

They are better then the rest, and trace their lineage back to the original pokemorphs. Their main drive is control, and safe growth of the population. They believe in peace, but only their peace. It doesn’t help matters that not all noble families are as altruistic as they tend to seem from the outside, and some can be downright dismissive of anyone not from the deepest of bloods.

While Nobility for the most part stay in the shadows controlling things from afar, they do occasionally show up for particular events - especially involving The Guild. Some would say that if the Nobles ever left their villas in any force, it would be a dire portent.

The Scrap Town Rogues

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“They call us ‘rogues’, but all we ever were was free! We don’t follow people just because they say their blood runs blue! We don’t let others tell us how to run our lives! We make our own decisions! And when we disagree, we let the natural order determine who is right, through conflict! That is the essence of freedom, personal power and the will to use it!” -Scrap Town Poster

Originally a rebellion group agains the Canal City Nobles, “The Rogues” function as a loose assortment of gangs that run the power structure of Scrap Town. With a ‘might makes right’ approach to governance, and personal responsibility and codes of ethics being at the forefront, they often times just appear to be a group of disorganized gangs masquerading as poltics. This is far from the truth, as only gang leaders that can learn to work together last for very long.

There are a few notable gangs that currently make up the big decision makers in town:

Team Dragon

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Team Dragon operates out of a nightclub slash gentlemans club where the men and women are pretty, the music is loud, and the booze flows cheaply. A den of sin that can provide for just about anyone’s tastes, Team Dragon often times butts heads with The Guild on the simple grounds that they’re stuffy do-gooders and Scrap Town is free and doesn’t need any of that.

• Gang Leader: “Boss Dragon” Israfel
• Base of Operations: Israfel’s Club
• Notable Members: Gale

The Widowmakers

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An all girl’s gang started by Cherissa, it has gone from an obnoxious and loud upstart gang to one of the major gangs with frightening speed lately. Many would point to Tenet as being the root cause for this transformation, but the fact remains that everyone knows about them now, and they’re just getting more infamous despite an elite and limited membership.

• Gang Leader: “Eight Eyes” Cherissa
• Base of Operations: Slick ’n Juicy Noodles ’n Rice (Restaurant)
• Notable Members: Cheri, Tenet

The Syndicate

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Primarily focused on trade and black market deals, The Syndicate handles a lot of imports and exports from Scrap Town of various goods, some illicit and some just sourced from places best not known. Run by Callian, the gang has a good reputation for being fair in their dealings, but ruthless to those that would try and muscle in on their routes.

• Gang Leader: “The Voice” Callian
• Base of Operations: 3rd Heaven Imports
• Notable Members: Fiera, Remedy

Dragon’s Breath Protective Services LLC

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While the name is a bit iffy, and some would say that it is some kind of referential joke, DBPS operates exactly as the name says on the tin. Run by Tulvir, they’ve taken the age old protection racket and lifted it into something almost respectable - at least within the limits of Scrap Town. The emblem of DBPS can often be seen on high profile bodyguards for exclusive patrons. This has also led a bit to the rumor that whomever is paying the price for those bodyguards has something worth protecting, but that can be the price of fame.

• Gang Leader: “Fire Starter” Tulvir
• Base of Operations: The Aerie
• Notable Members: None - they’re mostly mooks for rent.

The Guild

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“You don’t look like you’re around here. Looking for a job? The best place is The Guild if you don’t want to line up for factory work or work in the fields. Assuming you can pass their test, they’ll provide you room and board, and a pick of various jobs that come up. If you get good enough, you might even get picked for their Dungeon Explorer Teams. Oh yeah, everyone knows about them, the best ones are heros!.” -Sycamore Right, Street Vendor

The Guild is a combination of jobs program, research laboratory, and training center that has recently been established in Canal City. Sponsored by Noble Houses, the main face of the Guild is a place to put in commissions to get work done. Request a Mission, pay an upfront fee, and someone from The Guild will take care of it. These missions include general labour, guard work, exploration, investigation, and even rescue missions involving Mystery Dungeons. Individuals and Teams within the Guild are free to pick and choose missions to their own interests and strengths, but they are on the hook to meet a monthly quota to keep their Guild Membership.

Of course, the more in depth a mission request is, or the more dangerous, the more it’ll cost.

Inside The Guild isn’t too different from it’s face. The Guild’s main hall is a combination of a bar and restaurant with the Guild Counter at the back, providing a place for people to come and talk with potential teams to take a commission, or just for Guild Members to relax and socialize. Behind the counter lies the Guild Kitchen, Sleeping Barracks, and Training Hall. Upstairs contains private offices for client meetings, and private rooms for the elite of the Guild Members. Underneath the Guild Hall lies the research facility and artifact handling, at least so the rumors go.

Getting into The Guild is an open application process, with an entrance exam system that some would call “tough”, but making it through the process guarantees food and shelter, and a path to self improvement, so it isn’t uncommon for group exams to be held as an event once a month, despite the low passing rate.

Socially, The Guild is very popular with the common Pokemorph, as they take jobs from any person who can pay the fee - even if contracting with a private indivudal would be much more expensive normally. The Guild provides some social services as well, including a soup kitchen for those that have no way of providing for themselves during times of need. The fact that you can post a job to The Guild via the Mail System makes them available to just about any settlement in the underground as well. Even the Elite Nobles have a somewhat favorable opinion of The Guild, at least on the surface, as it provides a steady tax income and a convenient way to appeal to those who have good impressions of The Guild by making shows of support.

“We explore the caves, and adventure in Mystery Dungeons. We help the weak, and protect the needy. We follow the ebb and flow of the underground rivers to seek out the great endless cave that we all came from. For the future of Pokemorphs, we are The Guild.”

Ranking System

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The Guild consists of Ranks, labeled A-G, with a Guild Master and Assistant Guildmaster.

• Elite (A): Generally well-storied individuals with “Second Names” and fan clubs, the Guild Elites do not actually have to take missions. Rather, they report directly to the Guild Master and Assistant Guild Master for Assignments. Often, they will still take missions or accompany other groups simply for the morale boost, and as part of the Guild’s public relations activities.
• Adventurer (B): The True Independant Guild Members, Adventurers can take take any and all missions solo or in a group. They also function as tutors, trainers, and support for the Guild. Being assigned work inside the Guild is often a coveted spot, as it still gives all the benefits of the rank, but without any risk on missions, although these positions are temporary and in rotation.
• Explorer (C): At this rank, members can operate independantly or in groups, and can freely take any non-mystery dungeon mission solo, or can join a goup for a Mystery Dungeon job. Can assist all other ranks. This is generally the most “common” rank of guild member seen in the wild, as they are competant enough to handle most jobs.
• Member (D): The second most common rank seen “in the wild”, Members can take any non-combat, non-mystery dungeon job in any location. They also commonly volunteer to assist other ranks as they can assist any rank up to B for experience and opportunities to improve their rank further.
• Junior Member (E): Also someotimes referred to as “Trainees”, Junior Members can only take non-combat jobs within established cities. In order to get more experience, they often spend much of their time training, or trying to join up with other groups of guild members - generally they can apply to be an attache to an assignment rated for C Rank or below.
• Probation (F): A special ‘rank’ used to indicate that the member has failed to live up their responsibilities. F rank often needs to take specific missions as assigned from the Guild Master or Assistant Guild Master and cannot be reinstated without their input. Generally, if a pokemorph enters probation they are given a choice to ’take a vacation and rethink their purpose’, and re-apply later as a Junior Member with a clean slate.
• Guest (G): A special ‘rank’ used to indicate a dignitary of visitor under Guild Protection. While they can use Guild Services, they are not able to take missions.
• Dispossessed: While not an offical ‘rank’, those that fail in probation are “Black Listed” by being entered as a dispossessed. Dispossessed pokemorphs cannot use any Guild services, not receive any benefits. They are not able to put in commissions. Removal from this dishonor requires direct Noble intervention.

Leadership

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The Guild Master is a symbolic position and there is no expectation of prior Guild Service to retain it. Most Guild Masters have either been retired Justicars or simply appointed by Nobles for their work in management rather then physical acumen. Much of their time is spent promoting the Guild and keeping the wheels moving behind the scenes.

The Assistant Guild Master is a position that is appointed by The Guild Master at their pleasure. Generally the Assistant Guild Master will handle the day to day operations of the Guild, and as such generally would have attained at least a rank of B or A before their appointment. At this point, The Guild is their full time job, and they work with the Guild Counter and adventuring parties to ensure that jobs are done on time with minimal injury or fuss, and also support the Guild Counter for complaints or difficult decisions.

Independent Mercenaries

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“You need a job done, quiet like? Or maybe something that you don’t want to filter through to some stuffy noble? Or maybe… your budget just ain’t there. Or perhaps… ya thinking no one gonna return? That’s fine. We’ll take the job. Pay upfront, though.” -Sandy Wrathborne, Leader of the “Black Iron Swords” Mercenary Group.

Want all of the adventure, but none of that nonsense of having to support ideals or pay a lot of tax on the loot you find? The Independant Mercenaries have that same mindset, and decided to do something about it. Mercenaries are an independent lot, and can come either as singular mercenaries or a whole Mercenary Group, but in order to compete they’ve all established some common ground rules in presentation and self-enforce them.

Mercenaries can work for any faction they deem fit, and loyalty is assumed to be non-existent once a job is complete. Today’s paid friend is tomorrow’s paid enemy, and that’s just a fact of life. The only real rule a Mercenary has to follow is The Contract - once a contract is signed, breaking the contract not just lowers credibility, but it can also invite the ire of other Mercenaries.

There’s a few reasons some choose to work for whatever side needs them at the moment; some find it the most reliable way to support one’s self, or they are simply out of options as they don’t fit in the culture of the Rogues or the stiff organization of The Guild. On top of that, Mercenaries can live and work where ever they please as long as public sentiment there doesn’t make life unbearable. This does often lead Mercenaries to be wanderers rather then settle down - they follow the work.

Mercenaries are generally rated from ★ to ★★★★★ and their current rating appears on all official correspondance along with their contract completion rate. Generally, having a single star is good enough to trust a mercenary, as it means they’ve at least fulfilled a contract. The more stars attached to a mercenary, the more expensive they are to employ and the more demands they can make of the contracts they get. No stars are new entries, and generally cheap and often disposable.

The Mercenary Guild is actually a bit of a mystery. It accepts mail for putting out contracts, and acts as a central responder for various registered mercenaries and mercenary groups, but doesn’t actually seem to exist. It can hold payment or items in Escrow as part of a contract, all handled via Mail. It also handles the record of successful contracts, general fees, and reputation scores for Mercenaries and Mercenary Groups. Mercenary Guild Informants, which can be contacted for in person meetings for questions, information, or mercencary registration do exist… but they are all GHOST types.

Basalt City Nobility

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“We are the progeny of the ancients, the firsts, and we are our own council. We refuse to bend the knee to others that claim the same legacy, as what we do now is more important to the future then holding fast to some sparkling past.” -Francis Silvermore, Silvermore family head.

An offshoot of the Canal City nobility, who chafed under remote leadership and went their own way, they are somehow less overbearing but even more uptight then their originating city. Like Canal City, the rulers of Basalt City regale their origin from the initial pokemorphs that came to the underground. However, they are almost never seen within the common areas of Basalt City - instead their agents and family forces serve as the ‘face’ of the noble families, and only act to enforce the neutrality of their city or prevent damage to the peace.