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CreditsCreation, Design, and System: Adam RiemenschneiderLayout: Adam Riemenschneider, with special thanks to Daprice HowardGraphics: Ninja/Pirate ImagesPlaytesters: Joy Andreasen, Jason Goray, Mark Lubich, Donovan Madsen, Chris Manor, and Stacey Schwebach

DedicationsThanks first go out to supportive family and friends, for their encouragement and patience.

Also, to Grant Morrison for his inspiring work (especially the Invisibles), Neil Gaiman, the Disinformation Company, WhatReallyHappened.com, and to the creativity in general of the Minneapolis gaming community.

DisclaimerThis is a game, a work of fiction. It is intended for mature readers. Occult practices and beliefs, be they religions or otherwise in nature, are presented here in a realistic, yet reinterpreted manner. This is done primarily for immersive world-building purposes, and to (perhaps) inspire reflection as to the reader’s own understanding of the world.

Factions Player’s Guide

PDF

SKU 10100E

ISBN 978-0-9817688-2-3

Copyright © 2007 Adam Riemenschneider

All Rights Reserved

Mention of or similarity to existing companies or other organizations is not a challenge to existing trademarks. All incidents and persons portrayed are meant as a fictional representation of the world, and any similarity, without satirical intent, of persons living or dead is coincidental.

WWW.OTHERCOURT.COM

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IntroductionChapter One: The Way We Were Word on the Street Perspectives Street Attitude Tools of the TradeChapter Two: RevelationsChapter Three: Myth Factory New Skills New Special Abilities New Advantages and DisadvantagesChapter Four: Arcana Unleashed New Hermetic Rituals New Buddhist Rituals New Wicca Rituals New Pure Chaos Rituals Advanced WorkingsChapter Five: LifepathChapter Six: A Few of My Favorite Things Drugs and Addiction New Equipment New Weapons New Talismans Building CitadelsChapter Seven: Pix ProgrammingFinal Words

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First Shots FiredAn Introduction

Welcome to the first supplement to the Factions world. It seemed a good idea to first concentrate on the player’s role, and explore the game further from the individual character’s point of view. Therefore, the first area of the game to get a boost belongs to you, the players.

Of course, every gamer plays for different reasons. Some want modern fantasy and strangeness. Others play for mood and theme, and get their kicks on the “feel” of playing in the world. You have your gritty combat junkies, and your power gamers. Your problem solvers, and the social players, and the political monsters. Each should be able to find something added to the game for them in this book.

The Gifted are a lot of things. The Factions world incorporates several different concepts, and places the Gifted as the principal actors. Factions mixes a nostalgia for a non-existant past, as well as a near-future distopia, with a post-modern view of magic and a fantastic, yet veiled, reality. A particular Gifted character can fall anywhere in this wide open field. This book aims to allow the player to do just that.

There is a great deal of tension and uncertainty in this game world. The lack of easy “good vs. evil” may be a challenge for some. True, one might simply apply the bad guy’s black hat to the Order and call it a day, but the truth of the matter is not so simple. Along similar lines, the likelihood of player characters falling into shades-of-grey antihero roles is pretty high. No one’s hands are completely clean.

The trade off for all of this ambiguity is a high degree of possibility. Reality in Factions is fluid, after all. It isn’t easy to change. It might take centuries (or more) for fundamental facts to be rewritten. However, great changes are possible. The earth was at one time flat. Alterations to the world on this scale require coordination of massive effort over several lifetimes. This is where the Factions themselves come in.

The secret societies of the Factions world are of great importance to the Gifted, and therefore to the player. What group, if any, a Gifted alligns himself with informs their identity, their goals, and their obstacles. Choosing sides usually means deciding on an enemy. And, like in the real world, those groups which have the greatest power are most likely to be the kind of people who least deserve it.

The most obvious conflict in the Factions world is that between Chaos and Order, which is personified at large as the fight between the Alliance and the Order. Not every game need concentrate on this. There’s plenty of room to play in the Free

Societies. But the primary themes of the game are strongest in the civil war in North America. The tension between personal liberty and collective security, the horror of violence, the necessity of personal sacrifice, and the corrupting influence of power are all there in spades. The world isn’t meant to be hopeless. It should inspire the need for action by magnifying the wrongness and inhumanity of the entire situation. In this darkness, there should be light to see by. Change for the better is possible.

Remember, players, that this game is meant to be flexible. You aren’t forced to make cookie cutouts of the same old kind of “hero.” Characters are made in a build point system for a reason. There are no delineated classes. There is no moral alignment system. Make your own way.

Consider this book as a collection of modular parts or tools to make the experience of being a player as good as it can be. A lot of effort has been put into giving you options. The skill system is as wide as it is so you, as a player, can make nearly anyone. Likewise, the Special Abilities are as specific as they are so you can make a character who can, for example, fly, without having to go through a pyramid power system that requires one to learn to levitate rocks or bend spoons first. The same goes for the exhaustive Advantage and Disadvantage list. And so on, and so on.

That’s all, really. I don’t think any further introduction is necessary. We pretty much know what we’re doing by now. It’s your game. Enjoy yourselves.

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Chapter OneThe Way We Were

Hey you, out there on the road, always doing what you’re told,

can you hear me? – Pink Floyd

America is in crisis.

Forces deep within the country’s breast slash at and circle one another. They are the invisible ones, the mages behind the curtain, the figures of knowledge and horror. The Order tightens its grip. In far away lands, mundane pawns drop bombs on terrified masses, huddled in their homes.

The mental chains dig deeper across the brains of the public. More and more disappear into the unknowable gulag of political prisons. Surveillance cameras grow up like weeds. Walls reach up to swallow cities whole. Who dares to resist?

Again, the figures circle. They chase and firebomb. They recite ancient incantations. Psychic energies well up to take form, crash into firebranded forms, and reverberate deep in the

bowels of the land. Bullets sing in from crumbling alleyways. The jackboots thud in a maddening rhythm, drawing ever closer. Who dares to fight this?

The Factions twist and transform. The landscape is changing. The people are frightened, and their dreams come to surface on the lips of the Gifted. Something must be done. Civil war is whispered. The Order’s secret police listen on the other end of the telephone, and hold their breath.

This is today. Who are you that reads these words? Whose side are you on?

Word on the StreetEverybody knows the fight is fixed. The poor stay poor

and the rich get rich that’s how it goes, and everybody knows. - Leonard Cohen

Artful Dodger: The last year has been a hell of show. Here are some of the headlines the talking heads have made us endure.

Elections Postponed President Carlysle signed into law an Executive Order today that has postponed the 2008 elections, “for the duration of our crisis.” During this time, President Carlysle will retain his position as head of the Executive Branch. “It is most necessary,” said the President, “for America to stand behind its leadership during these troubled times. Terrorism is a terrible enemy, and it has followed us here to our shores. These perpetrators of evil must be brought to justice. Our way of life is at stake.”

AD: Ah yes, the top prize. Who needs a Constitution when you can get a Dictator-For-Life?

US Uses Chemical Weapons in NevadaThe US Military conducted air strikes against a terrorist camp in the Nevada DMZ yesterday, killing 35 suspected members of the Legion Army. Some have criticized the move in Washington, citing the use of chemical weapons within that unstable state. The White House had no comment at press time.

AD: Should this worry you? Hint – it wasn’t a terrorist base. When Terishor wants you to move off the Vale, it wants you to move right now. If you huddle your mundane friends around you in a show of solidarity, they will bring in the gas.

American Carrier SunkThe War in the Middle East took a dangerous turn yesterday when a Chinese-made nuclear missile struck and destroyed the USS Enterprise, which was stationed out to sea near Oman. Thousands of US Navy personal are feared dead. This has been the second major attack on US Naval forces, since the inception of the US-lead offensive against Iran and Syria. The missile destroyed the carrier and several support ships.

AD: I love how a nuke going off in the middle of a US Carrier Fleet only kills “thousands.”

Terrorism in DC! Hundreds Killed! As many as 200 DC residents were killed in a bio-weapons attack late Thursday evening. An Iranian-backed terrorist group, the MAK, has taken credit for the attacks. IAS-led military units have led house-to-house searches throughout the city, arresting and detaining as many as 700 suspects.

AD: And just as quick, the MAK disappeared. Still looks like it was a false-flag.

Democrats Cool to Terrorist’s Televised ExecutionSome Democrats have condemned the televised execution of the enemy combatant “General” Holatz last week, saying that such actions might make a martyr out of the Philedelphia-based terrorist. Said an anonymous Congressman, “This is clearly not the way to handle the war on terror. Holatz’ execution, made on live national television, will only lead more followers into Legion.”

AD: They butcher Alliance middle-men on live TV, and then act surprised when House Aruithinea leaves no prisoners. Funny guys, those Order media men.

Coup in CubaA military coup has overthrown Cuba’s leader Raul Castro and has taken charge of much of that country. Latin American leaders were shocked and have expressed official outrage at the coup, lead by a group of military commanders known only as the Law

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of Three. Some suspect American involvement. Protests and call for international action were seen in San Paulo, across Venezuela, and in Germany.

AD: The Bay of Pigs fiasco was finally righted! Good Job, you guys. Just another brown-skinned leader bumped off to install a pro-America dictator. Still, they never got the real Castro.

Howard Murdered! Right wing television personality William Howard was killed yesterday in a terrorist car bombing. Howard, the author of three books including Patriotism: What It Takes, died of injuries. IAS spokesman Julia Singleton said that several terrorist groups are suspected of carrying out the bombing, claiming that it was likely a politically-motivated assassination.

AD: This one still makes me laugh, and laugh, and laugh…

Pro Gate to the Rescue After National Guard RefusesThe US Military contractor Pro Gate was called in to Boston last week after a National Guard unit refused to attack targets in the so-called Red Zone last week. The Guard members apparently refused their orders based on “questionable legality.” All have been charged with desertion, treason, and failure to follow orders. Some lawmakers and scholars, including Harvard Law Professor Eugene Snyder, have questioned the use of contracted units used in combat operations within US borders.

AD: Ah yes. The spread of the corporate armies continues.

IAS Drone Kills Legion LeaderGwendolyn Vanderburg, one of the IAS’ top ten domestic ter-rorists, was confirmed killed today after a ‘highly successful’ operation using a search-and-destroy drone. In a joint FBI-IAS operation, Vanderburg was sighted and tracked in a lawless area of Kansas. The drone, or UAV (unmanned air vehicle), fired a Hellfire missile at Vanderburg’s car, destroying it and killing the Legion terrorist organizer. This was the first confirmed UAV kill on US soil.

AD: Remember, folks, if you are on Incarna, you are on their side of the Mirror.

Airship Deployed; Makes Cities SaferHomeland Security has announced the deployment of its first Sentinel Airship. In a program to put more ‘eyes in the sky,’ Homeland Security has developed the airship to assist in the IAS and other counter-terrorism authorities in their search for domestic enemy combatants. The platform, called SA-1, will patrol the streets of Washington DC at a height of 70,000 feet, and is three times the size of the familiar airship, the Goodyear Blimp. Up to a dozen more Sentinel Airships are expected to be produced and put into operation within the next year. DARPA spokesman Robert Bender claims the SA-1 can observe up to a thousand suspects at “high detail” at once, and scan an entire city for suspicious activity or known terrorists.

AD: Washington DC, NYC, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, LA, Houston, San Fran, San Diego, and Portland. And California wins the race with three! My mail order for a 1950’s era Ajax missile is still pending with Amazon.com.

Successful Campaign in Lebanon ContinuesUS, British, and Israeli forces have made “great progress” in their offensive into Lebanon, which began last Wednesday with hundreds of bombing and cruise missile missions. Lebanese

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officials decried the invasion, claiming to fight “to the last.” Ac-cording to White House spokesman Daniel Grieves, the maneu-vers are vital to winning the war in the Middle East. “Hezbollah has been using Lebanon as a training ground and place to orga-nize and launch strikes against Israeli and American forces in Iraq. Victory in Lebanon is necessary to achieve total victory.”

AD: A cousin of mine was in that mini-war. They still haven’t taken him off meds.

Florida Rioters Say GoodbyeFlorida rioters in Miami became the first US citizens to face a new microwave crowd dispersal weapon. The military tool, called the ‘Goodbye Weapon,’ has been used very effectively in Iraq, according to CNN military expert Helen Winger. “It’s just great,” said Winger on CNN Special Reports Friday night. “You turn it on, and people just turn and run. Completely effective, completely safe.” Some critics have claimed that the police tool can cause permanent damage at close range, and can be run in a high power mode that can literally cook those in its sights. Mi-ami officials cited the Goodbye Weapon as the ‘primary reason’ it was able to end the food riots so quickly.

AD: Maybe if the people weren’t starving, you wouldn’t have to cook them?

Battle Armor Suit Unveiled It was once the province of science fiction or children’s cartoons: walking battle suits that completely protect the soldier, and act as a powerful weapons platforms and transport. But DARPA’s latest project has made that fiction a reality. The battle suit is more like a walking armored personnel carrier than the giant robots of Japanese manga, but SWAT teams, IAS, and US Special Forces say that the suits greatly increase soldier survivability and grant him a wider array of combat options.

AD: Don’t worry. They are still slow as hell, and can’t climb up stairs. Or, for that matter, walk on pretty much anything that’s not solid ground or reinforced cement. Don’t bother shooting them unless you have anti-tank. Just run away. Er, walk away.

Economic Recovery ‘Strong’ The Dow Jones has recovered about a third of its loses over the last month, said Stock Market consultant Wayne Yeloman. “The damage caused by the Black Crash has mostly run its course,” said Yeloman. “We’ve made great strides.” When asked how long it might take to recover the 15% drop from the Black Crash, Yeloman answered, “we all want the economy back on its feet again. But it’s too early to know for sure.”

AD: Well, they had to drive the Middle Class into the dumpsters somehow, eh? Now the Order’s money men are buying up the land for pennies on the dollar. Like all ‘crashes,’ this one was made to order.

Robot Guns For Walled CitiesA new Homeland Security pilot program is trying out the GunEye automated gun system in three US cities. Detroit, Houston, and Atlanta will see the GunEye weapons as early as next month, according to John York, the GunEye spokesman from J.T. Harvard and Associates, a PR Firm. “These cities are on the front lines in the War on Terror. We are pleased to assist GunEye and Homeland Security in helping defend America’s most threatened cities.” The GunEye systems identify, track, and decide to fire according to DARPA and IAS protocols. “The GunEye is faster and more accurate than a Marine,” said York.

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