Factions
The three Brinewarrens factions, how reputation with each is won and lost, and who turns hostile at what standing.
Three powers hold the Brinewarrens, and each of them keeps its own account of you. The Syndicate, the Tideborn and the Faceless all track a reputation that runs from -1000 to 1000, beginning at 0 when you first come among them. Where you stand decides how their members treat you and whether their forces consider you a friend or a target.
faction shows your standing with all three at once, with a bar and a tier name
for each.
The Tiers#
Reputation is read as one of nine tiers.
| Tier | Range |
|---|---|
| Feared | -1000 to -751 |
| Hated | -750 to -501 |
| Enemy | -500 to -251 |
| Unfriendly | -250 to -51 |
| Neutral | -50 to 50 |
| Friendly | 51 to 250 |
| Honored | 251 to 500 |
| Revered | 501 to 750 |
| Worshipped | 751 to 1000 |
Winning and Losing Standing#
Killing a faction's people costs you standing with them, and how much depends on who died. A rank and file member is worth one point against you and nothing else. A lieutenant costs you 50 with their own faction and earns you 50 with each of the other two. A boss costs 100 and earns 100 with each of the others. The Brinewarrens are a closed circle, and a favour done to one power is an insult to another.
Quests undertaken for a faction's leaders raise your standing with them.
Decay#
Reputation slides back toward zero by 50 points a day, whether it is positive or negative. The decay runs at midnight and catches up on the days you were away, so a long absence returns you toward neutral rather than freezing your standing where you left it. High regard and deep hatred both have to be maintained.
Contracts#
A faction contract is a document you carry, and it changes how a faction reads you while you hold it. A faction whose contract you carry treats you as friendly regardless of your actual standing, which is safe passage among its forces for as long as the contract lasts.
Contracts also weight the reputation you gain and lose, and holding fewer of them is worth more than holding several.
| Contracts held | Reputation gained | Reputation lost |
|---|---|---|
| One | Doubled | Halved |
| Two | Half again | Three quarters |
| Three or more | A quarter more | Seven eighths |
Contracts expire, and an expired one counts for nothing.
Territory and Hostility#
The Brinewarrens factions recognise their own ground. The Pumpworks belongs to the Syndicate, the Tidal Cove to the Tideborn, and the Necropolis to the Faceless.
Rank and file members are harder on outsiders at home than abroad. In their own territory they will attack anyone standing at Neutral or worse. Anywhere else, in common ground or in a rival's territory, they attack only at Unfriendly or worse. Lieutenants and bosses are consistent: they attack at Unfriendly or worse wherever you meet them.
A faction counts you as a friend once you reach Friendly, or at any standing while you carry its contract.