Building the megadungeon: Why factions are fabulous

Not them again!

Goblins and kobolds are dime a dozen. 

Players may groan at meeting another nondescript batch of the little green meanies. 

But gussy them up with personality as a distinct faction, and voila, they're much more engaging!

Second, savvy players can play multiple factions off against each other, adding another dimension to game play.

For example, let's create two factions of goblins who are at odds. 

Let's say one is called the Hobdreamers, and they have discovered a vast hallucinogenic fungus colony deep in the megadungeon. They are pale and nocturnal, cover themselves with white shroom dust, and mark their territory with mushroom caps stained in blood and set on a pike.

The fungus colony is sentient and communicates with the goblins through dream quests. It's goals are unknowable to mere animals. 

The industrious goblins are grinding up batches of fungus and selling it to humans in local villages and towns, causing an addiction epidemic that has authorities alarmed. This also gives the fungus colonies glimpses of what the user sees. 

Of course, the goblins need human middle men, as most people won't trust treacherous goblins pushing shrooms. So the goblins enlist the down and out, people on the fringes of society who have been cast aside. Perhaps crippled war veterans, or members of persecuted religious sects who've had their possessions confiscated by the local authorities and now thirst for revenge, like getting the bishop's sons addicted to shrooms. 

The second goblin tribe, let's call them the Lurkwebs, worship a giant arachnid (the classic trope, but I love it) which can psychically control a single goblin at a time mentally. Spider Queen Ixitchibit also produces offspring large enough for the goblins to ride. 

They use mama spider's web silk to create nets, which they use to snare merchants and caravans going along the old forest road passing by the megadungeon. The forest is perpetually gloomy, allowing these goblins to operate during daytime, as so little sun reaches the forest floor. They are excellent trackers and specialize in ambushes from above, riding their spider mounts and firing poison darts and arrows.

Daw, so cute, so readily available! Good luck finding scorpion riding goblins

Spider venom is used to poison their blades. Perhaps they also spike their mead, slowly gaining immunity to the venom. Their skin is tattooed with web patterns and spiral welts. Their territory is marked by crude web patterns.

Each goblin tribe is simultaneously building a skull and bone totem pole, trying to out do the other. The Hobdreamers have been suddenly getting much richer, their tower more splendid by the day. The Lurkwebs are jealous and want to put the Hobdreamers back in their place.

On top of that, the local thieves guild is angry that a new mysterious group is peddling drugs in their turf, and want their cut. 

So just by fleshing out a couple factions, we create a web of intrigue and possible adventure threads. Perhaps the local authorities want to hire the characters to put a stop to the drug trade. Or the thieves want to hire the characters to strong arm the goblins, or one goblin tribe wants to hire the characters to burn down the other's tribal totem. Maybe the merchants want an escort through the forest, or revenge on the goblins.

All of a sudden, the goblins are not just goblins anymore. They're Lurkwebs and Hobdreamers, both visibly distinct, with different goals and interests. 

Defining a faction leads to connections and consequences and fleshing out other factions, and suddenly you have a web of adventure hooks.

Ask yourself:

1) Who or what do they worship? What else makes them distinct? 

Orcs might follow a demon banished from Hell for not being evil enough. Kobolds might be trying to hatch a dragon's egg. Goblins might serve a medusa, and gouge their eyes out as a sign of devotion. A failed acolyte might pose as a powerful sorcerer and use a stolen magical artifact to beguile a tribe of gullible hobgoblins... until exposed. 

2) How does that figure in to their appearance, goals and modus operandi? 

Think of adornments (tattoos, clothing, face paint, armour, etc.), macabre ends (raising a demon, opening a gateway, creating a war machine, enslaving enemies, passing their spirit into objects, cursing a rival, etc. Pull freely from fantasy tropes, there are a ton of well worn ones!), and how step 1 above might influence how they go about it. 

The only limit is your imagination!

3) Who or what do they need to achieve their goals? 

Maybe they use magic, or ancient golem left over from an earlier civilization. Think of interesting monster combinations: what might they collaborate with to make encounters more engaging?

Kobold missile troops might benefit from the help of a bruiser, a bear or giant scorpion. 

Orcs might benefit from some imp allies, or perhaps they're berserkers who use only bone weapons and have pet grey ooze to deal with armoured enemies. Maybe the excrement or residue slime of a grey ooze, if you smear it on your skin, repels it.  

4) Who or what would want to oppose this, and why? Evil factions are often driven by things like envy, hate, sloth, prejudice, entitlement, etcetera. 

If one faction suddenly gets wealthier, it'll piss off all their rivals, who might gang up on them. Or perhaps they'd serve as mercenaries, then betray them. 

And of course there will be the forces of good who will oppose a rising tide of evil in the region. Perhaps it's the faeries of the woods, or a merchant guild trying to rebuild prosperity, or desperate farmers, or a monastery of monks guarding an ancient tome. 

Taken together, these details can help make your humanoid monster fodder more interesting, as well as flesh out the region which the characters are exploring. Plus, the web of interconnections will offer a plethora of fun ways players can turn rivalries to their advantage.

Win win!

Next up: A bunch of factions from Druidun Dungeon.